Part 01: Flood of Time

The night was fast growing darker as the small group was hustled quickly up the hill, with the infinite stars high above seeming to twinkle into existence even as they moved. It was a sight Arnold Jackson had never gotten enough of; he was fascinated by space and the stars. Which was why he was here at the California Space Research Center, part of a tour group who would learn all there was to know about the unreachable stars in space. Honestly, he'd taken this tour five times before, but he never tired of it.

"Everyone please, remember to move in a calm, orderly fashion. My name is Mrs. Rumples, there are many sensitive projects being worked on inside, and any disruption could put them in jeopardy, thank you." The tour guide said to them. The rest of the group didn't seem that excited, except for one girl with bright red hair up in pigtails who jumped into the air waving her hand. "Do you have a question?"

"Yes ma'am. I was wondering if we would get to look through the telescope!" The girl asked excitedly. Arnold blinked, recognizing the voice, but unable to see the girl over the heads of the gathered crowd.

"Of course, you'll have to take turns but you'll all get a chance I promise." The guide replied with a smile. An excited squeal floated from the pigtailed girl. "Now please everyone follow me in an orderly fashion, and I will explain everything about the facility and how it works." The guide turned to head into the observation tower, followed by the tour group.

Arnold moved with the group, trying to peer curiously through the crowd for the redheaded girl, but he couldn't see her in the crowd. Finally he shrugged and turned to pay attention to the tour guide instead as she led them through a long hallway lined with photographs and paintings of the stars, some in clusters, others photographed with extreme zooms and exquisite detail.

"Since mankind was able to think, we've looked at the stars for many things." The guide repeated her normal routine as she stopped and turned to watch them look at the pictures. "To mark the passage of time, to symbolize Gods, and sometimes just to wonder what else might be out there. Some people even believe that studying the stars can reveal the future. This is a practice that has gone on for thousands upon thousands of years to date."

Arnold tuned her out, well versed in her speech as he turned to look around at the dispersing crowd. He caught side of the redheaded girl studying one of the close-up paintings of a brightly glowing star, her hands clutching the red-rope lightly as she studied it. Arnold cleared his throat and walked up behind the familiar, but unplaced figure.

"Is this your first time here?" Arnold asked politely. The girl turned around, her brilliant green eyes lighting up in recognition, her face going bright red.

"Arnold?" She jumped back in surprise, but was caught by the red rope that barred access to the pictures. "Wh... what are you doing here?"

"Sam?" Arnold blinked in surprise, looking the girl over. She wasn't wearing any makeup he could spot, her hair was thrown carelessly up into a pair of pigtails that hung down to her shoulders, and her clothes were baggy and seemed awfully mismatched for the usually picture-perfect girl. "You look... different." Arnold said. Sam put her hand over her face, blushing in embarrassment.

"Oh my God this is so embarrassing..." Sam looked like she was about to faint. "Please don't tell anybody you saw me like this Arnold. I really didn't think anyone from Bev. High would be here."

"Hey, I won't tell." Arnold promised with one hand over his heart and the other out beside him. "But why are you here like that anyway?"

"Sometimes I just have to relax, y'know?" Sam replied. "Do you know how much those skin-tight jeans hurt? And those push-up bras and way-too-small shirts! And then the hour of makeup every morning, sometimes I think popularity is waaaay overrated." She clenched her hands in front of her. "But Clover's always like 'noooooo we have to look fashionable all the time!' Back when we weren't living together I could relax at home, but with Clover and Alex in the same house I can't even do THAT!" She huffed.

"Wow... I'm sorry to hear that Sam." Arnold blinked in surprise. He'd always thought Sam was just like the other two and enjoyed that kind of thing. "Well don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He smiled.

Sam smiled back gratefully. "Thanks Arnold... I guess maybe I'm just not cut out for being a glamorous popularity queen. I prefer being comfortable and able to breathe. I'm just a nerd at heart." She gestured to her own clothing, which was similar to what Arnold was wearing. "Uh... no offense." She said quickly.

"None taken." Arnold replied, a bit miffed but willing to let it slide. No matter how Sam dressed and even without makeup, she was still one of the cutest girls in Bev. High, the girl he'd had a crush on for a pretty long time. "Come on, I think the tour is moving on without us."

"Oh shoot! Come on!" Sam turned to run down the hall after them, so Arnold ran after her. They caught up with the tour group and followed along, walking together behind the others as the guide continued her memorized speech with proper emphasis.

"Some people believe that even Nostradamus used the stars in the 1500's to accurately predict events that would take place centuries after his death. Though there's no real evidence to support that, the stars have definitely been used before and after his time as a way to peer into the future, and some say to even peer into the eyes of God." The guide stopped and turned to look back at the group with a smile. "But there's no evidence of that either."

A polite chuckle ran through the crowd. She turned to lead them down another hall, this one filled with pictures of the planets in their solar system. "The first people to create a calendar that looks much like our own were the Romans..." she droned on as Arnold tuned her out again and turned to look at Sam. Her pigtails were bobbing cutely as she walked, with a less-than-perfect poise that somehow made her look better than she usually did. More human somehow.

When Sam turned to look at him he quickly looked forward, trying not to stare at her. They made their way through the observatory, emerging into the main research center from which the massive telescope poked through the ceiling, aimed up at the sky with a magnifier powerful enough to let one pick the face on Mars' nose.

"And here we are at our final destination, the single most powerful telescope on the planet that is always put to use scanning the skies for both research and trouble." The guide turned back to them. "Please, form a line and wait your turn, I promise you'll all get a chance to look through, but please do not touch it, it's very sensitive."

The group lined up, and Arnold found himself standing directly behind Sam. She had her hands in her pockets, waiting patiently for her turn at the telescope, though she also looked rather excited. "I didn't know you were into astronomy." Arnold commented.

"Are you kidding? I love space." Sam replied. "I treasure every time I get a chance to go up." She commented.

"Excuse me...?" Arnold replied, sure he'd misheard. Sam blinked and blushed, rubbing one hand on the back of her neck.

"Every time... I... dream I go up there." Sam replied nervously. "I like dreaming I go into space... it's the best next to the real thing." She grinned. Arnold stared at her, shrugging his shoulders a bit.

"Yeah, I guess." He told her. Sam nodded and turned to wait in line again, her hands folded in front of her nervously. Arnold looked down at the ground, his own hands clasped behind his back. "You know, Sam... I've always thought you were very..." Pretty, cute, intelligent, delightful, sophisticated, "mysterious." He blurted out, instantly regretting it.

Sam turned to look back at him again with a curious look on her face. "Mysterious?" She asked.

"In a way..." Arnold replied nervously, just wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. A friendly silence was the best he could hope for with her, what was he shooting for? "I mean, you disappear a lot... and when you're around, it's like you're always hiding something. You're in such good shape and nobody really sees you work out. You're intelligent, and also beautiful. It's just... I don't see a lot of people like you..." Arnold trailed off, not really knowing what he was trying to say.

Sam just stared at him, as though studying his features closely for the first time. "Well, some people do love a good mystery I guess." Sam quipped with a good-natured smiled.

"I do." Arnold blurted before he could stop himself. His face instantly turned red, as did Sam's as she looked away and turned forward again. The silence the rest of the way up the line was rather awkward. He knew he should've kept his mouth shut while he was ahead, what was he thinking talking to her? His mouth only ever got him into deeper social trouble.

Finally Sam stepped up to the telescope and leaned down to look through it, careful not to touch it. Arnold watched her with his hands behind his back, trying to think of a way to fix the situation.

"Huh... moon looks unusually big." Sam commented.

"Really? Can I see?" Arnold asked. Sam moved aside to let him look through. Indeed it did look a little bigger than it usually did when he came here, but they might have simply adjusted the telescope. The only way the moon could get bigger was if it was approaching the Earth, and that was scientifically impossible.

"Someone must have been messing with it." Arnold concluded as he stood up and looked back at Sam.

"Yeah." Sam smiled slightly as he stood up. "Come on, I think we're holding up the line." She said. So they moved aside to let the others in the tour group take their turns at the telescope. They stood side-by-side, watching the line dwindle. The tour guide watched as well, stepping up in front of them after everyone had a chance to look.

"I hope you've all learned something on this trip through the stars, like how important it is to understand not just our own planet, but the universe at large. I'll lead you all to the exit, and encourage you all to return another night. Right this way." She turned to lead the group to the exit, leaving the hallways of space pictures behind.

They emerged into the star and moonlit night amid the dissipating crowd, walking back toward the city, since the observatory was just on top of a hill outside Sam's neighborhood. Arnold looked at Sam, gathering all of the courage he could muster to ask one question.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" He tried to sound cool and confident, despite the heavy beating of his heart.

"Sure." Sam nodded and turned to walk down the sidewalk. Arnold was caught off guard, but managed to get himself in gear and follow in a few seconds. He caught up to her and walked beside her, casting glances in her direction. She was walking idly along, watching the stars with her hands in her pants pockets. Her pigtails bounced behind her in the gentle wind that blew against them.

"It's pretty romantic out here." Sam commented lightly.

"Y... yeah, it is." Arnold stumbled over himself to get out an appropriate response. "Very bright and... coordinated." He stumbled. Sam looked over at him and smiled despite what he knew was a word fumble. "I mean... um... soothing, yeah that's it."

"Mmm. It is." Sam nodded. Arnold couldn't figure out why she was acting like this. It was almost like she actually liked him... but that was just plain impossible. She came close to being voted Most Popular in Bev. High, and he was a geek who failed in his bid to run as the new school mascot. There wasn't a chance in heck she could like him.

They walked the rest of the way to Sam's home in silence, approaching her door under the gaze of the large pale moon side-by-side, until their hands were almost touching. "Well... I guess I should see you tomorrow Sam..." Arnold said softly, not really wanting to leave.

"Why don't you come in? I think we have some talking to do." Sam told him. Arnold stared at her in shock, his eyes going wide. Sam smirked. "I'm not coming onto you Arnold, talking is ALL I want to do. Now calm down before you have a heart attack." She told him. Arnold blushed deeply and shook his head.

"Of course, I didn't assume..." He coughed embarrassedly. "I'd like to come in..." Sam smiled and walked into the house, tossing her keys on the desk beside the front door as she headed toward the stairs. Arnold followed behind her, looking around in amazement. "So you girls have all of this to yourself? It must be really great."

"Sometimes I guess. Other times it's just frustrating living with Clover and Alex. I sometimes think I had more privacy living with my mom." Sam smirked. Arnold smiled, not really knowing how to respond as Sam led him upstairs, then into her bedroom. She closed the door behind him. Despite Sam's reassurance at the door, Arnold couldn't help getting a bit nervous as he walked over to the desk and sat down to hide his shaking legs.

"So, tell me about yourself Arnold." Sam walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, folding her legs and watching him curiously. Arnold cleared his throat.

"Well... what do you want to know?" Arnold asked.

"Where are you from? What are your interests? That kind of thing." Sam said. Arnold thought about those for a moment, then decided to talk about himself for perhaps the first time since moving to Beverly Hills. Sam listened curiously, paying rapt attention to every word, and most surprisingly, taking a genuine interest in him.

Soon Arnold found himself sitting on the bed beside her, trading life experiences. He told her about the time in science class when he was younger when he accidentally glued an eraser to his teacher's butt, and Sam told him about the time she painted her hair green with finger paint. They laughed together the whole night through, until suddenly it seemed like the golden rays of dawn were flooding in through Sam's window. They were sitting side-by-side, laughing and still sharing memories.

"And then Clover decided to give enough blood to earn the money to get her ear pierced." Sam laughed and shook her head. "It took me and Alex three days to convince her it was a bad idea."

Arnold laughed, leaning back comfortably on the bed, then let out a sigh, his hands propping up the back of his head. Sam was lying beside him, also staring at the ceiling. They remained in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Arnold let out a yawn, suddenly feeling tired.

"Wow... the sun's up." Sam just realized, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "I didn't even realize." She looked over at the clock, then over at Arnold who sat up beside her. "This has been a wonderful night."

"Yeah... I had a lot of fun." Arnold smiled sincerely. Sam smiled back and looked down at the floor, gasping when she saw that the floor was wet, covered in water from wall to wall. "What's that?"

"Oh man, don't tell me someone flooded the bathroom again!" Sam jumped to her feet and ran out into the hall quickly. Arnold stood up and followed more slowly, stopping outside and watching Sam run into the bathroom. She stopped and looked puzzled, staring at the toilet. "The toilet's fine... it's just the floor that's wet." She scratched her head in confusion.

"Maybe someone spilled something?" Arnold suggested. He looked down the hall curiously, and gasped when he saw that the stairs had vanished under water. The entire first floor was completely flooded. "Uh... Sam..." He pointed at the stairs. Sam looked, then gasped and ran up beside him.

"The house is flooding!" She exclaimed. "We have to get out of here! Quick, you get Alex while I get Clover, then we'll get out through my window!" Sam exclaimed, pointing out where he was supposed to go. Arnold nodded and ran into the indicated bedroom, which was also slowly filling up with water while Alex slept peacefully on the bed, dressed in Pajamas with cute teddy bears on them.

"Alex! Come on!" Arnold yanked the covers off of her and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a sitting position. Alex woke with a start.

"Huh? Wha?" She looked around, and screamed when she saw Arnold, wrapping her arms over her chest. "Arnold? What are you doing here?"

"The house is flooding, we have to get out of here!" Arnold grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed. Once Alex's feet hit the now ankle-deep water on the floor, she stopped complaining and followed him back to Sam's bedroom. "Okay, we're going out the window right?" Arnold asked.

"I don't think so. Sam replied, already staring out her window. Arnold and Alex approached, then both gasped when they looked outside and saw that the water was rising outside as well as in, engulfing the homes around Beverly Hills. People were standing on their roofs, or swimming desperately for high ground. The golden sunlight seemed endless, reflecting off of the newly formed ocean.

"What do we do now?" Alex asked.

"We get to the roof. The water's way too cold to swim for it, and staying inside is a death sentence." Sam replied. "Come on, I'll go up, and you two can pass Arnold up after me." Sam approached the window and climbed onto the windowsill, reaching up around the outside and pulling herself up, grunting with the effort. Clover turned to look at Arnold curiously.

"What're you doing here?" She asked.

"Is that important right now Clover? Just help me get him up." Alex replied quickly. They pushed Arnold up to the window and helped him climb shakily onto the windowsill.

"I don't know about this girls..." Arnold complained nervously.

"Just reach for the roof, Sam will pull you up." Alex told him as she and Clover grabbed his feet to steady him. He gulped and looked up to see Sam hanging over the edge of the roof, holding her arms out.

"Come on!" Sam told him. Arnold stared up at her, then gulped and stood up quickly, throwing his hands up toward her. He felt himself leaning back toward the water, but Sam grabbed his hands and pulled while Alex and Clover started pushing up from the bedroom. Arnold was pulled straight up to the roof, where Sam struggled and yanked, finally falling back on her butt as he rolled onto her lap, shivering in fear.

"I thought I was gonna fall..." He gulped in fear.

"We wouldn't let that happen." Sam smiled back panting. Arnold smiled back and they both climbed to their feet, stepping carefully on the slanted roof. Alex and Clover soon joined them and they all turned to look out across Beverly Hills. The entire city was covered in water, reflecting the light of the sun for as far as they could see.

"What is going on here? We're not THAT close to the ocean." Alex commented in confusion.

"Hold on, let me see if I can get a hold of Jerry on my X-Powder. Maybe he knows what's going on." Sam pulled out a small pink compact from one of her pockets.

"What's that?" Arnold asked.

"Sam, is that a good idea?" Clover asked, jerking her head to Arnold.

"This isn't the time for discretion Clover. If we don't get answers fast, we could drown, along with everyone else in Beverly Hills." Sam tapped a few buttons on her X-Powder, for a moment receiving nothing but static. "Come on Jerr, this isn't the time to be out to lunch." She adjusted the frequency for a few moments, then sighed and closed it. "There's too much interference. I can't get a signal through."

"What is that?" Arnold asked, his scientific curiosity overpowering his confusion and fear for the moment as he moved up beside her to study the mechanical compact in Sam's hands.

"It's called an X-Powder." Sam explained. "We use it for our jobs with the World Organization Of Human Protection."

"Sammie!" Alex shouted in alarm.

"He deserves to know. We can wipe his mind later if we need to, but for now we need to all be on the same page." Sam replied. This seemed to satisfy Alex, who sat down on the roof and looked out over the rising ocean around them. Clover was standing on the other side of the roof, smirking and staring across the street to where Mandy's house was. There didn't seem to be any sign of her.

"Where do you guys think Mandy is?" Clover asked.

"I don't know." Sam walked up beside her. "Maybe she wasn't home."

"This is all so... unreal." Arnold sank down onto the roof, staring at the three girls on the other side. "You're all secret agents... and now California is falling into the ocean? This is the weirdest dream I've ever had..." He put his head in his hands. Alex stood up and walked over to sit down beside him. Arnold looked over at her.

"So, what are you doing here anyway?" Alex asked curiously. "It's not like Sam to have boys over."

"We were just talking..." Arnold replied.

"Really?" Alex asked teasingly. "Talking?"

"Y... yeah..." Arnold gulped. Alex giggled and looked over at Sam mischievously. "Really, we didn't do anything."

"I'm sure you didn't Arnold." Alex stood up and walked over to join her other two friends on the other side of the roof. Arnold sat alone on his side, looking down at the rising water. It was lapping at the edge of the roof by now. It would be less than an hour before it engulfed the top and swept them away, possibly never to emerge again.

"No Alex! We did not do anything! Sheesh!" Sam shouted and turned to stomp back over to Arnold, plopping down beside him. "So annoying sometimes!" She huffed. Arnold smiled slightly, watching the other girls at the other side of the roof chuckling together at Sam's indignation. Arnold looked over at Sam and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey... if it helps, I told them we didn't do anything." He said.

"I know, you wouldn't lie Arnold." Sam sighed and shook her head. "It's not really about that... I know they're just making the best of a REALLY bad situation... keeping the mood light." She looked down at the water, which had engulfed the bottom quarter of the roof. "It's speeding up... we're not gonna be able to stay up here much longer."

"What should we do when it reaches us?" Arnold asked.

"Stay here as long as we can... then pray." Sam replied. Arnold looked around, trying not to think about it. He didn't see anyone else around, the houses further downhill from there were completely submerged, and they didn't see any sign of anyone further uphill from their position. They were just alone adrift in a sea of water.

"Rock! I win again!" Clover shouted from the other side of the roof, where it seemed she and Alex had begun a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. "Let's play again." She suggested. So they settled back into their game while Sam pulled out her X-Powder and tried to send another signal, but once again some unknown force blocked it.

Sam sighed and closed her X-Powder, then jumped in surprise when one of the gentle waves lapped at her foot, which was hanging down from the tip of the arched roof. She pulled her foot back and stood up in the middle of the roof. "Everyone, get to your feet. We need to stay dry as long as we can." She ordered. Alex, Clover and Arnold stood up with her, sliding close to her as the water continued to rise.

"If we drown girls, I just want you to know I've really enjoyed my time with both of you." Clover said. "And you weren't TOO much of a pest Arnold."

"Yeah, same here." Alex said. "I'll really miss you girls."

"Everyone hold hands, we need to stay on the roof as long as possible." Sam grabbed Arnold's hand with one arm, and Clover's with the other, while Clover grabbed Alex's, forming a small chain as the waves washed up over their feet, making the corner of roof they were standing on very slippery and treacherous.

"Yeeesh! Is the water getting colder?" Alex shivered lightly.

"It's coming in straight from the ocean." Sam replied. "And it's moving faster." Indeed, it was already moving up their calves.

Alex gulped, her teeth chattering, since she wasn't wearing anything to combat the cold at all. She'd been dragged up here in little more than her pajamas, though she was better off than Clover, who was in a nightgown. "This is m-majorly cold S-Sammie, I don't know h-how much I c-can take..." She shivered.

"T-tell me about it..." Clover agreed.

"Hold on girls, we can't afford to let go." Sam replied, struggling to keep her footing as the water rose up to their thighs, trying its best to sweep their feet out from under them and send them drifting along the moving ocean. Arnold gulped, watching Sam with a longing gaze even as the water moved up his waist, pulling furiously at his legs in an attempt to trip him up.

"Sam! If this is it... I want to tell you something!" He shouted over the rushing water, throwing all of his fear and cautiousness to the wind. Sam looked over at him quickly. "After I sent you the letter saying I was your secret admirer... I never-" Suddenly the ocean tore at his legs, sweeping them out from under him so that he plunged into the freezing cold waves.

Sam, Alex, and Clover screamed as they were pulled into the river after him, still linked together by their hands. Arnold was submerged, but was suddenly pulled to the surface with a pair of strong arms wrapped around his chest. "Hold on Arnold!" Sam shouted over the roar of the waves trying desperately to drag them back under the surface.

"Sammie!" Alex and Clover screamed over the waves, clinging to each other and struggling to keep their heads over the water. They all coughed and sputtered desperately keeping their heads out of the freezing water, though their limbs were freezing rapidly.

"I can barely feel my legs!" Alex cried out.

"Hold on Alex! Keep your head over the water!" Sam tried to paddle toward her, pulling Arnold with her with one arm around his chest, but he was too cumbersome for her to pull along AND grab hold of Alex. "There's got to be something to grab onto!"

"It's all underwater!" Clover shouted back between her sputtering.

"I love you girls!" Alex shouted, her head beginning to slip under the waves though she struggled to stay up.

"Alex!" Clover swam toward her, but suddenly a dark shadow descended over them. Arnold looked up in surprise, gasping when he saw a massive mechanical ship with a giant W on the side hovering over the water. A massive hole opened on the underside of the ship, and a pale blue light swept down over them, lifting them and the very water they were swimming in into the air.

"Alex, breathe!" Arnold looked to the side and saw that Clover had managed to pull Alex from the water, which was being filtered back down to Earth as the four survivors were lifted up toward the massive ship. When they touched the hull they suddenly appeared in what almost looked like a briefing room of sorts, with an old balding man watching them worriedly.

Sam turned to Arnold with her wet hair matted to her head, having lost the pigtails in the flood. She let go of his chest. "Are you okay Arnold?"

"Y... yeah." Arnold replied, stunned by everything that had been happening. Sam nodded and quickly moved toward the seats in the middle of the room, where Clover was cradling Alex against her chest. The brunette girl was breathing shallowly, looking up at the ceiling.

"Alex? How are you feeling?" Sam asked tenderly, putting one hand to her chest to feel for a heartbeat.

"I think I'll be okay..." Alex coughed, putting one hand over Sam's. She looked down at the old man. "You have perfect timing Jerr..."

"Thank you Alex, but I'm afraid all the timing in the world won't help us this time." The old man replied seriously. "The world needs you girls more than ever."

TO BE CONTINUED