"Now," says Kirk, "the glory goes to the fastest and the strongest, so let's get to know our teams a little better. On the Red Jaguars, we have Randi. How old are you?"
"Thirteen," replies Randi.
"And you write short stories but your friends call you weird," reads Kirk. "Do you have some strange ideas for stories?"
"No, actually it has nothing to do with that," answers Randi. "I like to fish with my dad, they think that's just too much of a boy thing."
"And your partner here is Raymundo," says Kirk. "And how old are you?"
"Twelve," replies Raymundo.
"And you like to play basketball, but you're really into LEGOs," reads Kirk. "Tell me about that."
"I've been collecting them and playing with them since I was what, two or three," Raymundo explains. "I've got all these cool playsets I keep collecting and I've built a big enough thing to cover the whole floor in my room."
"And your favorite playset?" asks Kirk.
"Anything Bionicle-based," answers Raymundo.
"I think we've got a good team here, but we're about to find out," says Kirk. "Let's hear it for the Red Jaguars!" The audience applauds for a moment. "And on the Orange Iguanas, we have… uh… Aminah. And how old are you?"
"Thirteen," Aminah replies.
"And you're into hip-hop— Ludacris, Akon, Jay-Z— and you also study tae kwon do," Kirk reads. "What color belt do you have?"
"I've almost won a red belt," says Aminah. "I've been studying for a little more than two years now. And this is my partner, Wild Will."
"Hmm, Wild Will!" says Kirk. "And how old are ya?"
"Fourteen," William replies.
"And you're a big soccer player," says Kirk, reading his index card. "Tell me, what position do you play?"
"I switch between goalkeeper and offense," William explains. "Not sure which one I'm better in, though."
"Well you're gonna have to score some goals in these Temple Games," comments Kirk. "Let's hear it for the Orange Iguanas!" The audience applauds again.
"Why don't you go get ready for the Temple Games," Kirk says, "while I tell you guys what's gonna happen here. Now, in the Temple Games, these teams will be competing to win Pendants of Life. The winning team will need the Pendants to protect themselves from the dreaded Temple Guards when they go to Olmec's Temple. There are three Temple Games, and Olmec… tell us about Temple Game #1."
Olmec begins:
"Joan of Arc had to put on a suit of armor before she rode out into battle. However, it seems she had misplaced the parts of her extra suits of armor… and you'll have to go retrieve them. When Kirk gives the signal, crawl from one cube to the next to retrieve the first part of the suit of armor, then crawl back with it and place it in your bin. Then go back to retrieve the next part. Along the way you must avoid the swinging obstacles.
"The first player to retrieve all four parts of their suit of armor— or the one that's gathered the most pieces of armor after 60 seconds— wins."
The camera fades to Kirk. "Time to suit up," he says. "Let's put 60 seconds on the clock. On your mark, get set, GO!"
Raymundo and "Wild Will" both take off at a good pace, and grab the swords of their respective suits of armor and also making it back with them at almost the exact same time. On the second time up, however, Raymundo slows down a little to avoid being hit by the obstacles. Unfortunately, this instead makes him an easier target and he gets hit by a sandbag on his way to get the breastplates.
William grabs the breastplates for his suit of armor and returns with them as Raymundo goes back to get his second piece of armor. Both get to the boots for their respective suits of armor, but William brings back the helmet before Raymundo can lay hands on his, ending the Temple Game with 7 seconds left.
"Okay, time's up!" announces Kirk. "Not time's up, that's it. Orange Iguanas got all four suits of armor in time. Orange Iguanas win a half Pendant of Life!" The audience applauds for a moment. "Red Jaguars can catch up in the next game, cause it's worth a half Pendant. Olmec, tell us about it."
Olmec continues:
"France and England had been at war for almost a hundred years before Joan of Arc stepped in. Here you must face off in a much shorter war. A giant boulder rest between your territories, and soon a second one will be brought into play. When Kirk gives the signal, push the boulders back and forth to knock over your opponent's city markers while defending your own. Remember, you may not cross the boundary between the two territories.
"The first player to knock over all five of her opponent's city markers— or the player that knocks over the most in 90 seconds— wins."
"This… means… war," comments Kirk. "Let's put 90 seconds on the clock. Ready, get set, GO!"
Randi and Aminah are more or less evenly matched. Each one takes a number of unique shots at the other's markers, and both slip a few times and fail to push the boulders back at the opponent. Having the second boulder roll in after 30 seconds did help, however— it was in the last 45 or 50 seconds that all the scoring took place. After a little while the ceiling lights flash to put an end to the second Temple Game.
"That's it!" shouts Kirk. "It looks like Aminah knocked down one, but Randi knocked down two. Red Jaguars get the half Pendant of Life!" The audience applauds again. "So it's all tied up, a half Pendant apiece, but this next game is worth a full Pendant. Olmec, tell us about it."
Olmec narrates:
"In the war, England took over many cities in France. Before you is a wall with four targets representing four of the captured cities: Gascony, Aquitaine, Rouen, and Orléans. In this game you are going to win these cities back. When Kirk gives the signal, load the slingshot and fire a cannonball, which your partner will catch and stick on the first target. Once you've covered a target, reclaiming the city, your partner will climb up and you can aim for the next one.
"The team to reclaim all four of their cities first— or the team who's furthest along in 60 seconds— wins."
"This one's for the Temple!" Kirk says. "Let's put 60 seconds on the clock. Ready, aim, FIRE!"
Randi and Aminah have terrible aim at first— the cannonballs even fall right out of the slingshots several times. Raymundo finally catches one after about 15 seconds, but it take Aminah a little longer to fire one that William can catch to place on Gascony.
Raymundo covers up Aquitaine, and then gets Rouen another 15 seconds later. However, Randi has trouble firing to get the last target, allowing the Orange Iguanas to catch up. William covers Aquitaine as the game draws to a close, but also gets past Rouen just before the ceiling lights flash.
"Time's up!" shouts Kirk, running over to decide a winner. "Red Jaguars got to Ruin, Orange Iguanas covered up to Rune. It's a tie— the teams both get the full Pendant!" The audience applauds. "So Red Jaguars and Orange Iguanas have a Pendant and a half each. We go to Sudden Death. Bring out the tiebreaker pedestals!"
The players run over to the tiebreaker pedestals and stand behind their gongs as directed by Kirk. "Okay, here's the tiebreaker rules. In a minute, Olmec is gonna ask you a question. If you think you know the answer, hit the gong in front of you. You'll have three seconds to answer and I must accept your first response. If you're right, you and your partner will be going to the Temple in search of the Cross of Joan of Arc. But if you're wrong or run out of time, your opponents automatically win. Olmec! What is your final question?"
Olmec asks:
"How was Joan of Arc executed: Was she Beheaded, Burned at the stake, or—?"
Orange Iguanas ring in, and Aminah guesses: "Beheaded…?"
"That… is… WRONG!" replies Olmec. "Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. The Red Jaguars win." Randi hugs Raymundo, and then the two high-five each other.
"It was a close one— a real close one— but Olmec's made his decision!" comments Kirk. "The Red Jaguars are goin' to the Temple! Would you've gotten that one right?" He holds his microphone out for the Red Jaguars to answer.
"No," Raymundo and Randi reply in unison.
"And as for the Orange Iguanas, they gave it a gallant effort too. They won't be going away empty-handed, here's what we've got for them." William and Aminah will each be receiving a Regent sports package worth about $100.
Topic: Rediscovery EP: The Holy Crucifix of Joan of Arc (Read 1879 times)