On Today's Episode: With the Soul Dew finally completed, the spies make for the Dark Territory to find and defeat their leader Vecta, as well as Rukkhadevata, the woman still holding the other half of Nahida's power, and thus the only hope of the spies returning home. Can they manage to pull out a victory over the leader of the Dark Territory and his secret weapon, or is this the end of the journey?
Act 4: Night in the Dark Dream
2:08 P.M. – The Dark Territory
Canyon Edge
"Ooh, yikes, this place looks even freakier when you see it up close," Clover shuddered when the spies finally landed in the Dark Territory, which resembled a dark canyon-esque area full of twisted landscapes, all drenched in a seemingly eternal night.
"These places are usually like that," Blaine answered.
"So, does anyone have a general idea of where we're supposed to go?" Sam wondered.
"I guess all we can do is what we've been doing," Bridget quipped. "Follow the light of the Soul Dew."
"Hey, yeah," Haruka gasped. "If Rukkhadevata still has the other half of Nahida's power, then the Soul Dew should lead us right to her, right?"
"Looks like we've got another long trip ahead of us," Britney proclaimed. "This place looks insane."
"Well, then let's get going," Nick stated, holding the Soul Dew above his head and using its glow as a beacon to see which way they needed to go.
After a couple seconds, Nick began to walk to the northwest across the cliff, with the spies following.
"I'm hoping that we'll find the way back to good old BH soon," Clover commented.
"Totally," Alex added. "We've got a summer to enjoy, after all..."
"Well, unfortunately, it's going to have to wait a little longer," Sam replied.
"Along with wondering when Jerry will make his long-awaited return, too," May stated.
Everybody nodded in agreement on that last part.
"The Soul Dew is pointing north of us now," Nick told the rest of the crew.
The spies had joined hands to make sure nobody separated, considering how dark it was.
"I can't even see in front of me!" Bridget complained.
"Nobody can!" Haruka added.
Nick raised his free hand and enveloped it in his psychic powers, creating a spherical ball of light that illuminated the area around them.
"Now that's better," Blaine remarked.
Nick still led the way with the Soul Dew going every which way.
"Hopefully it won't be much longer that we find Nahida or Rukkhadevata," Melissa stated.
The spies heard the sound of a howling werewolf, which certainly made the spies stop dead in their tracks, but that howl sounded familiar to Nick and Mat.
"Crapbaskets, that's a throwback," Mat replied. "It's a makeshift of Forever Forest from Paper Mario..."
"Throwback's right, bro," Nick quipped.
"Except no sneak attack enemies," Mat continued.
"But still be on alert," Dawn emphasized.
"My thoughts exactly," Britney replied.
The spies continued on.
"Is it getting stronger, Nick?" Bridget wondered.
"I think so," Nick replied.
The spies then heard a very loud thud.
"Was I the only one who heard that?" Haruka wondered.
"No way," Blaine remarked.
"What was it?" Clover asked.
"I hope it's just a random wolf howling at the moon," Melissa quipped, scooting closer to Mat just in case. "We've already dealt with enough monsters in this world, after all..."
"Is it me, or are we not getting anywhere?" Sam asked. Indeed, the pathway seemed to be repeating ad nauseum no matter which way the spies tried to move.
"Oh, funderful, it's one of those places, isn't it?" May sighed as she bashed a large tree branch aside with her anchor. "Have I mentioned that I hate places like the Lost Woods?!"
"Well, if this place is like the Forever Forest, then we should probably look for any scenery that looks out of the ordinary," Mat stated. "Following the different paths was usually how you got through the Forever Forest."
"All right-y, then, bro, you're probably the Paper Mario expert here, so work your own magic," Nick responded.
As the spies continued trying to find their way through the forest, Mat kept his eyes out, looking for a change in the scenery or anything that wasn't what it appeared to be.
Thankfully, it seemed to be working, as the forest began to change with each new pathway that Mat specifically led them down.
"I've never actually played the first Paper Mario myself," Nick admitted. "I've only played Thousand-Year Door, so this place is new to me."
Suddenly, something burst through the nearby bushes and moved to attack the spies, a large venus fly-trap with elongated jaws.
"How about hell to the no?!" Nick shouted as he blasted the mutant plant away with a Final Shine Attack even though it came back for another attack, flinging out its vines to ensnare both Alex and May.
Nozomi was quicker on the draw, though, rushing forward to karate chop her way through the vines holding Alex and May, breaking them easily and allowing Nick to hit the mutant plant with a blast from the Soul Dew, instantly disintegrating it on contact.
"Oof, that was way too close," Alex quipped. "Thanks so much for the save, Nozomi."
"No problem-o," Nozomi replied. "I know this would be way less of a hassle if we had access to our gadgets, but I guess until we can get back home, we'll just have to make do with what we've got, huh?"
"True on that one," Bridget responded. "Now let's please get the hell out of this forest before something else tries to jump out at us."
The spies all agreed with that, continuing to follow Mat's directions so they could escape the forest quickly.
Eventually, the winding path around the massive, rotting tree in the center of the forest led to a large, open clearing. And in the middle of this clearing was an ominous-looking vortex of dark red light that appeared to lead to a desolate area with a fancy throne in the middle of it.
"That's not ominous at all," Haruka quipped.
"And that throne looks very much like it belongs to mister 'god of darkness'," Melissa responded. "You think it'll lead us to Vecta?"
"With the way the Soul Dew is reacting, it's gotta be his pad," Clover stated. "What do you say, everyone? Shall we head on through and trash this sucker?"
"You read my mind perfectly, Clover," Sam proclaimed. "Even if this Vecta guy isn't exactly like James, I'd rather not be reminded of that sleazeball no matter what world we're in."
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Sammy," Britney responded. "I've still got a few bones to pick with this guy myself."
"Well, then, if we're all in agreement, let's send this guy packing, shall we?" Nick stated.
After taking a minute to prepare themselves for the battles that would surely be happening very soon, the spies crossed through the portal into an empty, desolate land with Vecta's throne just ahead of them.
"...he's not there," Bridget noted.
"Oh, he seriously didn't flake off while we were trudging our way towards him, did he?!" May shouted.
"Sorry about that. I just wanted to make a dramatic entrance."
The spies all looked upwards to see Darkness God Vecta floating in the air high above his throne.
"How about you stop floating up there like a pansy and get down here so we can make you see stars?!" Sam shouted.
"Yeah, you've got quite a lot to answer for!" Nick exclaimed.
Vecta floated down until he was finally on the ground, then looked at the spies and smiled evilly.
"Is that true?" Vecta laughed as he started walking around the spies. "Given that you're from another world, how much do you know about me, really? You have only been in this world for a few days, after all."
"Well, given you look like someone from our world who's been known to be a royal pain in the rear, we're likely to think we're not in a mood to be screwing around with you," May proclaimed, hefting her anchor threateningly towards Vecta.
"You may not see it, but this world is teetering on the brink of destruction," Vecta cackled. "The Dark Territory completely surrounds the continent of Aeos, and it grows stronger and more cunning every day. And while you may have your precious barriers to protect the kingdoms, how long do you think they will last? Eventually, even your protections will fall, and when that happens..."
"Not if we stop you first," Nick proclaimed, his psychic aura bursting to life around him to punctuate his threat.
"...but, see, that's the fun thing about all of this," Vecta laughed. "You say that my ambitions won't come to pass if you stop me here, am I right? That just makes the question more interesting."
Vecta's body began to glow with an ominous sheen of dark energy, the jewel in his staff shining eerily as well.
"Who will stop who first?" Vecta proclaimed. "It's all up to you."
Vecta started floating into the air again, the dark sheen coming from his body now erupting into an oppressive dark aura.
"Get ready, everyone," Nick stated, to which the spies all prepared themselves.
"Show me what you're capable of, spies from another world!" Vecta proclaimed. "And please do try and make it entertaining for me!"
"What do we do, girls?" Clover quietly asked. "We don't have any gadgets on us?"
"Try and wing it while I think of something," Sam replied.
"Okay, we'll try," Alex quipped as she and Clover took a few steps towards Vecta, hoping he'd take the bait.
To their surprise, he did, and Vecta charged forward, surrounded by a sphere of darkness, but Alex and Clover jumped to either side as he came by, and when he realized he had missed, Alex and Clover jumped up to hit Vecta in the back with a double windmill kick.
"Great thinking, girls!" Bridget proclaimed. "Now it's my turn to see if this Vecta can handle some speed... Sonic Mode, online!"
With that, Bridget began dashing every which way around Vecta. Seeing that Vecta could not keep up with Bridget's speed gave Sam a wicked idea.
"Get set for the ride of your life, pal!" Sam quipped.
"Allow me to collab, Sam," May proclaimed.
"What about your anchor, May?" Melissa wondered.
"A Jellyfish Pirate never comes unprepared," May quipped.
"Ah, the classic motto parody of the Girl Scouts," Mat chuckled.
"Well, if it's a team-up you want, a team-up you get," Sam replied to May.
"Let's drop his pasty ass, then!" May laughed.
"You'll die trying," Vecta cackled as he flew up into the air and started chucking blasts of dark magic towards them. May swung her anchor in different directions to deflect the blasts, then waited until Vecta's attention was on her to signal to Sam.
While Vecta floated closer to May, Sam made her move, jumping into the air and pouncing on Vecta to hold him in place.
"Get off me, you witch!" Vecta shouted. To his surprise, Sam complied, stepping away just as May moved in.
"Special delivery, jerk-off!" May exclaimed, sending Vecta flying with a home-run swing.
"I haven't begun to fight!" Vecta proclaimed as he raised his staff and unleashed a bunch of dark shockwaves. Nick projected a psychic barrier to defend against the shockwaves before retaliating with a Final Shine Attack to Vecta's chest.
Vecta ducked down and waved his staff to conjure a barrage of dark spikes that forced the spies to dodge away from them.
"Keep moving out of the way!" Haruka called out.
"Perhaps Vecta was saving his best moves for the right time," Blaine replied.
Everyone kept dodging until Nick apparently had enough of this.
"Okay, this is not getting us anywhere... Alex?" Nick asked.
"You bet I'll team up!" Alex quipped.
"And what can you do, exactly?" Vecta taunted, only to be yanked down to the ground by Nick's psychic hold.
"I'm very glad you asked that, asshole," Nick retorted. "Dear?"
"On it," Alex responded, rushing in to send Vecta flying with a soccer kick to his face.
"What is this sorcery?!" Vecta complained.
"Believe us when we say we pack a punch," Haruka stated.
"And I got you with your pants down with my speed," Bridget quipped.
"I'd watch your choice of words, young lady!" Vecta warned.
"Can't deny what happened to you, pal," Britney chuckled.
Vecta then centered his intentions on Bridget.
"I protest a one-on-one against you, Missy!" Vecta told Bridget.
"Oh, is that right?" Bridget taunted. "Well, if it's a duel ya want, it's a duel ya get! Just try and catch me first!"
With that said, Bridget sped off in multiple directions, hoping to keep Vecta confused. It seemed to be working initially, as Vecta continually turned around in hopes of getting a bead on Bridget as she ran.
"Stand still, you miserable reprobate!" Vecta growled as he continued to fire dark blasts at Bridget.
"His vocabulary's definitely better than James', that's for sure," Melissa teased.
"Make me!" Bridget laughed, clearly having the time of her life taunting Vecta.
Vecta snapped his staff down. "Well, since you insisted..."
Chains of dark mist burst from the ground underneath Bridget and ensnared her, restraining her in her spot.
"Well? Where's all that mocking energy now?" Vecta taunted. "You can't use your wretched speed if you can't move, right?"
In response, Bridget just grinned. "You really don't know anything about us, do you?" Bridget laughed.
Snapping her fingers, Bridget's Sonic Mode suit expelled all of her recently-gathered kinetic energy in the form of a massive emerald shockwave of electricity that destroyed her restraints and floored Vecta.
"That's one of the big ones, buddy," Bridget taunted. "Don't underestimate any of your opponents!"
"I definitely won't make that mistake again, will I?" Vecta laughed as he tried something different, conjuring a collection of blood-red energy blades that started spinning all over the area, forcing the spies to stay on the move.
May moved in to attack while Vecta was conjuring the blades, using the hooks of her anchor to yank Vecta back down to the ground before striking at him with multiple swings.
While May was keeping Vecta busy, Nick saw his own opportunity, raising his right hand to ensnare Vecta in his psychic hold.
Before Vecta could attempt to free himself, Nick brought out the Soul Dew and unleashed a great blast of light from it, the holy light causing Vecta to scream in agony.
"Oh, what, you don't like that?" Nick taunted, quickly surrounding himself with a psychic bubble as Vecta attempted to attack him. "Yeah, buddy, I saw that coming, too. You're not touching the Soul Dew while we're still breathing."
"Well, then, I'll just have to kill every last one of you, then, and pluck the Soul Dew from your cold, dead carcasses!" Vecta shouted, raising his staff to unleash a storm of dark lightning across the landscape. Nick quickly raised the Soul Dew and channeled its power to surround all of the spies with a small field of silver light that tanked the lightning strikes.
"Look at you, boy, simply misusing Nahida's power," Vecta taunted.
"If you're trying to get into my head, then sorry, you're gonna have to try harder than that to outfox a psychic," Nick retorted. "I've only ever used this power to put a stop to the Dark Territory's nonsense, what with your monsters."
"Useless words from a wretched boy who doesn't know his place," Vecta proclaimed. "And you will be punished for misusing the goddess's power."
Vecta aimed his staff for Nick, unleashing a dark harpoon aimed for his chest that Nick simply repelled with a psychic pulse.
"Come on, my dude, be more imaginative than that," Nick taunted.
To that, Vecta conjured up a storm of dark razor blades all around Nick.
"...me and my big mouth," Nick sighed.
Bridget started running around Nick in response, eventually creating a whirlwind around him that deflected all of the dark blades.
"Thanks for the save, Bridget," Nick quipped.
"Anytime, buddy," Bridget giggled. "You thinking what I am?"
"You bet I am," Nick responded as he extended his hand so that Bridget could take it, the two of them dashing towards Vecta. "Let's give this failure a taste of the new and improved Purple Comet Attack!"
"Oh, like I'd really let you!" Vecta laughed, preparing another spell, only for May to hit him in the back with her anchor.
This gave Nick and Bridget the chance to bum-rushed Vecta, using their boosted speed to send Vecta into the air with their joined arms, causing him to fly into the air flipping.
Nick and Bridget let go of each other so they could go on the offensive, Nick landing a lifting flying kick to send Vecta higher into the air, while Bridget leapfrogged off of Nick's shoulders and snap-kicked Vecta back down to the ground.
Before Vecta could even bounce, Nick and Bridget were on him again, lashing out to hit him with multiple super-fast strikes before sending Vecta back into the air with dual flying kicks.
"Ready, Nick?" Bridget exclaimed.
"Let's stomp 'em!" Nick shouted.
With that, Nick and Bridget charged, attacking Vecta nonstop from multiple angles, making it look like Vecta was being pinballed around in the air.
For the finale, Nick and Bridget both attacked Vecta in perfect sync, resembling a much faster version of Nick and Haruka's Accel Dance maneuver, before charging through Vecta and sending him careening into the ground.
"How's that for your stupid face?!" Sam taunted.
Naturally, Vecta was in disbelief that he was actually losing.
"Th-this... this cannot be..." Vecta bellowed as he picked himself back up. "How can I lose to the likes of you?!"
"Because we have experience on our side!" Haruka exclaimed. "You have no idea how many times we've been put in the line of fire of crazy bad guys, so we've been able to adapt no matter what we're up against!"
"I will not stand for this!" Vecta shouted, dark energy sparking off of his body. "I will not be bested by a bunch of no-nothing punks who don't even belong here!"
"Ooh, sounds like he's getting mad, huh?" Dawn chuckled.
"Well, then, let's move in and finish this, shall we?" Alex proclaimed.
"Need some help, do you?" a sultry woman's voice resounded from above.
Nick looked up to see who this new arrival was, and, much to his surprise, it appeared to be Nahida if she were much older, appearing as an adult instead of the young-looking girl Nahida was.
Nick knew that this could only be one person.
"Rukkhadevata," Nick proclaimed, catching the other spies' attention.
"Oh, did Nahida tell you about me, I assume?" Rukkhadevata chuckled. "It's nice to know my reputation precedes me."
"Um, you guys, are we in trouble now?" Blaine wondered. "Because if Rukkhadevata's here, and those two team up against us..."
"Now are you thinking you shouldn't have challenged my might?" Vecta laughed. "Because now you're all in for a universe of pain and suffering."
Vecta turned back towards the spies, his staff glowing with dark energy. "Rukkhadevata, let us rid ourselves of the chaff," Vecta proclaimed. "Together, we shall spread our might and power all over this..."
And then, something very strange happened.
As Vecta prepared to chant a super-powerful dark spell, Rukkhadevata lunged forward while forming a silver energy blade on her hand. To the spies' shock, however, she didn't attack them with it, instead opting to impale Vecta through the back.
Vecta coughed up blood due to the stabbing, mustering enough strength to glance back at Rukkhadevata in disbelief. "R-Rukkhadevata... why... why would you..." Vecta gasped.
"It's like you said, Vecta my dear," Rukkhadevata teased, winking mockingly to him. "I'm just getting rid of the 'chaff'."
"We... we were supposed to rule this world... together..." Vecta gasped.
"Yeah, well, I'm not interested in sharing," Rukkhadevata quipped. "So go regret that thought in whatever afterlife you get, if you even get one."
Rukkhadevata pushed her blade further in, and this caused light to explode outward from her, the light of the Soul Dew completely disintegrating Vecta's body. When the flash cleared, there was absolutely nothing left of Darkness God Vecta.
"He was way too arrogant for his tastes," Rukkhadevata quipped. "And, naturally, that arrogance blinded him to the fact that I never planned to share this world with him. I simply seized my opportunity after you all had weakened him enough."
Rukkhadevata looked down at the Soul Dew clutched in Nick's hands. "Ah, so you're the one who Nahida chose," Rukkhadevata giggled. "Very well, then, how about we make this interesting? I'm not going to fight you right here, since I did what I came here to do. How about you all meet me at the very heart of the Dark Territory, and then we'll settle this. I feel you all deserve that chance for making it as far as you have."
Rukkhadevata floated into the air. "Try not to keep me waiting, 'kay?" Rukkhadevata laughed before spinning around and disappearing in a flash of light, leaving the spies to process what had just happened.
"...that was a thing, huh?" Mat quipped.
"At least Vecta's out of the way, thankfully," Sam responded. "That really just leaves Rukkhadevata to deal with."
"It seems like all we can do is get back on the move," May proclaimed. "We need to find Rukkhadevata and take her down before anything else decides to go wrong."
After taking a quick break to recharge for the trip, the spies all set off out of Vecta's lair and back into the Dark Territory, Nick once again using the Soul Dew to show the way.
"Talk about extensions of a journey!" Clover exclaimed.
"Don't expect anything less from villains like Rukkhadevata," Mat groaned.
"I know that feeling well," Blaine replied, reminiscing to his volleyball times. "You think you got it and then something else happens to where you have to pick up the pace again."
"Absolutely," Nick added.
"And let's hope we get back to the summer vacay we desperately need!" Haruka exclaimed.
"Uh-huh," Nick stated in agreement. "I was ready for a summer off myself..."
"We'll see to it we DO get that summer vacay," Melissa replied. "But unfortunately, we do have to squeeze in stopping villains."
"Ain't that the truth," Clover complained.
Everybody had to nod since that was reality until their days of being W.O.O.H.P. agents were over.
"We can't really do anything about it, but that's what makes us great," Clover quipped.
"No doubt about it," Nozomi remarked.
"Anyway, how're we going to defeat Rukkhadevata without gadgets, guys?" Mat wondered.
"Well, it's a good question after all," Sam replied. "But we can take care of ourselves, and it's safe to say we've done it before... granted, we got help from Jerry at the time."
"And we had minimal gadgets when we were being framed by Macker," Alex pointed out.
Clover nodded, knowing how that turned out in the end.
Nick moved the Soul Dew in all directions and the spies moved in every direction the Soul Dew reacted.
"One wonders how this thing just knows where we have to go," Dawn stated.
"I guess we'll leave that to the mind," May replied.
"Guys, I think we're getting close," Nick told the group.
"Let's hope so," Blaine remarked.
("It'll Be a Long Time" by The Offspring plays)
The spies continued on until they came to another dark room. As the lights came on, they found themselves in a makeshift boxing ring.
"Wouldn't have picked Rukkhadevata for a boxer," Alex commented.
"Just keep your guards up, guys," Sam proclaimed in her leader tone.
"Hahaha! You're in my trap!" Rukkhadevata sneered.
"Crapbaskets, was that her game all along?!" Mat wondered.
"Maybe," Rukkhadevata giggled as she floated downwards into the ring, her hands covered by a pair of silver and green boxing gloves. "You're certainly the most interesting opponents I've had in quite a while, so I figured, why not spice things up a little?"
Silver energy surrounded Rukkhadevata as she moved closer to the spies. "So, who wants to go a round or two?" Rukkhadevata chuckled.
"I'll take you up on that offer," Nozomi quipped. "I know a few things about fighting, so let's see if you can match up to me."
Rukkhadevata simply grinned, ready for a fight.
"Let's see what you've got, then," Rukkhadevata proclaimed as Nozomi swiftly went on the offensive.
"Kick her ass, Nozomi!" Nick shouted.
"Naturally," Nozomi laughed.
"Oh, we'll see," Rukkhadevata retorted as she jabbed forward with her right hand. A small burst of silver light shot forward from the punch, forcing Nozomi to duck under it.
This gave Rukkhadevata a chance to move in and strike, but Nozomi jumped back to her feet and landed a kick to Rukkhadevata's side before knocking her away with a shoulder strike.
"Hey, you're actually good," Rukkhadevata admitted. "Not many people know martial arts in this world."
"Yeah, considering the whole 'magic' thing," Nozomi answered as she jumped back into the fray with a dive kick that Rukkhadevata dodged, only for Nozomi to jump forward, grab Rukkhadevata by the waist, and powerslam her into the ground.
Rukkhadevata hopped back to her feet, flew upwards, and raised her hand to fire a barrage of silver arrows into the ring. Nick quickly projected a psychic barrier to protect Nozomi from the arrows.
"That was dirty, you know," Nick proclaimed.
"Hey, whoever said we had to play fair?" Rukkhadevata laughed as she fell back down, punching the ground hard enough to create a shockwave that swiftly collapsed the boxing ring.
Nick jumped into the air and fired a Final Shine Attack into Rukkhadevata's head that sent her spinning backwards.
"You're the one who said it, not me," Nick taunted.
"You know what? Fair enough," Rukkhadevata quipped, spreading her hands out and unleashing a wave of silver light that washed over the area, changing it from a boxing ring to a gigantic meadow of flowers, much like the place where Nick had met Nahida in his dream.
"How about we step things up a bit?" Rukkhadevata proclaimed.
Quick as lightning, Rukkhadevata flew towards Mat, snatching him up with chains of silver light and yanking him over towards her.
"Get your grubby hands off of my fiancée, you hussy!" Sam growled.
"And what, exactly, are you going to do to me if I don't?" Rukkhadevata taunted.
Her answer came in the form of a giant metal anchor that May threw through the air to hit Rukkhadevata in the back.
"That's what," May taunted.
Nick flew over to where Mat was being restrained and used a flash from the Soul Dew to destroy his restraints.
"Thanks for the save, bro," Mat quipped.
"No problem," Nick stated. "But we've still got this lady to deal with."
"Lady? Oh, don't make me laugh," Rukkhadevata chuckled, her hands glowing brightly. "I am the true ruler of this world. Nahida doesn't deserve to be the goddess!"
"Oh, wonderful, you're one of those nutballs," Melissa groaned.
"I mean, come on, Nahida is asleep right now," Rukkhadevata responded. "She's not exactly doing her job!"
"Um, lady, she's only asleep thanks to you taking a chunk of her power!" Clover shot back. "Way to be a hypocrite!"
Rukkhadevata simply snapped her hands down and caused a gravity wave that sent the spies to their knees.
"That's right, bow before my beauty!" Rukkhadevata laughed. "When I'm finished with you, there will be absolutely nothing to stop me from making this world mine!"
"Oh, just give it a rest already," Nick retorted as he started firing psychic bolts one after another from both of his hands, although none of them seemed to be on target.
"Um, I'm not even dodging," Rukkhadevata cackled. "Seriously, are you even trying to hit me?"
"No," Nick quipped.
"What do you mean 'no'?" Rukkhadevata wondered, only to gasp in shock when she realized something.
All of the psychic bolts that Nick had fired were now surrounding her.
"Should have kept your eye on the birdie," Nick chuckled as he clapped his hands together, and all of the psychic bolts he'd fired converged on Rukkhadevata at once, flooring her instantly.
Rukkhadevata started floating into the air and waved her hand, conjuring a blade made of silver light so she could rush forward and swing it at Nick, though he countered by forming a blade of psychic energy around his hand and slashing it out to counter Rukkhadevata's attack.
The two of them clashed blades a few times while the spies all convened to figure out how they could help out.
"Well, let's see if little miss fairy likes some speed," Bridget quipped, reaching for her brooch. "Sonic Mode, online!"
Once Bridget had transformed, she dashed forward while Rukkhadevata was juking through the air and leaped towards her. Though Rukkhadevata knocked Bridget back with a pulse wave, she kept coming back for more, attacking Rukkhadevata from multiple different angles.
"How about you stand still for once in your life?!" Rukkhadevata shouted, clearly getting frustrated.
"Hey, I'm a track star, I'm always on the move!" Bridget taunted as she started running circles around Rukkhadevata, creating a whirlwind tinted with green lightning around her.
After a few seconds of running, Bridget skidded to a stop and snapped her fingers, expelling her gathered kinetic energy in the form of a shockwave of emerald electricity that quickly floored Rukkhadevata.
While Rukkhadevata was picking herself up, Nick lunged forward and slashed with his psychic blade, actually catching Rukkhadevata across the face. She glanced at the scar she'd just been given, then looked back at Nick, her rage now visibly palpable.
"Oh, what, are you upset that I messed up your face?" Nick taunted.
Rukkhadevata clenched her fists, silver light surrounding her body.
"You know what?" Rukkhadevata growled. "That's it. I'm officially done messing around with you."
"Oh, is that right?" Nick taunted, raising his hands to produce the Soul Dew. "Well, so am I."
Rukkhadevata gasped in surprise when she saw the Soul Dew, and charged forward to take it, only for it to absorb itself into Nick's body.
A bright silver flash erupted from Nick's body and drove Rukkhadevata back. When it cleared, Nick was surrounded by an utterly gigantic aura of pure silver 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 silver light, and his eye color had changed from brown to a neon green.
"Now you're in deep trouble," Nick quipped.
"Did you forget that I also have half of Nahida's powers?" Rukkhadevata retorted. "I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch, boy!"
With that, Nick and Rukkhadevata took off into the sky, clashing with each other multiple times and leaving silver flashes with each attack they dealt.
"Okay, this looks like it's gonna get really intense," Britney quipped.
"Is there anything we can do?" Alex wondered.
"If Rukkhadevata's powered up and Nick's using the Soul Dew to match her, they may be out of our league," Sam stated. "But I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing. Let's start brainstorming, everyone."
While the spies began discussing a plan of attack just in case, Nick flew over Rukkhadevata and knocked her down with a pulse wave, then soared around her and hit her with a double kick to the back, sending her crashing into a nearby tree.
"Ooh, now you're getting under my skin," Rukkhadevata growled, waving her hand and conjuring a storm of blades that Nick projected a massive barrier to dodge, a simple feat in his powered-up state.
"Yeah, that's kinda the idea," Nick taunted.
"You'll learn to hold your tongue, boy, before I rip it out of you!" Rukkhadevata shouted, flying up to meet Nick and hopefully eviscerate him with another storm of blades, this time aimed at him from all directions.
Nick simply raised his hands to project a psychic bubble around him as the blades converged on him, the blades bouncing harmlessly off of the bubble.
Rukkhadevata made the mistake of charging in to attack the bubble in hopes of breaking through it, and Nick made her pay for that by snapping his fingers to pop the bubble, the recoil blast sending Rukkhadevata tumbling backwards through the air.
"You know what, I've officially had all I can stand of you and your nonsense," Nick proclaimed. "We kinda want to get back to our own world, so... you'll have to forgive me if I put an end to this crapola right here and now."
"Oh, like I'd really let you!" Rukkhadevata cackled as she moved to blast Nick, only for May to throw her anchor into Rukkhadevata's back again.
"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!" May shouted.
"Child, you're going to regret that," Rukkhadevata chided as she flew down to attack May, only to get an anchor to the face this time.
Green light surrounded Nick's right hand, and gold energy surrounded his left hand. He spread his hands wide before slamming them together, the two glows merging into a shroud of silver light surrounding both of his hands.
While Rukkhadevata was reeling from getting slugged in the face, Bridget kicked on the speed once again, running around Rukkhadevata to keep her distracted.
"Stop moving, you little speed freak!" Rukkhadevata wailed, firing blasts of silver light in hopes of hitting Bridget, but she was too fast for them.
Bridget skidded to a stop and snapped her fingers to blow Rukkhadevata back with a shockwave of her gathered kinetic energy.
"Ooh, so help me, when I get my hands on you, I'm swear I'm going to..." Rukkhadevata growled.
"Um, thanks for waiting, by the way."
Rukkhadevata turned around to see Nick aiming his hands towards her.
"...oh, crapbaskets," Rukkhadevata sighed.
"How appropriate," Nick quipped. "Sorry, Rukkhadevata, but this is the end! SHINING STAR ATTACK!"
Rukkhadevata could only watch in horror and resignation as Nick wrenched his hands apart, then clapped them back together to unleash a massive wave of silver light that thundered forward and collided with Rukkhadevata before exploding in spectacular fashion. Nick's attack, combined with the power of the Soul Dew, was enough to completely destroy Rukkhadevata's body, and all that remained after the flash of the Shining Star Attack was another large gemstone that resembled the Soul Dew, no doubt representing the power that Rukkhadevata had stolen from Nahida.
"And that's how the story ends!" Haruka shouted as the spies all shouted in victory.
Nick relinquished the Soul Dew from his body so it could join with its other half and create an even larger jewel. And almost as if on cue, Nahida herself appeared in the meadow in a flash of silver light.
"Well done, all of you," Nahida proclaimed. "I knew that I could rely on you to restore my stolen powers."
Nahida floated closer to retrieve the jewel that represented her powers even as Nick handed it off to her. Nahida re-absorbed the jewel into her own body, and was swiftly surrounded by a massive aura of silver light.
"At last, my powers have returned," Nahida stated. "Now, if there's anything I can do for you..."
"With all due respect, Nahida, we'd really like to go back to our own world," Sam admitted. "As much as we like this world, well, it's not ours. And we have a lot of summertime stuff we wanna get to..."
"There's no place like home, right?" Nahida giggled as she raised her hands to channel her newly-restored power.
Then, something very strange happened.
As Nahida continued to channel her power, the area around the spies suddenly began to distort and warble slightly, almost as if the area was glitching out. And then, everything in the meadow came to a halt, freezing completely.
The only one seemingly still able to move was Nick, who glanced around the area in utter confusion.
"I sincerely hope that doesn't mean Rukkhadevata had an ace up her sleeve or something," Nick quipped as he prepared himself for whatever was about to happen.
Over to the right, near where Alex was standing, another one of those Anomaly-like portals opened up, and now Nick was on edge.
But that apprehension quickly turned into surprise when the portal expanded slightly and, of all people, RiCO came tumbling out of it.
"W-wait just a minute, RiCO?" Nick asked. "How did you get here?!"
"Nick! Oh, thank goodness I finally found you!" RiCO exclaimed as she ran up and hugged Nick tightly. "You wouldn't believe how much of this stupid data center I've been through trying to get to you guys!"
"...um, RiCO, I'm actually kind of confused right now," Nick responded.
"I guess I probably should explain that, huh?" RiCO quipped. "Basically, you guys are all trapped deep inside the Datascape. That lady who you thought sent you into a storybook world had actually used a digitizer built by Lady Dragon to send you into the Datascape and trap you in there."
RiCO pointed to the mystic meadow around them. "All of this storybook stuff you guys have been going through, it was all created by Lady Dragon and her partner Akane to keep you off of their trail until they could erase the storybook, and all of you along with it," RiCO explained.
"Wait, so, you're telling me that all of this, this other world, the kingdoms, everything, was just a digital fabrication?" Nick gasped.
"Right on the nose, Nick," RiCO responded. "Lady Dragon's hope was that while you were all questing in this world, that would give her enough time to take control of the sector where she'd trapped you and de-rezz everything in it, which, in the Datascape, is effectively death."
RiCO sighed in relief. "I've been combing the Datascape for hours trying to find where Lady Dragon trapped you guys, but she's been getting sneakier since her last defeat," RiCO admitted. "I've been tearing down artificially-created firewalls and other programs that have been throwing me off of your trail, but I just caught onto a signal that led me right to you."
"That was probably us taking down Rukkhadevata," Nick quipped.
RiCO waved her right hand and created three data screens in front of her, one of which displayed her "twin sister" iCO, and another with an image of Sortiliena.
"iCO, Sortiliena, I finally found them!" RiCO proclaimed.
"Holy crapbaskets, are you guys okay?!" Sortiliena gasped.
"About as well as we could be, given we just defeated a would-be goddess in here," Nick quipped. "Speaking of which, how do we get my friends out of their time-out?"
"Leave that to me," RiCO stated. "iCO, I'm ready. Commence purge of corrupt data in sector I."
"Roger that," iCO proclaimed.
The meadow began to glitch out even further until it eventually faded away, leaving the spies in sector I of the W.O.O.H.P. Datascape.
"Um... could someone tell me what just happened?" Mat asked once the spies could move again.
"Let's get moving, everyone," RiCO quipped. "We'll explain on the way, once we've gotten out of this place."
6:34 P.M. – W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters
Sortiliena's Office
"So... what you're saying is, that entire storybook world wasn't actually a storybook?" Sam summarized once RiCO had finished re-explaining everything she'd told Nick. The spies were all gathered in Sortiliena's office after finally being able to grab some gadgets they could use.
"Nope, it was just a digital construct designed to keep all of you trapped until Lady Dragon could de-rezz you," iCO responded.
"I guess that would explain why so many people we met there looked like people we know," Melissa stated. "For example, Sortiliena was a princess."
"Wait, I was a princess?" Sortiliena chuckled. "I didn't think I had it in me, honestly."
"Back to business, though, has there been any sign of Lady Dragon or her mysterious new partner?" Blaine asked.
Almost as if on cue, the alarms began to blare in the office.
"Guess that answers that question," Clover quipped.
"Sortiliena, we're getting a transmission," RiCO proclaimed. "And I'm pretty sure I know who it's from."
Sure enough, the viewscreen changed to a video feed of Carla Wong, alias Lady Dragon, somewhere in the Datascape.
"Tick-tock, Sortiliena, you and your agents are running out of time," Lady Dragon laughed.
"Hey, lady, are you blind or something?" Bridget taunted, to which Lady Dragon gasped in absolute shock.
"W-wait, wait, how in the hell did you manage to escape from that storybook?!" Lady Dragon exclaimed.
"That would be me, Lady Flop," RiCO taunted. "I'll admit, you actually gave me quite the runaround for a while, what with your shifting firewalls and releasing viruses to distract me. But in the end, as always, the super-advanced artificial intelligence sees all."
"Ooh, I'm getting really sick of you wretches always foiling my plans!" Lady Dragon shouted.
"Then get a new plan, for crying out loud!" May shot back. "This is, what, your fifth attempt to take over the Datascape?!"
"Ah, but this time will be different," Lady Dragon laughed. "After all, I've still got my partner with me. If you really think you can stop me, how about you come back into the Datascape and find us? Hmmm? Don't keep me waiting, spies."
And with that, the transmission cut out.
"Okay, I think we need to get back in there and find Lady Dragon before her or her partner can conjure up any new schemes," Nick proclaimed.
"Exactly what I was thinking," RiCO quipped. "iCO and I will meet you all inside!"
The Digitizer unfolded from the nearby wall and covered all thirteen spies with a bright blue light that transported them back into the Datascape.
To be concluded...
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Next time...
Sam: Well, at least the Datascape looks normal, so points for that.
Melissa: I'm shocked that Lady Dragon didn't do any more futzing with the Datascape than she already did.
Mat: Maybe she was busy trying to keep us contained?
Bridget: I just hope we find her before she messes with this place again.
Haruka: Well, at least it's not hard to find her. Just follow the dancing viruses, I guess.
Nick: You really think this is going to stop us, Lady Dragon, especially after all the other times?!
Alex: We're not going to back down, no matter what!
RiCO: Truer words haven't been spoken, Alex. Well, readers, we've got some villains to find and defeat, so we'll see you all next time for the final act of Totally Spies the Movie: Once Upon a Time, "Paradise Protection Protocol"!
May: Okay, how many of you readers saw that plot twist coming? Be honest, 'kay?