When Aku faced the warrior, Jack was standing calmly, arms crossed, sword tucked in his belt. There was a small grin on his face.
"Very impressive, Aku."
"You do not seem very impressed, Samurai, yet you should!"
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. You have made my task all the easier."
The demon roared with laughter. "Ah, but it works both ways, Samurai! Together, you were a formidable foe indeed, but without you to guide them, they are putty in my hands! However, since both of my selves knows what the other is doing, while you do not, casting myself in two cannot work against me!"
"But you are weaker." Jack said, raising the sword. "And unable to withstand the forces of righteousness." He narrowed his eyes and added, "On either side."
"I can withstand your blade for as long as I must, Samurai. For when my other self returns, your friends will have turned against you! Hahahahaha!!!"
They exited the vortex with the sound of thunder. They turned, ready to resume the fight but Aku, who had been chasing them, was gone. Nowhere to be seen. But what they did see was amazing.
"This is the future?"
The Townsville they were looking at was their Townsville.
Blossom stared at the scene below in disbelief. "Maybe he made a mistake and sent us back to the past, Buttercup."
"Or maybe Jack already finished him off!" Bubbles exclaimed. "And undid the future, just like he said!"
"Hey yeah! Let's go check!"
Their home was straight below them. But first they made a low pass over the city. Everything looked normal, everywhere people called out to them, "Hi, girls!"
Townsville Hall was intact, as was their school. The streets of the city and Pokey Oaks were alive with shoppers and workers going about their activities.
"If that thing sent us into the future, it sure doesn't look like it." Buttercup noted.
"Yes." Blossom agreed, pointing out that this future would be in addition to the fifty years that HIM had sent them. She added, "I think you're right, Bubbles! Jack won!"
"Let's go home!" Buttercup shouted, and they streaked in that direction. They burst in through the front door.
"Professor!!"
They saw a note on the coffee table. Blossom picked it up and they all read:
"Girls, there's been a change of plans. We won't be taking that trip after all, but I will be taking you somewhere else. Don't go anywhere and when I get back I'll tell you all about it."
"Whoa!" Buttercup croaked. "Jack musta done it! Our future is already changing!"
"I wonder where we're going?" Bubbles asked. "I hope it's longer than just a weekend."
"We'll probably have to pack different things, if we're not going to the Bahamas." Blossom said. "Let's go unpack."
Their suitcases were sitting right where they had left them that morning; a morning which now seemed years in the past. Everything was just the way they remembered it. Buttercup threw hers on the bed and snapped it open. Blossom went into the closet and began poking around.
Bubbles went to the window and looked out. Suddenly she squealed, "He's home!" She flew out of the room and down the stairs, calling his name excitedly.
Blossom called out, "Go ahead, Buttercup, I'll be right down. I'm looking for something."
"Please, Bubbles." He had to hold her away from him, she was so excited.
"Professor, you won't believe what happened to us today! But everything's okay now!"
"Yeah, Professor, we thought we were never gonna see you again!"
"What are you girls talking about?"
"Samurai Jack!"
"Who? Look, you two, you can tell me all about your monster fight later. I have something to tell you."
"Yeah, where we goin', Professor?" Buttercup yelled.
"Where's your sister?" he frowned. "I only want to explain this once."
"Right here, Professor." Blossom zipped around the corner.
"Good. Girls, we are going on a special trip. We are going to Japan!"
"Japan!" Buttercup cried. "Yay!"
"Japan?" Blossom said, "Why there?"
"Come with me and I'll show you."
"Curse that accursed HIM or whatever it calls itself! It did too good a job destroying this place! There is nothing for me to turn to my advantage!"
Aku used what it called its 'minions' to do most of its work, relying on its own shape-shifting abilities only when necessary. Doing that drained its energy and it was forced to rest from time to time. But all there had been here was those birds, a few scattered mice and some insects. After what it had seen the girls do, those would be useless. It would take too long for Aku to summon beasts under its control to get there from other places. It had been attacking the samurai half-heartedly, mainly in an effort to tire him out and conserve its own energy. Avoiding that magical sword in its present state was crucial.
And it seemed to be working. The great warrior was indeed tiring, but was doing his best to hide it.
"You have failed, Aku! In your weakened state, you do not have the strength to defeat me. If you did, you would be more forceful in your attacks, but you fear my sword!"
"Aku fears nothing!" it roared.
Jack ignored it. "Yes, you are afraid of my sword. And you are afraid…" he said, narrowing his eyes with a sneer, "…of them!"
"How dare you! They are mere children! Aku fears nothing! You will pay for your insolence, samurai!"
Down in the lab, the professor listened to their rapid-fire questions but didn't answer. Instead, he led them to something covered up with a plastic tarpaulin.
"Girls, I've always had a fascination with Japan and wanted to go there someday. But, we're not just going to Japan…" He whipped the tarp away with a flourish. "We're going to ancient Japan!"
"The time portal!" Blossom exclaimed.
"Awesome!" Buttercup shouted. "Maybe we'll see some real samurais!"
"Maybe we'll even see Jack!" Bubbles said excitedly.
The professor frowned. "Jack? Who's Jack?"
"That's not important, Professor." Blossom said matter-of-factly, then shrieked, "Because we're not going!"
Her eye beams blew the time machine to bits.
