Hey everyone! I'm back with another chapter. I apologize for leaving all of you on a downer chapter, but life has a way of interfering in my free time. But I'm back now, so let's get the ball rolling with the next chapter, shall we?

CHAPTER 2

The scene switched over to Outworld, specifically the Koliseum. One of Tork Tiger's loyal subjects was beating a drum. The aforementioned Osh-Tekk emperor, while seated in his throne, looked down on a hateful-looking inhabitant, as a guard brought the latter in chains to Tork's feet.

The prisoner was named Rumpelstiltskin, the Naknadan taxkeeper and tribute collector to the late emperor Aku. He was currently in a wheel-like torture device, handled by several of Tork's servants. As they turned the wheel-like device, the Naknadan was forced to go whichever direction they were going. However, the torture and cheering from the Outworlders, combined with his own short and scrawny stature, didn't stop him from lifting a few of the servants only about a foot off the ground (then again, having an extra pair of arms probably helped in doing so).

Tork and his servants, however, brushed the menial incident aside, before the latter forced Rumpelstiltskin to his knees.

"For years," Tork announced, "you escaped my justice. Sucked dry the bounty of Outworld's people. Today, your debt is paid."

Rumpelstiltskin looked up with a sneer. "Kill me, Tork, and you lose profit."

Tork stood up in response. "You mistake me for Aku." He walked over to the small Naknadan. "I do not inflict bandits upon the poor."

"Aku approved! His word was law!"

One of the servants brought Tork his sword, before looking back and growling at the Naknadan. "Your master is dead, so is his 'law.' Never again will Outworld suffer from his corruption."

As Tork raised his sword, an earthquake suddenly shook everyone and everything.

In Earthrealm, Sara and Ron and their allies felt the earthquake as well.

From where revenants Omi and Kimiko stood, Eris' dwellings shook at the same time, as the Elder Goddess forced the sand in the Sands of Time to go backwards.

Back in Earthrealm, three figures appeared before the heroes: younger versions of Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, and Boog! Sara, Ron, Julie, and Raimundo stared in wide-eyed shock, as did the three figures that stood before them.

"By the Elder Gods!" gasped dark Samurai Jack. Before anyone could blink, the corrupted thunder god disappeared in a gust of sand—only Pitch's amulet was left intact as it dropped on the floor.

Back in Outworld, the servants working the torture device were shielding their eyes from the whirling sandstorm. Rumpelstiltskin took advantage as he used the handles from the device to knock out the blinded servants. Reaching down to one of the unconscious forms with one of his extra arms, the Naknadan grabbed the key and unlocked the device from his neck.

The Sands of Time brought Shego, Rattlesnake Jake, Dag, a younger Yosemite Sam, and Aku. On the other side appeared younger (and mortal) versions of Kimiko, Omi, Timmy Turner, and Mary Melody, as well as the uncorrupted version of Samurai Jack.

As the sandstorm finally died down, everyone present was in shock at the new turn of events.

But none quite as shocked as Tork Tiger. Walking forward, the Osh-Tekk emperor looked about at whatever stood before him, as his eyes gazed over at two prominent individuals. "Samurai Jack? Aku?

"General Tork Tiger?" Aku asked, in mild flabbergast.

Tork glared. "Emperor Tork Tiger."

"Emperor? Pathetic fool. You pretend to my throne!"

"It is mine, by right and deed. You were killed, long ago. As was your repugnant spawn, Vicky."

Samurai Jack walked forward, confused at what was going on. "We were at the Mortal Kombat tournament. Timmy Turner had just defeated Walter Wolf and Freakshow."

"We are decades beyond those events."

"For us, they happened only moments ago."

"What game are you playing, Samurai Jack? What magic powers this delusion?" snapped Aku.

"If it is a delusion," Samurai Jack pointed out, "it is one we all share. Is it possible that the past and future are colliding?"

Tork stood beside himself. "Kimiko, Dag, Shego, all Outworld champions long since gone. If you have all returned, has—?"

Mary stood next to the thunder god and spoke happily. "I am here, Tork."

The Osh-Tekk smiled in pleasant surprise. "Mary Melody."

Suddenly Aku pushed Mary behind him with just a sweep of his arm. The Outworlder looked downward, but never took his gaze off the Osh-Tekk emperor, like a Bull ready to charge.

Tork took an even breath before addressing the Outworlder. "Osh-Tekk custom requires all refugees be offered assistance. I offer it to you, Aku—"

"I am no refugee!" barked Aku. "I am emperor of Outworld. Vacate my throne. Or I'll soak these sands with your blood!"

After Aku summoned his signature warhammer, he and Tork—with sword still in hand—engage in a (technically speaking) swordfight.

Tork managed to strike Aku in the shoulder, a black essence escaping the latter's injury. However, due to the rage that had always built up in him, the Outworlder swung his warhammer and struck the current emperor a few times, missing several more, before busting a pillar and leaving Tork buried underneath. The fight elicited cheers from the Koliseum onlookers.

Omi approached his thunder god mentor. "Samurai Jack? What do we do?"

Samurai Jack shook his head. "I have not met Tork Tiger. But he is reputed to be a man of honor."

Mary nodded, rest assuring her fellow allies. "It's true. I know him well. He was my mentor."

"Then we must navigate the crisis by aiding him."

As Tork crawled out of the rubble, Aku walked up to him before intentionally stepping on his hand.

The Osh-Tekk screamed in agony, eliciting an evil grin from the Outworlder before raising his warhammer again, ready to strike.

Suddenly, Omi jumped in with a bicycle kick to Aku's face!

Aku recuperated before swinging at Omi, missing each time—one of them being literally just a hair's breadth from Omi's face. As the bald Shaolin monk distracted him, Samurai Jack came in from behind and electrified the screaming Outworlder.

Elsewhere in the Koliseum, Dag slashed at oncoming servants to Tork, before finally approaching the recovering Osh-Tekk emperor with a bloodthirsty glare. "Stupid Osh-Tekk. Destroying your future, crossing Aku."

Tork retorted back. "It is you with no future, Dag. Your Tarkatans are dead."

"Impossible!"

"They allied with Vicky against me. Persist, and you will die again."

The fight was on. While Dag was fueled with an unhealthy and unsettling bloodlust, Tork had strength and expertise of combat working in sync. After blocking his blades, Tork gave Dag a royal beatdown (A/N: Again, no pun intended.) before picking up the Tarkatan and giving a final blow to the head with a head-butt. Then again, wearing a metal helmet probably gave extra damage as well.

Tork looked down at the incapacitated enemy. "Filthy Tarkatan."

The Osh-Tekk emperor then took out some of Aku's servants, knocking them out with all his strength. He was suddenly ambushed by Shego, sending him spiraling down into the lower layer/inner workings of the Koliseum.

Tork picked himself up. Seeing the red-clad assassin snickering at him, the Osh-Tekk narrowed his eyes into a glare. "The orphan turned assassin."

"Better to thrive in Aku's court," smirked Shego beneath her mask, "than starve in the streets. You Osh-Tekk may practice blood magic, Tork, but I am the master."

Not long after his previous fights with Aku and Dag, Tork found himself fighting against one of the deadliest assassins known throughout the Realms. While Shego was skilled in her craft, Tork was fortunately more skilled in the art of fighting, as he managed to block her blows striking her a few times, before picking her up, flipping her over, and slamming her into the ground, ending the fight.

Tork straightened himself (and his neck) out before staring down at the red-clad assassin. "Pride will be your downfall."

Suddenly, the doors behind Tork opened, revealing Mary.

"Tork!" exclaimed Mary in happy relief before running up to him.

The Edenian apprentice and Osh-Tekk mentor shared a hug.

"I thought you were dead! What happened to you?" Mary asked as she and Tork broke their hug.

The Osh-Tekk emperor explained. "Aku betrayed me. Ambushed my legion. I was kept alive for Walter Wolf's experiments. Only when he died, was I freed."

"Seeing you again makes it worth living the nightmare."

"I will not lose you twice."

Their happy reunion was interrupted by a distinct hissing noise, combined with the sound of rattling metal. Rattlesnake Jake entered, though it didn't look like he was intent on meeting what would have been his future employer.

Tork focused his attention on his green-clad pupil. "Go help the Earthrealmers. I will deal with him." The Osh-Tekk then looked to the younger-looking mercenary. "Your future self is ally, not enemy, Rattlesnake Jake."

Jake chuckled. "To heck with the future. I live in the moment."

"Given who you become, I would not have thought you so reckless."

A fight soon broke out between the two. Using his sword as a shield against Rattlesnake Jake's bullets, Tork was able to fight back and overpower the scaly gunslinger, before delivering a few punches to the head all leading up to a powered uppercut to the jaw. Tork growled in satisfaction before charging up the stairs and going topside to the arena.

In the arena, mass battles between the Kombatants took place. Tork then saw Aku and made a dead run toward him, without the annoyance of having to contend with a would-be challenger.

"I will have my throne!" Aku roared.

Tork growled, before standing ready to fight. "Outworld rejected your pointless wars."

"Empires must expand or die!"

Aku then charged at Tork, forcing him against a cage containing a toothy wild animal as it tried clawing at Tork's face. Seizing the opportunity, Tork used his sharp teeth to bite into Aku's hand. As the dark Outworlder screamed in agony, Tork shoved him away. The spectators in the Koliseum cheered onward.

Tork growled as he and the Outworlder squared up for battle."Your conquests served you alone, not Outworld's people!"

The battle of the leaders collided! It was Tork's sword against Aku's warhammer, once again. Despite the odds, Tork was able to not only deflect the Outworlder's attacks, but also counterattack with little to no difficulty, before delivering another powerful headbutt, rendering the fight out of his opponent.

Tork cracked his neck in place. "You are emperor no more."

Just then, a cloud of flies appeared in the sky.

Tork glared at the swarm, knowing all too well where they came from. "Yzma."

The flies restrained the fighters and Tork himself.

Yzma then appeared from a portal. "Aku! To me!"

Aku and his army/allies charged into the portal before they and Yzma left the Koliseum.

Tork commented, "I have not known stranger days."

"Tork Tiger," the thunder god announced as he and his allies approached the Osh-Tekk emperor, "I am Samurai Jack, Protector of Earthrealm."

Tork nodded in acknowledgement. "I know you."

"We are acquainted in your era?"

"We were allies who became enemies."

"I am surprised, given our shared antipathy toward Aku."

"Everything changed after your defeat of Pitch."

"Pitch is defeated?" Omi asked.

Tork answered. "Our Realms joined to fight him. But in victory, you were hardened. To protect Earthrealm, you lashed out at all Realms you deemed threats."

Samurai Jack shook his head in shock, not wanting to believe such a thing. "That . . . cannot be."

"My Samurai Jack wears Pitch's Amulet as a symbol of his fury."

". . . Be assured, Tork Tiger. I am not that Samurai Jack. We have common cause. Both in solving our 'temporal crisis,' and in defeating Aku."

"Agreed."

"Omi, Timmy Turner, and I will return to Earthrealm and learn what temporal anomalies have occurred there. We must better understand the phenomenon we are experiencing."

"I will have my scouts track Aku."

As Tork and Samurai Jack spoke to one another, Omi approached Kimiko, somber in both his walk and his voice. "So, it is goodbye."

Kimiko rest assured. "Only goodbye for now. I can't leave while Aku threatens Outworld. I must seek justice for what he did to my family, and to all Edenia."

The bald Shaolin gave a brief bow. "I will come back for you. To aid you, Princess."

Kimiko and Omi shared a hug, before he departed with Timmy and the thunder god.

Meanwhile in Aku's hideout—Yzma's old hive . . .

Aku snarled. "You evade my questions, Yzma. I routed your people. Burned this hive. Yet you aid me."

Rumpelstiltskin whispered to him. "We can't trust her, Excellency. Emperor Tork Tiger did, and she betrayed him to Pitch."

" 'Emperor' Tork. How is it I'm dead and he sits on my throne?"

The Naknadan cleared everything for the dark Outworlder. "You tried merging Earthrealm into Outworld. The Elder Gods intervened, and Samurai Jack killed you. It is when Vicky became empress."

"After This One killed your daughter," Yzma responded, "Tork claimed the throne."

"You killed Vicky?!" roared Aku. "If this is true, you will DIE!"

Just then, Eris and her servants—Valerie Gray and Dr. Droid—appeared.

Eris coolly ceased the fight. "Yzma is under my protection, Aku. As are you. I am Eris."

"The legends are true?" inquired Aku.

"I am displeased with how history has unfolded."

"So you broke time?"

"I stopped time. I enlist all those who disdain the current course of history. By merging past and present, we may draw upon allies from both eras."

". . . How will fighting your battles benefit me?"

"I offer a greater empire in the New Era, Aku. Samurai Jack will not exist to thwart you."

"You can wipe Samurai Jack from history?"

"It is an immense task, requiring great power and effort. My Hourglass requires protection while I work." The smirk on the Elder Goddess's face grew. "Will your Outworld armies defend it?"

Giving hardly any time to think it over, Aku grinned evilly. "They shall."

Back in Earthrealm, at the Special Forces headquarters . . .

"Okay," said Ron, "I swear that I'm losing it. Can't someone, anyone, explain to me what the heck is going on?!"

"Right?" chuckled young Ron. "I've been in the future for a whole hour and I haven't seen one jetpack. Not one!"

Samurai Jack then entered the room with Sara and Po on either side of him.

The thunder god sighed. "So it's true. I walked a darker path."

"After Pitch went down," said Sara, "you became a different person. Red lightning, black clothes. Authoritarian attitude adjustment."

"Yeah," said Ron, "about that. What happened to 'dark' you? Hm? How come you're an only child and we got an evil twin?"

Young Ron looked at him with a shrug as if to say, "What's your problem?"

"Well when you put it that way, Ron," Po said, "you make sound like it's a weird thing."

Raimundo Pedrosa raised an eyebrow in response. "Probably because it is kind of weird. I mean no offense, of course."

Po shrugged his shoulders, "None taken, Raimundo."

"As an immortal," Samurai Jack answered, "I exist outside the normal laws of time. That could explain why I am affected differently."

With a smirk, young Kim was conversing with her comrade. "Thanks."

"Weird, isn't it?" inquired young Boog. "Not being in charge."

"That's what's weird?"

"That. And having daughters our age."

Young Kim frowned as she stared at Sara, and then at young Ron. "Look at her. How do I have a kid? With him?"

Young Boog shrugged his shoulders. "At least she's not an actress."

"C'mon," young Ron said, "at least think about it. We each get points off the gross. The upcoming summer blockbuster . . . Ron Stoppable. AND. Ronstoppable! In: Timequake!

Ron, however, was getting annoyed by his younger (and cockier) self.

Young Omi and young Timmy then walked into the room, following Julie.

"Any thoughts on what we do next?" Sara queried.

"For months," said Samurai Jack, "I have been receiving vague premonitions of the future. But none of them foretold these events. I must confer with the Elder Gods. Omi, Timmy. Please assist the Special Forces while I am gone."

Young Omi responded. "Yes, Samurai Jack."

Julie looked at the two monks. "Follow me."

"Commander?" asked young Kim as she approached Sara.

"Yes, Mom. I mean, General! I mean—" Sara stuttered.

Young Kim looked at her in understanding. "It's all strange for me, too."

"You have no idea."

"What?"

Sara paused, trying to find the right words, while mild sobbing could be heard in her voice. "How do I say it? Earlier today, 'we' were on a mission and . . . and you gave your life to save it."

It was young Kim's turn to pause, shocked at what she heard before seating herself in disbelief. "Oh. Well, geez. Seriously?"

"Yeah. And now here you are. Young enough to be my sister."

"Sara," said Julie, "you need to see something! Sat feeds show a NetherRealm incursion at the Wu Shi Academy."

"NetherRealm? Taking out Pitch's Temple was supposed to stop them."

"It's gotta be the time anomaly."

Young Omi looked at young Timmy. "We must help our Shaolin masters."

"Why would the NetherRealm want to bust up your alma mater, Omi?" asked young Boog.

"The Dragon Grotto. It's underneath the Academy. Earthrealm's Jinsei energy bubbles up in its springs."

Sara shook her head. "That's no good. We've seen firsthand what happens when the NetherRealm messes wrth Earthrealm's life force.

Young Timmy spoke up. "They will not reach the Grotto. It is protected by powerful magic. The deadliest traps. I am sure our counterparts from your era are already dealing with them."

Julie looked to Sara with an awkward face, in regard of the current state Omi and Timmy of present day were in.

Sara responded finally. "Timmy, Omi. You might wanna sit down."

The two young monks realized there was something awfully tragic with their future selves, just as Sara explained how they had fallen.

Sorry for the late chapter, everyone. As you've seen I've made a few changes, most notably the relationship between Mary Melody and Tork Tiger. Given a few circumstances, I decided to make them apprentice and mentor, instead of a romantic pairing. I hope you're all cool with the change. Until then, stay tuned for the upcoming chapter!