[After such a long journey from Royal Woods to Juniper City,Lincoln and Zara have finally arrived at Clarintess's lair. But now they were currently on a ledge platform leading to the lair's entrance, with them running up a series of platforms. From a Guard Post above the two, one of the members of Clarintess's Camo army thought it saw something].
Camo Warrior: :Huh?[But when it looked at where Lincoln and Zara were, they were gone. Not seeing them, the Camo and its fellow guard returned to keep an eye out for wannabe intruders. Down below the guard post, Lincoln and Zara were hiding underneath a Pagoda resembling Clarintess. ].
Zara:Look,I know I promised that I would lead you right to Clarintess's front door,but the back door seems a little more practical.
[Lincoln was impressed with Zara's skills ].
Lincoln:I gotta say, Zara, you really are a Magician of your Word. [Lincoln then put his hand out to give her something. Once Zara saw what it was that Lincoln was offering her, she recoiled a bit in disgust at what she saw in his hand.]
Zara:A chewed-up peach pit?
[Seeing that Zara did not understand the significance of the gift that he was offering her, Lincoln chose to explain it to her].
Lincoln: One from Master Takanuva's peach tree of heavenly wisdom. [Zara still looks utterly confused by what Lincoln said just now].Eh,it is a Royal Woods thing. [He then continues explaining the significance of the Peach Pit to her].It is supposed to remind me that every pit holds the promise of a mighty tree. [Zara looks touched by this explanation]. Likely it will do the same for you.
Zara: Are you sure you wanna do this?[Lincoln goes and removes the cover to their entrance into Clarintess's Temple Lair].
Lincoln: As a wise Spiritual Leader once said, how may one kick butt,if one does not seek a butt to kick?
[Zara just gives him a blank expression, clearly unimpressed by his latest attempt to give wisdom before she gives him an amused smile ].
Zara: You are a real piece of work, you know that?[She then heads into the secret entrance with Lincoln following close behind her].
Lincoln: Thank you. Wait, was that a compliment or an insult?
Zara: Yes.
[With that, Lincoln and Zara continued making their way into Clarintess's lair, determined to find and stop her for good].
[Meanwhile, in the city far below the Temple far below them, there were the Louds,Pendas,Lavender and Nexo who finally arrived in the city after such a long journey. Currently they were standing in the middle of a street, taking in all the sights that left them in shock and amazement, w].
Pablo:Whoa.
Lavender: This might be harder than I thought.
[Meanwhile, a citizen was standing on the very top of a ladder, placing Candles in a window when suddenly the ladder shook a bit, causing them to Cry out in shock and fear of the worse that could happen. Then suddenly the ladder came down with the Bunnelby holding on for dear life. It turned out that Paul had grabbed the ladder and lowered it so that the citizen could make eye contact with Nexo showing him a hologram of Lincoln [with an Unhappy looking Jack] from the, "all-new Dragon Warrior Table" opening ceremony].
Lynn Sr:Have you seen our son?
[After a couple of seconds, the Citizen shook his head to say, "No". This answer displeased them as he turned and walked away while Paul put the ladder back where it was. Which caused the citizen to yelp in panic and worry again before feeling relieved that he was okay].
[Later,Nexo was showing the hologram to a random citizen who just responded by answering them saying].
Citizen: Sorry.
[Then they tried another citizen who answered them saying].
Citizen: Sorry.
[Next, they tried asking another citizen telling them].
Citizen:Nope.
[After that, they tried asking another citizen, but the answer they got was...].
Citizen:No.
[Next, they tried asking yet another citizen if they had seen their son/brother].
Flaaffy Citizen:Nah.
[They were getting desperate that someone in this huge city will have seen Lincoln at one point recently. Especially with the next citizen that Watchog and Ursaluna chose to ask].
Watchog:Tell us you have seen our son. [The next citizen they approached just so happened to the Friendly Pirate and boy duo. The very same ones who gave Lincoln and Zara a ride to Juniper Pirate at squawks, as if to say "No". This saddens the families, as they move on, hoping to get a bit of good news soon. Once they left,the boyasked from within the pirate's Pouch].
Boy:Wait,why are they leaving? You said yes.
[Moments later,Nexo draws everyone's attention to something he found.
Nexo:Hey,look. [What Nexo found was a patch of Lincoln's hair].Lincoln was here. [Watchog was amazed to see that Ursaluna was able to find a clue proving that their son had been here before].
Lisa:Amazing,Nexo,but how can you tell?
Nexo:Oh,well when you're a high-tech bot with multiple scanners you can know anything..Come may be more clues up ahead. [they all continues to walk down the street [Past a bunch of Wanted Lincoln Posters] keeping their eyes down to the ground to follow what he and Watchog hope was a trail that will lead them to Lincoln's location].
[Meanwhile, high above the city in Clarintess's Temple Lair, a Metal lid moves up from its place to reveal that underneath it is Lincoln. He takes a quick look around the area, and lets out a quiet gasp when he sees that in front of him is a sleeping and Snoring Camo. Then, Zara wiggled herself to look around the area where she and Lincoln found themselves. They see that the entire area is full to the brim with sleeping Camo, all over the place. Lincoln and Zara slowly and quietly climb out of the sewer hole passageway that they came from.
Then Zara turns to Lincoln to make the "Shushing" gesture, along with telling to "Shush". Lincoln nods in understanding with Zara. Then the two slowly make their way to the other side of the area while trying to avoid making any noise that could wake up the sleeping Camo. Lincoln sets the metal lid down on the ground as quietly as he can, but it makes a minor clank noise, which does not look to stir any of the sleeping Camo awake from their slumber.
But then Zara gasps when she hears the metal lid rolling towards the stairs. She and Lincoln slowly turn their head to see the metal lid rolling ever closer to the stairs. Before it finally stops at the very edge of the top step but then it nears closer to the edge of the stairway... before it goes over the edge and hits the steps with a CLANG! And then hits the next step with another CLANG! With every one of the stepsthat the Metal lid hits result in another CLANG! Thankfully, none of the Clang noises was enough to awaken of the Camo. Then Lincoln looks at Zara who just sighs in relief as she facepalms herself at their sheer dumb luck].
Zara:Why?
[Then suddenly, one of the still sleeping Camo rolls over and bumps into Zara, making her gasp in worry. Then she and Lincoln slowly make their way over to the other side of this Camo filled area. They Carefully maneuver themselves around the Sleeping Camo by jumping around them, before finally making it to the stairs, that they quietly jump to the top of.
Once they make it to the top of the Stairs, they high five each other. But do it too loudly, and freeze in fear that it will wake up the Sleeping Camo. Which thankfully does not happen, as the Camo keep sleeping oblivious to what is going on around them, with a Couple Camo coughing in their sleep. Then Lincoln and Zara went ahead to move into Clarintess's temple lair. Only for Zara's hair to end up brushing up against Lincoln's nose tickling him there. This caused Lincoln to start preparing himself to sneeze, but just before he can let out his sneeze, Zara goes and sticks her fingers up his nose, which while successful in preventing his sneeze this instead causes it to come out as flatulent gas with a pathetic little toot.
This is what finally causes all the Camo guards to instantly wake up and begin snarling at them. In less a moment,Lincoln and Zara take off running down the entrance hallway, with Clarintess's Camo army hot on their trail, chasing after them. As they keep running,Lincoln sees a lever and pushes it down, causing the front gate entrance doors to close behind them, cutting them off from Clarintess's Camo army, saving them. But their troubles were far from over, as they saw multiple spinning doors coming their way with tons of sharp edges around it.
Lincoln and Zara look at each other and nod, knowing just what to do. They take off running to the spinning doors, and jump into the air, just barely dodging the sharp spikes on them while screaming in the process, before landing on the ground unharmed.
But they do not have a ton of time to catch their breath, as they see more sharp and spikey doors coming their way. Knowing there is no other way, they take off running to the other side of the hallway, jumping through the openings in the sharp and spikey doors that are coming their way. Helping each other make it through them safe, and sound. With Zara even grabbing the staff and using it to toss Lincoln and herself through another door. But ends up tossing Lincoln too hard as he goes flying out the doorway, and down a set of Stairs into a Very Large Chamber room. He goes tumbling down the stairs, bouncing across the floor, before finally getting back on his feet and taking a stance and saying to himself].
Lincoln:That was close. [Then SuddenlyZara shouts to Lincoln from the top of the Stairs where she was standing after helping Lincoln through the door jumping hallway].
Zara:Look out![Lincoln hears Jingling Chains, before he looks up in time to see something falling towards him...].
Lincoln:Huh?[... But it was too late forLincoln to react in time. As moments later Lincoln found himself trapped inside a Steel Iron Cage. Zara runs to the Cage bound Lincoln].
Zara:Lincoln!
Lincoln:Stand back.
[Lincoln goes ahead to try and break the Cage with his sword, but to his surprise, his attack did not leave so much as a scratch on the Cage. Instead, it just makes cage glow and hum for a second before it died down. Then they hear footsteps approaching the room where they were. But Lincoln is more amazed by how durable and resistant this cage that he was in were].
Lincoln: Whoa!
[Zara becomes panicked knowing that Clarintess's Camo army will be here any second now].
Zara:They are coming!
[Lincoln also gets worried about what they will do if Clarintess's Camo army arrives and he is still not free of his Cage].
Lincoln:Hurry! Help me lift the cage!
[Zara tries to lift the Cage as Lincoln said, while he tries to do the same from the inside. And despite the difficulty of doing such a task, they manage to lift the Cage up multiple feet off the ground, before they give up dropping the cage back down, as Lincoln admits to Zara].
Lincoln: It is no use.
[Then Zara suggests an idea to Lincoln].
Zara: We gotta brace it with something.
[Lincoln thinks of something that could do the job that Zara just mentioned].
Lincoln:Here,use my Staff. [Lincoln hands the Staff of Wisdom over to Zara without a second thought, sliding it through the open space of the Cage Bars].All right,stand I go. [Lincoln goes ahead to try lifting the Cage up again, only to stop when he sees...].
Lincoln: Zara?[... Zara is just standing there, not doing anything, leaving him confused. Even more so when she slowly starts backing up away from him].Where are you taking my staff?[Then Lincoln sees a figure appearing from the Shadows, approaching Zara from the shadows. It was... Clarintess!].
Clarintess:Oh,I think you mean my staff. [Clarintess then takes the Staff of Wisdom right from Zara's hands].You gave it to Zara,and now Zara has given it to me. [Then Zara slinked backwards to stand in the shadows behind Clarintess, as she put her hood back on].
Clarintess: "Given to gain",yes,I believe,is how it works? You were right, was indeed an easy mark. [Zara stayed quiet, taking in all of Clarintess's cruel, completely apathetic, and downright abusive was in shock to learn that Clarintess used Zara as part of her scheme to steal his Staff of Wisdom that came from the Martial Pacifist that is Master Takanuva himself].
Lincoln: Zara...
[Not only that, but Lincoln felt incredibly hurt that she could have truly done this to him. But then she told him an unfortunate truth].
Zara:First rule of the streets: Never trust anyone.
[Hearing this causes Clarintess to chuckle evily].
Clarintess:[Chuckles],I taught her you thought my apprentice was your friend?
Lincoln: Apprentice? She is the one that took you in.
Clarintess:Best thing that ever happened to her.
[Clarintess went and flew around Zara as she began to regale her history with Zara who looked regretful of her actions feeling like a Guilt-Ridden Accomplice, due to having grown genuinely fond of Lincoln].You should have seen the little guttersnipe before I found her.
[Flashback to long ago, when Clarintess was lounging on her throne chair during a parade, going through the streets of Juniper City].
Clarintess:Mangy and half-starved. [The Citizens on the streets bow down to Clarintess as Clarintess's Camo army carry her through the streets of the town] Hanging out with those rejects from the Den of Thieves.
[Clarintess's Camo army continue carrying Clarintess's throne as she sees Zara as a young girl who was not bowing to her like everyone else. Han, who saw this despite bowing to Clarintess, gently yet sternly grabs Zara and forces her to get down and bow to their Ruler as he wanted to protect her who was taking over their city. But once Zara does bow, she looks up at Clarintess as she passes by.
Moments later, Han lifts his head slightly and then sees that Zara had disappeared. He saw that Zara had climbed to the near top of a nearby building. Before leaping to the top of the Background Fixtures of Clarintess's throne and then taking a piece from them.
But unfortunately for her, Clarintess just then happened to notice her before suddenly attacking Zara with her cape, causing Zara to freeze in place, before Clarintess lowered her down to place her before her, while also taking back what Zara tried to take from her.
Then She set Zara down in front of her and went ahead to eye her as if to judge her. And noticed that despite her intense glare directed towards the young girl, she still managed to show off an intense and confident glare showing that she had Nerves of Steel despite coming face to face with a merciless mob boss].
Clarintess: She had no potential. [With that Clarintess smirked as she handed Zara the very thing that she tried to steal. Zara then looked over at Han deciding to abandon him and the other thieves, before looking over at the reflection of herself in the fixture that Clarintess had given her, which marked the end of her life as a Street Urchin].
Clarintess: So,I took her in,I made her what she is today. [Indeed, Clarintess saw potential in Zara as a child for her thieving and pickpocketing skills and did decide to take her in as an apprentice rather than punish her.].Stand up straight.
Zara: Yes,my master. [Zara said promptly, trying to stay quiet [unless spoken too], cold, and militant instead of being the sassy, energetic comic relief girl she was before. All the while trying to suppress her guilt, she was feeling over betraying him and for aligning herself with a cruel Master to escape having to be a desperate thief since she was a child. Then Lincoln asked about something he had been wondering about].
Lincoln:So, you went through all this just to get me to give you the Staff of Wisdom? Why?
Clarintess:I, too, came from humble beginnings and dreamed of becoming something more,I wanted respect and power,and even though I already had the power,I wanted to be a master in Kung Fu.
Lincoln:Say what?
Clarintess:But I ended up turned away from every training hall I went to would say that my magic was a disgrace to kung fu,a mockery of the art, too forbidden, and that it went against their traditions so,I chose a different path. [Then Clarintess made her eyes Creepily glow blue before she turned into the same huge, ferocious looking Master Rio.]
Clarintess [Master Rio] I grew. [Then She turned into Master Warren].
Clarintess [Master Warren]: Then I excelled. [Next, Clarintess turned into Master Cole].
Clarintess [Master Cole]:And I got everything I had ever dreamed of ever.
Lincoln:Everything except Kung Fu.
[Suddenly without warning, Clarintess turned into Tremor Ton and roared right into Lincoln's face, startling him falling backwards in his cage.]
Clarintess [Tremor Ton]:Just because I can look like Tremor Ton does not mean I can fight like him.
[Then Clarintess turned back into her normal form as she continued lecturing Lincoln].
Clarintess: You see, Lincoln,Kung Fu may end up made possible by the body,but its secrets are in the spirit. [Then a group of Clarintess's Camo army walk into the room carrying Clarintess's throne].And now that I have access to the Spirit Realm...
Lincoln: You are gonna steal Tremor Ton's Kung Fu.
[Clarintess goes and perches herself on her throne].
Clarintess: His and those of every master villain that came before once I do,no one will dare underestimate me again.
Lincoln: You forgot about me.
[Then Lincoln began trying to break down the Cage doors with his sword. He was not going to let Clarintess steal Kung Fu from every Kung Fu Master and fuel her lust for power to take over the world. Only for Ambitious, but Lazy Clarintess to tell him as she chuckles to herself while sitting on her throne].
Clarintess:Do not bother, bars have incredibly old and enormously powerful magic enchanting would need at least ten Dragon Warriors to get through them. [She was sure that as a Trap Master, she would be keepingLincoln in there for a long time. But Lincoln was not going to give up, not by a long shot].
Lincoln:Then I will not go through them,I will go under them.
[With that Lincoln began using his sword to pound his way through the ground. Unfortunately, it works a little too well, as he makes a hole in the ground and falls right through it, landing right on his stomach. Which also gets the attention of a group of Clarintess's Camo army who were nearby. But Lincoln does not notice this at first, at least not until he recovers and takes a quick look at the area where he ended up.
Then he realized that the area he ended up in was full of battle ready Camo. While an annoyed Clarintess and worried Zara were watching the surprise turn of events from outside the cage where Lincoln was a moment ago. And Clarintess was feeling displeased with how Lincoln managed to escape.].
Clarintess:Well,that is frustrating for all sorts of reasons.