On Today's Episode: Nick and Mumei infiltrate Eitri's new reality in order to find their friends before any more damage can be done, but even if they can reunite and find Eitri, the Witch of Ages is still a tough customer, fully intent on molding this new reality to her distorted whims. Can the spies find a way to defeat Eitri and hopefully restore their old reality before the damage is done?
Act 5: Genesis of Existence
Unknown Place – Unknown Time
Nick loathed in his surroundings, without even one clue where he really was.
"All right-y then, where exactly do we start in this new reality? I have no idea what's different here," Nick chastised.
Mumei was looking around, too, like she'd never seen this reality before herself.
"I guess we're going to have to play it by ear until we find something that'll help us," Mumei told Nick.
"What in particular?" Nick wondered. "Any ideas?"
"I figure we'll have to find something that would be familiar between this reality and the old one," Mumei responded.
Nick continued on, knowing this certainly was not in his plans, especially with what he really wanted to do after the mission was done.
"Man, I'm gonna tear Eitri apart when I get my hands on her..." Nick growled.
"You'll probably have to get in line on that one," Mumei groaned.
"Any idea what we do now, Mumei?" Nick wondered as they wandered on.
"Just hope that your spy team is close by," Mumei answered with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Tell me about it," Nick groaned.
"And if I may, Nick," Mumei added. "I certainly wish you and Alex all the best – and your other two girlfriends, too; same goes for Mat and..."
"Sam," Nick remarked. "And thanks, Mumei. I also hope Mat jumps on that bandwagon sooner or later, too..."
Before long, Nick heard his X-Powder, much to his surprise.
"Nick?" Nozomi stated.
"Nozomi?!" Nick exclaimed in complete shock. "Where are you guys?"
"We're in what I think is Beverly Hills High School!" Nozomi responded. "We were all heading to class, then we all got really bad headaches and suddenly we remembered what's been happening!"
"I seriously didn't want to remember Principal Scritch," Sam groaned. "Even after all these years, I still don't know what her damage was!"
"Are any of the Guardians with you?" May asked.
"Just Mumei, but I'm pretty sure the others are here, too," Nick answered. "Keep your X-Powders on so I can track you guys down, 'kay?"
Nick and Mumei swiftly followed the X-Powder signal tracker through the winding streets of a much different Beverly Hills. Nick was easily able to notice many of the differences, like a completely different shopping mall that wasn't The Groove, slightly more developed suburbs, and, most disturbingly, no sign of the W.O.O.H.P. building anywhere in the city.
Nick knew that these changes were most likely part of Eitri's new reality, and he still held on to hope that these changes could be reversed by the time they were done with Eitri.
Eventually, Nick and Mumei found themselves outside of a Beverly Hills High School that more resembled the old building that had once been used for the facility, and the entire rest of the spy team was there waiting for them.
"Took you long enough, says this observer!" Melissa laughed. "I don't even know what time is anymore thanks to that little brat!"
"I almost thought we were still high school students for a while there, thanks to whatever that witch did," Clover admitted. "Man, that felt weird..."
"But everyone's all right?" Nick asked. All thirteen members of the spy team were now present and accounted for, but a few of the 'auxiliary members' were nowhere to be found.
"PAPA!" Klee shouted almost on cue as she jumped out from a nearby bush to tackle hug her future father, while Kana followed to hug Sam and Mat.
"Well, that answers that question, I guess," Britney chuckled.
"Oh, man, I thought we were toast after what happened," Klee admitted. "After all, Eitri didn't just rewrite the timeline, she rewrote reality itself. I figured that meant that Kana and I were as good as paradox'ed..."
"With how whacked out everything is, I wouldn't be surprised if the timeline's acting all screwy," Mat responded. "Another reason we need to find Eitri post-haste and kick her witch face into the ground."
"Then you'll probably have to give us a piece of that pie, eh?"
Nick looked up and smiled as Fauna, Sana, Baelz, and Kronii all descended from the sky, with Pirate Nick and Patty right behind them in the Fiertia.
"Oh, thank goodness you guys are all right, too," Mumei stated.
"What, you think a rewritten reality was going to stop us Guardians?" Kronii teased.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Kronii!" Baelz laughed.
"We've fought through worse than this, to be sure," Sana answered.
"That's the oath we made as Guardians," Fauna proclaimed.
"So, let's all set sail, me mateys!" Patty exclaimed. "We've got a crazy witch to find and pound into the dirt!"
"Gung-ho as always, darling," Pirate Nick chuckled. "But here's my question: how would we even find Eitri in this new reality she created?"
"I had a theory about that," Mumei replied. "Despite everything that happened, I can still sense 'shards' of your old reality, which may mean we have a chance to restore it. As for Eitri, we'd probably just have to find a way into her lair so we can take care of her."
"Any ideas on where to start?" Blaine asked.
"We should probably look for a point where the old reality and the new reality tend to contradict each other," Kronii answered. "We've dealt with this kind of thing on a smaller scale before, so hopefully that principle's the same this time around."
As the spies all began to discuss what they were going to do when they found Eitri, Nick couldn't help but glance back at Alex, having been unbelievably worried that she had been erased from Eitri's new reality.
It seemed like May had noticed Nick's eye movements as well, since she broke off from chatting with Patty about pirate stuff to see what Nick was up to.
"Did you decide when you're going to say it, Nick?" May whispered.
"I was debating for a while, but after Eitri used the Super Genesis Wave, I told myself I'd do it when I found all of you again," Nick answered. "So... basically, right now."
"Go get her, buddy," May giggled, leaning over to kiss Nick on the cheek. "You got this."
His confidence appropriately bolstered, Nick steeled his nerves and made his move, walking towards Alex to tap her on the shoulder.
"What's up, Nick?" Alex asked.
God, that smile... come on, Nick, focus! Nick thought.
"Okay, so... we've known each other for a long time, haven't we, Alex?" Nick stated.
"Four, almost five years now," Alex replied. "We've been through quite a lot, huh?"
"Tell me about it," Nick chuckled. "I honestly wondered if it was going to be easy or hard to find someone after I moved here to Beverly Hills, especially considering how much Haruka freaked out over what happened with Nozomi..."
"Seriously, Nick, you're still not going to let that go?" Haruka groaned.
"And especially after losing my parents," Nick continued. "I've been through a lot of things that most people don't deserve to suffer through, but it's like I said a while back, I prefer to find strength in my past, no matter what's happened in it. And furthermore..."
Suddenly, most of the other spies adopted shocked expressions, as they'd all figured out what Nick was attempting to say, but Klee motioned for them all to be silent and not ruin the moment.
"If I hadn't gone through all of that... I may not have met the greatest group of friends I ever could have asked for," Nick proclaimed. "And I most likely wouldn't have met such a wonderful woman like you, Alex."
"Awww, stop, you're making me blush," Alex giggled. But when she saw Nick reach into his Jetpack Backpack, even though she couldn't see what he was reaching for, her eyes flung open in surprise, trying her best to hold back tears at what she hoped would be coming next.
And she wasn't disappointed.
"I've been pondering on this for a little while, to be fair," Nick explained. "At first, I was going to surprise you after we put Boogie Gus back in the slammer, but then all of this happened, and I wondered if I would ever get a decent chance to say what I wanted to say. But after Eitri decided to screw reality, I told myself that once we all got back together, I was going to say those four magic words to you no matter what tried to get in our way."
Nick finally finished rifling through his Jetpack Backpack to show off the diamond ring he'd bought, and when he opened the box to show the ring itself to Alex, she couldn't help but let a few tears fall.
("I Will Always Be With You" by Sheena Easton and Jessi Corti plays)
"I'm surprised I've managed to say so much about it so far, considering there are times when I tend to trip over my own words," Nick quipped. "So, in the interest of not making a fool out of myself any further, I'm just going to go ahead and say it."
Nick took a few steps closer to Alex.
"Alex, girl of my dreams... will you marry me?"
Everyone present was rock-still and dead silent as they waited for Alex's answer. Even the Guardians dared not make any moves that would spoil the moment.
It took a few seconds for Alex to gather her wits after that bombshell, but she smiled brighter than Nick had ever seen her smile before.
"...Nick? After everything we've been through together... did you really think my answer would be anything else?" Alex asked, now openly crying herself.
"So... can I assume that's a yes?" Nick wondered.
"Of course it's a yes, you silly!" Alex exclaimed. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes, I'll marry you!"
And that was all that Nick needed to hear, throwing himself into Alex's arms so they could kiss, much to the rapturous applause from the rest of the spies.
"See, Nick, I told ya you could do it!" May exclaimed.
After parting due to needing to breathe, Nick finally slipped the ring onto Alex's ring finger before kissing her again.
"So, was that a good time, Alex?" Nick asked.
"It was perfect, Nick," Alex laughed as she once again moved to kiss her new fiancée.
"Okay, as much as I'd love to let you two keep kissing until you can't breathe anymore, we do have someone that needs a beatdown," Kronii quipped.
"Yeah, we need to teach that witch a lesson she'll never forget," Alex proclaimed. "Let's go find her and end this, everyone!"
With that in mind, the spies all set out into the altered Beverly Hills to find a way into Eitri's lair, Nick and Alex holding hands the entire way.
Eventually, Mumei's senses picked up something strange that led her and the rest of the party to a large parking lot where W.O.O.H.P. was normally supposed to be.
"Did you find something, Mumei?" Sana asked.
"Oh, did I ever," Mumei quipped as she summoned one of her feather swords and jammed it into the ground, then wrenched it backwards, cutting the concrete open to reveal a dark portal in the ground. "I was right. Find a point where the two realities contradict each other, and we'll find the way."
"Well, I'm not in the mood for wasting any more time, so let's get in there and find Eitri," Nick proclaimed.
The entire twenty-two person group jumped into the portal that Mumei had uncovered, coming out the other side into a very strange world with a dark violet sky and floating platforms at many different angles.
"Okay, why did we jump into an M.C. Escher painting?" Britney asked.
"That... is accurate," Mat responded.
"Well, whatever this world's like, I'm sure Eitri's waiting for us at the end of it, so let's get moving, everybody," Nick responded.
"You can't even tell it's daytime or nighttime," Bridget commented.
"Eitri's fully responsible for this," Sana replied. "If I recall correctly, this was your average everyday lifestyle, wasn't it?"
"Totally," Sam emphasized. "High school kids, hanging out just about every day at the Groove, or our beach house."
"Yes," Clover chastised.
"And who can forget the numerous boys Clover chased after," Alex added.
"And Mat transferring here, too," Sam added as well.
"Don't forget making me grow and have friends who truly care, and someone I fell in love with," Mat quipped with a shoulder hug to Sam.
Britney and Blaine didn't have much to say since they didn't go to Beverly High like the main spies did.
"Not to mention all the headaches Jerry gave us at times," Clover stated.
Sam and Alex cringed and nodded in agreement.
Haruka and Nozomi were checking their X-Powders for any activity nearby.
"Any word?" Bridget wondered.
"I'm getting a reading by the old Beverly Hills Mall," Haruka answered.
"More of memory lane," Alex quipped.
"Uh-huh," Sam remarked.
Melissa and Dawn were having some flashbacks themselves, as did Nick before he came from Umi no Hoshi.
They could see another Then Clover getting her nerves shot via Then Mandy over seeing Then Clover in her PJs at school.
"Oh, gosh," Clover scoffed and sighed that they were taken back to their graduation day from Beverly High.
"If only she were being turned into a big chump more often," Mat chastised, knowing how snooty and bitchy Mandy really was at this time.
"I'd definitely take the current Mandy over this version," Sam commented.
The only anomaly in this was Mandy noticing a sign taped to her back saying "I love being screwed with." Alex was the first to notice that.
"Man, getting even with her was SOOO satisfying," Nick commented quietly.
"That didn't happen though before," Clover remarked.
"Must be Eitri's doing," Britney replied.
"Hopefully she's nearby," Blaine quipped.
"Where do we start?" May wondered.
"Allow me to pinpoint," Klee volunteered, using her own psychic radar to search for Eitri throughout the winding, twisting pathways of the Distortion World, even as they saw more flashes of old high school memories.
"I wonder why we're seeing all of this if Eitri rewrote reality?" Nozomi wondered.
"That just lends more credence to my theory that your old reality may not be truly gone yet," Mumei answered. "I'm willing to bet that Eitri's acting as an 'anchor' for the two realities until she's finished using the Super Genesis Wave to bend reality to her whim."
"So, basically, that means if we take Eitri down, everything should snap back to normal?" Sam asked.
"That's what it's looking like," Baelz responded.
"Hopefully it won't be much longer until we find her," Alex stated.
"I don't think that'll be a problem, mama," Klee responded, pointing to just ahead, towards a lone platform out in the distance of this strange world. "There she is!"
"Well, then, how about we head up there and put an end to this nonsense, shall we?" Clover proclaimed.
"Allow me to provide the transportation," Nick stated as he raised his hand to cover the entire group in a psychic bubble and guide it towards the lone platform in the center of the Distortion World. Once there, they noticed Eitri sitting on a throne decorated with all manner of clocks and those ominous eyes that were on her witch hat.
"Ah, you finally made it," Eitri laughed as the spies landed on the platform after Nick dissolved his bubble transport. "I was wondering when you were going to get here, honestly."
"Oh, just go ahead and stuff it, you stupid witch!" Alex shot back. "You know exactly why we're here, and we're not in the mood for any of your long-winded speeches!"
Eitri couldn't help but chuckle at how straightforward that sounded as she lifted herself off of her throne and started floating into the air.
"Well, I suppose you've waited long enough, haven't you?" Eitri laughed as she raised her right hand, crimson energy surrounding her palm. "Then, as an extended courtesy, allow me to not expedite your deaths any longer."
The energy surrounding Eitri's hand quickly formed into an elaborate crystal ball-topped staff, and she spun it around for a bit before aiming it towards the spies.
"This time, I won't simply scatter you across the timelines," Eitri proclaimed. "Now, I will utterly erase you from existence, and you will perish having amounted to absolutely nothing!"
Eitri snapped her new staff down and called a deluge of lightning bolts to rain down over the spies, forcing them to scatter.
"Okay, that was cheap, even for someone like you," Sam shot back as she fired a Cyclone Blast Hairdryer shot for Eitri, only for the witch to easily slap the blast away with her free hand.
"Was that supposed to be a threat?" Eitri chuckled, only to find herself knocked to the ground courtesy of Alex kicking her in the back.
"I think the only threat around here is you, little lady," Alex responded before moving to start swiping at Eitri.
If there was one thing Alex had definitely noticed about Eitri, it was that she seemed to prefer doing most of her fighting with her magic and other powers. She didn't seem to know much about dealing with a more physical onslaught, as Alex noted with Eitri frantically dodging each attack that Alex threw her way.
"Well, well, can't really handle hand-to-hand, can ya?" Alex taunted.
Suddenly, Eitri raised her free hand, ensnared Alex in a psychic field of sorts, and lifted her up into the air.
"Shouldn't have started talking, little girl," Eitri cackled, electricity lancing between her palms. "Because now you're as good as fried chicken!"
Eitri clapped her palms together and sent a wave of lightning straight towards the trapped Alex, but that lightning was intercepted by a Final Shine Attack courtesy of Nick.
"Get your greasy hands off of my future wife," Nick proclaimed.
"Would you rather I fry you instead?!" Eitri shouted as she flew towards Nick, only to be intercepted by Mumei. "Argh, would you stupid Guardians stop interfering?!"
"Um, interfering to fix this world's problems is our job, Eitri!" Mumei exclaimed as she started slashing at Eitri with her feather swords. "Maybe you forgot that in the ten thousand years you've been imprisoned?!"
"Butt out of my business!" Eitri shouted, knocking Mumei back with a pulse wave, only to be dragged to her knees by way of Sana casting a gravity sphere on her.
Eitri quickly threw her hands out to dispel the gravity sphere, but this left her wide open to an attack from behind, which May swiftly took advantage of.
"Prepare to eat anchor, you little brat!" May exclaimed, bashing Eitri around with multiple anchor swings before sending the witch flying with a home-run swing.
Eitri flew backwards, landed on another nearby floating platform, then propelled herself back into the battle, only to be sent flying again, this time from Sam and Mat lashing out with a double flying kick.
"Don't ever mess with us!" Mat shouted.
"Ugh, I should have just erased all of you from the start," Eitri growled, raising her staff and causing a great tidal wave to flood the platform, forcing the spies to take to the sky.
"Shoulda, coulda, woulda, freak show!" Clover exclaimed as she threw a Tornado in a Can of Hairspray underneath where Eitri was floating. Klee fired a psychic bolt to pierce the can and unleash the tornado within, which caught Eitri and threw her around for a bit.
Britney continued the attack by flying upwards and snap-kicking Eitri in the head to send her flying back down to the ground where Fauna caused vines to sprout from the ground and entrap Eitri.
"I smell an opportunity! Sonic Mode, online!" Bridget shouted, transforming into Sonic Mode before rocketing towards the trapped Eitri like a lightning bolt, then equipping a Metal Masher Boxing Glove before clocking Eitri in the face with it, sending her tumbling across the ground.
"Ooh, you're starting to annoy me now," Eitri growled as Bridget came running back for another attack. "Begone from this and all worlds!"
Just as Eitri aimed her staff for Bridget, both Nick and Haruka came in from both sides, landing at least four separate punches each before knocking Eitri into the air with dual leg lifts, finishing by jumping after Eitri and sending her crashing back to the ground with a double boot to the stomach.
Before Eitri could pick herself up, Baelz jumped over her and started machine-gunning spheres of chaos energy downward to hopefully keep Eitri pinned for a moment.
Nozomi took her chance while Eitri was pinned down, reaching into her Jetpack Backpack and whipping out a bottle of Ice Queen Perfume and spraying it towards Eitri, completely freezing her in a block of ice.
"I'm pretty sure she won't stay frozen for long!" Nozomi shouted. "Someone had better hit her quickly!"
"All over that, me hearties!" Patty exclaimed. "I kinda wanted to show off my new move."
"Go for it, dear," Pirate Nick responded.
Patty nodded before unsheathing her pistol and drawing what appeared to be a deck of playing cards, then charging for the frozen Eitri, only to stop short and leap into the air.
"Hail, falling stardust!" Patty shouted as she flung eight cards around Eitri, upon which they stuck into the ground around the witch and formed an eight-sided octagon of golden light.
"Glittery Rain!" Patty proclaimed, firing her pistol at Eitri. The instant her shot connected, the cards all transformed into large, golden stars and converged on Eitri before exploding, shattering the ice block and flooring Eitri.
"Wow, you found some magic cards, huh?" Nozomi giggled.
"Cards infused with nethicite power," Pirate Nick answered. "We've found some... let's say, very interesting relics on our recent adventures."
"And that's only one of my new grab bag of cool moves!" Patty laughed.
"Well, you won't be using them, because you're about to be scattered across reality itself!" Eitri proclaimed as she picked herself up and prepared to cast a time-freezing spell.
Naturally, this attracted Kronii's attention, and the Guardian of Time unsheathed her clock blades before tossing them like boomerangs to interrupt Eitri's spell.
"You wretched little..." Eitri growled, only to be psychically grabbed and yanked downward courtesy of Klee.
"Keep your eye on the birdie now," Klee quipped, pressing her palms together as they started to glow brightly.
As the aquatic-blue glow surrounding her hands began to get brighter, Klee wrenched her hands apart, creating a sphere of psychic energy between her palms. A second later, Klee tossed the sphere of energy into the air, where it bloomed into a four-leaf clover shape, then split apart into multiple smaller four-leaf clovers that surrounded Eitri and began firing psychic bolts rapid-fire until Eitri was caught up in another explosion and sent tumbling again.
"You know, for someone who had enough power to rewrite reality, you're not doing so hot against us, it seems," Melissa taunted.
"I would bite your tongue before I rip it out of your mouth!" Eitri exclaimed as she charged for Melissa, only for Dawn to activate a Helicopter Hand Fan and aim it at Eitri so that the helicopter blades hit her in the face and kept her stuck there.
Klee raised her glowing right hand and drew a large circle of light with it, before using her left hand to draw a star inside the circle. Klee then brought both of her glowing hands behind her.
"Eat some of this!" Klee shouted. "Meteor Starfall!"
Klee thrust her hands through the star circle, unleashing a barrage of star-shaped psychic bolts that battered at Eitri for a few seconds.
"Hey, I think we've got her on the ropes!" Sam exclaimed. "We'd better deal a knockout before this drags on!"
"Do we have all the component gadgets for the Vortex Blaster?" Clover asked.
The spies all double-checked their Jetpack Backpacks, thankful that Klee was keeping Eitri busy.
"Yup, we've got them all!" Alex responded. "Let's put 'em together!"
Sam started first, producing an Electromagnetic Curling Iron and tossing it to Nick. Alex followed up with a Laser Lipstick and a Wind Tunnel 9000. Nick connected the Laser Lipstick right above the barrel of the Electromagnetic Curling Iron, and the Wind Tunnel 9000 on top of the ECM, just behind the control panel. Clover finished by throwing Nick a Helicopter Hand Fan and a pair of wings from a spare Jetpack Backpack. Nick attached the Helicopter Hand Fan to the underside of the ECM's barrel, then placed the wings on either side of the ECM.
The combination weapon now complete, Sam, Alex, and Clover joined Nick to hold the weapon, Sam and Alex holding the jetpack wings, Clover grasping the side handle and Nick holding the main handle, his finger on the firing trigger.
"That's cool," Mumei giggled.
"Say goodnight, Eitri!" Alex exclaimed.
"Ready? FIRE!" Sam shouted.
Nick pulled the firing trigger, and the blades of the Helicopter Hand Fan extended outward and started spinning rapidly. Nick then pulled the firing trigger a second time, and the Electromagnetic Curling Iron, the Laser Lipstick, and the Wind Tunnel 9000 all fired their payload into the spinning blades. Two seconds later, the Vortex Blaster unleashed a massive four-way blast consisting of a large electromagnetic beam surrounded by a spiraling wind blast and a barrage of laser bolts.
Klee flew away from Eitri as the Vortex Blaster's payload slammed into Eitri, eventually finishing in a massive explosion.
"And boom goes the witch!" Britney exclaimed.
"...did we actually get her, though?" May asked. "Advice for heroes, number fourteen, after all."
"I must commend all of you," Eitri proclaimed as the smoke from the explosion settled to reveal that Eitri was still standing, though pretty battered. "You've done something that no one in the past ten thousand years has managed to do."
Eitri looked up at the spies, now sporting a rather psychotic expression, and her eyes began to glow an incredibly evil-looking shade of red.
"You've actually made me angry."
A bright light suddenly surrounded Eitri as she floated into the air. Just as Nick and Klee charged forward to stop whatever the Witch of Ages was planning, Eitri threw her arms out and caused that light to expand outwards from herself, blasting the spies backwards.
When the light finally cleared, Eitri had seemingly transformed. Though most of her clothes had been destroyed, most of her body was now decorated with those ominous-looking red eyes, and the one imprinted on her hat had turned much more demonic, and her body was glowing a bright white to obscure any "unmentionables". Eitri's hair was also glowing that radiant white, and her eyes, besides now staying that evil red, now had an image of a clock embedded in her irises.
"Oh, crapbaskets," Alex gasped.
"I should have just done this from the beginning," Eitri proclaimed, her voice now echoing across the Distortion World. "I should have erased you wretches from existence the instant I theorized that you might be a threat to my plans. I've officially had all I can stand of your meddling!"
Eitri sneered before locking her gaze on Nick and smirking viciously.
"And it looks like I'm starting with you, boy," Eitri cackled, reaching out to instantly cast a time-stopping spell on Nick.
"Oh, hell, she couldn't do that instantly before, could she?" Clover asked.
"You take another step towards him, and I'm going to..." Alex growled, only to be swept aside by Eitri.
"Or what?" Eitri laughed. "Just sit down and watch while I eliminate this pest. I'd say congratulations on the shortest engagement ever... but I really don't give a shit."
With that, Eitri raised her hands and began to channel temporal energy between her palms before unleashing it in the form of a wicked-looking wave of black light that screamed towards the defenseless Nick far too fast for anyone to react in time.
A gigantic explosion resounded upon impact, and the spies were desperate to see if Nick was still with them.
When the explosion settled down, however, Nick had been surrounded by an ethereal bubble of multi-colored light, and just outside the bubble were all five Guardians, no doubt using their powers to protect Nick.
"Are you serious?! Can you Guardians stop interfering for once in your lives?!" Eitri shouted. "He's just a mortal! He's not worth your time! None of these wretches are worth anything to you!"
"That's where you'd be wrong, Eitri," Mumei shot back. "You've been warped by your own desires for so long that you've forgotten the true potential that humans possess."
"You've only seen everyone below you as either research fodder or just expendable," Fauna proclaimed. "You've forgotten what it's like to actually care for someone."
"We care because that's our duty as the Guardians," Baelz stated. "While we try not to interfere with this world unless it's absolutely necessary, we still watch over and protect this world because that's what we were meant to do!"
"I'm sure the previous generation of Guardians would have said exactly the same thing," Kronii continued. "We exist in balance with the world, and you're just obsessed with remaking everything to fit your own selfish worldview."
"You don't have the right to pass judgment on all of reality just because it's not perfect to you!" Sana shouted. "You're not the judge, jury, and executioner for this world!"
"I should be, though!" Eitri screamed back. "This reality is unsaveable! The best thing to do is to wipe the slate clean and start over!"
"Has that been your dumb plan all along?!" May shouted.
"Exactly, little pirate girl," Eitri proclaimed. "Call it a purge, if you will. This world, and all others, shall return whence everything began. I'm going to give this world a new start. An empty world, pure and bright, in my own hands to control."
"You forgot one simple thing, Eitri," Mumei stated. "That's not your decision to make."
"Oh, then whose is it?!" Eitri shouted.
"That's not for anyone to decide," Kronii answered. "You're offering nothing but chaos in a flimsy disguise."
"And last I checked, controlling chaos is my job," Baelz chuckled.
"We chose to help the spies because we believe in them," Mumei proclaimed. "We believe in the potential they have. That's why we're Guardians, because we believe. So, we've decided to help our buddy out, because that's what friends do."
With that said, the five Guardians all placed their hands on the bubble they'd surrounded Nick with, their hands glowing as they channeled some of their power into it.
It didn't take long for Eitri to realize what the Guardians were doing, and she prepared a spell to interrupt them.
"You will not have the satisfaction!" Eitri shouted, aiming her spell for the bubble, only for it to suddenly expand outwards, then shatter in a bright flash that drove Eitri backwards.
When the light finally cleared, Eitri looked at the newly empowered Nick and felt something she hadn't felt for over ten thousand years...
...fear.
Nick was floating just above the ground, surrounded by an utterly gigantic aura of pure golden light, almost like a stage curtain of energy instead of the simple body-glow it normally was. Nick's hands were surrounded by spheres of yellow light, and his eyes had changed from brown to a sharp golden yellow. Nick's psychic aura also now held tints of bronze, purple, crimson, dark blue, and light green, no doubt the added power of the Guardians that they'd loaned to him.
"Wh-what..." Eitri gasped. "W-w-what did you...?!"
"It looks like the Guardians loaned me some of their power so we can put an end to this hoedown," Nick proclaimed. "And what is that I see in your eyes, Eitri? Are you scared?"
"D-Don't make me laugh!" Eitri shouted. "Like I'd be scared of a human!"
"Remember, I'm a psychic," Nick taunted. "I can read your mind, and I can see the fear in your eyes. You're scared of human potential. You're frightened of what we can accomplish when we put our minds to it."
"Sh-shut up!" Eitri exclaimed.
"You're horrified because you probably just realized that you might actually lose this fight because you're no better than most of our rogues' gallery who attained some power and let it all go straight to their heads."
"I SAID SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Eitri shrieked as she blitzed Nick, only for him to easily knock her aside with a much more powerful psychic pulse.
"Holy crapbaskets, Nick's all supercharged again!" Nozomi gasped.
"It must be because of the power the Guardians gave to him," Alex stated.
"That's my boyfriend for ya!" May giggled. "NOW KICK HER GLOWY ASS TO THE STRATOSPHERE, NICK!"
Nick rushed down Eitri as she picked herself up, waving his hand to conjure a barrage of razor-sharp feathers that slashed at Eitri before blasting her back with a much more powerful Final Shine Attack.
Not to be deterred, Eitri flew back in to attack Nick, but he easily met her strikes and they began to clash again and again, moving around the area so fast they only looked like streaks of light.
Nick eventually exploited a weak spot in Eitri's guard by surrounding his right fist with chaos energy and punching Eitri in the gut with it. While Eitri was dazed from the punch, Nick grabbed her by the legs and spun her around for a few seconds before tossing her into the side of a nearby rock face.
"Had enough yet?" Nick growled.
"You're not getting in my head anymore!" Eitri shouted, having clearly lost her composure as she bum-rushed Nick again, not even noticing that she'd left a major gap in her defenses.
A gap Nick readily exploited by pressing his palms to the ground and causing a multitude of vines to sprout from the ground and entangle themselves around Eitri's legs, keeping her there so Nick could hit Eitri with a Shining Star Attack, not feeling the drain afterwards due to the Guardians' power coursing through his body.
Not even close to done yet, Nick jumped backwards, waving both of his hands to cast two overlapping gravity spells on Eitri before lunging back towards her to punch her directly in the face.
While Eitri was stumbling, Nick snatched her in his psychic hold and smashed her around a couple times before tossing her into the sky.
"Face it, Eitri," Nick proclaimed. "You're going to lose this. Just accept it for once."
"You're out of your freakin' mind!" Eitri shouted. "Don't think I'm intimidated just because those stupid Guardians loaned you their power!"
"But you clearly are," Nick taunted. "I've been kicking your ass up and down this back-and-forth nightmare of a realm."
"You won't be singing your snide tunes for long once I'm done with you!" Eitri bellowed as she thundered towards Alex again, fully intent on ending her existence on the spot.
Nick just sighed in annoyance as he flew over to place himself in front of Alex and catch Eitri's fist with his right hand. Eitri tried to break free, but Nick's grip on her was solid.
"What did I tell you about messing with my future wife, you crazy witch?" Nick proclaimed. "Now you're going to get it."
Nick clenched his fist hard, and a loud snapping sound resounded in the area. As Eitri yelped in pain from her clearly broken wrist, Nick snap-kicked her into the air, then blasted her with another Final Shine Attack as she fell back down.
"All right, I'm through playing this insipid game with you, Eitri," Nick stated as he clenched his fists, channeling the power that the Guardians has granted him so he could deal the finishing strike.
Clearly not wanting to be a part of that, Eitri flew back towards the rest of the spies, intent on taking them out of the picture while Nick was charging and seemingly couldn't retaliate.
Nick just sighed in annoyance and raised his hand to cast a time-freezing spell to stop Eitri in her place. While the witch was frozen, Nick flew in front of Eitri and canceled the time freeze, relishing the look of absolute horror on Eitri's face.
As Eitri stood there, frozen in fear, Nick finished channeling the power of the Guardians and lunged forward, phantom images of all five Guardians alongside him as he punched Eitri in the chest, then finished by using that power to impale the Witch of Ages with a multi-colored energy blade that speared through her chest and out of her back.
"N-No... this... th-this can't be..." Eitri gasped as her body began to glow again. "How... how am I so defeated? This... I won't... I won't allow..."
Cracks began to appear along Eitri's body as she tried to deny that she'd lost, until those cracks became too much to handle and her body exploded into an immense flash of light.
When the light finally subsided, there was nothing left of her. Eitri, the Witch of Ages, was no more.
Satisfied that it was finally over, Nick flew back down to the lone platform where the rest of the spies were applauding that masterful performance.
"THAT WAS AMAZING, NICK!" May shouted as she flung herself over to hug Nick, followed by both Alex and Nozomi doing the same.
"What can I say, I wanted to put on a show," Nick quipped as he raised his hands and returned to his normal self, the power the Guardians had granted him returning to them. "And that's all she wrote."
Before anyone else could add anything to this conversation, the Distortion World seemingly began to freak out, its warped architecture becoming even more warped, and the dark violet background slowly brightening.
"Um, did we break something?" Blaine asked. "I seriously hope we didn't break something."
"It's just as I thought," Mumei quipped. "Since she was the one who used the Super Genesis Wave, Eitri needed to keep control of it so that she could maintain her new reality. Now that she's gone, everything she's done is beginning to undo itself."
"Does that mean we're all going back home?" Sam wondered. "We're going to get our old reality back?"
"Pretty much," Kronii admitted.
"Guess that means that Kana and I have to go back, too," Klee admitted.
"Same for us," Patty quipped. "I had a lot of fun on this journey, me hearties."
"Will we ever see any of you again?" Alex asked the Guardians.
"If a threat like Eitri ever rears its ugly head, probably," Mumei giggled. "Regardless, this was quite the adventure we've all been on."
"So, I guess this is goodbye," Nick stated.
"I don't say goodbye," Mumei answered as she walked over to hug Nick. "If you don't say goodbye, then you aren't really gone. You're just not here right now."
"I like the sound of that," Mat chuckled.
As the light got too bright to see, the last thing Nick noticed before his senses were overwhelmed were the Guardians waving to them.
2:27 P.M. – Beverly Hills
When the spies were finally able to open their eyes, they found themselves back in Beverly Hills, more specifically in the middle of the shopping district where they'd first engaged Boogie Gus before he'd unleashed the Genesis Wave. The first thing they noticed was that Klee, Kana, Patty and Pirate Nick were no longer with them, having been returned to their proper points.
"Hey, we're back in the shopping district," May quipped. "Does that mean we're back home where we belong?"
"Must be," Britney replied. "Look who else is back!"
To the spies' surprise, Boogie Gus was also lying in front of them, clearly very disoriented. Nick quickly raised his hand to encase Boogie Gus in a psychic bubble before he could get away.
"He's still around?" Nozomi wondered. "I thought Eitri had erased him?"
"Remember, all of the changes and 'rewrites' Eitri made were undone after we pasted her," Melissa responded.
"Ugh, what the heck happened?" Boogie Gus groaned, just now noticing that he was trapped. "And why the flip-truck am I in a bubble?! I just busted out!"
"Yeah, well, you might not remember anything, but we've had enough of your tomfoolery recently to last, oh, I don't know, the rest of our lives?!" Nick shot back. "So how about you go relax in your containment cell and don't bother us again for a long time?"
Nick didn't even give Boogie Gus a chance to ponder what he meant before flicking his hand upwards to send the bubbled villain off to containment.
"Welp, that was one hell of an adventure," Haruka quipped. "But seriously, I am exhausted..."
"Me, too," Clover sighed. "Let's go check in with Jerry so we can get back to the beach house and just chill for a while."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Sam chuckled.
2:51 P.M. – W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters
Jerry's Office
"That was fast, spies," Jerry stated once the spies were all situated in his office. Naturally, since they'd all come back to the exact point in time before Boogie Gus had used the Genesis Wave, Jerry appeared to have no recollection of what had happened. "I'd say that might be a new record."
"Tell me about it," RiCO giggled as she materialized in the office, having just left Nick's X-Powder and downloaded herself back into the W.O.O.H.P. network. "Let's just say that you missed quite a lot, Jerry."
"No kidding, Jerry, you won't believe what we've been through today," Sam proclaimed.
So, the spies told Jerry about the many adventures they'd been on today.
"I must say, that is quite the incredible story," Jerry proclaimed. "You all certainly get yourselves caught in some intense situations, don't you? After all that, I feel like you've all earned some time off."
"Oh, thank you, Jerry!" Clover exclaimed.
"It's the least I can do for you, Clover," Jerry answered.
Just then, RiCO noticed something different about Alex, as she'd been mostly laying dormant inside of Nick's X-Powder until they'd all returned home, just to be safe. RiCO looked down at Alex's hand and gasped in surprise when she noticed the ring that Alex was now wearing on her finger.
"Hey, Alex, where'd you get the ring?" RiCO asked, though she most likely already realized.
"Oh, yeah, that," Alex giggled, pulling Nick close to her. "Long story short, Nick proposed to me and I said yes!"
Another round of applause came up, as the spies hadn't had much time to celebrate earlier due to needing to track down Eitri.
"I was wondering when he was finally going to say it!" RiCO laughed.
"It seems like a lot of people were," Nick chuckled.
"Well, I figure you guys are all super-tired after your trip through time and space and reality and... well, EVERYTHING, so I'll expedite your trip home," RiCO proclaimed, waving her hands to send the spies back home.
4:36 P.M. – The Spies' Beach House
("A New Start" by Nanashi Mumei plays)
Naturally, the spies had moved for the pool the instant they were back at their beach house, in need of some serious relaxation time after everything they'd been through.
"PIRATE DIVE!" May exclaimed as she cannonballed herself into the pool. Thankfully, everyone near her had moved away from her so she didn't end up belly-flopping on top of anybody.
"Well, that was close," Melissa giggled. "One more second and I'd have been dunked."
"It doesn't help that May still doesn't announce when she's doing a Pirate Dive," Haruka chuckled.
"Hey, that's the whole point!" May exclaimed. "It's always fun to keep everyone guessing!"
"Is that so, May?" Sam proclaimed, swimming closer to May.
"Uh-oh," May quipped.
"Then I hope you're prepared to reap what you sow!" Mat responded as both he and Sam started chasing after May.
"ACK! MERCY, MERCY!" May shouted.
"I gotta admit, that's pretty cathartic," Britney laughed.
"Hey, has anybody seen Nick and Alex?" Nozomi wondered. "I figured they'd be in the pool by now."
"Yeah, I figured Nick would probably be the most in need of some relaxin', especially after that absolute smackdown he laid on Eitri," Clover quipped.
It turned out that Nick and Alex were actually in Nick's room talking about their plans for the future. Alex couldn't help but occasionally glance at her ring, still stunned that this was real.
"Still sinking in, I take it?" Nick asked.
"Pretty much," Alex replied. "I mean, I knew you'd probably pop the question eventually, but it still stunned me that it actually happened. Sometimes it feels like it's too good to be true..."
"Well, no matter what happens in the future, I'll never regret this decision," Nick proclaimed. "You are honestly the most amazing woman I have ever known, Alex, and I'm just so glad that you felt the same way that I did about you."
"Me, too, Nick," Alex answered, wiping a tear from her eye. "You were so different from all the other boys I'd crushed on, and I guess I was always curious if we could be more than just friends."
"I'm still embarrassed that Sam and Clover had me figured out before I even decided to take that plunge," Nick laughed. "I'm just glad they didn't blab..."
"Clover probably would have back then," Alex giggled. "But, in all seriousness, I love you, Nick, and I'm so happy that I get to spend the rest of my life with you."
"That's exactly my thoughts, Alex," Nick admitted as he once again leaned in to kiss his fiancée.
Miles and miles above the city of Beverly Hills, a cloaked figure stopped her flight as she passed over the beach house.
Nanashi Mumei, the Guardian of Civilization, looked down at the beach house and smiled, knowing that their world was in good hands.
"Until we meet again," Mumei proclaimed. "I'll never say goodbye."
And with that, Mumei waved her cloak and returned to The Final World, vanishing in a spread of owl feathers, two of which continued to fall down to the ground even after Mumei had disappeared.
Totally Spies the Movie: A Crack in Time
~The End~
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Final Author's Notes from The Blue Time Ranger: And finis! That's a wrap on our third movie! And what an adventure this turned out to be, eh?
It felt fun to do another sort of dimension-hopping adventure mixed in with some time travel and other different elements to make for a much grander and intense way to truly end the fourth season of our series.
Also, I don't know if any of you readers have noticed or said anything about it, but did you all see the different Virtual YouTubers that inspired the Guardians? Yup, I've become a bit of a sucker for VTubers ever since mid-2020, especially given *AHEM* real-world things. I was watching a Mumei stream a while ago when the idea for this story bonked me in the head with all the force of ten thousand squeaky hammers, and you all know that when I get inspiration for a fic, I have to jot it down somewhere before I lose it. And looking back on A Crack in Time, yeah, I had so much fun with this.
Also, during this story, I learned that the OG Totally Spies is getting a seventh season next year! Man, I'm excited for that.
And finally, now that our third movie is over, it won't be much longer before season five of Totally Spies: The New Adventures will begin! Fashion and trends abound in the season five opener, but there's a bit of a twist to start off this next season, and we'll see how it all unfolds in Fashionista Follies, which will be posted by me. So, until then, have a fantastic day, don't listen to the screeching morons, enjoy this preview of Fashionista Follies, and until season five, we'll see you next mission!
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She slowly opened her eyes, completely unsure of where she was.
At the same instant that she realized she was falling through the empty air, she looked down and saw a large, circular platform approaching fast, resembling a stained-glass window and imprinted with what appeared to be images of objects related to her life.
When she finally landed on the platform, she quickly noticed that she now resembled her fourteen-year-old self instead of the young adult she currently was.
After taking a moment to compose herself, she looked around and noticed that there was a large mirror floating at the center of the platform.
And there, reflected in the mirror, was her current self.
There are many hearts to save.
Realizing there was really nothing else to do, she decided to obey the voice and approach the mirror.
Instinctively, she reached out to touch the glass of the mirror, and it suddenly started shining before pulling her through it.
When she stumbled out of the mirror, she now resembled her current self, with her fourteen-year-old self now her reflection in the mirror, which swiftly vanished in a shower of sparkles.
Before she could question what exactly was going on, hundreds of mirrors appeared and began to slowly float around the outer edge of the platform, each mirror presenting what appeared to be a still image of a moment from her life. The mirrors all formed a rotating tower around the platform that seemed to ascend forever.
Three of the mirrors floated down to her position, each showing a specific moment.
Still as confused as she had been since the start of this strange dream, she again heard the mysterious voice.
What do you desire?
To be continued in Totally Spies: Fashionista Follies...