Crossroads Carnival/Transcript

(In the Monastery of Spinjitzu, Arin, Sora, and Riyu sleep. Suddenly, Lloyd bursts in.)
Lloyd: Rise and shine! Time to train!
Arin: What ... Not just a dream! It really is my first day of ninja training! Yes! Awesome! Maximum awesome!
Sora: It's the crack of dawn.
Lloyd: I know. I thought I'd let you sleep in for your first week. Meet me in the courtyard in ten minutes.
Sora: "Sleep in"?
(Arin and Riyu do push ups in the courtyard.)
Sora: (She yawns.) Why are we training way up here? We're becoming ninja to help people. Shouldn't we be around ... people? Y'know, like in the Crossroads?
Arin: You just wanna go to the Crossroads Carnival, don't you?
Sora: Well, duh. Don't you? We've never, ever missed one.
Arin: True. And I was determined to win the pie-baking contest this year. Grab-Barg wins every time. I've been perfecting my recipe all year. (He sighs.)
Sora: Let's ask Lloyd if we can go.
Lloyd: Go where?
Sora: The Crossroads Carnival, where everyone from the combined lands celebrates their traditions. There's a ton of food and games and a huge fireworks show by this fireworks genius named Dorama.
Arin: Plus, a pie-baking competition. It's super fun!
Lloyd: It does sound fun. But it also sounds like a distraction from something even more fun. Training!
Sora: What are we supposed to train on? There's nothing here!
Lloyd: Ah, to become a ninja, you must see potential where others do not. (He strikes the ground and the mechanisms begin to shift, but it gets stuck halfway.) What? This always worked when Master Wu did it! Oh, it's a whole big impressive reveal!
Sora: Sounds like your mechanisms haven't been maintained. When junk gets into gears, it can ruin everything. When did you last clean 'em?
Lloyd: I was supposed to be doing that? Uh, maybe if I — (He seemingly falls down, but reappears on structures rising from the ground.) The training course!
Arin: So cool!
Lloyd: One more thing! You must complete the course before I finish my tea. (He sips from a cup, but spits the tea out.) Oh, I burnt the tea. I didn’t even know that was possible! I can’t drink this. How do I time your performance now?
Sora: Why were you gonna time us with a hot beverage anyway?
Lloyd: I had the best teacher, my uncle. Master Wu. That’s how he did it. (He approaches a portrait of Wu.) As your teacher, I wanna do everything like he did. That’s why I come here and kneel on his favorite old meditation carpet, and ponder how to be just like him. It’s also why I grew this beard!
Arin: Beard?
Lloyd: You’re too far away to see it.
Sora: Still not seeing.
Lloyd: Even closer. Closer ... (He reveals a tiny hair on his chin.)
Arin: I guess I see something? Kinda?
Lloyd: Trust me, it’s there. Now train!
Sora: How is this training to be a ninja? I mean, when are we gonna have to run over some weird obstacle course in real life?
Lloyd: Oh it happens way more than you’d think. Get started. We should get in a hundred or so laps today.
Sora: Aww.
Arin: Alright!
----
(Arin and Sora tackle the training course.)
Lloyd: Keep going! Again! Sora, you must focus! (He pokes a dozing Sora with his staff.) Ninja must be awake at all times!
Sora: I'm up! I'm up.
Lloyd: Hmm. Without tea, I literally have no way of knowing if you did that fast enough. But I think this was a pretty good first day. Get some rest and we'll start again at dawn!
Sora: Oh. (She groans.)
Arin: Whoo!
(Back inside the monastery, Arin finishes up a fresh pie.)
Arin: Smells good, huh, buddy? Too bad no judge will ever taste it.
Sora: Do you think every day of training will be like this? I already need a break. What if we just ... sneak out to the carnival?
Arin: Of course I want to go. But we have a chance to train as ninja. And under the legendary Green Ninja! I don't wanna mess this up.
Sora: He'll never find out. We'll be back way before dawn. Plus, sneaking out will test our stealth skills. Even Lloyd would approve of that.
Arin: Uh, I don't know.
Sora: Mm. That sure smells like a first place pie to me.
Arin: It does, doesn't it? Okay. I'm in.
Sora: Sure, Riyu. You can come too. But a dragon in the Crossroads will attract a lot of attention, so you need a disguise. And I know just the thing!
----
(Arin and Sora walk through the streets with Riyu disguised as a dog.)
Arin: I'm not sure this shaggy dog costume will fool anyone.
Sora: It's carnival time. Everyone will be too distracted to look at him closely.
Arin: Welcome to the Crossroads Carnival, Riyu!
Munce: Come wield the traditional Munce hammer and test your strength!
Arin: Wow!
Sora: Sweet person-charming, Mikloshe!
Arin: Sora, look at that!
Geckle: Get your Moss-milk ice cones! Freshly cave-squeezed!
Lobbo: Come, everyone! Champion mech racer Lobbo buys for all! Lobbo lobbo!
Sora: Guess Lobbo's blowing through that prize money he won from the Mech Master 5000 race.
Arin: Look! Dorama's tent!
Dorama hologram: Don't miss tonight! My best fireworks show yet!
(They notice the dancing Security Bots nearby.)
Sora: Hey. Those are the pieces of our SA Mark 01! The junkyard crew must have salvaged the mech's wreckage and used it for their display. That stuff belongs to us!
Arin: I gotta go enter my pie. The deadline is, like, now!
(They rush to Alfonzo Frohicky's stall.)
Alfonzo: Arin and Sora! Oh, I knew I'd peep you scallywags before the deadline. You weren't gonna miss a shot at that bling, were you, Chef Arin?
Arin: This is my year, Mr. Frohicky. (Grab-Barg bumps him from behind.) Hey! Watch it!
Grab-Barg: Heh. Ready to come in second again, kid? Because your pie looks as mangy as your weird little dog.
(Nearby, Lobbo showers coins on passersby.)
Sora: Watch it, Grab-Barg. We're not ... huh?
(They watch as Whack Rats kidnap Lobbo.)
Lobbo: Alarm! Alarm! Is this the end of Lobbo? Lobbo lobbo! (He is taken away on a truck.)
Arin: I'm on it! Follow me! (He pursues them with his grappling hook.)
Sora: Follow? Follow how? (She and Riyu look towards the SA Mark 01.) Riyu, it would take hours to reassemble that thing. If we're going to help Lobbo, we have to ... (Riyu powers her up.) Whoa! Now, come on!
Female Hypnobrai: Wow. You see the best stuff at the carnival.
----
(Back at the monastery, Lloyd enters Arin and Sora's room.)
Lloyd: Arin? Sora? They snuck out? Oh, you've got to be kidding me! We never would have done this to Master Wu! (He hesitates.) That's a lie. We totally would have.
----
(The Whack Rats arrive at the Crossroads junkyard.)
Kreel: Ah, there you are, Lobbo. I hear you've been out spending my money.
Lobbo: No, Kreel. Lobbo has been spending Lobbo's money. Lobbo lobbo.
Kreel: I'd have won that race if that little dragon hadn't shown up, and you know it. That prize money belongs to me, so I'm going to take what's mine!
Arin: Oh no you're not! (He and Sora arrive before them.)
Kreel: Ha! Where have you two brats been? No one's see you since you ran off after that dragon.
Arin: Oh, thanks for asking! Some pretty amazing stuff has happened. We met —
Kreel: Yeah, stop. I don't actually care. But now that you're here, I can get back at everyone who ruined the race for me all at once. Get 'em!
(A fight breaks out. Sora tries to shake a Whack Rat off her vehicle.)
Sora: Ugh! Get off my ride!
Kreel: Ugh! Give me that money!
Lobbo: Lobbo defies you. Lobbo lobbo.
Arin: That was awesome, spinning them off like that!
Sora: Right? Just like we did on the obstacle course today! Wait, did I ... learn something from training?
Kreel: Ugh, you fools! None of this gets me closer to my precious Targle!
Arin: Hold up. What's a "precious Targle"?
Kreel: Not what. Who! My right-hand minion! He was taken by a mystery kidnapper demanding an enormous ransom! I was trying to get my money from Lobbo so I can save Targy. I have to get him back!
Sora: Since when do you care so much about your little henchmen?
Kreel: He's not a henchman! He's my ... only friend.
Sora: You have a friend? Come on.
Arin: Sora, if someone needs saving, we have to help.
Sora: Even if it's one of Kreel's goons?
Kreel: Minions.
Arin: Ninja help everyone. And we're ninja now. Well, kinda. How about this? We track down Targle, you let Lobbo go.
Sora: And stop trying to steal his money.
Kreel: My money. But fine. I need Targy back. Find him, and this weird little orb guy can is free to go about his weird little orb life.
Arin: Deal.
----
(At the Crossroads Carnival, Lloyd makes his way through the crowd.)
Lloyd: Excuse me. Have you seen two — wait! I'm looking for — Hold on! I haven't been around this many people in a while ... whoa! (He is knocked back into a tent.) Were people always that pushy? (He turns to see memorials of all the ninja.) Photos of us? (To two kids.) Excuse me. What is all this?
Boy: It's our neighborhood's way of remembering our great heroes, the ninja. They put this tent up every year.
Girl: Once upon a time, the ninja protected the whole city! And they had fun while doing it! Then they risked their lives to save people during the Merge. Now no one knows where they are. Some people think they're gone forever.
Boy: Nah, I think they'll be back someday. Ninja never quit, right?
Lloyd: The world has changed so much. I had no idea that we ... uh, that the ninjas were still remembered like this.
Boy: Of course they are! The ninja stand for hope. Who doesn't need hope?
Girl: You know, you kinda look like one of them.
Lloyd: Yeah. I ... I've been told I look a little like the Green Ninja.
Girl: Nah, you look more like their teacher, Master Wu. It's the beard.
----
(Arin and Sora walk along a dark street.)
Arin: You sure this is where Kreel said the ransom drop was supposed to be?
Sora: Yup. Start looking for clues.
(Riyu leaps onto a dumpster and squawks.)
Arin: What'd you find, Riyu? Hidden dumpster lever? Yeah, that counts as a clue.
Sora: (She pulls the lever, which starts the mechanisms easily.) See? That's how smoothly a mechanism can open when its gears are properly maintained.
Arin: Time for those stealth skills.
Sora: Told you sneaking out was good ninja practice.
----
(Lloyd continues his search at the carnival, bumping into more passersby.)
Lloyd: I'm never gonna find them. (He notices a scrap of fabric and picks it up.) Huh. Feels familiar. No. There's no way they'd be running around town with my meditation carpet. (He sees a trail of the same fabric.) They're running around town with my meditation carpet!
----
(Arin and Sora come upon an object in the spotlight.)
Sora: Definitely looks like a bad guy lair to me. Ugh. Smells like one too.
Arin: What was that?
(They uncover a tarp to find Whack Rats in a cage.)
Sora: They're drained or something. Why would anyone do this?
Dorama: (He enters dramatically.) For entertainment, of course!
Arin: Dorama? The fireworks guy? Everyone loves you! You can't be a villain.
Dorama: Do not typecast me! I can excel in the role of the heavy.
Sora: Look, I'll admit, that was a great entrance. But your whole thing of kidnapping Whack Rats for ransom ends right now!
Arin: Set them free, or we'll make you!
Dorama: Here in my theater, I call the shots!
(He summons an obstacle course with fire and swinging blades to attack the two.)
Sora: Okay, I'll admit it. Lloyd was right! There are times to use obstacle course training in real life.
Arin: Why Whack Rats, weirdo?
Dorama: To put on a better show! They have a unique energy, which I can extract and use to create incredibly vibrant, colorful fireworks! That's why my carnival finale is always so spectacular! (He draws energy from the Whack Rats and fires blasts at the two.)
Sora: You're draining these poor creatures just to make your fireworks display a little better?
Dorama: Of course! I may be the most celebrated entertainer in the Crossroads, but you've seen that carnival now. People from so many realms, bringing so much exotic spectacle. I will not be upstaged!
Arin: Sora! (To Dorama) But people love you already!
Dorama: And I intend to keep it that way.
Arin: It's over, Dorama!
Dorama: Oh, puh-lease! Do you honestly believe I wouldn't have an understudy waiting in the wings? (He reveals a giant marionette.)
Sora: Now that's just unnerving.
(The marionette attacks them and grabs Arin.)
Lloyd: Leave my student alone! (He does Spinjitzu and severs the marionette's strings.) This performance is cancelled.
Dorama: Correction, time for an encore.
Lloyd: This is like that nightmare I had.
Sora: It's a nightmare everyone's had. (She screams as the marionette grabs her.)
Arin: Sora! No!
Sora: I can't breathe!
(Arin transfers Spinjitzu onto Dorama's gramophone and strikes down the marionette with it.)
Lloyd: How did you do that?
Arin: I don't know!
Lloyd: You transferred Spinjitzu to an object.
Arin: Not making sense to me either!
(The marionette rises again.)
Lloyd: It has gears? Then I got this. (He sprays the scraps of carpet fabric into the marionette's gears with a fan, causing it to malfunction.)
Arin: How'd you know how to do that?
Lloyd: This morning, someone told me when junk gets into gears, it can ruin everything.
(They laugh. Riyu tackles Dorama, who is trying to escape.)
Dorama: Stop! This can't be the final act for the Crossroads' greatest showman!
Lloyd: No, it's definitely closing night, once we call the authorities and let them figure out what to do with you.
----
(At the Crossroads junkyard, she gives Lobbo romantic advice.)
Kreel: Well, if you were more emotionally available, maybe she wouldn't have broken up with you.
Lobbo: Lobbo knows. Lobbo often hides Lobbo's true feelings. Lobbo lobbo.
Arin: Kreel, someone wants to see you!
Kreel: Targy! You're safe! Oh! (She hugs Targle.) Lobbo, you're free to go.
Lobbo: Lobbo was always free. Up here. (He points to his head.) Lobbo lobbo.
Arin: Master, uh, Lloyd, we're sorry for sneaking away without permission.
Sora: And for taking your carpet.
Lloyd: Well, I'm sorry too. For pushing you so much today. I was so serious about my teaching, I forgot this can also be fun.
Sora: We're all new at this. We get it. No problem.
Arin: Hey, if we hurry, we can still make it to the pie contest.
----
(At Alfonzo's stall, he announces the winners of the pie contest.)
Alfonzo: In first place is ... Chef Grab-Barg! Congratulations!
Grab-Barg: (He laughs.) Never any doubt.
Alfonzo: And in second place ... Arin. Uh, sorry, kiddo. But it's still a great pie.
Lloyd: Don't worry. You'll win next year.
Arin: Next year?
Lloyd: Of course! We can't miss the next Crossroads Carnival!
Sora: And this year's carnival isn't over! There's still lots of food to try. I had my eye on some candy mushrooms from the Realm of Lee.
Lloyd: A snack tour is exactly what we need before training starts again tomorrow. At the crack of dawn.
----
(In Dorama's theater, a figure enters.)
Dorama: And so enters, stage left, the authorities the ninja said they'd call. Pitiful. So trite. Predictable.
Ras: That call was intercepted. No authorities are coming.
Dorama: Who are you, then?
Ras: (He reveals himself.) Your new boss. I have a job for you. (He frees Dorama.)
Dorama: A patron of my arts, eh? I knew the show would go on. (He cackles.)
(End of the episode. For more information, click here.)
Category:Transcript
Category:2023
Category:Season 1 (Dragons Rising)