Disclaimer: Fear Factor and Joe Rogan belongs to NBC. Anything and anyone
associated with LoTR belongs to Tolkien. I do not owe them. The stunt idea
is ine, except for the Balrog and orcs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Second day………..
The setting is in Mordor. The six are seen walking down a rocky terrain towards viewers. The sky is orange and pink with gray clouds.
Close up of half of Legolas looking serious:
Legolas' voice: I am so glad that I made it to the second round. When I was in that trough full of worms yesterday, I honestly didn't know how I was going to get through. But I made it and I'm proud of myself.
Close up of Farmer Maggot:
Farmer Maggot's voice: So we all made it to the second round. The first stunt, in my opinion, wasn't so difficult, partly because I'm a farmer and I'm used to worms. It's only a matter of time until we get eliminated. I am determined to stay on top and win the money.
Close up of Frodo:
Frodo's voice: That first stunt was very hard on me! I had almost quit as soon as those worms were on me, or even before that. But I guess I have Pippin and the rest to thank for helping me get through to this round. But this time, I am more focused and set in getting through the next two rounds without their help.
Close up of Gandalf:
Gandalf's voice: I am looking forward to what ever challenge we face next. I have proved to myself that I could make it through the first stunt. So if I make it through this next round, then that is all I need to motivate me to win the next round. I'm not so old after all.
Close up of Pippin:
Pippin's voice: All my life, people have been saying that I was the weak one, that I was the fool and the clumsy one. My biggest fear has always been making a fool out of and embarrassing myself because it has happened so many times. This time, that is not going to happen. Everybody hopes to win. I know I do.
Close up of Aragorn:
Aragorn's voice: What went through my mind as I lay in that trough was 'I have to get through this. I have to get through this', though I have to admit that I was a little afraid myself. I kept my mind focused from the start and I will keep it focused to the end. I am going to be strong and face whatever challenge is thrown at us today. I am going to emerge the victor.
The group comes to a stop in front of a huge cave, where Joe, wearing a black jacket, is leaning on the wall cross-armed.
He approaches the group to greet them, "Good evening. I'm glad you all made it to the second round. So did you all sleep well last night?"
"Yes, we did" was the general answer.
Joe eyes the contestants, "Good. I hope you all did after going through that first stunt!"
"That was intense!" Frodo shook his head.
Joe laughs, "As I am aware, you have faced many dangers on you journey to destroy the ring, is that right?"
Everybody nods, not quite sure what he is getting at.
Joe continues, "Well in today's stunts, you will be facing some of those dangers again."
Everybody continues to nod suspiciously.
"You won't be facing any dark lords or evil wizards." Joe explains.
"Then what are we going to face?" Aragorn asks with uncertainty.
"I am getting to that," Joe answers, "Today's stunt is called Dark Retriever. This is because you will have to go through this dark and perilous maze lit only by very few torches. You will go through this cave and retrieve three fear factor flags. (A/N: At this point the camera starts rolling. It is inside the cave showing where the flags are. There are five different places.) However, you must get through three obstacles. First, you must try to go through the main tunnel guarded by a couple of orcs (to the audience: these are really stunt people simulating real orcs, unarmed. Their job is to only scare these guys, not hurt them physically, so it's pretty much safe. But they don't know that). Second, you will come to a fork. Once you pass the yellow line indicating that you have arrived, the orcs will stop following you. One of the tunnels will lead to the Balrog's lair (camera shoots the image of a computer simulated Balrog) and the other to a vault, which you must dig through a pile of corps to retrieve a flag. (camera shows a pile of skeleton and dead bodies in a dark and cold room lit by two torches). Third, these two places will each have two openings along the wall enough to fit you in. One of these openings has a flag. You'll find your third flag in one of these openings. The four who retrieves three flags the fastest will immediately move on to the final round."
"Oh, boy." Argorn breathes out while shaking his head. Everybody's reactions are similar.
"This is suicide." Legolas whispered under his breath.
However, Joe isn't finished. "In this stunt, you will not take any weapons with you. If you do, you are eliminated."
Gandalf slaps his head, "Then how are we SUPPOSE to get through this stunt if we can't even defend ourselves?!" He asks frustratingly.
"Don't worry. You will be given the proper gears for protection. Trust me, this stunt is safe. Nobody gets intentionally hurt in my shows." Joe's reassuring had little effect on the six contestants. "There will also be crew members well-trained in your art of fighting to back you if you feel you are in trouble. All you need to do is call. However, they will be hidden from sight and will not accompany you all the way. Is this clear?"
Everybody nods reluctantly with crestfallen faces.
Joe walks over to a television screen, "I do warn you that it will be dark. However, we have infrared cameras that can help you guys see in the dark set up in various places so that everybody can watch each other when doing the stunt. Is everybody ready?"
Trying to be brave, everybody nods and shouted "Yeah!" Joe looks at each of them with a smirk of his own. "Alright! We have randomly selected who is to go first. Gandalf, you are lucky number one."
With a sigh, he steps forward. "Are you sure I cannot take this with me?" Gandalf asks with a frown on his face.
Joe shakes his head, "You don't need that. This is FEAR FACTOR. You're suppose to face your fears. You'll get it back after you finish." He takes his staff and hands it to a crewman.
After Gandalf is all geared up in a helmet, gloves and elbow pads, Joe escorts him to the opening leading to a dark and dimly lit tunnel.
"So, you think you'll win?" he asks Gandalf.
"I'll win. I'll win." He merely whispers. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
"Are we ready?"
"Ready!" Gandalf sets his eyes straight.
Joe sets his timer, "Alright! On you mark! Set! Go!"
As Gandalf sprinted into the tunnel, Joe turned the television on and Gandalf came into view. Everybody watches intensely.
[T.V. image]: Gandalf runs straight down the long tunnel for the first ten seconds and the flag can be seen ahead.
("Look! There's the flag! Go get it!" Pippin exclaims pointing, jumping up and down.)
Within five feet from the flag, the eight stunt orcs ran their way towards Gandalf and started to swarm all over him. They claw at him and holds the sleeves and the hem of his cloak to keep him from getting the flag. Gandalf fights the orcs by kicking them and shoving them with his elbows.
("He's free! Go! Go!" Aragorn urges.)
He sprints forward and grabs the flag. 1 minute and 48 seconds. He stops at the fork and the orcs stop behind a yellow line. Gandalf goes down the right tunnel.
("No! Go left!" Farmer Maggot yells.)
He enters a large room and stops in the middle looking for the second flag frantically. The computer generated Balrog suddenly hovers above him.
("Oh, no! Gandalf! Behind you! I can't look!" Frodo covers his face then peers through his fingers.) 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Gandalf falls down on his butt and stares with horrified wide eyes.
("Come on! Don't stop! Get up and grab the flag!" Joe yells, "Come on! It's right there!" Joe points to the top left corner of the screen.)
Gandalf rolls away as the almost frighteningly real Balrog sweeps down quickly towards him. He quickly gets up and starts to brace himself and looks around frantically for the flag. 3 minutes and 53 seconds. He finally spots the flag sitting on a short metal pole on one of the big boulders, dashes for it and grabs it.
("The second flag." Legolas breathes out intensely, eyes fixed on the screen.)
The two openings are shown on the far side of the cave. Gandalf almost reaches it but the Balrog blocks the way. Gandalf cries out and dashes for the exit.
("No! Get the third flag!" Frodo wails.)
As it turn out, he only seems to hesitate then with a loud cry, Gandalf dodges past the Balrog and into the first opening and emerges with the third flag. 5 minutes and 03 seconds.
("ALRIGHT!!" Frodo and Pippin jumps up and down embracing each other.)
Gandalf sprints towards the exit and came into full view of the group panting heavily.
Joe stops his timer, "5 minutes and 47 seconds! Good job! Gandalf, you were amazing!"
Still panting, Gandalf shoves his goggles up his forehead and replies, "It was so dark there! When I reached the yellow line, the orcs stopped following me and it puzzled me. Then I remember what you've said. So I must be at the fork. I just ran ahead anyways not knowing which way was left or right! Lo and behold, what do I come face to face with? I tell you. It was the most frightening experience of my life!"
"Gandalf, let me let you in on a little secret. That wasn't a real Balrog." Joe says in a low voice so that others cannot hear him.
At this point, Gandalf 's head shoots up but he is too exhausted to argue, "What!?!"
Joe laughs, "Good job anyways! Pippin, you're up next!"
Pippin slumps his body and rolls his eyes. He drags himself forward and the crewman helps him with his gears.
"So all I have to do is beat 5 minutes and 47 seconds?" Pippin asks as he puts his goggles in place.
"Yup. Are you ready?" Joe asks him.
Pippin nods. Joe starts the timer.
"On your mark! Set! Go!"
So off went Pippin into the darkness while the rest watched the screen intensely…………….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will Pippin make it and beat Gandalf?
What is Frodo's strategy?
Which two will walk away with nothing?
Find out in the next parts of this chapter.
What do you think so far? Good? Corny? Please R+R. Flames welcomed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Second day………..
The setting is in Mordor. The six are seen walking down a rocky terrain towards viewers. The sky is orange and pink with gray clouds.
Close up of half of Legolas looking serious:
Legolas' voice: I am so glad that I made it to the second round. When I was in that trough full of worms yesterday, I honestly didn't know how I was going to get through. But I made it and I'm proud of myself.
Close up of Farmer Maggot:
Farmer Maggot's voice: So we all made it to the second round. The first stunt, in my opinion, wasn't so difficult, partly because I'm a farmer and I'm used to worms. It's only a matter of time until we get eliminated. I am determined to stay on top and win the money.
Close up of Frodo:
Frodo's voice: That first stunt was very hard on me! I had almost quit as soon as those worms were on me, or even before that. But I guess I have Pippin and the rest to thank for helping me get through to this round. But this time, I am more focused and set in getting through the next two rounds without their help.
Close up of Gandalf:
Gandalf's voice: I am looking forward to what ever challenge we face next. I have proved to myself that I could make it through the first stunt. So if I make it through this next round, then that is all I need to motivate me to win the next round. I'm not so old after all.
Close up of Pippin:
Pippin's voice: All my life, people have been saying that I was the weak one, that I was the fool and the clumsy one. My biggest fear has always been making a fool out of and embarrassing myself because it has happened so many times. This time, that is not going to happen. Everybody hopes to win. I know I do.
Close up of Aragorn:
Aragorn's voice: What went through my mind as I lay in that trough was 'I have to get through this. I have to get through this', though I have to admit that I was a little afraid myself. I kept my mind focused from the start and I will keep it focused to the end. I am going to be strong and face whatever challenge is thrown at us today. I am going to emerge the victor.
The group comes to a stop in front of a huge cave, where Joe, wearing a black jacket, is leaning on the wall cross-armed.
He approaches the group to greet them, "Good evening. I'm glad you all made it to the second round. So did you all sleep well last night?"
"Yes, we did" was the general answer.
Joe eyes the contestants, "Good. I hope you all did after going through that first stunt!"
"That was intense!" Frodo shook his head.
Joe laughs, "As I am aware, you have faced many dangers on you journey to destroy the ring, is that right?"
Everybody nods, not quite sure what he is getting at.
Joe continues, "Well in today's stunts, you will be facing some of those dangers again."
Everybody continues to nod suspiciously.
"You won't be facing any dark lords or evil wizards." Joe explains.
"Then what are we going to face?" Aragorn asks with uncertainty.
"I am getting to that," Joe answers, "Today's stunt is called Dark Retriever. This is because you will have to go through this dark and perilous maze lit only by very few torches. You will go through this cave and retrieve three fear factor flags. (A/N: At this point the camera starts rolling. It is inside the cave showing where the flags are. There are five different places.) However, you must get through three obstacles. First, you must try to go through the main tunnel guarded by a couple of orcs (to the audience: these are really stunt people simulating real orcs, unarmed. Their job is to only scare these guys, not hurt them physically, so it's pretty much safe. But they don't know that). Second, you will come to a fork. Once you pass the yellow line indicating that you have arrived, the orcs will stop following you. One of the tunnels will lead to the Balrog's lair (camera shoots the image of a computer simulated Balrog) and the other to a vault, which you must dig through a pile of corps to retrieve a flag. (camera shows a pile of skeleton and dead bodies in a dark and cold room lit by two torches). Third, these two places will each have two openings along the wall enough to fit you in. One of these openings has a flag. You'll find your third flag in one of these openings. The four who retrieves three flags the fastest will immediately move on to the final round."
"Oh, boy." Argorn breathes out while shaking his head. Everybody's reactions are similar.
"This is suicide." Legolas whispered under his breath.
However, Joe isn't finished. "In this stunt, you will not take any weapons with you. If you do, you are eliminated."
Gandalf slaps his head, "Then how are we SUPPOSE to get through this stunt if we can't even defend ourselves?!" He asks frustratingly.
"Don't worry. You will be given the proper gears for protection. Trust me, this stunt is safe. Nobody gets intentionally hurt in my shows." Joe's reassuring had little effect on the six contestants. "There will also be crew members well-trained in your art of fighting to back you if you feel you are in trouble. All you need to do is call. However, they will be hidden from sight and will not accompany you all the way. Is this clear?"
Everybody nods reluctantly with crestfallen faces.
Joe walks over to a television screen, "I do warn you that it will be dark. However, we have infrared cameras that can help you guys see in the dark set up in various places so that everybody can watch each other when doing the stunt. Is everybody ready?"
Trying to be brave, everybody nods and shouted "Yeah!" Joe looks at each of them with a smirk of his own. "Alright! We have randomly selected who is to go first. Gandalf, you are lucky number one."
With a sigh, he steps forward. "Are you sure I cannot take this with me?" Gandalf asks with a frown on his face.
Joe shakes his head, "You don't need that. This is FEAR FACTOR. You're suppose to face your fears. You'll get it back after you finish." He takes his staff and hands it to a crewman.
After Gandalf is all geared up in a helmet, gloves and elbow pads, Joe escorts him to the opening leading to a dark and dimly lit tunnel.
"So, you think you'll win?" he asks Gandalf.
"I'll win. I'll win." He merely whispers. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
"Are we ready?"
"Ready!" Gandalf sets his eyes straight.
Joe sets his timer, "Alright! On you mark! Set! Go!"
As Gandalf sprinted into the tunnel, Joe turned the television on and Gandalf came into view. Everybody watches intensely.
[T.V. image]: Gandalf runs straight down the long tunnel for the first ten seconds and the flag can be seen ahead.
("Look! There's the flag! Go get it!" Pippin exclaims pointing, jumping up and down.)
Within five feet from the flag, the eight stunt orcs ran their way towards Gandalf and started to swarm all over him. They claw at him and holds the sleeves and the hem of his cloak to keep him from getting the flag. Gandalf fights the orcs by kicking them and shoving them with his elbows.
("He's free! Go! Go!" Aragorn urges.)
He sprints forward and grabs the flag. 1 minute and 48 seconds. He stops at the fork and the orcs stop behind a yellow line. Gandalf goes down the right tunnel.
("No! Go left!" Farmer Maggot yells.)
He enters a large room and stops in the middle looking for the second flag frantically. The computer generated Balrog suddenly hovers above him.
("Oh, no! Gandalf! Behind you! I can't look!" Frodo covers his face then peers through his fingers.) 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Gandalf falls down on his butt and stares with horrified wide eyes.
("Come on! Don't stop! Get up and grab the flag!" Joe yells, "Come on! It's right there!" Joe points to the top left corner of the screen.)
Gandalf rolls away as the almost frighteningly real Balrog sweeps down quickly towards him. He quickly gets up and starts to brace himself and looks around frantically for the flag. 3 minutes and 53 seconds. He finally spots the flag sitting on a short metal pole on one of the big boulders, dashes for it and grabs it.
("The second flag." Legolas breathes out intensely, eyes fixed on the screen.)
The two openings are shown on the far side of the cave. Gandalf almost reaches it but the Balrog blocks the way. Gandalf cries out and dashes for the exit.
("No! Get the third flag!" Frodo wails.)
As it turn out, he only seems to hesitate then with a loud cry, Gandalf dodges past the Balrog and into the first opening and emerges with the third flag. 5 minutes and 03 seconds.
("ALRIGHT!!" Frodo and Pippin jumps up and down embracing each other.)
Gandalf sprints towards the exit and came into full view of the group panting heavily.
Joe stops his timer, "5 minutes and 47 seconds! Good job! Gandalf, you were amazing!"
Still panting, Gandalf shoves his goggles up his forehead and replies, "It was so dark there! When I reached the yellow line, the orcs stopped following me and it puzzled me. Then I remember what you've said. So I must be at the fork. I just ran ahead anyways not knowing which way was left or right! Lo and behold, what do I come face to face with? I tell you. It was the most frightening experience of my life!"
"Gandalf, let me let you in on a little secret. That wasn't a real Balrog." Joe says in a low voice so that others cannot hear him.
At this point, Gandalf 's head shoots up but he is too exhausted to argue, "What!?!"
Joe laughs, "Good job anyways! Pippin, you're up next!"
Pippin slumps his body and rolls his eyes. He drags himself forward and the crewman helps him with his gears.
"So all I have to do is beat 5 minutes and 47 seconds?" Pippin asks as he puts his goggles in place.
"Yup. Are you ready?" Joe asks him.
Pippin nods. Joe starts the timer.
"On your mark! Set! Go!"
So off went Pippin into the darkness while the rest watched the screen intensely…………….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will Pippin make it and beat Gandalf?
What is Frodo's strategy?
Which two will walk away with nothing?
Find out in the next parts of this chapter.
What do you think so far? Good? Corny? Please R+R. Flames welcomed.