On Today's Episode: The Great Kandinsky has shown his face, revealing that he's the one who brainwashed Jam into a grief-fueled berserker and set her against the spies. Naturally, the spies are understandably pissed off, so the chase begins to find a way to snap Jam out of her mesmerized state before the situation gets any worse. But what other magic tricks does Kandinsky have waiting under his metaphorical top hat?
Act 2: We've Got to Believe in Something
10:51 P.M. – Tachikawa, Tokyo
Tachikawa Junior High School
The spies were up in arms that the Great Kandinsky was behind all this.
"Of all the freakin' villains I could have thought of, I definitely wasn't expecting you!" Alex chastised.
"Good, that means I did well in deceiving you," Kandinsky sneered.
"Not really," Melissa commented. "I had a gut feeling that you might be behind this."
"And I admit you were one of my guesses, too," Sam added.
Jam then stood in front of him.
"Oh, you're asking for it now, buddy," Mat warned.
"Yeah, I've said it time and again, but here's another one for you," Nick added. "If you want to see real magic, then I'll show you real magic!"
"Ooh, I'm tingling," Kandinsky taunted.
"I've seen the light, and I have the proof," Jam proclaimed.
"Stand still, Jam! Don't make me hurt you!" May shouted.
"Oh, you don't have the guts!" Jam taunted.
"You see?" Kandinsky sneered again to May. "She'll make you answer to your guilt..."
"I'm only saying this once..." May growled. "I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR JOHNNY'S DEATH!"
As a form of "snapping," May hurled her anchor directly at Jam AND Kandinsky to teach them a lesson or two. Kandinsky used his disappearing act to avoid May's anchor, but Jam was hit hard by it. May had a look on her face that part of what she did was necessary for someone like Jam.
"Any ideas to snap Jam out of it, anyone?" Nozomi wondered.
Nobody had a chance to think as Jam immediately went after all thirteen of the spies.
"Oh, geez," Alex grunted.
"She's forcing us to do it the hard way..." Clover chastised.
"Um, so, could we get a footnote here?" Yuki asked. "Why exactly is there a magician attacking us now?"
"Short version, the 'Great' Kandinsky is a washed-up magician and escape artist," Nick explained, enjoying Kandinsky's annoyed reaction to his sarcasm. "He disappeared after his tricks were exposed, until he eventually resurfaced, stealing priceless artwork to reclaim his title."
"And as you can probably tell, he also likes to mesmerize people," Sam quipped.
"Does that wand of his have something to do with his 'tricks'?" April wondered as he ducked under a flying spin kick from Jam.
"Good eye, April," Mat stated. "Usually we just have to get his wand away from him and break it to snap his spells apart."
"You won't succeed at that this time, I'm afraid," Kandinsky laughed as he waved his wand to split into thirteen different copies of himself that surrounded the entire group.
"W-what the heck?!" Mira shouted. "Which one's the real one?!"
Nick simply closed his eyes and focused for a couple seconds before firing a pair of psychic bolts to the upper northwest, hitting that Kandinsky and causing him to stumble backwards while making all of the other copies vanish.
"And apparently he's resistant to learning new tricks, because he's tried this many times, with little success," Nick taunted.
"Oh, but I have learned some new tricks since the last time we battled," Kandinsky chuckled. "Want me to demonstrate?!"
Kandinsky aimed his wand to the sky and fired a bolt of magic upwards, which eventually split into dozens of smaller bolts that rained down from the sky, forcing the spies on the move to avoid getting hit by the rain of magic.
"Time for me to pull a vanishing act," Kandinsky laughed as he waved his wand and disappeared from sight just as Jam charged through the group and bowled many of them over.
"Don't let him get away!" Sam shouted as Britney and Melissa moved to fend off Jam.
Nick simply grinned and fired a Final Shine Attack to the southeast to break the magical shield that was covering Kandinsky's escape.
"Real magic," Nick taunted before snatching Kandinsky in his psychic hold and tossing him back towards the school lobby, inadvertently causing Kandinsky to drop his magic wand in the process.
May was immediately on the move before anyone could stop her, even though Jam jumped in front of her path.
"Hold it right there!" Jam exclaimed. "You're not going anywhere until I make you pay for what you did to Johnny!"
"Sorry, Jam, but I've got more important things to attend to right now," May shot back, startling Jam long enough for May to shove her out of the way, raise her anchor, and bring it down with enough force to smash Kandinsky's wand in half.
Once the wand was broken, a small cloud of magic escaped from it before fizzling out. The instant it did so, Jam stumbled in her spot, clutching her head as if suffering a headache.
"I think that did it!" Dizzy exclaimed.
"Curses," Kandinsky growled. "There's always a heckler in the crowd. Well, spies, this is where I must take my leave. Have to prepare for the next show, after all."
With that said, Kandinsky decided to make a tactical retreat, leaving the spies to hope that Jam had been freed from her brainwashing.
As Jam shook her head a couple times to clear up the mental cobwebs, when she finally opened her eyes, she looked around, wondering who all of these people were...
...until she caught eyes with a familiar face.
"M-May?" Jam asked in a more normal-sounding voice, none of her anger from before present. "I didn't know you were back in Tachikawa..."
"Well, I wanted to visit an old friend, so to say," May responded.
Just then, it all came rushing back to Jam. What she'd been planning to say to Johnny until she'd seen his grave, the memories of happier times...
Almost immediately, Jam fell to her knees and started crying, and May was already over there to bring Jam into a hug, knowing exactly how she was feeling.
"Jam, I'm not the one who killed him," May proclaimed.
"M-May, what are you saying?" Jam responded. "I know how much you loved him, so why would you think you'd do something like that?"
"Yeah, I think we got her back," Melissa quipped.
"Guess that means we'll have to bring her up to speed on what's been happening," April stated.
So, after going through the customary routines, the spies all explained what had been happening since they'd arrived in Tachikawa.
"The last thing I remember is finding Johnny's grave, then kneeling down to pray for him, and... that's it," Jam quipped. "Was that when mister magic man got me?"
"Has to be, if you don't remember anything you did between those times," Alex replied. Jam instinctively glanced over at Mira and April, wondering how they were going to react. After all, she had threatened to do... harmful things to them, even if she hadn't been in her own mind.
"Hey, calm down, 'kay, Jam?" Mira stated, walking up to pat Jam on the head. "We know you weren't really yourself."
"So... do you know who actually killed Johnny?" Jam wondered. "Because they're the ones I want to stomp on now."
"Well... the real killer's already six feet in the ground," May admitted. "It was Millia, the same whackjob that killed Ami, and I ended that nutcase myself a couple years back."
Jam just smiled in response. "Why am I not surprised that you'd be the one to avenge both Ami and Johnny when I wasn't around?" Jam chuckled.
"I hate to break up this touching reunion, but Kandinsky did get away while we were making sure you weren't mind-controlled," Bridget quipped.
"Never fear, everyone, my patented super-drone is on the search!" RiCO proclaimed from Nick's X-Powder as he opened it up to reveal a map of Tachikawa with a blinking dot to show where Kandinsky was moving.
"All right-y, then, let's get moving, shall we?" Clover stated.
With that, the spies and the Jellyfish Pirates all followed Nick's map to find where Kandinsky had retreated to, Jam following them closely behind.
Jam looked a little surprised at seeing RiCO appear on Nick's X-Powder and was very tempted to ask.
"That's RiCO," May told Jam, as if May had read Jam's mind. "Assistant to our boss at W.O.O.H.P., Jerry."
"I have to admit that's good stuff," Jam commented.
"Yeah, but more importantly, this stays between all of us, Jam," April told Jam.
"Yes, that's right," Sam quipped.
"Will do," Jam replied.
"But their relationships are open for discussion," Souji stated.
The spies quickly ran through their relationship status with Jam to bring her up to speed on what was going on there.
"Man, you guys are pretty lucky, huh?" Jam teased.
"I guess I have that kind of charm," Mat quipped. "I never really knew until all this started."
"Looks like you nailed a good one, huh, May?" Jam stated.
"Actually... it was because of everything that happened with Johnny that I fell in love with Nick," May admitted.
"Really?" Jam gasped.
"Yeah, Nick was such a sweetheart during that mission," May stated. "He kept me calm when things were getting rough, and he helped me find Millia after she killed Johnny so I could avenge him. I actually didn't want to say anything about my feelings at first for the obvious reasons, but everyone was thankfully so understanding."
"The only reason I kinda freaked out was 'cause I was the last person to find this out," Alex giggled.
"That's usually how it is, right?" Jam laughed.
"We were just as excited and happy for May then," Dizzy replied.
"Any ideas on specifically where RiCO picked up on Kandinsky?" Mat wondered.
"We know Tachikawa just as well as anyone," Mira quipped.
Nick then showed his X-Powder, which had the blip on the map of Tachikawa.
"Hey, that's Showa Memorial Park!" Mira exclaimed.
"Well, I guess that's our next destination," Britney replied.
"By the way, speaking of which, we heard you all got a history lesson in Hawaii?" Yuki wondered.
"You would be right on that," May giggled.
"One thing's for sure: Hawaii's not just beaches and warm weather year-round," Nick told them. "I might be intrigued to learn some Hawaiian customs and the culture, too, as Mat puts it."
"But it's not easy for people not from Hawaii to fully understand Hawaii's culture and lifestyle," Mat pointed out.
"Holy crapbaskets, Hawaii?" Jam complained. "I've only heard bits and pieces about that place..."
"Alex's dream destination is certainly worth visiting," Clover replied.
"And how," Haruka added. "But that Iolani Palace place makes our beach house look like small potatoes for sure!"
"That queen who lived there certainly had a lot of class," Nozomi told them.
"No doubt about it," May remarked.
"Unfortunately, that's for another time," Alex emphasized.
"Agreed," Blaine replied.
"We don't have to wait long, we just made it," Akira told the others.
"I'm still detecting Kandinsky's presence here," Nick replied as the team beheld the facility.
"No doubt he's got a few booby traps set up," Melissa commented.
"Only one way to find out," Sam quipped.
"Wait, wait, why does it kinda look like a haunted house mixed with one of those big magic stage places?" Jam wondered.
"Because that's just the kind of guy Kandinsky is," Nick quipped. "Regardless, I think it's high time we head on in and scuttle his big scheme."
"Music to my ears," Britney proclaimed.
11:54 P.M. – Tachikawa, Tokyo
Showa Memorial Park – Kandinsky's Lair
"Oof, it's even stranger on the inside," Mira noted when the group made it inside the "haunted house" and beheld a brightly-lit neon funhouse with everything you'd expect from these kinds of places.
Nick was instantly reminded of the "Invasion at the House of Horrors", a very similar haunted house attraction that he and Anya had been through in the Forgotten Land, what with all the neon lights and obviously fake cardboard ghosts lining the walls.
As he remembered something he'd told Anya while exploring that place, Nick looked over at Melissa, who was suddenly shivering with fright.
"Everything okay, sis?" Nick asked. "I know you don't really do well in these kinds of places..."
"Oh, that's putting it mildly," Melissa quipped. "I know most of this isn't real, but given who we're dealing with, I don't doubt that he might actually make these things come to life..."
Nick reached out to take Melissa's hand, and she instantly calmed down.
"...but I know as long as I've got you here, big bro, the ghosties don't stand a chance," Melissa giggled.
With that said, the group set out into the funhouse, hoping to find Kandinsky before he could set his scheme into motion.
"Man, that's a huge door," Clover quipped as they eventually came across what appeared to be a doorway to the next room of the funhouse. "Not just a little full of yourself, are ya, magic man?"
But as Clover reached for the doorknob, Nick noticed something off about not just the door, but the whole wall it was attached to.
A wall that was slowly leaning forward.
"CLOVER, WATCH OUT!" Nick shouted, raising his hand to grab Clover in his psychic hold and yank her backwards just as the entire wall tipped over and crashed to the ground where Clover had just been.
"Holy crapbaskets, that was a close one," Clover gasped. "Thanks for saving my bacon, Nick."
"Anya and I had to deal with a lot of fake walls in Wondaria," Nick quipped as he and Clover high-fived each other. "So I naturally just expected some of them here to be fake as well."
"In that case, which one's the real way onward?" Nozomi wondered.
Nick did a quick psychic radar scan of the area, and he sensed Kandinsky's thoughts coming from somewhere to the west, so the group followed that pathway through a neon tunnel full of kaleidoscopic lights.
"Yikes, that's murder on the eyes," Jam chuckled. "Kinda reminds me of that one amusement park Johnny took me to..."
"Oh, I think I know which one you're talking about," May giggled. "The one where some poor shmuck overdid the light settings and nearly blinded you two when you got to the park? You and Johnny screaming 'AGH NATURAL LIGHT' over and over?"
"Oh, you had to bring that up," Jam laughed.
"Hey, I think I see something up ahead," April quipped.
Sure enough, Kandinsky was waiting for the group in the next room, which was full of multiple large cardboard ghosts and aliens.
"A little too tacky, methinks," Alex stated.
"Aw, what's the matter, spies, don't you like my magical house of horrors?" Kandinsky laughed. "It's sure to spook the literal daylights out of you."
"Yeah, well, we're here to shut your madness down," Souji responded. "We're kinda not in the mood for haunted houses, so..."
"And besides, you're in so much freakin' trouble for what you did to me," Jam proclaimed as she advanced threateningly on Kandinsky. "How dare you take my grief and use it to make me hurt my friends?!"
"Now, now, my dear, I was only trying to make you see the light," Kandinsky replied, backing away slowly.
"Yeah, more like twist my mind until I was your perfect slave!" Jam shot back. "Johnny meant so much to me, more than someone like you would ever understand, and I'm not gonna forgive you for using my memories of Johnny against me!"
"Same goes for me," May quipped, using her Emergency Gadget Transporter to summon her anchor to her hand, which surprised Jam.
"Whoa, you still use an anchor, May?" Jam asked.
"Yup, still my weapon of choice when dealing with our rogues' gallery," May quipped. "Johnny would be proud."
"Oh, I'm sure he would," Jam replied before she and May turned to face Kandinsky. "Everyone, let May and I take care of this little upstart."
"Yeah, we owe him quite a few lumps," May proclaimed.
"Don't think you've got the upper hand this time," Kandinsky laughed. "After all, I did say I've learned some new tricks since our last meeting, and I haven't gotten a chance to show them all off yet."
"Fake stage tricks from a washed-up magician?" Mat taunted. "You'll have to forgive us if we don't believe your lies."
"That's twice in three sentences you've insulted my act," Kandinsky proclaimed, his body suddenly beginning to glow a bright ruby-red. "But that's fine, because that means you'll be the first victims of my latest routine."
"Stay on guard, everyone," Sam stated as the entire group prepared for whatever Kandinsky was about to pull.
Kandinsky's latest routine involved a Spider-Man-like move where he fired his arms at the spies and knives came firing out like bullets out of a gun.
"Oh my!" Mat chastised as he jumped out of the way.
Sam, Clover, and Alex had little flashbacks to the first time they had to encounter Kandinsky and dealt with his illusions.
"Well, we can play that game," Alex quipped.
The three main spies unleashed their Boomerang Buzzsaw Barrettes at Kandinsky himself. Nick added more oomph via his psychic powers on the BBBs. Kandinsky fired his knives at the barrettes, but they did no damage. The knives just ricocheted in every direction.
Kandinsky screamed as the barrettes hit him.
("The Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera plays)
"And don't think we're stopping there, mister magic moron," May proclaimed, not minding at all what happened given the circumstances.
"Exactly!" Jam added.
"Try me, ladies!" Kandinsky taunted.
"Gladly," May proclaimed as she and Jam charged. Kandinsky fired more knives, but both girls easily dodged them before ducking under a magic bolt from Kandinsky's new wand, then lunging forward to clock Kandinsky in both sides of his face before double roundhouse kicking him to the ground.
"And that's the way the stage-hand crumbles," May taunted as she and Jam high-fived each other.
Melissa and Dawn had the urge for a tag-team, too with the Helicopter Hand Fan.
"He won't even see it coming," Melissa quipped.
"Let's do it," Dawn remarked.
They took to the sky via the HHF and were at a high enough distance to keep Kandinsky from suspecting anything.
Kandinsky waved his wand to fire blasts of magic at Alex and Clover as they approached, only to get knocked down by a Final Shine Attack from Nick.
"Keep your eye on the birdie," Nick taunted. "Isn't that supposed to be a magician thing?"
"You'll wish you hadn't mocked me, boy," Kandinsky proclaimed as he surrounded Nick with multiple copies of himself, forcing Nick to surround himself with a psychic bubble as they all began to fire blasts of magic at him. The blasts harmlessly bounced off the barrier, but Kandinsky and his clones just kept firing.
Nick shook his head in exasperation before he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. This caused the psychic bubble around him to pop, the outwards recoil blast evaporating all of the clones and sending the real Kandinsky flying backwards.
"I'm still gonna mock you, because you clearly forgot I could do that," Nick responded.
Nick noticed Melissa and Dawn skyward, and Kandinsky had no idea himself.
"Okay, do it," Dawn told Melissa.
With that, she let go of Melissa and Melissa came falling like an anvil on top of the unsuspecting Kandinsky.
"I think this could be..." Kandinsky sneered until Melissa fell on top of him like a ten-ton anvil.
"That's what I was looking for myself," May replied.
"The old drop like an anvil hardly ever fails," Melissa quipped.
"Now, are you going to answer to what you did to Jam...?" Clover wondered as the spies ganged up on Kandinsky.
"You better believe you will answer to that," Mira emphasized.
Kandinsky managed to get Melissa off of him, and Mat managed to get her.
"I won't be answering to that," Kandinsky sneered as he threw down his disappearing act and had gotten away.
"Okay, I don't think anybody would've thought that was coming," Souji complained.
"Unfortunately, I almost thought he'd do that, but not at this time," Sam admitted.
"Well, we'll get another opportunity to prevent that," Bridget remarked.
"Now, the question is, where did Kandinsky get to this time?" Haruka wondered.
"Hold up, guys," Nick stated. "More of Kandinsky's illusions are coming!"
Another plethora of knives and swords were coming for the spies.
"Oh, geez!" Blaine chastised as they dive-rolled out of the way.
"Talk about not playing fair..." Nozomi chastised as everybody moved one way or the other.
"Is he nearby or did he get away?" Britney wondered as they all dodged the illusions.
"He's still running, but he thankfully didn't get too far," Nick stated. "Let's get moving, everyone!"
As the group continued on their chase, Jam finally decided to ask something that had been itching at her ever since she woke up from her brainwashing.
"So, um, Nick?" Jam asked. "I gotta ask... where did you get those sweet powers of yours?"
"You know, you asking that just makes me think how so few people seem to bat an eye at the fact that I have psychic powers," Nick chuckled. "But yeah, incredibly long story short, I found some magic gemstones on a case a while back and they gave me these powers. If I told you every little detail, we'd be here all day."
The journey through the funhouse continued, with Nick occasionally using his psychic powers to guide the group past any fake walls or obstacles that Kandinsky set in their way.
"Gotta say, this is a situation where psychic powers would definitely come in handy," Nozomi giggled.
"So, since it looks like we've got some time to kill while we keep looking for Kandinsky, did you have any other memories of Johnny to share with us, Jam?" Sam asked.
"Oh, I've got so many, I could fill a whole yearbook with 'em," Jam chuckled. "I don't think May's told you this, but Johnny was actually pretty competitive when it came to fighting games."
"Yeah, you could say that I got my 'competitive spirit' for Smash Bros. from Johnny," May giggled. "Oh, man, there was this one time when it was myself, Johnny, Jam and Mira in a Melee session that practically went into late night. I've never seen Johnny keep saying 'oh, just one more game' over and over again because he couldn't comprehend that Mira was actually kicking his butt."
"Maybe it was Mira was actually pretty good with Mewtwo," Jam laughed. "Poor Johnny had never touched him until that night."
"Wasn't that the same one where April specifically banned Fox because of how broken he was in Melee?" Yuki wondered.
"Oh, Johnny would probably be frothing at the mouth if he could see just how broken Meta Knight is in Brawl," May laughed.
"Overall, Johnny was just a really cool guy," Jam stated. "He was always chill and understanding, but wouldn't hesitate to basically throw hands if it would help someone."
"It was one of the guiding principles that we founded the Jellyfish Pirates on, after all," April proclaimed. "Doing everything we can to help those in need, even if we've gotta throw some hands to do it."
"That's kinda like us, basically," May giggled.
"He was always dependable, reliable, and really handsome to boot," Jam continued, but the spies noticed that she was starting to cry again. "Honestly, he was the perfect boyfriend, and..."
That was when the tears started falling.
"...and I still can't believe he's gone..." Jam cried, unable to stop herself now. "And I never even got to say goodbye, at the very least!"
"Hey, hey, don't freak out, okay, Jam?" May answered as she leaned over to hug Jam. "I loved Johnny, too, and I was just as heartbroken as you are. I mean, he was killed right in front of me, so I know how you feel."
"I guess Millia's lucky she's already six feet under, because at this point, I feel like finding wherever you guys buried her and digging her up just so I can send her right back..." Jam proclaimed.
"I know a lot of us probably would, too, but the past is the past," Mat stated. "And that's coming from a group of people who've actually time traveled before."
"It's like I tend to say, I try to take strength from my past and not let it control me," Nick responded. "Trust me, we've faced a few baddies who that's happened to before."
"And hey, if you wanna vent your grief over it, you can start by helping us beat down mister magic man," May quipped.
Jam looked up, her expression softening and her nerves steeled. "Yeah, that sounds like fun," Jam replied. "After all, he's the one who tried to take advantage of my grief and use it to make me hurt you guys. And we still haven't given him his due lumps yet."
"Then let's go find him and expedite the delivery of lumps," May proclaimed, summoning her anchor to her hands (and showing Jam her Emergency Gadget Transporter, because Jam was still wondering how the heck she'd actually summoned her anchor out of thin air like that).
The spies continued on through the funhouse until they eventually reached a large, circular stage that resembled a carnival's main stage. Once again, Nick was reminded of his time in the Forgotten Land, as a very similar carnival stage in Wondaria was where they'd fought Clawroline.
Am I glad that we don't have to deal with Professor Genesis anymore, Nick thought.
And, just as expected, Kandinsky was waiting for the group at the center of the main stage, his wand glowing a ruby red.
"Well, it looks like you made it to the show on time, for once in your lives," Kandinsky chuckled.
"Well, sor-ry if we're not interested in the ripoff tricks of a washout like you," Alex taunted.
"Yeah, and you've still got a lot to answer for," Mira proclaimed. "The Jellyfish Pirates have arrived to send you right back to that slimy prison block you crawled out of!"
"Oh, don't think you're going to intimidate me this time around," Kandinsky quipped, waving his wand and surrounding himself with a veil of magic.
"Uh-oh, what's he planning now?!" Dawn shouted.
("Take Over" by Lyn Inaizumi plays)
When the veil fell, Kandinsky had seemingly transformed into a man a couple years older than most of the spies, with blue eyes, long blond hair kept in a ponytail, a pair of dark sunglasses, and wearing long, well-fitting pants, a large gunslinger-style belt worn diagonally, a long collared trench coat, and brown fingerless gloves.
And now everyone in the group, spies and Jellyfish Pirates alike, were on edge.
Because Kandinsky had just transformed into Johnny.
"I take it you're all impressed with my latest illusion?" Kandinsky laughed, unaware of the practically murderous expressions on both May and Jam, not to mention the rest of the Jellyfish Pirates. "From your looks, I'd assume so."
Kandinsky sauntered closer to the spies, and looked over at May. "Come on, little pirate girl, wouldn't you give anything just to see your deceased lover-boy just one more time?" Kandinsky asked.
May's answer was slamming her anchor directly into Kandinsky's chest and sending him careening backwards right off the stage.
"Not when you're tarnishing his image with your lame-ass chicanery," May growled. "And don't start acting like I broke anything with that hit, because I know you're using your magic to enhance your body. Otherwise, that hit would've left you a quivering freakin' mess on the floor."
Kandinsky picked himself back up, aiming his wand towards May.
"Benefits of magic, my dear," Kandinsky chuckled as he fired three bursts of ruby-red magic just above him. The three bursts eventually combined into one larger sphere of magic that shot forward and struck May's hand, causing her to drop her anchor. "Now try and fight me without your precious heirloom."
"Oh, that's fine," May quipped, raising her fists. "Because I'd rather do what comes next with my bare hands."
Not giving Kandinsky another chance to taunt, May rushed forward, ducking under another magic blast to punch Kandinsky in the chest, followed up by three more punches, then a rising snap kick that sent Kandinsky reeling backwards.
Kandinsky quickly righted himself and waved his want to create five clones of himself as Johnny, but May simply recalled her anchor to her hand via her EGT and bashed Kandinsky down to the ground, immediately causing the clones to disappear.
Not willing to concede just yet, Kandinsky fired a blast of magic into the ground to propel himself up and over May, but much to his surprise, May reached upwards to grab him by the ankle and powerslam him back down to the ground.
"Wow, she's stomping on him," Britney gasped.
"Yeah, if she wasn't already doing it, I would," Jam quipped.
May then began spinning Kandinsky around by the ankle before eventually throwing him into the fake rafters around the stage, which crumpled as easily as the cardboard they were made of.
"Accursed little wretch," Kandinsky growled as he prepared to cast another spell, only to find himself unable to move courtesy of Nick snatching him in his psychic hold.
"That's my girlfriend you're talking to," Nick proclaimed. "All right, May, deliver the coup de grace, why don't you?"
"With pleasure," May chuckled as she advanced on the prone Kandinsky, recalling her anchor once again.
All Kandinsky could do was watch and struggle as May wound herself up, and with one massive home-run swing, she sent Kandinsky flying across the room, and when he crashed back to the ground, his illusion of Johnny faded away.
"Count yourself extremely lucky that your magic is protecting you from what must be at least a bunch of broken bones and seven concussions," May proclaimed.
"Indeed, little girl," Kandinsky laughed. "But now, I must bid you all adieu, for I believe my secret weapon is ready."
Kandinsky fired a blast of magic at the floor to create a bright flash around the room, and when it cleared, Kandinsky had vanished.
"Of course he'd abuse rule fourteen," Akira sighed.
"...rule what now?" Jam wondered.
"Rules for villains, number fourteen," Haruka stated. "Always use underhanded tactics to make your escape."
"Rules for villains aside, we'd better get after him," Sam proclaimed. "RiCO, any idea where he's headed off to this time around?"
"Fear not, Sam, I always come through," RiCO responded, displaying a map of Tachikawa. "It looks like he's making his way to the Skywhirl Tower."
"Is this becoming a pattern or what?" Yuki quipped. "The last three baddies we've faced off with here have all been at the tower for some reason."
"Probably because it's a Tachikawa landmark," Dizzy stated. "Villains like to do that, apparently."
"Well, then, let's move out, everyone!" Nick exclaimed, and with that, the entire group made their way out of the funhouse and took off for the Skywhirl Tower.
To be concluded...
Next time...
Mira: Oh, man, did he already vamoose?
Nick: Nope, I can still sense his thoughts at the very tip-top of the tower.
Jam: Well, how are we supposed to get up there in time?
Nick: Like this. Elevator up!
Melissa: ...I'm not even going to ask anymore.
Kandinsky: Isn't it magnificent? Sometimes my genius amazes even myself.
Jam: All right, I'm gonna have you stop with the narcissistic comments right there, you nutball. I don't care what kind of giant robot you're piloting. We're all going to trash it like I'm sure has been done to you many, many times!
May: Now you're really getting into the Jellyfish Pirates spirit, Jam!
Alex: Well, we don't have much else to say, readers, so let the final showdown begin, next time on the final act of Totally Spies: Memory's Echoes, "The Battle of Your Soul"!
Mira: Are those real diamonds?
Sam: Nah, they're too big to be actual diamonds.
Nick: Besides, where would we get the budget for that?