20. As Time Goes By

Complete story — includes the ending

Cory and Topanga get into a fight due to Topanga's constant studying. Cory attempts to get Topanga to let loose and enjoy herself, even just for a few minutes. Topanga compromises and decides to clean in order for her to "enjoy herself." While cleaning the closet, Topanga discovers a time-continuum vortex and accidentally climbs and falls into it. As a result of this, she enters a detective noir world which involves the counterparts of the main characters (except Morgan). Topanga exits the vortex through a telephone box and enters into a 1940s world. She is also suffering from amnesia and cannot remember her identity of where she is from. Topanga hires Gumshoe, an alternate personality of Eric, to find out her identity. However, she enters Rory's Shangri-La-Café and discovers its care-free atmosphere. Topanga adopts the name Trixie, and becomes a waitress at the café, while also attracting the interest of the owner, Rory, an alternative personality of Cory. Later, Gumshoe speaks to Trixie, but she forgets why she had hired him in the first place. Gumshoe questions Trixie about her knowledge about the "time-continuum vortex," causing her to have a short flashback but, unfortunately, she remembers nothing specific. Because of the flashback, her annoyingly realistic personality returns which causes the frivolous care-free world of Rory's Shangri-La-Café into despair. Fez-Head, the counterpart personality of Feeny, starts an angry mob by saying "The interloper must die!" Everyone agrees and starts chanting "Die!" Gumshoe decides to do something and wanders into the telephone box which causes him to get transported to Cory and Topanga's apartment in Pennbrook. Cory mistakes Gumshoe for Eric; Gumshoe leads Cory into the vortex and they enter the 1940s world. Cory and Gumshoe find Trixie's lifeless body lying on the ground which everyone from Rory's Shangri-La-Café surrounding her. Cory wants to find an answer for the cause of Topanga's (Trixie) death, and is confronted by Rory, Cory's counterpart personality. Cory accuses Rory of Topanga's death, but Cory says that the difference between their personalities is that he never acts of malicious thoughts. Despaired, Cory leans down to Topanga and tells her to get up but, she says that she is dead. Gumshoe reveals that once the world melts away, Topanga would wake up. Back in the present, Topanga wakes up, having fallen asleep studying. Cory hears her move and decides to study with her. Topanga insists that they watch cartoons together. Note: Cory and Topanga are the only characters that appear in their original characters, and also their alternate personalities, while the remainder of the cast are only present in their counterpart personalities. Absent: Lindsay Ridgeway as Morgan Matthews