Chapter 11: A Battle To Gain One's Respect!
Sigh quickly used her scanner to locate where Lincoln and the others were, to which she she did after a few seconds, finding them by finding their heat signatures in the bar, alongside the many other slaves in there as well.
Sigh clumsily walk into the bar and immediately went to the counter.
"Hello, my fellow Exiles." Sigh said in her robotic voice.
"What the heck?" Milo said, spooked at this strange robot.
"Wait a minute," Sara said, taking a moment to inspect the new robot before she let out a gasp of surprise.
"Sigh, is that you?"
"Hello Sara. I am glad that you noticed me in this new form." The robot said as she let Sara embrace her.
"WHAT?!" Chris and Lincoln exclaimed in unison.
"No way!" Dan exclaimed in surprise.
"Amazing, you constructed this body yourself?" Bridgette asked.
"I did." The robotically bodied AI said. "It did take a few minutes though to make it and download myself into it."
"Yeah, it looks like it's going to come apart in some areas." Globgor said.
"Don't worry Globgor, I spent a few minutes to move around in my new body." Sigh said.
As the others at the counter began to express their awe at Sigh's newly manufactured limbs, Lincoln closed his eyes and began to go deep in thought before opening them back up as he began to think of a new plan for him and his buddies to figure out how to escape from Zing's forces as he looked around the room for any signs of the emperor's guards.
"It appears that Lincoln is troubled by something." Sigh said, looking at the boy with her monitor for eyes.
"You okay dude." Sinbad asked.
"Yeah it's just that everything we found out about Zing from the Majestic was surprising." He whispered.
"Yeah, I feel ya kid." Zoe whispered.
"How do we escape now?" Martin asked his comrades.
"Well, I have a plan, but I doubt that I'll work." Lincoln whispered, looking down.
Just then Phil flew up to the counter and spoke the downtrodden boy. "Even if it won't work, you won't know unless you try Lincoln."
"I don't know you guys, my plans have a tendency to fall apart." Lincoln admitted. "Whether because of I overlook something or because of my arrogance."
"Even so, you should try it out." Leggy said, blushing as she put a hand on Lincoln's shoulder.
"And even if you fail, we'll be right beside you to help you back up on your feet." Sigh said, putting a hand on his other shoulder.
Lincoln looked around and saw all the other prisoners staring at him with conviction in their eyes, smiles on their faces, and a readiness to follow with whatever plan he's got. From Topaz to the Rubies to the Zircons.
Cause after all, they were his family now.
Lincoln smiled at the prisoners comradery and loyalty. With a smile, he said to them. "Thanks everyone, knowing that you guys will help me is good to hear. Though I doubt she will."
Suddenly, the rest of the Exiles widen their eyes in shock and surprise.
"Lincoln, surely you don't mean..." Chris said, knowing who Lincoln was talking about.
"Yeah, I do." Lincoln said.
"What makes you think that she's going to help us?" Bridgette asked.
"She won't have much of a choice you guys." Lincoln replied getting up from his stool.
Lincoln about to walk out when Milo, Dan, Eclipsa and Globgor stopped him.
"Hold up, Linc." Milo said, putting a hand on Lincoln's shoulder. "I'm coming with you."
"And so are me and Eclipsa." Globgor said as he and his wife began to get up from their stools. "You know, just in case it gets violent with Jasper."
"So am I." Dan said, cracking his knuckles. "I'm eager for another shot at that big, orange lug." He then turns to Chris. "Chris, you stay here."
"Got it. Just don't get yourself killed okay, Dan?" Chris said, nodding his head.
Eclipsa then handed Meteora to Bridgette and Martin. "Can you guys watch over my daughter while we go with Lincoln?"
"Of course, you all be careful." Martin said to them, taking Eclipsa's Mewman/Monster daughter into his hands.
"Wait, I'm coming too!" Leggy exclaimed.
With that, the group of six walked out of the bar and headed towards the elevator.
"Everyone ready?" Lincoln asked them.
"Of course." Eclipsa said, readying her parasol as she channeled her magic to the tip.
"You know it." Globgor said, nodding her head.
"Do you even have to ask?" Dan said, sarcastically.
"Yes." Leggy said.
"I'm ready if you are." Milo said, giving him a thumbs up.
"Alright, let's do this." Lincoln said as he pressed the down button on the elevator which closed the door and made the elevator go down.
"I just hope that Jasper will listen to reason." Lincoln thought to himself as the elevator continued to descend down to the coliseum.
After a few minutes, the elevator finally made it to the dark outside of the stadium where the soldier they needed her assistance of was occupying.
Stopping at the door, Lincoln turns to the others.
"Okay, I need you guys to stay out here while I talk to Jasper." Lincoln said, shocking the rest of his group.
'What?! No!" Leggy said instantly.
"You're confronting her alone?" Dan asked. "I don't think so."
"Don't argue with me, you guys." Lincoln said before he calmly continued. "Look, if Jasper sees me with you guys. She won't listen to what I have to say."
"What makes you think that she'll listen to you now?" Globgor asked.
"Well, I have a little bit of her respect." Lincoln said.
"What if she attacks you?!" Eclipsa asked in concern.
"Then, I'll have no choice but to fight back." Lincoln replied as he opened the door. "I don't like to fight as you all clearly saw from that alien we fought, but if it comes to that, then I will fight. I'm more of a planner than a fighter." Lincoln then said before he turned to the door. "On Earth, I didn't stand up for myself against most of the people who messed with me, even those I cared about, which was one of the reasons why I'm here now. I'm being the doormat of Royal Woods, it's time I stand up for myself more." He stated sadly before he began to open the door. "Look, I just need you guys to trust me. Alright?"
The others thought about what the exiled Loud said before nodding knowing that they couldn't stop him now.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine you guys, just stay back until things get dangerous." Lincoln said before opening the door just enough for him to slide through as it slowly shut behind him.
"Good luck, Lincoln..." Leggy said.
As Lincoln began to walked down the hallway to a light where the center of the stadium was, he began to think to how he could defend himself against Jasper if she decides to attack him since she nearly killed him, Milo and his family, Dan, Chris and Roger when she first crossed paths with them before Eclipsa and Globgor joined in. They were just lucky to get out of that battle with their lives still intact!
"Okay Man With The Plan, how can I fight back against that orange muscular bully? She can easily kill me if I lose focus for even a second. There's also the helmet that she can use the magic from her gem that I have to worry about. So how can I get past that if she summons it?" Lincoln thought to himself, getting all paranoid as he continued to trek forward to the center of the coliseum before he closed his eyes and began to take slow calming breaths to calm his on edge nerves. "Okay, Lincoln. Now's not the time to get all paranoid! Especially when you're probably about to have the fight of your life!" He mentally scolded himself. "Okay, think about you have in your arsenal. The ability to heal," He stated as he thought back to when Jasper stabbed his shoulders with the axes on her helmet. "and apparently the ability to create huge, fiery projections of the human body depending on the situation... and they all must be based on my emotions!" He thought long and hard about as he thought back to when he saved the yellow Zircon from the Xenomorph queen's acidic laser beams. "If that's all I've got, I just hope it would be enough against a intelligent, super powered alien soldier with a lot of combat experience under her metaphorical belt."
"Well, no turning back now, Lincoln." He thought to himself as the boy still in his pajamas finally made to the center of the coliseum.
After covering his eyes to not get blinded by the coliseum's bright light for a few seconds, he finally looked around and saw Jasper with her back turned towards him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Holly Blue and Emerald and Foster was there as well, but he paid no mind to the two gems and Zing's general. Looking behind her, he saw to his surprise that the glitching Aquamarine and Eyeball there with her and they appeared to be talking to the quartz. Once Eyeball locked her single eye on the human, she glared at him with a pissed off look in her one eye.
"You have some nerve to bug us here after what you did to my Aqua, and turning the rest of my squad against me Lincoln Loud!" Eyeball stated as she gently placed the damaged Aquamarine behind her before marching up to the boy and grabbing him by his shirt collar roughly.
"I'm not here for you two backstabbing jerks, so you don't need to worry." Lincoln said calmly with seeping bits of anger, grabbing the red soldier's wrist before he managed to pry it off his collar with almost little effort before shoving Eyeball back a bit.
"Y-o-u h-a-v-e f-i-v-e s-e-c-o-n-d-s t-o s-t-a-t-e y-o-u-r b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s h-e-r-e b-e-f-o-r-e I h-a-v-e m-y G-e-m-i-n-i h-e-r-e k-i-c-k y-o-u o-u-t o-f h-e-r-e." Aquamarine managed to say despite being cracked and glitching out.
"I'm just here to talk to Jasper." Lincoln said, looking at the big quartz.
"Me?" Jasper said as she glared down at him with indifference. "What could a weak human like you possibly want to discuss with the likes of me?!"
"Look, I'm to cut to the chase here, Jasper." The boy said as he began to hate. "I know you don't like us and we're indifferent to you. I also know that you hate it here just as we much me and everyone else Zing abducted do."
"Your point, runt?" Jasper said bluntly, raising an eyebrow.
"My point is that I have a plan and it'll work if you're willing to work with us, then you, the other slaves and I will be able to escape together." Lincoln explained his reasoning for coming to the stadium. "So, what do you say? Are you gonna cooperate with me here?"
Jasper's answer was simple, straight and to the point.
"No."
"Really?" Lincoln said, letting out a sigh.
"Of course." Jasper explained. "I'm not interested with working with useless, weak lifeforms like you. It's just a waste of my valuable time."
"You heard her. Get lost!" Eyeball said, summoning her knife.
Lincoln ignored her, only looking at the quartz. "That I understand. But what about me specifically. Am I a waste of your time?"
"Yes." Jasper stated bluntly. "Your kind is one of my biggest wastes of time! Come up with a plan to escape that doesn't involve me."
"Well, that's a problem, cause all the plans I thought of have you in them. I know you don't care about me, but I consider you family."
"Family, huh?" Jasper said, crossing his arms. "Like all those times you've manipulated yours?" She said to spite him.
Instead of exploding with anger at being spited, Lincoln's left eye twitched a bit. "How do you know about that?"
"A holographic screen appeared here and interrupted our training." Jasper stated. "Getting back on topic, why do you even care about whether or not I'm in your plan?"
"Privacy, thy name is Lincoln." The boy thought to himself before he spoke his hand. "Because your cooperativeness is all that's preventing us (and by extension you) from getting out of here and also..." Lincoln said before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I can tell you want to get out of here as well."
'Yeah, well what if I don't want to leave?" Jasper said, beginning to get annoyed. "What do you say to that, runt?"
"I asked why would you want to stay here?" Lincoln asked.
"It's because it seems like this ship has thing that I've only know how to do since my creation." Jasper stated.
Lincoln instantly knew what she was talking about and began to get really annoyed. "Is that all your motivated by Jasper, fighting and beating whoever's in your path to a pulp?"
"It's all I know how to do, weakling. I've been doing that since I burst out of the Beta Kindergarten's cliff side. In a battle, you put not just your existence as your face your opponent on the line, but everything you know and stand for on the line and wipe each other out and spray the warzone with their remains during said confrontation as who you're facing does the same. Only the winner can revel in their own existence and the value of it upon being victorious." Jasper said, creeping the boy out a bit as her annoyance with Lincoln also reaching it's peak. "So why do you even care about the other slaves or me for that matter?"
"It's cause I care about them and surprisingly they're like family to me and also it's because they were also abducted by Zing just as we were not to long ago." Lincoln said, crossing his arms as he continued. "And if I didn't care, you would still be in that bubble that me and the others found you in when were on that rocket we woke up on!"
"So what, now I owe you or something?" Jasper asked, uncrossing her arms.
"Yeah, I think you do?" Lincoln said, also uncrossing his arms.
"Really, you think because I never asked for, I'm just going to obey you without question?" Jasper asked, glaring down at the little brat with an intense glare.
"Of course not. I'm just giving the option to listen to me. That's all!" Lincoln said, almost on the edge of blowing his top.
"Listen to you?! Just like how your Earth family listened to you before they banished you?" Jasper asked, just loving to rub the salt Lincoln's wound.
"At least you're from Earth like I am?" Lincoln taunted.
"At least I'm one the strongest beings from there?" Jasper taunted back.
"Strong but lonely?" Lincoln roasted.
"I don't need anyone else?!" Jasper said to him, though in her mind she was lying to herself.
"You try, but it never works out for you!" Lincoln said.
"At I'm not a manipulator like you runt!" Jasper stated. "I'm surprised that your fellow brats didn't do this to you sooner."
"At least, some of my manipulations have a justified reason." Lincoln said, his anger began to rise.
"Justified, more like selfish." Jasper pointed out.
"At least I have morals to do the right thing and people to fight for!" Lincoln said, glaring up at her. "Unlike you."
"Maybe, but that's because the gem that I was made for gave up her physical form a long time ago." Jasper stated, letting a sigh of sadness. "Why should I fight for the benefit of weaklings?"
"Cause it's basically the purpose of the strong, Jasper." Lincoln said, with a hopeful smile on his face. "They protect the weak."
"Maybe some lifeforms, but not me!" Jasper stated proudly. "I only served the powerful and nothing you say will change my mind on that!"
Lincoln has had enough at this point as he face turned red and steam spew out of his ears as he let a loud sigh of being totally done with Japer's elitism nonsense. "Ughhh! I only came down here because I need your help Jasper! So that we can go home together! I can tell that you don't deserve to be here!" Lincoln then marched up to her as he continued. "But I can also tell that your just like my jerkish sisters!" He insulted her.
"Don't you compare me to your brats for sisters, weakling!" Jasper demanded.
"You don't talk to her like that?" Eyeball jumped in.
"Why not?! You're just like the nine of them, but all rolled up into one big JERK!" Lincoln began to state why the Quartz reminded himself of his ex sisters. "Not willing to cooperate, not wanting to cooperate, selfish to god dang fault, thinking that just because you're strong makes you think that you can do anything, very hypocritical about your beliefs, willing to do whatever it took just get ahead of everyone else or make them do whatever you want, have high expectations that no one can reach, always wanting things your way and throwing a temper tantrum when they don't, and willing to beat up anyone if they even come to you for help!" Lincoln said, pointing his finger at the angry quartz. "You say you serve the powerful. But it's time you stopped lying to yourself, Jasper!"
"I'm not lying to myself!" Jasper said.
"I can tell that you are!" Lincoln stated. "You say that you don't need anyone but you do. You need someone who's strong and powerful. You need to serve someone powerful because you're strong physically but weak emotionally." Lincoln said, starting to irritate Jasper. "I can tell that you're not just upset that you're here!"
"What else do I have to be angry about besides you being here?!" Jasper asked, almost over the edge herself.
"You're upset that Pink Diamond lied to you!" Lincoln said, shocking her, Eyeball, Holly, Emerald and Aquamarine. "You're upset that your Diamond used your strength to her advantage in the war against both sides that served her and now that you know this, you're upset that you have no one else that's powerful left to serve and no war left to fight!"
"YOU NEVER MET HER!" Jasper shouted at him.
"And did you when you weren't fighting her forces?! Did you really meet and got to know her personally?!" Lincoln countered, making Jasper even angrier as she growled a bit before she looked away. "How hypocritical, you also say that you love to fight, and I'm giving you that opportunity!" He finished, his anger beginning to overflow at the last part. "ALL I'M ASKING IS THAT YOU WORK WITH US SO THAT WE CAN GO HOME TOGETHER!"
Jasper, having had enough of this weakling's pleads of assistance, grabs Lincoln by his shirt collar and slams him into the ground, creating a small crater, pinning him there. "Now you listen here, you pathetic weakling. You and your friends might be from the same planet as I am, but you are NOT my Diamond!" She stated, jabbing a finger into his forehead. "And I am not going to take orders from a bunch of weak, emotional, sappy, useless, WASTES OF SPACE!" She then let go of the boy's collar and let him stand up. "All the lifeforms, strong or weak, have a place to fulfill in this universe and they must know their place and do their functioning purpose, obediently to the end and without question. If they try to be anything other then what they are, they deserve to be punished for their disobedience." She then look down at Lincoln as she continued to say her cutting words. "And that's exactly what's happening to you runt. You're out here because it's what you deserve! You tried to be anything other than what you were to your "family" of weaklings and now you're paying the price for it." She pointed his forehead. "After all runt, We all only get what we deserve. So If you think you're hard enough to tell me or any of these other gems what to do," Jasper then began to walk away from the Loud. "Then fight me or any of us by yourself and prove your worth and what you've brought to the battlegrounds!"
"So what you're saying is: "Let's kill each other to fulfill our purpose in the universe, not have a match?" R-Right?" Lincoln asked, slightly disturbed at Jasper's cutting ideology.
"If you want an answer... come at me!" Jasper said, a maliciously dangerous smile on her face as she stared at the boy with an equally dangerous, yet intense glare.
Though slightly creeped out, Lincoln got into a fighting stance regardless.
"Heh. Well then, why don't you throw the first punch!" Jasper said, surprisingly being a good sport.
"Begin!" Foster said as he waved his hand, signaling for the match to commence.
"Well, here it goes!" Lincoln concentrated as he felt the white, fiery aura flare up around his body as he manifested a huge skeletal arm on his left arm as he decked Jasper into the wall, causing her to skid into it and created a big fracture into the wall.
Jasper, now being excited at the prospect of Lincoln's strength, lunged towards the boy a punch, which he immediately jumped back when the orange soldier got close enough. Lincoln then managed to block a strong kick with his remaining arm when he manifested another arm just in time as his left arm was numb for the moment... only to be sent flying into the wall behind him, his back hitting it roughly.
Jasper then began to laugh cruelly as Lincoln slowly began to get up, and his healing factor began to kick in. "Is that you have, weakling?!"
"No..." Lincoln coughed out as his spine was healed up. "I'm just getting started!"
Lincoln then ran at the big soldier with his white aura flaring up all around his and vice versa as Jasper then summoned her helmet as she she immediately began to headbutt the brave boy into the dirt like the weakling he was. Lincoln was able able to slide beneath and between Jasper's legs, jump up and kick her with both of his legs as they manifested two huge armored, spiked up boots on the bottom of them, sending her flying into the coliseum doors, nearly opening them.
Lincoln fell to the ground, his healing factor began restore his legs to full strength. As the boy began to sit up slowly, he was immediately grabbed by Jasper and thrown into the ceiling, being implanted into it. As Lincoln tried to ignore the pain was currently in, Jasper used this opportunity to roll up into a ball and launch herself straight at him with the smile of a killer!
When Lincoln saw Jasper heading towards him at break neck speeds, his white aura manifested once again, this time into giant, skeletal ribs as Jasper slammed into it with the force equivalent to that of a train hitting him as the two went through the ceiling, making those below them watching to scatter in order to get out of the way of the falling rubble.
Sensing the fight from the outside due to the vibrations, Leggy knew what was happening.
"Lincoln's fighting Jasper, come on!' Leggy said as she pulled Milo and dragging him to the elevator.
But Dan grabbed a hold of them before they could enter the elevator. "Hold it you two! We can't help Lincoln against Jasper."
"Are you saying there's no way to help him?" Milo asked in shock.
"No. I'm saying we can help Lincoln, but he won't accept it." Dan explained. "Jasper clearly wants to fight Lincoln one-on-one and Lincoln's giving that to her. If we intervene now, it won't be fair to either of them."
"But don't you think we should intervene before Lincoln dies?!" Leggy asked, unable to believe what she is hearing.
"If Jasper wanted to kill him, she would've done it by now." Dan said as he crossed his arms at the ruby. "I know you want to help him Legs, and believe me, I want to blast that big orange jerk into pieces but it's not how we do things,"
"As I much as I hate to admit it, Dan has a good point." Globgor sadly said as he noticed Eclipsa wave around her parasol.
"We may not have to intervene but that doesn't mean that we can't watch the fight." Eclipsa then raised her parasol into the air and calmly focused herself as her spade cheek marks began to glow.
"I summon the all seeing eye, to tear a hole into the sky, reveal to me that which is hidden, unveil to me what is forbidden" The exiled queen chanted in a rather chilling tone as just then, the tip of the parasol conjured up a magic eyeball briefly before shooting a hole into a fabric of the room. Seeing through it, they saw that Lincoln and Jasper were going through floor after floor of the ship, heading towards...
Back at the bar, Chris was starting to get worried.
"They've been gone a really long time." His expression then turned to a frazzled one. "You guys don't think that they're fighting Jasper right now, do you?"
"I seriously hope not." Sara said, as she downed her drink.
"Even if they are, I'm sure Jasper's going easy on them." Phil said, downing his beer.
"Phil, you don't know what Jasper is capable of." Martin said.
"He's right." Bridgette said, playing with Meteora for a bit before handing her over to Sara. "She is incredibly strong and powerful, we would've gotten killed if Globgor hadn't stepped in."
Just then, the floor began to shake.
"What is that?!" Zoe said, getting nervous. "A cosmic storm?"
As if on cue, Jasper and Lincoln burst out the ground from the floors below with the quartz slamming Lincoln into the ceiling above everyone.
"What the hell!" exclaimed the blue muscular alien in shock.
"Lincoln is that?!" A orange one-eyed alien questioned, though mixing up his words.
"Holy crap!" Sinbad exclaimed as he watched the two fighters land back on the ground with the quartz landing on her feet and the white haired boy falling on his stomach with a nearby occupied table breaking his fall as the people sitting there ran out the way as he collapsed there in a heap of pain, the drinks and food spilling all over him.
Everyone in the bar surrounded the two as their fight started the Round 2 stage of it.
"Huh, I guess you were just all talk and no walk after all!" Jasper taunted as she marched towards her slowly getting up opponent.
Lincoln managed to get up despite his chest and ribs being fractured and cracked, the result of those injuries made his healing powers speed up a bit. He then wiped some of the food and drinks away from his face and off his shirt. "And yet... I'm still... getting up!"
"You won't be able to when I'm through with you." Jasper said as she raised her foot up in order squash the boy underneath her boot.
That was the chance Lincoln needed.
With a yell, Lincoln stuck his right arm out, only for Jasper to catch it. However, that is what Lincoln was planning on as he fired up his white aura and formed up a giant, skeletal one that managed to push his more experienced adversary into a bunch of other tables as everyone in her path quickly moved out of the way as she was pushed all the way to the other side of the bar!
As Lincoln struggled to keep Jasper pinned the wall and Jasper was trying to break free, the exiled child let out a yell of pain as he felt someone stab him in the back literally as Eyeball managed to blindside him since he was only focused on the Kindergarten Quartz That Could at the moment, causing the white aura he has to power down a bit.
Lincoln managed to grab a hold of the ruby's square afro and throw her over his shoulder and onto the ground.
As Jasper pushed back the hand that Lincoln conjured, Jasper glared at her recovering fan.
"Stay out of this runt!" Jasper demanded.
"Sorry, but it seemed that you were in trouble, Jasper. I couldn't just stand there." Eyeball said as she glared at Lincoln. "You're not hurting someone else I care about, so you'll take on me as well!" She said as she summoned her knife.
Before she could do anything else, she felt her armed hand being grabbed roughly and thrown into a bunch of tables, their contents spilling all over her.
Looking up, she saw that Jasper was the one who threw her, as told through her frustrated expression of having to rely on others for assistance.
"Jasper?" Eyeball said with a look of betrayal in her eye.
"I don't recall asking for your assistance Ruby!" Jasper said glaring down at the low ranked gem with an intense glare, sending shivers down her spine. "This is my fight to battle! ALONE! Intervene again and I'll pulverize you as well! Got it?!"
The Ruby nodded fearfully as she wiped away some food off her form.
However, Jasper scolding Eyeball was the chance Lincoln needed as his healing factor sealed up the bleeding wound on his back before he manifested a second arm to go with his other one as he tried to punch Jasper, or at the very least keep her away from him.
He managed to do the latter for the next seven minutes as Jasper blocked or dodged all of his futile attempts at "attacking" her as he began to breathe heavily. exhaustion began to take his toll on the young boy.
"Damn, Lincoln looks like he's having a really tough time." Zoe pointed out as she peek out from behind the counter as she took note of Lincoln's condition.
"It's no use!" Eyeball thought as she watched the boy's futile struggle against her brutal idol in glee. "No matter what Lincoln does, he's just not able to cope with Jasper's strength, speed, tactics, and and millennia of combat experience! Why doesn't he just yield already and save himself what little dignity he has left?!"
Looking out of the corner of his eye, Lincoln saw Sara, Bridgette, and Martin looking at him with concern.
"I know you guys want to help me with this, but I don't want your help!" Lincoln said.
"Why not?" Sara asked in shock as she couldn't believe what she was hearing from him.
"Jasper is my fight, if you intervene now, it'll just make things worse." Lincoln said before turning back to Jasper.
"You heard him, just stay back and watch!" Jasper demanded as she blocked Lincoln's arm before she instantly dodged the other one by jumping back.
"Why you-" Sara said as she attempted to charge at Jasper only for her parents to hold her back.
Jasper paid no attention at the attempt to blindside as she completely shattered one of Lincoln's skeletal arms with a devastating punch before batting his other one away like a sheet of glass before she spin dashed at her inexperienced opponent.
Lincoln, knowing he couldn't block this attack in time, decided to jump out of the way... only for his right leg to take the full brunt of Jasper's spin dash, completely it in two the kneecap included.
Lincoln let out a scream of pain as his regenerative factor slowly kicked in and began to heal his broken leg before noticed Jasper coming back around at a fast speed. Knowing that he couldn't guard against the brute's attack in time, he focused his energy into his legs and they were armored up once more as he took a mighty leap into the air, saving himself from getting run over by the big bully.
Speaking of Jasper, she unrolled herself from her ball form as she turned around and glared at Lincoln as he landed back down on his two feet.
"Are you going to just evade me or are you going to fight me seriously?!" She said as she glared at Lincoln, who was breathing heavily and sweat was dripping down his face.
Sadly, at long last, exhaustion finally caught up with the little Loud as he collapsed to his hands and his numb knees and his white aura completely vanished off of his body.
"Oh no!" Lincoln thought himself as he struggled to get up, only to be roughly kicked in the ribs by his stronger opponent and was sent flying through the ceiling with Jasper going up after him.
"Lincoln!" Sara said as she struggled to go after the two, only for her parents to continue holding her back.
"Stop Sara, there's nothing we can do!" Bridgette said, struggling to hold her daughter back.
"Lincoln's vitals are dropping at an alarming rate. He will be in trouble if he doesn't finish this soon." Sigh said in a robotic, but worried tone.
"I wonder if the slaves are attempting to escape." Foster said as he sat down in the throne room, pacing around the room.
"I doubt they can because we have the technological advantage." Zing replied, pointing at the button in his general's hand before pointing at his scepter. "Also, we have our benefactor just in that they do actually escape."
Before the emperor and the general, they suddenly felt the floor shake below them as suddenly it burst open as Lincoln was shot out of it as he slammed onto the ground in front of the two of them and the imprisoned Roger.
"Lincoln?!" Roger said in shock.
"What happened to you?!" Zing asked as Lincoln began to slowly get up because of the pain he was currently in.
"It's as I told you, sire." Foster reminded him. "He's fighting Jasper."
Just then, Jasper jumped out of the hole, creating a crater upon landing on her feet.
"Just give up weakling!" Jasper demanded. "Just accept that you can't beat me and know your place!"
"No... I can still... FIGHT!" Lincoln declared as he began to charge at Jasper with everything he has.
He threw a punch with his right arm with the all of his remaining strength into it...
Only for the Kindergarten Quartz That Could to catch it.
"You know that's not good enough!" Jasper deadpanned to him as she slowly began to crush the bones in Lincoln's hand, causing him to let out a scream of pain as he was then punched in the stomach roughly before he was then pounded into the face by both of Jasper's fists as she laid a brutal beat-down on the poor kid for four minutes straight.
When she was done, she dropped Lincoln onto the ground and began to walk away. However...
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Jasper turned around and was shocked and surprised that Lincoln still had the strength to stand up... albeit barely.
"Persistent little brat!" Jasper thought to herself as she glared at her not yielding opponent.
"We're not... done... yet!" Lincoln said despite barely being able to see.
Jasper, wanting this to be over with decided to end this. She jumped and implanted herself into the ceiling before she began to spin dash.
"You want me to show you everything, I have?!" Jasper said as she charged straight at him with her her arms back! "Fine, I'll kill you where you stand!"
Lincoln stood his ground despite his injuries as he then shouted back to her. "C'mon! Let's end this now!"
When Jasper got close enough, she punched Lincoln straight through his chest and midsection with her left arm, her arm being covered in blood as it exited through his back.
As Lincoln's vision became blurry due to the fast rate blood loss and swollen black eyes that he still has, he slowly began to pass out as many different thoughts ran through his mind.
"No! This can't be how it ends!..."
"I feel like I'm passing out..."
"Am I going to die?!…"
"Is this the end of the Man With The Plan?..."
"I'm sorry Clyde!..."
"I'm sorry Ronnie Anne!..."
"I'm sorry Bobby..."
I'm sorry Pop-Pop!..."
"I'm sorry Lily..."
"I'm sorry Zach, Liam, and Rusty!"
"Milo..."
"Sara..."
"Mr. and Mrs. Murphy..."
"Dan..."
"S.I.G.H..."
"Chris!..."
"Eclipsa..."
"Globgor..."
"Meteora..."
"Roger..."
"I'm sorry everyone!..."
"I failed all of you!..."
Inside Lincoln's mind, all he saw was complete and utter darkness.
"Huh, where am I?" Lincoln said as he then noticed the massive hole in his chest.
"Oh right, I forgot about this." Lincoln commented before he then began to panic. "Wait, do tell me that I'm-"
Lincoln was then interrupted by a new yet familiar voice.
"Calm down Lincoln, you're not dead... you can't really die now anyway."
Startled, Lincoln turned around and was surprised by what or rather who he saw...
Who was standing behind him was another version of himself only completely made of white energy.
"What the?" Lincoln began to say before he corrected himself. "Another version of me? Who are you? A clone or something?"
"Clone sounds a bit creepy. I think I'm more of a computerized replica-"
"Like a hologram?" Lincoln interrupted.
"Well yes, but instead of a computer bringing me to life, it was that cosmic storm that gave you your powers and me this form that looks like you." The other version of Lincoln stated.
"Okay, so the cosmic from before created you... into another version of me." Lincoln stated as he tried to process this new information. "Man, this day just keeps on getting weirder."
"Looks like that way, yes." The duplicate of the Loud male said.
"Wait, so what do you mean I can't die?" Lincoln asked. "Am I immortal now or something?"
"Pretty much. I'm every power you have based on your thoughts and emotions. Whatever you want, as long as it's in the vain of surviving the situation, you'll be able to use. So you have the powers of survivability. You're capable of pretty much anything." The energy version of Lincoln stated.
"Does my help others, like heal them if they hurt or something?" Lincoln asked.
"Of course." The double confirmed.
"Cool..." The real Lincoln said before asking. "Wait, so does this mean that Milo or Dan has another version of themselves in their minds too?"
"I don't know, you'll to ask them that yourself." The white Lincoln said before cutting to the chase. "I'll cut straight to the chase here Lincoln. Do you want to help you defeat Jasper?"
"Of course, but I don't see how you can. She's really strong and has more experienced than anyone that I know? I bet Lynn can't take her!" Lincoln said as he began to hyperventilate.
"Stay calm Lincoln. There is a way to defeat someone who is more experienced in combat." His mirror version of himself stated as he he gently grabbed his shoulders.
"Cry and beg for mercy?" Lincoln asked as he breathed slowly.
"No. Use different tactics to outsmart your opponent." Lincoln's double said. "Be unpredictable."
"How unpredictable can I get?" Lincoln asked.
"Well, I have one idea but you'll have to give your honest opinion and agree to it before we do it." Lincoln 2 said as he spoke seriously.
"What?" The OG Lincoln Loud asked.
"I merge with you, giving you full control of our powers, and as a bonus, I'll give you some instructions here and there in case you need them. But..." Lincoln's white energized self trailed off.
"But what?" Lincoln curiously asked.
"You'll have to start training your body in order to have the stamina to use them to their fullest potential." Lincoln the 2nd finally finished.
"I don't know... me and exercise have a rather... complicated relationship." Lincoln said as he shuttered at a particular memory.
"Yeah, I know. I've seen your memories... but you have to do it. You want to protect those you have now, don't you?" He said, referring to the Exiles.
"Of course I do! But I'm a planner, not a fighter." Lincoln clarified.
"Well, it's time you start to workout." Lincoln's double said before sticking out his hand. "So, what do you say Lincoln? Merge with me and you'll be able to save the Exiles and go back to Earth?"
Lincoln thought about this for a few minutes as silence overtook the mindscape. While he though it was awesome that was now immortal, he thought able all the people he loved and that he was going to miss when they inevitably grow old and died of old age.
Then again, when those who sent him into space eventually die, he'll dance on their graves for their crime...
Well except for one!
After taking the time to think it over, he came a decision.
"Okay, I'll do it. Let's merge!" He confirmed, grabbing the other Lincoln's hand in a determined grip.
When the two Lincoln's joined hands, a flash of white light lid up the mindscape for a few seconds. When it dissipated, the Lincoln made of light completely vanished...
Or so Lincoln thought as he heard a new voice in his head.
"You ready OG." the voice in his head said.
"Yeah, I am." Lincoln said.
"Then open your eyes Lincoln, and let's finish this." He instructed his real fleshy self did just that...
As the two Lincolns were having their discussion in his mind which seemed to have took minutes if not hours, back in the real world, mere seconds passed as Jasper pulled the impaled and injured Loud off her attacking arm.
'How stupid you were to go up against me!" She stated as she held the seemingly dead Lincoln in front of her face... only for the near corpse of the boy to open his eyes as his body started to glow in his signature white aura before sending his bigger opponent flying backwards with it.
"What!" Jasper said in brief shock before she brushed it off as she came to a stop before she then growled in anticipation. "Impossible! Not a single could be able to survive my brutal hits! Especially that last one!" She then gave a malicious yet satisfied grin. "Alright runt, I'll be able to say that I'm starting to get impressed with you. This could be rather fun."
Lincoln blocked out Jasper said as his body began to heal itself of his wounds, this time really fast, starting with the hole through him before reconstructing his broken hand.
"That healing factor is starting to get annoying! I'll just have continuously punch him so that'll it'll overwork that stupid healing factor of his... If it can be overwork!" The quartz thought to herself as she continued to look in awe at her resurrecting opponent.
As Lincoln was healing himself, something else unexpectedly occurred for him.
As his healing began to slow down as he was almost healed up, some strange armor like the one's he used to attack his opponents or protect his friends began to cover his entire body from his head to his feet.
'How stupid you were to go up against me!" She stated as she held the seemingly dead Lincoln in front of her face... only for the near corpse of the boy to open his eyes as his body started to glow in his signature white aura before sending his bigger opponent flying backwards with it.
Taking a moment to look at his new form, all Lincoln say was.
"Well, this is new!"
He then looked at Jasper and got into a fighting stance.
"Okay, Jasper... So I've seen that you like close combat, do ya?" Lincoln said as he made the first move by charging at her as Jasper did the same as she threw a punch at him to which he instinctively ducked under before tackling her with surprisingly little strength back down through the hole they created as they began Round 3.
"Lincoln's vitals have miraculously stabilized and it appears that he's engaging Jasper once again." Sigh said as Chris and the others gathered around her.
Just then, the two combatants landed back into the bar in a explosion which blew everyone back.
When the dust settled, Jasper kicked Lincoln into a concrete support beam.
"Head to head, just how all battles should be fought!" Jasper said as she charged at him with her spin dash attack.
Lincoln quickly manifested a long skeletal arm and used it as a swing as he used his momentum to swing around the beam 10 times before launching himself straight into the big soldier, who blocked his armored kick before attempting to punch him with barrage of them... only to dodge every single time.
But that's what Jasper wanted Lincoln to do.
While the Loud was dodging Jasper's punches, he thought he was avoiding the danger of the experienced soldier, but it was about fall apart beneath him.
With one final punch to the ground, Jasper managed to shatter the entire floor of the bar with everyone that was in there to fall down along with the two fighters.
As everyone continued to fall down, Lincoln began to panic in his mind.
"Oh no, everyone's falling! I want to save them, but I don't know how?! What do I do?!"
"Calm down Lincoln, just keep calm and the power you need will manifest through you." The cosmic powered Lincoln instructed.
Listening to his cosmic self, Lincoln calmed down and began to take deep breaths.
Just then he disappeared in a flash and appeared behind Zoe and Sinbad.
"Quick, grab on! Both of you!" Lincoln commanded as the comedian and shapeshifter did what he said with hesitation.
Focusing himself on the task at hand, Lincoln began to flash from one falling bystander to another as Phil assisted him in rescuing some of the others that he was to weak to carry on his own.
A few seconds later, the two landed everyone safely on the ground of the stadium as Lincoln reappeared in a flash, carrying everyone he had as Phil carried as many as he could... which was like 10 people at best, as Jasper landed with a thud!
"Is everyone al-" Lincoln said before being cut off as Jasper punched him in the chest, sending him skidding across the arena... to which he came to a stop almost immediately.
Looking up at her, he was glad the armor protected him.
"Stop trying to help the rest of these weak slaves and fight me!" Jasper demanded as she grabbed a hold of the boy.
"No way, their lives matter just as much as my own!" Lincoln said as he tried to break out of the brute's grip.
Jasper headbutted Lincoln in his helmet, which rattled him but didn't do any damage to his head whatsoever.
"That's why you're weak!' Jasper commented as she attempted to headbutt her puny opponent once more, only for Lincoln to grabbed onto the front of her helmet and surprising the both of them as well as everyone else in arena, he managed to hold it back. Jasper shook off her surprise and continued. "You may have beaten me before, but you've never beaten me on your own! You always had your "friends" to help you! That's what a weakling does! Not me! I'd rather be shattered than rely on others! You're weak and you'll always be we-Ahh!"
Jasper was cut off as Lincoln (who managed to block out everything that the quartz was saying) headbutted her in face which broke her visor due to how much strength he used... which was rather little of it, nearly cracked her gem, and caused her to drop him onto the ground.
"Wow, this armor be really durable huh?" Lincoln to himself before looking at Jasper with a glare of his own.
"Shut. Up!" Lincoln said, getting back on his feet.
"If I annoy that much than shu-Ahh!" Jasper began to say before begin punched backwards as debris from the bar began to fall all around them and the slaves ran for their lives as the two continued to pound each other all over the place.
"Wish I had a weapon." Lincoln thought to himself.
His wish was granted as a harpoon gun with a big harpoon in it manifested in his hands. Noticing that Jasper was getting back up, he pulled the trigger.
It shot out a big harpoon at Jasper, who managed to catch it before four managed to shoot out at her. Jasper then twirled the harpoon she was holding to deflect the barrage of sticks used for hunting whales for the next five minutes. All while Jasper was smiling at the potential the kid was showing and that she was actually being given a challenge at her full might.
"It's time to finished this." Lincoln whispered to himself as he focused his mind.
As Jasper continued to deflect the barrage of harpoons and even break most of them, she then noticed Lincoln's aura swirl around in a massive pillar of white energy.
Having deflected/broken the barrage of harpoons, she gasped in shock as well as excitement at what she saw.
Lincoln was in a massive upper body of his new armor and it had a crossbow the size of the arena's width aimed straight at her
And Lincoln was the spear!
"I've got no way to dodge this in time! Well, if this is the runt's final move then by all means..." Jasper then got into her fighting stance as she gave a surprisingly non malicious but rather challenging grin. "BRING IT ON, WEAKLING!"
Lincoln then reared himself back as far as he could...
"Ready..." He said.
Jasper rolled herself back up into her ball form.
"Aim..." She said.
Everyone around them immediately ran towards the doors as Lincoln and Jasper launch themselves at each other.
"FIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The two said in unison as Lincoln fired himself at superhuman speeds as Jasper comet charged straight towards him with her arms back.
"Everyone hit the deck, now!" Sara exclaimed as everyone hit the dirt quickly.
As Lincoln was launched straight into his opponent, everything around them was like in slow motion as some of the things Jasper said earlier echoed in his mind.
"Why do you even care about whether or not I'm in your plan?"
"Your kind is one of my biggest wastes of time!
"All the lifeforms, strong or weak, have a place to fulfill in this universe and they must know their place and do their functioning purpose, obediently to the end and without question. If they try to be anything other then what they are, they deserve to be punished for their disobedience."
"In a battle, you put not just your existence as your face your opponent on the line, but everything you know and stand for on the line and wipe each other out and spray the warzone with their remains during said confrontation as who you're facing does the same."
"Only the winner can revel in their own existence and the value of it upon being victorious."
"You are NOT my Diamond!"
"You're out here because it's what you deserve!"
"After all runt, We all only get what we deserve!"
"If you think you're hard enough to tell me or any of these other gems what to do,"
"Then fight me or any of us by yourself and prove your worth and what you've brought to the battlegrounds!"
"If you want an answer... come at me!"
"You want me to show you everything I have?! Fine, I'll kill you where you stand!"
"It may a gem's way to stay stuck in their ways, it's not mine!" Lincoln said as he readied his right leg for a kick. "So if you think futile to fight you then don't just stand there and take it!"
"Not my style!" Jasper commented as she was almost about to collide with the boy with her helmet.
"I'll change the way you gems view us humans as well as the rest of all organic lifeforms in the universe for good!" Lincoln declared as his kick finally made contact with Jasper's visor broken helmet and the two clashed in a white light.
"AFTER WE GO BACK TO EARTH TOGETHER!" Lincoln screamed as he was engulfed in a white light.
Jasper said nothing but grinned as she too vanished in the white light.
The force of the collision caused an explosion so powerful that it nearly caused the ship to be destroyed in the process.
In the process of the ship shaking caused Foster to fall all the way down into the stadium as the dust began to settle.
Everyone was shocked at what they saw.
Lincoln was impaled through the chest by the axes on Jasper's helmet and his right leg was torn off his body and onto the floor. Speaking of Jasper, she had multiple scratches all over her form and on one knee.
"What a fool. The brat almost had me worried there! There's no one in the universe that can defeat Jasper in one on one combat. But I'll give credit where credit is due Lincoln. It was one heck of a show you gave us!" Eyeball thought to herself.
"Sorry runt, but this is reality. This match is over." Jasper said as she got up and then attempted to pull Lincoln off her helmet.
However...
Lincoln opened his eyes and grabbed on the axes of Jasper's helmet and spoke to her.
"You're right about one thing Jasper," Lincoln said with determination in his voice. "This match is over because I'VE GOT YOU!"
With a very mighty and determined yell, Lincoln launched his left leg up towards the soldier's face with so much force that not only did it cleaved its way all through Jasper's head but also it also kicked her helmet into the air but most importantly...
Lincoln kicked her gem cleaned off her face, as well as cracking it in the process!
Without her gem on her face, Jasper exploded in a orange cloud of dust which blew Lincoln back. Luckily, Dan and Globgor managed to catch him before he hit the ground.
"I think you got her, Lincoln." Dan commented everyone's feelings on the intense match.
Lincoln said nothing but nodded as his healing factor kicked in as it regenerated his leg as well as the the wounds in his chest before walking over to the group of gems as Eyeball picked up Jasper's gem.
"You... d-destabilized... Jasper?!" Eyeball asked in shock.
"Yeah, and I did it all by myself. Just like Jasper wanted." Lincoln said before continuing. "And in the process, I proved my worth to all of you."
Eyeball then glared at him briefly before smirking. "I guess you have, but that changes nothing between you, me and my Aquamarine, I hope you remember that Lincoln!"
"I do, but Holly, what about you and Emerald?" Lincoln asked the two.
"Well, I'm rather impressed with how you defeated that Quartz, Lincoln." Emerald said. "You let her wound you so that you can get close enough to finish her. Impressive tactic for someone of your kind."
"I am also impressed!" Holly said. "You showed that chunk of Earth who was the shinier of you two. On top of that, she was a high ranking gem that you've managed to defeat. Goo for you."
Just then the two then got one knee and bowed to him.
"We will serve you if you'll let us, my Diamond!" The two elite gems declared their servitude to the boy in unison.
"Oh, um, thank you?" Lincoln said, a little embarrassed and surprised at this turn of events.
Lincoln then turn back to Eyeball who had her back turned towards him as she was still holding Jasper's gem in her hands before he decided to walk over to her.
Eyeball heard his footsteps and rather then turn around and face her enemy, she summoned her weapon and pointed it at him in a threatening manner.
"First you humiliate me and my Aqua with that stupid song, then you crack my kindred spirit's gem and now you've defeated my idol in front of everyone!" Eyeball said as a single tear ran down her face. "When will you're crusade against me end, human?!"
"It ends when you stop causing trouble for me and my friends, that's all I want." Lincoln said. "All me and my friends want is to go home and you and Aquamarine and Zing are getting in the way of that from happening. And for the record, you dullards got what you deserve when Aquamarine broke my heart when she chose you."
Eyeball remembered saying that before her fight with Lincoln began and growled at being called what Aquamarine calls most people.
Before he walked away, he said one last thing.
"So don't come whining to me with your gem supremacy nonsense. And stop trying to tell me that you can't forge your own path outside of what you were created to be. Everyone can. It's all a matter of finding that path and running down it. After all, it's not matter of destiny, it's a matter of making what you want to do a reality."
He then walked away as Eyeball looked out of the corner of her eye. Part of her wanted to attack the boy but knew she couldn't with everyone watching. So instead of lashing out right then and there, she just walked back to Aquamarine.
Foster smirked at the boy before declaring.
"The winner is... Lincoln Loud!"
The audience cheered as Dan hoisted Lincoln up on his shoulders as everyone gathered around them as Leggy feeling a bit inspired by Lincoln's bravery gave him a loving peck on his cheek, which lit him up like a Christmas tree as he looked at her in surprise.
"Consider that a congratulations for winning against Jasper." Leggy said shyly as she looked away from him blushing as well.
Lincoln felt time slow down around him as he touched the cheek that the ruby had kissed before smiling a little before looking away as well.
And so, the demonstration has been made. After being pushed to the breaking point in the biggest fight of his life to date by Jasper, Lincoln was able to reach within the deepest parts of his mind, unlock some of his hidden potential and get the win without the slightest difficulty.
But now that a place of the ship has been demolished during the fight, what will the other slaves go to now to talk about their problems without the surveillance of Emperor Zing being able to figure out?
When Jasper reforms, will she listen to Lincoln?
If she does, will they be escape from the Zing empire?
Speaking of Zing, who is his mysterious benefactor?
Find out next time on The Exiles!
AN: Whew, this was almost took me five days to write so I hope you all enjoyed it. Okay, I know you guys are going to hate me for this, but this story going to go on a brief hiatus so that I can write some new chapters for my other stories and maybe some one shots, but don't worry. I won't forget this story. I'm just taking just taking a break from it for a bit.
AN 2: This is the midseason finale.
This is the Reality Shredder and I'll see you all next time.