Episode 2: Medieval Capture The Flag
"Last time on Total Drama Action: The thirteen castmates arrived at the old Film Lot and were assigned to their teams: The Flaming Directors and the Psycho Producers. Then they were given their first of many tasks to come; a three-phase, wild, wild west task! There was a drinking contest, a shooting contest, a lasso contest, and boy, did I do a great job as a cowboy!
"Ruth lost her breakfast, lunch, and dinner after drinking thirty-nine glasses of Chef's homemade Mystery Drink.
"In the shooting contest, someone mysteriously sabotaged the gun that was to be used by Daniel of the Flaming Directors, thus running their chances for that round. Everyone on the Producers team blamed Mary, considering her devious past, but she denied everything.
"In the final round, the lasso contest, Isaiah couldn't have done worse, scoring only one point for his team against forty-seven for the other team. You can guess who was given the boot that night.
"Will the castmates ever discover who sabotaged the gun? Will the castmate strike again? Will my ego ever heal from being covered in vomit? Find out all of these and more, right here, right now, on Total…Drama…Action!"
The castmates were all sleeping quietly and peacefully in their trailers. This was just another perfect opportune moment for Chris to jump at.
"I love my job." Chris said to himself as he pulled out a trumpet and held it behind a megaphone. He blasted into the trumpet, which shook half the Film Lot.
"EEEYYYAAAA!!!" Luke screamed and jumped out of his bed, hitting his head on the ceiling. "OOWWW!!!" He sat back down and rubbed his head. "Doesn't that man ever quit!?"
At the same time, Tim had fallen out of his bed and landed on the floor of the trailer. "Ow! Oooooohhhh…"
"I am so sick and tired of that man!" Daniel said as he picked his ear, trying to clear out the ringing still resonating in it. "One of these days…"
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, CASTMATES!!! Chris then threw the trumpet aside. "Get your lazy butts out of bed, people! Your next task is about to begin! You have five minutes to get out here, and then report to the Craft Services Tent for breakfast!"
"Oh, boy." Ruth groaned. "More of Chef's delicious food."
"This is going to be a long thirteen weeks." Mary mumbled.
The castmates all eventually got dressed and walked out of their trailers. As they walked to the Craft Services Tent, several of the Producers were still giving Mary glares.
"Come on!" She complained to Jen. "They can't still think I'm the one who did it!"
"Don't worry." Jen comforted. "Right now, they're just looking for someone to pin it on. When they find out who really did it, they'll forget that they ever suspected you."
Make-Up Confessional
Mary: Jen is a really nice girl. I appreciate her standing up for me like that.
Jennifer: I know that she's innocent. I always like to give people second chances, and boy, does she deserve one.
End
The twelve castmates all lined up in the CS Tent and waited for their food.
"Alright, worms! You know the routine!" Chef barked. "I serve you your food. It's all you get for the next four-to-five hour period! If you don't want any, too bad!! Now come and get it!!!!"
All of the castmates lined up to take the gray slop from Chef, although none of them even touched it (what's new?).
After thirty minutes of having staring contests with their food, Chris walked into the Tent.
"OK, so hopefully, you've gotten used to Chef's wonderful food again, heh, heh."
Chef glared at Chris.
"Anyway, so the next task is an old favorite: Capture the flag! The genre: Medieval times! Follow me to the castle set on the other side of the Lot."
The castmates were quick to exit the CS Tent and follow Chris. After about thirty-five minutes of walking, they arrived at the set.
Like all of the other sets in the Film Lot, it was crappy and clearly low-budget.
The castle was the only thing that appeared to be real; it was rectangular, fifty feet on one side, seventy on the other; it was fifty feet tall, and there were turrets on every corner. There was even a moat surrounding it (which looked to be about fifteen feet wide), and a drawbridge to get in. The castle appeared to be made of regular stone.
But the forest around it was the cheesy and absolutely fake part; the trees were all just cardboard cutouts, and so were the bushes.
"Alright, castmates. Here is where the next task will be held. Here's the deal: both teams will be stationed in two different bases, the castle and the forest. The goal is for the other team to sneak into the opposing team's base without being noticed, snatch their flag, and make it back across the boundary to win. The boundary between the two halves is the drawbridge, which is also the only way over that moat, and into the castle. If you are tagged while on the opposing team's side, you are out and must go to jail, which is guarded by one teammate. The flag is also guarded by one teammate. Whichever team gets the enemies' flag to their side first is the winner!
"So I'll now assign you your territories. The Flaming Directors get the castle."
"Yes!" Daniel said eagerly.
"And the Psycho Producers get the forest, and, most notably, the massive green tent located somewhere in this field of trees. The Producers flag, naturally, is green. And the Directors flag is gray. Any questions?"
Rachael raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"What if all of the members of one team are tagged out?"
"Well, that should never happen, since two of you are forced to stay on one spot within your territory, but if that was the case, then the other team wins."
"OK."
"Anymore?"
Tim also raised his hand.
Chris sighed. "Yes, Tim?"
"Is there any way to gain Invincibility here?"
"Ah, yes! I almost forgot."
"He seems to have a knack for that." Jen whispered to Mary. The two of them snickered.
"The only way to gain Invincibility is to actually grab the enemy's flag and attempt to make it back to your base, but don't. That won't win the contest for your team, but it will win that particular person Invincibility if their team loses."
"Makes sense." Tim responded.
"Anyone else?"
After a moment of hesitation, Violet raised her hand.
Chris rolled his eyes. "Just say your question so we can get on with it here!"
"Can we hide the flag anywhere within our territory?"
"Yes, but wherever you pick to hide it, it stays there for the rest of the contest, even if an enemy sees it and knows where it is. Anyway, that's enough questions. So take your positions, plan your strategies, and the challenge will begin!"
The two teams went their separate ways.
The Producers, after searching for several minutes, found their tent, which was cleverly painted to match the green of the fake trees surrounding it.
"Nice." Jen commented.
Inside, there was only a white ring on the ground, which was obviously the jail, and the flag on its small pole.
"I'm gonna hide the flag." Jen declared. "Then I'll guard it." She walked out of the tent.
"Great, so who's gonna be the jail guard?"
"I'll do it." Mary volunteered.
"So Ruth, Luke and I will be the ones out in the field?"
"Heck, yeah!" Ruth pumped her fists in the air. "We're gonna get that flag and win this thing no sweat!!
"That's easy for you to say." Tim said.
"Don't worry, I have a plan…"
In the castle…
The Directors will checking out the interior of their castle, which was mainly empty except for torches (still burning) lining the walls, numerous spiral staircases leading up and down throughout the castle, and in the main room on the top floor was a massive gilded throne with a red cushioned seat. On the seat was the gray flag.
"Not bad."
"So, where can we hide this thing?" Daniel said as he picked up the flag.
"Well, if it's gray, it blends in with the rest of the castle." Jeremy said. "So anywhere where it's hardest to spot."
"And, preferably, somewhere that's hard to reach." Mark added.
"I think I know just the place." Daniel said. "Hey, Josh. Come here."
Josh walked over to Daniel, who then started whispering in his ear. When he was done, he stood up and said clearly, "Got it?"
"Yeah."
"Then go." He handed him the flag, and Josh walked off.
"So Josh will guard the flag, who wants to guard the jail?" Violet asked.
"I'll do it, eh." John volunteered.
"Good. So John and Josh are the two guards, and the rest of us will go out and try to get their flag."
"This is gonna be so cool!" Rachael said excitedly. "I've always loved Capture-the-Flag!"
A few minutes later, they heard Chris's amplified voice. "Castmates, it's time for the challenge to begin! So take your positions, because the task starts…NOW!"
"Let's do this!" Ruth declared on the forest side.
"Let's roll!" Daniel encouraged the Directors.
Ruth and her team sneaked as quietly as they could through the trees.
"You know, I'm actually glad that Napoleon isn't here anymore." Ruth commented softly. "He was the weakest one here, and he'd probably be making a lot of noise right now. Typical of scrawny geeks like him."
Tim and Luke didn't answer, but only looked at each other nervously.
Make-Up Confessional
Luke: Maybe Napol-er, I mean, Isaiah, was weak and all, but he doesn't deserve to be talked down like that. Especially since he was the first voted off! You've gotta give the guy a break.
Tim: I have a feeling that Ruth was referring to us when she said that. I mean, she acts like we're not even there!
End
Daniel peeked out from behind the castle wall. Looking over the drawbridge and at the "forest" surrounding them. Nothing.
"All clear. Let's move!"
He slowly walked over the creaky wooden drawbridge, with Jeremy and Mark behind him. They slowly walked off to the left, and into the "forest".
A few moments later, Rachael and Violet, their own little field team, walked into the woods the opposite direction.
"OK, so Chris said that their flag, as well as their tent, is green, right?" Violet asked Rachael.
"Yes."
"So they're both gonna blend in with the environment. So keep a sharp eye out, it'll be easy to miss."
"Yeah." Rachael nodded, then asked, "How big do you think these woods are?"
"I don't know, but they seem pretty large."
"So we're basically looking for a needle in a haystack."
"More or less. Just be on the lookout, not just for the flag and the tent, but for enemies."
"Right."
Meanwhile…
The lone castmate walked quietly through the territory, scanning the surroundings.
Come on. That flag has to be around here somewhere! Geez, these things really do blend in with the environment. But even a field of one single color has its points that really stick out. If I can just find that flag…Aha!
The castmate found the flag, hidden in a high up and very hard to reach place.
Perfect! The castmate snatched the flag down, and carried it under their arm. There are several places here where the colors are different from the general color. If I can just find one…
Eventually, the castmate found just what they were looking for. Sticking the flag in a place where its color stood out like a sore thumb, the castmate grinned again. This will be good. Now, hopefully, my plan will go unspoiled.
As the castmate walked away, they couldn't stop contemplating how easy the plan could've been.
I could never have taken it back across the boundary myself. I could've easily been tagged. This way, hopefully, someone else on the Producers, preferably, Ruth, will find it easily, and be able to take it back to the Producers base. That girl is much faster, and could easily make it without being caught. Then the Producers will win, the Directors would never know how it was moved, and my plan will finally work!!!
The castmate grinned a sinister grin.
Back in the forest, Daniel and his team were nearing the hidden tent. Finally, Jeremy noticed the massive, green tent.
"Hey!" He whispered to Mark and Daniel. "There it is!" He pointed at the tent.
At first, it was hard to see, but then Daniel and Mark could clearly see the green tent.
"Wow. That thing was pretty cleverly hidden." Daniel admitted.
"Yeah." Mark agreed. "The flag's probably in there. Let's go check it out."
The three teens carefully sneaked over to the front of the tent, and peeked inside. They only saw Mary sitting in a corner, near a ring of white, which appeared to be the jail. There was no one else, and no flag.
"Darn it. Not here." Daniel whispered after moving away.
"YAAAA!!!!!" Someone yelled.
"Huh?"
"WHAT?!"
Suddenly, Jeremy was pushed over, and fell to the ground. Mark and Daniel turned and saw that Jen had appeared and tagged him.
"AUGH! Run!" Daniel yelled.
He and Mark made a run for it, with Jen following close behind. Jeremy miserably walked into the tent.
Daniel and Mark quickly brushed past all the fake trees, running as fast as they could in the direction they imagined the castle was. Jen was still right on their heels.
"FASTER! Come on, you weakling! Run faster!"
"What do you think I'm doing!?!?!?"
"Can't you run faster!?"
Jen was slowly getting closer. Daniel, fearing that he would be tagged, made a hasty decision.
Mark could feel a hand grab the back of his shirt.
"Hey! What are you…?!?!"
Mark was suddenly thrown pulled back and slowed down. "WHOA!!!" He stumbled backwards, and was thrust forward when Jen tagged him.
"DARN YOU, DANIEL!!!!" He cursed, then turned and walked back to the Producers tent. As he sat down in the jail next to Jeremy, he cursed. "That darn Daniel."
"What'd he do?"
"He totally betrayed me! Grabbed the back of my shirt and threw me back a distraction for Jen!"
"Wow. That's pretty low."
Since Jen had been slowed down and was farther behind, Daniel easily lost her in the "forest". When he looked back and saw that she was gone, he stopped and put his hands on his knees. He found a large rock at the base of a "tree" and sat down.
"Phew! That was close. Good thing that little runt was light and easy to throw…huh?"
He noticed a something sticking out of the branches of the fake tree standing above him.
"Is that…" He reached for it and pulled it down. "IT IS!"
It was the Psycho Producers flag.
"Yes!" He then quickly looked in the surrounding area to take notes. To see if there was any distinct feature that would make this particular area recognizable. He instantly took note of the large rock that sat at the base of the fake tree, as well as the fact that the "tree" was the only one in a fairly large clearing, the nearest other tree being nearly seven feet away.
"Perfect!"
He then turned and ran back towards the castle, flag in hand.
Meanwhile…
Luke, Tim, and Ruth were standing before the massive castle, staring up at it.
"Pretty big." Tim commented.
"Yeah, but not nearly as big as our forest." Ruth replied. "This'll be a cinch. Let's go."
Ruth walked over the drawbridge and, after a moment of hesitation, Luke and Tim followed her in.
The castle's interior was dark and cold. Every now and then, the three of them could hear the sound of dripping water.
"How will we ever find it in here?" Luke whispered.
"Yeah. Chris said that it was gray, and if it's the same exact shade of gray as the rest of this place, it'd be like trying to find a particular drop of gray paint in a ten-gallon container of gray paint."
"Will you please remain optimistic about this?" Ruth hissed. "We don't need a second loss in a row here! Just look harder."
Meanwhile, John was still sitting by the jail, waiting for something to happen, when he heard the sound of hushed voices and footsteps.
Assuming it was members of the opposing team, he quickly hid behind a column, then slowly peeked out.
Sure enough, it was three of the Psycho Producers, sneaking through the halls. He then noticed that Ruth was one of them.
Their best player, eh? He thought. She'll never see this coming.
He slowly sneaked around the other side of the pillar, now behind them as they approached a staircase.
Silent as a cat, he raced up and tagged all three of them.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"No!"
"YES! Ha, ha! I got you all good, eh!"
"Darn it!" Ruth growled as she, Tim, and Luke walked shamefully over to the jail.
John was quite proud of himself when he suddenly heard more footsteps. He turned around, expecting to see more enemies. But instead, they were his own teammates.
"Rachael! Violet! I just tagged all three of these guys!"
"Really?" Violet asked. "Nice work!"
"You know what this means." Rachael pointed out. "The only two left are the prison guard and the flag guard. Now their flag will be easy to catch!"
"Great!" John replied. "But just one more thing, eh: Where are Daniel, Mark, and Jeremy? They should be back by now."
The girls shrugged, but moments after, they all heard the sound of someone yelling.
John resumed with guarding the prisoners while Rachael and Violet raced out of the castle. They looked into the woods, and, after a moment, saw a figure racing through the "trees". The figure then emerged.
It was Daniel.
Carrying the flag.
"I've got it!" He cried. "I've got their flag!!"
"Come on!" Rachael said and motioned towards the castle. "Hurry up!"
"What do you think I'm doing?"
Suddenly, another person raced out of the woods, heading straight for the castle as well. It was Jen. She was also racing towards the spot that Daniel was heading to.
The jock never even saw her coming.
Jen reached the drawbridge first, and stood and waited for him. He looked up and saw her.
"Wh-whoa!!" He turned and ran back into the woods, Jen right on his heels.
"Oh no!" Violet said. "We were so close!"
"Come on! Let's go in there and help him out!" Rachael said. She and Violet raced after him.
During all of the confusion, a single member of the Producers who had not been tagged yet sneaked out of the "forest". The castmate looked to make sure that the four of them were definitely gone.
Check.
The castmate then slipped inside the castle.
A few minutes later…
Daniel and Violet both sat alongside Mark and Jeremy in the jail. It was quite a fast, exciting, and quick chase, which had resulted in Jen tagging Daniel, then Violet, and returning the flag. Only Rachael got away.
"This is just great!" the jock complained. "Only one member on our team left who's not a guard!"
"Hey, their team is practically the same." Mark commented.
"That's true." Jeremy agreed.
"Well, I guess you're right." Daniel said. "Besides, even if we lose, I have Invincibility."
The other three Producers rolled their eyes.
Make-Up Confessional
Mark: What a jerk. First he sacrifices me to save himself, then cares only about the fact that he has Invincibility while we don't? Seriously! He's almost as egotistical as Chris!
Jeremy: Doesn't that guy think about anyone besides himself?
Violet: I can see why Jen doesn't like him.
End
"By the way," Violet added. "where's the jail guard?"
Mary sneaked through the damp and dark halls of the castle, her eyes darting everywhere, scanning the area. She occasionally stopped and turned around sharply, thinking she heard something, but it was nothing.
Suddenly, she actually did hear voices. She jumped behind a pillar, then leaned out to watch.
Rachael stumbled through the entrance to the castle. John ran up to her.
"Rachael! What happened, eh?"
"Violet and Daniel (pant, pant) both got (pant) tagged! I was the only one to get away!"
"Daniel was tagged, too? And he had the flag!"
"I know."
"Darn it!"
"But don't worry. Remember, Chris said that the flag cannot be moved to another spot. And I know where it is."
"You do?"
"Daniel told me and Violet. It's in a tree about thirty yards to the right of the castle entrance. That's if we were standing on the drawbridge looking out at the woods. Anyway, it's in a tree in a clearing of about seven feet. There's a huge rock at the base of its trunk. I'm gonna go find it. You keep guarding the prisoners, and go tell Josh the whole situation."
"OK, eh."
The two went their separate ways: John back into the castle, Rachael out and into the woods.
Oh, no! Mary thought worriedly. They know where the flag is?! Now it's only a matter of time! I have to hurry. Oh, I still can't believe I left my post for this!
She slowly sneaked through the halls, eventually stopping when she heard the whispers and voices of her teammates who had been caught. She doubled back and managed to sneak around the area of the jail, and up a flight of stairs. She slowly ascended.
Meanwhile…
Rachael sneaked through all of the fake trees in the fake forest, heading in the direction Daniel said the clearing was in. She eventually stopped and hid behind a bush. She looked out and saw the clearing, several yards ahead. She saw Jen sitting on the rock at the tree's base, and the flag sticking out of the tree's branches.
This is gonna be tough. She thought. She looked over at one of the trees, and got an idea.
Back at the castle…
Mary walked up several flights of stairs, climbing deeper and deeper into the castle. Eventually, she arrived at the top floor. She found herself in a huge hall, where the walls were lined with stone pillars. At the end of the hall was a massive window, which overlooked the forest below. The window was easily as tall as the entire floor itself, and probably eight feet across.
"Wow." Mary said quietly as she looked through the window. Then she turned and took in the rest of the hall's features. There was a long, red carpet stretching across the floor, from the window all the way to the opposite wall, where a throne sat. It was gilded, like the Gilded Chris Awards, and the seat and back of the chair had red cushions.
And sitting on the seat of the throne was the flag.
"Huh?" Mary couldn't believe her eyes. "The flag?"
She practically ran up to it and grabbed it.
"You've got to be kidding me! It was hidden in plain sight!"
She then clutched the flag close and looked around for any sign of enemies.
She had the whole room to herself.
"OK, then. Time to go!"
She raced down the stairs.
Back in the forest…
Jen cautiously approached the edge of the clearing, having heard the sound of a branch snapping. She looked into the trees.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
Meanwhile, Rachael sneaked around to the other side of the clearing and, as quietly as she could, tiptoed over to the tree that held the flag.
"Come on out of there! I heard you!"
"Oh, did you?"
Jen jumped and turned around to see Rachael, holding the flag.
"Sorry, but it's time for me to go!" She dashed into the woods.
"COME BACK HERE WITH THAT FLAG!!!!!" Jen screamed and gave chase.
Rachael was nearing the castle, flag in hand, Jen in pursuit.
Mary also ran down the stairs of the castle, eventually arriving at the bottom floor. As she ran, she didn't even think about the jail guard nearby.
John looked up at the sound of running, and saw that Mary had the flag.
"HEY!" He jumped up and ran after her.
"Oh, no!" Mary said as she realized that John was chasing her. She then ran faster than she had ever run before, straight towards the exit.
Rachael burst through the woods, the castle in plain sight. Jen was now a foot away from her, hand outstretched.
Rachael saw, as she approached the drawbridge, that Mary had their flag and was nearing the boundary.
"NO!!!!" She ran as fast as she could towards the drawbridge.
Mary also saw the same thing, and went even faster.
The two girls raced towards each other, each holding the other's flag. They were now only steps away from the boundary.
They both stepped over the line between the boundary. The moment they did, they both collapsed. John and Jen both looked disappointed.
At that moment, Chris walked up.
"Well, well, castmates. That was one heck of a climax, I must say!"
As the other castmates approached, Chris continued. "That looked like a close call, but the camera footage will reveal the answer!"
A cameraman walked up, wheeling over a monitor on a cart.
"This is the footage of that dramatic scene we just saw." Chris said as he pressed REWIND, then PLAY. All twelve of the castmates leaned in close as they watched the replay of the final moment. Chris then pressed STOP just before the two girls' feet touched down on the tip of the drawbridge. He hit ZOOM, and zoomed in on their feet. He then pressed SLO-MO. The two feet slowly came down on the ground, almost like they were in zero gravity.
But the first foot to come down, which touched a split second before the other was…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…Mary's foot.
"The Psycho Producers win!!!!" Chris declared.
There was an explosion of applause and cheers on the Producers' side. They all instantly picked up Mary on their shoulders and started chanting, "Mary! Mary! Mary!"
Chris shook his head and turned to the Directors. "Sorry, Flaming Directors, but you have lost. Report to the Theatre tonight. Someone is going home."
As the seven of them walked off, Daniel was giving Josh a hard time.
"Dude! Why didn't you chase after her when she took the flag?!"
"I didn't know that she had it!"
"What do you mean, 'You didn't know'?"
"Just that!"
"You were supposed to be guarding the flag! Didn't you keep your eye on it the whole time!??!"
"Yes…well, no. At the beginning, I admired the view, but for just a few moments, then I looked at it the whole time."
"But this makes no sense! You mean to tell me that she got the flag when she never even came up to where it was hidden!?"
"Where was it hidden?" Violet asked.
"On the roof." The jock replied. He then turned back to the karate kid. "Listen, you did a lousy job as flag guard if you let her get away with it, and you didn't even know!!!"
"But I didn't!!! I swear, no one come up onto that roof while I was up there!!"
"Oh, really? Hang on."
Daniel then ran from the rest of the Directors, and up to Mary. "Hey, you! Mary!"
"Yes?"
"Where did you find the flag when you took it?"
"Um, on the seat of the throne, in the throne room."
"WHAT???!?!!?!??!"
"Sorry, but that's where it was."
Daniel angrily marched back to the others, and was up in Josh's face. "She says that she found it in the throne room, on the throne; not on the roof!!!"
"What? But how can that be?" Josh asked.
"You mean to say that someone took the flag while Josh wasn't looking, and put it in a more obvious place so that they would find it more easily?" Rachael summarized.
"DARN IT!" Daniel roared. "I'll bet it was that person who sabotaged my paintball gun last week!! They've done it again!!!"
Daniel said this loud enough for the whole Film Lot to hear. As he yelled this, the castmate who had done this turned away, satisfied that their plan had worked this time.
Author's Note: Sorry this one took a little longer than usual. Fedora Kid had writer's block, and his Internet keeps crashing. So remember, Daniel and Rachael have Invincibility, which means that Mark, Jeremy, John, Violet, or Josh can be voted off.