There was no sound for a while. Ross couldn't believe that the fight that was determining it all had just ended. And the even less believable part about it was the way that it ended. He couldn't believe he had just released his inner animal like that so carelessly.
"Ross, it's okay," Bien said when he saw how distraught Ross was about what he had just done.
Ross was breathing heavily, and it looked like he was just going to fall to the ground. In fact, he wanted to collapse. His body wanted to collapse. However, he fought the urge and turned back to his friends. Ross's face was one of confusion, devastation and self-disappointment.
"I went way too far," Ross said. "I shouldn't have done that."
"Hey, it's all right," Bien said, smiling.
"Yeah," Mike said, starting to smile as well. "You beat the bad guy. That's what our objective was, right?"
"Yeah, I guess," Ross stammered.
"Great," Bien said. "Then we can all leave this place and go back to my house and have a victory dinner."
"Sounds good," Mike said with a wide smile.
"I guess," Ross said pretty glumly.
The three of them walked out of the destroyed room with thoughts of the previous battle still racing through their mind. But that peace of mind was short lived. All of them suddenly heard a loud rumbling sound coming from behind.
"W…what's going on?" Bien asked.
The three friends turned around and they saw that Maverick was back on his feet And not only that, but he created another portal and was hopping into it.
"Hey!" Ross yelled, still fired up from the fight. He started charging to the portal and tried to get in it before it closed.
"Ross! Wait up!" Mike yelled running after Ross into the portal.
Bien growled at the carelessness of his two friends and started running after them. But right before Bien was about to run into the portal, it closed on him, sealing him out. Bien was all alone in the temple of the Finis Tempi now. Ross and Mike were gone after following Maverick into the portal.
"Ross…Mike…" he slowly moaned.
Ross and Mike were in a state of disbelief. They were both staring wide-eyed at what was in front of them. Neither one of them could believe it.
Both of them were standing in the pool yard that Ross was in when he had beaten Big Bad Bob in three physically athletic events. There was the large, rectangular pool in the center of the yard and everything was just the way Ross remembered it. The only difference was that there was absolutely no color. The water, the pool yard itself, the grass, the sky, the sun…everything was a shade of gray. And there was absolutely no life at all in the entire area. Not even Ross and Mike felt as if they contributed anything living to the area.
"Is this where I defeated Big Bad Bob almost five years ago?" Ross asked as he looked at the shadow location in front of him.
"Ross, look…" Mike said gently and softly.
Right up ahead of the pool yard was another white portal. It blended in so well with the gray surroundings.
Ross and Mike headed towards the portal, and when they passed into it, they found themselves in a place that was just like the pool yard. Except this time, it was the pyramids of ancient Egypt around them. Everything was still void of any life and it nothing except gray all around. Just the fact that it was so gray and any signs of life were absent caused a depressing sensation in both kids.
Right in front of them was another portal. They passed through it, and it took them to the inside of the rocket ship they were in when they accidentally got sent to Mars on their third adventure. Like before, it was just shades of gray and no life signs at all.
Only a few yards in front of them was another portal. That one took them to a gray, lifeless copy of the inside of Mike's body where Ross battled Pox. The portal after that led to the yard of Mr. Dozzom's house, which he had spray painted in order to get what he considered "revenge".
Passing through the portal leading from there took Ross and Mike to the carnival where he had battled Baron. There was still only gray in place of all the color and no signs of life at all. The lack of life and all the gray made it very depressing. When the two saw the next portal, they crossed it.
The portal took them to the EVILLE theme park building that Ross blew up when he was trying to stop Jim from doing anything drastic to him. The portal after that led to the top of a giant satellite-the same one Ross battled his former friend, Mory, on.
The proceeding portal took Ross and Mike to the prehistoric jungle where Mory finally got out of their hair when he got eaten by a dinosaur. The next portal Ross and Mike passed through took them to the inside of the mole people's lair.
The dirt in the mole people's lair was gray, as was everything else in the portals Ross and Mike passed through. All the mole people were gone, as if they had been exterminated. It just seemed like an empty dirt cavern.
When Ross and Mike stepped through the next portal that was only a few yards in front of them again, they found themselves in a giant, empty room. It was the room Ross had defeated Madame Vik in early on in his seventh grade year. The wooden floors and walls were all gray and lifeless. It was so creepy.
Ross and Mike went through the portal and were soon standing in the space station where Ross had to confront Zozu and Zodie for the last time. The space station seemed even more gray, dreary and lifeless than it did before.
After going through the next portal, Ross and Mike were in the nuclear testing lair where Mr. Dawnson was about to launch a nuclear weapon that Ross had inadvertently helped him create. Being in the room again brought shivers down Ross's spine that reminded him of the battle.
But there was still another portal. When Ross and Mike went through it, they were in the ancient medieval kingdom where they got themselves wrapped up in a war. This was especially disturbing, because it was normally lively and flourishing. But now, it was all just gray and there were no signs of any people, whether they were peasants or royal soldiers. Everyone was completely gone.
The next portal that Ross and Mike took them through led to a science lab where Ross and Mike had to stop all the toys that were brought to life by the mad scientist. The portal in front of them was open.
Ross and Mike walked through it, and it took them to the deep woods in Camp Glaregon. Ross wanted to forget these woods as soon as possible, but it didn't look like that was happening. The woods were gray, but Glaregon and any signs of the campers were gone. The screens on the tree were still there, though, showing the faces of all the holders of the orbs. And this time, Mr. Dozzom's line read EDGAR B. DOZZOM: 1946-2004. This just took even more life away, even though there was none to begin with.
The portal in the woods teleported Ross and Mike to the dark night streets where Ross confronted Ubels. The streets were brighter since the gray was a lighter shade, but it still took more life away.
"These portals are getting so annoying," Mike said. "Where are they even taking us?"
"I don't know," Ross said. "But this should be the last one. Hmmm…I wonder if there's any symbolism in seeing lifeless, gray versions of the most important places in our last adventures?"
Mike shrugged and the two of them walked through the next portal. They hoped it was the last one, but it wasn't. Now, both of them were in a gray version of the Temple of the Finis Tempi, with no sign of Bien, Beth, Maverick or any of his henchman. There was one more portal in the corner of the room with the pedestal. When Ross and Mike walked through it, they were shocked at the next thing they saw.
They were now in complete nothingness. The entire place they were in was black. Black as far as the eye could see. Ross and Mike seemed to be standing on something solid, but there was no floor. Were there walls? They couldn't tell. But the portal behind them was gone. There was absolutely no going back now.
"Ross!" Mike yelled. "Look!"
Ross and Mike looked ahead, and Maverick was standing there. He looked as grudging as ever, and the blood was still over all over his face from when Ross went insane. He seemed to be waiting for them.
"So, you've come," Maverick said in a deeper voice. "I trust you enjoyed seeing the empty memories of your previous adventures?"
"Those were creepy," Mike admitted.
Maverick started laughing, but Ross was straight to the point. "Maverick, where are we?! How come there's nothing but black?! What are we standing on?"
Maverick chuckled a little while longer. "Ross…Mike…we are at the End of Time."
Ross and Mike were breathless.
"The…End of…Time?" Ross asked, trying to make sure he understood everything.
"Yes," Maverick answered. "We're in a time when nothing exists any longer. This paradox is where you shall remain."
"Let us out of here!" Mike yelled. "Or we'll fight you!"
Maverick started laughing again. "You cannot beat me. That last fight in the pedestal chamber of the temple of the Finis Tempi was hard enough for you to win. If it wasn't for your third friend, then the powers of the Finis Tempi would have been too much for you."
"Powers of the Finis Tempi?" Ross asked. "That thing was giving you powers? Are you saying it's real?"
"Real?!" Maverick yelled loudly. He then started laughing with a high volume and with much more force. "You two fools…" Maverick hissed. "I am the Finis Tempi!"
Ross and Mike started watching in complete awe. Maverick pulled the necklace out of his cloak again and held it. He squeezed it with all his might, and the bright blue light started radiating from it once again. But this time, the light was much stronger and seemed much more forceful.
Suddenly, a strong wind started picking up. Ross and Mike were almost caught off guard by it and had to keep themselves firmly planted on the ground (wherever that was) in order to stay standing. Initially, they were shielding themselves from the high velocity wind, but when they looked up, they saw Maverick was now floating in the air with the bright blue light still shooting out from the jewel on the chain he was wearing around his neck.
"What the...?" Mike asked.
Suddenly, the blue jewel started exploding very violently. As that happened, the black abyss that Ross and Mike were now somehow standing on had morphed into a reddish color, but it was mixed with blue. The two colors started swarming together like watercolor paints, and the colors started subtly changing their colors to green, to orange, to purple, to in between colors like turquoise, maroon, and any other color in between. It was like watching random colors dancing together as they started changing what color they were.
When Ross and Mike were no longer distracted by the colors, they looked up and saw Maverick was starting to shake very violently and uncontrollably. Ross and Mike were really wondering whether or not he would be okay. Then, out of nowhere, Maverick spread his arms and legs like he was a starfish in mid air. The jewel on Maverick's necklace was reacting violently to whatever Maverick was doing. Then, there was a blinding flash of piercing white light that shot out from the jewel and blinded Ross and Mike for a few moments.
After the blind period passed and Ross and Mike could see again, they saw Maverick was gone. In his place was a giant cerulean dragon-like creature. It was over ten feet tall and had short, but very strong looking legs. It had two wings with sharp points at the end of both of them, along with two fairly large hands with claws at the end of each finger. In the middle of its pale stomach was an emblem of the blue gemstone that Maverick was wearing on his necklace.
"So that's the Finis Tempi?" Mike yelled.
"No way we can beat that…" Ross said disappointedly.
Then, Ross heard the twinkling sound coming from his pocket again. He reached inside them and pulled out the bracelets that he had taken from Sandra when she tried to kill him in his early childhood.
"Mike, do you still have those bracelets from when you fought Kline?" Ross asked excitedly.
"I might. Why?"
"Just put them on! They could be our only hopes of winning."
Mike put them on at the same time Ross did. Instantly, the two of them felt a flow of power.
"Yeah! Maverick must have given these to Sandra and Kline just in case someone powerful tried to take over the temple of the Finis Tempi. He must have given these to Sandra and Kline in order to protect them. Heh, how ironic," Ross remarked.
The bracelets on Ross and Mike's wrists started glowing the same color as the color of the Finis Tempi's scales.
"All right," Ross said. "This is it! Let's give it our all!"
"All right!" Mike yelled in agreement.
Ross and Mike started charging in at the Finis Tempi with their bracelets glowing. The two tried not to let themselves get distracted by the weird assortment of colors that was swirling around beneath them as they tried fighting.
This was it. This battle is what it had all come down to. As soon as Ross and Mike stumbled upon that portal, this battle was what everything had come down to and what it was all leading up to. Now, Ross and Mike had to give it their best shot so that they would emerge victorious, just like they had on their previous adventures.
The Finis Tempi took its two massive hands joined them together. It started firing a series of massive blasts of blue energy at the two boys.
Ross and Mike dove out of the way and landed on the invisible floor of The End of Time. They sprung back up and tried to figure out how to get their bracelets to work.
Finally, Mike tried aiming with his bracelet and fired a small stream of blue energy from it. It hit the Finis Tempi in the face, but it didn't seem to effective.
"Oh, no," Mike said. "Ross, I don't think ours are strong enough to stop this thing."
Ross was sprinting around the abyss, hoping he wasn't going to hit an invisible wall or something like that. "Less talk, more fighting."
Mike looked up and saw the Finis Tempi was opening its mouth and started firing a solid ray of the blue energy at Mike.
Instinctively, Mike put up his hands to guard himself from the blast, even though he knew it wouldn't be helpful. But when he did that, a transparent blue force field popped up around him and deflected the blast. The blast shot right back at the Finis Tempi and hit it in the stomach, which seemed to cause more pain to it than the regular blast from the bracelet did.
"Mike, how'd you do that?" Ross yelled over.
"Ross! Try defending from his giant attacks!"
Ross looked up and saw the Finis Tempi was now looming over him. The Finis Tempi raised its claw and started swiping at Ross, and Ross had to stay on his toes from getting hit.
The Finis Tempi swung at Ross ten times, but Ross's reflexes managed to be just enough for him to evade every single attack. When the Finis Tempi took another swing at him, Ross took a great risk and tried jumping onto the creature.
It worked. Ross grabbed onto the arm of the Finis Tempi and started climbing up it. Now that Ross knew he had the great skill in climbing things after his battle with Kip in ancient Rome, he felt more confident about climbing things now.
When Ross was as high as he could go, he saw he was standing on the Finis Tempi's back. The Finis Tempi roared in aggravation when it realized it couldn't attack Ross with its blasts of energy.
The Finis Tempi started stomping around angrily and Ross had to do the best he could to hold on. If he fell off, he could kiss his life good-bye.
After he saw Ross struggling to stay on, Mike decided to try something else. He aimed his two bracelets at the Finis Tempi's eyes and fired.
The Finis Tempi got struck in the eyes by both of Mike's blasts and was soon blinded. That only caused it to roar even louder and get even angrier.
Ross really had to struggle to hold onto it now. But after a long while, he simply lost his grip and fell of its back. He started tumbling down the Finis Tempi's body and landed hard on the invisible floor. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the swirling colors of the abyss in the End of Time mixing together like light paints.
Ross got up and saw the Finis Tempi was (literally) blindly stomping around, and it was dangerously close to him. Ross jumped out of the way over and over to avoid getting stomped by the creature, and somehow, it worked. Ross was able to weave his way around the Finis Tempi's blind "dancing" without getting stomped.
"Mike!" Ross yelled, passing a glance towards his friend.
Mike looked at Ross, and he knew just by looking at Ross's face what Ross wanted him to do.
"When I saw 'three', do it. All right?" Ross ordered.
"Got it!" Mike yelled.
"One…two…three!"
Ross and Mike aimed both of their bracelets at the Finis Tempi and started firing a long stream of the blue energy from them. The two streams of energy hit the Finis Tempi right in the mouth, causing it sincere pain.
But the two teenagers didn't stop there. They continued firing their continuous stream of blue energy from the bracelets at the Finis Tempi. The firing lasted for over a minute. In that time, Ross and Mike were losing a lot of their strength from their bodies to fire the energy, and they could only hope it was working.
After what seemed like the longest time, Ross and Mike couldn't take it anymore. They had used up all their strength to make those two beams of energy that fired right through the roof of the Finis Tempi's mouth, and that didn't look like it did anything.
"Come on!" Mike yelled. Both he and Ross were kneeling down and were pressing their hands onto the invisible ground, trying to regain their strength. "Why isn't it working?!"
"Mike…" Ross said in astonishment. "I think it did…"
Mike looked up to see what Ross was staring at. The Finis Tempi was screeching in pain and was started to fall backwards. Its long snout had a giant hole burned through it that extended all the way back to its eye sockets. Apparently, Ross and Mike caused it more pain with their combined efforts than they thought.
Finally, the Finis Tempi put out its arms and fell to the ground. Bright white lights started surging from it, and Ross and Mike had to shield their eyes from the bright beams. After a long time, they were able to see again, and they saw that the Finis Tempi had actually imploded. It had burst from the inside with a great ring of light that shot out and went through the abyss as far as Ross and Mike could see. The explosion was accompanied by a strong gust of wind that felt more like it was coming from a hurricane.
After staring for a while longer, the two teenagers saw that Maverick was gone. The Finis Tempi was gone in general. The multicolored swirling floor was back to being a solid black, as were all the walls and everything around it. All was quiet. Ross and Mike looked at their wrists to see their bracelets were broken.
"Is it…over?" Mike asked.
The entire abyss that was the End of Time was completely quiet.
"I think so," Ross said. "Maverick fused with the Finis Tempi, and he's gone now. I guess when we defeated the Finis Tempi, we beat him with it."
"Whoa…" Mike said, realizing what it was that they just did.
And so the End of Time was quiet. There didn't seem to be anything left of Maverick or the Finis Tempi. Ross and Mike had officially won.