Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We can’t wait. Only the Nine can save us,”

His words were repeated by a procession of followers, and their echoes bounced off the rocks of the beach and the water’s waves. Some cast their eyes to the storm wrapped around the volcano while others averted their eyes. The volcano was always ominous, but knowing who dwelled there now made them all the more fearful. Only the wiseman leading their pilgrimage never took his eyes off the furthest edge of the island. Summoner’s Rock, as the wiseman called it. 

They stood on the sandbar, water lapping at the edges and wind blowing on their skin, yet the wiseman basked in the power of that relic. Summoner’s Rock, to the younger crabs, resembled a hand reaching out missing its thumb, but they kept this opinion to themselves. But regardless of what it looked like, it was to serve a purpose that his people, and all the people of Volcano Island needed. 

His bishop stepped forward, “Elder. Will the Nine come to us here?”

The wiseman held his staff and addressed his children, “My father and his father before him passed down the legends to me. At our darkest, the Nine will light our way,” he repeated the last words his father spoke to him.

A younger crab spoke up, “Elder, are the Nine truly real? Are the legends true?” his voice was full of doubt, but the Elder knew it was from a child’s innocence. 

He approached him and patted his shell, “Children, there is no reason to doubt the legend. Our forefathers have passed them from generation to generation. They would not without good reason,” he faced Summoner’s Rock and spoke softly, so only he could hear his voice, “But if they aren’t, then all hope is lost,” he raised his staff, “Bring forth the idols.”

They laid nine idols in a circle before Summoner’s Rock. They were carved an untold number of generations ago, but were just as heavy as they were the day they were carved. Carrying them across the island was no easy feat for the crabs. At first it had been easy when there were only a few, and the crabs could work together upholding one idol. But their pilgrimage took them to every temple, and after they gathered all the idols, it was difficult to distribute their weight amongst the limited number of free claws. Some of the crabs complained about their weight, only to be reminded of the importance of their mission. 

As the wiseman prepared the ritual, they studied the faces closely. The faces looked nothing like anyone the crabs had ever seen on the island. In truth, it was the first time any of them laid eyes on them. The temples were absolutely sacred that only a tribe’s wiseman and his trusted followers could enter. And even then, the idols were locked away. This pilgrimage was the first time anyone had laid eyes on the idols since their carving. 

No one guessed they were so goofy-looking. 

The wiseman stamped his staff, “Now, my children. It is time. Begin your chants.” 

The bishops led the followers with a droning hum. They prayed to the idols and raised their arms, as the wiseman prayed to Summoner’s Rock. The sky grew dark and the idols began to glow. Sand fell off their rocky features and they rose to the air. They emanate an ethereal glow; power fueled by their prayers. 

The idols orbited around Summoner’s Rock and the wiseman, “We can wait no longer. It is time. Only the nine can save us from the Mawgu.”

Deep underneath the waters of an ocean near a small atoll, on the outskirts of an underwater metropolis was a community of three abodes along a road. A red-brown rock that to onlookers only resembled a home thanks to the footpath and a television antennae at its peak. Next door was an easter island head coloured blue, a door for its mouth, and two portholes for eyes. It wore a long nose with pride. And finally, there was a pineapple. Just like the rock, one would be forgiven for thinking it was merely a fruit lodged in the sand, but portholes, a hatch, and a smokestack gave proof it was someone’s residence, if not a strange one. 

On a day like this, you would find the one who lived in a pineapple under the sea away from his home. Its dweller prided himself on keeping to a diligent schedule, always up bright and early no matter the day nor the weather. This was in part, thanks to the foghorn he kept as an alarm clock, much to his immediate neighbor’s chagrin. But on that day, the alarm refused to go off. 

A snail opened his eyes and checked the alarm. Eleven ‘o four. The sun hadn’t reached its peak. Not just that, but he couldn’t hear any ticking. He slithered up the barrel night stand and checked the back of the alarm. It needed new batteries. The snail’s master rustled in his bed, still deep in slumber. The snail glanced up at the diving board over the bed and slithered up the ladder. He hopped on the bouncy edge, gaining height with each hop, until he leaped off the board and fell on his master’s lap. “AAAAH!” he screamed. He leaped out of bed and hit his head on the diving board’s underside and fell on his mattress. He shook his head and scowled at his pet, “Gary the Snail! What are you thinking?! Can’t you see I’m trying to get a good night’s rest before I go to work tomorrow?”

Gary meowed and pointed his eyestalk at the alarm clock. He hopped off his bed, a stack of five mattresses, and examined the clock. Then he screamed. 

“It is tomorrow! I slept in!” he rushed out of his bedroom and fell on each one of his wooden stairs, and hit the floor with a splat. He shook off the landing and ran inside his bathroom, throwing off his underwear and himself into the bathtub. He turned on the water, “Ah! Cold! Cold! Cold!” he ignored the freezing temperature and washed himself, “Gary! Check one of my watches, see what time it is!” 

Gary slithered to SpongeBob’s watch case and checked the time. He meowed down the stairs and cringed when he heard a banging against porcelain. 

“Nine thirty?! I’m an hour and a half late!” he screamed. 

Gary came down the stairs and checked on his master. He saw him drying himself off with a towel at such a speed, he set himself on fire. He ran around the bathroom as Gary pulled a fire extinguisher off the kitchen walls and doused his master in cold foam. 

“Thank you, Gary. Oh no, I hope Mr. Krabs won’t fire me for this!” he panicked. Gary meowed, “Gary, I know I saved his life and all, but that was a year ago! He probably doesn’t even remember that anymore.” 

Gary rolled his eyes and watched his master scramble for his clothes and his breakfast and all the other chores he attended to as a part of his daily ritual. Only done much sloppier and speedier than what he was used to. Miraculously, Gary had a full bowl of snail food and his master had his clothes on correctly when he was at the door. 

“Later, Gary! I need to make a run for it!” and he slammed the door shut.

 While SpongeBo was rushing to work, in another part of the galaxy, a young man was having as an eventful morning as the salaryman. High above the skies of a small city, he dodged energy blasts by manipulating his body’s shape and then snapping back to normal. He grimaced at his adversary with more annoyance than contempt. 

“Skulker, it’s not even past ten, can you please just reschedule this one time?” it was both a quip and a genuine request. 

His foe, a hulking, mechanical brute with flaming hair and a battalion’s worth of weapons at his beck and call, “You think you can order the Ghost Zone’s greatest hunter around like a bellhop? You insult me, child!” he aimed his wrist cannon and fired. 

The child, a half-ghost wearing his name’s initials on his chest, dodged and fired back with his own ghost energy. He shot the hunter back down to the city below, “Actually, I ran into Johnny and Kitty a week ago, and from what they tell me, Ember does treat you like a bellhop, so if the hat fits?”

A net surrounded the ghost child and pulled him down to earth with Skulker, “Using my own relationship as fuel for your insults?! There is no low you won’t stoop to, is there?!” 

He burst out of the net, “Well, when you’re trying to nail me to a wall, I think anything’s fair game!”

Their chanting echoed across the waves. The wiseman basked in their faith as the idols around Summoner’s Rock. One of his followers asked how long until the Chosen Ones will appear.

“Have faith, my children. The Nine will appear to us,”

The crack of thunder boomed across the island. The storm over the volcano grew violent. Cold wind blew on their shells and the whole island shook fearfully, when he spoke, “I thought I felt a disturbance.” 

The crabs shuddered until the wiseman waved his staff, “Be calm, my children. Continue the ritual,” he walked through his followers and glared at the volcano, “You’ve had your mischief, but it’s time you return to your prison.” 

Each of his chuckles was followed by a thunderclap, “Elder, you cannot tell me that what I’ve done is mischief, yet.” 

A bold follower waved his claw at the volcano, “You don’t belong in this world, foul Mawgu! We will summon the Chosen Ones and they will banish you from our island. 

A lightning bolt struck the follower and he fell into the sea, “Fools! You cannot stop me! This world is mine!” 

Another lightning bolt struck at the crabs’ ritual, but the wiseman blocked it with his staff, “Not! Yet! It isn’t!” 

The strain of the Mawgu’s power was too much for the elder. The crabs were too concerned for him, and their chant lost power. The idols, that had been brimming with bright colors, turned dull. The lightning bolt broke off from the wiseman’s staff, and struck Summoner’s Rock. The boom threw the closest followers off the sandbar into the waters below while the rest merely lost their balance. The wiseman reached for his staff and looked up at the idols. They floated motionlessly before they scattered across the sky and vanished over the horizon. 

He knelt at Summoner’s Rock, and felt where the Mawgu struck it. One of his bishops cried out, “He has broken the circle! Now the Chosen will be lost!” 

The wiseman stood up straight, “Not lost, just scattered. And not all of them,” he pointed his staff upwards, “Look!”

There were two witnesses to two abductions. Mr. Krabs waited outside the Krusty Krab for his most loyal employee, wondering why he was late, “It ain’t like SpongeBob to be late.” 

Just as he saw his fry cook walk down the road, a hole in the ground suddenly appeared and swallowed him up, leaving the penny-pinching crustacean to panic without a fry cook. 

In the skies of Amity Park, Skulker aimed at his prey when he disappeared into a portal. That portal disappeared as soon as the ghost boy passed through. 

They were dropped from high above, a sea breeze nipping them as they fell to the ground. One landed gracefully, while the other splattered on his face. 

“Hey! This doesn't look like Bikini Bottom!”

“SpongeBob?!” he pulled him off the ground by his legs, “Are you ok?”

SpongeBob shook his head, “Danny Fenton?” he leaped for joy and hugged his old friend, “Oh it’s been so long since we said goodbye! How’ve you been? How’s Sam and Tucker?”

Danny let Spongebob down, “Go easy on me, man. It’s good to see you too,” he looked around at the sandbar and ocean surrounding them, “But where are we?”

“Far from home, Ghost Boy,” both of them turned to the wiseman and they screamed in surprise. He was an ancient hermit crab wearing a white beard and eyebrows, and holding an ancient staff for a cane, “I have summoned you here for a purpose.” 

Danny studied him skeptically, “You summoned us? Hang on, who are you, how did you summon us, and why did you summon us?” 

SpongeBob sank to his knees and pleaded with him, “And could you send us back home, please? I’m running late for work as it is!”

The old hermit scratched his beard with his claws. A fellow hermit crab asked, “Wise Old Crab. What thoughts flow through your head?”

“Well, I’m pondering on their requests, and I must admit, my child, I hadn’t thought how we would return the Chosen Ones,”

Danny held up his hands, “Hold up now, Chosen Ones? What are you talking about?”

A handful of crabs shushed him, “Do not agitate our elder! He is deep in thought and mustn’t be disturbed.”

The Wise Old Crab raised a claw, “That will be enough, child. Chosen Ones, take a seat, and I will answer your questions,” the crabs eagerly gathered around him. SpongeBob sat on his legs while Danny sat cross-legged after transforming into his human form, “I have summoned you here for a purpose. Long ago, the people of this island united and sealed away an ancient evil. The Mawgu,” Danny observed the chill going through the crabs, “He escaped from his prison, and seeks vengeance. He has concocted a terrible ooze that corrupts everything it touches. With that ooze, he is building a terrible army. With each passing hour, the Mawgu grows ever stronger, and soon, he will overrun all the tribes of our island. But the legends of our people say that you, the Chosen Ones, can save us!” he approached Danny and SpongeBob, “Absorbent Yellow One, Ghost Boy. We have long awaited your presence,” and he bowed his head.

SpongeBob’s mouth opened wide in awe, “Wow! Danny, can you believe it?! We’re the Chosen Ones! And we get cool Chosen One nicknames too.” 

Danny rolled his eyes, “Alright, I think I got the gist of this. You want us to go and beat up this Mawgu of yours, right?”

The other crabs gasped, “How dare you! We will not tolerate such insolence toward our elder!” 

He waved his claw to hush them, “Indeed, Ghost Boy.”

“Then just point me in the right direction and I’ll take care of him before the sun sets,” he promised.

The Wise Old Crab shook his head, “I’m afraid you can’t face the Mawgu alone, child,” he raised his staff, “For the Nine must gather to defeat the Mawgu.”

Danny glanced at SpongeBob, “Well, as far as I can tell, there’s only two of us.”

The Wise Old Crab’s bishop raised his claw, “And, if I may speak openly, one of the chosen is a sponge. 

SpongeBob waved to the crabs. The Wise Old Crab shut his eyes, “I know, my son. I know. But these are the Chosen of legend.”

Danny shrugged his shoulders, “Look, I don’t know anything about your legend or this chosen one nonsense. But if the Mawgu’s a problem, then I’ll take care of it,” he concentrated on his own power and declared, “I’m going ghost!” energy surrounded Danny and transformed his body from a young man into a ghost.

SpongeBob and the crabs watched him fly off the sandbar. Though he used to see Danny fly all the time, it was still a sight to behold for the sponge. The crabs were in much greater awe. 

Danny flew high above the ocean and locked his sights on the volcano. With a clearer view from up high, he took full notice of the volcano. It was far inland, and crowned by a dark storm. As Danny flew closer, he couldn’t help but think the storm was growing more violent. The next thing he knew, a bolt of lightning broke through the darkness and struck him. He lost all his strength and returned to his human form before falling to the ground. 

“Danny!” SpongeBob’s legs grew ten times in height and caught his friend. With Danny in his arms, SpongeBob wound his legs back to their normal height. He laid him down, “Are you alright?” he stretched his digits, “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Danny groaned and felt where the bolt hit him, “Ugh, what was that?”

The air crackled around them and the wind picked up speed. Danny, SpongeBob, and the crabs peered up at the volcano. They couldn’t shake the feeling they were being watched. Laughter filled the air, and the crabs all realized who it was.

Energy formed out of the atmosphere gathered together into the shape of a grimacing face. To Danny and SpongeBob, it resembled a moai statue. Its bright eyes studied them both. Its face moved to speak, “The Chosen Ones. After all this time. You have come,” its mouth curled, “But where are the rest of you?” its eyes shut and lightning danced around the volcano, “Ah I see. They have scattered like the wind. How amusing.”

SpongeBob put on a brave face and pointed at the stranger, Now listen here, I don’t know who you are and what you’re doing here, but I don’t like what you did to my friend Danny and-”

“Silence!” the face screamed, sending SpongeBob flying backwards. Danny grabbed him and pulled him back, “Absorbent Yellow One and Ghost Boy. Just as the legends foresaw. Perhaps, I could rewrite those legends even now.” 

The Wise Old Crab stepped between everyone and the face. He pounded the sand with his staff, “You do not have power here, Mawgu!” light shone from Summoner’s Rock, and the face recoiled in pain, “Back to your volcano where you belong!” 

Danny shielded the light from his eyes, “The Mawgu? That’s the Mawgu?” 

The Mawgu’s face disappeared into the mist. He spoke from the volcano, “Enjoy this respite, for it will end before long. As for you, Chosen Ones. Gather your strength while you can. I will be waiting,”

Danny’s eyes were fixed on the volcano. His trance broke from the Wise Old Crab’s claw. He helped himself up, “Well, Ghost Boy. That was the Mawgu. Still confident?”

Danny averted his eyes, “I underestimated him, that’s for sure. But if I fly low, I should, OW!” 

The Wise Old Crab struck his head with his staff, “No more of that. You fly off like that again, and the Mawgu will zap you once more.”

Danny rubbed his head, “But why’d you hit me?!” 

The Wise Old Crab grinned, “For ignoring me the first time,” he snickered, “I told you how dangerous the Mawgu was, but you flew off on your own anyway.” 

“As sorry as I am for you, Danny, I’m siding with the crab here on this one,” SpongeBob admitted. 

Danny rolled his eyes, “Alright, the Mawgu’s the real deal. I got that now, but just what was he, anyhow?”

The Wise Old Crab gazed at the volcano, “In time, Chosen One. In time.”

SpongeBob peered across the water at the mainland, and glanced at the sharks patrolling the waves, “Those sharks look really mean, and really hungry. We aren’t gonna have to swim to shore, right?” 

The Wise Old Crab chuckled, “Oh no. That won’t be necessary.” 

Danny crossed his arms and leaned against SpongeBob, “Then what’s the plan?” 

The Wise Old Crab raised his claws, “My children! The Chosen Ones are among us. It is my duty to guide them on their journey. As for you, return to our village and keep our people safe.” 

The crabs acknowledged their elder, gave their thanks, and plunged into the sand, much to Danny’s shock. The Wise Old Crab walked along the sandbar and beckoned SpongeBob and Danny to follow. The ghost boy looked back at Summoner’s Rock one last time before leaving it behind. Something about the monolith drew his attention, but he paid it little mind. Instead, he looked across the waters to the beach. If he remembered his sister’s technical jargon, then it seemed they were a couple leagues from shore. Although he wanted to go home as soon as possible, Danny couldn’t deny the euphoria he felt from being at the ocean. The ocean breeze with its salty tang blew his hair in all directions. He glanced down at SpongeBob, dancing along the sand, feeling quite at home. 

“You know all that stuff happened all at once, I don’t think we had the chance to celebrate our reunion,” Danny admitted.

SpongeBob’s face curled into a smile, “I know!” he jumped and hugged Danny from the side, “Danny it’s so good to see you again! It’s been so long and I’ve missed you so much!” 

He laughed and hugged his friend back, “Yeah, I missed you too, SpongeBob.” 

SpongeBob climbed down after the Wise Old Crab shouted for them to keep up, “I wonder how the others are doing?” 

“Timmy and Jimmy,” Danny said the names of his other two intergalactic friends. One was an average kid that no one understood with two flying friends that granted his every wish. The other was a boy genius who could invent a supercomputer with what he could buy at a convenience store with pocket change, “Yeah, I wonder what those guys are up to?”

SpongeBob suddenly grabbed Danny by his shirt, “Danny, I just had an idea. Jimmy Neutron’s a genius! I bet he could figure a way to get us home!” 

Danny pried SpongeBob’s hand away while the realization dawned on him, “Yeah, you’re right. Yeah! He could find a way to get us off this rock,” the Wise Old Crab coughed, “After we deal with the Mawgu, of course,” he looked up at the volcano, “Question is, how do we contact Jimmy?” he checked his cell phone, and unsurprisingly, it didn’t have service, “You wouldn’t happen to have an intergalactic communicator on you, SpongeBob?” 

SpongeBob shook his head, “I’m ashamed to say that I don’t. Not even the recaller Jimmy gave us,” Danny had completely forgotten about that invention. He believed it was somewhere deep in his underwear drawer, therefore of no use to him, “Oh if only my alarm worked this morning! Then I would’ve remembered to pack my recaller in my pockets,” SpongeBob wept into his hands, “And I wouldn’t have been late to work!” 

Danny stood uncomfortably next to the crying sponge. He pat his head, “It’s alright, SpongeBob. We’ll find a way to contact Jimmy.”

SpongeBob could hear the uncertainty in Danny’s voice, “C’mon, Danny. It’s not like the means to get off this island are gonna suddenly fall on us.” 

All of a sudden, a mobile home fell into the ocean, spraying water everywhere, giving a shock and soaking Danny and SpongeBob, “What was that?!” SpongeBob cried, after leaping into Danny’s arm. 

The Wise Old Crab cleared his throat and gestured to the volcano with his staff, “That, Absorbent Yellow One, is the Mawgu’s doing,” the two watched the volcano and the storm surrounding its peak. Within the storm, to Danny’s discomfort, was a debris field of skyscrapers and cars, along with objects too small to gleam from their vantage point. 

“How long has the storm  been doing that?” Danny asked.

“Ever since I was a child, Ghost Boy. That storm would come and go, and toss junk from other worlds at us. But the older I’ve become, it’s become more powerful. And when the Mawgu broke free, that storm hasn’t gone away,” 

He led them along the sandbar past a group of bird-shaped targets. While tapping a wooden beak, Danny asked, “So, you mean in all that time, you never thought that something was going on?”

The Wise Old Crab lowered his staff, “Do you question the normal in life, Ghost Boy?” he walked forward, “I will take a quicker route through the sandbar. Keep following the path to the island. If you need help, I’ll be there in a flash.”

His legs dug through the sand at an unprecedently fast pace, and then he disappeared into the sand, leaving no trace. Danny knelt down and dug around for the crab, but found nothing. Not even a tunnel, “How does he do that?” 

SpongeBob laughed, “Oh it’s a crab thing.” 

They walked along the sandbar, the path sometimes sinking into water, but never too deep for them. When they came onto a crossroads, the Wise Old Crab appeared once more and suggested collecting food and supplies, “After all, you two will be on this island for some time. It’s best that you all be prepared for everything.”

Danny once again searched for clues where the Wise Old Crab went before giving up, “Well, he does have a point. We’ll need food when we make camp,” he and SpongeBob picked up clams from the shallow tide pools. He eyed SpongeBob and quipped, “So, how’s this for a reunion, SpongeBob?”

He was stuffing a comically large pearl in his pants, “Well it’s not what any of us had in mind, but I’m glad we’re back together.” 

Danny led them back on the path, “I was starting to miss you and the guys. But I guess that means our worlds are at peace, right?” 

SpongeBob smiled, “Yeah, you’re right! You know, now that you mention it, Plankton hasn’t shown his face around Bikini Bottom for a while.” 

This caught Danny’s attention, but all of a sudden, birds swarmed them, “Aw! What are these birds doing!” 

Several were pecking SpongeBob, “Get away from me! I’m too chewy!” 

Danny looked down at a bird nipping at his pocket, “They’re after our food! C’mon!” he grabbed SpongeBob and ran down the sandbar to a very large stack rising out of the water. He looked back and saw the conga line of birds following them. He rounded a corner, and to his dismay there was a rockwall in front of them, “Great! Dead end!” 

SpongeBob attempted climbing up the wall but fell back down, “It’s no use, we’re stuck!” 

The birds rounded the corner, as Danny got an idea, “Not for long. Watch your head!” he concentrated on all of his energy and fired a beam of ecto energy from his hands. On impact, it shattered the rock wall into pieces, sending chunks down to the depths. 

Though the blast was blinding to the birds, this didn’t dissuade them. They continued their pursuit. SpongeBob and Danny ran through the hole in the wall. There was a locker resting in a pile of sand with a razor and hammer inside. Danny grabbed both before the birds caught up. 

“Oh no! Another dead end!” SpongeBob cried. 

The birds were almost upon them. Danny held SpongeBob tight to his chest and flew onto the cliff above. The birds jumped and slashed their talons, but couldn’t reach.

“Well, how do you like that? Flightless birds,” Danny laughed. 

SpongeBob panted like a dog, “You know, I can’t believe I forgot how exciting it was hanging out with you.”

Danny snorted, “Well, maybe we should hang out more often. This is just another day for me, only now it’s in paradise.”

They heard a loud thud just ahead. They exchanged glances and stood up to investigate. Their curiosity took them to a small, rocky islet where patches of sand and water dotted its surface. Near an enormous cone shell, was a familiar-looking rocket. SpongeBob approached the device and examined the logo its hull adorned.

“Strato XL,” he read aloud, “Danny, this is one of Jimmy’s rockets, isn’t it?”

Danny nodded, “Yeah, but how did it get here?” he looked up at the storm, the answer orbiting the volcano, “But a better question. Can we contact Jimmy with it, or even use it?” he hopped into the cockpit and studied the complex controls and mechanisms. He flipped switches and pressed buttons, but nothing seemed to work, “Blast, it’s dead.” 

SpongeBob sighed, “Oh well, it was worth a shot,” he tapped his foot while studying the hull, “You know, I bet we could get this thing up and running.” 

Danny jumped out of the rocket and flew on top of the conical shell, “SpongeBob, do you even know the first thing about fixing rockets?” 

SpongeBob grabbed Danny’s outreached hand and was pulled up to the shell, “Well, I know someone who works on rockets. Does that count?”

Danny patted him on the back and helped him back onto the sandbar, “It was wishful thinking,” he glanced back at the sandbar, “But it is worth a shot. Once this crab shows us where to make camp, we could come back and bring it with us to try and fix it.” 

SpongeBob smiled and hugged his friend, and they continued walking along their path. They came upon a fork in the road. Directly ahead was a small pond of water with an islet in the center, where a palm tree and a locker called it home. To the side was a narrow path held up by rock pillars. SpongeBob could see something in the distance and beckoned Danny to follow. They picked up more oysters along the way until they could get a better look at that strange shape moored out on the island. 

“Hold on. Is that?” Danny stopped.

SpongeBob chattered his teeth before crying out, “It’s Plankton’s crab bot!” he chewed on his fingernails, “What on earth is it doing here?!”

Danny checked the volcano for activity. Feeling bold, he leaped off the cliff and flew just above the ocean’s surface until he hit land. He approached the robot and touched its robotic claw. Rust clung to his glove and he rubbed it off on the sand. If he had to guess, it must have been there a long time. Danny remembered the battle on the Chum Bucket’s roof, and how much of a fight Plankton put up. It was a hard fought victory, but worth it in the end. 

Danny climbed on top of the hull and found the controls were gone. He remembered how Plankton fled Bikini Bottom on a flying saucer that served as the crabbot’s cockpit. If there was a way to control the machine, it was long gone; and now it would rust at its sandy grave. Danny hopped off and looked back at the crabbot one last time. The way its mouth hung open unnerved Danny and he hurried back to SpongeBob. 

“Did you find anything?” SpongeBob asked, “You don’t think the Syndicate is here, do you?” 

Danny shook his head, “I don’t think so, SpongeBob. I think it was dumped here a while ago.”

“But, why here of all places?”

“I don’t know,” thunder filled their ears and they looked up at the volcano, “Every minute that passes, I just have more questions and less answers,” he walked ahead, “C’mon, let’s get going.”

They circled around to the opposite end of that path, which brought them to the other side of the pond. They took time to investigate the small islet where Danny opened the locker and found a box of nails. He tossed them to SpongeBob, who pocketed them. 

“Hey, take a look at this,” SpongeBob said. 

“What is it?” 

“It’s a sign!” he held up a sign, “I remember Squidward painting something like this. In fact,” he grabbed the sign and looked at it closely, “This looks like Squidward’s sign.” 

Danny crossed his arms and leaned against the palm tree, “So, did one of Squidward’s paintings get sent here or something?”

SpongeBob pocketed the sign, shocking Danny that he could hold so much in his pockets, “Well if it is, I better hang onto it! I know Squidward will need this back.” 

The two searched the pond and didn’t find much save for an old silver coin that Danny decided to hold onto for his dad. They walked toward a path of rocks just above or below the water. The Wise Old Crab appeared, “Chosen Ones, you have done well to come this far.”

Danny hyperventilated, “You have to stop that! I’m gonna have a heart attack if you keep scaring me!” 

The Wise Old Crab ignored him, “Now you will follow this to path to the island’s mainland. But be careful of falling the deepwater. It is dangerous to off-worlders.” 

He disappeared into the sand. Danny caught his breath and said, “Can this old crab be that wise with advice like that?”

SpongeBob shrugged, “Then by all means, take a dip in the water.”

A nearby shark patrolling a patch of water caught Danny’s attention, “I’d rather not.”

Together they walked down that path, although they didn’t hesitate to complain about the water seeping into their shoes. Chubby seagulls perched on cliffs far from the path took a glance at them and narrowed their eyes. To a sea creature like SpongeBob, with memories of what seagulls could do, this unsettled him and he urged Danny to keep moving. 

But when they started to move faster, the seagulls threw their heads back and spat at them. A wad of chewed up fish landed by them, “Yuck! Are they throwing up their lunch at us?!” 

SpongeBob felt sick, “Let’s just get out of here!” he ran, his legs hopping in and out of the water, with Danny following. He skidded to a stop at the path’s edge and lurched over the watery abyss when Danny knocked into him. They pulled back and asked, “Now what do we do?” 

Danny wanted to point out he could fly, but to their luck, giant sea turtles emerged out of the water, “Well, I guess we could hop on these.” 

SpongeBob hopped from seashell to seashell until he was across the water and onto the beach. Danny didn’t trust his own weight and flew over to join his friend. The beach they walked on served as the foot to a cliff.

“You think we’re supposed to climb this cliff and prove our worth as the chosen ones?” Danny asked hypothetically.

“An excellent proposal, Ghost Boy,” the Wise Old Crab said before emerging from the sand, “But that will leave you exposed to the Mawgu. I’ve guided you on this path to avoid the Mawgu’s attention. From here, he will not spot you,” he gestured to the path ahead, “However, this comes at a cost. The path to your camp will be a long and hard one. Once you reach the end of beach, you will a follow a path through the brush, where you will come across Shipwreck Cliffs. These cliffs are impassible, but you can find a passage through the broken ships. So they say. Once you’ve reached through the wreckages, you’ll find yourselves at a lagoon. From there, I will guide you to your camp,” he looked at SpongeBob and Danny and bowed to them, “Be safe, Chosen Ones. and be careful of the monsters who lurk ahead.” 

He disappeared into the sand. Danny felt the sand, but it was as formless as the rest of the beach. It seemed that whatever tunnels the elder and his crabs dug out, simply collapsed as quickly as they were made. 

“I’m gonna find out how he does that,” he said, mostly to himself, “Alright, hang onto me, and I’ll fly us out of here.”

SpongeBob wagged his finger, “Danny Fenton, I’m honestly disappointed in you.” 

“Why, what about?” 

“The Wise Old Crab warned us about the Mawgu, and you wanna fly in plain view and get zapped again?” 

“I can turn invisible, in case you forgot,”

SpongeBob crossed his arms, “Well that’s not the point.”

Danny rubbed his face, “SpongeBob. What point are you talking about?”

“We are the Chosen Ones, Danny! We have a prophecy to fulfill, and if that Elder knows the prophecy, then that means we follow his word to the letter,” he pounded his hand with his index finger, “We have to follow the prophecy.”

Danny blinked, “Follow the. SpongeBob, you don’t seriously believe that we’re the Chosen Ones, do you?”

“Of course I do! We were summoned and fell from the sky. If that doesn’t make someone a chosen one, then I don’t know what will,” SpongeBob walked ahead on that beach, “Feel free to do what you want, but a real Chosen One is going on the beaten path.”

Danny seriously considered leaving SpongeBob. He was about to take off when he heard screaming. He ran down the beach, when he laid eyes on sand monsters.

Short, stubby monsters made of sand. Faces molded by a bright pink energy and wielding oversized fists. They croaked at SpongeBob and threw their fists at him. Danny gritted his teeth and fired an ecto beam at one of the monsters. It blasted a hole through the monster and threw sand up in the air. The monster fell over, and the sand that made up its body fell apart into shapeless grains. 

“What are these things?” 

“I don’t know! They just suddenly appeared out of nowhere!” SpongeBob cried. Another sand monster formed behind him and threw its fist. But SpongeBob leaped in the air, slipping on his karate gloves and coming back down to karate chop the sand monster, “I don’t think so!” 

Seven sand monsters grew from the sand and surrounded Danny and SpongeBob. One of them reached inside its mouth and pulled out a chunk of glowing pink energy and lobbed it at Danny. He deflected it with his hand, but it left a burning sensation. 

“Watch out for their spit! It’s acid!” he fired an ecto beam at the monsters.

SpongeBob groaned, “Does everything on this island use their spit as a weapon?!” he karate chopped several sand monsters in a row, and they quickly fell apart.

The two observed the beach, and though there were new mounds of sand, there was little evidence that monsters had been there. They walked on; caution at each of their steps. Up ahead, SpongeBob spied a strange shape. It was shaped like a volcano, but closer to a science fair volcano than the islands, and it pulsated as if it breathed. SpongeBob looked inside, and the same pink energy from the sand monsters was flowing inside. The shape, upon feeling his touch, spasmed and spat out a chunk of sand. A sand monster formed from that chunk and croaked at Danny and SpongeBob. The shape spat out a couple more sand monsters, who joined in menacing them.

“That must be making more of those monsters!” Danny shouted. Energy emanated from his fists, “SpongeBob! Handle these guys for me!” he blasted the spawner with a massive beam of energy. It pierced the spawner and as it collapsed on itself, the pink energy exploded violently across the beach.

The energy surrounded itself in sand, and a half dozen sand monsters emerged and growled at Danny. He and SpongeBob fought them off. SpongeBob pulled his arm off and bent it like a boomerang. He lobbed it, and his karate glove split four of them in half. Danny cut the sand monsters with the heel of his boot and then threw one off the beach in the water. It sank like a rock before dissipating in the depths. SpongeBob and Danny caught their breaths before they studied the spawner’s remains. 

“So, that thing could make those monsters,” SpongeBob said.

Danny nodded, “Do you remember what that crab told us?”

SpongeBob attached his arm back and crossed it with the other, “Well, I distinctly remember being declared the Chosen Ones, and you chose not to believe that.” 

Danny rolled his eyes, “Not that. He said the Mawgu had this ooze that corrupts everything it touches. I didn’t give it much thought, but I think that was the ooze he was talking about,” he said, “It corrupts everything, even the sand it touches.”

SpongeBob shivered, “That Mawgu is really scary.” 

Danny walked ahead, “All we saw his ugly mug,” he frowned, “If he’s using the ooze to make monsters out of the island’s environment, then they could be anywhere.”

SpongeBob caught up with him, “Then how do we stop the ooze?”

He shook his head, “I don’t know,” he facepalmed, “Ugh! If we Tucker or Jimmy with us, maybe we could figure something out, but without ‘em. I’m in the dark.”

SpongeBob touched his hand, “Don’t you worry about it too hard. I bet we’ll figure something out, even if it’s just the two of us.
Danny smiled down at him, “Thanks, SpongeBob. C’mon, we’re not getting anywhere just standing.”

The rest of their walk on the beach was somewhat peaceful. Without monsters or avians attacking them constantly, Danny and SpongeBob could finally appreciate the beauty of the island. The cliff forming a rocky wall proudly stood, only suffering minor cracks in its features. The sand was soft to the touch, and the water beating at the coast was cool. The wind blew hard and, according to SpongeBob, was a Summer breeze. For someone who lived in the middle of the States, his experience with summer breezes were soft kisses by the wind. But at the coast, even a breeze was harsh, and his hair blew all around his head. 

Danny didn’t mind. He flew to a nearby tree and plucked a banana. The fruit tasted sweeter than any from a supermarket, and certainly from his school. He pulled a bunch off the tree and dropped it on SpongeBob. The poor sponge splattered on the sand, and Danny scrambled to help him. 

As SpongeBob reformed into his normal shape, Danny picked up a sound. It wasn’t anything like he heard before on the island, and it followed a consistent rhythm. Was it footsteps? He urged SpongeBob to keep a sharp eye. After another league down the beach, Danny spotted a strange shape bouncing up in the air. He nudged SpongeBob. 

“Hey, up ahead. What is that?” 

SpongeBob squinted, “It looks like,” his face curled into a big smile, “PATRICK!”

Danny didn’t realize who that was at first, but memories remedied that. Still, it was strange for the ghost boy to see an overweight, hawaiian trunks-wearing, pink sea star before them, bouncing endlessly on a diving board over an empty-swimming pool. 

“What are you doing here?!” 

Danny crossed his arms, not sure what to make of the sea star's presence yet, “Patrick? How did you get here?” 

He put a hand to his head, struggling to think, “Uh, well. I was sleeping on my rock. And. Uh, well. I woke up on that rock,” he pointed to a boulder nearby, and then I saw this! And I wanted to start jumping!” 

Danny nodded, “How long have you been here?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhh,”

SpongeBob whispered to his friend, “Call it a lucky guess, but I believe he’s been here as long as we have,” he approached the swimming pool, “Patrick, we’re the Chosen Ones. And we’re on a mission to save this island!” 

Patrick’s eyes filled with wonder, “Oh! I wanna be a chosen one! I wanna be a chosen one!” 

SpongeBob chuckled, “Sorry, Patrick. You gotta be chosen to be a Chosen One.”

“That would be where you are wrong, Absorbent Yellow One,” the Wise Old Crab emerged from the sand next to Danny, and gave the ghost boy a panic attack, “Before you stands the Pink Star, one of the Chosen Ones, as the legends told.” 

Patrick celebrated his new status as a Chosen One with more jumping while Danny clutched his heart, “Please. Stop. Doing. That.”

SpongeBob scratched his chin, “You know, that makes sense. Patrick wouldn’t be here unless he Was a chosen one. Wise Old Crab, you only summoned the Chosen Ones, right?”

He nodded, “Indeed, Absorbent Yellow One. The only outsiders to our island, are the Mawgu and the nine.” 

Danny listened. He still didn’t buy the whole chosen one legend, but he also didn’t know why they specifically were plucked out of their worlds and brought to this island. Another mystery to add to the pile.

SpongeBob narrowed his eyes on the path behind Patrick’s diving board and spied a narrow path cutting through a forest of palm trees, “Wise Old Crab! Is that the path to Shipwreck Cliffs?” 

He nodded, “Indeed it is, Absorbent Yellow One, just beyond him.” 

Danny unfolded his arms, “Then I guess this is where we part ways for real. We’ll see you at our camp?” the Wise Old Crab was gone. Danny rolled his eyes and walked toward the path. 

SpongeBob followed after Danny but noticed Patrick was still bouncing on the diving board, “Patrick? Aren’t you coming with us?” 

Patrick put a hand to his mouth, “Oh! Ok.”

He leaped onto the sand and followed SpongeBob and Patrick through the path. Though they had different opinions on how that day had come to pass, the same questions lingered in their mind. Why were they summoned to that island? What and where was that island? And what was the Mawgu? Though the morning sun shined down on that island, a dark storm orbited the volcano’s peak. And it would soon smother the whole island. 

All that stood in its way were these three castaways. They would unite with seven souls still scattered across the island, and take part in the battle for Volcano Island.

Chapter Text

Those who had journeyed with their elder returned to the village. Though they were his orders, none of them liked the idea of leaving him with outsiders, especially with talk of the Mawgu’s minions lurking in that area, but they had no choice but to respect his decisions. The majority of the crabs returned to their families and reported on their adventures. One of the bishops inspected the village’s temple. Ever since he was a young crab, he remembered their Elder always emerging from it to guide their people. He was with the elder when they claimed its idol. Neither the Absorbent Yellow One nor the Ghost Boy resembled it, and he wondered what that Chosen One would be like. One of the youngsters that accompanied their pilgrimage approached and asked if the Chosen Ones would really save them.

“I’m not sure, child. As our elder said, we have no reason to doubt the legends. But I am skeptical of these Chosen, just as you are,”

The young crab waved his claws, “Oh no, most revered! I wasn’t saying anything, I was just, well uh. Searching for your opinion, sir!” 

The bishop chuckled, “Fear not, child. I’m just teasing you. Even a crab my age deserves to have fun, no?” he allowed the youngster to relax, “But still, I do wonder how they will fare against the Mawgu,” the bishop heard an approaching crab.

A crab taller than either the bishop or the youngster approached. His claws were brutally large and very sharp, yet his shell was quite small. He bowed his head, “Most revered, I came when I heard you and the others arrived. What of our elder?”

The bishop beckoned him to rise, “Our elder is guiding the Chosen Ones as we speak.”

A smile appeared on the warrior’s face, “Then it is true? The legends spoke true?”

The bishop nodded, “The Chosen were summoned, but the Mawgu interfered with our ritual,” he said quietly, “Keep that to yourself until our Elder returns,” he eyed the youngster, “And you. Go find your friends. You mustn’t concern yourself with an adult’s conversation.”

The warrior watched him scamper off, “Then tell me, what of the Chosen? Are they lost?”

He shook his head, “No. They’re scattered. According to our elder. Now then. I have made my report to you, could you kindly return the favor?” 

The warrior nodded, “The bugs are holding out for now, but we’ve heard nothing from the Florians. I’ve started worrying about them. We gave a quick checkup on the Exiles before they started hurling spears at us.”

The bishop snorted, “Hmph. You shouldn’t concern yourself with those warmongers. Give them sympathy, and they try to skewer you!” 

The warrior laughed, “Not a fan of our fiercer cousins, are we? Well, I can’t blame you. Even as this Mawgu threatens our whole island, all they care for is their marching formations.” 

They saw a commotion occurring at the mouth of their village and they went to inspect. A crowd gathered to welcome their Elder. His disciples surrounded him with dozens of concerns, both for him and for the village. He couldn’t keep track of them and raised his staff. Everyone eventually quieted down enough for him to request they ask him one question at a time.

“Elder, please tell us the legends you spoke of are true!” a hysterical mother begged, “Will the Chosen Ones save our island?!”

The Elder knew this question was on everyone’s minds, more than any other. He spoke the truth, “The Chosen Ones were summoned, but the Mawgu disrupted our ritual with magic, and the Chosen were scattered. Only the Absorbent Yellow One and the Ghost Boy appeared to us. But the Pink Star was found shortly after. As I speak, children, they are approaching Shipwreck Cliffs.”

This caused a stir amongst the crabs, “Shipwreck Cliffs?”

“But no one has ever ventured through that accursed place and lived!” 

“No, I heard it’s a proving ground for the Exiles!” 

“And our saviors are wandering through there?!”

The Elder raised his claws, and the crowd quieted, “The prophecy foretells that the Chosen Ones will prevail. Doubt their strength, and watch them overcome all obstacles. They take this path, away from Mawgu’s gaze,” he gestured to the volcano with his staff. Even in their secluded village, the volcano still loomed over them, “Now, I will be away for some time, children. I must guide the Chosen Ones to their camp. Keep yourselves safe and busy, and soon, this will be over. Our lives will return to normal, sooner than later,” he turned away and walked out of the village, to the cheers of his followers. He shouted back, “And don’t let any junk bonk you on the head!”

They laughed, until they heard a newly made hole in a roof.

The air was thick and heavy and the sun beat down on them mercilessly. The shade should have made things feel cool, but it only blocked the wind from blowing on them. In his frustration, Danny chopped a huge palm leaf in their path and beckoned Patrick and SpongeBob to follow. Patrick tried to follow, but he realized that he was still stuck in between a pair of trees, “SpongeBob, I’m stuck!” 

SpongeBob groaned, “I know, Patrick. Who do you think is trying to pull you out?!” 

“Oh right,”

Danny rolled his eyes. He asked SpongeBob to step back and grabbed onto Patrick. He turned the sea star intangible and pull him through the trees. Then he fell on him. 

The sea star chuckled, “Thanks, Denny! I owe you one!” 

Danny looked directly up at the sky, “It’s Danny, and you owe me five.”

SpongeBob helped him up, “Sorry about that, Danny. I thought Patrick could fit if we squeezed him just right, but-”

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it. Just as long as we keep moving,”

Danny beckoned Patrick to walk at his side, and he obliged. At first, Danny thought he could keep a better eye on him, until he started complaining. Incessantly, “Ugh, it’s so hot! What are we doing out here?”

Danny didn’t have the energy to answer dumb questions and let SpongeBob take up exposition duty, “Patrick, we told you already. The Wise Old Crab told us that Shipwreck Cliffs will be beyond this path.”

“Oh!” that answer seemed to satisfy him, “Uh, but why are we going there?”

Danny groaned. All day, Patrick made his nerves his home. It all started when they spent five minutes pulling him off the diving board, and another ten waiting for him to wake from his power nap. The complaining was a constant annoyance, but even worse, Patrick found a way to get stuck in ways Danny thought was impossible, and far too often to be called reasonable.

He tried to remember if Patrick was as much of a hassle when they met during the Jellyfish Factory Raid. He had to save him, yes, but he found him somewhat reliable. Then Danny realized that he possessed Patrick.

Danny turned intangible and phased inside of Patrick while he was prattling on about jellyfish. He turned to SpongeBob, “What do you think, SpongeBob? Now we can actually get somewhere.”

He gasped, “Danny, you have no right to possess Patrick.”

Danny shrugged, “C’mon, we can cover more ground this way,” he watched SpongeBob tap his toe and sighed, “Fine. I get it.” 

Danny phased out of Patrick, who continued his diatribe, “And that’s how I got stung by a blue jellyfish twice last Sunday!” he looked back and forth between them, “Did something happen?”

They pressed on, despite the countless delays. Their path, while narrow, was defined in the jungle. While it led them through the thick of the jungle, the beat of the waves was never far off. And it seemed they were growing louder. Danny wondered if the path was leading them back to the coast. Their path ended at a drop. They stood at the top of a cliffside, where a small shoal rested a few dozen feet below. They hardly noticed the shoal, as the enormous shipwreck firmly held their grip. 

The vessel rested upside down against the cliffs. Or to be more accurate, the ship served as the cliffs. The rocky walls gave way to metal; it was like the ship was lodged in a place where open air once was. Danny spotted a vine a few feet from their cliff. He reached out and tested its strength. He slipped down and saw a small alcove in the ship’s hull that was torn out. He swung back and forth and landed inside. The ship creaked under his weight, and he stood still for a moment before moving. He inspected an old supply closet and looted the rope and wood planks. He looked over the edge at the shoal below. He floated to the shoal and rested them against the hull.

“Danny, what did you find?!” SpongeBob called. 

“More supplies! I didn’t find a way inside the ship!” he flew up and met SpongeBob at eye level.

“I didn’t know we could fly on this island! I wanna fly too!” Patrick, before either could stop him, leaped off the cliff and flapped his arms, “I’m Patrick Flystar!” his flapping slowed to a stop and he observed his state of not flying, “Hm. AAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOHHHOHHHHHOOOH!”

SpongeBob and Danny saw him fall down to the shoal below. They recoiled in pain and looked closely to see if he was ok; he was half-buried in the sand. With a long sigh, Danny carried SpongeBob down to the shoal below and helped pull the sea star out of the sand. 

“How’d I do? Did I fly ok?” he asked.

SpongeBob groaned, “Patrick, we can’t fly. No matter what world we’re in. It’s Danny that can fly, because he’s half-ghost.”

“Ohhhh,” Patrick glanced at him, “GHO-

Danny overshadowed Patrick, “I’m not in the mood for this, SpongeBob,” he looked up at the wrecked stern, “So, how do we get through this?”

SpongeBob first urged Danny to free his friend from possession, which Danny obliged begrudgingly. After Patrick finished screaming, he chose to wander the tiny beach. He chased around a small crab until it buried itself in the sand. He came around the ship’s stern and saw ropes dangling off the hull. 

“Hey, guys!” he called, “Check this out!” 

SpongeBob and Danny inspected his find, “Whoa! They go all the way to the top!”

Danny thought out loud, “Maybe we could get through the ship from the top. Only problem is,” 

Not only was the ship in complete disrepair, as Patrick put it, “This place is a dump.” 

Seeing no other options, Danny tested the rope. It wouldn’t buckle under his strength, nor his weight so he climbed up higher, “Alright, boys. Let’s start climbing.” 

SpongeBob jumped up to a rope and pulled himself up and urged Patrick to follow. At first, the climbing was easy, but the higher they got, each stretch upwards was harder. The wind blew on their backs and they shivered. Patrick clung to the net and whimpered and fell behind. He scrambled to catch up, shaking the whole net.

“Patrick!” SpongeBob cried, “You’re gonna shake us off!” 

Patrick panted, “I’m sorry, SpongeBob. But you guys are so fast, and it’s so scary up here.”

Danny phased out of his own tangling, “Look, we’re not even halfway up. Just stay calm and keep up.

Patrick whimpered an agreement and kept pace with them. The half-ghost’s words weighed on himself when he realized they only just passed the cliff they descended from. As high as that was, it was nowhere near the top. Every accidental glance at the ground brought a fearful shudder to him. He stowed his fears and told SpongeBob and Patrick to keep ahead of him. He wanted to keep watch if they ever fell, but he kept that reason to himself. This precaution slowed them down.

Climbing the side of a ship was an endeavor as arduous as climbing to the top of a skyscraper, but that venture came to a merciful finish when SpongeBob and Danny pulled and pushed Patrick up to safety. While the two gasped for air, Patrick admired the view, “Wow. We’re really high up. 

SpongeBob looked over the edge, “Yeah. I can’t believe we did that. Why didn’t you fly us up here, Danny?” 

“I thought about it, but it would eat up too much energy if I did. I would have to make a round trip for both you and the pink guy,” 

SpongeBob nodded his head, “Well what now since we’re up here?”

Danny surveyed the hull ahead of them. He wondered if it was better to stay in the open air or to go down into the ship. He approached a crack in the hull and looked inside. Save for the light his head obstructed, the whole ship was dark, “Let’s see where this leads us. Follow me and watch your step.”

SpongeBob beckoned Patrick to follow. The sea star ran ahead, leaping over the crack in the hull. The three walked together and approached a propeller. Rust covered the blades where moss and ivy hadn’t. They passed in between the blades nervously, but they made no indication that they could move. One of Patrick’s footsteps made the whole vessel groan, and he recoiled in shock. Everyone stopped moving. They were waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, Danny signaled Patrick to follow on. He stepped over the patch of iron and kept close to SpongeBob. 

They walked along the ship’s keel, the turtling vessel’s highest point and their only means of going forward. As they walked on, Danny realized that the ship’s groaning from before was from how little of the ship remained beneath them. With less ship, that meant less support. A part of the ship was gone, save for the keel that now served as a bridge.

The keel had chunks of hull still hanging on, but it was clear to Danny and SpongeBob, that it was just barely, “Patrick, whatever you do, don’t step on that. Just walk on the keel,” SpongeBob told his best friend. 

“Right. Walk on the keel. Walk on the keel. Uh, what’s a keel?” Patrick asked. 

“Yeah, I don’t know ships either, what is that?” Danny asked.

“Why, it’s the very bottom of the ship! It’s the support beam from where the hull is built into. Mr. Krabs used to tell me about the shipbuilding he did in the navy,” SpongeBob explained. 

Danny smiled, “You know, SpongeBob, I’m glad it’s just you here, because if Jimmy were here, he woulda answered straightaway.”

“Deyeyeyeye! That’s true, oh I wonder what ol’ Jimmy Neturon’s up to! You think he knows his rocket is missing?” 

“Good question. That might be how we get off this rock. If Jimmy comes looking for his rocket, we could hitch a ride back with him,”

Patrick raised his hand, “Jimmy Who? I have not heard of this person.”

“Patrick, you already met him,” SpongeBob said.

“I did?” 

“Yes. It was at Jellyfish Fields, remember?”

Patrick tried using his brain, “Ohhh! I remember! It was that talking, caramel sundae right?” 

Danny sighed, “If it means you remember him, then sure.” 

The walk across the keel was picturesque. A waterfall from the jungle above flowed down the rock walls and before the keel bridge. They could reach out and collect water for a fresh drink. It tasted sweet, but different to the bottled water Danny usually drank. 

They crossed the keel and reached the other end of the wreck. It was complete like the other side of the ship, but the keel disappeared. The hinges of the hull’s frame were still there, but they were walking towards the insides of the ship. They walked down an upside-down set of stairs onto a pile of sand. Standing on the ceiling was a unique feeling for SpongeBob and Patrick, but Danny was plenty familiar with it.

A wall stood in their way. Danny proposed to phase through it. Well he thought to, when Patrick fell through a plank of woods on the floor.

“Patrick! Are you ok?!” SpongeBob asked.

“Uh, I think so?” he answered. SpongeBob and Danny looked through the broken wood, and saw him waving, “I think this is the way, guys.”

Danny landed next to him and catched SpongeBob. Patrick led them down another set of upside-down stairs, where they came to the shipwreck’s end. Danny looked behind and noticed a hatch. He tried opening it, when it flung open and drenched him in saltwater and seaweed. SpoongeBob and Patrick laughed, even after Danny glared at them and phased the stuff off his body. He looked inside and recoiled from the rotten smell of rust and seaweed. He gasped for fresh air and put distance between him and the room. 

“So, you’re not gonna check for supplies in there?” SpongeBob asked.

He shook his head, “Not without a gas mask.” 

They heard rummaging from within the ship and saw Patrick carrying armfulls of canned food, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. The smell’s not that bad.”

Danny stared at his lips and frowned, “Says the man without a nose,” he inspected the beach before them. It rested on a pool that gave way to a lake surrounded by cliff sides. A rock wall blocked water from leaving, but signs of erosion made Danny think overflow was a common occurrence.

The path ahead needed them to go up. The innards of a ship were held up by the remains of iron frames, or what was lodged inside the rock wall. Patrick and SpongeBob followed Danny when they finished stuffing cans into square pants pockets. They walked over the pool of water on platforms of rotting steel or grated walkways. SpongeBob looked down at the water and waved to the fish swimming around the pool. The air felt cool and Danny was sure the water would feel amazing to dip in. But the ship groaning at their feet gave him pause. It was best to move on. 

They reached a wall, and to his shock, it was another part of the same ship from before, given the upside-down signs etched into the walls. Patrick whistled, “Geez, how big is this ship?” 

“Forget how big it is. How’d it get here?” Danny asked, “Was it dropped here, or did someone push it into place?

“I don’t know. I don’t think a ship could end up like this on its own. But if that were true. Who could have put it here?” SpongeBob questioned.

Danny didn’t want to ruminate on that anymore and hopped onto a higher platform, helping the others reach above. Though the rusting heap of iron didn’t sit right with them, they loved the waterfall they passed by. Just beyond that waterfall was a pair of non-functioning elevators. As SpongeBob boarded one first, he noticed something lodged into the cliffside.

“Patrick? Do you see that?” 

Patrick squinted, “Yeah. It’s a surfboard, right?”

“Not just any surfboard,” SpongeBob stretched his arm and plucked the board from the rocks. He pulled it back and looked closer, “This is Sandy’s.” 

“Sandy?” Danny asked, “I didn’t know she surfed. Or that you could surf underwater.”

“Oh, we do all our surfing in Goo Lagoon. Oh I wish you guys coulda seen it. But, what is this doing here?” SpongeBob handed the board to Patrick who, after a brief inspection, chose to lick the board.

He licked his lips, “Yep, this is Sandy’s alright.”

While Danny stared at the sea star in both amazement and terror, SpongeBob approached him with a thought, “When we picked up Squidward’s sign, I thought it was something that followed me here. I walked past Squidward’s house and saw the sign, so that was why we found it. But, with Sandy’s surfboard, I never saw it.”

Danny crossed his arms, “What’s your theory then? 

SpongeBob put a finger to his chin, “Well, something the Wise Old Crab said has been buzzing around my head like an angry jellyfish. He said junk keeps falling from the sky. And well, we found Jimmy’s rocket, right?”

“We did. And as far as we know, Jimmy’s not on the island,” 

SpongeBob snapped his fingers, “Right. So the rocket and the surfboard aren’t from this world, and I don’t think this ship is either.”

Danny’s breathing came to a stop as he looked all around him, “Are you saying, the stuff falling from the sky is getting pulled here from other worlds?”

SpongeBob nodded, “I do.”

“Makes sense. Ship falls from the sky, and the island grows around it. But then, how do they end up on the island in the first place?” Danny asked.

SpongeBob shook his head, “I don’t know, Danny. I don’t know.”

Patrick pulled away from slurping on the skeg, “Wait, why are you guys thinking so hard about this ship? It’s a ship. It’s here. Let’s get through it.”

Danny smiled, “For a guy who thought he could fly, you know how to talk sense. C’mon, guys. And leave the board.

“But it belongs to Sandy,” SpongeBob protested. 

Danny floated to the floor above, “Only bring it along if it won’t get in the way.”

SpongeBob opened one of his back pockets, and Patrick dropped the whole board inside. They followed after him and emerged near the cave’s ceiling. The ceiling of that cave was the upper layers of the shipwreck, and the walls were lined with chunks of the ship. A stream of water flowed through an open hatch in a piece of the ship. 

They came to a part of the cave where the shipwreck wasn’t as recognizable of a ship, and looked more like hikable pile of junk. SpongeBob walked along wooden planks, and sitting on a hatch was, “A golden spatula?!” 

Patrick and Danny saw SpongeBob cuddling the golden utensil. The pair glanced at another while waiting for SpongeBob to finish his little episode. After he finished, he pocketed his spatula and joined them. Without another word, they marched on. The path through the shipwreck led them closer to the water. Danny dipped his hands in the water, and just as he suspected, it was cool to the touch. Just warm enough not to give a chill, but just cold enough to make the most miserably hot day bearable.

“Hey, Danny. We got a problem,” Patrick called to him. 

Danny hopped to the platform they stood on and looked out to the stretch of water before them, “Looks like a dead-end,” he studied the shipwreck across the water. Unlike the rest of the ship, the shipwreck looked like it was standing upright. The upper halls led out of the caves it seemed. Problem was, they couldn’t cross, “Hang on. I can fly. Why don’t I just carry you guys?”

SpongeBob wasn’t amused, “Danny, how many times do I have to remind you. We are the Chosen Ones. And that means we have to solve tests that prove our worth.”

‘Your point?” 

“This is clearly a test. And if we solve everything with, “Oh let's just fly over it,” we’ll never be the Chosen Ones those crabs were waiting for!” 

“Yeah. C’mon, man. Think for a second,” Patrick chimed in. 

Danny groaned into his hands. He could not believe he had to put up with their belief in some prophecy, “Fine. Well if this is some test, Absorbent Yellow One,” he said with contempt, “How do we solve this test?” 

SpongeBob and Patrick studied the water before them. SpongeBob thought to swim across until Patrick reminded him that he couldn’t swim. Patrick noticed debris floating in the water, namely pipes. He looked up at a huge pipe, barely clinging to the ship’s remains. 

“Hey, Danny. Knock that pipe down, could ya?”

Danny aimed his finger and fired an ecto beam at the pipe. The pipe instantly tore off and fell and broke the water’s surface. Danny turned intangible, while SpongeBob and Patrick remained in the splash zone and embraced the spray. 

As they were laughing, Danny thought to ask, “Hey, wait a minute. SpongeBob, how are you breathing in open air?” 

SpongeBob wiped a tear from his eye while he recovered from giggling, “Oh? You didn’t notice? I sprayed myself with some of Jimmy’s Moisture Spray! He left me some as a gift.” 

Danny nodded, “That explains SpongeBob. What about you, big guy?”

Patrick noticed the lack of water around him, “Hm. Weird. Normally around this time, I would be dying of dehydration,” he stood still, wearing a content smile, as he turned purple. Then he started choking, “Water! Where’s the water!?” 

SpongeBob sprayed Patrick over with Neutronic Moisture Spray. His color came back to a healthier shade, but he still choked.

“Patrick, you can breathe now,” 

Patrick took a deep breath, “Oh yeah! Thanks, SpongeBob.” 

Danny shook his head and hopped aboard the pipe he brought down. The surface was slippery, but he found steady footing. 

“Ok, what’s the next part of your plan?” Danny asked. 

Patrick scratched his head. He pulled the surfboard out of SpongeBob’s pants and used it to paddle across the water, “I made a big boat!” 

Though it was slow, Danny couldn’t deny it was getting them across the water, but he tried hiding that from a grinning SpongeBob. Changing the subject, he brought up the state of the ship, “If this is all the same ship, then how did it get like this? Did someone pull it from the bottom of the ocean?”

“And twist it like a candy wrapper?!” SpongeBob added in a dramatic voice, “This must’ve been a grand ship before, well whatever happened to her.”

Their pipe-raft banged against the shipwreck, “I did it!” he tossed the surfboard back in SpongeBob’s pockets and climbed aboard the wreck, “Let’s keep moving, Chosen Ones!”

Danny snorted but followed Patrick’s lead, although he assumed the lead not long after. As they walked up the first set of rightside-up stairs, Danny spotted something between the steps. He phased through the stairs and inspected it. 

“What is it, Danny?” SpongeBob asked.

“It’s a tiki. Looks like it’s made of greenstone,” he floated up to the platform above and held the idol in his hands, “I think I wanna hold onto this.”

“Why? It’s just a tiki,” Patrick remarked. 

“Patrick, we’re bringing a surfboard with us. Plus, I still have a pearl in my pocket,” he took Danny’s tiki and dropped it in his pockets, “Oof! But this is starting to get really heavy!” he adjusted his pants and tightened his belt, “I can’t wait to reach that camp so I can dump all our salvage.”

Danny echoed a similar sentiment, although he was more interested in seeing what this camp was, than where it was. If it was his choice, he would have set up camp at the first pool of water they found, but he wasn’t much of a survivalist. That was his mom’s specialty. 

They leaped off a broken ramp to where it once led to. They repeated this several times until they reached the other side of the wall. An old elevator rope proved useful in climbing to the next floor. After crossing the floor, they saw high above them was the floor that led out of the caves, but the lack of floors caused concern. That is, until SpongeBob pointed out to the ropes hanging from the ceiling. They swung from rope to rope, reaching the opposite wall again. They climbed up to the top floor, with SpongeBob and Danny helping Patrick up. Unlike the rest of the shipwreck, that open-aired hallway didn’t resemble the raw, industrial, practical-purpose-first look. It resembled a hallway belonging to a fancy home. It almost seemed out of place, if not for the holes in the floor paneling. And what wasn’t full of holes, was rotten on the inside. The weak wood couldn’t support their weight any longer, and gave out underneath them. 

All three of them screamed as they fell into a metal ravine. Danny reached for SpongeBob and Patrick and flew upwards, slowing their fall to a halt. Just above another hole in the shipwreck, where a shark swam in circles. 

Without making a sound, Danny flew directly in the opening to his left. He didn’t let them down until they were outside the shipwreck onto solid ground. The three fell on the sand and gasped for air, “That. Was too close.”

Patrick nodded, “Yeah. I’ve had enough of this ship. Are we done with it or not?!” 

SpongeBob looked up and groaned, “No guys, I think we’ve got more ship ahead of us.”

Danny shook his head and pulled himself up, “Well, we’re not getting any closer just sitting here. C’mon, guys.” 

He helped Patrick and SpongeBob to their feet. They inspected the beach at the ocean’s edge. They looked back to see if they could spot where they came from, and could barely make it out. It was hard to believe for the ghost boy, they had come so far.

Something stirred in the sand, but only SpongeBob noticed. Dunes moved independently and together formed the shape of a monster, “Guys! Those little sand monsters have a big brother!” 

The sand monster roared. It stood five heads taller than Danny, its club-like hands were even bigger than the smaller sand monsters, and its gut was thick with sand. It lumbered over to the trio and lobbed its fist at them. SpongeBob and Danny dodged, but it hit Patrick across the beach. 

Patrick!” SpongeBob cried. 

The giant sand monster stepped closer, but SpongeBob was too distraught to notice.

“Look out!” Danny fired an ecto beam, and while it pierced his gut, sand filled the wound and it didn’t slow down.

Just as the sand monster readied another swing at SpongeBob, Patrick charged into him. He cartwheeled from across the beach and lodged his head in the monster’s chest, sending it crashing down. SpongeBob, overjoyed to see his friend alright, pulled him out and hugged him, while the monster rose. Before he could swat them away, Danny flew in and blasted its head with ecto energy. The monster’s body went limp and the sand turned formless.

“Wow! That thing was really strong,” Patrick popped his back, “You alright, SpongeBob?” 

“Yeah! We showed that big lunk what for, huh?” 

Danny stared at the sand. He didn’t like that a sand monster was around here, as he wasn’t sure if that meant the Mawgu knew where they were, or if the Mawgu was sending scouts to find them. As soon as they met up with that elder again, he was gonna get answers about the island, the ooze, and the Mawgu. 

And if possible, how he summoned them. 

They walked down the beach, occasionally avoiding a piece of iron half-buried in the sand. They reached the beach’s end, but the other half of the shipwreck was across a small divide of water. Danny accepted he couldn’t convince his friends to fly, so he searched for a way to sail the water. They intended to search the shipwreck, when the beach started shaking. The shipwreck wasn’t shaking, so it wasn’t an earthquake. 

A sandy monolith rose out of the ground and stopped when it grew as tall as SpongeBob. A mouth formed and it spat out chunks of bright ooze. 

“It’s an ooze spout!” Danny exclaimed. 

Sand monsters formed from the ooze and they menaced the trio. Danny blasted the newly formed sand monsters and Patrick clobbered the closest one to him. SpongeBob leaped into the air and, with his bubble wand and soap bottle, blew a bubble bomb and dropped it inside the ooze spout. The bomb sunk into the ooze and exploded, sending globs of ooze across the beach. A dozen sand monsters formed from the ooze and they charged at them. Patrick blindly punched at sand monsters, sending them dozens of feet away. Danny had to turn intangible to avoid a sand monster flying his way. When it hit the shipwreck hull with a great boom, he grew weary of the sea star’s strength. 

The sand monsters were vanquished, and they caught their breath, “I was wondering. If the Mawgu could track us down with those sand monsters. When we beat up that big one earlier, that ooze spout showed up.” 

“Do you think the Mawgu sent it?” SpongeBob asked.

“I hope not. I want it to just be a trap that detected us. If the Mawgu can sense us here, or even see us through his henchmen’s eyes, that won’t be good for us,” Danny grimaced, ‘Only other guess is, they can send distress signals when they’re beaten.”

SpongeBob took a deep breath, “The Mawgu just keeps getting more and more scary.” 

“You guys keep talking about this Mawgu guy. What is he anyway?” Patrick asked. 

“We know just as much as you, dude. An ancient evil trying to take over,” Danny explained, “He’s the reason you’re here.” 

“Oh. Well, I better thank him! I woulda never done so much jumping without him!” he laughed. 

Danny rolled his eyes and boarded the shipwreck. SpongeBob followed after pulling Patrick behind him. The portion of the ship they boarded was in a terrible shape, but it still resembled the fancy setting a first-class passenger would be accustomed to. A fancy rug, immaculate portraits of nobles, and hanging over the water was a chandelier. 

While SpongeBob and Patrick laughed at a particularly ugly portrait, Danny eyed the chandelier. He flew to the chain holding onto the chandelier, and sawed through a link with a small ecto beam. With a snap, the chandelier plunged into the waters below. Danny watched it sink below the waves and worried his idea wouldn’t work, but then the chandelier bobbed on the surface. He pumped his fist and joined the sea creatures.

“Guys! I found a way across!” he led them to the chandelier and invited them to board. It was unstable and sank under their weight, but they used it to get across the water to the beach just before the new half of the ship. They beached the chandelier in case they needed it again, but Danny insisted they wouldn’t bring it to any camp. 

They explored the beach before the next piece of the shipwreck. Growing near the cliffside was a fruit tree SpongeBob and Patrick plucked for a quick snack. Danny let them eat while he scouted ahead. He walked along the shipwreck; it was like a ship had been cut in half with a knife. Water flowed from the river in the cliffs above and its fall was the ship’s last barricade. It was one of one of those images Danny thought he would always keep with him. It reminded him of the time when Fenton Works sat at the beach that whole summer. A pleasant memory whose recollection always brought a smile with it.

Circling around the ship to its starboard side, the only way forward were the lifeboats hanging off the hull. While they didn’t look seaworthy in the slightest, he thought they could climb aboard and reach the deck above them. With a plan in mind, he returned to SpongeBob and Patrick, but he felt uneasy. He couldn’t shake the feeling something was watching. He peered over his shoulder, glanced around, and checked the ship, but nothing seemed apparent. 

His attention turned to a belching Patrick, “Wow, this fruit’s really good!” 

SpongeBob examined the fruit, “Patrick, do you know what this is?” 

Patrick took it back, “Don’t care. It’s good!” he swallowed another fruit and belched.

Danny waved his stank breath away, “Alright guys, snacktime’s over. C’mon, I found a way topside.

SpongeBob stood, but before he could join Danny, something cut through the air and buried itself in the sand at his feet. It was sharp and hard as a rock. Danny scanned his surroundings. He heard the cutting through air and fired an ecto beam in the air. His energy shattered the object, and the dust fell on the beach. 

Patrick covered his head, “What’s going on, SpongeBob?!” 

SpongeBob lifted the object, “Someone’s throwing boomerangs at us,” he rubbed his hand against the flat side, “It feels like a shell?”

“A shell? What kind?” Danny asked. 

The bumps in the boomerang reminded SpongeBob of, “It feels like a turtle shell.” 

Sand flew in the air. A pincer grabbed Danny and pinned him to the ground, “You are trespassing on our proving grounds! This is our territory!”

Danny looked up and gawked at his attacker. He was a crab, but unlike the Wise Old Crab and his followers, they were closer to the ground, their shells had a gradual slope, and their claws were much bigger. And sharp, as Danny could tell you.

SpongeBob and Patrick held their arms up while the pinning crab’s companion menaced them, “I’m sorry! We didn’t know we were trespassing!”

“Silence, sponge! Everyone on this island knows that the cliffs are under Fort CrabClaw territory,”

“Well, we’re new to this island, in case you haven’t heard,” Danny said, earning a tight squeeze from his captor. 

“What rubbish! You must be Florian Morons!” the crab grunted, “What should we do with ‘em?” 

“What do you think?! We’ve gotten a great bounty from this place! We’ll bring ‘em home and eat ‘em!” Danny’s captor promised. 

Danny had enough. He phased out of his claw and blasted his captor with ecto energy. He fell into the water and his companion charged at Danny. Patrick leaped into the air and fell on the crab’s back. He was out cold and Danny noticed a crack in his shell after helping Patrick up. 

The crab who had pinned Danny came out of the water. Danny furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Do you wanna leave us alone or do you want some more?” 

SpongeBob slipped his karate gear on and Patrick slapped his belly like a drum. The crab realized he was outnumbered and outmatched. He scowled and dove into the sand. Danny relaxed and checked on the other crab. He was still sleeping, and Danny decided to leave him be.

“Let’s get out of here before that guy brings some friends. Or if Shellcracker wakes up,” Danny proposed. 

SpongeBob and Patrick nervously passed the unconscious crab, and followed Danny to the ship’s starboard side. He showed them the lifeboats he found and pointed up to the ship’s deck, “From up there we should get a good idea where we should be going.”

SpongeBob boarded the lifeboat first, “Sponges and starfishes first!” he laughed. 

Patrick went before Danny and followed his friend. When SpongeBob leaped to a lifeboat above him, Patrick grabbed his ankles and used him as a ladder to board the boat. Danny shook his head and helped SpongeBob up. 

The first lifeboat was lodged in the sand and was steady, but the one after hung over water. After climbing aboard, they felt the sway of the ship’s ropes and how it rocked with every shift in their weight. Getting to the deck was slow progress, with SpongeBob and Danny helping a heavy Patrick safely board the next lifeboat. They spent as little time as they could standing together on one lifeboat. Though the ropes held, SpongeBob worried about them snapping at any moment, but Patrick was nowhere near as worried. 

Soon, they reached the ship’s deck. Danny and Patrick came up first and they helped SpongeBob come aboard. After a whole day of climbing and leaping and walking, they made it from the wreck’s upside-down stern to its upright bow. The air felt pleasant, much nicer than what came before. Almost calm and, although Danny didn’t know why or how at the time, pure.

They heard rummaging at the bow’s end, ““You oversized tv dinners better not be back, or I’ll smack you around again!”

They went on the defensive on instinct, but SpongeBob and Danny recognized that voice, “Tucker? Is that you?”

From behind the ship’s bitts, came out a slim, young man wearing glasses and a beret, “Danny?” he ran up and embraced him, “Oh, thank sweet meat! I knew you’d come to save me! Alright, where’s the Specter Speeder so we can get out of here?”

Danny grimaced, “Tucker, I’m sorry. But this isn’t the Ghost Zone.”

Tucker blinked, “You mean, all those birds spitting up their lunch, those were real?” 

SpongeBob nodded, “Unfortunately.”

“SpongeBob? You’re here too? And, uh. A starfish?” Tucker raised an eyebrow, “Man, you gotta tell me what’s going on here.” 

Danny held up his index finger, “In a minute, we were coming aboard to get our bearings. We’re supposed to pass through all these shipwrecks to prove ourselves, or something like that.” 

“Yeah, ‘cause we’re the Chosen Ones!” Patrick declared. 

While Tucker remained confused, Danny looked off the edge of the bow. A branch wave in the way and he cut through the foliage and looked out at a lagoon fed water from a pool a league away. 

“Is that where we’re making camp?”

“Indeed it is!” from below, the Wise Old Crab emerged next to a massive anchor, “Ghost Boy, you made it through Shipwreck Cliffs. Glad I made it just in time. What of the ABsorbent Yellow One and the Pink Star?” 

“With me. We’ll be down in a sec,” Danny shouted to the others, “Guys! I think we made it!”

SpongeBob and Patrick cheered for their victory. They ran to Danny and Tucker followed begrudgingly. SpongeBob and Patrick climbed down the anchor chain while Danny airlifted Tucker. The Wise Old Crab inspected him and grinned, “It does me great pleasure knowing you found another of the Chosen Ones.”

Danny snorted, “Wait. Tucker’s a Chosen One?” 

“Indeed. The Tech Geek. These arcane words have been a mystery to my people for many years. I was hoping Tech Geek would illuminate this to me,” 

Tucker shut his eyes and groaned, “So even a talking crab calls me a tech geek,” but then he eyed Danny, “Hang on. What’s the deal with this chosen one stuff?”

Patrick hopped up and down, “It’s like I told you! We’re the Chosen Ones!” 

“We’re a part of this guy’s legends! We’ve been prophesied to save the world!” SpongeBob declared.

Tucker blinked, “Save the world from, what exactly?” 

Danny pointed to the volcano, “Whatever’s in that.” 

The Wise Old Crab coughed, “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but please leave discussing the legends to me, if you would please,” he turned around and urged them to follow, “It won’t be long, Chosen Ones, for your new home.”

SpongeBob and Patrick followed at the Wise Old Crab’s heels while Tucker lingered around Danny, “So tell me. What’s really going on?” 

He sighed, “I’m gonna be honest, it’s hard to say.”

The Wise Old Crab beckoned them to round the corner before he did. Patrick obliged and took in the view. His mouth hung open as he stared at what would become his new home. A pool of freshwater rested in the center of a ring of land walled by a ring of cliffs. The grass was soft to the touch, and the morning dew soaked his feet. He ran to the beaches at the sea, and rolled around in the sand. It wasn’t coarse like the sand elsewhere. It was soft to the touch. Much better than Goo Lagoon even on a good day. A stream of pool water flowed into the sea. On one side was a patch of sand and a beach guarded by a gorilla statue. On the other was swampland Patrick found himself sinking into if he stepped into it. 

What would’ve been a very humid place was pleasant thanks to the sea breeze acting as a constant vent. Not too hot and not too cold. Patrick frolicked around enjoying himself, but the others enjoyed their new surroundings just as much. Tucker was famously against ever living in the wilderness, but even he, absorbed by technology as he was, couldn’t help but love this pool. 

“This place is beautiful!” SpongeBob said, “Danny, was all that walking worth it?” 

Danny stripped down to his boxers, “I’ll let you know when I hit the water. Cannonball!” he leaped from the ground and sank under the water. He bounced up to the surface and whipped his hair, “Wooh! This is amazing!” 

The Wise Old Crab smiled, “I’m glad to see you enjoying yourselves, Chosen Ones.” 

Danny came out of the water, “Hey. I don’t feel tired anymore. What’s in that water, man?” 

“That is the power of the pool. Long, long ago, our people built a great temple on this land, and the river flowed through into the ocean. But the temple was too heavy for this land, and it sank beneath the waves,” he directed them to the pool’s center, “Deep underwater, that temple still stands. Our people did not mourn for it, for it blesses the water, and any who drink, bathe, or swim in it are rejuvenated.”

SpongeBob and Patrick peered into the water, but no matter how long they looked, they couldn’t see a bottom, “Wise Old Crab, how deep is that temple, anyhow?” 

He scratched his beard, “A few thousand feet. Give or take.” 

“Wow. That’s a lot of feet,” Patrick said. 

Tucker blinked before asking the Wise Old Crab, “Alright, why’d you bring us here? Is this where we set up camp or something?” 

“Indeed, Tech Geek. This is your new home. This pool is a shrine for the powers for good,” he looked up at the river feeding the pool, “It is the safest place from him.”

SpongeBob, Danny, Patrick, and Tucker looked at the river and saw the volcano standing tall. Even after a whole day, the storm surrounding its peak still swirled as strong as ever.

“I think it’s time you start answering some questions. I wanna know how you summoned us, what the Mawgu is, and what you want us to do about it,” Danny demanded.

“Danny, don’t be rude. He helped us find a new home,” SpongeBob said, “Just hear him out.”

The Wise Old Crab shut his eyes, “In regards to your first question. I summoned you in the way I was taught by my father, and how he was taught by his father. I didn’t pick you out specifically, Ghost Boy. I performed the ritual, and you all came here. That is all. 

“As for him. The Mawgu is a great and terrible evil, as I said. Long ago, the people of this island united together and fought the Mawgu and his armies. We sealed him away under that volcano. He is still sealed in that volcano, but he has broken his own constraints. It is the ooze that he has used to extend his power beyond the reach of the volcano. As I know you saw, the ooze corrupts the land and the people who touch it. Monsters made from sand menaced you? Believe me, they are only a taste of what’s to come. 

“The legends foretell a battle between our chosen heroes and the Mawgu. All that is certain, is that you must find the other Chosen Ones. They are still scattered across this island. Once you are all together, I believe the means of defeating the Mawgu will be illuminated.”

His words weighed on them. Patrick watched the others for their reactions. SpongeBob seemed nervous but his eyes were wide. Tucker was uncertain and unconvinced. And Danny crossed his arms and leaned back against a boulder. 

“Well, if there’s five more of us out there, we should find them,” Danny said. 

The Wise Old Crab bowed his head, “I’m glad you see it that way. For now, rest for the night. Tomorrow will bring many hardships. I must return to my people. I will see you all again at first light.” 

He disappeared into the sand. The four of them gazed upon their camp, “Well, if we’re gonna be here for a while, we oughta start building ourselves houses,” SpongeBob suggested. 

“Building? We just spent all day hiking, and you wanna start building?” Tucker complained. 

“What are you talking about?” Danny said, “You were only with us for the last leg.” 

“I think we should camp out under the stars!” Patrick exclaimed, “We could have a campfire and make s’mores!” he pulled a bag of marshmallows from his shorts.

“Patrick, where did you get that?” SpongeBob asked.

“I always carry marshmallows with me,” 

Tucker shook his head, “I’ll pass.”

Danny smiled, “Alright. SpongeBob, find a place to dump all the junk in your pants. We’ll start building stuff tomorrow morning. Patrick, go gather wood for our campfire,” the two went off in different directions. When they were gone he asked Tucker, “Your PDA have any power?” 

“Ran out of battery an hour before we met up. Why?” 

Danny sat on the ground, “I was hoping we could contact Jimmy with it.”

Tucker sat next to him, “Believe me, that was the first thing I tried, but there’s some sorta interference. It must be that storm causing it or something,’ he leaned back and sighed, “So, what’s your interpretation of all this?”

He snorted, “One minute I’m fighting Skulker. Next minute I’m standing by SpongeBob. And now I’m hearing stuff about the Mawgu from this bearded crab. How I’m their chosen one, or whatever,” he took a deep breath, “Whether or not their legend stuff is true, we were all summoned here intentionally. That crab knew our faces.”

“He did?” 

Danny nodded, “He knew what to call us and he knew our faces. I wanna get to the bottom of this.”

Tucker glanced back at the volcano, “And what about this Mawgu? Is he something we’re gonna have to deal with or no?”

Danny crossed his arms, “Yeah. I’m a good samaritan at heart. Once we beat it up, we’ll figure a way to get home.” 

Tucker rested his head against his hands, “As bad as this is, you gotta love that view.”

Danny smiled. He agreed.

That sunset was to die for.

Chapter Text

Camping on the beach is a vacation many dream to experience. It combines the adventure of camping in the wilderness and the relaxation a tropical visit to the ocean brings. But it can become a very unpleasant experience depending on the situation you find yourself in. Suppose you’ve been stranded on an island and the beach is the closest thing to a bedroom. Then you have a constant sea breeze nipping at your skin and turning your shivering slumber restless. And, let’s say you don’t enjoy the presence of insects or crustaceans, which the beach is privy to housing. Then whatever sleep you muster will be very restless indeed.

That was Tucker Foley’s first night on the island. Already he hated the great outdoors, tropical climates, and tiny creatures that crawled inside his shirt and bit his back, and the island wasn’t changing his mind. No matter where he tried sleeping, something woke him up or kept him awake. At first, that starfish kept him up with his snoring and sleep-talking. It didn’t seem to bother SpongeBob nor Danny, but he couldn’t keep around the campfire they made. He searched the pool for a spot, and nestled himself underneath a tree. When he was almost asleep, he felt a burning sensation on his leg. Ants stung him incessantly. In his panic, he noticed a nearby ant colony for a second before he dove into the pool. The healing water washed away their venom and his leg felt better, but he also felt just as restless. He decided to sleep near the gorilla statue. He unbuttoned his pants and rested on them like a pillow. At last, he thought he could finally get some rest. But after a few hours, cold water lapped at his skin. The tide came in. Although it wouldn’t reach the pool, the sea water touched the gorilla statue and brought seaweed, shells, and fish to the shore. Soaking wet, Tucker ventured closer to the marshland and collapsed on a patch of dry sand. Desperate for any semblance rest, Tucker shut his eyes. They opened upon feeling a sharp pain on his face. He looked down at his nose and saw a small crab pinching his nostrils. He screamed and shook the thing off before engaging in a shouting match with the island. Far too energized to sleep, Tucker put on his clothes and stomped over to the supply pile. He picked up a handful of planks of wood and searched for a spot to build his shelter.

“Feeling restless, Chosen One?”

The boards of wood fell at Tucker’s feet and he spun around, “Where did you come from?!” 

The Wise Old Crab stood behind him, wearing a big smile on his face, “I returned to my village to make sure they were safe and rested there for the night. Dawn is upon us, and I promised I would see you all at first light. Did not suspect I would greet you, Tech Geek.”

Tucker picked up the pieces of wood, “I didn’t get good sleep thanks to tubby over there,” he pointed to Patrick with his hammer, “And everywhere else didn’t work out. So I’m building my own tent.”

The Wise Old Crab lifted a bigger handful of wood planks, “Very wise. While sleeping on sand is nice every once in a while, it won’t be when it’s raining on your head!” 

He helped Tucker find a place to build his hut, atop a hill overlooking the pool. Even though Tucker set out to build his new home, he wasn’t sure how. The Wise Old Crab taught him how to use a hammer and held the planks together for him. When the sun rose above the waves, Tucker’s home was a floorboard. 

“Rest now, Tech Geek. You have a big day ahead of you,” the Wise Old Crab said.

Tucker frowned, “Tucker, you don’t have to call me Tech Geek.” 

“Your name is sacred. As our Chosen One, it would be sacrilege to use any other name,” he studied Tucker’s face, “After all this time, you and your idol are one and the same.”

“Idol? What idol are you talking about?”

“Many generations have passed since their carving, but nine idols in nine temples summon the Nine. They have never been seen before, only in our time of need.”

“Wait, if those idols are thousands of years old, how come they look like us?”

“It is a prophecy from long ago. My ancestor had a vision of the heroes who would one day come to our island. He carved their faces into rock and scattered them, and our people were told only to bring the idols to Summoner’s Rock in our darkest hour,”

Tucker nodded his head to be polite. He wasn’t sure if he could buy the Chosen One story. He knew it was possible to see into the future, but as far as he knew, only one person was capable of that, and he was in the deepest corner of the Ghost Zone. Deciding not to dwell on it any further, he changed the subject, “So what’s gonna make this a big day?”

“You must find the Chosen Ones. They are scattered across the island, but I have heard whisperings of strange outsiders wandering the jungle. But that can wait,” the sun’s rays shone from the horizon’s edge, “Come with me. Daylight is shorter than it seems, and you must use as much as the day can offer.”

Tucker followed him to the campfire.

“Alert, alert. Unidentified creature approaches,” 

She laid low and waited for it to appear. A grumbling sand monster came into her line of sight. It scratched itself, unaware it was watched. She leaped from the bushes and threw a powerful punch through its body. The sand broke apart and the energy evaporated. Residue remained on her metal-covered hand after the sand slipped through her fingers. 

“Analyze,”

Her system studied the substance for a few minutes, “Substance unknown. Substance is acidic to touch. It is akin to both energy and to bacteria.” 

“So that’s why the plants were in such bad shape. Only wish I could treat them,” she walked ahead, being careful to avoid harming the local vegetation, “Bring up that trail from before,” a graphic appeared in her vision, “I’m not alone on this island. I just need to find you.”

She heard footsteps and turned in its direction and aimed her blaster. She locked eyes with a giant hermit crab balking at her. It cried, “Weird monster! Weird monster!” and it ran off.

She relaxed, despite the dent in her feelings, and continued walking forward. Everything grew quiet when the wind died down. A stack of boulders blocked her path, but they were simple to surmount. She reached the top with ease and grace and was rewarded with a view of the entire island. She stared up at the volcano, and was shocked to see the storm from yesterday was still going strong. A blip alerted her, indicating her target’s location. He wasn’t far from her now, only another half day of walking between them.

But before she continued, she heard some strange moaning in the wind. It was faint, but she thought out loud, “Is that a clarinet?”

SpongeBob woke up with a great big yawn. It came as a surprise when he opened his eyes and saw not his pineapple, but the wilderness. Then he remembered what transpired the day before and it all made sense. He looked around. Tucker wasn’t around but Danny and Patrick were asleep. He was surprised his best friend slept so peacefully, compared to the only night they spent together as rockmates. He shuddered, remembering Patrick’s allergic reaction to arachnids.

Danny slept beside him, using his jeans for a pillow. Seeing him and traveling together made him smile. He knew it hadn’t been very long since they united against the Syndicate, but he still missed them all greatly. He was a sentimental sponge,and he valued the time he shared with his friends.

He got up and checked the campfire for embers. They hid underneath the charred remains of their firewood. He went to fetch more so he could start breakfast. After retrieving the wood and surrounding the embers with them, he grabbed a stray twig. He poked at the embers until they spread their flames and grew bigger.

“Great, you got our fire going again,” SpongeBob turned and saw Tucker coming down a hill.

“Good morning, Tucker! I trust you slept well?”

He shook his head, “Not at all. I’m surprised you even got any sleep.”

SpongeBob recoiled, “I’m sorry about that.”

“Nah, it’s not your fault,” he popped his back and stretched his arms, “But I am not sleeping outdoors again. And I want my hut far away from him.”

SpongeBob frowned when he saw him pointing at Patrick, “Well, we can make that work,” their conversation didn’t progress from there. 

“Good morning, Absorbent Yellow One,” from around the rocks, the Wise Old Crab appeared, “It’s good to see you up and ready,” he smiled and presented a basket, “I have gathered fruits and fish for your breakfast.”

“Oh boy! Thank you so much!” SpongeBob took the basket and went to cook its content.

“Yeah, thanks!” Tucker said, “I thought we were gonna have to scrounge up our own food.”

“Oh, you will. Just today I decided to help you out. But from now on, you’ll be on your own,” 

Tucker’s shoulders slacked. He watched SpongeBob skewering and roasting the only fish they’d ever get handed. He then realized, he didn’t know how to fish, “Wait. Why aren’t you gonna help us?”

SpongeBob hovered a papaya over the fire, “If I were to guess, I think he wants us to be self-sufficient!”

“Indeed. My task is to guide the Chosen Ones. But I have a village I must look after. If you can take care of yourselves, I would be very appreciative.”

Before Tucker could protest, SpongeBob saluted him, “You can count on us!”

They heard a zipper fly up before a yawn, “Man, something smells good!” 

“Good morning, Danny!” SpongeBob greeted, “That’s breakfast! It’ll be ready soon. Tucker, can you wake up Patrick?” 

Tucker came over and nudged him, but he didn’t respond. He shoved him, but all that did was get him on his back. Tucker eyed a bucket they used last night for drinking water. He pulled a bucketful of pool water and splashed it in his face. 

“Huh!? What?! Is there an avalanche?!” 

“Patrick, we’re on a tropical island. There’s no chance of there being an avalanche,” SpongeBob said.

“Oh. Ok,”

The Wise Old Crab tapped his cane, “Chosen Ones. Before you eat breakfast, I must impart these words upon you,” the four of them gathered before him, “The Mawgu knows you are here. You are the only beings he fears. But scattered, you are no threat to him. United, you will triumph over him once and for all. But until that happens, you must learn to rely on yourselves. I have gathered your food today, but tomorrow you will be on your own. You will learn to gather, catch, grow, cook, and store your food. This island is not only your new home, but your training grounds. When you’ve gathered together and your home is complete, you will begin training.” 

Tucker held up his hands, “Hold up. When did I sign up for a training regiment?”

Patrick nodded, “Yeah. Unless this goes with my fifteen naps a day, we’re gonna have a problem.” 

The Wise Old Crab frowned, “Do you believe you four could defeat the Mawgu at this very moment?” he locked eyes with Danny, “He did not bother to leave the volcano and he struck the Ghost Boy from the air.” 

Tucker looked at Danny as if to ask if that was true. Danny shut his eyes and stood, “Listen. I don’t like what this crab’s put us through either. But he’s got a point. We need to rely on ourselves or this island will chew us up and spit us out, before we can even think of giving that Mawgu some payback,” he faced the Wise Old Crab, “We’ll work on becoming stronger, but on our own terms.”

The Wise Old Crab nodded, “You have a way with words, Ghost Boy,” he smiled, “Please, enjoy your breakfast,” he walked away before disappearing into the sand.

After he was gone, they tore into their breakfast. Danny hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he tore into his third fish. He wasn’t the biggest fan of fish, but you wouldn’t know, with how he voraciously tore flesh off the bone. Tucker didn’t discriminate and was in as much of a feeding frenzy. Patrick quickly swallowed fruit and fish and had to be stopped from getting into their raw food. SpongeBob chopped a pineapple into pieces and ate half of it cold and the other half roasted. Though it smelled sweet at first, the scent turned sour and smelt closer to vinegar. SpongeBob didn’t mind and found it was worth the effort. 

When they finished eating, they rested on their backs and looked up at the sky. Much of it obscured by palm leaves, but they studied the changing colors while their bodies digested the food. 

Patrick stood up and belched, “My, that was some good food,” he tore a nearby palm leaf off and wiped his mouth with it, “If that’s what all our meals will be like, this is gonna be a fun vacation.” 

Tucker used a fish’s tail bone to pick at his teeth, “You said it, man!” 

“But remember, we have to fend for ourselves from here on. What we eat we’ll need to find or catch,” SpongeBob explained.

“Or grow,” Tucker added.

Danny gave him a questioning look, “Grow?”

Tucker reached in his pocket and presented a plastic package, “Rice seeds. I found them on that shipwreck when I landed. Figured why not.” 

“Tucker, that’s awesome! We can actually grow our food now!” 

SpongeBob saw their excitement, and he didn’t want to dampen their parade but, “Guys. Do we know how to grow rice?” Tucker and Danny stood eerily still while they stared at the handful of seeds. Patrick raised his hand. A brief light of hope shone on their faces, “Patrick, you don’t know how to grow rice, you know how to throw dice.” 

“Ohhh. That’s right,” he pulled a pair of dice from his pockets and threw them in the air. He caught them with his mouth and swallowed, “Mmm, snake eyes.”

That dashed their hopes, “Well, it was wishful thinking, Tuck. We’ll think of something to do with ‘em.”

Tucker agreed, “If only Sam were here. She’d know how to plant this stuff.” 

SpongeBob cleaned up their breakfast and collected the discarded pieces of fruit and bones in a trash heap, “How is Sam?”

“She’s good,” Danny answered quickly and changed the subject, “Alright, guys. We got a whole day ahead of us. We should use it wisely. By the time we’re out of daylight, we should all have shelters we can sleep in. Let’s get building,” he saw Patrick walking toward the beach, “Patrick, where are you going?” 

“I’m going to find a new house,” and he walked beyond view. 

Danny ignored him for now. They went over their building supplies, and to his dismay, most of the wood planks they brought with them were missing, “Who stole all our wood?!” 

Tucker laughed nervously, “Oh, I thought you guys had more wood on you. I used the wood to make myself a floorboard.”

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, “Tuck, that was all the wood we had.” 

“Coming through!” something hard hit him in the head and he fell onto SpongeBob. He looked up at Patrick, heaving a boulder over his head. They watched him carry the boulder to a patch of grass near an ancient tree. He stood over the patch of grass and fell forward. Then the boulder came up like it was on a hinge, “It’s like my home away from home.”

The Wise Old Crab snacked on a handful of mussels. He slurped their innards and tossed the shells to a nearby stream. He watched the Chosen Ones bicker amongst themselves. Seeing the Pink Star squashed under a boulder sent an alarm through his old shell, but not a minute later, he came out dancing like nothing was the matter. He picked up the breakfast that he threw over the ground during that outburst. He thought about the Chosen Ones. He tried to keep his expectations in check, but even he admitted that this bunch was nothing like what he thought the Chosen would be like. Not that this dissuaded him from believing the prophecy. As far as he could tell, all was going as what was foretold in legend. Still, he had his doubts on their current prospects. 

When he picked up the last bit of roasted coral, he looked over at the Chosen Ones, and saw they were arguing about something, “They’re wasting daylight arguing,” if they were crabs, he would’ve smacked their shells with his staff and given them a lesson they would remember forever.

As with most meals, he liked to meditate while he ate. This too was interrupted, “Elder! Elder!”

An algae covered scallop slipped from his claws and fell off the cliff. Dejected, he sighed, “What is it, child?”

The crab was a youngster and he expected to quell his fears of sand monsters. Instead, “Elder, I saw a walking tin can in the jungle! It was super strong and I thought it was one of the Mawgu’s Monsters, but it didn’t chase after me!”

The Wise Old Crab thought about this, “The prophecy does not tell of anyone in a tin can. Tell me, from where did you spot this thing?” the youngster told him from where he encountered the being. He scratched his beard thoughtfully, “Child, return to the village. And be careful!” he looked down at his breakfast and called the child back, “Take these and make sure they don’t go to waste!”

He ran down the hill and found soft ground. He tunneled through the sand and emerged on the beach. He approached the Chosen Ones, who were arguing about finding something called a television antenna. He audibly coughed, “Chosen Ones!” the four turned their attention to him, “My crab has spotted a strange being nearby. Go to the lagoon, it could be one of the Chosen Ones!” 

They looked amongst themselves when the Ghost Boy responded, “We’re on it.”

Danny led SpongeBob, Patrick, and Tucker across a shoal of sand. The path was narrow and the waves lapped at their feet. This didn’t bother him and Patrick, but SpongeBob and especially Tucker did not like getting their shoes wet, “Did we really need to come this way?” Tucker asked. 

Danny shrugged, “It’s what that crab said, so I guess we gotta listen to him.”

Patrick grumbled, “Why do we gotta listen to him? Who does he think he is? The Chosen One?” 

“Dude, you said yesterday that we’re the Chosen Ones,” 

“We are?!” 

Tucker shook his head, “In case it’s not too late to turn back, but do I have to come along with you guys?”

Danny seriously considered it after hearing that question for a fifth time, “Yes, you do. SpongeBob, can you explain it to him this time?”

“Of course, Danny!” he saluted him, “Well, we need someone to help carry salvage back to camp. And my pants are only so limitless in pocketspace.”

Tucker groaned, “Figures. Well, as long as I don’t have any part in the fighting. I can barely fight ghosts.” 

Danny ignored him and focused on getting across the lagoon. SpongeBob walked alongside him and thought to cheer him up with friendly conversation, “So what do you think this thing will be? It must be tough if the Wise Old Crab is sending us.”

“Not sure,” he answered curtly. SpongeBob thought the conversation would end there, but he spoke a moment later, “I think he wants us to see if there’s any Chosen Ones around here.” 

“Ooh, did he mention their names?”

“Yeah, just before we left, I overheard him say something about a Night Girl, and some whiny guy,”

“Oooh, a two for one deal!” SpongeBob laughed.

Danny laughed, “Yeah, something like that.”

“I wonder who they’ll be! Anything’s possible. We didn’t think we would find Tucker and Patrick, right?”

“You’re right on that. Maybe we’ll find someone you know. Like that computer wife of Plankton’s,”

“Deyeyeye! Or maybe it’s Beautiful Gorgeous. Ooh, I’d be scared!”

“Believe it or not, so would I!”

“Aw, don’t say that! You’re Danny Phantom! Nothing scares you!”

“Except the dreaded terror of the seas!” Patrick dashed in front of them and presented himself. He turned around and began straining himself, when a face made up of flab and muscles protruded from his skin, “PatBack!” 

Danny stared at this strange act of ventriloquism, and while a small part of his brain demanded that he recoil in disgust, he started laughing to the point of tears, “Yeah, that scares me!” 

“Listen here, half-ghost! You’re not scarier than me!” PatBack’s mouth movements didn’t match with Patrick’s voice, but SpongeBob and Danny were laughing too hard to care. 

Tucker watched them, with both confusion and disgust. He had enough and decided to walk on without them. He reached for his PDA and fiddled with the buttons to pass the time. He felt useless without the device, though he knew it wouldn’t be useful for a tropical island that hadn’t left the stone age. Still, he was glad he still had it. 

The walk across the shoal was very long, and he dreaded the blisters growing on his aching feet. Still he made it to the end and walked on the beach. He looked ahead, and the path seemingly led back to their camp, based on the shipwreck he could barely make out in the distance. 

Danny and the sea folk were still a ways down the shoal, so he sat back on a rock and passed the time. He couldn’t hear them over the wind, but he was sure they were still laughing over that starfish’s back routine. His stomach growled. He remembered when he walked through Danny’s door and laid eyes on SpongeBob for the first time, mostly because of the stupendously delicious Krabby Patties. And later when he took over the Nasty Burger kitchen and fried the best burgers that place ever served. Just thinking about it was giving Tucker hunger pangs.

“Man, I could use some meat right about now. Some barbeque would be great about now,” 

He caught a whiff in the breeze, “Meat,” he sniffed in all directions until he caught the scent, “A whole crate of it. Man, it’s really far,” he looked back, and the others were still walking along the shoal, “I hope they don’t mind if I help myself to that meat.” 

When it came to meat, Tucker had the nose of a bloodhound. Without a doubt, he was going to track that crate down. He started walking and followed his nose. His attention was fixed on what was ahead, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched. He felt a pair of eyes glaring at him, but whenever he stopped to look around, he was the only person standing on the beach. That didn’t sit right with him.

Then the beach started shaking.

Sand came together forming the shape of a giant, lug-headed monster. With a newly defined face, the monster roared and slammed its boulder-sized fist on the beach, throwing Tucker off his feet. He crawled backwards, too scared to sand up and run, while the monster lumbered towards him. 

On the shoal, SpongeBob spotted the scene, “Danny! Tucker’s in trouble!”

“Who?” Patrick asked insensitively. 

“Crud! I’m gonna help him out! I’m going ghost!” energy transformed him into his half-ghost form. He leaped into the air and zipped over the lagoon. 

That’s what he wanted. 

A bolt of lightning from the volcano flew over the island and struck Danny. The pain was excruciating, but familiar, and he fought it off to keep afloat, ‘Chosen One, have you already forgotten what happens when a hawk spies a sparrow?”

“The Mawgu?” Danny fought against the voltage, “Are you enjoying this? Why don’t you come out of your volcano and we can settle this once and for all!”

The Mawgu’s voice chuckled, “Imagine an ant asking you that same question, and you will realize how ridiculous your request was.” 

SpongeBob watched the bolt of lightning uphold the ghost boy, “Danny!”

He opened one eye, “Forget about me! Go and save Tucker! Now!” 

SpongeBob and Patrick sprinted down the shoal to the beach, “Your efforts are meaningless, Chosen One. Now watch my minion crush your friend,” the Mawgu hissed into Danny’s head.

The giant sand monster threw its fists at Tucker, who scrambled away from every swing, but was becoming less responsive each time. Thoroughly tired, the sand monster raised its fists and held them together. SpongeBob and Patrick weren’t going to make it in time. Danny attempted breaking free, but the Mawgu’s grip was iron tight. 

Before the sand monster slammed its fists, an energy blast pierced the monster’s hands. The sand fell harmlessly onto the beach. The sand monster looked around for its attacker when another energy blast pierced his chest. The monster fell backwards, turning back into a pile of sand. Tucker watched the lifeless sand for a moment before he found the courage to stand. 

“It’s gone. Nice,” he looked over to the ocean, where Danny was held by a bolt of lightning, “Danny! Are you alright?!” 

Bolts of electricity pulsed from Danny’s hair, “No! Tucker! Get to cover! It’s the Mawgu!” 

SpongeBob and Patrick joined Tucker to make sure he was alright. Patrick saw the energy holding Danny and he nudged his friend. 

“SpongeBob, what’s wrong with Danny?” 

“It’s the Mawgu!” 

Out of the atmosphere, a face made of energy formed over the ocean and menaced them, “Chosen Ones, tell me, is it bravery or foolishness that persuades you to stand in my sight?” the Mawgu looked down at Danny, and a hand made of energy formed around him, “How should I reward this insolence, I wonder?”

He lowered his hand toward the water. The energy crackled against the ocean’s surface. Danny struggled even more, but he couldn’t break out of the Mawgu’s grip. SpongeBob, Tucker, and Patrick could only watch helplessly. 

“Don’t move,” a voice warned them. 

A blast of energy fired from the beach and struck the hand around Danny. He broke out of its grip and fell into the ocean. Patrick threw SpongeBob like a safety line at him and pulled him to shore.

“Who dares strike at the Mawgu?!” 

The figure, a mechanical suit wielding an arm cannon, answered him. It aimed its cannon at the volcano, and after a moment of the suit buzzing and whirring under pressure, fired a massive stream of energy. The blowback threw Tucker backwards and the others shielded their eyes from its blinding light. The figure fired its powerful, continuous stream of energy for several moments, until it emptied its cannon. The energy stream traveled across the island and entered the storm surrounding the volcano. The Mawgu’s face recoiled in pain before it disappeared. 

Patrick helped Danny to his feet. While he caught his breath, he studied the stranger in a suit. Up close, he recognized the suit, “How did you get your hands on the Peeler Suit?” 

The stranger turned on their feet and put a hand on their metal-covered hip, “Is that what you say to the girl who just saved your life?” 

“Sam?!” SpongeBob and Danny asked simultaneously.

That smile from behind the glass was unmistakably hers. Danny pulled himself up, came toward her and hugged her, “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.” 

She hadn’t expected the hug and, unknowingly, blushed. She hugged him back while ignoring the suit warning her about the nearby ghost, “If you’re as happy as I am, then I think I do,” after they broke up their hug, the Peeler suit alerted her, “Rats.”

“What’s going on?” 

“That stunt I pulled drained the suit’s energy cell,” the suit disassembled and compacted itself inside of a blaster, “I’ll have to find another one before I can use the suit again.” 

SpongeBob nearly tackled her onto the beach, “Sam! I missed you!” 

“Oh hey! I almost forgot you were here! How you been, Sponge Dude?” 

“He’s fine, but your much closer friend is in some trouble!” they turned back and saw Tucker, buried up to his neck in sand, “Can you help me out?” 

Patrick approached him and scratched his chin, “Hm, yes. It is by my diagnosis, that you, my good man, are now a head. That is my professional diagnosis, and I will be billing you for my time. SpongeBob. Bill this man.” 

Sam snorted as she let Spongebob down, “Since when did you become a doctor’s secretary?” 

Tucker scowled, “Since never! That starfish ain’t a doctor!”

“Nonsense!” Patrick protested, “If I’m not a doctor, what’s this then?”

He held a rock up to Tucker’s face, and he read the words poorly painted on, “This is Doctor Patrick,” he glared up at him, “You misspelled ‘doctor’ and ‘Patrick.’” 

Danny smiled and shook his head, “Here, pal,” he phased his hands through the sand and grabbed Tucker under his shoulders, phased his body, and pulled him from the sand, “So, now there’s five of us.”

“You mind filling me in on what’s going on?” Sam asked. 

“We can, but we’re not as in the light as you think,” Danny admitted.

“Then allow me to fill you in, Sam,” SpongeBob insisted, “It was a peaceful day. I was running late for work at the Krusty Krab. When, all of a sudden. I was falling from the sky, along with my friend Danny. And there, the Wise Old Crab declared us the Chosen Ones! From that moment on, we dedicated our lives to saving this island from the clutches of the evil Mawgu!” 

“Is that so?” a voice from the volcano called. The sky around the lagoon turned dark and the storm around the volcano grew violent, “So, Night Girl. Are you proud of yourself for striking at the Mawgu?”

“Night Girl?” Sam asked, “Look, I don’t know who, what, or where you are. If you try to hurt my friends, I’m gonna make you pay!” 

“Such impudence. One that I expect from the Chosen Ones,” the sky turned back to normal and the sea breeze returned.

Sam stared at the volcano, “That was the Mawgu? Can someone explain what just happened?”

SpongeBob tugged at her skirt, “He’s trying to destroy the island we’re trying to save.” 

She nodded, “Certainly not the friendly type,” she looked at Danny, “I take it, that’s why we’re here?”

“It’s what we were summoned for, apparently,” Danny rested on the beach, “Believe it or not, we were meant to find you.” 

“How’d you know I’d be here?”

“Tell her, Danny!” Patrick said, “The Wise Old Crab told us that we would find the Night Girl covered by sand!”

“What?”

Tucker scoffed, “Ignore him. Some crab says we’re the Chosen Ones. And congratulations, according to the Mawgu, you’re one of ‘em. Hope you like your new nickname.”

Sam put a hand on her hip, “Night Girl, huh? I like it.”

“Yeah, you guys get all the cool names, and I’m stuck with Tech Geek,” he complained. He stood up and walked down the beach, “I’m gonna get my meat, and then I’m heading back to camp.” 

Sam watched their friend leave in a huff, “Is he alright?”

“His PDA ran out of power yesterday,” SpongeBob said, “Should we go with him, Danny?”

“Yeah, make sure nothing bad happens,” he agreed. He watched SpongeBob and Patrick run after Tucker. He didn’t feel like getting up yet, and he pulled his sneakers and socks off and let his feet soak in the ocean. Sam sat next to him and rested the Ghost Peeler in the sand, “Where did you find the Peeler Suit, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well, I came over to your place looking for you. The theatre was showing a rerun of the third Nightmerica movie, and I got tickets for us to see it. But when I came to your house-

“You saw me duking it with Skulker?” Danny asked.

“The minute your mom opened the door,” they shared a laugh, “It wasn’t that bad. I helped her make some adjustments to the suit. As soon as I put it on, I’m on this weird island getting attacked by sand monsters,” she held up the Ghost Peeler, “This thing’s been keeping me safe. Shame it’s out of juice.” 

“Gee, I wonder why. How’d you do that anyway?” 

“The big laser blast? Something your dad requested. He was saying that with the Ecto Skeleton missing, the Peeler Suit will be a budget replacement,” she said, “When I touched down on the island, I was worried I was alone.”

“You were?”

“Yeah. If the Peeler Suit hadn’t detected you, I probably would’ve made a raft and sailed out of here,” 

Danny laughed, “Well, that puts you ahead of Tucker.” 

“And are you implying I ever wasn’t ahead of him?” the two of them laughed. Sam stood up and offered her hand, “C’mon. Looks like the guys are getting ahead of us.” 

Danny took her hand and stood up. He pulled his right leg up and turned his foot intangible, letting the water and sand fall off before he put his sock back on. While he put on the other sock, they heard the familiar sound of SpongeBob’s shoes running down the beach. 

“Sam, Danny! You’re gonna wanna take a look at this!”

After guiding them a league across the beach, SpongeBob presented to them, what he promised was a surprise, a three-story tall building, lying on its side. The building’s foundation rested under the surf, where the waves slowly sank it deeper. It was as if something tore the building from where it stood and dropped it on the beach. It came as a shock to everyone, but what Danny found most impertinent, was its origin.

“This is from Fairy World,”

“Really? How can you tell?” SpongeBob asked.

He pointed to a crown engraved on the wall, “It’s what Cosmo and Wanda were always wearing.” 

They looked up after hearing glass shatter. Danny pulled himself up to the building’s face, and saw Tucker dipping his foot inside the building. When he saw Danny, he pulled his foot out and pointed at Patrick, “He did it.”

Danny pulled SpongeBob and Sam up, “Well, you got us started.” 

“You wanna go in there?” Sam questioned. 

“Not really. But there could be supplies down there. And just letting you know, we’re in dire need of building materials,”

“Yeah. I wonder who’s to blame for that?” Patrick asked facetiously. 

“Why are you looking at me, I just met you,” Sam said.

SpongeBob looked down through the window, “So who wants to go down?”

“It’s best if we stick together. That means you’re coming with us, brainiac,” Sam addressed Tucker.

He frowned, “For your information, I was going down there anyway,” he cuddled his PDA, “My baby needs batteries badly!”

SpongeBob tied his arm around Patrick, who was happy to serve as an anchor once again, and extended his arm like a rope and lowered it through the window. Tucker was nervous about rappelling down, when Sam grabbed him and flew down into wet darkness. They landed on a shallow pool of ice cold water. 

“Aw! Gross! It’s seeping into my socks!” 

“Shoulda worn boots, dude,” Sam said.

“Cannon ball!” Patrick fell into the water and splashed Sam and Tucker. She wiped the water away and glared at him, “What?” 

Danny flew down with SpongeBob riding on his shoulders and landed in the water. A beam of light shone from his hands and lit up the walls where everyone’s shadows bounced on. After the building’s insulation system failed from being yanked out of Fairy World, the air was sticky and hot. Although the sea water kept them cool, there was a foul stench of rot in the air. What stuck out most of all, was seeing a familiar world on its side. The building must have been an office given the cubicles on both walls. 

“Let’s check the drawers. Maybe there’s some flashlights around here,” Danny suggested. 

Patrick was the first to find a flashlight, but Sam took it from him to search the cubicles. She rummaged around desks. After pocketing a damp ruler, she asked, “You know, I’m all for looting places that symbolize oppression, but what are we looting it for?”

“The Wise Old Crab led us to this amazing camp! But we’re in need of building supplies,” SpongeBob admitted.

“After SOMEONE, used up all our wood planks for his own house,” Patrick said, while pointing to Tucker with all five points of his body. 

“Hey! Who’s the one who snores in their sleep?” Tucker rebutted. 

“And another thing! You make so much noise in your sleep! I couldn’t get a wink in last night because of all you’re flailing around!” 

Tucker’s mouth hung open. He kneeled down and submerged his face in the water and screamed. 

“Honestly, I’m really glad we ran into you, Sam. We could really use you with putting this camp together,” Danny admitted.

“You’re a survival expert?” SpongeBob asked.

“I dabble in it,” she smiled, “Your camp’s not far, right?” 

“Nah, just a walk across the lagoon,” Danny said.

While Danny was checking a cubicle and pocketing batteries for a still frustrated Tucker, SpongeBob asked, “So what are we looking for specifically? I mean, I could make paper art with this printer paper, but I don’t think that will do us much good.” 

Sam tested the cubicle walls, “They’re a bit too flimsy for my liking, but we could use them for walls,” she found a boxcutter hanging off an open drawer and cut a link in the cubicle apart, “Oh yeah, these’ll do just fine.”

“Great. You guys get these cut apart, and hand them up to me,” Danny took Sam’s piece of wall, and flew out the office window. As soon as he hit open air, the cubicle walls fought against his grip. They would blow in the wind as soon as he let go. He saw a nearby rock and weighed the wall down. 

While they tore the office walls down, Patrick saw an open doorway a dozen feet above his head. He climbed up the cubicle desks and walls and leaped into the other room. This was a narrow hallway, and he had to crawl to avoid bumping his head. 

He looked around and nothing was of interest to the sea star. Office plants and their soil covered Patrick’s footing, but he paid them no mind. At the very end of the hallway, he found the motherload. 

A snack machine.

“Oooh!” he reached into his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out a dollar. He put the dollar up to the machine. It didn’t take. He coaxed the machine with the bill, but it didn’t so much as taste, “Is my money no good?” he shoved his dollar inside. Though his dollar wouldn’t come out, it didn’t let him pick a snack, “You eat my dollar and you don’t give me something to eat!?” he grabbed the snack machine and shook it violently. He shoved it against the wall repeatedly, each time shaking the whole building. Patrick didn’t appreciate how fragile the building was, and soon, he tackled the snack machine into open air. Patrick looked around. He was confused but he was still hungry. He set the snack machine upright and pounded his fists, “You will give me my snack or else!” he lightly tapped the machine, and it dropped a candy bar, “Ooh! Chocolate!” and he wolfed it down.

Danny checked on the crash when he saw Patrick eating next to a pile of rubble and a snack machine, “Patrick, did you do this?”

“YOU CAN’T HAVE MY CHOCOLATE!” he screamed.

Danny’s heart skipped a beat, and he walked backwards. He addressed SpongeBob, “So, that was Patrick. He found a snack machine.” 

Tucker shrugged, “Well, at least he found us food.”

“I wouldn’t expect him to share, Tucker,” SpongeBob warned him.

Sam was curious about the hallway Patrick climbed into. After a series of quick jumps and flips off the wall, she climbed through the sideways door.

“Be careful in there!?” Danny called.

She returned a thumbs up.

With Patrick’s hole in the wall, a flashlight wasn’t necessary to see in the shallow tunnel. Sam the pot soil parted from Patrick crawling through. He clearly didn’t take the time to appreciate his find. She examined the soil from an overturned pot. Odor wasn’t unpleasant and the plant looked healthy. As healthy as a plant could be on its side. She checked out the rest of the pots. Most were broken and the soil spread over the floor, but the handful still intact gave her hope.

“What’re you looking at?” her heart skipped a beat. It was Patrick, peering inside.

“I wanted to give this place a look over. No offense, but I didn’t think you found everything we could use in here,” Sam explained. 

Patrick bit into his second candy bar, “What did ya find?” 

“These potted plants still have good soil in them. I think we take them and whatever soil we can salvage back to camp and we can start growing crop,” 

“Whoa! You mean we can grow our own food?!” 

“Yeah. I’ve read a few books on wilderness survival, and depending on how long you’re staying on an island, it’s best to start cultivating crops as soon as possible,”

Patrick clapped his hands and danced, “So what are we gonna grow? Can we grow roast beef and pizza?”

Sam snorted, “No, no. I’m thinking with the tropical environment, we could grow yams, guavas, spinach, and if we’re lucky. Sugar.”

“Sugar!? We can grow candy!” 

She shook her head but agreed, “That’s right. We can grow candy, dude.” 

Patrick cheered for this positive turn of events, and while Tucker and SpongeBob salvaged the office cubicles of anything that might be useful, Danny was searching the building for a breakroom. He thought that if there had been a snack machine, then surely there would be a fridge full of food. He floated through a wall and found the breakroom, half-submerged in water. His light frightened a group of crabs and they scurried underwater. The fridge and lunch table rested underwater while the chairs floated on the surface. He took a deep breath and phased through the fridge. He gave one whiff and recoiled backwards. 

“Ugh! Spoiled kimchi!” he pinched his nose and checked again. To his dismay, kimchi was all that remained. He wondered if the fridge had been abandoned and no one in Fairy World was brave enough to clean it out, “Then where do these guys keep their food?”

Directly above him were cabinets held close with child safety locks. 

He floated upwards and pulled the lock off. A half dozen cans of tomato soup bonked him on the head and he fell into the water. He looked up with both pain and irritation on his face. 

A door above him opened upwards, “Danny?” it was Sam, “Dude, are you alright?”

He waved his arm, “Gimme a minute. I wanna simmer in my shame before I get up.” 

After Sam left him alone and he got up, he took a bin liner from the water and stowed the floating tomato soup cans inside. He once again floated up to the cabinets, but phased his head inside. Each cabinet held a different type of soup. The one he opened and suffered from had tomatoes, next door was clam chowder with a dozen cans. After that was a single can of chicken noodle soup. 

“Must’ve been the most popular one,” he mused. 

The last two cabinets each held eight cans, one cheese and the other French onion. He checked for a can opener and found one in a drawer hanging off its hinges. 

They spent an hour inside the Fairy Office Building. With a huge supply of cubicle walls to make houses, box cutters for knives, a healthy backpack full of batteries, a few swivel chairs that were still intact, potted plants and topsoil, a bin liner full of soup, and one beat up snack machine, they felt their haul was productive. Danny noted that they could come back for another sweep if they ever felt the need. 

“So how are we carrying this stuff to camp?” Sam asked while eying Patrick’s snack machine, “I hate to break this to ya, Pinky, but that’s staying behind.”

Patrick stood before his prize, “I will never abandon the only good thing in my life!” 

SpongeBob laughed, “Don’t worry, Patrick. I found just the trick! Tah dah!” he pulled out a wand from his pocket, “I was looking all over for one of these bad boys!”

“A wand?” Sam questioned. 

“A fairy wand,” SpongeBob clarified, “Timmy Turner’s fairies grant wishes with these. I’ll just wish our salvage get sent to camp.”

Tucker yanked the wand from him, “Forget that! Let’s use this wand so we can get out of here! I wish we were back home!” the wand’s star shined brightly, then it farted and fell limp, “What?” 

Danny sighed, “I don’t think it’ll work unless you’re a fairy, dude. They’ve got rules and stuff.”

“Nah, man. This is our best bet on getting off this island, and I’m gonna make the most out of it!” he rummaged through his backpack for batteries and slapped them inside his PDA. It booted to life, “Oh baby! I missed you so much! Alright, let’s get to work.” 

With the materials he found in the office building and what was in his backpack, Tucker scraped together a connection from the wand to his PDA, “Ooh, you’re pretty good with this,” SpongeBob remarked.

“It’s the only thing he’s pretty good at,” Sam snarked. 

“Ignoring. Now, I’m directly interfacing with the wand. It’s gotta listen to us, whether we’re fairies or not,” he rapidly clicked keys on his PDA, “Wand, get us home!” 

Once again, the wand’s star shone bright, and it farted again. 

“Is it supposed to do that?” Patrick asked.

“Ugh! What gives?!” Tucker demanded.

SpongeBob stared at the volcano, “Call it a hunch, but I think the Mawgu has something to do with it.”

Danny gazed at the storm, “I think you’re right. Wanda mentioned something about the rules stopping her and Cosmo from messing around with the other worlds. If I were to make a guess, Fairy Magic can’t mess with this world, or it won’t mess with the Mawgu.”

Tucker thought up a new theory to test, “Then let’s take the Mawgu out of the equation! I wish he was gone!” the wand farted and Tucker slumped over, “Man, I thought we had a real shot at going home.”

Danny squatted beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, “It’s alright. We’ll get home as soon as we can. I promise you.”

“You mean it?” 

“I’ve broken promises before. Even to you. But I swear, I’ll find a way for all of us to get off this rock and go home,” 

Tucker looked him in the eye and nodded his head. He knew he was serious, “Alright, man. I’ll take your word for it,” he looked at his PDA and inputted another wish, “Let’s see if this wand will actually grant a wish.”

His stylus nervously hovered over the enter key before pressing down. The wand once again shone like a star, only it didn’t fart this time. From a poof of smoke, a cheese pizza appeared and landed on Patrick’s head. 

“AWWWWWW!” Patrick screamed and ran around the beach. He stopped in his tracks and ate a chunk of the pizza, “Mmm, three cheese pizza,” he swallowed the rest.

Sam, Tucker, Danny, and SpongeBob looked at the wand in awe, “So it does work,” Tucker noted, “Alright, let’s see it take the rest of our stuff!”

After inputting his wish, all of their salvage vanished in a poof of smoke. After Patrick licked strands of cheese from his lips, he cried, “My snacks! Where’d they go!?” 

SpongeBob breathed a tremendous sigh of relief, “I am so glad we don’t have to haul that stuff in my pants again.” 

“You can say that again,” Danny added, “This wand’s gonna make things way easier.” 

“How come, what do you call him? Timmy? Why didn’t him and his fairies do this stuff when we saw him?” Sam asked. 

“Well they didn’t have their magic,” SpongeBob answered, “They were powerless, until we stopped that nefarious Mr. Crocker. Oh, if you saw it Sam, it was amazing! Timmy could wish for anything he wanted with his flying friends.” 

Danny noticed Tucker was studying his PDA, which wouldn’t be unusual, but he was holding the wand up inquisitively, “What’s up, Tuck? Something wrong with the wand?”

“I think so. My PDA’s telling me that this wand’s at sixty-seven percent power,” 

Sam frowned, “Do these things run on batteries or something?”

“You’re not far off. Technus tried taking one of Timmy’s fairies for himself to power his suit. He used her like a battery,” Tucker explained.

“But if a fairy is where the magic comes from, why is the wand working?” 

“Unless Tucker’s a fairy?” SpongeBob squinted closely at his face.

Tucker shoved him away and held the wand out for them to all look at, “My guess is, fairies channel that magic into this wand. And this wand just had leftover magic before that building ended up here.” 

They gazed at the building once again. They didn’t know how it ended up here on the beach. Just another mystery to the island they couldn’t quite answer. Their unusual-sight-watching was interrupted by the sound of Patrick shoveling sand out of a deep hole he dug. 

“What are you doing, Patrick?” SpongeBob asked, his voice echoing off the hole’s walls.

“I can’t find my snack machine!” he cried. 

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, “Can you get him, SpongeBob?” while the fry cook ventured inside the hole to retrieve his friend, he checked on Sam. She was gazing out at the lagoon, “Looking at anything in particular?”

Sam nodded, “While I was making my way here, I heard a weird noise coming from the far side of the lagoon. I was thinking of investigating before we met up.”

Tucker fiddled with his PDA, “That’s around the spot we met the Old Crab off the shipwreck. If we wanna check that noise out, it’s on the way home. Plus, we could always use some more salvage.” 

Danny looked over at the hole and shouted, “SpongeBob, you good with our plan?” 

SpongeBob heaved Patrick out of the hole, “Sure! Just gimme a second!” 

Patrick shook a billiards ball, “I found a ball!” 

It was a striped nine ball but when Danny gave it a look over, it offered cryptic answers the same as a magic eight ball. He tossed it back to Patrick and told him if he wanted to keep it, he would have to carry it. The sea star accepted this responsibility with glee. 

The group walked along the beach, keeping themselves occupied with conversation and looking out for salvage. SpongeBob collected oysters off the surf whenever he spotted them, but that was just on occasion. Patrick filled his time by fiddling around with the nine ball. And Tucker’s gaze was fixed on his PDA. He was mapping out the island but without a satellite, he couldn’t fully measure its length. 

“Weird, I’m getting some interference,” he waved his PDA around and the static shifted on the screen.

“Nah, that’s not it,” he pointed his PDA up at the cliffs above, “Something’s up there, c’mon!” 

To Danny’s surprise, it was Tucker taking the lead. He ran up a rocky path to get up to the cliff’s peak. Sam wasn’t surprised. She remembered how well he performed athletically with the electronic motivation. 

“Guys! Check it out!” they came up a hill, where Tucker stood next to a small radio tower, “This the best thing we’ve found all day!” 

Patrick examined the tower, “You’re right! You found a jungle gym!” 

Tucker facepalmed, “No, it’s not a jungle gym. This is a radio tower. Do you get what that means?” he watched a glob of drool drip off Patrick’s face, “This means, we have a means of communication. We get some comms connected to this baby, and we could talk across the whole island! I bet I could map the island if we found the right place for it.” 

Danny nodded, “So you’re saying we need to bring this with us.”

“Affirmative,” 

“Affirmative? You’re not that much of a robot, dude,” Sam chided him.

“Not yet!” Tucker inputted a wish into his PDA, and their wand poofed it to camp, “No wonder Technus was trying so hard to get his hands on a fairy. This fairy magic rules!” he checked his PDA once more, “Sixty-five percent power,” he announced to the group.

Technus was a name Danny hadn’t heard in a while. Ever since they commandeered his portal, he disappeared. Not that Danny minded if a ghost never showed its face in Amity Park, but a ghost’s absence could indicate they were up to something big. And as far as Danny knew, Technus could be in the Ghost Zone, or out in the stars.

He scratched his head. There wasn’t any sense in dwelling on that topic. As far as he knew, Amity Park was alright. Or someone was taking care of things. All he had to worry about was getting his friends home. 

Carved into the cliff sides were haunting faces bearing their teeth. Sam wondered about their significance to the islanders. They were influenced by Pacific Island cultures, but she couldn’t pin which these faces resembled. That, and the faces implied malice that she found uncomfortable. 

Danny caught up with her and asked, “You good,” when he noticed her gaze fixed on the walls, “Freaky huh?”

“It’s not just that. I’m trying to figure out why the islanders would carve a face like this. And who they were depicting.”

He shrugged, “I’m not an anthropologist, Sam.”

“Your sister is,” 

“You think me and Jazz synchronize each other’s knowledge? If we did, I wouldn’t be struggling in literature,” 

Sam laughed, “Alright, sorry I asked. I’ll pick Jazz’s brain when we get home.”

“Patrick, don’t eat that!” their attention turned to SpongeBob pulling his friend away from the rocks.

Danny checked on them and recoiled in disgust. Patrick was attempting to crawl to a pool of pink goo bubbling between the rocks. 

“SpongeBob! I gotta taste it! It probably tastes like candy!” Patrick protested.

Danny collected his senses and helped pull the sea star back, “Patrick you don’t what this junk is?”

“That’s why I gotta try it!” 

Tucker took a knee by the pool of goo and analyzed the substance with his PDA, “Whatever it is, you definitely don’t wanna eat it. Or even touch it!” 

“Is your PDA figuring out what it is?” SpongeBob asked. 

“It’s trying to, but this stuff is weird on another level! It’s not from the Ghost Zone, it’s none of that Fairy Magic, it’s something else,” Tucker explained. 

Sam glanced at the pool, “Would this happen to be corium?” 

“Corey what now?” SpongeBob asked.

“A science word for nuclear lava,” she said ominously. 

Danny’s heart stopped, “Tucker. Is it?”

He shook his head, “If it were, we’d be dead. Nah, this stuff isn’t radiation, but don’t touch it,” he put his PDA away, “It’s nasty and we should keep as much distance from it as possible.”

“Patrick, you heard what Tucker said, right?” SpongeBob asked.

He groaned and rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I heard him,” and he crossed his arms in a huff.

Sam was still curious. She activated the Ghost Peeler and dipped her armor-covered finger in the pool. No response, so it wasn’t acidic. She pulled out a sample and ordered the suit to analyze. The results confirmed her suspicions, “This stuff is what the sand monsters are made of.”

“Then, this must be the Mawgu’s ooze,” SpongeBob said.

Danny studied the pool of ooze, “We need to know everything we can about this. Tuck, how much intel did your PDA get?”

Tucker checked, “Just the basics like rad level. I can’t tell you what it’s made of.”

SpongeBob sighed, “Boy do I wish Jimmy were here.”

“As long as we know the basics, like not to touch it, I wager that’s all we need to know for now,” Sam suggested, “We can find out the details later.”

Danny nodded, “Sam’s right. Let’s keep going,” he saw Patrick tiptoeing toward the ooze in the corner of his eye, “And that means don’t eat it, either!” 

“C’mon!” 

After leaving the pools of ooze behind, they came to a cliff ending the beach, but Sam and Danny quickly climbed up and helped the others up. Up ahead were small islets floating in the lagoon. They would need to hop from spit to spit of sand until they crossed to the beach on the other side of the lagoon. Once there, they could return to their home away from home. 

“Everyone, be careful while we jump across, or you’ll fall in the ocean, “Danny warned.

Patrick shrugged, “C’mon, what’s so bad about a quick dip?”

Sam pointed over to a patrolling sharkoid, “You wanna be that dude’s dinner, man?”

“Alright, let’s be very careful,” he agreed. 

Danny leaped across. He wasn’t fond of how little room there was atop the rocks. He hopped to the next rock and urged someone to follow. SpongeBob was next, followed by Tucker, then Patrick, and finally Sam. They jumped one at a time and made sure that everyone landed safely. 

The rocks ended on the first cay they came across. After a short rest, they went island hopping. Sometimes the gaps were too wide, and he ferried them in his arms one at a time. But usually they could jump from rock to rock, or the waters were shallow enough to walk along, at the cost of their shoes.

When Tucker requested a break and sat himself down on an empty briefcase, the others rested on the sand and gazed upon the island. All the animosity they felt from being stranded on the island vanished, and they looked upon it with an appreciation for its beauty. All the wild jungles they had just barely explored. Campfire smoke rising into the clouds informed them that they weren’t alone on the island just yet. Whether these were from the Chosen Ones they hadn’t found, or from the island’s inhabitants, it wasn’t clear to say. 

“It’s beautiful,” Sam broke the silence. 

“It is,” SpongeBob agreed as he hugged his legs to his chest.

“If we never find a way home, this wouldn’t be a bad place to live,” Danny said.

Patrick laughed, “I already got a rock here, so I’m settled.”

Tucker shook his head, “Well, as nice as it is, I wouldn’t give up the modern world for this.”

“It’s not what you don’t have, it’s appreciating what’s in front of you,” SpongeBob said.

“Well said, dude. Well said,” Sam agreed. 

Tucker scoffed, “C’mon, I’m well-rested. Let’s get going.” 

“Tuck, what’s the rush? Just lighten up and enjoy the view,” Danny suggested. 

“Are you afraid something bad might happen, like a castle falling in the sky?” Patrick asked rhetorically.

A castle unrhetorically fell into the ocean. The spray shot a hundred feet into the air and came crashing down on the group. Danny pulled everyone together and turned them intangible. The seawater crashed harmlessly through them, but Sam worried the waves would wash their cay away. 

They scrambled to the rocky path just in time when the cay vanished and the palm tree washed away. Waves lapped at the path, but they were safe, if very damp.

“So, I don’t think I shoulda said that,” Patrick gulped.

SpongeBob waved him off, “It was just bad timing.” 

“Let’s just get going before something else drops on us,” Tucker insisted, and he started pushing the others forward, “Danny, what are you staring at?”

When he looked back, he fell silent and looked with him. So did Sam and SpongeBob, “So, what is this you’re looking at?” Patrick asked. 

“Vlad’s Castle,” said Danny. 

Vlad Master’s home. A mansion in name only, it decorated itself with the extravagance of a European castle. But that magnificence was gone. The castle rested uncomfortably on its spires, the few that hadn’t collapsed in the impact. The lagoon was deep, but not deep enough to submerge the castle.

“How did that happen?” SpongeBob asked. He looked up at the sky, trying to find some evidence of a trajectory, “Did a portal just drop or something?” 

Danny pivoted to Sam, “Activate the Peeler suit and run a ghost scan!” 

She nodded and donned the Peeler suit. Its systems performed a scan. After a moment, it reported, “No ghosts detected. Vlad’s not in there.”

Danny still stared at the castle, before he lept off the rocks and flew towards it. 

“Dude! You can’t be serious?! That castle isn’t safe! It could tip over at any moment!” Tucker protested. 

“I’ll be out in a minute!” he answered. He disappeared inside. 

The castle was in disarray. Everything that wasn’t nailed to the wall or floor found itself on the ceiling. Usually in pieces. Danny flew past a grand piano that broke through several floors before coming apart near the top floor. Or what was now the bottom floor. Ocean water was already seeping into the castle, and Danny guessed that it would further tear the place apart. But he didn’t concern himself with that. He flew upwards, giving a quick scan of every room. He didn’t have time to conduct a full search and salvage. But he was searching for one room in particular. Navigating the castle was hard enough, but with his navigation flipped, he got lost a few times. 

“Here it is,” he said upon finding the library. Not one of the countless books in Vlad’s study remained on the wall. He almost left the room when a title zipped past his vision. He picked it up, “Deserted Island Survival Guide. Cheesehead probably owns an island or two. But I don’t think he’ll mind if I borrow this,” with the book tucked under his shoulder, he phased through the fireplace and flew up to Vlad’s lab. 

It was as advanced as his parents’ lab, but ten times as foreboding. He remembered the first time he came there, when Skulker ambushed him and he revealed himself. That night, he found his arch nemesis. But nemesis or not, it was common decency to make sure the fruit loop was alright. 

“But I guess he was out of the house before this dropped,” he said, after looking around the lab. He checked around the corner for his ghost portal, “No.” 

The ghost portal was missing. Except, that wasn’t entirely accurate. It was as if the portal didn’t come with the castle. Danny touched the edges. Too clean a cut. He pulled back his hand just as the whole structure groaned. He turned intangible and flew at top speed out of the castle. When he reached open air, the castle collapsed backward and listed in the lagoon. He rejoined his friends.

“Did you find anything?” Sam asked.

“Call me crazy, but I wanted to make sure Vlad was alright. As far as I can tell, he wasn’t home when, well. Home came to us,” 

SpongeBob looked on with a smile, “Well, it looks like mean old Vlad is in need of a new house!”

“Trust me, SpongeBob. The only things in our world Vlad can’t afford is Danny’s mom, Danny, and the Packers. He’ll be fine,” Tucker explained and sighed, “Now if only that castle landed somewhere like the jungle or the beach, or rightside-up! Then we coulda stayed in a castle! How cool would that have been?!”

Sam shook her head, “You just don’t wanna sleep in the wilderness.”

“You’re saying that like it’s a weird thing, Sam. Most people crave shelter. Specifically, shelter of the air conditioned, internet access, and cable television variety,”

“You know, I just realized. I’m gonna be missing the guy getting hit in the head with a coconut tonight,” Patrick collapsed on the ground, “Is life even worth living?!” 

SpongeBob glanced at Danny, who was pinching the bridge of his nose, just a little too hard, “Guys? Why don’t we keep moving? We’re almost on the other side of the beach.”

Sam walked ahead, “I’m with SpongeBob. You coming Danny?” 

“Yeah,” 

Tucker followed, but he stayed another minute until Patrick got up from his depression. As they crossed small islets again, Tucker caught that whiff of meat he smelled before, “Meat. It’s here, and it’s near! Oh baby, where is it?” 

Sam was asking Danny about the book he brought with him when Tucker came running past them. Guided by his smell, Tucker searched the lagoon for the nearest meat. Way off in the distance, was a small flat rock standing in the lagoon, and its only inhabitant was a box of raw meat. 

“Sweet, wonderful, bodacious meat! Oh we will be united soon!” Tucker took his backpack, shoes, and shirt off. 

“Tucker. What are you doing?” SpongeBob asked flatly. 

“Can’t you see? Meat! It’s right there! And I only need to swim to get it,”

“Tuck, you’re a terrible swimmer. Besides, I can just fly over there and get it,” Danny said.

“No! This meat is mine! And I'm going to get it!” he pulled out every piece of technology in his pants and hid them in his shirt. He rubbed his hands together and dove into the lagoon water. It was cold, but he didn’t care, “Must! Get! Meat!” 

Sam disapproved, but she had a smile on her face, “So next time I train him, I’ll use a sack of Nasty Burgers.” 

Danny laughed, “You know, he doesn’t have a bad idea. If that meat’s still good, we could use that for a barbeque.”

“I could make Krabby Patties out of it!” SpongeBob added. 

“Well, if you guys don’t want to use up your meat all at once, you better hope we find some salt on the way. Because I highly doubt there’s any refrigerators running on this island,” said Sam.

“Why would a refrigerator be running?” Patrick asked.

Tucker leaped out of the ocean and lifted the crate of meat over his head, “Look at it!” he bellowed, “Everyone! It’s mine! It’s all mine!” 

Sam glanced at the ocean and her eyes widened, “Not for long! Tucker! Duck!”

He lowered his head a moment before a fish flew out of the water and chomped at open air before falling back in, “Whoa! What was that!?”

“Piranhas? They’ve got piranhas here?” Danny asked, exasperated. 

“Danny, those piranhas are gonna get Tucker if you don’t save him,” SpongeBob pointed out.

“At least save the meat!” Tucker called from his island.

Danny flew over to Tucker’s rock and blasted a piranha with an ecto beam. He instructed Tucker to hold on tight, “Tucker, leave the meat.” 

“No! I won’t leave the first good thing I found on this island!” 

Danny facepalmed, “Tucker, it’s meat or your life.” 

“MEAT IS MY LIFE!” 

Sam shook her head, “This is why I’m a vegetarian.” 

“Now I don’t blame you,” SpongeBob added. 

The piranhas circled their rock. Every other moment, a member of the frenzy flew through the air, but Danny zapped them back. But they just kept coming. He took a look at the meat crate, “I have an idea. But you’re not gonna like it,” he reached inside and pulled a t-bone steak out. It was raw, fatty, and bloody. He dangled it over the water and lobbed it across the lagoon. All of the piranhas swam over in a feeding frenzy, “Alright, we got time!” he held the meat crate in one arm, and just before he pulled Tucker in, he got a glimpse of his hangry face. For a moment, Tucker looked as fierce as the piranhas. Maybe moreso. That face lasted only an instant, and Danny took Tucker in his arm and flew over the water. The extra weight pulled him down, and he flew only a dozen feet over the ocean, “You sure we can’t part with this?” 

“Danny. If you drop my meat, you’re gonna be more than just a half-ghost,” a piranha chomping at them followed his threat, “Just go faster!” 

Danny and Tucker collapsed onto the beach at SpongeBob and Patrick’s feet. A trio of piranhas leaped after them, but they were kicked away by Sam. They fell helplessly back in the water. The boys groaned. Danny didn’t move from his spot for a bit, while Tucker rose up and pulled the meat crate close and spooned it. 

“Tucker, you don’t see me doing that to a tree,” Sam said.

“Sam, I went with you to an environmental protest. I literally have!” he protested.

Danny laid himself up, “He’s got a point.”

SpongeBob opened the meat crate and looked inside, “Mmm! This stuff still looks good. I wonder how long it’s been out here?” 

“Probably too long,” said Sam. She picked up Tucker’s PDA, “You guys think this wand will make us a bunch of salt?” 

“Why salt, by the way?” Danny asked, “You’re not gonna eat it, so why do you care if it’s salty?”

“Did you guys not pay attention in history class? SpongeBob, you’re a fry cook, you know what salt does,” 

“Sam, I’m from the bottom of the ocean,” 

She rolled her eyes, “Alright, so here’s the deal. Salt’s been used for most of human history to store meat. Reason is, it absorbs most of the moisture out from the meat. You would want that because water is how bacteria grows and how it goes bad.” 

“Now hold on a second. Are you saying that water is dirty? I’ll have you know, that I’ve lived in water my whole life, and I’m not dirty!” Patrick declared.

Sam rubbed her face and ignored him. She inputted a wish for bags of salt, and they poofed in front of her. She ripped them open and poured it inside the crate until it was all buried in it. A few flakes flew to SpongeBob’s nostrils, and he sneezed violently. When she was done, Sam inputted another wish to send the crate back to their camp. 

“My meat. You sent it away,” Tucker sobbed. 

She tossed him his PDA, “Put your clothes on and get moving.”

Patrick crossed his arms, “I’m not going anywhere with a water hater.”

SpongeBob pulled him by the back of his pants, “C’mon, Patrick.”

“Nooooooo!” 

Danny stayed with Tucker until he was dressed and caught up with the others. They reached the other side of the lagoon, where Shipwreck Cliffs ended. It was only yesterday when they met Tucker at the bow. Sam stood at the edge of the beach basking in the haunting beauty of the shipwreck. Danny stood by her. 

“It was a pain to go through, I’ll tell you that much,” 

She laughed, “Still. This is one of those sights you’ll never forget.”

Near the shipwreck, Patrick and SpongeBob played on the anchor chain while Tucker worked on his PDA. He mapped out the lagoon and was developing a map of the island using the path from the shipwreck to their camp, “I can’t wait to set up that radio tower. We won’t have to go in blind anymore.” 

The ship’s anchor rested against the opening of a cave that served as the mouth of a face carved into the cliffside. SpongeBob looked around and found a short moai statue resting against the rocks. He presented it to Danny, thinking he’d like it just like the tiki they found in the shipwreck. Danny was entranced by the moai, studying its shape and texture. He wasn’t sure why he found it alluring, only that it was pleasing. He requested SpongeBob to carry it with him, and the sea sponge obliged.

“There’s that noise again. Ugh, it sounds like a dying cow,” Tucker complained.

It was louder than ever, but it was yet clear what was making it. Unless Tucker was right and there was a dying cow. In which case, they would have more meat in their future. That is, if they even knew how to slaughter a cow.

“We’ll find out soon. C’mon, let’s keep moving,” Danny said. 

The beach was narrower compared to before, and their path took them high above the sealine. The ocean lapped at the rock walls and the misty spray was all in the air. SpongeBob remembered how the Wise Old Crab guided them from the shipwreck to their camp. Along the way they passed by an impressively tall oak tree. To his glee, they came upon it again. He ran up to the tree and looked up. It must’ve been hundreds of years old to grow as tall as it had. Sam joined him and touched its roots. 

“The roots are going into the sand, but how are they getting any nutrients?” she asked. 

“Patrick, I wish Sandy were here. She woulda loved his tree!” SpongeBob exclaimed.

“Yeah! Hey, let’s try and climb it!” 

“Guys, c’mon. We’re burning daylight,” Danny said. 

“Aw, just a little bit?” Patrick asked.

“Yeah, Danny. Can’t we have some fun?” SpongeBob also asked.

Danny sighed, “Alright, but when I call time, you guys better be ready to hike it back.”

The two cheered and they climbed up the tree giggling to themselves. Tucker shook his head, “That’s a bad habit that’ll be tough to break, man.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“I’m just saying, if SpongeBob and Patrick can make you fold like that, your kids are gonna walk all over you,” 

Danny glared at Tucker, then at Sam when he caught her snorting. He threw his hands in the air and rested on the edge of the cliff and watched the waves break against the rocks. 

Sam studied the great tree with admiration and love. Its roots dug deep into the sand and broke through the rocks just to reach the freshwater pool resting below and behind it. And then it reached further out to the nutrient rich soil. Somehow, this tree grew from where it stood, and against all odds, it found nourishment and grew taller than any other tree around. A tear fell from her cheek.

SpongeBob and Patrick sat on a branch hanging over the cliffs. She decided to join, and from a jump squat, she rapidly climbed up the tree, grabbed the branch, and flung herself upwards and landed on her feet, “S’up?” she allowed herself to fall to take a quick seat. 

“Wow, Sam! You’re a real acrobat!” SpongeBob exclaimed. 

“My parents can be a real pain, but signing me up for advanced gymnastics in middle school wasn’t one of their worst decisions,” she gazed out at the island, “Whoa. This is-

“Pretty good, huh?” Patrick laughed, “Hey, we should make a treehouse! Right here.”

Sam shook her head, “As cool as that would be, it’s not good for the tree.”

“Aw, why not?” 

“All that weight from the house could hurt this big boy. Make it harder for him to get nutrients,” she turned her head and looked out at the volcano, “Just enjoy the view from up here.”

SpongeBob smiled at Sam, “You would really like our friend Sandy.”

“Oh yeah? What’s she like?” 

“She’s a lot like you! She loves science and working out!” 

“Haha! Unless it’s involving botanics, I’m not much of a scientist,” 

“I don’t know what that means, but it sounds fun!” Patrick laughed. He narrowed his eyes, “Hey, are those things botanics?” 

SpongeBob looked where he pointed, “No, Patrick. Those would be, HEADING STRAIGHT FOR US!” 

Before Sam could react, SpongeBob wrapped his arms around her and Patrick several times before leaping off the branch. His body turned floppy and he acted as a parachute, gently descending back to the beach. 

A few seconds too late, and the sand missiles would have directly hit them. Instead, they hit the tree with a crack. The whole tree groaned. When they landed, she went back to the tree to check on it. She didn’t notice the giant sand monsters forming behind her. 

“Sam! Look out!” 

She turned around and ducked. She avoided the monster’s fist, but it hit the tree. And her heart, “No. No, please!”

The giant sand monster growled at her, when it fell back from an ecto beam against the tree. The bark snapped and the tree broke apart. It fell backwards, its crown sank in the pool.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. Something that stood for so long shouldn’t have suffered such an undignified end. She felt someone pull her away and she fought to stay mourning, “Sam, it’s me!” she looked up at Danny, “C’mon!” 

He pulled her away from the giant sand monsters, “Danny, they-” 

“Nearly killed you. I know,” he let her down and stood tall, “Catch your breath, alright?” 

He flew forward and threw a punch at the closest sand monster. It vanished in its gut, but that’s what Danny wanted. An ecto beam blasted through its body and it fell apart. Patrick threw himself into one of the giant sand monsters, and tackled it against the cliffside. He punched it over and over, shaking everything above him. A boulder fell on the sand monster’s head and squashed it, and then the whole monster turned into a pile of sand. 

The last sand monster stood. SpongeBob pulled out his bubble wand and blew a bomb-shaped bubble. It floated towards Danny, where he touched it with intangible hands and carried it to the giant sand monster and stuffed it inside. The sand monster growled before exploding and sending globs of sand across the beach. 

They wanted to celebrate their victory, but they saw Sam standing before the once mighty tree, “Sam?” SpongeBob asked, “Are you alright?”

She squeezed her fists. Her black-painted nail cut into her palm. She slammed her fist on the rocks, “The Mawgu sent those monsters! It threw them at us!” 

“Sam, you can’t know that,”

She bolted around, “I do! I saw it for a split second!” she turned her attention to SpongeBob, “You saw it. That’s why you grabbed us, right?” 

SpongeBob nodded, “They came flying from the volcano.” 

Sam turned her back to them and touched the tree, “This incredible work of nature is dead, because of some monsters. Well I won’t stand for it! I’m gonna make the Mawgu pay for what it’s done to the island!” 

“The island?” SpongeBob asked.

“Yeah. Anyone who's willing to destroy a tree, is a pathologic nature destroyer. Forests, fields, ponds, and lakes. I bet the Mawgu has destroyed those without caring the least bit. Well I’m gonna make him pay!” Sam promised. She turned on her heel and marched ahead, “C’mon, guys!”

The guys gathered together in fear and awe, “Wow,” said Patrick, “She was really mad.” 

Danny nodded his head, “That crab’s not gonna have any problem convincing her, that’s for sure.”

Their hike was quiet. Sam led the way, only stopping to glare at the volcano’s peak, sometimes for several minutes. Danny was worried and shared it with SpongeBob. Tucker listened, but he was focused on his PDA. They were on familiar ground, so he could follow the map on his PDA. He looked forward to when the map would be filled in.

The only sound they heard, beyond the constant splash of waves and the wind’s howl, was the noise from before, and it was very distinct. It was a clarinet belching notes, but none of them could tell from where yet. 

They came to a fork in the road. They could keep circling the lagoon, or they could take the path the Wise Old Crab led them to their camp. Deciding it was imperative to discover who was playing that clarinet and why, they continued walking along the lagoon. 

Tucker covered his ears, “That is just terrible! Who is playing so bad?”

The five of them came to the top of a hill overlooking a small islet marked by a palm tree and a belting clarinet. They came onto the island to inspect. Despite their presence, the clarinet continued playing for them. 

“Is it... a ghost?” Sam asked. 

Danny shook his head, “No. Trust me I would know.” 

SpongeBob put a finger to his mouth, “I wonder if,” he approached the clarinet and grabbed it by the belt and pulled it up. Out of the sand, a green octopus came forth, “Squidward!” 

The cephalopod coughed up sand and wiped it away from his eyes. He took one look at SpongeBob and groaned, “Great. Rescued by SpongeBob.” 

“Squidward!” Patrick exclaimed.

“And Patrick too? Why, it must be my birthday!” 

“Happy birthday, Squidward,” chimed in SpongeBob. 

He shook his head, “I don’t know which is worse; buried alive with a clarinet as my only source of air or sharing it with SpongeBob and Patrick?” he finally noticed Danny,  “Well, if it isn’t the ghost boy,” he offered his hand, “I won’t say it’s good to see you, but at least I’m not just stuck with them.”

Danny shook his hand, “It’s good to see you again too, Squidward. Say, how long were you buried here?”

Squidward overheard SpongeBob blowing on his clarinet and he snatched it away from him, “Most of what I remember has been the sounds of the ocean,” he said with reverence, “And all the places sand got into,” he shuddered, “But the last thing I remember was standing at the register at the Krusty Krab, admittedly enjoying myself because SpongeBob wasn’t there, when all of a sudden, I’m falling out of the sky! And I hit the ground,” he emphasized his story with different poses using all six of his tentacles. Sam thought of it like interpretive dancing.

“You bring your clarinet with you to work?” Sam asked. 

“Not anymore,” SpongeBob answered for him, “Mr. Krabs told him it drives our customers away.” 

“And the last time I did, you used it as a plunger!” Squidward yelled.

“I had to use something. Patrick ate all our plungers,” 

Patrick belched. A wave of cringe hit Danny, Sam, and Tucker. 

Squidward rolled his eyes, “Whatever. But to answer your question. No! I do not bring my clarinet to work,” he said with indignation. But after hearing his own words back to him, he held his clarinet up to his eyes, “But if that’s true. How did this get here?” 

This wasn’t the first of Squidward’s belongings ending up on the island. While Danny and SpongeBob were leaving Summoner’s Rock, they found a sign SpongeBob claimed belonged to Squidward. 

“SpongeBob? Do you have that sign on you?” Danny asked.

“I sure do,” he reached in his back pocket and pulled out a wooden sign. A red, circular shape accompanied by yellow exclamation points were painted on. He handed it to Squidward.

“My Quiet sign,” Squidward noted, “I was doing a series on planks of wood art. SpongeBob, did you steal this?!” 

“Easy!” Danny quelled him, “We found it! It was on the island.”

Squidward looked down at his sign and his clarinet. He knew exactly where he last put them. He put his clarinet in storage and locked it in a case. His sign was standing in his art gallery, not yet finding a home until he finished the series, but it was in his house on the second floor. He looked up from his artistic ventures and then looked around. At the lagoon surrounding the islet he was buried under and the island whose feet the lagoon sat at. 

“Can someone explain to me what’s been going on? I’m feeling a little lightheaded,” he complained. 

Tucker noticed his color fading, “Actually, I think that’s because you’re dehydrating!”

SpongeBob reached for the Neutronic Moisture Spray and covered his neighbor with the stuff. In an instant, Squidward was a healthy color and he breathed normally, “Thanks,” he said with a smile. At the turn of a dime, Squidward’s face burned with fury, “If you have anything to do with this, SquarePants! I will punt you over that volcano!” 

Fed up with the octopus’s attitude, Sam pulled him off SpongeBob, “Leave the little guy alone, alright?! He had nothing to do with you being here, and may I remind you, he’s the one who pulled you out of the ground. So if I were you, I would be a little more grateful and maybe not threaten him.” 

Squidward backed away and crossed his arms, “Whatever. Well, now that you guys are here, we can finally go home,” he didn’t receive an immediate answer and studied their grimacing faces, “What’s wrong? We can go home, right?” 

Across the island, you could hear him scream, “WHAT!” 

“Calm down, already!” Danny insisted.

“Are you telling me, we’re stuck on this island because of some monster?!” 

“Yes, already. Don’t freak out on us like that,” Tucker complained.

“Ooooh, this is terrible! I’m trapped in the middle of nowhere, and I’m marooned with, with. With SpongeBob! Oh no!” 

Danny couldn’t deal with it anymore, “Guys, I’m going home. Who’s with me?”

Sam and Tucker agreed and followed. She looked back and invited SpongeBob and Patrick to follow. 

Squidward watched them leave the islet, where he asked, “Where are you guys going? Don’t leave me alone!”

“We’re not leaving you alone, Squidward,” SpongeBob claimed, “We’re just heading back to camp.”

“Yeah! We brought all this stuff we found on the beach, and we’re gonna build tents and huts! And we’re gonna have campfires! It’s gonna be awesome!” Patrick promised. 

“Come with us, Squidward. We can help build your tent with the supplies we found,” SpongeBob offered.

“No thank you. I will find my own camp,” Squidward declared.

“Are you sure about that? We wouldn’t know where you are,” said Patrick. This brought a smile to his face, “And if you were in trouble, we wouldn’t know where to look.” 

Danny overheard their argument and decided to chime in with his own taunt, “Yeah! What if you got attacked by one of the monsters. Or one of those exiled crabs. Or something else we haven’t seen yet?” 

“Best of luck, Squidward! See you around!” SpongeBob waved.

Squidward was alone. The sun wasn’t going to set for several hours, but he didn’t know where to make camp. That’s when the noises became apparent to him. Even in the island’s most quiet moments, he was never alone. Something could be watching, stalking, or even hunting him. When he heard the snap of a twig, he bolted after SpongeBob and Patrick.

After a long journey around the lagoon, they started to relax on their trek home. Sam and Squidward looked upon the pool for the first time and were both in awe. The natural beauty of the pool and the nature it surrounded itself in brought Sam to tears. Squidward felt a desperate desire to capture the view in one of his paintings, and he instinctively turned to his house to get a canvas, only to remember his home was far, far away. Much to his displeasure.

“Welcome back, Chosen Ones!” the Wise Old Crab waved to them from their campfire, “I must say, stuff keeps falling in a pile over yonder. I don’t know how or why.”

Danny smiled, “‘Fraid that’s on us.”

Before the hermit could ask what he meant, he gasped and sprinted to Sam and Squidward, “Two more of the Chosen Ones have been found! The Night Girl and the Whiny Cephalopod! Oh, today has been most fortuitous!”

“The what now?” Squidward questioned.

Tucker leaned in and whispered, “Just play along.” 

The Wise Old Crab bowed, “Six out of the chosen nine have been found. I eagerly await the hour all of you gather.”

Sam approached him, “You summoned us to this world. Is that right?”

He nodded his head, “Indeed I am, Night Girl. Legends have passed down from generation to generation, that in our island’s darkest hour, you and your friends will arrive and triumph.” 

She nodded, unsure if she truly believed what he was saying, “Can I ask you about a tree near the lagoon? It was growing between the cliffs and its roots stretched all the way to the pool behind it, and the soil beyond the pool.”

“Aw, a wonderful tree that is. An ancient wood indeed,”

Sam’s eyes lowered, “I’m sorry. Because of us, the Mawgu killed that tree,” she could only look down at her own feet, “These monsters came flying at us, and they knocked the tree down. I’m sorry we couldn’t save such an amazing specimen of your island’s environment.”

The Wise Old Crab ran his claw through his beard. He took Sam’s hand, “Come, child,” she followed him to the edge of the pool of water, “Tell me, Chosen One. What do you see?” 

The sun’s light reflecting off the water was blindingly bright, but Sam looked closer, “It’s a natural pool. Fed by the river up there.”

The Wise Old Crab smiled, “Excellent observation. But, this is actually a sinkhole. The ground isn’t firm, and if something’s too heavy, it will sink into the ground.”

“Hey, SpongeBob! Check it out! I’m sinking!” they overheard Patrick laughing as he sank into the marshland.

“This pool once was a part of a river. And that waterfall flowed into the ocean. But, because of a temple our people built, it sank into the ground, and made this pool,” he gestured to everything around them, “But our island is still here. It’s just different. Something changed. It might be sad that we lost such an impressive tree, but it was always going to die. Many of my children sing their love for me. But I’m not going to be around forever. But this island will go on. What matters is if we made our island better while we were here,” 

She absorbed his words. She knew he was right, “But, it’s still sad. I never saw anything like that tree, and it’s gone. No one will ever see it like I did again.”

“You speak true, Night Girl. No one will ever see that tree’s glory. But its memory will live on through you. All I ask is you keep that memory alive. If you do, then the tree will never die,”

She nodded, “Thank you. I will.”

“Actually. You Chosen Ones could put that tree to good use,” the Wise Old Crab proposed, “On the morrow, I will lead my people to the pool, and we will bring that fallen tree here. You all can use it for building your new homes. After all, on our island, we believe to use what it has given to us. Especially us crabs. With our shells, we need to reuse them all the time!” 

Sam agreed. Better to not waste what the island gives. 

“Then I will see you Chosen Ones on the morrow. Rest well,” and he disappeared into the ground.

Squidward stood dumbfounded, “So that’s why Mr. Krabs doesn’t have a boat.”

As Danny predicted, Sam became invaluable to their camp. Her knowledge on building projects helped them finish their huts. Tucker’s was first since his floorboard was already built. The hut was just tall enough to walk in and the walls were wide enough so two people could comfortably sleep in. It wasn’t built to be lived in, something Sam needed to remind them several times. They followed with SpongeBob’s hut. He decorated and built his like a pineapple in front of the campfire, something that Squidward objected to. He was outvoted but still made a stink of it. As a compromise, Squidward’s hut was built just before the marshland, far away from his neighbor. His was built to resemble an Easter Island head, and when it was finished, he confined himself inside and didn’t come out until suppertime. Danny started building his on a cliff near the ruins on the other side of the lagoon. He wasn’t done when night fell, so he decided to bunk with Tucker. Sam only picked a spot for her hut and bunked with SpongeBob. Patrick was happy with his rock. He wasn’t as keen on sharing his snack machine, but SpongeBob insisted that he should share it with the others. He relented, and they placed the snack machine by the campfire, with plans to store non-perishable food later.

Before they began cooking supper, Tucker insisted that they install his radio tower somewhere in the camp. Sam pointed to the tallest tree at the pool and thought the crown would be a good spot, after weighing the tower and deciding it wouldn’t harm the tree’s growth. SpongeBob carried rope in his pockets while Sam carried him up to the tree’s peak, while Danny carried the radio tower. The three of them tied the tower’s base to the sturdiest branches. They weren’t sure if it would accomplish anything without power, but Tucker’s approval down below dispelled those thoughts. 

“Is it working, Tuck?” Danny called.

“It is! I’m getting a map of the whole island!” he shouted back.

“Hooray!” SpongeBob cheered.

After climbing down, SpongeBob worked on cooking supper, and before long, he called everyone to the campfire. During supper, where they ate smoked fruit and salted beef, they filled Sam and Squidward in on the situation. Although it would be more accurate to say Sam was being filled in. Squidward paid zero attention, especially when SpongeBob or Patrick were talking, and devoured his plate of papaya. When he stood up to leave, Danny told him to stay. When he ignored him and walked away, Danny appeared in Squidward’s way and repeated himself. 

Danny finished the debrief with talk about the Mawgu. He admitted he didn’t know what it was just yet, but he guaranteed it was very powerful, and that everyone should be careful if the storm got violent. That was the tell when the Mawgu would take action. 

“Right now, we’re just getting our camp put together and finding the others the Elder summoned,” Danny explained, “But we should keep an eye out on a way to get off the island. Our best bet is contacting Jimmy Neutron.” 

“You mean that kid with the giant head? How’s he supposed to get us home?” Squidward interrupted.

“Jimmy’s got a Universe Portal Machine. They used it to go to different worlds so they could stop the Syndicate. I even used it to get his dad home,” Tucker said.

“Wait, couldn’t you do that for us right now with your PDA?” Sam asked.

“I only managed that with the Fenton Lab’s supercomputer. And besides, there’s still interference going on even with the radio tower,”

“Well, great. Thanks for getting my hopes up,” Squidward complained.

Danny coughed to get everyone’s attention, “I want you all to know that we’re gonna get off this island. I made that promise to Tuck, but I’m making it to all of you. But just know, I’m not leaving until we take care of that monster,” he pointed at the volcano.

Sam agreed, “The Mawgu is a threat to the island and every living thing on it. I won’t stand by and let him have his way. I won’t leave until he’s gone either.”

Tucker smiled, “Man, I knew you weren’t gonna leave these islanders hanging. I wanna get off this rock as soon as possible, but I won’t go until you go.”

“I know I’m very late for work, but I won’t walk away from someone who asked for my help!” SpongeBob declared.

“And I wanna keep jumping!” Patrick added.

The sense of camaraderie in their noble goal was ruined by a blowing raspberry, “How very noble of you. But I won’t have any part of this. As soon as you guys find a way off this rock, I’ll be the first to leave. Until then, I’m working on my suntan.”

That wasn’t what the others expected, “Squidward, you can’t honestly think that.”

“Then  you must have barnacles for brains!” he insulted Danny, “I was minding my own business one minute, and the next I’m stranded in the middle of nowhere thanks to some kooky crab? And you expect me to risk my life for him? No thank you!” 

SpongeBob cozied up to him, “C’mon, Squidward! It will just be like when we stormed Plankton’s Jellyfish Factory and saved Bikini Bottom! Remember that?”

Danny narrowed his brow, “Yeah, don’t you?” 

“Hmph,” Squidward pushed SpongeBob back, “I helped with that rebellion for the sake of my paycheck. Nothing more and nothing less.”

Patrick stood from his log, “Wait, if you’re stuck here, then doesn’t that mean you’re not getting your paychecks?”

Squidward tried to rebuttal, but to his ire, he realized he was right. He stood up and marched away, “Look! I didn’t ask to be here, so why should I be asked to be selfless?!” he walked to his hut and slammed the door shut.

Sam flared her nostrils, “What a jerk.”

“He wasn’t this bad when I met him,” Danny added.

“Oh, Squidward is just cranky is all. After he gets his beauty sleep he’ll come around,” SpongeBob promised.

The others weren’t convinced but said nothing else. Danny sat back on his stone seat, “Either way, come tomorrow we’ll go looking for the other survivors. We should ask the Wise Old Crab about any leads.”

Tucker grinned, “And with this map, navigating the island’s gonna be a cinch!”

Patrick stood up and yawned, “Pat is sleepy. I’m goin’ to bed. Night, SpongeBob. Night weirdos!” they watched him go to his rock, where it came up on a hinge, and then slammed shut on him after he pressed himself on its underside. 

Tucker shook his head, “At least I’m not living under a rock.” 

Danny followed Tucker to his hut after helping SpongeBob clean up dinner. Sam, despite never once intending to eat the stuff, salted the raw meat and stored it in a cave sealed behind a boulder. She caught a glimpse at the sunset and climbed the top of the gorilla statue. She leaned against its banana and watched the sun sink beneath the waves. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” SpongeBob asked from below, “I’m a bit scared of the dark, so sometimes I’ll see dusk and get nervous, but I can’t deny a great sunset when I see one.”

She laughed, “I’m a goth, so I always look forward to dusk. But the sunset before nightfall can be really beautiful.” 

They watched the sun fall beneath the waves. 

Chapter Text

Dawn wouldn’t rise for another couple hours. Under the blanket of darkness, most of the islanders were still asleep. Even the early risers who loved letting others know how early they woke up still snoozed. The Hermit Crab Village, the Myrmec Tribe and the Florian Kingdom employed a nightwatch even before the Mawgu’s monsters ran rampant, but staffed much lighter. Now it was a routine for whole platoons to patrol the settlements. Still, the people of the island had long accepted to grow accustomed to hardships the island offered. 

But deep in the jungle was a bastion not only adapting to the routine, but had long since embraced it. 

Before they arrived, the jungles of the island were considered a death trap to those without survivalist skills. And even the hardiest of survivors balked at the idea of even living in that wet desert. But they not only carved out a home in the jungle, they tamed it. At a wood and palm leaf hut surrounded by the jungle wild, it stood as a checkpoint on the road through the wilds. A crab stood watch, unable to see beyond what his torch illuminated. He wasn’t afraid of the darkness, for he knew he was meant to keep watch on the road to his and his brothers’ fort. If he spotted any unauthorized use of their road, there was an alarm bell he would ring. Then he would attack mercilessly. 

Footsteps interrupted his yawn and he squeezed his spear until he saw a fellow crab marching forward. He frowned, “Where is your torch?! I nearly took you for an enemy, soldier!”

The newcomer, a plebe tried to hide his shame, “Dropped it in the river, sir. A sand monster attacked me.”

“Is it dead?” 

“Sir, yes sir!” the plebe saluted him. 

“Good work. Are you still on patrol duty?” 

“Negative, I was relieved, sir,”

“Then move on the double to your barracks!” 

The plebe saluted, “Aye, aye!” he walked past the checkpoint but risked a demerit to ask, “Are you looking forward to tomorrow’s parade?”

The guard nodded, “It’s why I’m standing guard. I want to be in formation, and this will earn me a spot.”

“Congratulations, sir. I wish I could march for the generals. Good luck, sir!” and he continued down the road. 

The guard stood alone in the darkness as he awaited the morrow. There would be no greater honor than to march in General Cosmo’s honor.

Sam awoke that morning and didn’t recognize her surroundings until yesterday’s memories returned to her. Hearing SpongeBob’s snoring startled her, but she realized they bunked together in his hut. She fell asleep against the hut’s walls, using her skirt for a headrest. Sam felt awkward employing the idea, but it lessened after SpongeBob pulled his pants off and used them as a pillow. She slipped her skirt back on and left their shelter. When she felt the cool air of the camp, she stretched her arms and popped her back. Her toes dug at the camp’s soft sand while she inhaled the fresh air. 

She loved nature and treasured every moment she spent in untouched paradise. The pool was a treasure unlike any she’d ever seen, and she looked forward to sprucing it up. She approached the water and dipped her feet. It was chilling but relaxing at the same time. If she brought a swimsuit, she would have dove in without hesitation. 

She heard footsteps, but it was only the sea star, “Morning.”

He didn’t recognize her at first, but even in the best of times, his memory didn’t work properly. After a moment of confused staring, he recalled her, “Oh, hello! G’morning!” 

“How’d you sleep?”

Patrick sat down beside her with aplomb, “Like a bug under a rock. You know, it’s smaller than my other rock, but this is a pretty good rock away from rock, if you know what I mean.”

“I... don’t,” Sam admitted. She looked down at her legs and splashed the water, “You and SpongeBob seem to be good friends.”

“Oh yeah! That square dude’s been my best buddy for as long as I can remember!” he laughed, “Don’t tell him I told you, but I helped him get his job at the Krusty Krab. He was so worried he wouldn’t get his job, but let me tell you, I let him know why he was the best man for the job! And now, he’s the best fry cook Bikini Bottom’s ever seen!” 

She smiled, “He might be. He worked at the Nasty Burger for a couple hours, and the line to order was over a mile long.”

“That’s nothing for SpongeBob. Why, I remember once when the mile was so long it was up to my rock,” he looked down at the water and touched it with his feet. With a smile, he fell into the water and floated about, “Aww, this feels great. Wanna come in for a dip?” 

“I’d love to, but I don’t have a swimsuit on me,” she explained.

“Oh, you sound like SpongeBob. He always brings his swim trunks, when he could just jump in with whatever he’s wearing, like I do,”

“You realize if you keep swimming with the same clothes, their color will fade over time,” 

Patrick scratched his chin, “I guess that explains where all those white shorts came from.” 

Sam watched him float and swim for a little while until she got hungry. She pulled out of the pool and wiped the water off her feet and inspected Patrick’s snack machine. There were a dozen granola bars never picked on the corkscrew, something Sam found absurd. She hit the code and grabbed the bar after it fell. After it ate Tucker’s bills, he hacked the snack machine with his PDA. Only pressing the codes was needed.

While she ate her granola bar, she started wondering about life back home. She was glad to be worlds apart from her parents, but she wondered if they were worried about her. Then she worried about what to tell them when she got back. That is, if she ever got back. As much as she hated her parents for butting in on her life and insisting on their tastes, she couldn’t imagine abandoning them. She wouldn’t forgive herself if she never saw her grandmother again. She cast her gaze on the volcano. The storm raged ever fiercely. She wouldn’t return home until she taught the Mawgu a lesson. That was a promise.

She finished her breakfast as the morning lights peeked out from the horizon. Not quite daybreak, but enough light to justify a wake up call. She climbed the hill to Tuckers hall and came upon Tucker and Danny holding each other. She leaned against the doorway and shook her head.

“You boys never learn,” she put her fingers to her mouth and let out a piercing whistle, “Up and at ‘em!” 

They screamed. Then they realized their own embrace and screamed again. When they were done, “What’re you doing?!” Danny demanded.

“The sun’s not even up,” Tucker complained 

Sam shrugged, “Sorry, but daybreak’s a few minutes away. So get dressed unless you don’t mind missing out on a SquarePants Breakfast.” 

Tucker scowled and lied down, “Forget you, we'll sleep in. SpongeBob’s nice, he’ll cook breakfast when we wake up.”

“Fair point,” she walked away from their hut. Danny couldn’t believe Sam was letting Tucker win. But then she looked back and said, “But a fair point deserves a fair warning. Patrick’s up, and I won’t stop him if he asks for seconds.”

While she walked down the hill, she listened to her friends scurrying for their clothes. She entered SpongeBob’s hut and nudged him awake, “Mm, good morning, Sam,” he yawned.

“Morning, dude. Think you can start cooking breakfast? I’ll lend you a hand after I wake up Squidward,”

Sam wasn’t finished asking and SpongeBob already slipped his pants on, “I’m on it! Just be mindful about Squidward. He loves his beauty sleep and hates to miss out.” 

That was putting it very lightly. So much so that Sam felt misled when she knocked on Squidward’s door and he answered with a cranky outburst, “So, I’ll just swing by later, alright?” 

Patrick noticed and swam over to Squidward’s house, “C’mon! Don’t be like that, Squiddy! It’s in the morning!” 

The door flung open. Squidward glared daggers at Patrick, who didn’t register an iota of his wrath, and Sam, who could and did register the brunt of his fury, “What, is so important that you must wake me from my beauty sleep?”

She rolled her eyes and spoke plainly, “It’s called a routine. We wake up at daylight and make the most of it.”

“Hmph, and what, pray tell, requires we all be up at this hour?”

Sam gestured to the entire camp, “We still have a lot of work left in making this camp. Which, I’ll remind you, you’re a part of.”

Squidward turned up his nose and crossed his tentacles, “And who says I was ever a part of your camp? Who says there can’t be two camps at one pool? This is Camp Squidward.”

Patrick clapped his hands and hopped on his feet, “Ooh! Can I be a part of Camp Squidward, Squidward?” 

He scowled, “No, Patrick. Camp Squidward is a camp of only one member.”

“Ohhh. then, you better get out of Camp Squidward, before the member shows up,”

Sam snorted.

“I’m a member of Camp Squidward!” 

“So there’s two members of Camp Squidward?” 

Steam rose from Squidward’s scalp, “No! I’m the only member of Camp Squidward! Camp Squidward has only one member, and that member is I, Squidward Tentacles! Do you finally understand it, Patrick?”

He put his hand to his mouth, “Hmmm. Nope! See ya!” 

Squidward squeezed his nose bridge, to Sam’s amusement.

The Wise Old Crab traipsed from the village to the Chosen One’s camp. He heard the pops in his joints while going down a hill and rested under a palm tree. His exoskeleton was only a few years old, but it was already creaking. The consequence of growing ancient, he figured. After three centuries, he wasn’t sure how many more molts he had in him. He stood himself up on his cane, resolved to look after the Chosen Ones while he could still move.

He was happy six of the nine were gathered, but he was unsure what to make of them. He knew they were strong from watching their battles from afar. They were resourceful as well, sagacious even. He said as much to his followers. But though he stifled doubt, he couldn’t help to wonder if they would be a match for the Mawgu. 

As the Mawgu grew stronger, he grew antsy. Not accounting for all the other problems across the island. Still no word came from the Florians and the Myrmec Tribe reported more monster attacks. The thought of those monsters wiping out his village had him pick up his pace.

Before he left, he overheard the village’s warriors report activity from the exiled crabs. They were more active than ever, with a boosted morale, as the warrior put it. The Wise Old Crab only hoped the exiles didn’t put themselves in danger. Though they were banished, they were still children of the island, and they didn’t deserve harm. 

“Hold on,” he said to himself. He shut his eyes and recalled an excerpt from the prophecy, “The Three-Headed Boy?” he sped down the path to the camp. 

He came to the Chosen One’s camp, and he was pleased they were awake, but not that they were arguing amongst themselves. The Whiny Cephalopod butted heads with the Night Girl and Ghost Boy while the Pink Star and the Absorbent Yellow One played in the pool. He shut his eyes and shook his head before approaching them. Overhearing their conversation, he learned it was a frivolous debate about food shares. 

“Then why is Patrick getting more than me?!” 

“Because he’s a big boy and he pulled his weight yesterday,”

“Yeah. No offense, but you didn’t have to risk your life in a fight,” 

“And I had nothing to eat!” 

The Wise Old Crab tapped his cane on the nearby rock wall, “Good morning, Chosen Ones.” 

SpongeBob and Patrick waved from the pool, “Good morning, Wise Old Crab!” 

Danny took the opportunity to end the argument with Squidward and greeted the elder, “Did something come up?”

The Wise Old Crab nodded and stood in front of their campfire, “Indeed, Ghost Boy. Chosen Ones, have a seat and listen,” he waited for them to take a seat, “The prophecies say that the Three-Headed Boy will be found among the exile crabs. It is imperative that you go to their fort and save him. But, I must warn you. The exile crabs are all warriors and spend each day training their skills in warfare. I hate to ask this of you, but you all must journey deep into the jungle to Fort CrabClaw and save the Three-Headed Boy.” 

Sam raised her hand, “You said these crabs are exiled? What did they get exiled for?” 

The Wise Old Crab cast his memory back many years ago, “They were a part of our village. They were our warriors and they protected us. But they sought glory even in times of peace and raised their spears at our neighbors the Florians and the Myrmecs. As punishment, we banished them from our village.” 

“So after they were banished, they set up a new home in the jungle and that became Fort CrabClaw?” Danny asked. The Wise Old Crab nodded, “What can you tell us about the fort, elder? Anything we should look out for?”

“I haven’t laid eyes on their fort, but my children tell me it’s a fierce domicile built to weather the worst the island offers,” 

“Well, sounds as lovely as going to the candy shop,” Sam snarked. 

“Candy?!” Patrick got excited. 

Danny crossed his arms and tapped his shoe on the sand. The elder would never admit it, but he essentially said to him that they knew nothing about Fort CrabClaw. If they were to rescue the ‘Three-Headed Boy’, they were going in blind. That didn’t sit right with Danny, but that was the situation.

“Alright, we’ll head to Fort CrabClaw today. Can you point us in the right direction?” 

The Wise Old Crab was about to explain, when Tucker came walking down the hill from his hut, holding his PDA up, “Don’t worry about it, crabby! I know the way!” 

“Crabby? Why, I-” 

Tucker pointed to his PDA screen, “I’ve been tinkering with the map and the radio tower this morning, and I’ve got a map of the jungle. If my calculations are correct.” 

“Quick tip, calculations just means guess,” Sam whispered to Patrick. 

“Then those exile crabs have built roads through the jungle all the way to their home. If we follow ‘em, we’ll be at the fort in no time!” 

The Wise Old Crab was impressed at this discovery but he saw a problem, “Be warned, the exile crabs patrol those roads,” he pointed to the rivers displayed on the PDA’s map, “Fort CrabClaw rests near the river. Follow the road if you must, but take cover and cross the rivers unseen at your earliest discretion.”

Danny stood up, “Then here’s the plan, we’ll use Tucker’s map to get as close to Fort CrabClaw as we can. When we spot a patrol, we’ll make for the bushes and cross the rivers until we reach the fort. Once there, we’ll scope the place out and figure a game plan to save the ‘Three-Headed Boy’ or whatever. Tucker, start charting a course. Sam, you and SpongeBob pack food for the trip. And everyone, get ready to walk. Are there any questions?”

Danny’s instructions were loud and clear. Sam and SpongeBob were already heading to the snack machine to collect provisions, and Tucker was sucked into his PDA. With everyone getting ready, he didn’t think he’d have a question.

Then Squidward raised his tentacle, “I’ve got one,” he stood, not just so everyone could notice him but to be even with Danny, “Who died and made you king?”

The activity among the camp came to a halt and all eyes were on them. Danny shrugged his shoulders, “No one did.”

“Hmph,” Squdward crossed his arms and glowered, “Then why are you calling the shots?”

“I’m not calling the shots. I just came up with a plan, and no one had a problem with it, except you. And your problem, is that I came up with it,”

“More like you took the chance to make a plan before anyone else could,”

Sam interjected, “Look, we’re doing what he says because he said. We’re doing it because it’s a good idea.”

“Oh puh-lease. He’s been ordering us around since SpongeBob pulled out of the ground. So again, why is he the only one making decisions?”

Tucker shrugged, “Back home when we’re fighting ghosts, it’s Danny’s call on what we do.”

“Well, that might be how you kids run things in your clubhouse, but I’m not getting told what to do by a teenager,” 

Sam scowled, “Alright, then don’t. No one said you had to come with us!”

SpongeBob came between them, “Alright guys, we’re getting a little heated, so let’s take a deep breath before this gets out of hand. Squidward, Danny isn’t giving us orders. He’s just being a good leader. Even when it was me, Timmy, Jimmy, and him, he was good at making plans.”

Squidward stepped away from SpongeBob, “Don’t touch me. And I don’t care what he’s good at! I just don’t want to be bossed around by a kid.” 

Danny stifled his smile, “I get it, Squidward. I know what it’s like working for Mr. Krabs, so I’ll tell you what. You don’t have to come along with any plans you don’t agree with. Does that sound good to you?” 

Squidward was surprised he was so willing to agree that he accepted, “Sounds good to me. In fact, I have a plan of my own. While you all are risking your lives in the jungle, I’ll stay here. To uh, keep guard on the camp.”

“Wow, Squidward. That’s very noble of you,” Patrick said with admiration. 

“Quite,” Sam added. 

Squidward relaxed on the beach while the others prepared for their journey. He thought he put one over on them, and planned on spending the day working on his suntan. That is, when the Wise Old Crab approached him.

“What do you want, gramps?” 

“Oh, Whiny Cephalopod. I can have some of my crabs take care of your guard duty while you help me and the other crabs with bringing a tree to camp,”

“A tree?” 

Sam overheard and rubbed it in, “Yeah! A really thick and tall tree!” 

“Indeed, Night Girl,” the Wise Old Crab laughed, “It’ll take all of our strength to bring it here. And that’s after pulling it out of the pool. Why, I’m certain it will take all day.”

Squidward peeked at the group leaving the camp and jumped to his feet, “On second thought, I think I need to help my fellow Chosen Ones!” he ran after them, “Wait for me!”

As they left their camp behind, Sam discovered that Danny planned on Squidward to complain. If he begged them to join, he could be saddled with hauler duty.

The first leg of their journey was uneventful but pleasant. The sea breeze was cool, although SpongeBob worried about getting blown away. They moved inland, following along a slow-moving river. Sometimes Patrick would stop and skip a rock across the river. He wasn’t good, usually mustering a couple skips, but it made him laugh so he didn’t care. Sam showed off and skipped a rock ten bounces down the river, earning the sea star’s admiration. 

Squidward didn’t share their joy. As the designated hauler, he carried their food provisions in a backpack, and slung a purse on his shoulder so he could collect supplies. He tried to argue why he needed to haul junk, when SpongeBob pointed out that Squidward wasn’t a fighter. Much to his chagrin, Squidward had to agree. 

Danny walked along with Tucker, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Sometimes shaking in the trees got his attention, but it was often nothing, or sometimes a parrot. A few times he guided Tucker away from tripping on a rock or an outgrown root. While he shared Sam’s opinion that he was far too obsessed with technology, that PDA was their lifeline. Without it, they had no means of navigating the island. So he was very intent on keeping it and his friend safe. 

A couple hours into their journey, the breeze died down and the humidity settled uncomfortably heavy on them. Some of them would fall for staring at the river enviously; wishing to jump in to cool off. But for all their wishing, they carried on. Eventually they found the road to Fort CrabClaw.

“How long will it take to get there, Tuck?” Danny asked.

“If we follow the road, a couple hours,” 

SpongeBob wiped the sweat from his brow, “Not to be a party pooper, but this is the exile crabs’ road. We can’t let them see us.” 

Danny hated to admit it, but SpongeBob was right. But also, “I’m going ghost!” he transformed into his ghost form and then shouted, “Everyone grab a hold of me!” they touched him and then everyone turned invisible, “With this, we can keep on the road.” 

“Ahh!” Patrick screamed, “I can’t see my toes!” 

“You don’t have toes, Patrick,” SpongeBob said. 

They pulled their hands off Danny and turned visible. With a plan in motion, they walked down the road.

However, calling it a road was generous at best, at least at first. It began as a heavily walked upon path of dirt through vegetation. But further on the road appeared more ‘maintained,’ or more tread upon. Still, it was clearly a path cleared through the jungle. Beyond it, jungle trees grew closely together. Some of them wore leaves blotting out the sun. Sam studied the jungle wilds, and she was sure they would be lost if they attempted to navigate it without Tucker’s PDA. Perhaps forever. 

SpongeBob was humming a tune when Patrick tapped him on the shoulder, “SpongeBob, I was thinking. What do you think a Three-Headed Boy is?”

“Hm, I hadn’t thought about that. Maybe it’s someone with three heads?” 

“How insightful,” Squidward remarked. 

Sam joined in their conversation, “It’s probably not meant to be literal. I mean, apparently I’m the Night Girl, but that just represents my goth sense of fashion.” 

“Uh, Sam? I’m the Ghost Boy. Not only do people already call me that, but it’s literally what I am,” Danny said.

“Since we’re on the subject, how’d they come up with these names?” Tucker asked.

Patrick beamed with pride, “Sounds like someone’s still upset about not getting a cool name.”

SpongeBob tried to stifle his laugh, but that attempt was futile, “C’mon, Pat! Don’t tease him like that.”

Sam gazed at the treetops, “Still, how did they come up with our names, and how are they so familiar with us?” 

“I’m still trying to figure that out,” Danny admitted.

“Guys, do we have to spell it out for you? We’re the Chosen Ones! It’s told in prophecy!” SpongeBob declared.

Squidward blew a raspberry, “SpongeBob, you believed you were the king of karate because someone sent you a VHS tape in the mail.” 

Everyone started laughing while SpongeBob blushed. Patrick laughed the hardest, “He got you good, SpongeBob!” 

“And Patrick, you thought your life was in danger and disguised yourself as a girl, because a travel agent told you to take a trip,” Squidward pointed out.

Sam snorted, “No kidding? Hah hah haaaah! Gosh, that’s great!” 

Danny wiped away a tear, “Patrick, level with us, is that true?” 

Patrick was too embarrassed to confirm, so SpongeBob spoke for him, “Yes, it’s true. But Squidward, you shouldn’t be laughing too much. Remember when you and Mr. Krabs crushed on Patrick’s disguise?” 

That had all of them hooting and hollering. Their laughter filled the jungle, frightening a colony of parrots out to the skies over the jungle. Steam rose from Squidward’s scalp and he walked ahead. The road made a curve ahead and he disappeared behind it, while his ‘friends’ laughed at his expense. 

Danny, Tucker, Patrick, Sam, and SpongeBob clutched their stomachs from the laughing pains, “Ok, ok,” Danny gasped, “That’s too good. Man, I forgot how you made me laugh, SpongeBob.”

“I aim to please, Danny,” he looked around for Squidward, “Well, that was fun, but we should catch up with Squidward. Remember, he has the food on him.”

Tucker let out the last chuckles remaining, “Let’s just hope we didn’t drive him off.” 

They regained their composure and went to catch up with Squidward. They circled the same curve he had, and they walked over the first stone bricks in the road. It was the first sign of civilization any of them saw since they came to the island, but Tucker reminded them of the danger they were heading toward. 

“Hey, what’s he doing?” Sam asked. 

They squinted, and saw Squidward coming toward them. He hid behind Danny, “You gotta hide! Those crabs are after us!” 

A half-kilometer down the road was another curve, and from there, a group of crabs were marching toward them. Danny motioned everyone toward the brush. They stood by the trees and after touching Danny, they turned invisible. They watched the crabs marching down the road. They were fearsome, mean-looking crabs adorned in camo colors, wielding spears and boomerangs. Danny hoped they would pass them by, but instead, they stopped right in front of them. 

“Where’d that squid go?” one of the crabs asked. Squidward gulped.

“Nevermind him, I spotted a whole group of outsiders,” another reported, “What do we do, sergeant?” 

The leader of the group, a slightly larger crap with a dagger at his side, scars and medals adorning his shell, along with the barbed wire wrapped around it, scrutinized his surroundings, “They can’t have gotten too far. When we catch ‘em, we’ll classify them as either spies or invaders. Depends on the mood. You maggots seen where they went?”

None of the crabs did, but they were so afraid of the consequences, they didn’t speak up. Someone eventually did, and it nearly made Danny throw up his own heart. 

“They went that way,” Patrick said. 

The leader picked a direction and shouted, “Then let’s march!” 

They marched in sync past the invisible onlookers, and they chanted, “We are crabby, we are mean!” as they rounded the corner. 

They were all silent. They didn’t stir. Until the crabs were far away from them, they didn’t let go of Danny. When he let go of their hands, Danny gasped for air and fell backwards. Everyone else’s breathing was heavy too. Except for Patrick, who stood amongst them with content.

“Patrick, you will be the death of us, I just know it,” Squidward groaned.

“I hate to admit you’re right, but you’ve got a point,” Sam agreed. 

After regaining their composure, they continued along the road, although conversing came to an end. They remained as quiet as possible, avoiding twigs snapping or scraping rocks. This came at the cost of coming to a crawl of a hike. 

“Not that I don’t mind taking it easy, but those crabs will come back if we don’t speed things up,” Tucker said.

“You’re right, but what if we walk around a corner and come across a whole platoon of crabs?” SpongeBob asked.

Danny crossed his arms and eyed the jungle, “I have an idea, but you’re not gonna like it.”

They didn’t like it. 

“We’ve only been here twenty minutes, and my shirt is soaked!” Squidward complained. 

It was easier to ignore him when all of their shirts were soaked. Finding a path through the wild jungle helped Danny ignore Squidward, if only because of how difficult navigating the wilds was. Sam proved a decent scout and pointed out the easiest routes. A few times, Danny had to phase Patrick out between a pair of trees he attempted to squeeze through. To everyone’s surprise, they hadn’t encountered any of the Mawu’s monsters. SpongeBob asked Tucker if he had any theories, but even the Tech Geek admitted he had no idea. If Danny wasn’t sweating a gallon a minute, he might have taken that as an omen. 

Instead of those monsters, what they encountered were bugs. Ladybugs the size of basketballs swooped in and attacked them occasionally. 

“Bugs! Seriously?!” Sam complained. 

“Take cover!” SpongeBob yelled.

They hit the ground as more ladybugs dove in and tackled nearby trees.They shook off the stun and flexed their wings. Patrick attempted intimidation with a beautiful display of shaking his arms and legs, but a ladybug tackled his gut and he fell backwards. Another ladybug charged at Sam, and she answered with a sidekick, sending the bug’s soft underside into a tree. Danny pointed his fingers at the remaining bugs and zapped them with ecto beams. They retreated.

“Is everyone alright?” Danny asked. 

“Alright? No, I am far from alright! I am the furthest from what you can call alright!” Squidward exasperated. 

“C’mon, Squidward. It was exciting, wasn’t it?” SpongeBob asked. 

“Exciting?! No! We are hiding in a jungle from crabs and then we’re attacked by giant bugs! That is not what I call exciting. You know what I call exciting? Painting a landscape in abstractionism!”

Danny looked to Sam for a translation, “He’s not wrong, that does sound exciting.” 

“What I don’t call exciting, is being attacked by monsters on an island I was abducted to!” Squidward declared.

“But, Squidward. We’re the Chosen Ones. We’re meant to save-” 

“SpongeBob, I will only say this once. We are not the Chosen Ones! That is just some ancient crab’s demented fantasy,”

“Squidward, I thought you wanted to be important, and you finally are! You’re the Chosen One!” Patrick said. 

Squidward glared at him contemptuously, “Why, you’re right! I am important! I’m important because I get to sweat it out in a filthy jungle!” 

Danny lost patience, “Can you cut this short, Squidward? We have to keep moving.”

Squidward stomped to him, “And just so we’re clear. I’m coming along with you, not because I want to. Not because I want to help these people. But because I was forced to. Remember that, and never forget.” 

Squidward watched him and the others leave with indignation. When SpongeBob tried to soothe his feelings, he blew him off. He didn’t care about some prophecy, the island, or the islanders. He wanted to go home, and everything these people were doing, people that he would label nitwits, were getting in the way. He needed to find a way off the island.

Squidward invented plans to leave the island to occupy his mind as he hiked over jungle roots. He thought of a raft and sailing away. He could snag the bespectacled boy’s glorified pager and contact the authorities. If luck permitted, he could search for an aeroplane or chopper and fly away. He spent one slow afternoon at the Krusty Krab reading a pilot’s manual someone left behind in the head, so he felt he had a decent grasp at flying. 

He passed over a gorge and glanced at nearby natural stone spires. They stood hundreds of feet tall, their bases in the dark abyss below. On one of these pillars was a sign. One he painted.

“My Do Not Disturb piece? How’d it get there?”

He didn’t want to ask the others for help, but he didn’t want to abandon one of his pieces. All of them were precious to him, no matter their age nor their meaning. But at the same time, it was in a very dangerous spot, and Squidward wasn’t sure if he wanted to risk his life to retrieve it. He decided to leave well enough alone and followed after the group.

But that sense of rationality lasted moments when he jumped off the bridge to the nearest spire. He hugged its surface and steadied himself before jumping to the next spire. He repeated until he united with his painting. He kissed the sign and tucked it in his arm. It was then that he finally appreciated the distance he achieved by leaping from spire to spire. He felt the vertigo after glancing down. Pebbles fell off the pillar, and they disappeared into the gorge. Squidward gulped. He tried to jump to the nearest spire, but he couldn’t manage the courage from before.

“Oh, Squidward. What have you gotten yourself into this time?” he asked himself, “Ok, don’t panic,” h looked away from the abyss to the bright sky above, “Let’s keep a clear head and think what to do. I just, need to jump to the next pillar. Ok. I can do this. Three, two, one,” he jumped  and fell onto the spire with a thud. He pulled himself up but his foot tore a chunk of rock off and he slipped. His scream could be all across the jungle.

“Squidward?” he looked up, and SpongeBob was watching him,” what are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m saving my artwork!”

“Ohhh, I was wondering if that belonged to you. Anyways, do you need a hand?”

“No! I never need a hand, now leave me alone,” he felt his hands slipping, “Actually, could you lend me a hand?”

“Sure! SpongeBob pulled his arm off and flung it at Squidward.

“That’s not what I meant,” 

SpongeBob scratched his chin with a regrown arm, “I realize that. Hmm,” he ran to the jungle and found bamboo growing in a thicket. He tied bamboos together with tree string and extended his arm until the bamboo hung over Squidward, “Just grab this and I’ll get you to safety.” 

“Ok,” Squidward wrapped all six of his tentacles around the pole, “Alright, pull me to safety.”

“Squidward, you’re holding on to your painting,”

“Yes, what seems to be the problem?”

“If you’re carrying something, you might not be able to hold on with all your strength,” 

“SpongeBob, I assure you. I can hold onto both and AAAAAH!” he was lifted off the pillar and his arms slipped.

“See, I told you. You can’t hold onto your painting. You need to leave it behind,”

Squidward looked at his painting and sighed. He laid it down on the spire and then wrapped his arms and legs around the pole. With little effort, SpongeBob pulled him onto the bridge. Squidward stood and gazed longingly at his painting.

“Need a minute?” 

Squidward glared and walked on. But internally, he admitted his painting had a good resting place.

They caught up with the others as they finished a battle with more ladybugs. After a brief break, they trekked on. They crossed a shallow river and came to a clearing where they made two discoveries. First, they were near Fort CrabClaw; overhearing crab soldiers made that apparent, but they caught glimpses of the fort’s structure peaking through the treetops. 

The other discovery, was an alien spacecraft. A pill-shaped vessel with thrusters on the hull’s underside. The craft’s front was a window and a cockpit inside. They surrounded the ship and wondered about its origin. 

“So, this is a spaceship,” Danny remarked. He watched Tucker waving his PDA at it, “What’re you doing?”

“I’m trying to see if this thing will respond to me, but I’m not getting anything,” 

Patrick glanced at his PDA, “What’re you talkin’ about, you’re getting lots of things.”

“No, I mean I’m not getting anything I can work with,” he showed Danny an alphabet of strange symbols scrolling past the screen, “Whatever this thing is, it’s alien.”

Squidward furrowed his brow, “What do you mean? We’re from different worlds. We’re all aliens!” 

Tucker shook his head, “We’re from different worlds, but we’re the same variety of people. Danny goes to your world, and he’ll find fish that speak the same language.”

“And if we go to Timmy and Jimmy’s world, we find people just like us. Speak the same as us. So why is this stuff so different?” Danny asked.

“I don’t know,” Tucker admitted, “But, if we could get this to work and learn to fly it, then we just found our ticket home.”

This caught Squidward’s attention. His brow unfurrowed and he paid attention to Tucker, “So, how do we get this thing working?”

“Well, I’m trying to interface with its systems, and while it’s responding, I can’t figure out how to open it up.” 

Danny phased through the window. He sat in the cockpit and waved at Tucker with a big smile. After Sam, SpongeBob, and Patrick got their laughs out, Danny pressed a button which unsealed the window, “How do you like that?”

SpongeBob clapped his hands, “We’re gonna have a spaceship!”  

“Maybe we’ll get to go alien hunting again!” Patrick said with glee. 

Danny hopped out of the ship, “First things first, we gotta get into the fort and save the Three-Headed Boy.” 

Sam leaned against the ship’s hull, “Honestly, if we used this thing to save the boy, that’d be pretty cool.”

“I’m with Sam! That would be awesome!” exclaimed Patrick.

“You got an idea then?” Danny asked. 

Sam crossed her arms, “I think I do. We split up. I say, you, me, and SpongeDude sneak into the fort, scout it out, and we try and find who we’re looking for. While that’s happening, Tucker, Patrick, and Squidward guard our latest acquisition and get it up and working. We reconvene, use our intel and the ship to rescue the Three-Headed Boy, and we fly back to camp. All before the sun goes down.”

SpongeBob snapped his fingers, “Not a bad plan, Sam. It’s probably for the best we go in a smaller group. The more of us there are, the easier it’ll be to get caught.” 

Sam snapped back, “Exactly.”

Danny smiled, “Sounds good to me. Tuck, I take it you want to work on this baby?” 

“You’d be correct,” he said from the ship’s seat, “Besides. For a stealth mission, I’d just be in the way.” 

“Then Patrick. You’re Tucker’s guard. You stop anyone that tries to hurt him, got it?”

Patrick pounded his fists together, “You got it boss!” 

“And Squidward? Keep a lookout, alright,” 

Squidward rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”

Sam leaned herself forward off the ship, “Then let’s get a move on, fellas.”

Squidward watched them leave. Once out of sight, he kept a close eye on Tucker’s progress.

Through the brush of the jungle, SpongeBob, Danny, and Sam set their sights on Fort CrabClaw. Standing at the base of a mountain was a small city of structures built for function, not for form. Everywhere they looked, crabs busied themselves. Some swept sand off the porches, which soon accumulated more sand, since the whole grounds was arid after countless footsteps treaded upon them. Most of the crabs there focused on their training. Some of them sparred with spears or knife-fighting, while others practiced marching. It didn’t seem there was one idle soul around. Danny and Sam, as freedom-loving teenagers, were deeply disturbed by the oppressively authoritarian atmosphere of the fort. 

“So, where do you wanna go looking first?” Sam asked.

“If this were a spy movie, we could knock one of these crabs out and interrogate them,” SpongeBob proposed.

Danny wouldn’t deny the practicality of a plan, but he had a different idea in mind. He signaled them to keep quiet as he turned intangible. He flew through the air until he found the first crab with a partner, and he overshadowed them. 

“Hup two! Hup two! Move it, recruit!” 

Danny found controlling the crab’s body difficult, let alone marching in rank with a soldier, “Uh, sarge? Can I take five?” 

The other crab scowled, his entire being consumed with hatred, “A! BREAK! RECRUIT?! DID YOU JUST ASK FOR A BREAK?!” 

Danny didn’t know how to answer, “My. Uh. I lost my boots?”

“RUH-CROOT! WE WERE NOT ISSUED BOOTS!”

“Just because you weren’t doesn’t mean I wasn’t,” he said without thinking.

This seemed to knock the sense out of him, “Well when you put it like that, why don’t we both take a break? The lieutenant don’t need his fruit punch if he don’t feel like giving me boots,” he led Danny around a corner where they hid behind a barrel and relaxed.

He decided to take the opportunity given to him, “So, you hear anything about the prisoner here?” 

“Huh? You mean that kid we caught sneaking around? What about him?” 

Danny shrugged his claws, “Was just wondering if you heard anything interesting.”

The crab shrugged, “First kid dumb enough to get close to us. I didn’t see ‘im, but they did show ‘im to the generals. What they did, well, that information’s not privy to us, now is it, recruit?” 

Danny laughed nervously, “Guess not. When’s the last time you saw ‘em?”

“Recruit, we were drafted at the same exact time. This morning. We’ve never seen ‘em come down the mountain. And why would they? They’re comfortable up at the summit. Boy, I wish I could get to see the view of the island from up top, don’t you?” 

Danny smiled, “I think we will one day,” he phased out of the crab and flew back to Sam and SpongeBob while the crabs descended into arguing over being lazy, “Our first clue’s topside.” 

Sam glanced at the mountain, “You mean we’re going hiking?” 

They walked along the outskirts of the camp where less eyes could spot footsteps from nowhere. From through the alleys and cracks between buildings, the entire fort was busying itself. SpongeBob recognized this busybodying and whispered to Danny and Sam that it reminded him when Mr. Krabs was nervous about an upcoming event, and would insist that he and Squidward worked themselves into a fervor to meet the new demands. 

“But I don’t know what they’re worked up about,” he admitted. 

They would soon find an answer. The base of the mountain had an impressively large building built before it where crabs scurried to and out of it. At the edge of the mountain was where a path built of wood and bamboo around the mountain like a spiral started. Before the path was a checkpoint guarded by a pair of bored crabs. For as many crabs there were, none ever went up the mountain. They passed them by while they yawned.

“I wish I was in the parade today,” one of the guards mentioned. 

Danny and Sam came to halt and looked back, “Yeah, me too. But all the spots were filled up. Nepotism I say. I bet they got those spots from asking officers for favors.”

“Hmph, why didn’t I think of that?”

They hurried up the path and found a secluded spot to turn visible. While Danny caught his breath, Sam summarized their discovery, “So they’re all worked up over a parade?”

“I love parades, but they were talking about it like it was getting an award,” SpongeBob noted.

Sam looked back at the camp busying itself, “I can imagine to these guys, marching for their superiors IS an award.” 

“If they’re busy with this parade, then it’s our best chance of finding the Three-Headed Boy. Let’s don’t waste it,” Danny said.

They walked along the path against the mountain’s rocky exterior. To conserve Danny’s energy, they were visible despite the risk. After circling the mountain, they came a collage of buildings grouped around the path. A few of them were held up by stilts drilled into the mountain. Crabs were hanging about, so they snuck onto the roofs and scampered across the buildings. They came onto a handful of settlements, and they rarely held more than a few crabs so inattentive, they never noticed them. Others weren’t populated so they tread quietly through them. As they ascended, they realized they were high enough to see the whole jungle surrounding them. If they squinted just right, they could just barely make out the ocean. 

“I forget how big this island is,” Danny remarked.

SpongeBob sat on the path’s edge, “It’s something, ain’t it?”

Sam gazed at the jungle roof below, “I bet the view’s even better up top. C’mon, we’re burning daylight.”

They circled the mountain five times. One half was a waterfall cascading off the side, and the path stopped at the water. A tunnel through the mountain was dug out by the crabs, but it allowed them to watch the island through the water. And the volcano. They were getting a clearer view of the volcano every time they passed the waterfall. The storm surrounding the peak was bigger than yesterday. SpongeBob spotted a building from Downtown Bikini Bottom floating in the debris field. Then the building flew away from the storm and landed in the ocean, where the ocean spray reached a higher peak than the mountain. 

“Don’t look at the volcano too long,” Sam said ominously, “He’ll know if we’re watching. Ignore it.”

They came upon the final checkpoint and passed by unseen onto the final bastion. Watchtowers marked the corners of the fortress, and before them were luxurious huts. In the center was a sandy arena surrounded by high walls. Overlooking the arena was the highest seat in the fort, and it stood before a massive gate marked with the fort’s insignia; crab claws in the shape of the letter ‘C.’ At this vantage point, four crabs sat at a table, entertaining a guest. This guest was a familiar face for SpongeBob and Danny. He wore a gray suit covered in medals, a cap adorned in stars, and a pair of reflective sun shades. He laughed with the generals about the soldiers’ incompetence, and agreed that war with the islanders was a good idea.

“Cosmo?” SpongeBob whispered.

“I think it is,” Danny said. 

“That’s one of Timmy’s friends, right?” Sam asked.

They listened closely when Cosmo started talking, “And during the last war I fought, let me tell you, I promised that I would give no quarter at all. Only dimes!” 

The generals slammed the table, “Cosmo, you’re too much!” 

“When they surrendered to me, I buried them in dimes,” this earned more laughter from the crabs, “General Shellcracker, what did you say to General Pincer during the last war game?”

Shellcracker grinned, “Well, when Pincer surrendered, I took his battalion’s rations for the day. My men got real fat on that food, didn’t they?” 

Pincer remained in bashful silence while the others laughed at him. He reached for a pocket watch, “Dear me. I believe we must attend to our reports. Cosmo, would you mind if we interrupted your lunch?”

“Oh go ahead, I don’t mind,” Cosmo waved his hand, “Uh, I mean. Don’t let me wait too long, or I’ll invade!” 

This earned another round of laughter from the crabs as they left for their quarters. Cosmo wiped sweat from his face. 

“Nerve racking, isn’t it?” he jumped from his seat and looked around, when Danny, Sam, and SpongeBob appeared visible to him.

Cosmo threw off his shades and grew an enormous smile, “You guys!” he hugged Danny and SpongeBob, “I can’t believe it! You guys are on this island!” 

“It’s great to see you too, Cosmo,” SpongeBob laughed and hugged the fairy back.

“You guys can’t stay here, it’s crazy dangerous for you,” he warned, “These crabs are crazy. They keep telling me about the battles they waged just to waste time.” 

Danny held up his hands, “Slow down. Tell us what happened to you, Timmy, and Wanda.”

The fairy explained how Timmy and his godparents came falling from the sky and grew separated. Cosmo arrived at the fort first, and had on a whim, proclaimed himself to be the great General of Fairy World. They took him in as a guest of honor and requested he help train their soldiers. He obliged them and attempted training their corps, and it seemingly worked since they were throwing a parade in his honor, “When Wanda showed up, I convinced them she was my servant. She wasn’t very happy about that, but I couldn’t do the same with Timmy. So they threw him in the dungeon.” 

“Then, why don’t you guys just poof outta here?” Danny asked.

“Wow, that’s a great idea! I don’t have a wand, genius! We dropped our wands during the fall, and I haven’t been able to find them,” Cosmo explained.

Danny sat down in Shellcracker’s chair, “Alright. So where’s their prison?” 

Cosmo shook his head, “Wanda would know. She’s been to see Timmy. I haven’t been able to leave here without a baker’s dozen crabs following me around!” 

SpongeBob watched Danny lean the seat back, “Are you making a plan?”

“I think so. Cosmo, you keep up your disguise. We’ll be back, and I promise we’ll get all three of you outta here.” 

“Oh thanks, Danny! You’re a great hero!” he heard the scooting of desk chairs, “They must be done with their reports! You all gotta hide! Get going! Get outta here!” 

Sam and SpongeBob grabbed Danny’s hand, and they turned invisible. Cosmo put on his sunshades and sat at his seat. While the crabs took their chairs again, the three spies snuck down the mountain.

“Irken Empire?” Tucker wondered aloud, “What in the world is that?”

“Huh, whatcha doing, Tuck?” Patrick asked.

“I was working on translating this alien language, and I think I got it. This thing is called a Voot Runner. According to these logs, this is an outdated shuttle. Given to, Invader Zim, so as to not waste resources on a useless invader. Huh, Zim must not be that popular,”

“Wow, imagine if your name was Zim. What a dumb name,” he laughed. 

Squidward watched them while trying to ignore sweat dripping off his scalp. He was tapping tree bark impatiently, wanting to know if the vessel could work or not. 

Tucker studied the ship’s logs until he finished and clicked out of its files. He translated every button on the dashboard from Irken to English. Deciding to put the ship to the test, he pressed the ignition button, and the ship hummed to life. 

“Alright! We got this baby running!” Tucker laughed. 

Patrick clapped his hands, “Ooh! Can it fly?” 

Tucker held onto the controls. His will seemed to drive the vessel and it floated off the ground, “Houston, we have liftoff!” 

Patrick laughed while watching the ship float above the jungle floor. The ship landed upright and Tucker checked his PDA again to check its systems, “Well, can we use it?” Patrick asked.

“You bet! This thing is insane! It can fly across the galaxy without exhausting its fuel. And it’s outdated? I don’t know who these Irkens are, but they’re amazing!” 

“I don’t even care who they are!” 

Tucker chuckled, “Me too, I guess.” 

Squidward decided now was the time. He ran to the ship’s cockpit and kicked Tucker out and sealed the cockpit window shut. He grabbed the ship’s control and flew it over the trees. The ship broadcasted Squidward’s laugh. 

“Squidward! You just hurt Tucker!” Patrick complained, “And what are you doing with the ship? We have a plan!” 

“I don’t recall agreeing to any stupid plan! I’m getting off this rock, and I’m going back to Bikini Bottom!” Squidward declared.

Tucker picked himself up and glared up at the stolen ship, “Enough fooling around! Get back down here before you hurt yourself.” 

Squidward cackled, “I don’t think so! Good luck with your Mock Goop or whatever! I’m going home! Ahahahaha!” he guided the ship’s bow towards the sky, “Bikini Bottom, here I come!” 

Danny, SpongeBob, and Sam came running into the clearing and looked up at the shuttle, “What’s going on, Tuck?”

“Danny, Squidward just jacked the ship! He’s heading back to Bikini Bottom!” 

“Squidward! Don’t you realize you’re marooning us?!” SpongeBob called. 

“Yes I do! So long, SpongeBoob!” 

The ship took to the skies above. Danny took off after him. He strained his body to catch up to the shuttle, and felt the stress on his molecules, but he wasn’t going to let their one ticket off the island go. He reached for the hull and hung on. After getting a firm grip, he phased inside and floated next to Squidward.

“Your joy rides over. Now put the ship down,”

He tugged on the controls. The ship performed several aileron rolls and bounced the ghost boy around, “Not a chance! I’m not risking my life down there. It’s every man for himself, and there’s only room for one on this cruise!” 

Danny grabbed the nearest part of the ship to balance himself, but the constant shifts in gravity lost him his grip, and he would fall back down on the latest bottom, “Isn’t there an artificial gravity in this ship?” 

Seemingly answering his request, Danny fell into the seat next to Squidward. Though the ship continuously rolled, their own gravity remained the same. Squidward glanced at Danny and nervously chuckled. 

“So, do you want to swing by the ground?” Danny glared at him, “I’ll take that as a yes.” 

Danny watched him stabilize the ship, and when it seemed the ship was returning to the island, did he finally take his eyes off the octopus. He looked out the windows and nearly screamed. Without realizing it, Squidward flew the ship far too close to the volcano’s storm. The ship alerted them to incoming debris, and it automatically dodged a lamp post and a family of fire hydrants. 

“Get us out of here, Squidward!” Danny ordered.

“I can’t! Something’s fighting the controls! We’re stuck here!” 

More warnings droned in their ears, but the unknown language displayed on the screen told them nothing they could use. Then, the ship’s power gave out. The half-ghost and cephalopod sat in the dark vessel feeling the ship orbit the volcano. Then, the ship came to a stop. They could still see the debris flying past them through the window, so the storm hadn’t ceased. Then they were pulled closer to the volcano. A moment later, they were held before a face made up of the storm’s wind and debris. The Mawgu held them in his hands. 

“So, you were buzzing around my storm, Chosen Ones,” he laughed.

“Wh-wh-what is that thing?!” Squidward panicked.

“The Mawgu,”

“The Whiny Cephalopod. You live up to your name. And you, Ghost Boy. We meet again. What are you doing in my sky?” 

Squidward held up his hands, “Look here, Mr. Mawgu, we don’t want any trouble. We just-”

“You just,” Danny interjected.

“I just wanted to go home, is all,” Squidward finished.

The Mawgu chuckled, “Is that so? How unfortunate, for you, that the stars hanging over our heads will never guide you home. And after all, why should you leave? The prophecy says we must do battle, and I wouldn’t imagine any of us denying the prophecy. Don’t you agree?” they were speechless, “Our monomachy will come, but until then, you will never enter my domain again.”

The Mawgu pulled them past his face, and then everything flew past them. Squidward screamed in Danny’s ear while trying desperately to keep himself upright.

“Squidward! Get the ship back under control!”

“Are you stupid! This thing’s out of power!” 

“Just try it!”

Squidward reached out to the ignition button and he nervously pressed it. The ship stirred for a moment, and then it came to life. The ship detected it was spiraling toward the planet’s surface and steadied itself in the air. Its thrusters blasted at full power and the ship regained its balance, but its efforts were for naught. The ship hit the river. It broke through the surface and sank a few feet before bopping back up. The ship was airtight, meant to handle the vacuum of space, and Danny figured whoever designed it meant for it to handle a few crashes here or there. 

“Are we safe?” Squidward asked.

“Yeah, we’re ok. C’mon, let’s get going,” Danny said, and he reached for Squidward’s arm.

“Let’s just get this baby back in the air, we don’t gotta go,” Squidward protested.

“Warning,” the ship’s voice suddenly came on, “We are floating towards a waterfall. Please advise, abandoning ship is necessary for survival.”

“What? Just fly then!” 

“The ship’s engines were damaged and cannot be fixed in time of waterfall,” the ship replied, “Please evacuate, unless death is preferable to this tropical paradise.” 

Danny rolled his eyes and pulled Squidward out of the cockpit. They phased through the window and flew over the river rapids. They watched the ship bob up and down with the river’s surface, before it disappeared over the waterfall. 

They dragged themselves onto the riverbank where Danny let Squidward down. He wanted to give him the biggest piece of his mind, when they heard rustling in the trees.

“Who’s there?” Danny shouted.

From out of the ground, a few dozen crabs surrounded them, “Nowhere to run now, spies. We know all about your little infiltration plan. You’re coming with us, as gifts to General Cosmo.”

Sneaking through Fort CrabClaw was more pleasant compared to being carried up the mountain like a trophy. Danny and Squidward were carried by the crabs with their hands tied to bamboo spits. The bumpy ride made Squidward wish to vomit several times, but was warned that he would clean up whatever came up. Danny attempted to free them by phasing through his bonds, but after threatening to throw Squidward off the mountain if he didn’t cooperate, he stopped resisting. 

When they were thrown down into the arena at the mountain’s summit, the others were already there. Squidward tried to ignore it, but everyone was glaring at him. 

One of their captors announced to his leaders, “General Shellcracker, these intruders were found in our territory. We interrogated the yellow one, and he revealed their plan,” Danny glanced at SpongeBob, who was muttering something about tickling, “They were performing reconnaissance so they could stage a kidnapping and abduct our esteemed guest, General Cosmo! What’s more, they were using unauthorized tools of war to commit war crimes!” 

A disapproving wave of ooh’s came down on them. 

Shellcracker scowled down at them, “It’s been a long time since Fort CrabClaw has faced resistance such as yours. I almost feel glad we have the opportunity to experience these invaders.” 

“Would it be enough to let us go?” Sam asked.

Everyone, including Cosmo, guffawed at that idea. She frowned and endured the mockery. 

SpongeBob stood up, “Excuse me, sirs,” he balked at the spears jutting at him, “But, I know we did a bad thing, but please, I beg you. Let us go free. We’re your island’s only hope of salvation. For you see, we’re the Chosen Ones!”

Fort CrabClaw went silent for but one moment before every crab burst out in tear-inducing laughter. 

“That’s hilarious!” General ClawCrusher cried, “The Chosen Ones? You believe that loony tale?!” 

General Pincer cleared his throat, “Perhaps you don’t know your history, intruder, but we were exiled from Hermit Crab Village for voicing our criticism of the prophecy.”

Shellcracker wiped a tear from his eyestals, “Aye! That Wise Old Crab as they call him, kicked us out decades ago for not believing in his prophecy. And that ain’t changed! It’s a sham passed from one loon to the next!” 

Sam saw SpongeBob’s sullen face as he fell to his knees. She scowled and stood up in defiance, “That’s not what I heard! I heard you were all kicked out for planning to war with your neighbors!”

Shellcracker slammed his claw against his perch, “And whose orders were those?!”

Pincer snarled at her, “That loony elder ordered us to invade the Myrmec Tribe and the Florian Kingdom! He wanted to spread the prophecy to those regions!” 

“Only when we denied the prophecy did he banish us!” ClawCrusher added. 

“And only the elder could’ve told you about that. He’s the only crab old enough to remember,” General Abdominal noted, “So that means he sent you here, didn’t he?” 

Shellcracker took their silence as a confirmation, “He must have heard about Cosmo and wanted him to train his own troops. That loon is planning his own invasion!” he turned to Cosmo, “General, these cretins not only threaten the sanctity of our fort, but you as well. As a token of our gratitude, Fort CrabClaw defers to you on deciding their punishment.” 

Cosmo locked eyes with SpongeBob and Danny. He stood from his chair and spoke aloud, “I am terribly upset that they would try not just to take my life, but to ruin your parade!” he raised his arms and gestured to the crab soldiers, “They were never gonna take my life, but if they wanted to ruin your parade, they’ll need to understand why that’s a bad idea.”

The crabs received Cosmo’s words extremely well. They chanted his name and raised their claws. Even the generals were impressed with his act. Pincer stepped forward and said, “Then to defy these invaders, we will hold our parade tomorrow! An even bigger one in Fort CrabClaw’s honor. And once our parade has concluded, we will decide on their fate.” 

All eyes turned to the prisoners in the pit. No one was fond of the hundreds of pairs of eyes looking on with a mix of excitement and hatred. 

Abdominal pointed with his claw, “Take them to the dungeon!” 

They were swarmed over by crabs. Next thing they knew, they were carried away from the summit’s bastion. Not far down the mountain, they entered a cave closed off from the world by a bank vault door. After pulling it open, the crabs carried them inside where a dungeon waited inside. They were locked into their cells and the vault door closed with a loud, shuddering thud.

After getting his bearings, Danny looked around. He, Squidward, and SpongeBob shared the same cell. Across from him, Patrick was alone, while Sam and Tucker shared the cell next door. 

“I suppose your PDA wouldn’t help us out of here, would it?” Danny asked. 

Tucker shook his head, “Nah. They searched us and took my PDA from me,” he admitted. 

Sam nodded her head, “They took the Peeler from me, and they took SpongeBob’s stuff too.” 

SpongeBob sniffled, “My bubbles. My karate gear.” 

Patrick joined in with the sniffling, “And what’s worse, they took all our food! Who’s gonna eat that food now?!”

Squidward stood up, “Of course you’d be worried about food.” 

Sam snapped, “Should you really be talking when you’re the reason why we’re stuck in here?”

Squidward rolled his eyes, “It’s not my fault you couldn’t run away.” 

“Dude! We were surrounded!” Tucker pointed out, “You practically fired a flare for the whole fort when you took off. What were we supposed to do?”

Squidward was readying himself to make another quip, when Danny grabbed him by his shirt’s hem.

“Danny!” Sam shouted. 

“This is your fault! If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this stinking dungeon!” Danny yelled.

“Get off of me, you lunatic!” Squidward shouted. 

“Not until you tell me what your deal is!” Danny gritted his teeth, “What’s your problem with us?” 

“What’s my problem? You think I have a problem? Do you think I’m crazy for not wanting to risk my neck for these strangers? For not wanting to sneak into a fortress of crazed soldiers? Do you think I have a problem wanting to go home?” Squidward demanded. 

“When you’re endangering the rest of us, I do,” 

SpongeBob got in between them and pulled Danny off of Squidward, “Danny, leave Squidward alone.”

“Leave him alone? SpongeBob, he’s the reason why we’re in here!” 

“I know!” SpongeBob shouted, “I know, Danny. But he’s also my friend. I won’t let you hurt him. He,” he paused to sniffle, “He’s highly strung, you see.”

“Highly strung?” Squidward and Danny asked simultaneously. 

“SpongeBob, you’re enabling him,” he squeezed his bridge, “Look, if he doesn’t want to be a part of the group, whatever, I’m used to that. But if he’s gonna sabotage our own plans, then I’m gonna have a problem.” 

Squidward scowled, “Just admit it. You’re not upset that I messed your plan up, you’re upset that I tried to leave you all behind. Because you don’t have the slightest idea how to get us home, isn’t that right?” 

“I told you I’d find a way off the island didn’t I?!”

“Guys, please!” SpongeBob protested.

Patrick pounded on his cell bars, shaking the whole room, “Hey! If anyone makes SpongeBob upset, I’m gonna be mad!” 

“Ugh, I wish you guys would just shut up!” a new voice complained.

Danny was pulled out from his angry tirade and he let go of Squidward and inspected the jail. He peered through the bars of the cell next door and started laughing, “SpongeBob? Feast your eyes on the Three-Headed Boy.”

SpongeBob approached the bars and peered inside, “Timmy Turner?!” he squeezed himself inside and jumped on the cell’s occupant.

“Hey, get off me! I’m trying to sleep!” Timmy tried slapping the sea sponge away. After realizing who was glomping on him, did his mood improve, “SpongeBob?” he stood up and stared at his new cellmates, “Danny? Squidward, Sam, Tucker, Patrick? How’d you get here?” 

Danny scratched the back of his head, “Do we have the story to share.”

Two days ago

School wasn’t Timmy’s favorite place in the world already, but he wasn’t feeling great today. The Sadie Hawkins was a week away and no one asked him out yet. Besides Tootie, but she promised to not to in exchange for a few locks of hair. It was the fastest use of scissors Timmy ever performed in his life. 

Normally he wouldn’t be too bothered about not going with a girl, but after a promise he made, he thought it imperative that he try to get a date for the Sadie Hawkins dance. He wanted to go out with Trixie, but he was self-aware enough to realize she would go with either Tad or Chad. 

He walked into Mr. Crocker’s classroom and sat down in his assigned seat. Crocker looked up from his desk and narrowed his gaze at him. 

“Is there something you wanna accuse me of, Mr. Crocker?” Timmy asked dryly.

“As a matter of fact, I do! But not what you’re thinking of!? Not about,” Timmy covered his ears in anticipation, “FAIRY! GOD! PARENTS!” he grabbed the sides of his desk, “Are you still savoring the victory of defeating the Syndicate?”

Timmy frowned, “Are you still upset about that?” 

“Of course I am! Galactic domination was at my fingertips!” 

He rolled his eyes, “Haven’t we been over this? We already agreed that it was Calamitous’s fault anyway,” 

Crocker flared his nostrils, “Yes, yes we have. But remember Turner. I will resurrect the Syndicate, and then I will rule Dimmsdale and Fairy World! But until then!” he pulled down the projection screen, “Time to learn about John Milton!” 

Timmy had serious doubts about Crocker assembling a Syndicate, and even joked about it with Jimmy in their messages. Crocker was only useful to the Syndicates when fairies were involved, otherwise he was a broken light bulb in a knife fight. 

Making fun of Crocker usually lightened his spirits, but it wasn’t as effective today. He just wanted the day over so he could lie in bed. He left the classroom for the bathroom without telling Crocker. The man was too busy relating embarrassing college memories to Paradise Lost to notice his absence. 

His godparents, taking on the form of a pair of pens clinging to his pockets, asked him what was wrong. Timmy sat against the bathroom floor, “I’m just tired of being a loser in front of everyone at school. If they knew about all the cool stuff I was up to, then they would like me.”

Wanda poofed out of pen form, “Sport, I know you’re mopey, but people can’t like you because of the stuff you do.”

“Tad and Chad beg to differ,”

“He’s right, honey,” Cosmo added.

Wanda shook her head, “They’re popular because of their money and their looks. Don’t think otherwise, sport.”

Timmy stood at the sink and splashed water in his face, “Well pardon me for saying this, but what’s the difference?” 

“Ooh, I know what she’s saying! She’s saying that they’re popular no matter what they do, and you’ll never be popular no matter what you do!” Cosmo said enthusiastically.

“When you put it like that, I feel much better,” Timmy wiped his face with a paper towel.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Wanda insisted, “Timmy. What I’m trying to say is people will like you for who you are.”

Timmy sighed and looked down at his shoes, “I know, Wanda. It’s just. This Sadie Hawkins stuff has been getting me down, but I’ve been feeling out of it ever since the Friday the Thirteenth dance. I guess I miss having those big adventures with everyone.” 

“Well, I can’t blame you for that. It was exciting while it lasted,” Wanda agreed. She grabbed her husband and poofed themselves back to pens, “Now let’s get back to class. And after school, let’s dedicate the evening to all the fun we can think of.” 

“What did you have in mind?” 

She popped her knuckles. These were the questions the Fairy Academy prepared her for, “How do you feel about ice cream sundaes and a private showing of Cirque du Soleil? With Penn and Teller as your plus ones?” 

He laughed, “Alright, you're on!”

Timmy was about to leave when the door opened and nearly hit him. Before unleashing the insults he thought of in the two second interval of recovery, he stood in awe at who almost assaulted him. 

Trixie Tang stood holding the door open, glaring at someone in the hallway. Timmy was stricken by her beauty so hard, he only heard the last fragments of her sentence.

“And I’m not picking you, so give it a rest already!” she slammed the door and finally turned around and looked down at Timmy, “Am I in the wrong room?”

Timmy immediately searched for urinals and saw extra toilet stalls and an unidentifiable dispensary hanging on the wall, “Uh, I think I’m in the wrong room.” 

“Who’re you hiding from?” Timmy asked. He felt a twinge of excitement from engaging in conversation with Trixie. The last time this happened, he wore a dress.

She stood at the closest mirror and studied her face, “Tad and Chad. They’re still bugging me about the Sadie Hawkins dance. And like, who says I’m even going to the dance. I mean, I am, but I hate when people make assumptions about me,” Wanda observed that Trixie wasn’t so much talking to Timmy, but using him as a vessel to rant. Something she realized that her husband and godchild didn't was that if Veronica was in Timmy’s place, the conversation would go no different.

Timmy wondered if it was safe to use what he learned as Timantha, and decided to go for it, “Is that why you hate when someone assumes you don’t like comic books?”

“Huh?” she pulled away from her world and finally looked at Timmy, “How did you?” she shut her eyes and turned back to the mirror, “Yeah, I guess. Anyway, while I was gonna take Tad or Chad along with me, if they think I’m just going to automatically, then no way. I’m not going to do something just because it’s expected of me. So, they’re getting hung out to dry.”

While Trixie washed her hands, an idea sprouted in Timmy’s mind. He hopped onto the sink and sat on the edge, “You know. There’s a lot of people you could go out with that no one would expect you to.” 

She eyed him with a raised eyebrow, “Uh huh, your point?” she shut the water off, “No one expects me to give Francis mouth to mouth, but that doesn’t mean I’ll do it.”

That wasn’t the reaction he wanted. Timmy knew he needed to take a gamble or else he’d never go to the dance, “I’m saying, no one would expect you to take, oh let’s say, Timmy Turner to the Sadie Hawkins dance.”

A part of Trixie wanted to radio her hulking security guards and send Timmy on a one way trip back to Losersville by her trebuchet. But another part was curious. She decided to sample the bait, “I agree, no one in their right mind would expect Trixe Tang to ask Timmy Turner to the Sadie Hawkins dance. But I’ll repeat myself, just because it isn’t expected, doesn’t mean I’ll do it. So why should I?”

Wanda and Cosmo were listening with great anticipation, even chattering their teeth together. Timmy gulped and hoped she didn’t notice. One gamble paid off. He hoped the next would too. 

“Well, why don’t you give me the chance to prove to you you should?”

Her mouth slightly curled, “Oh? Are you asking me out on a date?” 

“That depends. Do you want it to be a date?”

She laughed, “You know what, you caught me in a good mood. Alright, you’re on. I’ll wait for you after school in my limo. But if I’m not having a fun time, I’ll deal with you myself,” she popped her neck, and the crack sent a chill down Timmy’s spine, “Well, see you after school!” 

She waved to Timmy and left the restroom. Timmy stared after her and fell to his knees. He sprung to his feet and cheered at the top of his lungs.

“What just happened? What. Just. Happened?!” he demanded.

“Congratulations, Timmy! You did what even I could do! Ask a girl out!” Cosmo said, unaware of the implied condescension.

“Cosmo, I asked you out,” Wanda clarified. She poofed out of pen form, “That was very impressive, sport. Any idea what you and Trixie will do on your date?” 

Timmy scratched his chin, “I’ll be honest, I have no idea. I’m open for suggestions.” 

Wanda was giddy, “Ooh! I’ve been waiting a long time for this! But you could take her to a romantic dinner or-”

“Wanda, I can’t take her somewhere I expect her to like. She likes girly things but she also likes boy stuff. So I gotta find a happy medium,” Timmy explained.

“Pizza,” Cosmo said flatly.

“Cosmo, you’re a genius!” Timmy exclaimed.

There was pounding on the door, “Turner! I was fifteen minutes into my rant about my fourth roommate when I realized you ditched class! What the heck, dude?” Crocker demanded.

Cosmo and Wanda poofed back into pens and Timmy greeted his teacher, “Sorry, MR. Crocker. I have emphysema.”

Crocker was so dumbfounded by this outright lie, he forgot to be angry, “Just get back to class.” 

Timmy Turner thought, after the day started out on a down note, he was turning it around into a great day. He was thinking where to take Trixie and fantasized holding her hand and kissing her, despite several reminders to temper his expectations. As Crocker opened his classroom’s door, he couldn’t think of how things could possibly go wrong. 

A lesson he should have learned long ago. 

From under the soles of his shoes, a hole in the dimension ripped through reality and swallowed him. Before he realized what happened, his world was already fathoms above his head before it closed up. Crocker saw this abduction and immediately laid the blame on fairies, which ew would document in the Crocker Cave, after leaving his cardboard cutout to chaperone his students. Timmy’s friends wondered where he galavanted off to, but they enjoyed their newfound freedom from Crock Pot. 

For Timmy, the wind howled in his ears and his clothes flapped senselessly. One instant, he saw a black abyss surrounding him and the next there was a bright blue sky at his feet. He looked up and screamed. He was falling into a jungle.

His fairies flew out of his pocket. They tried to stick together, but they flew off in different directions. They were long out of sight by the time Timmy fell into a freshwater spring. He shivered from the cold water when he stepped onto the land. His landing frightened a family of what he thought were capybara, but he couldn’t tell from only seeing their behinds. He shouted for his godparents, but earned no response.

He looked up and tried to spot the hole he fell from, but didn’t. Either he couldn’t spot it from below the trees, or it already sealed itself shut. He sighed and fell back against the mud. He wished he could make a wish, realizing both the irony and futility in it. He heard a loud squish nearby and decided to check it out. 

After a minute of looking through the fields of mud, he found a box-shaped object. Recognizing what it was, he immediately tried using it, but it wouldn’t power on. He checked it over and realized it was without batteries. He would have thrown it away, but something told him to hang onto it, and he pocketed it. With nowhere else to go, he picked a direction and started walking. 

Though it wasn’t his time in a jungle, it was the first time without his godparents. He called their names, hoping they would poof in front of him. He wished for snacks and treats, for toys and games, for fun and play, and when his voice started going hoarse, he wished to be with them again. 

He heard rustling in the bushes, “Cosmo? Is that you?” 

It wasn’t. Before him a giant crab leaped out of the dirt and menaced him. A claw gripped onto his torso and held him up, “You must be one of General Cosmo’s enemies! I think I’ll get a promotion after bringing you to him.

“They took me up to see Cosmo. Who’s apparently their guest of honor? I don’t know how he managed that, but Cosmo talked them into keeping me prisoner instead of,” he paused, “I don’t think I wanna say what they were gonna do to me. Anyway, Wanda came here a while before I did and Cosmo was able to talk the crabs into letting her be his assistant, but he couldn’t do the same with me. That’s why I’m stuck here.” 

Everyone absorbed Timmy Turner’s words. Danny was leaning against the rocky walls and crossing his arms, “So. Cosmo’s as much a prisoner as you then.”

“That makes sense. Whatever image the crabs have about him, Cosmo has to maintain it. No wonder he couldn’t let us go,” Sam theorized. 

“What about Wanda?” SpongeBob asked, “Has she come to see you?” 

“A few times, yeah. She’s usually who brings me my food. Ugh, I wish they had their wands! We would be gone already, but she doesn’t know where they went,” Timmy lamented.

Tucker tapped his knuckles rhythmically against the cell bars, “Where do you think they took our stuff?” 

“What stuff?” 

“They took my PDA and I was wondering if you knew where they’d keep it,” 

Sam smacked him across the backside of his head, “Enough about your stupid PDA, we have real problems!” 

Tucker rubbed his head, “I have a reason for asking! I’m thinking, is it possible these crabs found Cosmo and Wanda’s wands? And if they did, would they keep it where they’re keeping my PDA and the rest of our stuff?”

Patrick rubbed his hands together, “Everything’s becoming clear. All the pieces are coming together. The crabs have stolen your wands. They stole our stuff. And what's worse? They’re going to punish us for our crimes. Gentlemen, I have developed a plan of action.”

“You.... have?” Sam asked skeptically.

“Yes,” he smirked, “We should get some pizza!” 

Everyone smacked their heads, “Why’d you guys bring pinky?” Timmy asked.

“We found him,” Danny said.

“Didn’t mean you had to bring him with you,” Timmy snarked, earning a look from SpongeBob.

“Ok, Patrick was onto something. Well, Tucker was onto something, but anyway. If your wands are anywhere, they’re probably where our stuff was taken,” Danny noted, “Question, where would they keep our stuff?” 

Timmy thought about this, “You’d have to ask Wanda. She’s seen more of this place than me or Cosmo. She should be here in a few hours when we get dinner.” 

“Then when she comes, we can ask her. And then, we’ll go looking for it,” Danny planned.

Squidward scoffed, “You guys can come up with all the plans you want, but you’re stuck at square one until you can break out of here.”

Danny, Sam, and Tucker blinked. Danny went intangible and stepped through the cell bars, “Problem?”

Squidward rolled his eyes, “That’s not what I meant, nimrod. Do you really think you’ll have the run of this place once you walk out? They’re not gonna notice a group of seven? Think for a second!” 

There was a moment of silence. Neither Squidward nor Danny forgot the grudge they held for each other, and neither would give it up so easily. 

“Squidward’s right,” SpongeBob spoke up, “We should only go out in small groups before we make a break for it.” 

“Wouldn’t it make more sense if Danny went lookin’ for Wanda instead of waiting for her?” Patrick asked.

“That’s... not a bad idea,” Danny admitted, “Ok, guys. I’ll be back in a little while. Just hang tight,” he flew through the ceiling.

Wanda sat in an uncomfortable chair made of bamboo and jungle wood and tapped her fingers on the desk ‘General Cosmo’ supposebly filed his reports. All her husband managed to do was draw cartoon tanks and planes going to war with each other. To her surprise, they were well organized, but that was the only general worthy activity he could manage. She glanced out the window, and he was still laughing with the other generals. Whatever it was they discussed, they could go at it for the whole day, sleep the night away, and pick up their conversations the next day.

She groaned, “I hope Timmy’s doing ok. Maybe I can pass the time and visit him.”

“Or, you could lend a hand,” her heart skipped a beat when she heard an unfamiliar voice. She turned around and saw something coming out of the floor. Her first instinct was to scream and panic, but she recognized this phantom, “Danny? Is that you?”

“Yep. Long time no see, Wanda.”

“Where did you come from? Did you end up on this island too?” 

“We can catch up later. Right now we’re trying to bust outta here with your husband and Timmy, and we could use your magic. Any idea where they went?”

It was a lot to take in, but she calmed her nerves and repeated his words in her mind a few times before they sank in, “Yes, I think so. There’s a spot at the base of the mountain. It’s where they throw everything they find in their patrols. But they’ll shew me away if I get anywhere near it. Like I’m some goat,” she said indignantly. 

Danny reached for her hand and turned them both invisible, “Well, I don’t think they’ll catch us like this. You ready to fly outta here?” 

She nodded, and he took her by the hand out of the hut and to the skies of the island. For the first time, Wanda witnessed the beauty of the island. The jungle expanse that went on for miles, the badlands out in the distance, and of course the volcano that reached for the storm-blanketed sky. They flew unseen from the fort’s peak to its base. Just as Squidward promised, the crabs were on high alert. Where the first checkpoint was guarded by a couple of drowsy crabs before, was now manned by a platoon of crabs who wouldn’t let so much as a speck of dust pass. This mattered little to two invisible trespassers. Wanda pointed out the armory. It was another vault door lodged into the mountain guarded by a pair of crabs and a ten-foot tall wall separating it from the rest of the camp. Again, this mattered little to Danny and Wanda. They both flew through the vault doors after spending a minute shaking their butts at the unaware guards. 

“Well, that was fun. Now, let’s look for your wands,” said Danny. 

Compared to the armory in the Fairy Academy, something Wanda only saw a few times during her training, Fort CrabClaw’s armory was a hastily organized mess. Shell fragments meant to be sharpened were all in a pile in one corner of the cave, and another pile of spears sat in the middle. Contraband made up a large pile in the back room. There was Tucker’s PDA, SpongeBob’s soap wand and bottle, the Fenton Peeler, and on top of the pile were three wands. 

“Three? Is there another fairy among you boys?” Wanda asked.

“Nah, SpongeBob found it in an office building from Fairy World. Which, was half-buried on a beach,” he explained.

She stared at him, “There’s a lot more going on than a bunch of angry crabs, isn’t there?”

“You don’t know how right you are. But there’ll be time for explaining later. C’mon, let’s get back to the others,” they flew unseen back to the dungeon. They phased through the vault door and appeared in the center, “Delivery for bubble, PDA, and a Fenton Peeler?” he tossed them to SpongeBob, Tucker, and Sam. 

The Peeler surrounded Sam, and she grabbed the cell bars and pulled them apart, “Oh yeah, who's up for paying those crabs back?”

SpongeBob vigorously dabbed his wand in soap, “Oh they’re gonna learn the meaning of payback.”

After Wanda reunited with Timmy, she floated above everyone, “Hold on. You aren’t thinking of going in guns blazing?” 

“Yes,” Patrick said. 

“Wanda, we’re trying to save Cosmo. And he’s right above us. All we do is rush up, grab him, and poof out. Simple as that,” Timmy said, “We don’t even have to do that! We can just wish for him here!” 

“It won’t be that simple. Timmy, I’ve learned a thing or two from being around those crabs. If anything happens to the generals, they’re immediately evacuated to a top-secret location. Only they know where,” 

“Again, I’ll just wish for him. It’s that simple,” 

SpongeBob raised his hand, “Wanda? Does something happen when a general goes missing?” 

Everyone turned toward her. She bowed her head, “If a general is missing. Then it’s assumed he’s been captured. It’s why they fill their reports so fastidiously, so their troops know where they’ve been or what they were doing.” 

Sam’s interest was piqued, “And, what happens if they think a general’s been captured.

“Then it’s assumed either the Crab Village, the Myrmec Tribe, or the Florian Kingdom are to blame, and the crabs will wage a war against them,” she answered, “If Cosmo goes missing, these crabs will wage war to get him back.” 

“Oh no. We’d put the people of this island at risk,” SpongeBob worried. 

“Or they’ll come after us,” Sam suggested.

Tucker sighed, “Alright, so we can’t attack the generals directly, and we can’t sneak him off. What do we do then?” 

The dungeon went quiet as they thought up plans and strategies, but no one thought of anything worth saying aloud. Squidward sat against the cave wall and listened to the distant sounds of the waterfall, “Ahhh, if only I could disappear over that waterfall, I would be at ease.”

At first they treated his outburst with annoyance, when Timmy snapped his fingers, “That’s it! Ok, this will be a longshot, but Wanda told me about a parade they’re throwing in Cosmo’s honor. Well, what if we took advantage of that? During the parade, we kidnap Cosmo, and then, we jump off the waterfall and disappear, make the crabs think we all perished?”

“You want us to jump off a mountain?!” Squidward demanded.

“Yep,”

Danny grinned, “Then it’s a plan.”

“You’re nuts,”

“We don’t have a lot of options. They’re ending their parade with our punishments. It’ll be our best opportunity to escape,” Sam said. 

“Sorry, Squidward. We’re jumping off a waterfall, whether you like it or not,” Patrick stated. 

Squidward couldn’t believe what Patrick said was rational in everyone’s minds. 

The rest of their day was spent making a plan. When Wanda returned to Cosmo, she kept it a secret from him, for she knew he was the worst secret keeper in the universe. She made preparations, while the others slept.

A society that built itself around its military will live like one. Before the break of dawn, reveille sounded off and every crab was expected to come out of their shells and immediately report to their stations for their duties. On the morrow, everyone was more lax but that didn’t mean it wasn’t stringent. Everyone was excited about the parade and the potential punishment of the new intruders. The rumors flew around the men at the base of the mountain. Everyone saw the ship that flew from their jungle and fell back down, but no one had an explanation. Some of the boastful crabs suggested that if they spotted the intruders, they would have stopped them before they reached the mountain. Still, most of the crabs stood in formation, awaiting their marching music. Only a handful of guards remained to keep watch, despite all the gritting they did behind closed mouths, and no patrols around the jungle. All eyes were on the fort’s peak. 

Although Wanda was glad to be out of the dungeon, she wasn’t happy being his servant, and after the fortieth call for milk and cookies, she felt he was taking advantage of their situation, but said nothing. She attended to her husband at a fixed distance while the other generals emerged from their quarters. She glanced back at the corner of Cosmo’s quarters, and hoped no one noticed the pile of contraband she snuck topside.

General Shellcracker wished him good morning and beckoned him to christen the parade from a platform overlooking the fort below. Cosmo obliged and stood at the platform observing Fort CrabClaw’s soldiers. Thousands of crabs looked up at him and saluted. He cleared his throat and spoke, his voice broadcast on amps littered all over the fort and echoed across the jungle.

“Soldiers of Fort CrabClaw! Your training has greatly pleased me. If I were waging my own war, I would use you guys!” he said, “Now! I’ve been waiting all night for this parade! So let’s get marching!” 

Wanda laid a boombox in front of the microphone and spun a marching music tape. The carefully timed snare drum and professionally played trumpet played for Fort CrabClaw. The crabs marched forward and sang their marching tune.

“We are crabby, we are mean,”

The whole army marched up the mountain, and every synchronized step taken was felt by its denizens.

Though the generals took these quakes with pride, Wanda worried about the fort collapsing. And the prisoners worried about the ceiling coming down. Still, the music and the marching was the signal. 

“Alright, guys. Are we all ready?” Danny asked.

Timmy rubbed his eyes, “No. I wanna sleep in for another six hours.”

Patrick yawned, “Yeah, I’m with the beaver kid. Can we do this later?”

Squidward shook his head, “I just wanna go on record and say this is a terrible idea. And I’m only going along in case it works.” 

“Just keep things cool until we’re at the top. We’ll have an opportunity to split, and once it happens, we all need to run as fast as possible.” 

Patrick raised an arm, “Can we go over the plan one more time?” 

Tucker rubbed his temple, “Dude, we went over it ten times last night. Do you really need another refresher?”

“Yes,” 

“Pat, just stick close to me, and I’ll make sure you’re alright,” SpongeBob said, diffusing the situation. 

Danny eyed the dungeon door, “Just keep your cool.”

The mountain shaking became more and more violent the longer the music played. Several times, the tape would run out, and Wanda needed to hastily rewind and restart it so the crabs could continue the parade. This happened every five minutes, and it made everyone in the dungeon laugh. Eventually they heard the singing of the crabs. The vault door opened, and several pairs of crabs came inside with bamboo poles and rope. They tied their hands and feet to the poles and carried them out, each needing a team of four crabs to carry them. Patrick needed eight.

Getting carried by a pole was an excruciatingly uncomfortable experience. It wasn’t long until the burning of rope irritated Danny’s whole body, but he could do nothing unless he wished to give away the plan. Tucker and Timmy were much more audible with their discomforts, and the crabs yelled at them to shut up before threatening a toss off the mountain. They remained quiet for the rest of the trip to the summit. 

They were brought before Cosmo and the other generals. Shellcracker, Pincer, Abdominal, Clawcrusher, and Cosmo stood side-by side, carefully studying them. Well, Cosmo gave the illusion that he was studying them. Instead he was just staring with no thoughts in his head. 

Shellcracker addressed them, “Tell us, What made you lot think you could sneak into our impenetrable fortress? Were it riches? Was it to spy on us? Go on, we’re listening.”

They were quiet for a bit. It wasn’t easy to explain yourself when thousands of hateful eyes glared at you, and no one was sure if their excuse would be valid to these warmongers. SpongeBob decided to take a gamble, “Well sir. We were told that there would be a Chosen One here. And we were looking for him,” 

All of the crabs shared another laugh at their expense, “I take it that loony elder sent you here, huh? Tell me, which one were you looking for?” Clawcrusher asked in jest.

SpongeBob looked down at his own shoes, “The Three-Headed Boy.”

This earned another wave of laughter, “Oh, I’m glad we were exiled. That stupid prophecy, only a fool would believe in it,” General Abdominal silenced the laughter and made a speech, “Loyal soldiers of Fort CrabClaw. 

For too long we have tolerated our exile from the other tribes. For not believing in their foolish prophecy, we are excluded from their societies? This, is the ultimate betrayal. And after General Cosmo decides on these intruders’ fate, we will march down the mountain to the volcano. There, we’ll vanquish the Mawgu, and then. We’ll conquer the rest of the island.” 

While the generals discussed their plan, no eyes were on Wanda. She snuck into Cosmo’s quarters and went into the corner where she hid the contraband. So that they wouldn’t be confiscated, she hid the wands and their weapons. She tucked the Fenton Peeler, SpongeBob’s bubble wand and soap, and Tucker’s PDA under her arms and then poofed herself behind Timmy and his friends where none of the crabs were paying attention. She handed the PDA to Tucker, the Peeler to Sam, and the bubble tools to SpongeBob before poofing back to Cosmo’s quarters. She floated back to Cosmo’s side and waited for the plan to fall into place. 

Patrick leaned against his pole and fought the urge to sleep. It was too early in the morning for so much activity, but he was also bored. He didn’t know what the crabs were talking about, nor did he care. He tried passing the time by guessing what Danny talked about with a signal. 

“Huh, Tucker said they told me ten times or something. But I don’t remember. Hm, I’m hungry. I wonder if SpongeBob could make me a Krabby Patty? No, he looks busy. Hm. Maybe I can ask someone here if they got any food. Hm, I can’t walk,” were Patrick’s thoughts.

He tried walking ahead, but something held him back, “Oh right, I’m tied up!” he said aloud. Squidward tried to shush him, but the crabs already noticed. They gave Patrick a mean look, but the threat was lost on the sea star.

“Guys!” Patrick broke the bamboo pole off the ground and walked with it, “Do you guys got any snacks on ya?” 

The crabs stared at him in bewilderment. General Shellcracker was in the middle of a long-winded speech when he stopped to stare at Patrick casually asking soldiers for food.

He regained his composure and slammed the podium.

“He is trying to escape! Capture him!” 

The crabs turned around and drew their spears. As they approached Patrick, he didn’t register their threat to him. But he did notice a quarter on the ground. He leaned over to pick it up, and bonked a crab on the head with the bamboo pole. Patrick couldn’t reach the quarter so he turned his body and knocked several crabs away. He swept them all aside with his fruitless efforts to grab a quarter.

“Oh right, my hands are tied,” he snapped the rope apart and reached for the quarter, “I’m gonna ride a pony with this.”

A crab jutted a coral-tipped spear in his face, “You aren’t going anywhere, pinky!” 

Patrick licked his lips, “Coral bits?! Yummy!” he chomped on the crab’s spear and swallowed the coral, “Mmm. Kinda stale, but very tasty.”

The crabs, either afraid or weirded out, stepped backwards. Shellcracker was just as bewildered, but he ordered them to attack regardless, “I don’t care if he ate your spear! You have claws! Attack him,” Shellcracker turned to Cosmo, “Forgive me, General. But I must make a decision for you,” he addressed the crabs, “And dispose of those intruders!” 

Sam looked over to Danny, “Dude, when’s the signal?” 

“This isn’t how I wanted to do it, but,” he took a deep breath, “Everyone! Cover your ears!”

Danny phased through his restraints and stood before the crabs. Some of the crabs wondered how he broke out of his bindings, but they disregarded them in the presence of an easy victory. Danny concentrated on his own energy. He took a deep breath, and screamed. 

His Ghostly Wail sent every crab in its wake off their feet. Every structure on the summit shook from the vibrations, and everyone who wasn’t directly in the wail’s path covered their ears. Though his friends stood behind him, it was still like standing next to a jet engine taking off. The Fenton Peeler detected the ghost energy and automatically surrounded Sam. With the sound blocked off, Sam could finally think. She ripped the ropes on her wrists and ankles apart and helped free the others. Danny’s voice lost its energy and she grabbed him before he fell to the ground. 

“How. How’d I do?” Danny asked.

Sam gazed at the dozens of crabs thrown off their feet all around the bastion, “You did alright,” she heaved him onto her back, “Now let us take it from here.”

Squidward was rubbing his head, “What in the world was that? Ugh, my head is still ringing!” 

“Nevermind that, where’s Patrick?!” SpongeBob asked. 

“Here I am!” Patrick appeared out of a pile of crabs, “I found another quarter.”

From up top at their perch, the generals recovered from the Ghostly Wail and attempted to regain their bearings. Pincer took note of their soldiers' lack of discipline. They were allowing the prisoners to escape, but more important than that, they were off their feet. No soldier at Fort CrabClaw was permitted to lie down until reveille. 

“This must be your doing, Abdominal! The men under your command are insubordinate!” 

The general groaned, “What are you talking about?” 

“And their lack of action is reflected by yours,”

Shellcracker slapped him aside, “Enough of that! Quit your squabbling already! Men! The prisoners are escaping! Get them!” 

The crabs near Patrick drew their daggers on him. Sam aimed her blaster and fired a powerful beam at the crabs. The explosion tossed them in different directions, and flung Patrick on his back. 

“Everyone! Get moving! Follow the plan!” Sam shouted. 

SpongeBob and Tucker helped Patrick to his feet and carried him behind Sam along with Squidward and Timmy. They raced up the stairs out of the arena. By now, the crabs were coming to their senses but were still too dazed to mount a chase. Cosmo stood amongst the fuming generals and worried for his own safety. 

“Guards! On your feet! Vanquish these prisoners!” Pincer ordered. 

A section of crabs who weren’t as affected by Danny’s ghostly wail stood themselves up with their spears. They charged past the generals toward Sam and the others. SpongeBob stood before them and tossed Patrick at them like a bowling ball. He knocked the crabs aside effortlessly. The only crabs left to defend Fort CrabClaw, were the generals.

“That’s it!” Shellcracker screamed, “We’ll deal with these invaders ourselves!” 

He and the other generals stood in Sam and the others’ way. ClawCrusher drew a barnacle-coated greatsword off his shell, “You have gotten far enough! You will pay for the embarrassment Fort CrabClaw has suffered!” 

Abdominal snapped his massive claws, “As a start, you will serve as training dummies for the next hundred years!” 

Patrick frowned and stood himself up, “Hey, we are not dummies. We’re the Chosen Ones!” 

Shellcracker’s eyes turned bright red and he drew a core-encrusted axe, “Enough about that stupid prophecy!” and he leaped into the air. 

Sam blasted Shellcracker out of the air and he fell back onto the ground at Patrick’s feet. He shook the blast off and seemingly forgot about Patrick when he charged at Sam with his axe. He slashed her suit, carving a scratch across her visor and armor. SpongeBob hopped over Sam and blew a bubble surrounding Shellcracker. SpongeBob blew bubbles at Abdominal, Pincer, and ClawCrusher when they charged at them. They floated harmlessly in the air in their spherical prisons.

After floating in the air for a moment, he realized what encased him, “A bubble? You make a mockery of our pride with a bubble?!”

SpongeBob laughed and pointed at the bubble’s top, “Not just any bubble!”

Shellcracker glanced up and saw the bubble fuse burning up  its length. The explosion threw everyone off their feet, and sent the generals flying off the summit, back down to the mountain’s base. 

“Is everyone alright?” SpongeBob coughed, “I shouldn’t have put so many suds in there.” 

Danny pulled himself up. His strength wasn’t back yet but he could run, “It did the job now c’mon!” 

Timmy called for Cosmo and Wanda. They were hiding underneath a table when they flew out and hugged their godchild, “You guys! It’s great to finally be together again!” 

Cosmo cried, “Oh, Timmy! I’m so sorry I sent you to the dungeon! I promise I’ll never do that again!” 

“Stop! That brat is kidnapping General Cosmo!” their reunion was interrupted by the crabs coming up the stairs with weapons in hand. 

Timmy grinned, “You guys got your wands back?” they raised them in confirmation, “I wish these crabs would freeze!”

In an instant, the crabs were frozen inside ice cubes held together by giant ice trays. While the crabs shivered in their frozen prison, Cosmo and Wanda embraced their godchild, “Oh, it’s great to see you again, sport!” 

“Yeah! Sorry I couldn’t bust you out sooner!” Cosmo apologized, “Ooh!” a spear was lobbed at Cosmo’s feet. 

“You betray us, Cosmo! Seize him!” the crabs from the arena yelled. 

Timmy sweated, “Let’s get back to the happy reunion when we’re not about to be torn limb from limb by crabs!” 

They agreed and ran toward the waterfall. They followed a gate built before a large cave where the others waited for them. They were overlooking the edge, unsure if they should follow through with their plan. 

“Do we have to jump from here?” Squidward asked. 

Even Danny was uneasy. His mind changed when he saw the army of crabs coming after them, “We don’t have a choice. Everyone, hold hands,” they locked hands with each other, “Jump!” 

They leaped from the cliff into the waterfall. They were drenched with the powerful torrent but fell into the open air. Everyone was screaming as the ground came toward them. 

“Timmy! It’s up to you! Make the wish!” Danny screamed.

He barely heard him through the wind, but Timmy made the wish they planned about the night before, “I wish we survive this fall!”

His fairies, while screaming, waved their wands. 

The waterfall fed a lake that fed one of the rivers flowing through the island. Not much stayed on the lake’s surface; it either flowed down the river or clung to the mountain’s wet walls. Before nine bodies fell onto the water, an inflatable duck poofed into existence. It was comparable to a small yacht, and even from falling off a mountain, it felt like landing on a pile of pillows. After confirming everyone was onboard, he concentrated and turned the fowl vessel invisible as it floated down the river. 

From atop the mountain, the crabs searched the water for the prisoners, but no matter how they strained their eyes, they couldn’t spot them. Eventually, the prospect of their prisoners sinking beneath the waves and perishing grew accepted amongst the ranks, and they gave up on searching for them. No one was looking forward to informing the generals about this conclusion. 

When Fort CrabClaw was obscured by trees, Danny let go of the rubber duck, and it became visible again. Despite surviving the fall, everyone’s hearts were still racing and their breathing was heavy too. When the adrenaline died down, SpongeBob was the first to celebrate their victory.

“Guys, I don’t know how we did it, but we did it!” 

“We did?” Patrick asked.

“We outsmarted and outmaneuvered those crabs and now we’re all home free,” SpongeBob continued.

Sam smiled, “Yeah, it’s finally dawned on me. We made it. We got away!” she looked to Timmy, who was hugging his fairies, “And we’re bringing you home, dude. How does that feel?” 

Timmy let go of his fairies and turned toward her, “You guys have a way to get to Dimmsdale?” before they could confirm or deny this, he pumped his fists, “Alright! Wanda, clear my schedule. Because tonight, I’m gonna make things up with Trixie and go on the date of our lives.”

“You don’t have a schedule, dear,” Wanda pointed out. 

“And we don’t have a way to get to Dimmsdale. Or any of our homes,” Danny clarified.

Timmy laughed, “No problem, because I do. Cosmo, Wanda. I wish we were all back home!” 

They waved their wands but they quickly farted on them, “Nope on that,” Cosmo replied.

“What gives? Is this one of the new rules Jorgen put in?” 

Wanda shook her head while she checked her wand, “I don’t think so. Something is blocking our magic. We can still grant wishes, but something’s keeping us from poofing away.”

Tucker raised his hand, “It’s the Mawgu. We were trying to do the same thing y’all did, and we found out for ourselves. See, we can grant wishes all we want, but if they’re anything like, say you wanna go to another world? Then nope. You’re staying right here. Our best guess is the Mawgu is doing something to prevent wishes like that from coming true. Also, y’all should probably conserve your magic. The wand we found wasn’t at full battery, and has only been losing power since we found it.” 

Wanda checked her wand, “You’re right! My wand’s only at eighty-eight percent power!” 

“But that’s still good, right?” Timmy asked.

“For a while, but only if we’re conservative with wishes from now on, sport. Once the magic’s gone, it’s gone,” Wanda warned him.

“Ugh! That’s lame! What’s up with the Mawgu anyway, and why’s he messing with the island?”

Danny rested his head on his hands, “Some ancient evil. Something the people of this island did everything they could to seal away. But he escaped.”

“And now he’s wreaking havoc all over the island with some ooze and his monsters,” Sam said. 

“That’s why we’re the Chosen Ones! Heroes prophesied to defeat the Mawgu and set this island free once and for all!” SpongeBob declared.

Timmy nodded, “So, am I one of those Chosen Ones?” 

Danny chuckled, “We’ll only know when the Wise Old Crab says so or not. But I have a good feeling that you’re that Three-Headed Boy we were sent to find.”

“Three-Headed Boy? What the heck does that mean?” 

Tucker narrowed his eyes and framed Timmy, Cosmo, and Wanda with his hand, “Ok, I know why. That’s pretty funny.” 

“I don’t get it,” Patrick said.

While the others conversed, Squidward looked backwards in the direction of Fort CrabClaw. He was more than happy they got away, but he wasn’t convinced it was the last they would see of those crustacean cretins.

Half a day after the prisoners escaped, a scout reported to the infirmary, “No sign of the prisoners, General.” 

Shellcracker rested on a hammock while medics attended to his wounds, “And you’re certain they sank beneath the water?” 

“The troops reported this, sir. We’ve been trying to send teams to the lake-bottom, but the current could have thrown them anywhere. For all we know, sir, they’re in the ocean,”

“Hm. Alright. Keep a lookout anyway,” Shellcracker studied the scout’s eyes, “Is there something on your mind, scout?”

“Well, sir. The prisoners claimed to be the chosen ones from the prophecy. Why would they make that claim, sir?” 

Shellcracker grumbled, “Do not concern yourself with the false words of an old man, soldier. The prophecy is nothing more than a myth. Believe me. I used to believe in it myself. But, that was a long time ago.”

“It’s not my place, sir, but. What made you think differently?”

Shellcracker closed his eyes, “I was told so.”

The rubber duck ran aground and its passengers decided to abandon it for now. Patrick and Cosmo attempted to salvage her, but they were dissuaded when the group went on without them. According to Tucker’s PDA, they weren’t far from their camp, they just needed to cut through the jungle. Along the way,  they filled Timmy in on what was going on, even if their shared information wasn’t that well informed. 

Timmy reached into his pocket, “You know, before I was captured by those dumb ol’ crabs. I did find one of these,” he held up a device that appeared to have parts stapled and taped on. Knobs from different appliances and a small screen were the only hints that it was something technological.

“What is it?” SpongeBob asked.

“Is it a candy bar?” Patrick asked, his mouth watering.

“Patrick, you can have a candy bar when you get back,” Danny reprimanded him.

“Nah, this is something I saw when I was at Neutron’s,” something that existed only between Jimmy and Timmy was the use of their surnames. Timmy rarely used Jimmy’s given name, and so did Jimmy. Danny nor SpongeBob never knew why nor thought to ask. But the mention of Jimmy’s name provoked excitement in them, “I think it was a communicator he was working on.”

Wanda put her hands on her hips, “Young man, you should know that stealing is wrong.”

Timmy frowned, “But I didn’t! I only know it belongs to Neutron ‘cause I saw it in his lab! I found this out in the jungle. Don’t know why, but I did.”

Danny stopped walking and stopped the group, “So, does this mean we can talk with Jimmy?” 

Timmy shut his eyes, “Sorry, batteries not included,” he flipped it over and popped open the panel, revealing an empty case.

“That’s how they get you, Timmy,” Cosmo said his non sequitur. 

For a brief moment, everyone seemed ready to yank the communicator from Timmy’s hands, but the excitement died down. Save for SpongeBob, “Don’t worry, there’s been junk falling from the sky all the time! I bet we’ll run into a power source sooner than later.”

“Couldn’t we use some of my batteries?” Tucker asked.

“Knowing, Neutron, probably not the kinda batteries we’d know about,” Timmy theorized. 

“And we would waste our magic trying to guess,” Wanda explained. 

Squidward sat against a palm tree, “Well, there goes my last hope of ever escaping this horrid island. I’m gonna sit here and let the island take me.”

Sam shook her head, “Get up, I know you won’t go a night without dinner.” 

Squidward frowned and stood up and followed. 

“So you guys are takin’ us to a camp or something?” Timmy asked.

“Oh you’re gonna love it, it’s this camp at a lovely pool. Ooh I can’t wait to soak my feet in it!” SpongeBob gushed. 

Danny laughed, “Yeah, it’s pretty cool. You’ll dig it.” 

After an hour through the jungle and finding the path to their camp, they came back to their camp, where it was in a much different state when they left. SpongeBob’s hut was much larger than before and made up the gap between the rock walls. Tucker’s hut was completed too and there was an observation deck erected through the roof. Patrick’s rock remained untouched, but someone sprinkled it with decorations. Where Sam chose a place to build her shelter was now a hut on stilts. It stood above the rocks and had a walkway starting from the sand. Danny and Squidward’s shelters were both multi-story huts, but Danny’s had iron nailed to it while Squidward’s resembled abstract art. Near Squidward’s home was a rice farm, and already the plants were growing strong. 

“Who did this?” Tucker asked.

“It must’ve been the Wise Old Crab. But he only said he was gonna bring that tree back here. I didn’t think he would build our camp,” Danny said. 

The door of SpongeBob’s hut opened, and they turned their heads. A hermit crab walked out and stood stunned at their appearance, “Oh, forgive me, Chosen Ones. I was putting the finishing touches on this before I went home.”

They relaxed, “We’re really grateful for what you’ve done, but why did you? The Wise Old Crab said we had to rely on ourselves to build our camp,” said SpongeBob.

“Well, that was the plan, but when you folk didn’t come home last night, our elder figured you would be too tired to finish building your shelters and enlisted our help,” he explained, “I should go inform him you’ve returned home. Actually, where were you Chosen Ones?” 

“Fort CrabClaw,” Patrick answered.

The crab’s eyes shrunk, “Well. Then I should be on my way,” he scurried toward the soft sand and dove through it.

“What was that about?” Sam asked.

Their stomachs collectively growled and quelled that discussion. SpongeBob offered to cook for them and asked for requests. Cosmo held up a package of wheat buns, “I think you know what I want!” 

SpongeBob giggled and agreed to start cooking. Using a spare sheet of iron left by the crabs as a grill over the fire, he flipped patties from Tucker’s crate of meat. Their smell filled the whole camp and only made the others even hungrier. Sam took her mind off the hunger and attended to the rice farm by Squidward’s house. They were growing at an astonishingly fast rate. 

What should have taken months to reach half-maturity was achieved in a couple days. By morning, she guessed it would be ready for harvest. 

Still, what was it about this island that let the plants grow at such a rate? Was it the volcano? It was true volcanic ash carried nutrients, and volcanic islands were botanical paradises thanks to it, but throughout her travels, she found no evidence of recent volcanic eruptions. Was it because of the Mawgu and the ooze? Or something else. She pressed her hand on the ground and closed her eyes. She thought she felt a sort of energy deep within the earth. Something was giving life to this island. 

“What do you want now?” she heard Squidward from nearby. She looked up at the plateau Danny’s shelter stood on, and saw him confronting Squidward. 

“I wanna continue our conversation from last night, in the dungeon,” he said.

Squidward shielded his fear, “You sure SpongeBob will like hearing about you slugging his neighbor?” 

Sam saw Danny’s eyes glow green and his fist tighten. She readied herself to intervene at the next moment, “No. I wanna settle things with you, right now.”

Squidward raised his brow, “And how do you want to go about that?”

“I want you to admit that what you did was stupid and irrational. Tucker told me what you said while you were taking off. You were willing to maroon us here when we had the best ticket off the island,” Danny recounted, “After we saved your life and gave you a home, you never pulled your weight and after that stunt you pulled,” Danny held his tongue. He pursed his lips and looked away from Squidward, and bottled his anger, “Just apologize, and I’ll let this go.”

Squidward crossed his arms and let out air, “I’m sorry. Is that all?”

Even if he didn’t mean it, Danny accepted it, “I’ll talk to you in the morning. But for now, yeah. That’s all,” he walked toward his home, “Actually, one more thing,” he and Squidward looked back over their shoulders, “I’m sorry for trying to hurt you.”

Squidward said nothing and walked away. 

Sam watched Danny go inside his home and walked around the pool when Squidward came to his home. While she mused on what she witnessed, she watched the clouds sailing across the skies and disappearing over the horizon. She wondered if she could have done the same thing if she were in Danny’s shoes. She remembered all the times she and Tucker nearly broke their friendship over petty arguments, and realized she couldn’t. She wasn’t a peacemaker, she was a troublemaker. It came with the territory of strict parents. Danny, on the other hand, came from an eccentric home, and until the Fenton Portal fried his DNA, he was the most normal among them. It wasn’t a surprise that peacekeeping came naturally to him.

She arrived at the campfire where SpongeBob fended off Patrick, Tucker, and Cosmo from his grill. She jogged over to help, “Alright, guys. You’ll get your food when it’s ready,” she pulled Tucker and Patrick back.

“Need. Krabby Patties,” they chanted.

Wanda pulled her husband backwards, “If I can’t have them now, neither can you.”

Tucker and Patrick walked up to their huts while their bellies growled. SpongeBob wiped the sweat from his brow and returned to his cooking. 

“Thanks for the help, Sam. Those guys, I swear they would eat these patties raw if they got the chance,”

“No prob, dude,” she sat on a rock in the sitting circle around the campfire, “So, what’s been going on with you?” 

SpongeBob laughed, “Oh, a bunch of stuff. There was one time Mr. Krabs turned the Krusty Krab into a five-star hotel. We ended up in the hospital after building an indoor pool. What else? Oh right, I thought I was gonna be crowned the King of Karate, but then it turned out to be a real estate scam, and Sandy saved me from buying a condo. I hired a bodyguard to protect me from the Tattletale Strangler, and he turned out to be the strangler. That was traumatizing. Ooh, me and Patrick tried buying Mr. Krabs a new mattress, but when Squidward threw out his old mattress, we found out it had all his money, so we had to get it back.”

Sam blinked, “Well that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“We had to get it from a nasty guardworm. And Mr. Krabs was in the hospital,” he finished.

She blinked, “You definitely live an interesting life, dude.” 

“Thanks!” he belted out a good laugh, “How about you?”

“Well, Danny got his secret revealed while we were trying to stop this ringleader from taking over reality with this mystical gauntlet. I’d say that was the biggest thing we dealt with since the Syndicate. Vlad’s been quiet ever since that, you know,” she said.

SpongeBob flipped several patties in the air, “Wow. And I thought my days were weird. I hope everyone was ok with Danny’s secret reveal.”

“Oh, Danny wiped that from everyone’s memories,” she said.

They heard footsteps on the grass and saw Timmy walking down a hill, “Mmm, smells good!” 

“Won’t be ready for a while, dude,” Sam said.

“Don’t get your pants, uh skirt in a twist,” he said while sitting on a tree log, “I was watching the whole thing before you turned them away.”

“But if you saw, why didn’t you help?” SpongeBob asked.

“It was funny,” he laughed.

Sam rolled her eyes, “What’s your story? SpongeBob and I have been catching up, how ‘bout you?” 

“Well, I could tell you all these awesome adventures, but I think I’m gonna divulge what’s the most important to me,”

“Timmy, you don’t know what that word means,” SpongeBob accused him.

“Well, it makes me sound smart, alright!” he blushed when he saw Sam laughing, “Long story short, I finally got a date with Trixie!”

“Who?” SpongeBob and Sam asked.

“Oh, I never talked about her?” 

“If you mentioned any girls, it was usually Cindy,” SpongeBob said.

“Right, right, right. Anyway, Trixie is the prettiest and the most popular girl at school! I’ve had a crush on her for a long time, and she agreed to go on a date with me!” 

This sounded very familiar to Sam. After SpongeBob congratulated Timmy on his accomplishment, Sam pried deeper into Timmy’s joy, “So, why do you like Trixie, and who’s Cindy?” 

“Pfft, why do I like Trixie? Well, duh. Who wouldn’t like her?” 

Sam raised an eyebrow, “Uh, huh.”

Timmy took notice, “Oh no, I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not falling for it! Besides, I like spending time with Trixie. I really got to know her when I was a girl,” both Sam and SpongeBob blinked, “Wish-granting fairies, remember?”

“Right. So you like her for more than just her being pretty and popular, right?” Sam asked.

“It doesn't hurt she’s rich too,”

She squeezed her nose bridge, “Ok. This is the same exact thing with Paulina.” 

“Did someone say Paulina?” Danny asked while sitting next to Sam. 

“Oh geez. Danny, can you explain to Timmy why going after Paulina is a bad idea,” Sam requested.

“Why is Timmy going after Paulina? I thought he was going after Cindy?” 

“Actually he’s going out with Trixie,” SpongeBob clarified.

“Who’s Trixie?” Danny asked again.

“Trixie is basically Paulina but for Timmy, get it?” Sam exasperated.

“I, think so,” he looked over at Timmy, “If I understand this correctly, you like this girl because she’s pretty and popular, right? I get it, I was the same with Paulina. She’s the most popular girl at Casper High.”

“She helped me and Sam defeat the Lunch Lady!” SpongeBob added.

“Right, wait what? Never mind. Now, I was head over heels for her. I would have gone out with her in a heartbeat if she asked,” 

“And you did,” Sam added.

“And I did, thank you, Sam. But, I found out what kinda person she is. And I wasn’t a fan of it. I don’t know the first thing about Trixie, but if I were you, I would give some thought before you try to be serious with this girl,” he advised, “As serious as a relationship between fifth graders can be, but whatever.”

“Guys, I get what you’re trying to say, believe me I do, but I know what I’m doing,” Timmy said.

Danny didn’t press him any further, but he was still curious, “What about Cindy? I thought you and her were hitting it off.”

Timmy took a deep breath, “Well, where do I start?”

A few months ago

The Friday the 13th dance was wrapping up in both of their worlds. Sheen wanted another fast-paced song to jam to with Morgan Freeman, but the acclaimed actor needed to be elsewhere and was attempting to leave. The portal connecting Retroville and Dimmsdale together would fade away, as Jorgen promised, and life would continue on as it had before. Jimmy was urging Cindy to come over to the other side, in another attempt at snubbing Timmy, but she wanted one last dance with Timmy. 

“Actually, could we talk in the hallway?” 

They walked through the double doors into a deserted hallway illuminated by lights that only stopped shining when they burnt out, only to be swiftly replaced and disposed of. Whether instinctively or by happenstance, they stood in front of Timmy’s locker. 

“What did you want to talk about?” 

She avoided looking him in the eye as she collected her thoughts, “I had a lot of fun with you today. And, it flatters me to no end how you went through so much effort just to ask me out to your dance,” she closed her eyes and smiled, “These memories, they will linger in my heart forever.” 

“I can’t help but feel there’s a but coming after this,” Timmy quipped.

“You’re right,” she laughed, “But, what we’ve built our relationship on are lies. I figured you weren’t trying to lie to me when we first met. I can chalk that up to me making an assumption. But you kept up an image I had that wasn’t true. So I want to know. As much as I like you, especially for who you really are, can I really say I know you?”

Timmy’s mouth turned dry, “Then, we could start fresh. Start from square one.”

“As much as I’d like that, I don’t think that’s gonna work,”

Timmy took a deep breath, “So, I guess, whatever we had is. Over?” 

Cindy bit her lip as she felt the agonizing silence before spluttering, “No. I don’t want it over. I just,” she looked away, “I need some time to think. Maybe the next time we see each other we’ll find out how we feel about each other.”

She walked away, back to the lunchroom, “But, I know that I like you. So what do I have to find out?” 

Cindy looked back and turned around, “I’m sorry. I guess I’m being selfish,” neither affirmed or denied.

“Then what do you want to know?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted, “I guess I’m just upset, but I’m not angry or sad about it.”

“Do you want me to make you feel like that? Is that it?” 

“Maybe,”

Timmy scratched the back of his head, “Cindy, I like you, and I wanna hang out with you more. But, if you want to never see me again, well I won’t like it, but if it’s what you want. I’ll honor it.” 

Cindy reached for his hand and held it, “You’re not the first boy I liked. I’m willing to wager that I’m not the first girl you liked either. In six months, if neither of us feel anything about anyone else, then. Let’s start again.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” 

“I’m pretty sure it’s not, but-

“I’ll give it a shot. Like I said, if you want this, I’ll go through with it,”

Cindy smiled, but then poked his chest, “Now we actually have to try to get with other people, ok. Don’t embrace the single’s lifestyle just for me, alright?”

Timmy nodded, “I just need your word. That, if we still feel something.”

“You have my word, Timmy Turner. Square one,”

The double doors burst open and Sheen yelled for Cindy to go through the portal already. Cindy rolled her eyes and wished Timmy a happy goodbye. Jorgen’s portal bridging the lunchrooms together faded away. Everyone waved to each other, and then the lunchroom was exactly as it was before.

“So are you gonna say anything or are you just gonna be quiet? You haven’t said anything for ten minutes,” Patrick said.

“Oh. Uh, basically me and Cindy are taking a break and she wanted us to see other people,” Timmy explained.

Danny and Sam exchanged glances. They hadn’t experienced the worst of what a relationship could offer, but being in high schooler, they saw the worst one could happen to someone. What Timmy was going through didn’t sound as bad as some of the horror stories they’ve heard about, it did set off alarm bells, especially to Sam. She moved closer to Timmy.

“So, how do you feel about that?” 

“I don’t know. To be honest, I’m a little worried that by going out with Trixie, I’ll end up losing my feelings for Cindy,” he admitted, “But I promised Cindy I would give this a shot.” 

Sam took a deep breath, “Look, I’m gonna level with you, I think it’s great how willing you are to go along with her. Girls actually love that. But, if this arrangement doesn’t make you happy, there’s nothing that says you have to go along with it.”

“You think so?” Timmy asked.

Tucker spoke up, “But you know what, you already got that date with the super popular girl, and if Cindy’s alright with it, I don’t see how-

“Tucker, if you don’t stop talking, I will throw your PDA into the ocean,” Sam threatened.

He fell silent and kept his distance. Danny was the next to speak, “He’s not entirely wrong. I don’t know anything about Trixie, if she’d be a good match for you or if she’s even good to be around. But if you want to give it a shot, then I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”

Timmy furrowed his brow, “Hey, why didn’t you yell at him?” 

Sam shrugged, “Take it from me. Tucker has nothing but the wrong things to say about girls. Danny, knows a couple things. Helps he has a sister, so that gives him a home-field advantage.”

“Well, my babysitter's a girl, and that doesn’t give me an advantage,” 

“That’s because your babysitter tries to kill you,” Danny said.

That shouldn’t have made Sam laugh, but she let out a loud snort. The sheer absurdity of that statement got the better of her. It infected the others, and they all started laughing. 

Patrick laughed, without really knowing why. 

After a little while, SpongeBob finished the Krabby Patties and prepared them. They were just as good as patties you’d order from the Krusty Krab, as Patrick could attest to. Danny, Timmy, and Tucker couldn’t believe they forgot how good Krabby Patties were, and they each ordered seconds. Only Squidward and Sam abstained from Krabby Patties. 

“Why aren’t you eating any?” she asked.

“My doctor told me not to. You?”

“Vegetarian,”

“Hmph,” and said no more after that. 

SpongeBob looked around at everyone gathered together and smiled, “Guys, I’m so happy that we’re all together. With Timmy here, we only need to find the last two Chosen Ones. Then, we’ll take the fight to the Mawgu!” 

Danny nodded his head, “You’re right, SpongeBob. I’m looking forward to giving him some payback.”

Timmy popped his knuckles, “Just point me where I need to fight, and I’m game!” 

They exchanged more promises of victory long into the night before they retired and went to sleep.

The storm blew over his head and ooze bubbled below him. He watched the Chosen Ones laugh at the thought of his defeat, and shared a chuckle with them. He dipped his hands into the ooze and channeled his power through it. A bubble of his ooze floated in the air and showed him the village of crabs. He overheard conversations revealing their fear of him, but admitted relief that things had been safe for a while. 

“You speak too soon, little one,” another orb of ooze replayed one of his memories, of the Three-Headed Boy holding a communication device to the Coconut Head, “For your village will possess their power source,” he floated up to the volcano’s peak, the furthest he was allowed to leave and beseeched his storm, “Surrender to me what I desire! Obey your master!” 

The storm obeyed its creator and a battery flew into the volcano’s caldera. He held it in his hand and grinned at the simple invention. Humans created such simple inventions. The Chosen Ones would not find this device unless he deemed it so, and it would come at a great cost. After all, if they were prophesied to best him, then it would be fair that he tests their resolve. 

He toiled away creating his most fearsome soldier, so it would be ready by morning. 

Chapter Text

He stared out the classroom window and allowed himself to appreciate the peace he had finally grown accustomed to. For a while he would keep himself on edge, worried that someone or something would threaten the safety of his hometown, but he eventually taught himself to relax. Still, Professor Calamitous’s attempt to recreate the universe a few months ago was fresh in his mind. It didn’t help that he could still see the grotesque fusion between him and Jorgen von Strangle, no thanks to Timmy Turner’s brash thinking. Something Jimmy enjoyed reminding him of. 

While he appreciated the peace, his best friends weren’t too keen on it.

Constantly, Carl and Sheen begged him for a new adventure into the unknown or a visit to the exotic, and every time he turned them down.

“Why not?! Do you know how bored I am?! I have to go to Retroland and ride the Vomitorium once a day to get my fix in!” Sheen screamed in his face. 

“Sheen, back off or I will give you the last excitement you’ll ever experience,” Jimmy warned.

“I’ll take it!” 

“Pipe down, SHEEN!” Ms. Fowl bawked.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand their need for excitement. Even he was accustomed to it after the ordeals with the League of Villains, the Evil Syndicate, and the latest run-in with Turner. But they weren’t the ones that did all the heavy lifting. He wanted to accept the peace no matter what strings were attached. 

Still, his brain was a supercomputer, and he couldn’t prevent it from generating concerns. He didn’t know where Calamitous was imprisoned nor did he know of Beautiful Gorgeous’s whereabouts. There was a strong possibility she would discover her father’s location and break him out. 

“I can’t concern myself with the what-ifs. Just let myself relax, and if there’s a danger, we’ll react to it in time,” he told himself.

“Jimmy! No talking to yourself!” Ms. Fowl bawked at him. 

During lunch, Jimmy refreshed himself on space travel with a textbook on interplanetary dynamics while he ate. When he felt he was being watched, he looked up from his book, “Cindy? I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“Let’s skip the pleasantries, because I’ve got something I wanna ask. You’ve got that crazy lab of yours in your backyard, so I wanna know if you’ve noticed anything weird going on?” she demanded.

He furrowed his eyebrows, “Could you be more specific?” 

“Well, you see, I have a CD player that I left on my nightstand last night, and well. This morning, it was gone,”

He blinked, “Cindy, have you thought about checking Humphrey’s stomach?” 

“First of all,” she began, ““I already checked. I scoured my entire house for it,” 

“So you want me to look for it then?” 

“Well, yes. But I want to know if it’s at all possible for something to disappear from a dimension,” 

He blinked. He wanted to say yes, but the possibility of such an event occurring intrigued him, “Tell you what, Cindy. I’ll run some tests afterschool, and I’ll let you know,” he promised. 

Sheen and Carl appeared at his flanks, “Do I smell the sweet smell of adventure?” Carl asked.

“Are we gonna scavenge the universe for Cindy’s CD player?” Sheen demanded. 

Jimmy rubbed his face, “Guys, I’m just going to sit at my computer and run tests. It’ll be pretty boring.” 

“Ugh. Looks like another trip to the Vomitorium,” Sheen bemoaned. He noticed Libby and waved to her, “Hey, Libs! You wanna come with us to Retroland!” 

She fled, “You’re not dragging me back there again!” 

Carl and Sheen gave chase, and Jimmy shook his head, “I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

“Thanks,” she said, “Have you heard anything from Timmy since the Friday the 13th Dance?” 

“Turner? Not much, no,” that was a lie. Jimmy and Timmy kept up on a semi-regular basis. He pretended to not know why he lied, but he did, “Why do you ask?” 

“Oh, no reason,” this was also a lie, “I better go save Libby. See you around,” 

Jimmy watched Cindy chase off his friends and reburied himself in his studies, but after their conversation, he found it difficult to keep focus, and he found himself reading the same passages on repeat until the lunch bell rang. When school was dismissed and he returned to his lab, he looked into Cindy’s query. He was certain it was nothing more spectacular than misplaced hardware, but he felt the urge to look anyway. 

“Goddard, if you ate Cindy’s CD player, a confession would be appreciated at this time,” he joked with his mechanical dog. 

Goddard barked and shook his head ‘no,’ much to Jimmy’s amusement. Then the panel on Goddard’s body lifted up and alerted him. One of his rockets was missing. 

“My rocket? Wait, when did that go missing?” he hopped out of his chair and jogged to the hangar where he docked his ships. All of them were accounted for, save for his Strato XL, “Goddard, did someone steal my rocket? Was it Sheen?” 

Goddard shook his head again, and somewhat offended that his master would accuse one of his best friends. The panel on Goddard’s front opened up again, and security footage of the dock was shown to him. Jimmy watched intently, and nothing seemed to be amiss for a moment. When for a single instance, a hole in his dimension opened up and swallowed his rocket. 

“No, that’s impossible,” Jimmy said, “How could a wormhole suddenly appear and disappear? That would violate our current understanding of physics,” he tapped his pants and thought about the portal in the corner of his lab, “As if that’s unfamiliar territory. C’mon, Goddard. Let’s keep this up, maybe we can solve this mystery.” 

Jimmy sat in front of his computer and ran diagnostics on his lab on foreign atmosphere while his canine companion kept him company. The Universe Portal Machine never left either’s thoughts.

The night sky allowed the denizens of Volcano Island to gaze up at a ringed-planet that obscured much of their view of the universe. It was the first sign to the Chosen Ones they were nowhere near their homes when they couldn’t find the North Star in the sky. And for Sam, she couldn’t identify any of the star signs. Though the sky was unfamiliar, none claimed the night was discomforting. Far from it, everyone at the camp, even Squidward, found it beautiful. 

Every morning was pleasant and the sunrises were breathtaking if you were awake to witness them. Patrick awoke first, yawning when his rock rose up. He popped off its underside and stretched his arms and legs. He looked up at his new neighbor. He peeped inside and saw him sleeping on a small bed with a fishbowl lying next to him. 

“I don’t remember him having fish,” he mumbled. He shrugged his shoulders and walked off toward the beach. He stared at the ocean. The waves were constant, but they never rose higher than his knees. Well, if he had knees. As he walked back, he spotted something by the gorilla statue. For whatever reason, the sight of that statue freaked Timmy and his fairies out, but he couldn’t remember why. Still, he checked the statue and found a circular piece of plastic, “Hmm. I wonder what it is? I should ask Squidward!” he took a step toward his home, but something stopped him, “No wait, he needs beauty sleep. I shouldn’t bother him. Hmm,” he taped his head, “I know! I’ll ask SpongeBob!” 

Patrick approached SpongeBob’s hut and knocked on the door. He heard SpongeBob stirring inside, “Who is it?” he yawned.

“It’s me, SpongeBob,” 

“Uh, five more,” his voice trailed off and he didn’t finish his sentence.

Patrick shrugged his shoulders and opened the door. He approached his friend’s hammock and slapped his belly, “SpongeBob! I need your help!” 

SpongeBob screamed and spun around in his hammock until he was twisted around several times. He glared at Patrick and asked through a muffle, “What is it, Patrick?”

He held up the piece of plastic, “Do you know what this is?” 

After suddenly spinning around to normal, SpongeBob inspected it, “This seems to be a CD player, Patrick. It’s for playing music.”

“Ooh, can you play it for me!?” 

“It can’t play music on its own, Pat. It needs a CD. Let’s see if there’s one in here,” he popped open the player, “Oh look! There is! Hm, Graystar? Never heard of ‘em.” 

“Can you play ‘em, can you play ‘em?” 

“Doesn’t seem to be a speaker. But not to worry, Pat, I know a way around this,” 

Sam was sleeping dreamlessly when punk music tore her away from slumber. If it wasn’t music she liked, she knew she’d be angry. She pulled her clothes before stepping out of her hut to check out who was jamming. She saw SpongeBob and Patrick dancing in the pineapple. SpongeBob was holding a CD Player with a cord going into his head, and music came out of his mouth.

“What’s going on?”

Patrick was headbanging to the beat, “Oh! I found some music on the beach! Now we’re rocking out!” 

Sam leaned against the wall, “Not bad, I dig this stuff. But, how’re you doing that, SpongeBob?” he  shrugged his shoulders, “Well turn it up!” 

He turned his eyelashes like a knob and the music played even louder. The song blasted across the pool and woke up two of the camp’s residents. One didn’t appreciate it and covered his head in pillows whilst grumbling. The other checked out the festivities and came into SpongeBob’s hut. 

“Spongebob, I didn’t know you were a boombox!” Timmy exclaimed. 

“Yeah, it’s a sponge thing,” Patrick laughed. 

As the next song was coming down, Sam left the hut and sat on a log surrounding the campfire to look out at the pool and wondered out loud, “What’s today got for us?”

The party followed her, but SpongeBob turned his volume down. SpongeBob and Patrick continued dancing, but Timmy sat beside Sam, “So is this all you guys do? Just party?”

Sam could tell he wanted that and shook her head, “So far we go looking for supplies and for other Chosen Ones,” she airquoted that term, “The camp could use some sprucing up, and could really use a name too.” 

Timmy crossed his arms, “You’re making it seem like we’re gonna be here for a while.”

“Most of us aren’t happy about it. You don’t have to look far,” she pointed at Squidward’s house with her thumb, “But, the islanders need us. I don’t buy their prophecy for one second, but they asked us for help, and I’ll do everything I can to save their home.”

Timmy was taken aback by her conviction and admitted, “I don’t know if I believe in this prophecy stuff, and if I’m honest, I get where Squidward’s coming from. Getting abducted by anyone but especially strangers really dampens your plans. But you know, I’m with you too. These people need our help, so they’re gonna get it.”

Sam smiled, “I’m glad to hear it. Wish Squidward would share our sentiment.”

The music stopped, “Are you two talking about Squidward? I know he’s been acting, well. Very abrasive, but he means well.”

“Didn’t he crash an alien spacecraft you guys were gonna use to get off this planet?” Timmy inquired.

“Ok, he’s not very proactive for team efforts,” he looked back at Patrick, “Ok, you can stop stretching me, Pat.”

“Sorry,”

“But he’ll come around, just you wait and see,” 

Sam remembered the conversation between Danny and Squidward, and wondered what would come of it. If push came to shove, she would act as peacekeeper, but she didn’t share SpongeBob’s optimism. At least to his degree. 

Timmy cast his eyes up at the sky and said, “Wonder what Neutron’s up to.”

“I hope he’s alright,” Patrick said.

“If he were here, he could’ve gotten us home by now!” SpongeBob said.

Timmy frowned, “SpongeBob, I have the power of fairy magic at my side. I could just say the word and we could be outta here in a flash.”

“Uh, dude? You tried that and it didn’t work,” Sam said.

“It’s only because of that stupid Mawgu,” 

“That’s why Jimmy could’ve gotten us out of here by now. With your flying friends and Jimmy’s brains, we would be home free,” SpongeBob clarified, “I just hope we can find a way home when we defeat the Mawgu.”

Timmy looked in the same direction as SpongeBob and took notice of the storm swirling around the volcano, “What is the Mawgu, by the way? It sounds like you guys met him or something.”

“Oh it’s horrible! He’s big! He’s mean! And he’s got terrible breath!” Patrick quivered.

“Patrick, you’re thinking of Bubble Bass,” SpongeBob said. 

Sam crossed her arms across her chest, “We’ve crossed him a few times, but he’s never faced us in person. Always just sending an apparition of himself.” 

“Why aren’t we going after him then?” Timmy asked, “If he’s standing in our way of going home, why don’t we head to the volcano?”

Sam hadn’t considered that and was going to give Timmy’s idea consideration when SpongeBob spoke, “Danny tried that when we first got here. The Mawgu struck him with a bolt of lightning. It was horrible.”

“And, the Mawgu must be defeated by the Chosen Ones! That means all nine of us must join forces before we have our showdown,” Patrick said, “I think that’s what the Old Crab told me.”

Timmy counted on his fingers, “Well counting Cosmo and Wanda, there’s nine of us, right?”

Sam shook her head, “I think you being called the Three-Headed Boy means you and your friends fall under one Chosen One.” 

“Three-Headed Boy. That’s such a lame name. Why can’t I be called-”

“Fairy Boy?” SpongeBob suggested.

Timmy blinked, “I’ll settle for Three-Headed Boy.”

Sam snorted, “Be glad you didn’t get stuck with something lame like what Tucker got. He’s the Tech Geek. And grumpy over there got saddled with Whiny Cephalopod.”

Timmy laughed, “Who came up with these names in the first place?” 

“We heard about them from the Wise Old Crab. Don’t know where he came up with them,” Sam explained.

“Speaking of, where is the Wise Old Crab? We haven’t seen him since we left for Fort CrabClaw,” SpongeBob pointed out. 

“Maybe he’s sleeping in,” Patrick said.

“He’s got old in the name. He probably wakes up at three in the morning and goes to bed at four in the afternoon,” Sam joked, “I figure he’s got something going on in his village.”

“Well, without his guidance we’re stuck here,” SpongeBob stood from his seat, “While we have the free time, let’s spruce up this camp,” he spied the waterfall and noticed a gap in the cliffs, “Why don’t we build a bridge over there?” 

Sam eyed the marshes, “You guys get the wood ready. I’m gonna harvest the rice. When I’m through, I’ll lend you all a hand.” 

With time on their hands, they set to work on improving their home.

Crabs are creatures that cannot survive without water or land. They can spend months on dry land, but their gills will eventually dry out and suffocate them. A crab needs to spend some time in water, but some can’t go without land. Either to scavenge for food or to find mates. But a crab is not a crab unless they have both land and water at their disposal. 

The ancestors to the Hermit Crab Village built their home at the island’s coastline, on the foreshore between the ocean and the cliffs. All along the cliffside was a waterfall flowing through streams cutting through the village. This provided freshwater for the crabs to drink from and wash in. The villagers regularly gathered at the waterfall’s plunge pool where the water was at its coldest, but they congregated there for commerce and conversation. One could often find the Wise Old Crab telling stories to children and offering words of wisdom to the adults. Recently their Elder became occupied with the Chosen Ones, and with the Mawgu’s monsters threatening their island, the village became a gloomy place. Still, even in the bleakest of times, someone would try to put on a cheery outlook. 

The Wise Old Crab stepped out of his domicile and found himself surrounded by younger crabs begging for a story, “I’m sorry, young ones. But I must offer guidance to the Chosen Ones. Another time, I promise.”

“Oh, c’mon! Please, Elder!” 

He smiled. He looked at the sun and noticed it was still low. He could afford a few minutes for his children. After all, the Chosen Ones could use a reprieval, “Very well. Gather around my children. I will tell you a story. This will be of our neighbors, the Florians. Can someone tell me who the Florians are?” 

One raised their claw, “They’re the creepy swamp people, right?”

The elder chuckled but shook his head, “Now now, that’s not nice to say, young one. The Florians do live out in the swamp, but they’re not creepy. Most of the time,” he murmured, “King Gorge and I go a long ways back and-”

“Elder, please no old people stories, tell us a cool story!” a rambunctious crab demanded.

He sighed but gave in, “Very well. There was a warrior of the swamp who conquered-”

The land shook very faintly. But he felt it. He touched the ground with his claw. He urged the children to return home before danger found them. But they didn’t have the chance to run. Sand from all around the village gathered toward the village’s center. He feared an incoming invasion of sand monsters. He would soon wish his fears came true. 

Several crabs gathered around the town’s center gawked at the growing pile of sand, when a massive arm burst out and crushed a home built into a giant seashell. Shards flew around and pierced the arm, but they fell out without causing harm to the monster. Feet grew out from under the pile of sand as it stood up. The pile of sand grew taller with every second, and the features of a body grew clearer and clearer. When it formed a head with a snarling face, a wooden shell emerged from its back and snapped on. The monster stood up straight and the wooden armor ached.

The Wise Old Crab and the villagers trembled at the sight of such a beast. Before the Elder could issue a command, it roared and its terror scattered the people. The Wise Old Crab stood amongst the panic and cast his gaze to the volcano. 

“This is your doing, isn’t it?” 

“You’re quick to lay blame, aren’t you?” the voice came from a tube shell filled with water, “But his birth is my credit. I wonder how your Chosen Ones will vanquish my warrior, or if you will sacrifice your people’s home.” 

The Wise Old Crab spilled the water out, “Bah! Begone, Mawgu!” he saw the monster was walking toward the sea wall, and quickly realized what the Mawgu meant. He ran toward it, staff raised. One of the children saw him running toward the monster and thought he should try to pull their elder away from danger. 

But he remembered the Chosen Ones were on their island. The Elder would tell stories about them, how they would defend their people from the Mawgu’s monsters. Weren’t they at their sacred pool? He remembered coming across it when he was younger by accident. While his parents would worry where he was, he knew he needed to find help before it was too late.

Squidward came out of his hut rubbing his temples. He squinted out at the pool before him and saw SpongeBob, Patrick, and the pink hat wearing kid hammering nails, “What is that racket going on?!” 

SpongeBob waved to him, “Good morning, Squidward!”

“It’s not a good morning after you interrupted it!” 

Timmy giggled, “Hey, it wasn’t a good morning when I saw you.” 

SpongeBob wanted to admonish Timmy, but he and Patrick couldn’t help themselves to laugh. Steam rose from Squidward’s scalp and he seethed. As he was about to stomp over to them, he ran into Sam, “Get out of my way! I’m teaching them a lesson!” he stomped five paces forward, “What are you doing behind my house, if you would be so kind?”

She gestured to the marsh plants, “Rice farming. We’re gonna be eating good with this stuff.”

“Hmph. Now what you’re doing is sensible. What they’re doing isn’t,” 

Sam raised her eyebrow, “Uh, take a closer look. They’re building a bridge by the waterfall.”

Squidward squinted, “Oh. Well, why do they have to do it so early?” 

Sam pointed to the rising sun, “We’re well into the morning, dude.”

He couldn’t deny that it was around the time he did get up to attend to his duties, but he was very tired from the days before and wanted to relax. While he would have liked to complain more, Sam returned to harvesting rice. So he went to the beach and lay on the sand, hoping he could ignore the pounding nails. 

Danny emerged from his hut and yawned. Coming from an inventor’s home where industrial tool usage was commonplace, the nail pounding didn’t bother him. Tucker wasn’t accustomed to it and tried going back to sleep, but the efforts to sleep pulled him away from slumber, and begrudgingly, he accepted his awakening.

He watched Sam tending to plants and the construction of the bridge and shook his head, “It hasn’t been a week and we’ve already regressed to the Amish people,” he pulled out his PDA, “I’ll never abandon you. I’ll cherish you with my heart and soul!” 

Danny watched him from across the pool and shook his head. He pulled his jeans up and came down his hill to greet Sam, “You hear anything from the Wise Old Crab?” 

“Nah, he hasn’t shown up yet. Figured we could use some projects to keep our minds occupied,” she said. She noted Danny’s jeans and tshirt. As far as she knew, this was the fifth day in a row he wore the same outfit. She gave him a sniff, “Strange.”

“Says the sniffer,”

“No, your clothes don’t reek. And I know you don’t know how to do laundry by hand. So what gives?”

“Oh that would be me,” they looked over at Wanda floating over the pool, “I thought I’d get ahead of a future problem and do everyone’s laundry before the smell got bad. Just your clothes, you all have to take care of cleaning yourselves.”

“That is some forward thinking,” Sam complimented. 

“I live with two boys. If we left them to their own devices, this place would be a dump,”

“Hey,” Danny protested.

“Danny, don’t even try to deny it,” 

His pride slightly wounded, he helped Sam with storing the rice away. He listened to her rattle off the meals they could make with rice, promising they would taste great after personally sampling some of the crop. Eventually, she noticed his mind was somewhere else.

“Alright, dude. What’s up? I know cooking recipes aren’t the most exciting topic, but you’ve got something on your mind,” 

He shielded his eyes from the sun, “The Wise Old Crab should’ve at least wished us good morning. Something doesn’t feel right,” he transformed into his ghost form, “I’m gonna fly around. Maybe he’s in trouble.” 

But that wasn’t necessary. From around the marshes, a young crab dashed across the sand, “Chosen Ones! I need your help!” 

The new visitor attracted everyone’s attention. SpongeBob, Timmy, and Patrick came down the hill, dragging Tucker away from his hut to the campfire. When Squidward wouldn’t come even after calling his name, Cosmo and Wanda poofed him to a seat next to SpongeBob. 

“Chosen Ones, our village needs your help!” he cried, “A giant monster is attacking our village!” 

“A giant monster?” SpongeBob quivered.

“Uh huh. Bigger than all the monsters we’ve seen around the island,” he claimed, “The Wise Old Crab was running towards it to try and fight it, but I don’t think he’ll stand a chance against it! So I thought I should ask the Chosen Ones for help.”

A giant monster was nothing new to everyone present, but there was a degree of hesitation when confronted with the prospects of fighting one. Especially when the details were vague. But, that didn’t matter. 

“We’ll help,” said Danny, “Show us the way, and we’ll do what we can.”

The youngster hugged his legs, “Oh thank you! I knew you would help!”

Danny waited for the kid to let go of his leg, but when it was apparent that wouldn’t happen anytime soon, he addressed the group, “Guys, I don’t know what we’re walking into, except that it’s a tough battle. I won’t ask you anything you’re-”

Tucker interrupted, “Dude. We’re going. Don’t try to play hero on your own.”

“I’m a little scared about this monster, but I won’t let that stop me from saving those hermit crabs!” SpongeBob declared.

Sam nodded, “What Tuck said. We’re all playing hero this time.”

Timmy grinned, “Ever since I got here, I haven’t gotten into a good fight. Let’s go all out and fight some monsters!” 

Patrick raised his arms, “Yeah! Let’s be heroes!” 

Squidward sighed, “I guess I’ll help these crabs.”

Danny smiled and looked down at the crab still hugging his legs, “Lead the way.”

The young crab named Markus guided them from their camp to the Hermit Crab Village. They traveled at great pace, and due to the urgency of the situation, complaining was kept to a minimum. Even if Squidward really wanted to. 

“Chosen Ones, the village is just beyond this way,” Markus urged them toward a narrow path up a hilltop overlooking the village, “There it is.”

A giant sand monster was attacking the village. Bigger than every sand monster they’ve seen at that point was an understatement. It was a colossus adorned in armor. 

“Please!” Markus begged, “You have to save our village!”

His words fell on deaf ears for how taken aback they were by his titanic girth, “Anyone coming up with a gameplan?” Timmy asked nervously. 

Squidward stood in front of the group and held up his tentacles, “Let’s face facts, people. That monster will tear us to pieces, we can’t beat it!” 

He and Danny locked eyes for a moment, and his arms fell to his side. Danny addressed the others, “Just take a breather and think it out calmly,” he rested on his knee, “Tuck, what’re you seeing?”

He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, “Well, obvious stuff first. It’s a giant sand monster crushing seashell houses with its bare hands, and oh yeah! It makes us look like ants.”

This just made SpongeBob, Patrick, and Cosmo more nervous, until Danny said, “Keep talking, there’s more to this.”

Tucker sighed and studied the monster, “Well, there’s its shell on its shoulders. He’s got armor around his wrists and hands, and he’s moving slow,” he said it casually, but everyone realized that the giant monster was moving slowly. Ever since they arrived, he hadn’t moved that much.

“Good work, Tuck. Anyone notice anything else?” Danny asked.

Patrick raised his arm and jumped up and down, “Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!”

“Yes, Patrick?” 

“Uh, well. Me and SpongeBob, we like to make sandcastles! Remember in Goo Lagoon there was that big sand castle with all the robots? Well, you gotta make sand really wet to make it hard. Ok? And once you form sand into something, if it gets wet again, then it’ll fall apart!”

“And don’t forget to pour a coat of soy sauce on top! It’ll taste goooooood!” Cosmo promised.

“Oh wow, I’ll have to try that,” Patrick laughed.

Wanda squeezed the bridge of her nose, “Great, more idiots.”

Danny smiled, “Patrick, you’re a genius!” 

“I am?” 

“He is?” everyone asked, including Cosmo.

Danny pointed to the waterfalls surrounding the village, “There, we’ll lure the monster over to the waterfalls and douse him in water, and then he’ll fall apart.”

“But Chosen One, the monster wears armor on his back to protect from water,” Markus protested.

SpongeBob chuckled and popped his knuckles, “Don’t worry, kid. We’re professionals. Why, with some bubbles, I’ll have that armor off.”

The Peeler Suit surrounded Sam, “Count me in, dude!” 

“Alright, you two will be focused on blowing his armor off,” Danny said. He turned towards Timmy, “You still got your jetpack?”

“Well, I wish I had a jetpack,” Timmy said slyly, and a jetpack appeared on his back, “I do now!” 

“While SpongeBob and Sam blow up the monster’s armor, it’ll be up to you and me to keep it distracted. Once the armor’s off, that’s then we focus on driving him to the waterfall,” he turned to Patrick, “Pat. You’re in charge of keeping Tuck and Squidward safe. Tuck, I’m relying on you for ground support.”

“And by that you mean you have no idea what you want me to do,” he pointed out.

Sam laughed, “You wanna pick up a stick and help fight?”

Tucker sweated at the first mention of physically fighting, “I’m fine just playing support.”

“I just wanna stay out of the fighting,” Squidward admitted.

Nine of them gathered on that hilltop that stood before the village. With a plan of action, the monster lost its power of intimidation, if for a moment. With a plan, victory seemed possible.

“Then let’s get down there and start kicking sand butt!” SpongeBob screeched. He dabbed his wand and blew a hang glider into existence and mounted it and glided toward the village, “Chosen Ones! Attack!” 

Danny and Timmy took to the skies while Sam and the others forged a path along the ground to the village. Markus stayed behind with Tucker and the others, and watched them in awe. 

SpongeBob was the first to reach the village. His glider popped just above a wooden hut and he stood behind the sand monster. It hadn’t noticed him just yet and was attempting to navigate through the village. SpongeBob dabbed his wand a blew a bomb-shaped bubble and sent it floating toward the monster’s wooden shell. 

The fuse went out and exploded an inch from the armor. The monster recoiled and roared as wood splinters flew in all directions. He rotated his body and glowered down at SpongeBob.

Unfettered, he dabbed his wand and blew a flail and chain-shaped bubble, “There’s more where that came from, buster!” he twirled the fail around and blew more air into the chain. The spiked sphere grew in size until it was half the size of the monster. The others saw the swirling bubble from a distance and were impressed. 

“SpongeBob’s taking this seriously, isn’t he?” Wanda asked. 

Danny laughed, “Of course he is. He’s the Chosen One after all.” 

The monster grew bored with watching SpongeBob twirl the mace and attempted to catch it. This was a mistake, and it smacked the monster backwards, at the cost of the flail popping. 

SpongeBob was quite happy with himself. He wasn’t normally this brave, but he was the first to fight the threat of the day and it looked like he would take care of it himself.

“Ahh, so this is the Absorbent Yellow One’s strength,” 

“Who said that?” SpongeBob looked around for the source.

“The Great Carapace is magnificent, is he not?” SpongeBob looked down at a puddle of soap at his feet, where the Mawgu’s face grinned up at him.

“The M-M-M-M-Mawgu!?” 

“So easily frightened, are you? Quite unbecoming of this island’s champion,” the Mawgu laughed. 

SpongeBob plugged the drain on his fearlessness, and hiked his pants up, “Listen here, I’m not scared of your or your Great Crepe. I’m a Chosen One, and I’m gonna stop you!” 

The Mawgu chuckled, “Is that so? Tell me, do you think you have bested my loyal soldier?”

The Mawgu’s loyal soldier roared and stood up, “Oh d-d-dear,” SpongeBob stammered. 

“Indeed. Tell me, do you wish to know of the Great Carapace’s mission?”

The more the Mawgu spoke, the more frightful SpongeBob became, “S-s-s-sure! W-w-why not?”

The Great Carapace lifted one of its mighty fingers and pointed to the seawall, “He will demolish the village’s only fortification against the ocean. He will flood the village in water and make it uninhabitable. With nowhere to go, the crabs will brave the dangers of the jungle that they didn’t have to fear before. Where they will face my minions, and become one with the ooze.”

SpongeBob narrowed his eyebrows, “That’s. That’s terrible. These people haven’t done a thing to you. Why would you want to do that to anyone?”

The Great Carapace kneeled in front of SpongeBob and curled its wicked mouth. The Mawgu said, “If you feel so opposed to his mission, Absorbent Yellow One, what will you do to stop it?”

“Why do you flee, Chosen One? Are you scared you will not survive our encounter? Aren’t you aware the prophecy guarantees your safety?” the Mawgu’s voice echoed off the walls.

This caused SpongeBob to pause for a moment. Was that true? Could he really leave this battle without a scratch just because of the prophecy. He believed in it, yes. But he didn’t want to put that to the test. 

He dabbed his wand and blew a bubble bomb before climbing up the nearest roof and shaking his arms, “Listen here, foul Mawgu! I’m one of the Chosen Ones, and that means you’re going down! But you’re only going down when we throw it down! And I don’t plan on not throwing it down just because of you’re dumb ol’ minions!” 

“We shall see. I look forward to what comes of this battle,” and the Mawgu’s voice vanished from the village. 

SpongeBob, at an unnatural speed, blew dozens of bubble bombs, and they floated up into the air. The Carapace waved his hand at them. Just what SpongeBob wanted. They weren’t bombs at all. They were air mines and they exploded all around the monster. SpongeBob leaped down an alleyway and took off. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, but unless he got behind the monster, his bubbles had no affect on it. 

He heard foostseps and readied himself. He came out of cover and stood before Sam, “SpongeBob, you’re alright!” 

“Thanks! Now listen. That monster is called the Great Carapace, it was made by the Mawgu to destroy the seawall and flood the village!” 

Sam squeezed her fist, “Is destroying the environment all he knows?!” she pounded the wall, “You were trying to break its armor?”

“Sure was. I gave it a good crack too,” 

“Then let’s finish it off!” 

“I’m right behind you!” they ran through the village’s alleyways to flank the Great Carapace. 

It stood back up as its hand regenerated. He flexed his fingers before scanning for its foes. To him, the village was abandoned and his enemies weren’t making themselves known. He decided to carry on with his goal.

Sam stood behind the Great Carapace and aimed her blaster at its back. The Peeler Suit charged its energy and fired a blast at the Carapace’s wooden shell. The blast tore a hole through the armor and the monster’s body. The Carapace roared and turned around and glared at Sam. He slowly waved his arm toward her, pushing houses aside like they were nothing. She tried blasting at the incoming hand, but it did nothing to stop its wake. With the Peeler Suit giving her a boost, she leaped in the air and dodged the great attack. The Great Carapace drew his arm back and snarled. It was just thinking up a new attack when it felt something hit his head. 

It was an ecto blast from Danny, and he fired another beam at its face, “How do you like that, you big palooka?” he aimed the palms of his hands and fired two large beams of energy at the Carapace’s body, piercing the sand and the armor. The Carapace roared and shielded its head, “Timmy! He’s all yours!” 

The monster didn’t notice timmy flying in at top speed, holding a familiar, green hammer in his hands. He swung Cosmo at the Carapace’s jaw and sent its head back. It stumbled backwards and fell on its armor. 

“Wooh! That’s score two for the Chosen Ones!” Timmy jetted up to Danny and high-fived the ghost boy.

“Don’t celebrate just yet. Not until we’re shoveling him into a kid’s sandbox,” Danny said. 

The Great Carapace pulled himself up whilst crushing a seashell home with his arms. He roared up at them and belched streams of sand. They flew out of the way, but the monster’s attention was fixed on them. 

Timmy glanced at SpongeBob and Sam running between homes and he smiled big, “Yo! I’m going on the offensive!” without waiting for confirmation, he dove toward the monster and wished Cosmo would turn into a bowling ball cannon. The wish was vague, perhaps on purpose to exploit Cosmo’s imagination, but he transformed himself into a cartoonish green cannon. Timmy, using Wanda as a lighter, lit the fuse, and  fired a bowling ball at the Great Carapace. It knocked a good chunk of sand off the monster’s head, and it growled at Timmy as it regenerated its wound. Danny, after noticing where SpongeBob and Sam were running from, blasted several ecto beams at the Great Carapace. It blocked the blasts at first, and slowly turned its back toward Sam and SpongeBob.

“This is our chance,” Sam noted, “SpongeBob, blow as many bubbles as you can. I’m gonna put all the power of this suit into a single blast.” 

“But, Sam. You’ll be out of the fight,” he protested.

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, I have a pretty good feeling this will finish him off,” 

SpongeBob relented and started blowing bubbles. He blew a dozen bubble bombs and set them beside the monster’s armor before going back to blowing. Sam warmed up the Peeler Suit’s blaster. The last blast drained the suit a quarter of its power. If she put the last seventy-five into an attack, it would drain the suit of its power for the whole day, but she imagined it wouldn’t matter once it evaporated the Great Carapace.

The Great Carapace attempted a retreat, but Timmy would fire more bowling balls to keep him in place. Danny fired a blast at its stomach; it penetrated the sand but didn’t blast through its body. Something stirred inside the sand, and a claw burst out of the monster’s stomach. 

“Let me out, you vile fiend!” 

“It’s the old hermit!” Danny shouted. 

“That’s the Wise Old Crab?” Timmy asked.

The Wise Old Crab spotted Danny and waved to him, “Ghost Boy! Please, save our village!” the Great Carapace pushed him back inside, “And if possible, save me!” 

Timmy cringed, “Ugh, this monster ate him!” 

Danny wasn’t pleased with it either. This added another complication. Before he could finish any thought, he heard an incredible explosion and a crack on the wood. He and Timmy saw SpongeBob hiding behind cover and the residue of bubble explosions. The Great Carapace’s armor was badly cracked, only another attack away from breaking apart. 

But Danny saw Sam charging the Peeler’s blaster, and felt every molecule of his ghost half ordering him to flee. He realized she was charging an extraordinarily powerful blast at the Carapace’s back, and flew down to her. 

There was no time for an explanation. He grabbed her arm and aimed it upwards just as it fired and tore apart the Great Carapace’s shoulder and arm, just from one graze.

Without power, the Peeler Suit pulled itself off of Sam into its handheld shape, which she used to hit Danny on the head, “What’s wrong with you! I was about to vaporize that monster!”

Danny rubbed his head, “Sorry, but the old crab is in his stomach. If you blasted it, you would’ve gotten him too.” 

Her arm fell to her side, “Well, there goes my trump card. What now? We can’t beat it with its shell still on.” 

Tucker, Squidward, and Patrick had that under control. From atop the highest hill in the village, Tucker adjusted for aim while Squidward held his arms and legs like a tether between two trees. As with all positions he found himself in since he came to the island, he didn’t appreciate it one bit. Patrick sat like a ball just before Squidward. Though Tucker went over their plan several times, he couldn’t commit it to memory. Not that Tucker minded, since he didn’t think ammo needed to be informed of the plan. 

“Alright! Squidward, grab a hold of Patrick,” Tucker ordered. 

“Remind me why we’re doing this, and why we’re not hiding,” Squidward demanded.

“Ugh, both of you can’t keep up with a good plan. Alright, alright. It’s simple. I saw what Timmy was doing and thought that if Sam and SpongeBob couldn’t finish the shell off, it would be up to us to do it for them,”

“And why do you need me to be a slingshot?”

“What else are you gonna do if you don’t?” 

“Yeah, what else are you gonna do if you don't?” Patrick repeated.

Squidward wrapped a pair of his tentacles around him, “I changed my mind, I’m all for this.” 

“Heheh, it tickles,” Patrick laughed.

Tucker adjusted Squidward’s body. Without a reticle, aiming was difficult, but Tucker thought he had it as close as possible. He pulled Squidward back. He complained about the stress on his arms and Patrick’s weight. Then, Tucker let go.

Patrick went flying down a hill. He soared through the air and let his arms and legs go limp. Tucker and Squidward yelled at him to curl up like a ball, and he obliged, curling up a second before he hit the ground. Patrick rolled through the streets of the Hermit Crab Village, knocking down walls, and flying over roofs. All the momentum he gathered made him a pink, squishy cannonball. Just the ammunition they needed to crack the Great Carapace’s shell.

Patrick hit the monster’s armor, making a loud crack heard across the valley. Patrick bounced off and ladned behind the monster, alongside the broken pieces of the Carapace’s armor. From atop the hill, Tucker and Squidward high-fived each other in celebration.

Sam and Danny were in disbelief, “I didn’t think Tucker and Squidward would come in for us,” he admitted. 

Sam came out of her daze and ran to Patrick’s position. He was stunned and dizzy, so she helped him up and carried him away while the Great Carapace felt its bare back for the first time. Danny popped his knuckles and flew into the air. 

“Alright, bozo. The real fight starts here,” 

The monster glared. After Danny blinked, its fist was an inch from his face. It punched Danny across the village and he hit the cliffside before falling forward.

The Great Carapace roared and set its sights on Tucker and Squidward after noticing them. It lumbered forward, at a much greater pace. 

“Oh great! We knocked off its armor, but just made it faster!” Squidward yelled.

The Great Carapace leaped into the air, but overestimated its own weight and it flew over Squidward and Tucker and hit the cliffside. 

Tucker grabbed Squidward’s hand and fled the hill, “What are you doing?!” 

“This is our chance! Don’t stop! Don’t look back! And we might make out of this alive,” 

Running downhill was thrilling and terrifying for them. The speed they gained made them believe they could outrun the beast, but they couldn’t shake the fear of falling forward. Behind them, the Great Carapace pulled itself off the cliffside and resumed the chase. Even with their momentum, the monster was quickly closing the distance between them. As they entered the village proper, Tucker caught glimpses of the monster weaving through the innumerable and varied homes with little effort. He questioned if the monster’s armor was meant to be an inhibitor rather than a defense. 

The pair came upon the plunge pool where the waterfalls endlessly flowed through the village. It was like finding an oasis in the desert for them, and they almost leaped into the water to celebrate. 

That’s when the Great Carapace landed behind them with a great boom and swiftly caught them in the air. He squeezed its coarse hands around them and held them up to its twistedly wicked grin. 

“Tucker, since we’re gonna die together, I want you to know, I blame you for this,” Squidward said in an eerily calm manner.

“Wow, thanks,” Tucker replied back.

The Great Carapace opened its mouth and held Tucker and Squidward over the sandy abyss. They tried scratching away at its fingers, but the sand reformed what little they clawed away. Just as the monster’s fingers loosened, it recoiled from an explosion. The monster turn around and saw Sam standing closeby, bouncing a bubble bomb in her hand. She pointed up. The Great Carapace glanced up at Timmy flying toward the monster at top speed, carrying a swollen Spongeob. 

“What do these idiots think they’re doing?!” Squidward demanded.

“I’d hope you’red readyyyy, Gread Carapaid!” SpongeBob gurgled.

Tucker’s eyes widened, “Water. He’s engorged with water! Because he’s a sponge!” 

Timmy threw SpongeBob at the monster. He fell and smacked into the Carapace’s chest. The water seeped into the monster, turning its white sand dark and soft. The monster struggled holding its chest together, and chunks fell onto the ground. From his loosened grip, Squidward and Tucker fell onto soft sand. After depleting his water supply, SpongeBob also fell off the monster. 

The monster hissed at them, and squeezed his own body, desperate to hold himself together. Sam had been watching the whole time, full of confidence, but seeing the monster begin to resist their latest plan made her worry. If it dried out the water weakening him, they would be back at square one. 

“Everyone! Push him into the water!” she shouted.

SpongeBob, Tucker, Squidward, Sam, and Timmy pushed it toward the plunge pool. It couldn’t fight back without letting itself fall apart, nor could it think of anything else to do. It tripped into the pool and landed with a plop. It roared and screamed out in pain, but its face melted away and became a sunken pile of mud. 

From a pile of sand floating on the water’s surface, the Wise Old Crab emerged and shook the dust off, “As was foretold in legend! You, the Chosen Ones, have been victorious!” 

Seeing him come out of the sand freaked them out, and they ran off before realizing it was him. As the Wise Old Crab ran after them to properly thank them, the ooze from which the Great Carapace was formed floated down the stream and dissipated amongst the sand and flowed out to the ocean.

Around midday, the crabs who fled from the village returned to celebrate the Chosen Ones’ victory and rebuild their homes. Several crabs were without homes, and the elder encouraged everyone to help each other in their trying time. Before any crab went to work, they stopped to personally thank the Chosen Ones gathered at the Wise Old Crab’s home, whom were enjoying a great feast of the village’s cuisine. SpongeBob was more than happy accepting their thanks, as was Patrick when he wasn’t stuffing his face with fruit and mussels. Danny enjoyed being appreciated for his heoris for once, as did Sam and Tucker. Sam attempted making a seaweed salad with the local fruits, while Tucker fought with Patrick over the oysters. Timmy basked in the glory and fully admitted to Wanda he was letting it get to its head. Squidward tolerated their thanks and didn’t speak during the celebration, to Danny and Sam’s surprise. 

The Wise Old Crab inspected Timmy Turner and his godparents, “So you are the Three-Headed Boy?” he questioned, “I see. It is good to finally be in your presence, Chosen One.”

Timmy grinned, “Hey, I’m just happy to enjoy your food, dude,” he ate some of the delicacies prepared by the village with slurps and belches. 

“Quite. I will never be able to properly convey how thankful I am for saving our village, Chosen Ones. As thanks, you will be made honorary members of our clan, for all eternity! You will be welcome to our village whenever you like,” he observed them all and couldn’t help but beam, “Seven of you are gathered, and you have vanquished a powerful minion of the Mawgu. When all of you gather, it is doubtless you will defeat him.” 

“Tell us, Elder,” SpongeBob began, “Who are the remaining Chosen Ones, and where can we find them?” 

The Wise Old Crab closed his eyes, “Their names are Coconut Head and the Deep Sea Squirrel. I must look over the prophecies one more time to be certain of their whereabouts, but they are the last of the nine that must be found.” 

“Deep Sea Squirrel?” Tucker questioned. 

Danny grinned, “You’ll know it when you see her,” he stood up, “Elder, I was wondering. We have this communicator of ours that can talk to our friend. But we need a power source. Tuck, can you show it to him?” 

Tucker reached in his backpack and presented it to the elder, “You wouldn’t happen to have any batteries on you?”

The Wise Old Crab scratched his beard and reached for his shell, “While I was in the Great Carapace’s bowels, I found this,” he showed off a glowing-blue orb, “I’m not sure what it was, but I do sense power from it. Could this power your device, Tech Geek?”

Tucker studied it and attempted to insert the orb into the communicator. Miraculously, it worked. The device powered on and showed static. There was a great moment of excitement and tension amongst the seven present. They stared at the communicator’s screen with great anticipation. The screen turned black, save for a corner reading, ‘No Signal.’ 

Danny pounded the table, harder than he meant, “We shouldn’t have gotten our hopes up.” 

Squidward sighed, “It was too good to be true. So what’s the next idea for getting us off the island?”

No one spoke. Danny recognized the insult and didn’t want to give him another inch and stayed silent. SpongeBob wasn’t clever enough to think up ideas, and Patrick less so. Timmy considered wishing for the communicator to work, but he knew that it would be out of his fairies’ power. 

It would be the Wise Old Crab who came up with a solution, “Chosen Ones. The person you wish to speak with is beyond the stars, isn’t he? Then, would Summoner’s Rock help?”

“Summoner’s what?” Cosmo asked.

“It is a sacred monument at the furthest outskirts of the island, where I summoned you to our island. Perhaps your device could reach your friend if it had Summoner’s Rock power?”

Tucker tapped his elbow, “That could work.”

“It could?” Patrick asked.

“I know you’re only asking ‘cause you don’t know what’s going on, but I think so. Somehow these guys brought us from across the universe with a rock and some chanting. Now I don’t know if a spiritual ritual and a communicator will work together, but if it don’t, them I’m out of ideas,”

“I may not know what’s going on, but I’m also out of ideas,” Patrick said apropos of nothing.

Danny shook his head with a smile, “Tuck, I think you’re right. If this won’t work, nothing will.”

The feast and festivities lasted a few hours, and a couple more were spent lending a hand cleaning the worst of the wreckage. The Wise Old Crab insisted they attend to Summoner’s Rock before dusk, and led them out of the village. Danny worried about going through Shipwreck Cliffs again, but the Old Hermit promised they’d take a shortcut. After walking along a well-troaden road, they walked off to an easy-to-miss path that ended with a boulder resting against a rock wall. Danny and Patrick worked together to push the boulder away before they went through a short cave. Except for the Wise Old Crab, everyone crawled on their hands and knees. It was a grueling journey but they came out from under a bush to the beach where Plankton’s crab bot stood. 

“Whoa! What’s that doing here?!” Timmy asked. 

“Don’t know,” Danny replied, “It’s harmless, so don’t worry about it. But we don’t know how it ended up there.”

Squidward eyed the ocean and asked, “So are we swimming there or what?” 

“Oh no, Whiny Cephalopod. We’ll be using these,” the elder hermit wiped the sand away to reveal wooden rafts, “Help me get these to the water.”

“Hold the phone, you all had rafts the whole time? We could have avoided the shipwreck?!” Danny demanded.

“Oh of course, but then you wouldn’t grow used to the island,” the Wise Old Crab answered.

Danny squeezed his nose bridge as SpongeBob patted his lower back.

After getting across the waves and shoring the rafts at the path, they retread their steps. All that had changed was the markings in the sand, nothing else. SpongeBob pointed out the Strato XL to everyone, and Tucker noted they should try bringing it back to camp. The biggest change to the path, and to Danny’s utter shock, was the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle resting upright on a shoal next to an icecream truck. While Timmy and Patrick raided the truck for melted icecream, the others inspected the homebrew tank. It was in one piece, and seemed to be functional. 

“Are we gonna bring this back with us?” Squidward asked. He was nervous enough about hauling a rocket, he didn’t want to haul a tank.

Sam shook her head, “I don’t think we could. At least not with what we got. We’ll have to leave it for now.”

After another short walk, they reached Summoner’s Rock. Danny, just as when he first laid eyes on it, thought it resembled four fingers reaching out to the sky.

Sam was in awe, “How long has this been here?”

The Wise Old Crab rested a claw on the rocks and shut his eyes, “For as long as crabs walked on the beaches, bugs crawled through the jungle, and plants grew from the rubble, Summoner’s Rock has stood here. A beacon to our salvation, Chosen Ones. That is what my father taught me long ago,” he pulled his claw back, “I am afraid to admit this, but this is as far as I can help you. For your task, I possess nary an idea how it will be done.” 

Tucker approached the stone and felt it with his hand, “So, this rock was able to bring us across the universe to this island?” he rubbed his palm against the rocky exterior. He couldn’t sense any properties from his touch alone, so he turned to this PDA. Nothing out of the ordinary, “Well, how should we go about this?” 

SpongeBob rubbed his head, “There wouldn’t be a way to connect the communicator to the rocks, would there?” 

Tucker could only glare, as he was unsure how to explain how idiotic the question was, until his gears started turning, “Maybe! Maybe it could!”

He kneeled on the ground and searched his backpack. He produced a tangling swarm of wires from its deepest pockets and set to work. He tied a thin copper wire around the Neutron Communicator’s antenna and hooked the other end to an extension cable. He handed one end to Danny and told him to wrap it around the monument. 

“Am I to assume you have a plan?” Squidward asked, half incredulous and half hopeful. 

“The theory is, if we can harness this rock’s power to reach out into the universe, it could augment the communicator’s range!” Tucker explained. 

“I don’t speak Gaelic,” Patrick complained. 

Sam frowned, “Cùm do bheul dùinte, rionnag na mara.” 

“Heheh, you talk funny,” 

Danny wrapped up wrapping the cord around Summoner’s rock and brough the other end back to Tucker, “So what now, Tuck?” 

“We just need to activate the rock,” Tucker turned to the Wise Old Crab, “How do you turn this on?”

The Wise Old Crab frowned, “Tech Geek, this is a sacred relic to our people. You do not turn it on all willy nilly,” he raised his staff, “You conduct a ritual.” 

Tucker grumbled, “Alright fine. How do we do a ritual?” 

The Wise Old Crab brought them before the rock and told them to chant and raise their arms. After a brief lesson, with particular attention given to Patrick, they got the hang of it, “Tech Geek, mind your devices, I will conduct the ritual,” he bowed to the monument and prayed, “Oh great, Summoner’s Rock. I call upon your power. Shine a beacon out to the stars so our Chosen Ones you so graciously brought to us, may make audience with their friend. Please, hear my words. I am but a humble servant to the island, to the volcano, and to you. Allow my words to impress upon thee.” 

Tucker glanced at him praying while he watched the communicator. Its power still worked, but there was no signal. He worried that it wouldn’t work, and they had come all this way for nothing. He briefly considered the possibility of remaining on the island forever. Could he really do that? He was feeling withdrawal from a lack of technology, and he feared the day when his PDA wouldn’t be enough.

He hadn’t noticed the sky darkening around them, and the monument glowing with every chant his friends made. He refocused his attention on the communicator and waited for something to happen. Something to tell him that his plan was working.

Summoner’s Rock glowed; a shining beacon in the coming darkness. Every chant from the Chosen Ones made the rocks grow brighter and brighter. The wind picked up speed too. Most worrying of all, Tucker thought he heard lightning off in the distance. 

Something beeped. He looked down at the communicator. It was attempting to contact Vox, “Vox? Danny, SpongeBob, what’s Vox?!” 

“That’s Jimmy’s computer!” Danny shouted. 

“We did it!” SpongeBob exclaimed.

“C’mon, Jimmy! Pick up!” Tucker pleaded.

Jimmy stretched his arms and yawned. As far as he could tell, Cindy’s CD disappeared without a sign, along with his rocket. He scanned his lab for traces of foreign atmosphere, but came up with nothing. His prevailing theory was that if something plucked their stuff in a way that didn’t necessitate a portal. But without direct observation, any explanation would be purely theoretical. 

“And besides, I’m too tired to make theories. I’m turning in for the night, Goddard,” he pulled off his labcoat and hung it on a coat hook. Just as he and his robotic canine were about to leave, Vox reported an incoming call, “Wait, who on earth could be calling me on my computer?” 

He returned to his computer and answered the call. A moment passed and after static faded from his computer’s screen, he saw Tucker Foley’s face on his screen, “Guys! It’s Jimmy! We got Jimmy Neutron!” the visuals panned to a group cheering his name. It overloaded their microphones sensor, and all Jimmy could hear was white noise. 

After wincing, he realized SpongeBob SquarePants, Danny Fenton, Turner, Sam, Squidward, and Patrick were standing before the communicator, “Guys? Wow! It’s great to see you again, but it’s kinda late, isn’t it?” 

Squidward’s face appeared prominently on the screen, “You gotta get me out of here! There’s monsters everywhere, these people are insane, and I wanna go home!” 

“Squidward, let us talk to him!” Danny’s voice yelled. Jimmy watched Sam and Patrick pull Squidward away from view, leaving SpongeBob, Danny, and Timmy, “Hey there, pal. Long time no see.”

“Jimmy, you have no idea how happy I am to see you again!” SpongeBob exclaimed.

“And it’s nice to see you again, Turner,” Jimmy said, “Any problem with those hostile computer programs?” 

Timmy chuckled, “Nope, I ‘ve got it totally handled.” 

“Right, right. So what’s up? Why did you need to call me?” 

“Because we’ve been summoned to this island out in the middle of nowhere to defeat this monster that’s trying to take over,” Danny explained. 

Jimmy blinked, “You’re where?!”

Timmy scoffed, “On an island in another dimension trying to stop a monster! Duh!” 

Jimmy rested his head back, “Then could that explain the disappearances? Hey, what are you calling me with anyway? Is it Tucker’s PDA?” 

“Nah,” Tucker’s hand showed him the PDA, “We’re using one of your communicators.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened and he scanned his lab for his very own communicator, and he realized he couldn’t find it, “Even more stuff has gone missing than I realize. Guys, tell me. Have you seen anything else from my world on the island?” 

SpongeBob pointed somewhere off camera, “We passed by your rocket not too long ago. We were planning on dragging it back to camp to get it working.”

Patrick poked his head into view, “And I found this CD player!” he presented his find, and Jimmy realized it was Cindy’s very own CD player. 

Danny noticed something was up and asked the boy genius, “So were you already on the case for this? You look like things are starting to make sense.”

Jimmy laughed, “Well, yes and no. I was researching disappearances before you called, but apparently they’re ending up on this island of yours.” 

Squidward once again poked his head, “Who cares about your stupid stuff?! Get us out of here!!!!” 

After watching Sam pull Squidward back, he studied Danny and the others, “So, is something amiss?” 

Danny nodded his head, “It looks like we’re probably stuck on this island, and Squidward’s not taking it well. I mean, none of us are taking it perfectly, but we were hoping that you could help us get off the island after we defeated the Mawgu. The monster we’re fighting and why we were summoned here.” 

“Summoned?” Jimmy questioned.

“Yeah!” SpongeBob exclaimed, “We’re the Chosen Ones,” he pointed the camera at a giant, bearded hermit crab, “He says so. Go and give him a warm welcome, Elder.” 

The hermit crab bowed, “It is an honor to meet one of the Chosen Ones’ friends,” he scrutinized the screen, “My word. You’re one of the Chosen Ones!” 

Jimmy stared at the screen, “The what now?”

“He’s what now?” Danny, Sam, Tucker, Squidward, and Timmy asked simultaneously. 

“Yes. I see it clearly. You are the Coconut Head. As foretold by legend,”

Jimmy crossed his arms and tilted his head, “Right. Well, I don’t know anything about this prophecy, but it sounds like you guys are having problems with this monster and with getting home,” he began running diagnostics on their communication, “Allow me to make a diagnostic to pinpoint your location,” Jimmy rapidly tapped several keys in quick succession. Tracking down a world was normally a straightforward affair, but his computer struggled producing the coordinates. This puzzled him and worked on tracking the signal, and found a baffling answer. It came from him, “This is strange. I can’t track you guys down. And according to my computer, your signal is coming from me.” 

There was silence in his lab. None of his friends knew what to say, and they hoped the wave of disappointment would wash away.

“Pardon me,” the hermit crab said, “But Coconut Head? I might have an answer for this. You see, your friends are using one of my people’s sacred relics to communicate with you. If this signal is coming from you, then that is because you are serving as a bulwark for communication.”

That brought more questions than it did answers, but he could work with it, “VOX! Run an immediate scan on me. Any abnormality, report it to me.” 

His computer ran a diagnostic on his own body and found a lingering energy enveloping him. The energy couldn’t be identified, but it was how the signal was transferring from him to his computer, “This is fascinating. How on earth did your people achieve this, sir?” 

“This rock has been here for generations, my boy,” the Wise Old Crab answered, “It’s been a beacon that would bring about our salvation.” 

The image went to Danny, “You’re not gonna get any answers from that guy that’ll satisfy you, dude.”

The image went down to Turner, “Now, figure out where we are, already!”

SpongeBob popped into frame, “Because we need your help to defeat the Mawgu!” 

Sam pulled the image up to her, “The people of this island are in danger, and need our help.”

Squidward pulled the image to his face, “And I wanna go home!” 

Jimmy held up his hands, “Listen!” everyone got into frame, except for Tucker, “I can’t make a portal appear to you all just yet. Not without the coordinates. But, I would be more than happy to help you guys and the island. Now, I need time to study the energy inside me being used to foster a connection between us and hope I can use that as a way to study the island you’re on. But that will take time. In the meantime, if you guys happen to have a signal I can pinpoint to, that would make my job much easier.” 

Everyone’s eyes shifted from Jimmy to Tucker. He turned the camera around and beamed at Jimmy, “I have a radio tower at our camp, Jimmy!” 

“Excellent! That will make my job much easier,” 

“So, does that mean you’ll be able to talk to us, even without Summoner’s Rock?” SpongeBob asked.

“Indeed, SpongeBob,” 

“Thanks, Jimmy. With your help, the Mawgu won’t stand a chance,” Danny said.

“Much appreciated. Now I have work to do,” the image cut out. Jimmy stretched his arms, “Vox, brew me a cup of coffee. I know I promised I wouldn’t drink this stuff ‘till I was in college, but this is important. Goddard, activate the Jimmy Bot in my room.” 

His dog barked an affirmative and sent a signal from his satellite dish to his room where a robotic duplicate of Jimmy lay in his bed to fool his parents into thinking he was asleep. After receiving confirmation the Jimmy Bot was in position, he watched his master throw himself into his work. It worried Goddard, but all he could do was rest his head and watch.

The storm grew in strength with each passing day. Debris flew throughout the clouds and orbited the volcano’s peak. The volcano’s summit was obscured by the storm, but this mattered little to its prisoner. A buildup of ooze flooded the volcano’s caldera, smothering the Mawgu in it. The ooze was an extension of his own power, and he emerged from the substance reborn and rejuvenated with strength. 

“At last. The Chosen Ones have fulfilled their purpose,” he reached up to the storm hanging over his head, “I can reach you, Chosen One. I can reach your worlds as well,” he clenched his fist and bellowed at the sky, “Stars of the night sky, hear me! You know who I am, you must bend to my will! You have given only a pittance of your power, but now that you hear my voice, you will give me everything I demand!” 

Light shone above the volcano and beamed down into his pool of ooze. The ooze bubbled underneath him and the storm above his head grew stronger. 

The Mawgu’s face sported a wicked grin upon feeling the first drips of power he would wield, “How many aeons has it been? How many epochs have passed since I have felt this powerful?” he floated toward the volcano’s peak to reach out to the sky above, when a spark snapped at his fingers, “And yet this volcano is still my prison. Only for so long,” he rested on top of the ooze and let its power flow through him, “No matter. The stronger I become the more worlds I will reach out to. Sooner or later, I will become strong enough to escape this infernal prison. All I shall struggle with from now on, is how I will repay these islanders,” his chuckle echoed off the walls, “The last difficulty I’ll ever face.” 

Chapter Text

They gathered tightly around the communicator awaiting the next call with Jimmy Neutron with great anticipation. Tucker had attempted to make use of their radio tower by connecting the communicator to it, but Jimmy assured him that wasn’t necessary. Neutron Technology wouldn’t be hampered by obstacles like the gaps in the universe. While he lamented his lack of contribution, he observed his friends stepping over each other for a glimpse at the communicator. It was tied to the radio tower’s legs so they didn’t have to hover around someone. But all this changed was they crowded around an inanimate object.

“Guys, if one of you trips, you’ll all fall on top of the communicator,” Tucker said.

At first, they took this as a dumb warning from someone who hated fun. Until they heard a low-pitched laughter. Everyone stepped back and then locked eyes on Patrick, “What? Why’s everyone looking at me?” 

Squidward rolled his eyes, “Patrick, you tripped on your own feet a dozen times last night.”

“We’re just giving you some space, that’s all,” Sam said, but Patrick didn’t seem bothered, and he spaced out.

The communicator buzzed, “Jimmy’s calling!” Tucker announced, and everyone was back to leaning into the communicator. Tucker pushed himself some space and answered, “Jimmy! Welcome back!” 

The audio was crunchy and muffled by the soft drone of the waterfall, so they could barely hear, “Good to see you guys again.” 

Timmy could barely see Jimmy from his position, but even he could tell his friend was tired, “Dude, you look like a wreck. Did you get any sleep last night?”

Jimmy yawned, “Turner, you just don’t know what hard work is.”

“Enough,” Danny shot Timmy a look and looked back at the communicator, “So, what did you dig up?” 

“A lot. Probably too much. I thought you guys were in a world beyond the range of the portals, but that was only partially true. Wherever you guys are, it’s not in the known universe. In fact, it’s a dimension that exists between the worlds.”

They exchanged glances before SpongeBob spoke up, “Jimmy, could you make it sound simpler for us?”

“What’s so hard to understand, SpongeBob? We’re just in another dimension,” Patrick laughed.

Danny raised his eyebrow, “Do you even know what you’re saying?” 

Patrick scoffed, “No! But that don’t mean it’s hard to understand.”

They tried to hide their giggles, but Danny could still tell who they were laughing at, “Anyway. If we’re in another dimension, is it impossible for us to go home?”

“Not quite,” Jimmy said, “I believe the frequency that’s been used to bolster the connection between us can be used to force a portal to your location.”

Squidward dusted his collared shirt and smiled at the communicator, “So, how’s about you get to that, oh mister boy genius?”

“Oh brother,” Sam rolled her eyes.

“Afraid not at this time. Communication is manageable for the moment, but portals are still too complicated,” he dashed the cephalopod’s hopes, “But rest assured, Squidward. I’ll get you guys off the island. That’s a promise. However.”

“Uh oh, I don’t like hearing that,” Wanda murmured.

“There’s an anomaly draining energy from our worlds on your island,” 

Danny held up his hands, “Hold on. What are you talking about?” 

“Last night, I conducted tests on our homes, and the same thing is happening to Bikini Bottom, Dimmsdale, Amity Park, Retroville, and more worlds I’m certain. An anomaly is draining energy. It was faint for a while and was the cause for the salvage you all have come across on the island. But, the anomaly has been empowered and is draining the worlds at an astounding rate. If this goes on for much longer, all of our homes will be destroyed.”

They forgot to breathe. Sam collapsed to her knees, “This. You mean, we won’t have homes to go back to?” 

Jimmy nodded his head, “In a week’s time, our homes won’t exist.”

Squidward lost his balance and fell backwards, “It’s hopeless. I’m gonna be stuck on this island forever, aren’t I?”

“No,” everyone looked down in front at Timmy, who stood defiantly in front of the communicator, “Neutron, you’re telling me that some a-noma-whatever is draining the worlds,” he pointed at the volcano, “Well I’m guessing that it’s the Mawgu doing that. So if we kick the Mawgu’s butt, then that will fix the worlds?” 

Everyone’s attention was fixed on the communicator, waiting on Jimmy’s response, “Yes and no,” he said, “Forgive me for not being familiar with this Mawgu, but the energy the anomaly absorbed will stay in that dimension. Fortunately, I’m working on a solution.” 

SpongeBob crossed his arms and smiled, “That’s our boy genius! I knew you’d come up with a solution!” 

“Thanks, but don’t praise me too much, because I still need to finalize the designs. But I’ve begun developing the design for something yet to be named. However, I intend the invention to absorb the energy and send it back into our worlds and then seal the rift behind it,” 

Danny cast his eyes at the volcano, “Then what do you need us to do?” 

“Well, that’ll be bringing the components together and then assembling it,” 

“So the hard part?” Tucker asked.

“No, the hard part is coming up with a name,” 

Squidward glared at the communicator, but relented, “Well, he’s right about that.” 

“Now, I’ve managed to access Tucker’s PDA and have collected the map of the island,” 

“You better not have touched anything else!” Tucker yelled. 

“Now this map is useful, but I will need to make a proper scan of the island in order to better find the parts you need. If you could take this communicator to a high vantage point, something like up in the mountains, I could conduct that scan. Also, if you could find a satellite and connect the communicator to it, that could create a stronger channel, and increase the chances of opening a portal,” Jimmy explained.

Squidward peaked his eyes up at the communicator and glanced at the communicator with newfound hope, “You mean, salvation is within our reach?!” 

“Uh, sure,” Jimmy hesitated.

Squidward kissed the communicator’s screen and confronted Tucker, “Alright, geek boy! Where can we find a satellite?!”

“You’re making it sound easier than it is. Case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t picked up a satellite since we came here. We’re lucky we found the radio tower,” he leaned against its legs, “We could make something out of junk, but that could take time.”

“If it can send a signal, that’s all I care about,” Jimmy said.

“Then while we’re combing the island for Jimmy’s shopping list, we’ll look for a satellite,” Sam noted, “Hey, Brainiac. When you’re finished designing your invention, send it to us along with a shopping list.”

“Of course, nickname notwithstanding,” he said, irritated. 

SpongeBob hugged the communicator, “Oh, Jimmy! With you on that communicator, it’ll be like having you along for our adventure!”

Watching SpongeBob hug the leg of the radio tower and the Neutron communicator made Danny smile. Though he had grown used to Jimmy’s absence, he couldn’t lie he didn’t share SpongeBob’s enthusiasm for having him along. Jimmy had been a key part of their last adventure together, and he knew without him, the Syndicate would have won. He didn’t know if Timmy felt the same way or not, but he and Jimmy always had a complex relationship compared to the rest of them. 

Jimmy cleared his throat, “Ok. That’s all I have to report for now. I’ll keep you folks updated. Don’t break my rocket.”

The communicator powered down. With a goal in mind, they set to work, but Squidward lingered around rubbing his tentacles together, “Oooh, Squiddy! This is just what you’ve been waiting for! All I gotta do is find a satellite, and I’ll be off this stupid island.”

Tucker didn’t know if Squidward was trying to be secretive, but he and the others clearly heard him, “Dude. Your world’s getting drained of its energy. If anything, you’re safer here than you are in Bikini Bottom.

“Yeah, and besides! You have us to hang out with!” Patrick exclaimed.

Squidward pointed at the sea star, “This is one of two counter-arguments I have. Now if anyone needs me, I’ll be dipping my feet in the waves.”

He left the group as it attended to their duties. But Danny kept an eye on him. That talk he wanted to have with him lingered in his mind.

Heavy footsteps filled the forest grounds. She looked around and couldn’t find a vantage point until deciding to make one. She leaped in the air and landed on a tree branch near the forest roof. She chopped the arms away and forced her way to the top. There she looked out at the world before her. Beyond the forest she found herself in, were the ruins she caught a glimpse of before. Many temples rested against each other, and she wondered if they were abandoned or simply left alone. But they were not her target. Her mind was on the volcano before her. 

“Something’s goin’ on in that caldera, and I bet my behind that whatever it is, it’s my ticket off this rock,” she dropped off the branch and landed on the forest floor gracefully. She continued on her merry way, “If only SpongeBob were here, he would love this.”

The Wise Old Crab came around the bend and to his delight, he saw the majority of the Chosen Ones at work. The Absorbent Yellow One and the Night Girl were cooking around the campfire, the Ghost Boy, the Pink Star, and the Three-Headed Boy were finishing the bridge by the waterfall, and the Tech Geek was fiddling with the device they attached to Summoner’s Rock. He initially wanted to approach them to express his admiration, but he caught sight of the Whiny Cephalopod, sitting alone at the sea. He approached, “Good morning, Chosen One!” 

Squidward slowly turned his head and grimaced, “Yeah, whatever.”

“Goodness, I did not offend you, did I?”

His face softened and he shook his head, “No, you didn’t. I’m just not in the mood for cryptic horoscopes. I gave that up in high school.” 

“Chosen One, I am no fortune teller, I am a shaman. My goal is to make the foretold future a reality, not tell you if your day will be sunny or rainy,” 

“Yeah, yeah. What do you want, old timer, I’m trying to relax,” 

“Then, may I rest with you?” 

Squidward didn’t object and returned his attention to the waves before him and allowed his mind to wander. The elder plunged his staff into the sand and sat beside him and shut his eyes. Squidward imagined himself out on the waves navigating a yacht. A yacht much fancier and in better taste than Squilliam’s of course. He imagined sailing out into the horizon and never turning back, except for one instance. He wanted to watch the volcano vanish beneath the horizon. Then, he would never turn back and press on. 

It occurred to him that lying beside him, was an expert on the island and the world around him, “Old timer?”

“Huh? Sorry, I must have dozed off. What is it, Chosen One?” 

“I was wondering. Have you and your people ever wanted to, I don’t know. Sail out to the seas?”

The Wise Old Crab got very close to Squidward’s face. So much so that Squidward could count the wrinkles on his eyestalks, “Listen closely, Chosen One. Never. And I do mean never, sail out to sea. It is forbidden.” 

Squidward pushed himself away from the elder, “Is it some prophecy nonsense or something, what’s the deal?” 

He turned his back and pulled his staff from the ground, “Legends say that our ancestors came to this island and thought of it as their salvation. Other legends say we have always lived on this island. But the legends warn us, that if we return to the seas, to find new land. We will be lost, for all eternity. Never to return,” he walked away from the beach, “Whatever you do, don’t go out to sea. Or you will never find home again.” 

Squidward watched the elder round the corner and slowly fixed his gaze back on the horizon. With that warning fresh in his mind, the ocean did not seem so appealing anymore, and he pulled his legs back from the receding tide. 

“Hey,”

“AAAAAAAH!” Squidward screamed. He gasped for air and looked back, “Sam?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” 

She clutched her chest, “Yeah, I would say the same thing,” she complained, “Anyway, the elder wants to talk to us, so you better listen in.” 

“I just got done listening to him, do I really need to take part in this?”

“If you wanna get off the island, your best bet is to help us out,” 

Squidward rolled his eyes and followed her to the campfire where he sat beside her and Timmy. The Wise Old Crab stood before them and bowed. 

“Chosen Ones. I cannot thank you enough for saving our village,” he began, “But the Mawgu has shown he is willing to attack our homes. It is imperative that the last of the Chosen be found.”

Tucker raised his hand, “You said something about a Deep Sea Squirrel? Have you got info on where to find this squirrel?” 

“Indeed I do. I have heard word that a strange creature was spotted wandering the jeweled trees towards our old temples. That is a dangerous place to be, for they were built to surround the volcano,”

“Oh no. If they’re right next to the volcano, then the Mawgu will have first dibs on the Deep Sea Squirrel!” SpongeBob worried.

“Indeed. I implore you. Find the Deep Sea Squirrel before the Mawgu does, and return home,” 

Danny knew, if his hunch wasn’t wrong, that the Deep Sea Squirrel could handle herself, but he agreed that they needed to find her, and asked the Elder, “So tell us, how do we find these jeweled trees?”

The Wise Old Crab gestured to to the river feeding their waterfall, ““Follow the river and walk until you find a path, the jungle will soon be replaced with a forest. And then, the forest will turn beautiful with ancient stones. But, as close as this is to the Mawgu, there will be a surplus of ooze. And I am certain that powerful monsters will lurk about too,” the Wise Old Crab looked down at the ground, “I do not mean to worry you, but please be careful.”

Patrick came over and hugged him, “Aw, it’s alright, buddy. We’re not gonna do anything you wouldn’t do. Except, run. Jump. Fight. Uh, not look old.”

“You made your point, Pink Star,” and he pulled himself away from him.

Timmy leaped in the air and raised his fist, “Alright! It’s my first time going on a mission on this island! Let’s go find this squirrel!” he shouted to the sky, only to a moment later glance around at his friends, “Wow, that sounded cooler in my head.”

Danny smiled and shook his head, “To think I missed having you around.”

“Hey! You know you couldn’t survive without me,” 

Danny stood up and called for everyone’s attention, “Today we’re looking for the last castaway on this island. We’re going deep into enemy territory, so I think it’s best if we go with a small group. Four people. Who wants to come along?”

Sam, SpongeBob, and Timmy raised their hands, “I didn’t just embarrass myself so I could pass this up!”

“Then that’s our team,” Danny surmised. 

SpongeBob noticed Patrick looked upset, ‘Oh, Pat. It won’t be so bad. You’ll have Squidward and Tucker to keep you company.

Patrick nodded, “I know. Hey, maybe I can catch up on sleep?” 

“That’s the spirit! Besides, we’ll be home before you know it!” and the best friends gave each other a farewell hug.

Sam came up to Tucker, “While you’re here, you think you could cook us up some walkie talkies so we can keep in touch? Forgot to bring the Fenton Phones when I got summoned,” she shrugged, “And we could use something to keep in touch.”

Tucker went through a brief inventory check in his head and confirmed, “I think I can whip something up for us. Y’all keep the communicator safe.”

Tucker returned to his hut to get to work. Sam went to assist SpongeBob in packing for their venture, when she spotted Danny and Squidward, standing by the gorilla statue. She lingered nearby and listened.

“So, this is that talk you wanted to have with me, is it? Well, what do you wanna talk about?” Squidward asked.

“There’s a reason I’m splitting us up. I don’t want you coming along with us again,” 

He furrowed his face, “As if I needed encouragement.” 

“No, I want you to understand something. The stunt you pulled at the fort almost cost us our lives. I don’t want you coming along and putting everyone at risk. If you wanna risk your life, fine. Mine? Sure. But everyone else’s? My friends, your friends? I won’t stand for it,” he declared, “Now, I appreciate the help you put in taking out the Carapace, don’t misunderstand me. But when we’re risking our lives in the wilderness, I can’t let you burden us anymore. You’re either here, or you’re going out there alone. You got it?”

Squidward was silent for several moments, locking eyes with Danny, before they shifted and he said, “Yeah. I get it.”

No more words passed between the two.

Not long afterwards, the group searching for the Deep Sea Squirrel were walking along the river toward the fabled jeweled trees. Cosmo and Wanda floated around their godchild’s head; the pink-haired taking in the jungle and enjoying it. 

“Oh it’s lovely to be out and about, wouldn’t you agree, Cosmo?” 

Cosmo swatted miniscule insects buzzing around his ears, “Heck no! We left the pool for a hike!” 

“Deyeyeye! I forgot how funny your little, flying friends were, Timmy!” SpongeBob laughed.

Danny turned around and walked backwards and watched them, “Aren’t you worried about your rules? Shouldn’t they be hidden?” 

Timmy looked to his godparents and shrugged, “As long as I don’t say what I should never say, should be alright.” 

Sam didn’t know what to make of Timmy’s fairies. Last night before bed, she asked Danny what was special about them. Even after learning they were wish-giving creatures, she could hardly believe such things could exist. Then again, she once said the same about ghosts. 

“So,” she addressed the fairies, “You two grant whatever wish this kid tells you?” 

Cosmo nodded his head rapidly, “Anything Timmy’s heart desires!” 

“Well, as long as they’re within the boundaries of the rules. Timmy can’t wish for people to fall in love, win competitions, for people to stop living, breakfast after Ten AM, etcetera,” Wanda explained. 

“Wait, why’s that a thing?” Sam asked. 

“Don’t ask me,” Timmy said bitterly, “It still doesn’t make sense.”

“I once asked Mr. Krabs, and it was something about making more money in the morning,” SpongeBob recounted.

Danny suddenly stopped in his tracks, bringing their hike to a pause, “Hold on. Can’t you wish us to the jeweled trees?”

Wanda shook her head, “First of all, our magic is in limited supply, and poofing you all would drain us. Secondly, we don’t know where that is. We can’t make a wish happen if our knowledge is limited.”

Timmy sighed, “Listen, guys. I’ve accepted we’re gonna have to do this the hard way. And if I’ve accepted it, then you should’ve accepted way before I did,” and he walked ahead of them. 

The three were left behind and didn’t follow him until SpongeBob remarked, “He’s not just right, but he’s self-aware too.”

The jungle surrounding them was a humid wasteland, but gradually, the further they walked along the river, the air became less heavy. Perhaps it was due to the river dispelling the humidity, but Sam took this as a sign they were progressing away from the jungle into a much cooler forest. 

The image of jeweled trees lingered in her mind, and she couldn’t decide if the Wise Old Crab meant what he said literally or figuratively. After everything they went through, it could go either way. But jeweled trees just weren’t likely. Unless a civilization specifically carved their precious stones into the shape of trees, jeweled trees weren’t a natural part of the environment. The closest she could think of were the petrified forest in New Mexico, and that was only because the trees were so ancient.

The path took them away from the river and through a less dense patch of the jungle where bamboo grew. At first it was sparse, but then they came to an entire bamboo forest. Cosmo plucked one bamboo off the ground and munched on it while taking the appearance of a panda. It made Timmy and the others laugh, save for Wanda. But she relented and giggled. 

“Timmy, do you wanna be a tiny panda? You can sneeze in front of me and we’ll get millions of views on the internet!” 

“Cosmo, that’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. There’s no way anyone would watch that,” Timmy said. 

“Guys, I think we’re finally out of this jungle. Why don’t we keep going?” SpongeBob suggested.

“Alright. No more panda time,” Cosmo waved his wand and returned to his normal form. He floated over the bamboo to join his wife and godson, when something struck him. 

“Awww! Get off me!” he flew off the ground and wiped gunk and leafs off his hair. 

They turned their gaze to a short monster growling at them. It was shaped just like the sand monsters from before, but its body was composed of shrubbery, vines, and leaves. Its face filled with hatred and a need to kill. 

“Wanda!” Timmy shouted. She transformed herself into a pink mallet, “Alright, creep! You just messed with the wrong godkid! Take this!” he swung the mallet down and squashed the shrub monster. When he pulled the hammer back up, the ooze holding the monster together evaporated, “Huh, that was easier than I thought.” 

Danny approached the remains and examined it, “Here I thought we were only fighting sand monsters.”

Sam frowned, “By the looks of it, the Mawgu sends out ooze into the environment, and then the ooze forms a monster based on its surroundings. We’ve been near the outskirts of the island, so it makes sense we were mostly fighting sand monsters.” 

SpongeBob hid behind Sam, “So, that means the Mawgu’s power reaches this forest as well?”

Danny stood up straight, “Keep a cool head, SpongeBob. It’s only one monster. Doesn’t mean the Mawgu’s aware of us yet. Let’s just keep moving forward, and find the Deep Sea Squirrel.” 

They left the monster’s remains behind. The wind picked up and blew the shrubbery away, as the last of the ooze disappeared.

She pulled her arm out of her sleeve and touched the rocky walls of the ruins. She studied archaeology, anthropology, and architecture and from these fields of science she gleaned three things from her surroundings. From the rough surface against her paws, the ruins were very ancient and hadn’t been lived in for a very long time. They were built by a masterful society, that even untold generations later, these remnants still stood tall and strong. And that this was built for religious purposes, alerting her that whoever this society was, they had reverence for their gods and built this temple in that deity’s honor. 

“Well, I shouldn’t assume it’s some idol,” she noted to herself. Above her were the etchings of a volcano, “Whoever these people were, they worshipped the land. Could be that’s who they’re revering,” she pulled her arm back into her suit and slid it into its sleeve, “I don’t know why I’m wearing this suit still, I don’t need it with all this fresh air.” 

She stepped away from the pictogram onto a loose brick. She fell through the floor and closed her eyes in preparation for the shattering glass. Her landing was softer than expected, and she felt herself sinking. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and saw bright pink around her. With a steady mind, she pulled herself upwards. It was like swimming through a pool of pudding and she gave up the grace of swimming after a few olympic strokes. She looked across this pink abyss, and while she doubted that life could live there, she felt something was watching her. 

She burst out of the ooze and instinctively gasped for fresh air, forgetting about the dome around her head. She looked around for steady ground and found a ledge nearby. After swimming through the ooze for another minute, she pulled herself onto dry land. The ooze hanging onto her fell off with a good swipe of her hands. 

“Ugh, that’s real nasty stuff. It reminds me of Patrick’s belly button gunk collection, only a lot worse. Somehow,” she shuddered. 

A staircase leading upwards was her only way out of this chamber of pink goo. As she climbed the stairs, she resolved to be more careful exploring the ruins. Next fall could be fatal. She offered the chamber a last look and wondered what it was doing down there. She couldn’t decide if it once served a purpose to the people of old, or to someone more recent.

Jimmy stirred and opened his eyes. He winced at the afternoon sunlight, before realizing this would’ve been the time school would let him out. No point in going now, he thought. He stretched his arms and returned to his lab. It normally wasn’t good practice to immediately return to work after waking up, but these were pressing times with pressing matters. Chief among them, was finding a way to stop the Mawgu. 

“Vox, make a report on the energy levels being drained across this world,” he requested.

To his displeasure, there were dozens of examples of ongoing energy draining. But to Jimmy, it was random from where the energy was drained. No evidence of probing for pockets of energy or weak spots in the planet. No, it seemed that each spot was offering the same levels of energy. 

Not comforting in the slightest for the boy genius, and he threw himself to his work. 

When Jimmy was especially serious about his work, the passage of time meant nothing to him. This was a common occurrence for many of his ilk, but it could be detrimental to a young boy expected to adhere to a rigid schedule. An hour passing by could feel like ten minutes, and make the appearance of Carl and Sheen more surprising than it should be. 

He spoke into the intercom, “Sorry, guys. In the middle of something big.”

Sheen’s grating voice answered back, “You’re giving us the silent treatment!? You were here all day doing something super cool, and I want a part of it.”

“It’s research, Sheen. Nothing you would find particularly interesting,”

Sheen sobbed into his hands, “Carl? Do you know what’s wrong with our best friend?”

“Ugh, he’s busy with his life and would like for us to support him by leaving him alone?”

“No, that’s a terrible idea! I was more thinking that we barge in and bug him!” 

Sheen attempted to pry the doors open when Jimmy’s voice came on again, “Sheen, if you try to bug me, I swear I will send you to the moon to babysit Brobot.”

Sheen’s pupils dilated in fear, “No! Anything but that!” 

The doors opened, “You guys can come in, but I’m busy working right now, so I can’t entertain you all.”

Carl approached him and looked up at the screen, “So, what’s going on, Jim?”

Jimmy clicked and tapped his keyboard, “There’s an interdimensional being that’s draining our world of energy, which will eventually destroy our home and everyone we hold dear.”

Sheen’s mouth hung open for a beat, “That’s.... Bad right?”

Jimmy stared at him, “Yes. You won’t be a happy camper without a planet,” 

he turned back to the screen, “To be accurate, our homes won’t be destroyed in their entirety. If this is allowed to continue, then our world will be turned into a husk. We won’t be destroyed, but we’ll wish we were.”

Carl trembled, “Oh, Jimmy. What’re we gonna do?” 

Sheen’s eyes darted around the lab, “What vile villain is responsible for this? And where do we kick their butts?”

Jimmy rubbed one of his eyes, “The Mawgu.”

“The Maw-what?” 

“Mawgu. I don’t know much about it to be honest. Turner and our friends are fighting him directly,”

“Well, why aren’t you there with ‘em?” Carl asked innocently.

“I don’t know. By all intents and purposes, I should have been with them, but for some reason, I stayed here,” he felt his chest, “But I have a connection to their world. It’s the only reason I’ve been able to make contact with them. I’d like to open a portal to where they are, but that’s proved challenging,” 

“I see. So, what are you doing in the meantime?” Sheen asked.

Jimmy showed the early designs of a new invention. It was crudely designed in a free paint program, but everything else about it was professionally presented, “This is something I’m still working on. I just need a few more pieces of information before I can finalize the design,” he drummed his fingers on his pants, “Wait, I can just call them.”

Travelling through a wet desert was arduous to those who were accustomed or even liked traveling through it, so when the jungle air turned cool and its humid trees were swapped for breezy oaks, the group was especially thankful. Danny stood on a tree branch and allowed the wind to blow all around him, like it were a bath washing away the humidity. He allowed the wind to blow him backwards, and he floated gently down. Timmy took notice of Sam’s lingering gaze, but he made no comment. 

SpongeBob enjoyed the coolness, but the wind blew a tune through his pores and he didn’t appreciate it, citing memories of old, “I just hope we can find some cover soon.” 

“Think again, SpongeBob,” Wanda called from a dozen yards away, “We’re at a cliff, and I don’t see cover for a while.” 

They caught up to Wanda and looked down at the depths below. They couldn’t see the bottom because of thick fog, but they were certain a river was at the bottom. Not that they wanted to test that theory.

“Hey, let’s knock down that pillar! We can use it as a bridge to get across!” Timmy suggested.

Sam looked over at a stunningly tall, stone pillar and shook her head, “We are not destroying an archaeological masterpiece!” 

Timmy scoffed, “Jeez, you sound like Neutron.” 

“I heard that,” Sam reached for the communicator and saw Jimmy on the screen, “And you and Danny can fly, Turner. You don’t need to destroy priceless relics.”

SpongeBob appeared before the communicator, smile as wide as ever, “Hello, Jimmy! Great to see you again!” 

The rest of the group gathered around Sam and the communicator, “What’s up, dude? You needed to talk to us?” Danny asked.

“Yes, I don’t suppose you could describe the point where the universe’s energy is drawn from and if you could generalize that point’s coordinates?” 

Most of what Jimmy said flew over SpongeBob and Timmy’s heads, and even Danny struggled keeping up with his jargon. But SpongeBob felt he had a decent grasp on the question, “The Mawgu is absorbing all the energy. So, he’s probably doing that from the volcano.”

Sam nudged him, “Good work, man.”

Rapid keyboard strokes came out of the communicator’s speakers, “Alright. And is the rip in the world visible?” 

“The what?” Danny asked.

“Guess you guys are in the dark. Never mind, this was helpful. Thanks,” 

“No problem. Let us know if you need help with a math problem,” Timmy snarked. 

Before Jimmy could respond with a zinger of his own, Carl and Sheen waved, “Small-Headed Timmy!” 

“Dude, we’re bored, why don’t you take us along?!” Sheen demanded.

Carl took notice of Sam and blushed, “And, why didn’t you tell me you had someone so ravishing with you.”

Sam cringed and turned the communicator off, “Note to self, never go to Retroville.” 

Danny stared at the communicator, closed his eyes, shook his head, and let out a long stream of air, “I don’t even know what to say.” 

“How about we cross the ravine and forget what we just heard?” SpongeBob suggested, and they took it at an instant. 

They forgot what they just heard so well, they forgot to wonder why Jimmy called them in the first place.

Knowing they couldn’t destroy the precious piece of archaeology, they thought of an alternative to crossing the bridge. They were a second away from suggesting flight when SpongeBob wrapped himself around the pillar like a rope and waved to Danny. He pulled him over the ravine, and his body stretched like taffy until it reached the other side. Sam judged SpongeBob’s steadiness and decided to shimmy along his underside, although this tickled him. Timmy, ever the bold one, walked along SpongeBob like a tightrope while his godparents merely flew across. Once everyone was across, SpongeBob unwrapped his body and snapped back to normal and led them forward.The ground was covered in leaves and short grass, but the terrain was rougher. It became clear they were walking towards the badlands. 

“What’s so bad about this place?” Cosmo asked aloud.

“Huh? Oh, badlands is just what they’re called. Back in the day, people called them bad to travel on when all they had were their own feet and horses, but now we have hiking so the name doesn’t fit but it stuck,” Sam explained. 

“I didn’t peg you as book smart,” Timmy admitted.

“Believe me, if my grades were as bad as his, my folks wouldn’t let me dress how I wanted,” 

Danny raised his eyebrow, “I’ll have you know I was a perfectly average student before I got these powers.”

SpongeBob wanted to take part in the conversation, “I’ve failed my boating exams more than anyone else in Bikini Bottom.”

Sam shrugged, “I wouldn’t worry about it. Navigating any ship on the water takes a lot of skill, and not everyone’s meant to do it.”

Danny shook his head, “Sam, in Bikini Bottom, boats are cars.” 

Sam’s mouth open in disbelief, much to SpongeBob’s discomfort.

A rockwall blocked their path, and normally this would be concerning, but there seemed to be a path leading upwards. Problem was, they couldn’t identify what kind of path it was, and how to cross it. 

Floating in the air were what appeared to be turrets constructed from carved rock with vines sewn closely together on its top, and crystals brimming with light hanging from the bottom. The turrets floated in place and didn’t move with the wind. Danny flew up and lightly touched one of them. A light touch moved it out of place, but like it were a plucked guitar string, it came back into place. 

“Every time I think this island has shown all its tricks, it hits us with something even crazier,” said Sam. 

Timmy could only smile, “That’s what’s so great about this! I bet everywhere we go we’ll find something even crazier!” 

“Still, how are these things floating in the air?” Danny asked as he came down.

“Could it be those crystals?” SpongeBob pointed to one, “The Wise Old Crab did mention jewel trees, so could these be what he’s referring to?”

“Well, we’re not getting anywhere. Timmy, can you ask Cosmo and Wanda for some rope?” Danny asked.

Timmy wasn’t interested in answering requests. He stood on the turret hovering closest to the ground. He hopped up and down and then bounced up in the air, “Whoa! Guys, check this out!”

SpongeBob joined first and bounced in the air with Timmy. It was like a trampoline suspended in the air. But while vines were quite strong, when they’re alive, they can’t handle the continuous stress of a being’s weight. The crystal glowed every time they bounced off the turret, so Danny thought the jewels had something to do with it. 

Timmy gained height and leaped to the turret hanging over them. After landing on the ledge, he bounced on that turret, “I think this is the way up! Follow me!”

“I’m right behind you!” SpongeBob attempted the same leap, but he didn’t gain enough height and splatted on the ground, “Ok, I’m not behind him.”

Danny shook his head, “I’m gonna give him a lift. You want one?”

Sam snorted and jumped on the turret’s vines, and in a single bound, she joined Timmy on the second turret and leaped to the next in another bound. Timmy tried to catch up, while Danny slowly lifted SpongeBob up to the top. Sam was the first to reach the top and she surveyed the way ahead. More of those suspended turrets were ahead, especially after a crystal arch. Timmy bounced to her side and caught his breath.

“No fair, I didn’t know it was a race!” he complained.

Sam smirked, “Sorry, I didn’t know either.”

Danny came up with SpongeBob, and they progressed further. The turrets hovered around the path’s edge, and they wondered if the turrets marked the road, or if the road was a tether for them. After passing under an arch of crystals and stones, Timmy spotted a short pillar at the end of a path of turrets. Seeking to outdo Sam, he climbed onto the nearest turret and kept up with the group by bouncing. 

“Are you trying to show off, dude?” Sam asked.

“You jealous?” he winked.

Danny rested on his side while suspended in the air and flying forward, “Did you forget she’s been to the Ghost Zone? She doesn’t impress easy.”

Timmy ignored him. He was just about to give up, but something caught his attention. There was a frame on the top of a pillar, and he wanted to check it out. He landed on top with a thud, and found a framed photo resting on its face. He picked it up and almost fell over. 

“Timmy! Are you ok?!” SpongeBob called.

“Why is my photo of Trixie here?!” 

He tilted his head, “You have a framed picture of Trixie?”

Sam glared daggers at Danny, “What? Why are you getting mad at me?”

“Because he’s exactly like you!”

He scoffed, “Please, I never framed a picture of Paulina.”

“The frame’s not the problem. You still kept a picture of her,” 

He rolled his eyes and changed the subject, “Timmy? You coming down? We need to to keep moving, dude.”

There wasn’t a response, “Do you need some help?” SpongeBob asked.

Timmy noticed something was amiss with his photograph of Trixie and pulled the photo out to check for damages. That’s when he felt wet ink on his hands. He turned the photo over and saw a written message. He first thought that Vicky wanted to pull a cruel prank and write a message to him, but her evil would have been too obvious. As he read the message, did he realize that it was from Trixie herself. 

“Timmy. Never in my life would I imagine that someone has the gall to stand me up. You cannot perceive the embarrassment I felt when I waited for you to leave school when you never came. And I should use all my resources to hunt you down and bring unholy torment upon you. But then again, that’s what’s expected of me, isn’t it? After calming down after burning through daddy’s fifteenth credit card, I thought of taking pity on you. I accepted the possibility you were so nervous you couldn’t show your face to me. At least, that’s what I thought for the first couple days. But four days pass, and it seems you disappeared off the face of this earth. Which, impressive to say the least. I thought after giving you a chance and getting scorned, I would forget you. But even I surprise myself. I went to see your home, and a little bit creeped out you had this picture of me in your closet. Where did you even get this? Whatever. Look, this is probably the most insane way of sending someone a message, and I had to write with a magnifying glass to fit what I wanted to say, but I figured that someone like you would notice something off about this picture. Here’s the deal. Believe it or not, I’m not angry. Shocking, even for me. To be honest, I don’t know what I am. There’s a mix of emotions I’m feeling when I think of you, but I can’t say for certain if it’s positive or negative. So here’s what I’m offering you. I’ll wait for you a little while longer. But if my patience wears out. Then forget everything,” she didn’t bother to sign her own name.

His godparents checked on their godkid, and then Wanda rolled her eyes, “He’s just looking at Trixie’s picture.”

He stored the photo in his pocket, “I wasn’t just staring! She left a message for me. She, still wants to see me.”

SpongeBob smiled and offered a thumbs up, “That’s great, Timmy! I bet you’ll have a wonderful time after we beat the Mawgu!” 

Sam walked ahead, “Well, that won’t happen while we’re standing here. “Let’s keep moving,” she led the group ahead, but she walked alongside Timmy and kept an eye on him. She was certain that Danny still had a spare picture of Paulina somewhere, but Danny outgrew his crush on her. She didn’t believe he hated her, but he started to see her for how shallow she was, and he didn’t express an attraction for her anymore. But after years of listening to him yearn for her, she was familiar with the patterns of skin-deep infatuation, and Timmy exhibited all the symptoms. She nudged his shoulder, “So, you have a picture of your crush? Do I dare ask where you got it from?” 

Timmy blushed, “You’re asking about Trixie again,” he pointed out, thinking it revealed something self-evident, but Sam had no reaction, “Look, I didn’t do anything creepy. I just snapped a picture of her while she was in the cafeteria line.”

Sam shook her head, “Oh, I believe you, dude. No doubt about that.”

Timmy shut his eyes and sighed deeply, “Alright, it’s a little weird, ok. But, Trixie is nice when you get to know her.”

“Timmy,” Wanda chimed in, “Trixie was nice when you were a girl, remember?”

Cosmo raised his wand, “And I’m ready to make it happen a second time!” 

Timmy shook his head and hands, “No. Just no, Cosmo. Anyway, haven’t we been over this? Trixie’s just a girl I like, that’s all.”

“And I’m a girl too, you know. I can give you some inside information,” 

“Oh, I know what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna try and convince me that I’m not actually into her,” 

“Are you?” 

“Of course I am!” 

Danny and SpongeBob were further ahead and overheard their conversation. The half-ghost sighed, “Last time we were the glue keeping the group together, and it looks like we’re doing that again, aren’t we?”

SpongeBob laughed, “Forgive me if I’m not helping you as much as last time. With Patrick and Squidward along for the ride, I feel I’m goofing off more than I ought to,” he poked his fingers together, “Listen, I know you and Squidward have had some difficulties getting along.”

Danny nodded. He thought it was generous calling it not getting along, but he allowed SpongeBob to describe it as such, “Some of it is me losing my temper, I won’t lie.”

“Well, I know Squidward has pushed your buttons, but he can mean well. You’d be surprised when he comes through for us,” 

“Yeah, I just-

“Just give him a chance to surprise you, and I promise you two will get along much better!” 

Danny looked down at his yellow friend and relented, “I’ll wait for it. That’s what I’ll promise.”

Tucker sat on a rocky perch, a pile of technology at his side and tools across his lap. He was attempting to get a series of walkie talkies in working order. He found them during one of their outings but hadn’t had the time to work on them until now. He was glad to have the time to himself after several days of nonstop action. And it seemed Patrick shared that sentiment. The tech geek listened to his snoring as he worked. He still wasn’t sure what to make of Patrick yet. Sometimes he was going against him, and other times he took his side, and Tucker couldn’t decide what motivated him. Still, Patrick came through in a bind on more than one occasion, so his thoughts on the pink star weren’t all negative. 

Fresh static frightened him, and the walkie-talkies almost fell out of his lap. He screwed it together and pressed the talk button, and it worked like a charm. After finishing its twin, he knew they needed a test. A thought crept to his mind and he smiled in Patrick’s direction. 

He rested one of the walkie-talkies beside Patrick, and he put as much distance between them as possible. Then he clicked the receiver and spoke in a quasi-spooky tone, “Patrick!” he wailed, “It’s me! Your grandmother!”

Patrick awakened, “Huh? Wha? Who’s there?”

Tucker stifled his own giggles before he could continue his ghostly act, “Why Patrick? Why did you do it to me?”

The starfish panicked, “I’m sorry, Grandma! I didn’t mean to eat all your cookies! But they were just too good!” 

Patrick screaming his lungs out was just too funny for Tucker to maintain character, and he burst out laughing and pounded the ground. When he recovered, he waved over to Patrick, “Pat! It’s only me!”

He saw Tucker and ran down to him, “Tucker! My Grandma’s ghost has come to haunt me! I think she knows I ate all her snickerdoodles!” 

“Relax, man. It’s only me using this to-”

Patrick grabbed the device, “Grandma?! Are you in there?! And do you have any more cookies?!” 

Across the pool, Squidward burst out of his house, “Patrick! Would you stop screaming?! And besides, your grandmother is still alive.”

It took a moment for the truth to sink in, but when it did, all the panic on Patrick’s washed away in place of a serene smile, “Oh yeah! She is! Thanks, Squidward.” 

Tucker took his walkie-talkie back, “Glad we could clear that up. Hey, Squid, wanna lend a hand?”

“Please, I’m trying to get in touch with my muse,”

Tucker blinked, “Is he being serious?”

“We never know what Squidward’s talking about. Me and SpongeBob just let him stay in his little world,”

Squidward overheard and fumed, “Little?! Patrick, my world is far from little! I’ll have you know that my world is unfathomably larger than anything you can think of!” 

Patrick laughed, “Oh, Squiddie. If only you could witness what is in my mind. If you had the barest amount of comprehension, it would blow you away,” Patrick stood still and imagined a box of cereal pouring bowls onto a giant kelp flake. 

Squidward frowned, “Yeah, whatever.”

“So do you wanna lend me a hand or what?” Tucker asked.

He was too annoyed to find his muse again, and he realized that Patrick would inevitably attempt to get his attention if he tried relaxing, so he relented and joined Tucker, “What’re we working on, Four-Eyes?”

“Squidward, you and I both know that we don’t know anyone with more than two eyes,” Patrick said a non-sequitur again. 

Tucker ignored him, “We’re gonna connect these to a transceiver so even when they’re out of range, we can still talk with each other.” 

“So it’ll be like a phone,”

“Well, yeah. This transceiver’s going on the radio tower, so it’s kinda like how phone calls are made,”

Squidward didn’t care either way and followed him to the radio tower to help him connect the transceiver. Most of what he did was hand tools to Tucker, and each time he needed a detailed description before he could reach for it. Squidward usually considered himself handy with fixing things around the house, but fixing tech was something he called a mechanic for. Still, they installed the receiver after not too long. 

“With a few more of these walkie-talkies, we can all stay connected no matter where are are on the island.”

“Is that all then?” 

“I don’t know, is there something you need to get to?” 

“Not really need to, but I’d like to be left alone,”

“You mean holed up in your hut all day, right?”

Squidward scoffed, “Do you and that ghost boy have it in for me? Why is it so hard to just leave me alone?” 

“Hey, man. I’m all for live and let live, but you’ve been doing some button-pushing of your own,” Tucker pointed out, “Now I get it. I don’t wanna be here either. But, I’m trying to make the best of  a bad situation, alright? All you’ve done is wallow in it.”

Squidward looked back, his face softened, “Alright, if you put it like that.”

Patrick stumbled upwards toward them, “C’mon, Squidward. We’ve got each other and a big pool. I say, let’s make the most out of it!”

Squidward, for what seemed to be the first time, appreciated the natural beauty of their pool and felt the coolness of the air. Patrick took notice and he invited him and Tucker for a swim, before jumping into the pool for a cannonball. The splash rose high and doused their legs. 

Tucker emptied his pockets, rolled up his pant legs, and pulled off his shirt, “The star’s got a point!” he followed Patrick’s lead and made a cannonball of his own. 

Squidward watched them swim around the pool before pushing his sleeves back and shutting his eyes, placing his palms together. Then he ran off the cliff and dove into the water. He hardly made a splash and sank over a dozen feet deep into the pool. The light shone only so far before giving way to the murky abyss. 

He burst through the surface, “Incredible! The water feels great!”

“I knew you’d love it!” Patrick exclaimed.

Tucker swam over and floated next to Squidward, “Hey, I’m betting that whatever the others are doing, we’re having a lot more fun.” 

Squidward laughed, “You know what, you’re right. I’m glad we stayed behind.”

Patrick stood on a rock and put his hand to his chin, “I wonder what SpongeBob and ‘em are doing right now?”

They weren’t having fun, that was for sure, “RUN! KEEP RUNNING!” SpongeBob screamed.

A walking biohazard crawling underneath the ruins of a stone bridge was chasing them. It sent tendrils through the gaps in the bricks. Just touching the ancient stone made sizzling noises.

Danny zapped  it with his ecto beam, and the tendrils recoiled backwards. They ran to the end of the bridge, built over a river of bubbling ooze, and despaired at the gap between them and the other end of the bridge ruins.

“Gah! We’re trapped!” Timmy panicked. The stones behind them shuddered, “And that thing is coming after us!” 

Sam scanned the treetops and noticed the arms hanging over them, “Sorry, dude!” she grabbed SpongeBob by his legs and spun him around like a lasso and launched him over the tree branches where he spun around it tight. Sam put Timmy underneath her arm and they swung over the river of ooze and landed on the other bridge safely after a stumble or too. She tugged on SpongeBob and he zipped back to normal.

“Can we do that again?” Timmy asked excitedly. 

When he saw they were safe, Danny took off after them, when a tendril flew out and wrapped around his ankles. The creature's venom seeped into his skin and he let out an agonizing scream. He fought back, but the monster was too strong and he only slowed his descent. The biohazard emerged from under the bridge, ancient dust falling off its side. Danny finally got a good look through his struggling, and he still couldn’t make out what he was looking at. It was a block of stone wearing grass and leaves on its head, but growing out from underneath was a mass of pink, gooey tentacles and tendrils. He didn’t know if the shoggoth was spawned from the rocks, or if it wore the rocks like an otherworldly snail. What he did know, is if it didn’t pull him down into the ooze, it would be thanks to his ankle burning off. 

The Peeler Suit surrounded Sam, and she fired a blast at its tendril. It sliced through and freed Danny. He pulled off the flailing appendage and tossed it at the ooze, where it melted into the river. He joined his friends and they ran down the bridge, when the shoggoth seemingly moaned and chased after them. 

“What is this thing’s problem?!” Timmy demanded.

“I don’t know! We were just walking and then we stepped on its top,” SpongeBob recounted. 

Sam was silent. Her mind was on the river of ooze below them. She wanted to be angry that a beautiful forest was corrupted by the ooze seeping into the soil and taking the place of a river. It was sickening. Was that monster a byproduct of the ooze, or was it something the Mawgu sent to harass them? Or maybe, it was responsible for the forest’s state.

A tentacle burst through the bricks, “Look out!” Danny screamed.

Sam reached out and grabbed the tentacle. The Peeler systems warned her of corrosive damage but she ignored it and blasted a hole through the tentacle. The monster roared and retreated. Sam wiped ooze off her armor, “I bought us some time. Let’s go.”

They ran down the bridge, keeping an open ear the entire time. Beyond the bridge ruins were arches formed from trees growing over the river of ooze. They jumped along these arches, wondering how they might have looked hanging over a bridge. 

The river of ooze flowed underneath a mass of land, but like before there were those floating turrets hanging over the ooze. But not so fortunate was the presence of the pink shoggoth. Its tentacles flailing about, it slithered towards them at top speed. 

“I wish I had a snow machine!” Timmy called to his fairies. They were hiding in his watch, but they waved their wands and a snow machine and hose appeared next to him. The others weren’t sure what he intended to do, but he aimed the hose at the shoggoth, “Cool off, creep!” he sprayed the monster with sheets of snow. It clung harmlessly to its stones, but it had an allergic reaction to the snow touching its gooey form. It tried to shield itself, but the snow covered its body, until it froze like glass, “It’s a snow day for you, Howie!” 

Danny blasted a huge beam of energy at the shoggoth, and it shattered into pieces that melted into the ooze, “That was a close one. You guys alright?”

“Are we alright? Danny, you nearly got pulled under!” SpongeBob kneeled and examined his foot, “Goodness, can you even stand after it got its tentacle on you?”

It hurt. A lot. But he wouldn’t let it show, “I’m fine. C’mon, we gotta make it up to that cliff. Who wants to fly up first?”

Timmy shook his head, “Dude, you’re gonna pass out. Cosmo, Wanda. I wish we were up on that cliff.” 

In an instant, they appeared on the top overlooking the river of ooze below them. They were just about to keep moving.

“Ugh!” Danny fell forward, and he transformed back into his human form, “C’mon. Not now.”

“Danny!” they shouted and checked on him.

“Danny, you’re hurt real bad. You need medical attention,” SpongeBob said.

Timmy stared at the burn scar coiled around his leg and winced, “Cosmo, Wanda. I wish Danny was better!” 

They waved their wands, but all accomplished from that was a pair of farts, “Oh dear! Our magic isn’t working on Danny!” 

“What? Why not?” 

“Maybe it’s because Danny’s half ghost and our magic can’t heal the undead,” Wanda speculated.

“Well that’s great,” he pressed his wound, “I can’t go ghost with this.” 

Sam offered her hand, “Can you walk then?”

They pulled him up and he tried putting weight on his leg. He winced, but seemingly grew used to it, until he took a step and nearly fell over again, “No. I can’t like this.”

SpongeBob covered his mouth, “What’re we gonna do?” 

Sam felt the eyes falling upon her, and she realized the role of leadership fell on her. She pointed at Timmy, “Hand over your shirt.”

He pulled it off and handed it to her, “What good is that gonna do for him?”

Sam wrung the sweat out of the shirt before wrapping it around Danny’s leg, “I’m dressing his wound. If your fairies can’t heal him, then we have to keep him healthy. ‘Cause if he gets actually sick, then we’ll have a big problem on our hands,” she tied the shirt around his leg in a tight knot and pulled his pant legs over it, “Can you walk with that?” 

Danny tried and walked forward slowly, “Yeah, but I’m not gonna be any help.”

Timmy felt the sweat welling on his back, “Hey, Wanda. Can you poof him up a wheelchair?”

“You sure? That wish will cost half a percent of our magic,” 

“Just do it,” a wheelchair poofed before them, “Think you can keep up with us in this?” 

Danny pulled himself up in the chair and rested his legs on the footrest. It wasn’t the most comfortable chair, but he found it adequate, “I can manage.” 

Sam and Spongebob released a sigh of relief they had been holding in for several minutes, “Ok, then let’s keep moving.” 

SpongeBob walked along beside Danny to make sure he kept up with them, while Sam and Timmy forged ahead. They crossed a bridge over a ravine where ooze was dripping down from the river. All traces of the forest disappeared; their surroundings had turned arid. They stood over a canyon leading all the way to the volcano, which they now had the clearest view of since they arrived. Crystals kept the bridge afloat suspended in the air. And for that, it would never disappear. The edge of the storm reached over their heads, and they could spot the rubble flying through the clouds. Built into the cliffs below them were remnants of a civilization. Pillars carved from the rock stood next to ruins of cave homes, and this was seen all around the canyon. The bridge led to a temple that seemed small from their position, but Sam was certain it was much bigger up close.

“Let’s get to cover. Being out in the open isn’t good for us,” Danny mentioned, half-glancing the volcano’s peak. 

The end of the bridge led to a massive structure behind a wall of crystal glass that Sam shattered with her blaster. They spent a moment collecting their bearings before venturing further into the temple. Sam rested on a ledge, one leg hanging off and the other rested against her chest. She heard her friend rolling up to her. 

“Thanks for patching me up,” 

“No problem. You holding up alright?”

Danny stretched his arms over the backrest, “Leg’s still raw, but about as well as I can hope for,” he peered out at the forest in the distance, “Feels like the first time I’ve catched my breath in a while.”

“No kidding. Normally when you’ve been going at it hard, you have school to sleep through. But now? You’ve been working nonstop, fighting bad guys and keeping us together,” 

Danny smiled but he shook his head, “I’ve been keeping everyone focused on a goal, but keeping them together? I can’t take the credit for that. That’s thanks to our yellow friend back there.”

Sam looked behind at SpongeBob encouraging Timmy to climb a crystal pedestal and panicking when the boy fell off, “Him? You think he’s been holding us together?”

“I do. Even when it was only four of us, SpongeBob was the glue holding us together. Me and him were talking about it earlier, and he said both of us were the glue, but I promise you, if it weren’t for him, the Syndicate would’ve won,” Danny smiled, thinking about the times they had together, “We like to remember the good times, but. Timmy, Jim, and me. We didn’t get along that well, especially in the beginning.”

“I remember you telling me about it, but I guess I couldn’t imagine it with how well you guys worked together fighting Vlad,” 

“It was partly my fault, I wasn’t thinking right, but take my word for it, Tim and Jim could get vicious with each other. Even without Cindy,” he laughed just thinking about it, “But no matter how bad things got, SpongeBob always tried keeping us together. It’s like,” he paused and contemplated his own words, “He sees the better in us, and won’t allow us to wallow in it. He brings us up.”

Sam checked to see if SpongeBob was close enough to hear them, and when he wasn’t, she said, “I’ve been wondering why he always sticks up for that squid back at camp. Like, he’s rude to us, but he seems to hate the sponge dude and Patrick. But no matter what, he always sticks up for him. And I’ve never known why until you suggested that.”

Danny’s face hardened and he rubbed his face, “I said all that without putting two and two together,” he groaned, “Do you think I’ve been unfair to Squidward?”

She shook her head, “I don’t know, maybe. Don’t forget, he’s done some scummy stuff to us, but-”

“No but’s,” Danny interrupted and he turned his wheelchair toward the temple, “He accused me of being a leader, and he was right. And that means I shouldn’t be taking out my anger out on him or blaming him when I haven’t been a good leader for him,” Danny looked over at SpongeBob and called for him.

“Yes, Danny?” 

“When we get back to camp, can you and me talk to Squidward?” 

He worried for a moment that SpongeBob would take it the wrong way, but those disappeared when his face lit up, “Oh I would love to! I just know he’ll love the company!” 

Timmy joined the others, confused about the going ons, “I hate being the responsible one, but shouldn’t we be looking for the Deep Sea Squirrel?”

They walked along a path at the bottom of the temple that floated a few yards over a lake of ooze. Danny made sure he rolled the furthest away from the edge. Along the way, they heard the grinding of crystals. 

“What is that?” Timmy asked.

Up ahead were a number of crystals molded into the shape of a man-sized scorpion. And, it moved just as a normal scorpion would. It took notice of the group and flared its claws and stinger. Its stinger pulled back and lunged forward at the air, firing a glob of ooze from its tip. Sam and Timmy dodged the glob, and it hissed upon hitting the rock. 

“That’s how you want it, that’s how you’re gonna get it!” Timmy held his hand out, and Cosmo poofed into the form of a mallet. He charged at the crystal scorpion and pounded it into the stone floor with his mallet. The scorpion convulsed and went limp, and its crystals broke apart, “Hah, that wasn’t so bad.”

Cosmo poofed back to normal, “Oof, I forgot what it was like being a hammer.” 

SpongeBob knelt down and examined the crystals, “Was it the Mawgu’s ooze that turned these crystals into a monster, or did the ooze corrupt this poor scorpion?”

Sam peered at the lake of ooze surrounding the temple, and considered both a likely possibility. She moved forward, trying to keep the monster out of her mind. It was difficult when the path through the temple’s hall’s were suspended over the ooze flooding the temple floors. It was hard to tell if the temple had once allowed a lake of water to flow through its halls, or if the ooze took over the lower floors. It was the most ooze they had seen since they came to the island, and its noxious fumes were getting to them. 

“What was that?” Timmy called.

“I didn’t say anything,” SpongeBob answered.

“I swore, I thought I heard something saying my name,” 

The ooze below them wasn’t the bright pink they were familiar with. This was a deep and dark purple from which steam rose through the air. Its stench was foul, like a bad lasagna fermenting in unwashed gym shorts. There was what first appeared to be a pool of the darkest ooze floating within itself, until Sam realized that it was a well from which the ooze flowed out from. The steam venting from it was strong and blew constantly. 

SpongeBob walked over the bridge standing over this pool, and he felt the hot wind blowing through his pores, “I can feel you, Chosen Ones.”

“What was that?!” SpongeBob panicked.

Danny turned in his chair and glared at the pool, “He knows we’re here.”

“But how? We’re in a temple! We can’t see the volcano!” Timmy protested.

More steam flowed through SpongeBob, “My eyes are everywhere, Three-Headed Boy. Do you think I need to see from my perch to watch you? What foolishness.”

“Why don’t you take a hike, Mawgu. We’re not in the mood for your yapping,” Danny snapped.

“It would not be wise to lash your tongue in my domain, boy,” the Mawgu’s voice became harsh. He didn’t speak through SpongeBob’s pores, but from the ooze itself, “Has it ever crossed your mind, from where the ooze wells from? The volcano. Me.” 

The temple shook and the ooze bubbled beneath them. The temperature rose along with its noxiousness. 

“We gotta run! C’mon!” Sam stood behind Danny and pushed him forward, following Timmy and SpongeBob.

As they ran, the Mawgu’s voice lingered around them, “You mistook these ruins for abandoned. From my cell, I spread the ooze to the lands surrounding the volcano. And you hoped to go unseen? I felt you crawling about like ants scampering upon my back!” 

The darkest ooze spilled onto the temple floor. Rocks encased the ooze and took on the form of familiars. One was of a pale-faced bully, one a morbidly obese green bass, and the third of a stocky jock in red. These familiars took life and ran after them, and quickly gained. 

“Did any of you wonder what the ooze is? It is my lifeblood. My very essence. The monsters you fight are not monsters spawned from the ooze. Far from it. They are me,”

SpongeBob looked backwards and screamed, “Bubble Bass! Run!” 

“Francis?!” Timmy panicked.

“Dash?” Danny was more confused than scared. 

Bubble Bass, with a gut of overflowing ooze, belly flopped on the ground near them, sending Danny and Sam flying backwards, “You cannot hide from me. Where there is ooze, there is me,” the Mawgu spoke through Bubble Bass’s lispy voice. 

Francis threw a punch at Timmy, and lodged it in the floor. Timmy was about to laugh, when the ooze permeated into the floor, and Francis pulled an enlarged fist, “And when this island is flooded with ooze, I will finally escape from my prison,” he threw another punch. Timmy dodged, and the giant fist tore a column apart. 

Dash charged at Sam, who donned the Peeler suit and met him head on and locked her fingers with his, “How are you doing this?” 

Dash’s knife on glass laugh filled her ears, “You breath, do you not? The fumes contain my essence, and I reached into your memories and plucked antagonists from your pasts,” he threw her backwards and blasted her with a stream of ooze.

Bubble Bass stood up and lumbered over to SpongeBob, “Now, Chosen Ones. I think I’ve tolerated you enough. It’s time I wiped you all out,” Bubble Bass breathed deeply, “For good!” 

SpongeBob had his karate gear on, but he couldn’t spot an opening he could exploit. Ooze gushed out from his gut, but his shoulders and mouth as well, and where there wasn’t ooze, there were rocks holding him together. Timmy wasn’t faring better either; Francis was forcing him backwards and swatting at his fairies. Dash was barely held at by by Danny’s weakened ecto beam.

“This can’t be how it ends. It can’t be,”

Bubble Bass gurgling laugh sent shivers through SpongeBob’s body, “Oh no. I don’t think so. I think you will live, as my servant, Absorbent Yellow One. I’ll dip you all in the ooze and turn you into my servants. That is, if you don’t drown!” 

All three of the frightening familiars laughed. SpongeBob swore he could hear the Mawgu’s laugh echoing from somewhere far away. He pushed himself into a corner and shook nervously as Bubble Bass’s ooze-dripping hand reached for him. He shut his eyes, and hoped it would be over soon. 

“Hands off him, you varmint!” a rope surrounded Bubble Bass’s stomach, and squeezed the ooze out of him. SpongeBob climbed up to avoid the ooze flowing onto the floor. Bubble Bass stumbled around before crumbling into a pile of rocks, “One down!” a figure from above came down on Francis and stomped on his rocky head and leaped down. Francis stumbled around for a moment when the figure roundhouse kicked the rocks and ooze away. His legs crumbled into a pile of stone, “Two down, one to go,” Dash turned his attention to the newcomer and charged at them. This is what they wanted. They rolled into Dash’s charge and plunged their elbow into his chest. Dash stumbled backwards as ooze flowed out of his new orifice, and he tried keeping the ooze in, when the newcomer drop kicked him into the ooze pool below, “Yeeee haaaw! Now that was a tussle!” they inspected the group, “My oh my, well ain’t y’all a sight for sore eyes. Here I thought I’d be alone on this little island.”

SpongeBob squinted his eyes and his smile turned wide, “Sandy?! Is that you!” 

“It sure is! Last I checked!”

SpongeBob tackled her and squeezed her tight, “Oh, thank you, Sandy! It’s so good to see you!” 

Sam was staring at the new arrival. Danny noticed and decided to fill her in, “Sam, meet Sandy Cheeks. The Deep Sea Squirrel.”

She blinked, “Bikini Bottom has undersea life in it. I get that, but how is there also a squirrel in a diving suit?”

Sandy overheard her, “Why, this suit’s my own design. It filters oxygen out of the seawater around me and can handle depths as heavy as fifteen thousand feet. Yes’m! Quite proud of this suit,” she twisted her helmet and pulled it off, “Not that I need it. After all, the air is quite breathable,” she checked SpongeBob, “Uh, how come you ain’t suffocating, SpongeBob?”

“Neutronic Moisture Spray,” he presented the spray can.

Danny rolled over to her and offered his hand, “It’s great to see you again, Sandy. If it weren’t for you, we would’ve been in a real bind there.”

“Schucks, t’weren’t nothin.’ Well, I’ll be, what happened to ya, Ghost Boy?” 

Danny looked down at his leg, “A monster wrapped its tendrils around me, and I haven’t been able to walk since. Was a couple hours ago.”

Sandy examined his injury and briefly glanced at Timmy, and realized why the boy was shirtless, “Well, you got stung for sure. Looks worse than gettin’ tangled with a Man-o-War!” she crossed her arms, “If I had some ingredients, I could patch you up, but I haven’t seen the slightest thing growin’ ‘round ‘ere since I fell out of that there sky.” 

Sam smiled, “You’re in luck. Our camp is a natural paradise.”

“Wooh! Glad to know y’all are gettin’ situated already,”

Timmy spoke up after a half-minute of squeezing his nose bridge, “I should’ve realized who the Deep Sea Squirrel was. There’s only one in this whole universe.”

“The what now?” Sandy asked.

SpongeBob gasped and elected himself to explain, “You see Sandy, we’ree the Chosen Ones. Summoned by a clan of crabs to save this island from an ancient evil lurking from the volcano. We are the Nine! You, me, Patrick, Squidward, Danny, Timmy, Sam, Tucker, and Jimmy Neutron! But he’s not on the island even though he’s one of the chosen.”

Sandy raised her eyebrow and offered an unsure nod, “And, who told y’all about this chosen one stuff?”

“A wise and ancient hermit crab,” SpongeBob said without missing a beat.

Sandy looked back at Danny and Sam for help. They shrugged, “We don’t fully buy it, but there’s a lot pointing towards this prophecy being true,” she explained, “But what is undoubtedly true, is we’re here, and the islanders need our help. We just met, but you seem to know these boys, and we could use all the help we can get.”

“Yeah! I didn’t realize how strong you were, Sandy. You took out those ooze freaks like it was nothing. I’m surprised you needed our help with beating Plankton. You coulda walked into his factory and shut it down on your own,” Timmy praised her.

She blushed, “Aw schucks. Y’all know how to make a gal feel bashful,” she put her helmet back on and sealed it shut, “I remember askin’ y’all for help savin’ Bikini Bottom, and y’all did it without thinkin’ for a second. But I ain’t doin’ this to pay y’all back. I’ve seen what those monsters can do, and I know for certain that it ain’t natural. So I’ll help y’all,” she offered her hand.

Danny placed his hand on top of her’s, “Thanks. It means a lot.”

Sam put her hand out, “We just met, but I think you and I are gonna get along just fine.”

Timmy threw his hand in, “As long as I get to see more of your cool moves, I’ll be happy.”

SpongeBob was barely holding back his own tears when he placed his hand on top of everyone’s hands, “Oh, it makes me so happy! We have all the Chosen Ones gathered together! At long last!”

At long last. Danny supposed, they finally arrived.

Jimmy rapidly typed on his keyboard. All functions of his body offered their priority to his eyes and his hands, and they took up all of his energy. The slightest movement of his eyes took great strength to prevent them from rolling out of his head, while his fingers typed out entire paragraphs in ten seconds. 

“Jim, what is this?” Carl and Sheen lingered around attempting to alleviate their own boredom, but found his lab a dull place while the boy genius was toiling away. 

Jimmy pulled himself out of his daze, and it was like feeling every bloodvein pumping all at once. He needed a moment to recover from this experience before responding to Carl properly, “Well, I think I have a name for this device. Would you like to learn more?” 

“Would I? Finally, something exciting is happening!” Sheen exclaimed, and he hung over Jimmy’s shoulder.

“Well, just stand by while I call up my Turner and the others,” he initiated communications with them. Sam’s face appeared first, and she cringed upon seeing Sheen before resting the device on a perch overlooking the rest of her group. Tucker, Squidward, and Patrick were nowhere to be be seen, but their place, Sandy was among them, “Guys, I thought now would be a good time to let you know about my latest invention, which will defeat the Mawgu.”

“Dude, that’s awesome! It’s, only been a few hours, and you already came up with a solution for the Mawgu stealing our energy?” Danny asked, unsure.

SpongeBob cleared his throat, “Danny, you are speaking to, the boy genius. Of course he would come up with a solution!”

Timmy rolled his eyes, “Alright, don’t give him too much credit.”

If Jimmy hadn’t eschewed sleep, he might have been offended, “Regardless of someone’s feeble attempts to get at my skin, I call my latest invention, the Neutron Rip-Zipper. Now, truth be told, a lot of the design that’s gone into this is based on theoretical information that I haven’t confirmed yet. However, I’m ninety-nine-point-nine-nine-nine-nine-nine-nine-one percent sure that my theories are correct.”

Timmy frowned, “And what about that point-whatever one percent chance you’re not?”

Jimmy stared at him, “Nothing good.”

A spell of silence was only broken by Cosmo coughing and Jimmy continuing to speak, “Now if my theories are correct in how this monster functions, the Rip-Zipper will steal the energy back, send it back to the worlds, and then seal the rip in time and space.”

Sandy nodded her head with a very assured smile, “Now that’s what I like to hear. Jimmy, you’re a problem solver, if there ever was one!” 

“I appreciate it, but don’t thank me yet. While I would love to construct a Rip-Zipper for you all, I am still unable to open a portal to your island. You will all need to construct it for yourselves,” he typed on the keyboard, “I’ve sent Tucker a copy of the designs. He should be getting them now.” 

Sandy raised her hand, “I don’t suppose we’ll be making this doohickey outta tree bark and berries. How will we build it?” 

“If I could conduct a scan of the island from a high enough place, I will have a full map of the island, and the ability to triangulate where certain components will be utilizing quantum reality forecasting algorithms,” he explained.

Everyone was silent. Even Sandy was stunned, “Goodness. You’re a real heavy duty genius, ain’t ya? Well, I have been explorin’ these ruins for a while now, and the roof is pretty high up. If you were gonna use this communicator to scan the island from up there, you could get a good look.” 

“How long have you been here?” Danny asked. 

“A long while now. Heck, when I saved y’all’s skins, I was on my way out. Luck we ran into each other,, ain’t it?” she laughed, “The top of this temple’s got a shrine dedicated to some sorta worship. There was a relic of sorts resting there, but I left it alone. Was real big and bright, shaped like a sphere too.”

“Hey, that sounds like what we powered the communicator with,” Sam noted. 

Jimmy pondered for a moment, “If your hunch is correct, then that relic could be used to power the Rip-Zipper. Either way, reach the temple’s roof and contact me there. Over out,” Jimmy cut the feed and relaxed in his chair. 

Sheen and Carl had been quiet the whole time, partially because Carl was staring at Sam and Sheen was growing excited about the news of an intergalactic threat. They noticed the moment communications ceased, Jimmy fell asleep.

Sandy led the group through the temple. She guided them across gaps in the path where ooze bubbled underneath, frequently lifting Danny over her head while he sat in his wheelchair. They came into a great auditorium carved from a mountain with crystals separating the aisles. More of those crystal scorpions appeared and menaced the group, but they were especially wary of Sandy. During quiet moments, SpongeBob filled in Sandy on what was going on and what they had been up to in the past few days. She listened with great interest, and when her friend was over she only had one question.

“So who is this Mawgu?” 

“Ancient and evil. Beyond that, couldn’t say,” Danny said.

Sam rubbed her upper arms, “I’m still creeped out he reached into our memories.”

“Tell me about it. We inhale his gas, and he can figure out who our enemies are,” Timmy lamented.

SpongeBob recalled the only other time someone reached into their memories, and he felt both joy and sadness, “It’s a good thing Alpha isn’t our enemy anymore. He could reach into our subconsciousness, and even pull people into his mind. Hooh! We’d be in trouble.”

Sandy turned around and walked backwards, “Alpha? Is that the dragon you mentioned?”

Danny nodded, “He was the Doomsday Machine, but he came to life, and sacrificed himself for Retroville.”

Sandy observed the boys’ solemn faces and decided not to press the topic any further, “Still, I ain’t heard about this from any sorta animal or creature. There’s definitely varmints out there that make brain poisons, but nothing that can make you remember somethin.” 

“You mean neurotoxins?” Sam asked.

“Course, missy! Impressed you picked on that,” 

“Like I keep saying, I have to be book smart for my knuckleheads,”

Danny rolled his eyes, “How long until we’re topside. “

Sandy led them around a corner and gestured at the temple’s peak, “Just over that slope.”

The slope, as Sandy understatedly put it, was a sharp, upward climb at a forty-five degree angle. Danny shuddered thinking of attempting to roll it up. And if that weren’t enough, boulders were rolling down the hill. Except, they weren’t quite boulders.

Two boulders rolled towards the group and uncurled into two rock monsters resembling bulky panthers with the heads of moai statues. They roared and slashed their rocky claws and leaped at the group. The Peeler Suit surrounded Sam, Timmy wielded Cosmo Hammer, and SpongeBob and Sandy donned their karate gear. Sandy immediately slammed her fists and shattered the jaw of one. Sam blasted the other’s back armor off so Timmy could deal the finishing blow. Finally, SpongeBob enlarged his hands and flattened the monsters.

“Is that the best you’ve got, Mawgu?” SpongeBob laughed.

Another pair of monsters rolled down the slope; emerging from its alcoves and coming down at top speed.

“Apparently not, since there’s more coming,” Danny said plainly.

Sam grimaced, “Anyone get the feeling they’re gonna keep coming?”

Sandy’s grin turned wide, “Sam, is it? You and Timmy drag the ghost boy, and keep close to me. SpongeBob?” 

“Yes?”

Sandy grabbed SpongeBob, extended him by the legs and charged at the hill. When a rock monster came rolling toward her, she slapped it away with SpongeBob, acting as an enormous fly swatter. Realizing what she was doing, Sam and Timmy rolled Danny after her. Chasing squirrels was already difficult enough, but they at least didn’t have to contend with the rock monsters.

Sandy leaped over the slope’s peak onto the temple’s roof with SpongeBob in hand. The peak was marked with crystal pedestals and a shrine at the peak’s edge. From their perch, they had the clearest view of the volcano. SpongeBob thought if he stretched hard enough, he could reach into the storm circling above. 

Sitting on the shrine was a trio of rock monsters hunching their backs and growling before leaping toward Sandy. She grinned and leaped toward the closest one. It got a hold of her and she got a hold of it. They tussled in the air, but Sandy forced the monster to take the ground’s impact. She tore apart the rock holding the ooze together, and it fell apart. The other rock monsters menaced SpongeBob, who was cowering by a crystal pedestal, but his cowardice was a ruse. He donned his karate glove and chopped the crystal, where it shattered and fell on a rock monster, destroying it for good. SpongeBob and Sandy nodded to each other and leaped at the last rock monster and karate chopped it together. It couldn’t handle the awesomeness of their karate and the ooze evaporated and the rocks shattered. 

By the time Timmy, Sam, and Danny made it to the top, SpongeBob and Sandy were relaxing on the shrine, “Lemme tell you, this is the life.”

Sandy pulled her arms out of her sleeves and into her helmet and rested her head on her hands, “You can say that again, SpongeBob.” 

Danny let out a small chuckle, “I don’t think the islanders needed all of us. Just send these two after the Mawgu, and he’d be finished in an afternoon.” 

SpongeBob pointed to the volcano with his thumb, “Hey, he’s right behind us, we can take care of him in twenty.”

“Not gonna happen. I haven’t done all the fighting I want to do yet, and I’m not letting these two steal a fight from us again,” Timmy complained.

Sandy laughed, “Well kid, if you can keep up with me next time, you’re more than welcome to join me in the next tussle,” she stood up and pushed her arms back into her suit’s sleeves, “Alright, so here’s that relic I told y’all about. As y’all can see, it’s behind this sheet of crystals.”

Sam pushed Danny up to the crystal sheet, where he tried peering through the distorted world the crystals presented, where he saw a large jeweled orb. He tried reaching through, but he could barely maintain intangibility, “How’re we gonna grab it?”

SpongeBob and Sandy shattered the crystals with their karate and plundered the orb, “Well I’ll be, I could power the Tree Dome for a thousand millennium with this baby.”

This caught Wanda’s attention, “You don’t suppose this could power our wands, could it?” Sandy offered the orb for her to test it. She tapped her wand, and it was like a bolt of lightning from Olympus struck her, “SO MUCH MAGIC!” 

“Wanda?! Are you ok?!” Timmy screamed.

“Make a wish! MAKE A WISH!” 

Timmy knew he needed to make a spectacular wish that would channel all the energy his godparent absorbed, but with so little time, he could only come up with so much, “I wish the temple was filled with hoagies, that we had a railroad going back to camp, and that Patrick was taking parachute lessons, and that Sandy had the tools to heal Danny’s leg!” 

Energy burst out of Wanda’s wand and covered the island. When it was over, sandwiches littered the temple everywhere they looked, a supply case of medical supplies dropped in front of Sandy, a railroad from the temple’s peak to the outskirts of the camp appeared before them, along with a Pennsylvania Railroad Class A5, the most powerful four-wheeler locomotive ever designed, with a pair of open air coaches behind it, and finally Patrick screamed at the top of his lungs before descending slowly onto the temple’s peak. 

Wanda fell on her back, “Yes, that orb is filled with energy.” 

Sam blinked, “Duly noted,” she looked up, “And here comes Patrick.”

Patrick slowly descended and landed on the temple roof before everyone, his parachute covering Sam and Timmy who threw it off the first chance they got. It seemed he didn’t realize what was going on until he looked around and noticed everyone, “What’d I miss?”

SpongeBob put his arm around Patrick and gestured to Sandy, “Patrick, allow me to introduce you to the final Chosen One. The Deep Sea Squirrel!”

“Wow! It’s an honor to meet ya. Hey, doesn’t she kinda remind you of Sandy?”

Sandy wasn’t amused, “That’s ‘cause I am Sandy, Patrick.”

“Ohhh, why didn’t you say so. Cosmo! Poof me up a duster!” 

“You got it!” Cosmo waved his wand and granted Patrick his wish.

Patrick waved the duster all around Sandy, but he examined her closely after a moment of dusting gave no results, “Hm, you don’t seem that sandy to me.”

Sam, Danny, Timmy, and Sandy smacked their own faces, “No, you dunderhead, I am Sandy! Sandy Cheeks! Your friend, remember?” 

As Patrick’s head short circuited, Timmy shook his head, “Forget this. I wish Patrick would realize who Sandy was.”

After Cosmo and Wanda waved their wands, Patrick’s face lit up, “Ohhh! Sandy! Oh wow, it’s good to see you again! I didn’t think you’d be on this island too!” and he bearhugged her. 

Sandy eyed Timmy and his fairies, “You mind leaving me with those two? I could use their help anytime this here fella’s around.”

Wanda slowly shook her head, “‘Fraid not, darling. You’ve gotta be a kid to have us around.” 

Sandy shrugged, “Well, was worth a shot. Danny. Get over here and I’ll start workin’ on your leg. The rest o’ y’all can set up communications with Jimmy,” as she set to work examining the medical supplies at her disposal, she asked another question, “I don’t know if y’all explained this, but why is it Jimmy ain’t here with y’all? 

Danny tensed up, both from the sting of the healing ointment spread over his wounds and the unusual feeling of a squirrel’s paws on his skin, but he was lucid enough toe explain, “We still don’t know why he never crossed over, but he’s one of the Nine. The islanders call him Coconut Head.”

She laughed, “And I reckon he can’t make a portal for y’all.” 

“You’d reckon right,” Sam said as she attempted contacting the aforementioned, “For some it’s been a sore point, but we’ve been coping as best we can.”

Sandy stood up and wiped her hands, “What I applied to your wound is what doctors use to treat man-o-war’s and blue-ringed octopus venom. If that don’t work, then get used to sitting in that chair.” 

Danny rolled his pant leg down and stood up. There was a brief pang in his leg, but it quickly vanished and he could stand on his own, “Wow! That’s incredible! I feel good as new! I’m going ghost!” he transformed into his ghost form and flew around the temple, “It’s like I was never hurt in the first place! This is awesome!” 

SpongeBob shouted to him, “Danny! I’m happy for you, but come down before you get hurt by the Mawgu!” 

Danny instantly landed, “Good point.” 

An image began flickering in, “And I’m getting Jimmy!”

Jimmy was sleeping in a pilot’s seat he salvaged from the garbage dump after Carl and Sheen dropped them. The pair were still bored and fooled around with his computer, trying to understand what it was Jimmy was investigating. 

“So, why don’t we turn on that portal and give that cute girl a visit?” Carl suggested.

“Hey, you’re right! Plus, we could hang out with Small-Headed Timmy again!” Sheen pointed out, “You convinced me! C’mon, let’s blow this pop stand!” 

Sheen skipped to the Universe Portal Machine and attempted to activate it, but Vox’s voice came alive, “The Universe Portal Machine may not be activated without a password.” 

Sheen smiled self-assuredly, “Swordfish.”

For a moment, it seemed that Sheen’s wild guess worked, but Vox dispelled those thoughts, “Sorry, Sheen. But that is not the password. Also, there is no password.”

“Aw! C’mon! How did you know it was me?!” 

“I have voice recognition. Besides, the password trap was devised to stop you from activating the portal by accident,” 

Sheen, in a huff, returned to Carl’s side, “I can’t believe Jimmy doesn't trust me with his dangerous inventions. What kinda friend is he?” 

Carl’s attention was pulled from Sheen to the screen. The Neutron Communicator was requesting a call, and to Carl, this meant another meeting with the cute goth girl from before. He groomed his head and adjusted his glasses before answering the call, “Why, hello there. AHHHH! SQUIRREL!” 

Sheen came over to check what his friend was screaming over, and was surprised to find it was in fact, a squirrel, “Whoa, I didn’t know Jimmy had squirrel friends!” 

The squirrel narrowed its eyes, “What in tarnation are y’all doing? I’m trying to talk to Jimmy, can ya put him on?”

Carl collected his nerves and wheezed, “Can you put on that cute girl from before, and maybe I’ll do what you say, squirrel.”

“It’s Sandy,” she stated.

“And that’s not happening, dude,” a voice from offscreen answered. 

All these antics and hijinks weren’t conducive to a good night’s rest, were the thoughts going through Jimmy Neutron’s head when he woke up from his nap. He glanced over at his computer and squeezed his temple, “Never fall asleep while Sheen is around the lab. Never do that,” he stood up and took over the computer seat, “Sandy, are you all at a high point on the island?” 

The squirrel nodded her head, “Yep! Can barely see the shoreline, but I’d wager we’re at least a thousand feet above sea level.”

Jimmy popped his fingers, “That oughta do it. I’m gonna try and conduct a scan on the whole island.”

“Uh, Jimmy?” Spongebob came into view, “You know I don’t get all the science mumbo jumbo all that well. Just ask Sandy. But, how are you gonna do a scan when you can’t even make a portal show up on the island?”

Jimmy was delighted someone asked; he knew a good exposition speech would rouse him from his drowsiness, “I’m glad you asked. During my research, I found that I’m somehow an auger for communication, likely because of the mysterious ties we share that I’m still unsure about. Regardless, your communicator is reaching out into the universe using a path forged by the conduit you used. My theory is that from a high point on the island, I can conduct a higher quality scan of the island than from the ground level you all were at,” he typed into his keyboard, “Instead of explaining, allow me to show you!” 

His computer sent a signal to the communicator, and a flood of data came pouring in. He watched eagerly, even rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist. Sandy and SpongeBob caught this and exchanged confused glances.

“Jimmy, was something supposed to happen?” SpongeBob asked innocently.

Jimmy grinned, “It did. Folks, I have so much data on the island, it’ll be like I’m practically there with you. When I’m done sorting through it, I’ll not only have a map of the island, but I’ll have a full 3D model of the island in that moment. By the way, did that orb Sandy mention turn fruitful?” 

Wanda appeared in view, her hair still singed and tangled from the jolt of power, “Very fruitful.” 

Jimmy’s eyes widened, “If that orb could overpower your computer programs, it can easily power the Rip-Zipper!” he tapped his fingers together thoughtfully, “I’ll get to work on locating the other components. In the meantime, return to camp and keep the orb safe. Oh, and be safe too.” 

Jimmy cut off communications and stepped off his chair. His friends watched him leave his lab, “Uh, Jimmy? Weren’t you supposed to sort through the stuff you got?”

Jimmy tapped a keypad on the wall, “I will, but I need to rest before anything else. And besides, I can’t have you snooping around my lab while I’m supposed to be working.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sheen demanded, right as two tubes came down from the ceiling and sucked them inside; their screams heard a great distance away.

Jimmy left his lab behind. When he emerged into the outside world, the moon hung over his head, and he wondered how long it had been since he started toiling away inside. Nothing a good night’s rest could fix.

Back on the island, a stocky engine was puffing around a temple, over rivers and ravines, and through a jungle. SpongeBob and Cosmo served the A5 as driver and fireman respectively, and SpongeBob blew the engine’s whistle whenever Patrick or Timmy asked. The others relaxed in the open air coach, snacking on the hoagies they bothered to pick up. Sandy had her helmet and suit at her side and she propped her legs on the seats across from her. Sam thought she grew accustomed to having a human-sized squirrel around, but seeing her out of her diving suit made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Danny noticed and called her out on it.

“Sam, your best friend is a half-ghost, you’ve been next door neighbors with a walking, talking sponge for a week, you see ghosts on a regular basis, and you’ve known Tucker Foley for years. Is a squirrel really what gets you?” 

Sam forgot to be angry when Sandy giggled at them, “You two are funny. I don’t blame ya for finding me peculiar. Heck, I was weirded out when these boys came round in Bikini Bottom,” she admitted, “I gotta ask. I ain’t gonna mind stickin’ around, but how long are y’all plannin’ on stayin’ here? Or should I ask instead, when do we lay the beat down on that there Mawgu?” 

Danny leaned forward and looked down at his own feat, “Once we have the Rip-Zipper, we’ll head to the volcano, and find the Mawgu.”

“So y’all got a plan, but you’re still wingin’ it, heh. Just the way I like it,” 

The A5’s whistle blew, drawing their attention to the train’s head, “End of the line, folks!” Spongebob called. 

The A5 puffed along the beach, the cliffside on one side and the sea at the other. SpongeBob shut off steam and applied the brakes. The powerful little steamer came to a halt just before the buffers. He let off steam and the engine gradually powered down. SpongeBob wiped his hands on a rag and shook Cosmo’s, thanking him for being a good fireman.

They dismounted the iron horse and helped the others off the coach, although this didn’t stop Patrick from falling face first on the sand. He worried about his hoagies getting sand on them and tried washing them off in the ocean, but all this accomplished was a disassembling of his sandwiches. Patrick fell to his knees and surrendered to despair. Wanda stared blankly and shook her head.

“Does he know I can poof him more sandwiches?” she asked.

Patrick pounded the wet sand over and over in anguish, and Sandy replied, “No.” 

SpongeBob sighed, “Danny, could you offer me a hand with him?”

“Hold up, you’re gonna need more hoagies,” Timmy advised and he went after them with Cosmo. 

Wanda, Sandy, and Sam were left standing alone by the locomotive watching the comforting/retrieval attempt, but Patrick was committed to mourning. After he started running away along the waterline and the others chased him, the girls walked back to camp. 

“So, what do we do while they’re busy?” Sam asked. 

Sandy whiffed herself, “Ugh, I could use a bath.” 

“Girls, would you all be opposed to an idea I have?” Wanda asked. 

Sandy and Sam agreed, and they followed her back to camp to a secluded corner where neither Squidward nor Tucker took notice. Wanda tapped a rock wall, and a tunnel formed itself for them to traverse. At the end was a grotto, where vines and grass grew around the walls and ground, and an opening out to the sky provided ventilation. But most importantly, there was a shallow pool of bubbling, warm water. A hot spring.

“Is this your doing, or is it your magic?” Sam asked.

Wanda twirled her wand between her fingers, “My magic. I’ve been in need of some pampering, and you could use some time away from the boys.” 

Sam knelt down and dipped her hand in the water. It was almost overpoweringly warm, to her delight, “Whether or not you’re right on that, I’m getting in that pool.” 

“Count me in!” Sandy exclaimed. 

After Wanda poofed a changing room, the three of them emerged with towels wrapped around them. Wanda rested her wand at the edge of the spring and was the first to submerge herself, followed by Sam and Sandy. 

“Ohhhhhh yeaaaah. I needed this,” Wanda sank below the water. 

Sandy flexed her digits on the rocks before dipping her foot. She hesitated a moment before resting in the pool. Her feet brushed the smooth rocks below her as the heat took the tension off her. Sam was the last to join and she felt all the stress building up just flow away. 

“You were right, Wanda. I needed this,” she brought her face below the waterline up to her nose and she shut her eyes. 

“Shoot, this sure beats the Hot Springs in Arkansas for sure,” Sandy commented.

“Well sure! Speaking from experience, everything’s better without the mob hovering over you,” Wanda laughed. 

“You know I didn’t get to see too much of ya when y’all were around Bikini Bottom. You got a story about yourself you wanna share?” 

“Been married to Cosmo for a few thousand years, been Timmy’s godparent since he was eight, and one thing those boys have in common is they provide plenty of excitement in my life,” her warm smile turned to a scowl, “And then there’s Mama Cosma. Cosmo’s mother. Can’t stand her! I’ve been waiting for her to croak since I met her.”

Sam snorted, “Overbearing and condescending, am I right?” 

“Condescending I can handle, but Mama Cosma left that station centuries ago,” she said, “What about you, Sandy? Isn’t every day we get a chance to talk to a squirrel. Except for last Tuesday. That was a nutty day for sure.”

Sandy laughed the anecdote off, “Well, I’ve lived in Bikini Bottom for a few years. Y’all saw my Tree Dome, and that came with the job I got, working under contract to monitor undersea life and to develop inventions.”

“You sound a lot like Danny’s mom,” Sam said, “Every time I go to his house, his mom and dad are making something the world’s never seen. I mean, it’s solely built for the sake of hunting ghosts but still.” 

Wanda watched Sam and a smile grew across her face. She eyed Sandy and winked at her, “So, Sandy. Are there any fellas in your life?”

Sandy covered her mouth as she laughed, “Ma’am, I’m too busy with my studies to have a man around. Besides, there ain’t nobody in Bikini Bottom who can keep up with Sandy Cheeks!”

Wanda took notice of Sam taking part in their conversation, “What about SpongeBob? You two seem close.” 

“Heck naw!” Sandy giggled, “SpongeBob’s my best friend, and I don’t want that to ever change, you feel me?” she leaned against the pool’s edge, “Besides, SpongeBob isn’t the kinda guy who’s interested in romance. That boy is full of love, but it’s for everyone in the whole world, and well, by the looks of it, the whole universe it seems.” 

Wanda cleared her throat, “Sam, if you don’t mind me prying, but you and Danny seem close.” 

Sandy caught on and joined in, “Yeah, what’s y’all’s story?” 

Sam blushed and looked away from their eyes, “Uh, I mean. Danny’s my best friend. You know? Nothing more to say than that, you know?” 

Wanda shook her head, “Girl, it’s written all over your face.”

She scoffed, “It is not!” 

Sandy played peacemaker, “Alright, it ain’t written on your face. Truth be told, I thought you were good friends too. But this woman only pried a little bit, and you’re blushing like a ripe tomato. Now if you don’t wanna admit it, that’s fine,” Sandy said assuredly, but that mischievous grin she shared with Wanda appeared, “But, if you feel like dishin,’ I’m sure neither of us are gonna mind.”

Sam groaned and looked up at the opening where the steam vented. She shut her eyes and shook her head side to side, her hair gliding over the water, “Alright. But you two better swear you keep it to yourselves,” she waited for Wanda and Sandy to raise their hands and swear before she spoke again, “Alright. If it’s that obvious, then it’s true. I. Well. Like him. He’s. Uh. He’s the guy I like.”

Sam’s ears were assaulted with the eehing of her female compatriots and she covered her head, “Ooh, I knew something was going on!” Wanda exclaimed.

Sam rolled her eyes, “Is that all, or do I need to embarrass myself even more?” 

Sandy raised her hand, “Well if you’re willing to debase yourself for our amusement, mind elaborating how you feel about Dan?” she moved herself closer to Sam, “If you got feelin’s for ‘im, I don’t blame ya. He’s a tough one and real good in a bind. Why, me and ‘im got in a good scrap together.”

Sam smiled, “You might find this hard to believe, but Danny being a good fighter isn’t why I like him,” now that she said it, Sam realized she needed to elaborate, “It’s just, maybe call it selfish, but when I spend time with him. I feel alive. I don’t feel that way with that many people. Maybe it’s not that I feel alive it’s, I feel like I can be myself,” she pushed her hair back, “You can probably tell that I don’t care about conforming.”

“Nah, I thought you were just puttin’ on airs,” Sandy joked.

“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fighting for my own identity. Something that goes against whatever my parents had in mind. But when I’m around my friends, when I’m around Danny, I don’t feel that. I can let go and be myself. I don’t have to force it.”

Sandy shut her eyes and nodded her head, “I like that. Now I’m from the South, Texas to be specific, and I knew plenty of gals my age who changed themselves for the man they fancied. My mama set me right. She told it to my face that if I ever did that, she’d hogtie and drag me from Spindletop to the Window,” she locked eyes with Sam, “That boy makes you feel like who you are? Why, you found yourself a keeper, and those are rarer than a snowstorm in El Paso, so treasure ‘em.”

Sam blushed. For a long time she thought about her feelings for Danny, and wondered if he would reciprocate them. Yet all the doubt her amygdala could synthesize could never shake how she felt about Danny. Maybe, she should try to take the chance with Danny. 

Wanda pulled her hair out, “I don’t care about those mushy feelings!” she ranted, “I wanna know what’s so sexy about him!”

Sandy and Sam splashed the fairy with water, “Ain’t no way, ma’am!” 

Wanda shielded her face and laughed, “Is it an exchange you want? Do you want me to share what’s so hot about Cosmo?!” 

Sam covered her ears, “Please! Not in a million years!”

“I’m with the goth on this, you can keep that to yourself,”

Wanda raised her nose, “Hmph, suits yourself.”

Squidward came out of the pool, “All those deep diving lessons weren’t worth the money I paid for,” he dried his scalp, “Well, if Patrick sank to the bottom, I can’t tell. I can’t even tell if there is a bottom to this pool.” 

Tucker breathed in sharply, “That’s concerning. I mean. Don’t sea stars float? Shouldn’t he have come up at some point?”

Squidward raised his eyebrow, “You didn’t pay attention to your marine biology class, did you?”

“Dude, I’m in high school. We don't have marine biology,”

Squidward and Tucker had been relaxing the whole afternoon and enjoying the pool, and they didn’t pay much attention to Patrick. But after Tucker received the design for a machine did they notice the sea star was gone. At first Squidward persuaded the tech geek not to worry, but after a couple hours without Patrick’s presence, even the cephalopod grew worried. They tried guessing where he wandered off to, and it didn’t take long to theorize that he might have drowned. 

Tucker rubbed the side of his head and chewed on his fingernails, “This is bad. Oh gosh, what if we’re the reason why Patrick dies?” 

Squidward shook him by the shoulders, “Get a grip on yourself! Look, I’m sure he’s at the bottom of this pool and doesn’t even realize he’s.... Well several hundred feet below the surface.”

“In a dark abyss,”

“An uncharted abyss,”

“And we’re not sure how deep this goes,” 

The two stopped talking. Then they screamed, “WE’RE SORRY, PATRICK!” 

“Sorry about what?” 

Squidward and Tucker looked all around them, unsure if they had heard that voice correctly. Squidward asked, “Patrick? Is that you?”

“Have you come to exact your vengeance on us mortal fools?” Tucker trembled.

By the campfire, Patrick stared at them. Now, this was painting an odd picture very mundanely, so a proper description will do it justice. Patrick was indeed staring at them, but that wasn’t all. You see, Patrick was tied to a bamboo post, from his forehead to his feet, and he was held up by Danny and an extremely buff Cosmo. They looked fierce and exhausted, as did SpongeBob and Timmy. 

Patrick, for his predicament, seemed comfortable if unmoving. He answered them, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was with these guys.”

Tucker didn’t know if it was a good idea to test their patience with a simple question, yet he took his chances and asked, “So, what have you guys been up to.”

Timmy walked to the edge of a rock hanging over the pool, “Two words. Hoagie Funeral,” he tipped forward and fell into the pool. 

Danny planted the post into the ground and floated to Patrick’s eye level, “Alright, Pat. Are you calm enough that you won’t run back to the ocean?”

“Yes,” he said, emotion devoid from his voice.

With that assurance, Cosmo cut Patrick free with a particularly sharp thumbnail. The sea star fell on the ground with a thud. SpongeBob studied him with concern.

“You could have poofed him to the ground,” SpongeBob pointed out.

Cosmo crossed muscular arms and scoffed, “Well after Pinky started throwing coral at us, my sympathy ran dry!”

Squidward and Tucker came down the hill and the cephalopod asked, “Just what happened to you guys? Were the jeweled trees that bad?” 

SpongeBob shook his head, “No, it wasn’t too bad. But Patrick was very aggressive about his hoagies.” 

“It’s best that you don’t ask,” Danny suggested. He came out of his ghost form and stretched his arms, “Oh Tuck? Did Jim send that schematic to ya?” 

Tucker checked his PDA to confirm, “Yeah. The Neutron Rip-Zipper. This is what’ll beat the Mawgu?” 

Danny transformed back into his human form and shuffled to the pool, sinking his feet into the cool mud below, “Yeah, hopefully. Look, I’m gonna need a minute before I can do all that leader stuff. Just.”

He was too tired to finish and he fell into the pool. He was bobbing along the surface, and his snores rippled across the water. 

SpongeBob left Tucker and Squidward alone, “Yeah, I’m gonna take a nap. Wake me up in an hour and we can start cooking dinner.” 

Tucker and Squidward were soon alone as even Patrick returned to his rock’s underside. Tucker pulled his hat off and scratched his head, “Squidward. I’m not sure what just happened, but you know what?”

“You’re glad you didn’t go with them?” 

“Exactly. Not surprised you were thinking the same thing,”

Wanda, Sam, and Sandy stepped out of the hot spring after spending a long while in the bubbling water, and put on their freshly clean clothes, thanks to a wave of Wanda’s wand, although Sandy eschewed her diving gear for her bikini top and skirt. 

“You don’t need that to breathe?” Sam asked.

“Heck no, didn’t even need it in the first place. But I can’t part with it neither. Besides, it’s decent protection,”

They emerged onto the campgrounds. Danny was still sleeping on the water with Timmy floating nearby, and the others weren’t around. The first to greet them was Cosmo.

“Hey, what were you ladies up to?”

They didn’t answer. They were staring. 

“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“Cosmo?” Sandy pointed at his body, “How’d a scrawny fella like you get so ripped?”

Cosmo was still a muscle-bound hunk and he unintentionally flexed his breasts at them, “Oh, this? Well, I needed this to play tug-of-rope with Patrick using a steel girder. That guy is crazy!” he waved his wand and he returned to his scrawny form.

Wanda waved her wand, and he was hunky again, “No no. Not yet.” 

Sam pretended to barf, “Get a room.”

“Gladly!” and Wanda dragged him away to Timmy’s hut into the fishbowl inside. 

This left Sandy and Sam alone in their corner of the pool. With nothing else to do, Sam decided to show Sandy around, though this soon wasn’t necessary. Sam considered herself something of an outdoorswoman, but Sandy put her to shame. After only catching a single glance of her surroundings, Sandy was immediately at ease and traversed the grounds like it was a well trodden path and soon found a spot for her to build a hut. Across the wooden bridge before the waterfall, she picked a patch of grass to set her suit and helmet down. Then she ran down the hill for their building material supply. By the time Sam caught up, she was flattening the ground for the foundation.

“And here I thought I would lend a hand,” 

“Appreciate the thought, but makin’ camp is second nature for squirrels, and this ain’t my first rodeo on a tropical island neither,”

Sam decided to linger and chat with her, and Sandy agreed to it. 

“Don’t mean to judge ya for your appearance, but you don’t seem to be the sorta gal who hangs around that fella floatin’ in the pool,” Sandy gestured to Danny still snoring in the water.

Sam laughed, “You’re talking about my outfit aren’t you?” 

“Texas is a big place, miss, and I’ve known my fair share of somber folk like ya,” 

“Fair. Well, I didn’t get to know Danny until I met Tucker. That was third grade,” 

Sandy held nails between her teeth and plucked them when they needed hammering. She grunted her words through her teeth, “He’s that nerdy kid hangin’ ‘round Squidward?” 

“Yup. Believe it or not, we used to hate each other’s guts. In third grade, I was wearing my favorite dress. It was the darkest shade of grey my parents allowed. And this nerdy kid stumbles in front of me and gets glue all over my bodice, and ruins it,”

“Shoot. I woulda clobbered anyone for ruining my fit,” 

“You and me both. And here’s how I met Danny. While I’m laying into Tucker, almost breaking his glasses. This other boy pulls me off him and slugs me in the face. And when all three of us were sitting in front of the principal's office, Danny struck up a conversation with me. Well, he tried apologizing for Tucker and he offered to pay for my dress. Now, I don’t believe he would or could have, I’m certain that he would get his parents to pay for, but that gesture meant a lot to me.” 

Sandy pulled a palm leaf off a nearby tree and folded it several times and sanded her floorboard with it until the leaf was shredded, necessitating another leaf, “So that’s how ya met him. How’d you stick with him?”

Sam recalled the first time she approached Fenton Works. If you lived in Amity Park, it was hard not being familiar with Jack Fenton’s Ops Center. It violated every zoning law known on earth, but he somehow erected it on top of his home despite constant opposition. She would hear her parents ranting about it whenever they passed its silhouette. But when she first came underneath it, she was in awe. Danny was even worried that it would scare Sam off, but if anything, this drew her closer. Then she got a good look at all the freaky stuff his parents got up to and that drew her in. The occult was always her favorite subject, and she enjoyed learning about ghost stories, although this never led her to paranormal or ghost-hunting.

“So I tried staying close to him, hoping something spooky would happen. But Danny ended up being a good guy to be around. He became one of my best friends,” she looked back and asked, “What about you and SpongeBob? How’d you meet him?”

Sandy sat beside her and recounted her story, “First time I met Spongebob, it was around Jellyfish fields when I was wrestling a clam. Sounds tougher than I make it out, so don’t give me that look. Anyway, that varmint was tougher than I gave it credit for and snapped its shell on me. Not that I was worried. I got myself out of binds before, and I was pushing the clam’s shell apart. Little did I know, this square dude is tryin’ to lend me a hand, and all that happens is he gets snapped on next,” she laughed, “So I had to bail him out. And, the first thing this fella says to me after I saved his skin, is he notices I like karate too.” 

“That charmed you, didn’t it?”

“Well, not in a way you were charmed,” she nudged her elbow into her, “But yep. Him asking me about karate after risking his skin to save me. That always stuck with me. Course, that dude came to my tree dome and nearly dried out, but that was my fault for not catching on enough,” Sandy admitted, “Y’all have been putting me in the loop, makin’ me understand what this Mawgu is all about and everything. It don’t surprise y’all are comin’ together to save this island. But I’ve been wondering. What makes you wanna save it?” 

Sam hugged her leg to her chest, “I see what the Mawgu is doing to this island. Destroying the environment and making the ecosystem suffer. His ooze is horrible and I can’t stand to see it destroying this paradise.” 

“Shoot. You and me both. I laid eyes on a whole lot of ooze fountains all around, and the plant life was sufferin’ ‘cause of it,” she felt her own arms, “I even fell into a pool of that nasty stuff. Came out it feelin’ stickier than a butter knife in Meemaw Cheeks’ dewberry jam, but I felt fine. My suit’s handled far worse. After giving it a close examination, can’t say I was fond of what I saw.” 

Sam remembered during the battle with the familiars at the temple, how the Mawgu spoke to them through Dash’s voice. After Sandy rescued them, everything happened so fast, they didn’t have a chance to go over what the Mawgu said. Or maybe, everyone wanted to forget what he said. For the implications were too much to bear. 

“Somethin’ troublin’ you?”

“The Mawgu said that when we fight his monsters, we’re fighting him. That the ooze is just an extension of his being. Do you have any explanation for that?”

Sandy gave her a funny and at the same time concerned look, “Never before for something like us. Closest I can think of is for plants like Pando up in Utah or one of those Men at War around Australia. But those are colonies of creatures that spread out to grow. I never heard anything spreading its awareness. Don’t know what that could mean.” 

 Sam stood up and offered a hand to her new squirrel friend, “Either way, it hardly matters. Because as soon as that Rip-Zipper’s finished, we’re heading up to that volcano and knocking the Mawgu out with it,” 

Sandy took her hand and stood up, “Not before we smack him around a little!” 

“You couldn’t be more right!”

The Crystal Ruins were close to the Mawgu’s volcano, but the Chosen Ones passed through a forest on the way there. This forest stood at the edges of a great kingdom. One that sprung from the marshlands and grew up to the height of the tallest trees of the island. The Florians. They were a people of great pride, for they kept to themselves and sought self-reliance not unlike the Exile Crabs, but they boasted harmony with the Myrmec Tribe and the Hermit Crab Village. The greatest river flowed through the heart of their kingdom, and their kings dwelled at the foot of a waterfall. For the king was the father of all, so all life should flow from him. 

“My master. You call on me?” King Gorge spoke. The members of his court were stunned at the break from his silence, “Yes. I understand, master.”

A Florian warrior stepped toward his king’s throne and bowed, “Your majesty. We await your command.” 

The throne shuddered with movement and it unfurled before them, “He has spoken to me. We are to make war.”

“War, your majesty? Who are we to vanquish in our master’s honor?” 

The throne completely unfurled, and King Gorge addressed his warriors, “The Myrmec Tribe. The almighty Mawgu commands that we invade their home and take their queen as a prize.” 

His warriors raised their weapons and cheered. His sergeant rose and bowed his head, “It shall be done, your majesty.” 

King Gorge grinned, “Take their queen to our mines. I do not want her to be a prisoner for long.”

His men understood his order very well.

The smell of food is what wrought them from their slumber. SpongeBob was the first to emerge from his hut, but he was soon followed by Patrick, Timmy, and finally Danny. They were lured to the campfire where Sandy was cooking a Texas-style barbeque over the fire. There was nothing Sandy loved more than smoking over a fire, and she relished any opportunity to display her mastery over the grill. Sam was a vegetarian who lived far away from Texas, and assumed barbeque was grilled meat and nothing else. And while that was partially true, Sandy was grilling equal amounts fruits and vegetables. And it made Sam sweat. Sandy didn’t have her Grandpappy’s World Famous Spindletop Barbeque Sauce, but she made due with the island’s natural ingredients and made a truly delicious sauce with it. The smell filled the whole pool, and everyone’s stomachs growled incessantly.

“Well!” she swiftly filled up ten plates with her food and rested them around the campfire, “Eat up!” 

They didn’t need encouragement. The taste of the food was intoxicating, and no words were exchanged for the next five minutes. Sandy didn’t mind. She took the noise of eating as all the compliments she needed. 

When Danny finished eating his plate, he wiped the sauce off his face and stood, “Everyone. Now that we’re all together, save for Jimmy, we have a new mission in our goal of defeating the Mawgu. Jimmy has designed the Rip-Zipper but has put us in charge of building it. Today we found the first component. But it’s still far from done.” 

Tucker stood up as well, “Jimmy is working on finding the key components, but I’ve been studying his designs, and made a little grocery list of stuff I’ll need to finish the Rip-Zipper.”

“Schucks, don’t count me out on that. I’d love to give ya a hand,” Sandy spoke up. 

Before Tucker could protest, Patrick spoke up and said, “You’ll want her help.”

“How would you know that, Patrick? You don’t even know what Sandy invents half the time,” Squidward complained.

“Even more evidence my words carry weight,” Patrick countered.

“No it doesn’t,” Wanda interjected. 

“Whatever!” Tucker interrupted, “The point is, I’ll need more materials to finish the Rip-Zipper. Do we have any idea what the next component we need is? And more importantly, where?” 

That’s where their resident Boy Genius came in. SpongeBob took it upon himself to contact Jimmy and waited a few minutes for Jimmy to answer. After a few moments of static, the image came in and they saw a very groggy Jimmy sitting in his chair and rubbing his eyes.

“Good to see you again, Jimmy!” SpongeBob beamed.

Jimmy held up his hands, “It’s too early for this much noise, SpongeBob,” he rubbed his temple and opened his eyes, “What’s up, what are y’all up to?”

“Well, we were hoping you’d know where the next part of the Rip-Zipper is!” 

“Did your scan of the island reveal anything?” Sam asked, leaning in to see the screen, “Wait, are you in your PJ’s?”

“Yes,” he yawned, “I was sleeping. But Vox pulled me to my lab. The Neutron Communicator is an emergency communications device, and my computer was designed to retrieve me as soon as possible when someone other than myself was contacting me.” 

Timmy imagined the multitude of ways that Jimmy could’ve been pulled from his bed down to his lab, and he couldn’t help himself from laughing at every one of them. 

“But yes, I did find one of the components from scanning the island. I’m sending the coordinates to Tucker right now. It seemed to be underground, so be careful of that,” 

Tucker took out his PDA and examined the message he received, “Alright. We should be able to make our way there on foot. Question is, when do we go?”

Sam raised her hand, “I say we go now. The Mawgu’s gathering power the longer we idle around.”

“But we just got home,” Timmy complained, “We should rest up and then get to butt-kicking.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda behind on my naps,” Patrick said.

“You didn’t even come with us! You just came back with us!” Timmy argued. 

“Well, I’m still sleepy!” 

A loud piercing whistle filled everyone’s ears. They looked back at Danny. He locked eyes with Squidward for a moment, and said, “I know I took the leadership spot, but for some of you guys. I haven’t been the best leader. It should’ve been on me to guide you, and I haven’t done my part. I’ll lead the way and make a plan to keep us all safe. But right now, let’s all decide. We put this to a vote. If you wanna come along to get this part. Raise your hand. If you wanna stay here, keep your hand down. I won’t judge you for it, and I’ll make sure your decision is respected.” 

Squidward stood up from his seat, and raised his hands. He offered no other emotions to Danny, but a simple nod of his head. And when Danny looked around at the rest of the group, everyone else raised their hands as well. 

“Alright, so we’re all going,” Danny said.

“I changed my mind. I’m never too tired for a butt-kicking!” Timmy declared, “Plus, I wish we were all well rested!” 

Cosmo and Wanda waved their wands and the entire group felt good as new. 

Sam stood up and tested her new vitality with a series of kicks, “Why haven’t you been doing this earlier?” 

“Magic. Magic’s limited,” Wanda explained. 

Patrick scratched his head, “Weird. Even though I’m not tired, I still want to sleep.”

“Patrick, that’s because you’re lazy,” Tucker pointed out to him.

“You’re right!” 

Danny shook his head and settled everyone down, “Let’s get ready to go out into the island. We’ve never gone out during the dark, so be prepared for anything.”

Everyone began preparations; SpongeBob and Timmy packed snacks while Patrick watched, Tucker returned to his hut to pack batteries and walkie-talkies, Sandy slipped into her helmet, and Sam performed a perimeter check. Danny stood by the ocean, speaking to Jimmy one last time before they head out. The boy genius promised to stay by his computer and answer the call if they needed him.

“So, was that your apology towards me?” Danny turned around and saw Squidward standing behind him.

“I said what I wanted to say. I realized that I wasn’t being totally fair with you,” he admitted, “It doesn’t change how I feel about your actions, but it does make me realize that I might have had a part in some of them.”

Squidward shut his eyes and crossed his tentacles, “Well, I appreciate it,” he said, although Danny wasn’t sure if he was convinced.

“Are you still coming with us?” Danny asked.

“I’ll lend a hand. Besides, if it means getting off this island faster, then I’ll take any chance I can get,” he confessed.

That made Danny feel better. 

Before long, all eight of them were ready for the journey ahead. They were just waiting for Tucker to point them in the right direction when they heard rustling in the trees. Thinking it was an attack, they prepared themselves for a fight, only for the Wise Old Crab to stumble off the cliff and onto the marshlands. Danny and SpongeBob helped him out, but this did little for the elder’s nerves.

“Chosen Ones! Oh! I’m glad I found you! The Queen of the Myrmec Tribe has been captured by the Florians! They have taken her to their Ooze Mines, where they will make her a slave to the Mawgu!” he dropped his staff and fell to his knees, “Please! Rescue her!” 

He opened his eyes to see SpongeBob’s hand, “Wise Old Crab, you don’t have to ask us. Because it will always be yes.”

Chapter Text

The jungle surrounding them was illuminated by the stars hanging above the island’s sky. Under dusk’s blanket the humidity lost its strength, and made a trek through the wilds much less miserable. But it wasn’t a journey the Chosen Ones desired upon if the situation hadn’t been dire. The Wise Old Crab guided eight of the nine down a path not tred upon in a long time. He told them about the Myrmec Tribe; a nomadic people who traipsed the island who never stayed long enough to plant their roots. He described them as insects; common grasshoppers as tall as a crab, enormous commando beatles who soared the skies, and the queen, he went on about her beauty, how her beauty was praised far and wide. Ever since the Mawgu emerged from his prison, the tribe was forced to seclude themselves in the deepest parts of the jungle. 

He told them about the Florians. Once a great kingdom who ruled the forests and rivers. They were plantlike creatures, born as vegetation that would sprout legs and arms and would walk like any other person. 

“So why did the Florians attack the Myrmec Tribe?” SpongeBob asked, “Were they always enemies?”

“Oh no. Ignoring the Exiled Crabs, all of the island’s peoples coexisted in harmony. We had our differences, but we never made war on each other,” the Wise Old Crab explained, “But for why the Florians attacked? I am afraid they were enslaved to the Mawgu.” 

“And then they took her to their Ooze Mines,” Danny said, “What can you tell us about that?” 

He closed his eyes, “That is what my warriors reported. But if you have an idea in your mind, abandon it if it is not drenched with dread, Chosen Ones.”

Sam wondered if he really knew what was going on with the ooze. The way the Mawgu’s ooze entered her brain, she couldn’t wrap her brain around that. She placed a hand on his shell, “Elder, do you know what the ooze is?” 

The party stopped and turned to watch Sam. The Wise Old Crab gave a puzzled look, “Night Girl, of course I know what the ooze is. It’s a concoction that corrupts everything it touches, to be under the Mawgu’s control.”

Sam shook her head, “You got it wrong. The ooze wasn’t made by the Mawgu. The ooze is the Mawgu.” 

Squidward furrowed his brows, “Hold on, something happened while you were finding Sandy. Now a few days ago, we’re told that the ooze is bad, and now you’re saying it’s the Mawgu? Just what happened and what did you all see?” 

SpongeBob said, “Well, the Mawgu spoke to us. We heard him in our minds and through my pores. And somehow, the Mawgu made these monsters that looked like people we knew. He made one look and sound like Bubble Bass!”

The Wise Old Crab blinked rapidly, “The ooze is the Mawgu? Please, Chosen Ones, I don’t understand. What does this mean?” 

“The Mawgu can’t leave the volcano, but in order to escape, he made the ooze so he can affect the world around him. Those monsters? They’re him. He spreads his awareness in the ooze. I don’t understand what that means or how that works,” Danny explained, “I’m just relaying what he told us.”

“Neither do I! And, you’re telling me that this guy can reach into your heads? What even is the freaking Mawgu?!” Tucker exasperated. 

The Wise Old Crab turned away from the Chosen Ones and went back, “I must consult the ancient scripts, Chosen One. The prophecy has not foreseen this. Or, perhaps I did not see it clearly enough.” 

“Huh, I thought you were gonna lead us to the queen?” Patrick asked. 

The Wise Old Crab pointed his case to the road ahead, “You will find a forest ahead, Chosen Ones. My scouts tell me that the forest has turned treacherous, so I caution you all to be careful.”

“Like we weren’t already,” Squidward snarked, earning a smack from Sandy. 

The Wise Old Crab vanished into the night. Danny was certain he was deep underground and didn’t bother going after him, “Well, we follow this path. That’s our best clue.” 

SpongeBob clung to Danny’s leg, “I’m scared, Danny.” 

Patrick clung to Danny’s other leg, “Me too!” 

Cosmo clung to Danny’s arm, “Me three!” 

Tucker clung to Danny’s other arm, “Me four!” 

He turned intangible, and they fell on each other, “Guys, relax. We’ve come this far, and nothing’s stood in our way yet. Just stick together, watch where you step, and it’ll be alright,” he spotted Timmy wandering ahead, “I said stick together, Tim.”

He rubbed the back of his head as Wanda poofed him back to the group, “Sorry. So are we good for going forward?”

Squidward stepped up, “Better do it sooner than later. There’s a Rip-Zipper part in those Ooze Mines.”

Simultaneously, everyone said, “There is?”

He furrowed his eyebrows, “Did you morons never look at the map Coconut Head gave us and compare it to where the kooky crab was taking us? It lines up exactly where the part is.”

Tucker looked at his PDA to check, “Son of a gun, he’s right! So that’s why you were looking at my PDA for so long.” 

“And you know what. It makes sense too! If the Rip-Zipper part wasn’t there, Squidward would be complaining the whole time!” Timmy joked. 

Everyone laughed, much to Squidward’s chagrin. Danny tried holding back, but peer pressure made him join in. Squidward threw his arms in the air and walked ahead, “Just because you’re right, doesn’t mean I can’t be annoyed. Now get moving! I don’t wanna be out here all night.” 

When their laughing fit finished, they followed Squidward but he gradually found his way to the back of the pack along with Tucker and Patrick. SpongeBob, Timmy, and his godparents made up the middle, and Sam and Sandy flanked Danny, who led them through the forest. The cover of night did not encourage conversation, and they were mostly quiet. There was a short discussion of preferences for travelling through jungles under night or the day, and the verdict was it didn’t really matter. Both’s cons outweighed and outflanked whatever pros there were. 

Eventually they recognized progress when the trees turned from canopy, mountain apple, and emergent to spruce and oak trees. To Sam’s surprise, they encountered a few redwoods in their travels. These impressively giant trees stretched high to the sky above, obscuring the view of a planet’s rings hanging over them. 

This too would change. The air felt still and a foul stench filled their nostrils. And the trees grew sinister. They didn’t notice at first, but gradually. Dead trees stood around them, their lifeless branches forming a haunting silhouette. Patrick was growing uneasy, and he huddled up to Squidward for comfort, only to be warded off by a smack. 

“Yo, Pat, it’s cool. They’re just trees,” Tucker tried comforting him. 

Patrick wanted to believe it was so, but he also felt he was being watched. He shivered and followed on. He wasn’t the only one scared. SpongeBob was incredibly scared, and was practically on Timmy’s shoulders. 

“Am I really carrying SpongeBob?” he asked incredulously. 

Danny peeked over his shoulder, “He weighs nothing, why are you complaining?” 

Timmy frowned, “Because he’s breathing over me!” 

Sandy shook her head, “I don’t blame these fellers. Somethin’ spooky ‘bout this forest.” 

Danny agreed, “It’s like something I’d see in the Ghost Zone.” 

As Danny and the rest of them would learn, he spoke too soon. The lifeless trees seemed to be watching them. Every tree they passed, a face grew more defined, until they were surrounded by snarling grimaces. Patrick, SpongeBob, and Cosmo were shivering endlessly, and were ready to bolt at the slightest provocation. The others fared only slightly better. 

“Hey, you sure we didn’t slip into the Ghost Zone by accident?” Tucker asked through chattering teeth.

Thoughts of getting lost in the forest clouded Squidward’s mind, and the haunting faces were doing him no favors. While before he pushed Patrick away, now he embraced the sea star’s closeness. If he were glad about anything, it was the lack of presence of the infernal magic conch that vexed him in the Kelp Forest. He shuddered at the thought. 

Sam turned her nose up, “These guys are so easy to scare. All this, this is just baby’s first haunted house. I don’t know what’s the big deal?” 

Danny didn’t disagree but, “You realize you have an advantage over them, don’t you?”

“Not really,” Sandy chimed in, “Y’all ain’t the only ones with ghosts. We got the Flying Dutchman hangin’ ‘bout Bikini Bottom. He even bunked with SpongeBob for a lil’ while.”

Danny blinked, “Ok, so they have no consistency, is that what you want me to say?” 

His outburst added a bit of levity, but the others were on edge for their trek. Without feeling the fear, Sam studied the trees and wondered what killed them. A dead tree didn’t always upset her. A dead tree was like a whalefall, an opportunity for an explosion of development for all sorts of organisms and plants. Even burnt trees didn’t bother her. That meant the ashes would rejuvenate the soil and the land could flourish again. But these trees were different. If so many trees were dead, then the land soiling was a possible culprit. But then, why did they grow these faces? She stopped the group to study one of them with Sandy. The squirrel pointed out that despite the detail, the faces weren’t carved into the bark. 

When the trees glowed with a purplish hue, Sam quickly realized the Mawgu was at fault.

“Should’ve figured. Usually I’m not the tree hugging type, but this is bad,” Squidward said.

Sandy approached one of the infected trees and dipped her hand in the soil, “Hm. Dirt’s been soiled. I think I’m finding traces of the ooze here.” 

Patrick quivered, “The ooze is in the ground?!” 

“Think you could elaborate for us, Sandy?” Danny requested.

“No prob. Born and raised in Texas, I learned how to grow my own food. My grandpappy taught me that the land needs time to recoup, otherwise you’ll suck out all the life in the land. Plants can’t grow from nothing. So sometimes we’d set fire to our crops, wait a month and then we’d replant ‘em. Land was rejuvenated. Now, that’s not the only reason that a plant can stop thriving on life. I heard stories about people who were minin’ out in the hills, and they sucked out all the stuff the plants needed to live off of. That whole community needed to skedaddle,” Sandy wiped away the dirt from her gloved hand until a drop of the ooze was left, “‘Course, there’s other ways. In Chernobyl, when that disaster happened we scientists study the life around it. There’s mushrooms around there growing that feed off that nasty elephant’s foot.”

“Who would think an elephant would taste good?!” Cosmo laughed. 

“Oh gosh. I think I know what you’re getting at. The ooze mines the elder was telling us about. It’s affecting these trees and turning them evil,” Tucker said.

“Right on the money. Thing is,” Sandy began, “Plants will adapt to the environment. Why do you see all those cacti in the desert? Simple, they adapted to the desert. They take forever to grow and they hold onto water tighter than a rattlesnake with its dinner. If the ooze was always here, these trees would’ve adapted to it and used it to get energy.”

Sam’s throat went dry, “And if there’s an ooze mine is nearby.” 

Sandy nodded her head, “They ain’t mining the ooze that was already there. That’s for sure. If I was to take a guess, they’re drawing it out.” 

Timmy got on his hands and knees and studied the ground, “How’d you guess all that from the ground? We don’t know if we’re anywhere near the mine.”

Sandy laughed, “Well, fella. You can call what I’m laying out a hypothesis. Based on observation on the soil and drawing from my own knowledge. It’s all part of the scientific process. You’ll learn about it in middle school.” 

“That is, if he graduates elementary,” Danny quipped. 

A great laugh swept through the group and they walked ahead, but Wanda saw Sam lingered behind. She flew to the goth and asked, “What’s wrong? Does this forest have you bent out of shape, hun?” 

She nodded, “The environment. The natural world. It’s important. Without it, the world wouldn’t be the way it is, and we couldn’t survive without it,” she said, “Just, seeing the way the Mawgu treats this island, it hurts me every time.” 

Wanda offered a sympathetic smile, “You have a big heart. If you were my godchild, you would’ve done me proud with your wishes. Course, I might get tired of all the green wishes.” 

Sam’s lips curved and she perked up, “Thanks.”

“Now, c’mon. We can’t save the forest standing here. Let’s get moving!” 

They heard a high-pitched screaming up ahead. They caught up with the group and were horrified. Flowers bearing a sharpened maw snapped their teeth at their friends. One flower had Cosmo in its mouth, and was close to swallowing, while a group of flowers were pulling Patrick to a thicket of thorns, with SpongeBob and Timmy trying to keep him safe. The others huddled together, fending off the carnivorous plants. 

“What are these things?” Sam asked.

“Search me!” SpongeBob screamed, “But they’re mean and they’re dangerous!” 

Sam gripped the Fenton Peeler, and allowed the suit to surround her, “This garden needs a culling,” she said, and she blasted the flower holding Cosmo before it could swallow him. She leaped in the air and blasted the flowers dragging Patrick, “Get rid of bad plants to make room for good plants!” 

The meat-eating flowers recoiled from the attack, and Sam beckoned the others to run before they recovered. They fled the forest, but everywhere they looked, flowers snapped their jaws and tried getting a chomp on their bodies. Danny phased through a group of flowers and zapped their stems, and SpongeBob and Sandy chopped them down with karate. 

One flower hacked up and spat a glob of acid from its stem, “Eww! It stings!” SpongeBob complained.

Patrick saw the next glob coming and caught it with his mouth, “Mmm! Tastes sour.”

“Dude, that’s just gross,” Danny complained. 

A flower chomping at Danny got the group running again. Tucker and Squidward were lagging behind, neither used to the exertion expected of them, but Sam stayed near the back to keep them safe. 

An idea sprung into Sandy’s head, “Squidward! You got your clarinet on you?” 

From somewhere on his person, Squidward retrieved his instrument, “Now’s not a good time for a concert, Sandy.” 

“Don’t matter, give that piece a good blow!” 

Squidward rolled his eyes but obliged. He covered his clarinet’s holes for an e note and blew high. The piercing blare grated on his allies, but it was like nails on a chalkboard for the flowers.

“Wow! Squidward’s so bad, these flowers can’t stand his music,” Wanda noted.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with being bad. No one likes the clarinet, Wanda,” Cosmo added.

“Hey!” Squidward complained, but when he pulled away from the reed, the flowers bloomed and snarled at him and the others, “Ok, fair,” he took a deep breath and played a classic by Duke Ellington; jazz and classical were his forte and he played the song’s groove with grace. 

The flowers cringed at every note, and they retreated underground. Squidward was into his own music, and he played jazz as he walked ahead.

Patrick got into it and slapped his stomach like a drum to supply a beat, and both SpongeBob and Timmy snapped along with their fingers. The others followed along, keeping close to Squidward’s concert. 

Before long, they left the forest behind them and arrived at a bare clearing where Squidward ceased playing and bowed his head, “Thank you, thank you. Please, tip your waiters.”

Tucker came up and fist bumped him, “Well done, Squiddy Gee.” 

“Yeah, you pulled through for us,” Danny admitted.

Squidward’s mouth curled conceitedly, “Well, it wasn’t all me. Sandy came up with the idea.”

Sandy laughed, “Oh, don’t thank me. I didn’t think it would work in the first place! Now c’mon!” 

They walked through the clearing and came upon a cliff overlooking their destination. And it wasn’t a pretty picture. 

Standing what was certainly a few leagues from the base of the volcano were fields of crops where biomechanical beings treaded upon them, and much smaller human-sized creatures tended to these fields. Standing by this field was an enormous structure, a dome at its underside and a satellite and observatory at his peak. Not far from the crop fields were minecart rails leading into a cave, running alongside a river of ooze from which it flowed out of.

Patrick shivered, “What is all this? It’s so spooky here!” 

SpongeBob gulped, “What are those things, and what are they doing with the ooze?”

Tucker pulled a spyglass from his backpack and examined the biomechanics, “Whatever they are, they’re alive. Ugh, I can see ‘em opening their mouths. It’s gross,” the spyglass trailed over to the observatory, “Hello, what do we have here?” 

“Is it the queen?” Danny asked. 

“No, it’s a satellite dish,” 

Sam smacked Tucker across the head, “Tucker! Now’s not the time to obsess over technology!” 

He rubbed the back of his head, “For your information, what I found is important!” he insisted, “That satellite, could bolster a signal to Jimmy Neutron and his lab. With the communicator’s help, he could finally chart the island out.”

Squidward perked up, “And he could get a portal here?”

“Exactly!” Tucker finger-gunned him, but he clammed up at Danny, Sam, and Sandy’s disapproving glances, “Look, this isn’t about getting off this planet, ok? If we can get Jimmy’s help, the Mawgu’s time is getting cut in half.” 

SpongeBob tapped his foot, “He’s not wrong. Jimmy’s been a great help, but if he were here with us, and we had access to his lab! Tucker’s right, the Mawgu wouldn’t last another day!”

Danny eyed the minecarts below, “Well, before we make a plan, try looking at that cave.”

Tucker studied the cave. The ooze was flowing out like the gushing of lava. Florians emerged alongside the river pushing minecarts full of ooze-infected rocks. He attempted to get a better look at what was going on inside, but could peer no deeper. He did notice piping along the wall of the entrance. 

“If the queen’s in there, I don’t have any way of knowing,” Tucker said, “But they’re hauling rocks out of there.”

Sandy leaned against a boulder and crossed her arms, “My great-uncle once took me on a mining trip. We were drilling for oil, and most of what you’re doing is digging all the useless rocks and dirt out, and you can end up with piles surrounding you if you ain’t careful. I’m thinking, they’re drilling in that cave.”

Timmy borrowed the spyglass and watched the ooze flowing out of the cave, “So that flow of ooze. That’s what they’re digging out, isn’t it?”

“And if the ooze comes from the volcano, then they’re digging a way for the ooze to flow from the volcano!” SpongeBob exclaimed. 

Danny stood before everyone, “Everyone, we have to stop the flow of ooze as soon as possible. And we need to get a stronger connection to Jimmy’s lab. So here’s what I’m thinking,” he pointed to the biomechanical beings walking over the crop fields, “A few of us lay the beat down on those things and get everyone’s attention. Then when all the guards come out of the mines, a strike team will sneak inside and disrupt their mining operation and locate the queen. While that’s going on, Tucker will get in contact with Jimmy’s lab.”

Patrick stood next to Danny and wrapped an arm around him, “Now that’s what I’m talking about. You and I are gonna go down there and show ‘em all who’s boss!” 

Danny blinked, “Uh, Patrick. I was thinking Sam would team up with me.”

“Actually, Danny. If it’s alright with you. I’d like to go down in the mine,” Sam protested.

He studied for a moment before relenting, “Ok, me and Patrick will be the distraction. Tucker, that observatory is full of ooze and probably guarded. You’ll need someone to watch your back.” 

Timmy volunteered before Squidward could raise his tentacle, “Count me in! Besides, you could use some emergency wishes!”

Tucker accepted his help, somewhat reluctantly, “Oh, and keep an eye out for the Rip-Zipper part. Sam, I’m gonna send the part’s description to the Peeler Suit.” 

Squidward groaned, “Then it looks like I’m going along with Sandy, Sam, and,” he paused to glare at his nextdoor neighbor, “SpongeBob.”

SpongeBob was standing next to him with the biggest grin on his face. 

Danny nodded his head, “All four of you will go into the mines while me and Patrick make a distraction,” he gave everyone one last meaningful glance before bowing his head, “These people are counting on us. Some of us believe in it and some of us aren’t sure, but we were chosen to save them. I say we live up to their word.”

The ground trembled and squashed beneath the Thribbling CornBots’s feet. The Florians tending to the fields looked on mournfully. Once upon a time, that field yielded bountiful harvests every season. Now it was soaked with the ooze and these beasts tread upon it, keeping watch over the Florian Kingdom and its people. To keep invaders out, and its people in. These workers were among the few who hadn’t consumed the ooze. They knew it would rob them of their senses and turn them into a mindless slave to the monster lurking in the volcano. They didn’t dare to whisper these thoughts. King Gorge’s soldiers listened closely to any dissension, to deliver a punishment with eagerness and vigor.

The crop fields grew the Thribbling CornBots; machines fused with plant matter, born from corn stalks. The still sane workers didn’t know if this was an idea from King Gorge, or from the Mawgu. These monsters were terrifying to behold, and they constantly worried about getting squished. 

“You hear about the queen of the bugs?” a soldier asked his friend.

“No. What happen?” the ooze turned all of King Gorge’s army into fanatical servants to the Mawgu, and it robbed them of their intelligence. 

“The sergeant went to their holdout. He knocked out those bugs and took their queen with ‘im. Heheh, I hear they gonna dip her in the ooze deep in the mine,” 

“Whoa. Ain’t that where King Gorge was dipped? Dis must mean dis an order from the almighty Mawgu!” 

The soldiers sometimes displayed their old intelligence, even if for a mere moment, “Hey! You ain’t allowed to say that name! Youse lucky we friends. Now c’mon, we gotta watch these guys.” 

A Florian farmhand watched those soldiers walk away and sneered, “Idiots. At least before the jarheads knew how to conduct themselves.”

His partner shushed him, “Do you want to get dipped?”

“If it means I could get a drink of water, then yes,” before the outspoken farmer could be reprimanded, he noticed someone walking through the field, “What’s that guy doing?” 

The person stood before the Thribbling Cornbot and waved his arms, “Hey. Ugly. It’s me. I prank called your house and I ordered pizza to your address.”

The machine eyed him suspiciously. It lowered its head to the person’s level. It must not have liked its look because it rose up and pulled its leg up and stomped the field. The workers were certain that this stranger was gone, but when the dust cleared, the stranger was cartwheeling across the field without a care in the world. He was orbiting around the machine until he struck the Cornbot in one of its legs. The machine lost balance and fell on its side. 

“Wooh! Not so scary now!” he cheered. 

This only earned the attention of the other Thribbling Cornbots, and they stomped over to this pink stranger. He took notice and grabbed a hold of the fallen machine. He strained himself, and the workers thought that he was insane, until he pulled the machine over his head. He held it for a moment, and tossed it at the incoming Cornbots. The nearest Cornbot was wrecked when its fallen brother crashed into it. The other incoming machine scowled at him and stuck out its tongue. The workers were scared. Nothing good came from the Thribbling Cornbots getting serious. 

The machine charged its tongue and unleashed a beam of purple energy. What it fired upon exploded, and it edged toward the stranger. Finally recognizing the danger around him, he fled, threw his hands in the air, and screamed like a maniac. 

This was what Danny wanted. He flew in and threw a powerful kick into the machine. It knocked out its own equilibrium and it fell for good. Danny joined Patrick and calmed him down, “You did good, buddy.” 

“I did?” 

“Yeah! I mean, you threw one of those monsters! That wasn’t even our plan!” 

“We had a plan?” 

As they bantered, soldiers from every corner of the Florian Kingdom scurried to the crop fields, “We did, and it’s working. We’re gonna be fighting for a while. Are you ok with that?”

Patrick looked around.and saw he was surrounded by Florian soldiers, “Uh. I don’t know.”

While bewildered by Patrick’s lackadaisical response, Danny studied the Florians. They were the most human-shaped beings they encountered on the island, but the differences were obviously distinct. The Florians’s skin were covered by moss and leaves, if not shaped by them. They wore armor made from tree bark and stone, and their staves were wickedly twisted tree branches. But most sinister of all were the streaks of ooze covering their bodies, signifying their enslavement to the Mawgu.

“Who are you, bozos? How’d you beat our machines?” one Florian warrior demanded. 

“Uh, I threw one,” Patrick said, “Hey, Danny. These guys are pretty stupid, ain’t they?”

Danny narrowed his eyes, “Patrick, now is not the time to be funny.”

The ghost boy dodged in time of the warrior bringing his staff down on him, “I don’t care how you did it! We’re gonna beat youse guys up, and then dip you in the ooze! Attack!” 

At first Patrick stood still, as if he didn’t understand the danger coming for him. When a Florian soldier swung his staff at him, Patrick finally moved to grab the staff by one end and munched on the twisted end. 

“Pew! Gross! It tastes like rotten socks!” he sampled another bite, “Just like how mom used to make.”

Danny was too busy fighting off the Florians to be grossed or weirded out. He phased through multiple warriors and dodged more than he fought back. The Florians were tougher than the sand monsters they were used to. If Danny were to gauge their strength, he’d put them in line with Walker’s prison goons. Even on a good day, he found that lot challenging, and the Florians were no different. 

“Patrick! What’re you doing?!” 

Patrick was chasing the warriors around, trying to take their staves and eat them. He rolled his eyes and blasted a Florian with an ecto beam, quickly realizing he was on his own. He only hoped that his efforts would give the others the opportunity they needed.

Back up at the clearing, Tucker was keeping a close eye on the mine shaft opening. Warriors poured out to join the battle against Danny and Patrick, and there seemed to be no end in sight. He wondered if a whole army was waiting inside the mines; and if they did, how big were the mines then? 

“I think I can spot the last of them!” Sam reported on walkie-talkie.

Tucker looked down at Sam and her group hiding behind a boulder and then went back to the mineshaft. The warriors emptied out, and the mineshaft seemed clear, “Alright, you guys are good. Stay safe in there.”

“Roger,” Sam replied.

“You stay safe too, Tucker!” SpongeBob called. 

Tucker observed them leaping from cover and hurrying across the ooze river, using Sam’s lasso to swing from a hook hanging above the ooze. They disappeared into the mineshaft. Then he eyed the observatory, “Ok, Timmy. Let’s go.”

Timmy and his godparents led Tucker from the clearing down a rocky slope towards the tanker filled with ooze. They reached a ladder which led to the observatory at the tanker’s peak, and the pair quickly scaled the structure. Tucker wondered why the Florians would be storing ooze, if their intention was to keep the flow out of the volcano going. He rationalized that it wouldn’t matter once the operation was shut down. 

The observatory was open air, its telescope looking out to the sky above taking up most of the floorspace, along with a mid-sized satellite dish that stood by the edge. A couple of Florian warriors knelt over an open hatch where the ooze flowed underneath.

“One of us, one of us, one of us, one of us, one of us,” they chanted. 

Timmy grinned and whispered to Cosmo and Wanda. The fairies transformed into a pair of boxing-glove, spring-locked blasters. He aimed them at the guards and fired, where massive punching gloves smacked them off the tanker into the ooze river below. 

“Haha! Take that, you dweebs!” Timmy shouted. 

“Good work! Now, keep an eye out, and make sure no one tries to kill us,” Tucker knelt down at the satellite and set his backpack to the side and got to work, “We’re in luck, this dish is in good condition. I just need to figure out how to get the communicator connected, and a power source.” 

Timmy snapped his fingers, “Cosmo, Wanda? Give this man a wish.”

Wanda raised her eyebrow, “A please would be nice,” but she obliged her godchild’s wishes and poofed a power generator near Tucker. She watched him connect tubes and cords to the generator, while her godchild sat by the edge keeping an eye on the battlefield. She hoped that the others would be safe in the mines below.

The echoes of the Florians' battle with Danny and Patrick echoed into the mine shaft, and surged ahead of Sam, SpongeBob, Sandy, and Squidward. They followed the minecart rails that ran along with the river of ooze and the pipe-laded wall. Underground wasn’t at the top of Squidward’s pick of places to traipse around in, and his eyes darted back and forth between the ceiling he feared would collapse in on itself, or on the floor which he dreaded tripping over a stray rock. 

“Squidward, your teeth are chattering like hail on a tin roof,” Sandy said.

“So what? This place is creepy!” Squidward’s eyes trailed around the wall and he screamed, “What is that?!” 

SpongeBob yelped and jumped into Sam’s arms. Even she was unnerved by what she saw. An enormous, fossilized beetle jutted out of the wall with ancient roots grasping its body. 

Did this great insect attempt to leave and was pulled back by the roots of the mineshaft walls, or was it pulled toward the walls? Either answer gave chilling implications, and the four of them decided it wasn’t worth dwelling on. 

But Squidward still used it as an opportunity to complain, “I don’t know how you guys manage to do this, all of this is frightening!” 

“Squidward, I know you work in customer service, this should be a walk in the park for you,” Sam reasoned with him.

SpongeBob laughed, “Oh, Sam. That’s different. Squidward copes by shutting down all his cognitive functions. It’s how he can get through all the customers yelling at us,”

Squidward laughed, “Can’t traumatize me if my brain’s not working.”

“Could you get down? I don’t wanna carry you the whole way,” Sandy complained.

He obliged and they proceeded down an empty mineshaft. Wherever there wasn’t ooze or rocks were pieces of machinery designed to encourage ooze flow, minecarts filled to the brim with rocks, and spare parts for the untold number of machines. They kept a lookout for the Rip-Zipper when they passed by those caches of machine bits, but Sam reported they weren’t at the part’s location yet.

“Why did Tucker take the communicator? Without that genius, we’re in the dark!” Squidward vented his frustrations. 

SpongeBob waved his arms to quiet them down, “Guys, it’s not about the journey, it’s about making sure you enjoy the journey and what you share with everyone.”

“That’s nice, SpongeBob, but we’re also tryin’ to save the world, and if we can’t find this part, we’re gonna be in trouble,” Sam said.

“Fair, fair,” 

It was eerie how empty the facility was. Sam wondered if the workers were under lockdown or imprisoned in some capacity. She had hoped to rabble rouse the Florians not under the Mawgu’s control and lead a rebellion, but no one was about to rouse or be considered a rabble. 

They came to an opening in the mineshaft, where an awfully gigantic drill was held over a lake of ooze that it churned endlessly. 

“They’re mining the ooze, alright,” Sam said.

Sandy gazed at the enormous drill and thought carefully, “If I were to take a gander, my guess is, this is where a vein from the volcano is.”

“What makes you think that?” Squidward asked.

“All the ooze is from the Mawgu and the volcano. Volcanoes ain’t just a simple shaft from the surface to the magma below. There’s paths and chambers for the lava to flow into and out of. I think, the Mawgu found a way to divert the ooze here, and then had the Florians clear a path so more ooze could flow freely,” she elaborated.

SpongeBob took one glance at Sam and guessed, “What they’re doing, is hurting the environment isn’t it?”

Sandy knew what he meant and nodded, “These pipes we’re seeing around. I reckon they’re pumping out the noxious gas they’re pulling from the ground and into the air.”

The Peeler Suit instantly surrounded Sam, “Then let’s destroy this thing. Once and for all.”

“Hold on! Before you idiots get in a tizzy over that drill, just think for a second,” Squidward spoke up, earning him a curious, indifferent, and piercing gaze from them, “We need to save the bug queen, so what good will it do if we shut down their drill and we can’t find the queen?”

“Schucks. Squidward’s gotta point. So far no one knows we’re here. If the Florians figure that out, they could leave with the queen and we wouldn’t know,” 

Sam crossed her armor-covered arms and tapped her fingers on the blaster, “Not necessarily. If we shut it down, and while they’re figuring out what’s going on, we grab the Queen and get out.”

Squidward gazed up at the drill and its rig. Catwalks led up to the cavern’s roof and what appeared to be an exposed engine block. Across the ooze flow was a path leading around a corner of the caverns, “I’d hate to say we split up again, but if we’re really gonna save this queen, then we have no other choice.”

SpongeBob’s face curled up in glee as he moved closely to Squidward. The cephalopod was granted mercy by Sandy pulling SpongeBob towards her, “Then you and Sam wreck the drill. Me and SpongeBob will find the queen. Once we got her, we’ll all run out of here together.”

Sam and Squidward watched SpongeBob and Sandy walk ahead toward the cavern’s corner. Alone together, they searched for a means of reaching the drill’s upper catwalk. He soon came to regret this decision, as Sam’s means of reaching the drill entailed leaping from suspended platform, to moving platform, to shimmying along narrow railings by their hands, and dropping from very concerning heights. 

“I think I sprained my ankles,”

Still, the pair reached the drill. They got a good look at the bit churning the ooze. It lapped at the blade’s edges and constantly flowed upwards. The drill wasn’t just digging a way for the ooze to flow out, it was allowing the ooze to flow efficiently. The ooze was viscous, a tie between molasses and pudding, and could prevent its own flow. By churning the ooze, this allowed more to flow outward. 

“We’re climbing all the way up there, aren’t we?” Squidward asked, somewhat rhetorically.

Sam gave him a look and nodded. They ran along the catwalk encircling the massive structure. Still recovering from the journey up there, Squidward lagged behind, and was panting with each stride. Sam hardly noticed. She was driven in her goal of shutting down this infernal machine. She hated it with more than anything in her heart. It was one thing causing harm to the environment to extract resources, but it was another when the sole purpose was to cause harm. She grinded her teeth while thinking about it. 

“One of us, one of us, one of us,” she stopped and took cover by a large pipe. Ahead were Florian warriors bowing their heads to the drill, “Almighty, Mawgu. See through us. Our eyes are mirrors from where you look to.” 

“Guys! Please! What’s wrong with you?” a voice panicked. Sam peeked over and saw another Florian tied in front of the three warriors. A bucket full of ooze sat beside him. 

“Silence. You will become one of us. Now, drink,” the leader stood and grabbed the bucket of ooze, while the other two grabbed the Florian and held him down. 

“Oh is there a party going on here?” Squidward quipped, without realizing his voice would bounce off the cavern walls. 

The warrior, about to pour the ooze, looked over at Squidward and Sam, “Intruders. You dare desecrate our holy drill?!” 

Sam leaped out of cover and blasted the Florians with her blaster. It hardly registered on the leader, but the pair of warriors were stunned. Sam closed the distance, dropped herself to the floor and spin kicked the Florian. He fell on his back and Sam kicked him into the other pair. The innocent Florian was shaken and stared at her fearfully. She reached for his bindings and tore them off, and he ran away without thanking her, pushing Squidward aside. The corrupted Florians recovered and snarled at Sam. They charged at her and threw punches at her. She dodged and weaved through their attacks and augmented her punches with point-blank blasts. One of the warriors could take no more punishment and he fell backwards. His partner fell unconscious after receiving a metal-covered kick to the head, leaving only the leader.

“You must be one of them Chosen Ones we was told about,” he said, slurring his words slightly.

“If what you said about your eyes is true, then your master is getting a sneak peak on what I’m planning to do with him,” she said.

The warrior smirked, “You think you can beat the almighty Mawgu? You best enjoy winning this fight, Chosen One. ‘Cause the Mawgu gonna make quick work of you when he does!” 

“That’s not for him to decide!” Sam thrust a powerful punch into the warrior’s gut and he stumbled backwards, and slipped off the catwalk. He caught the edge and slowly pulled his other arm up. 

Sam came to the edge and glared at the Florian, contemptuously considering his and the Mawgu’s fate. He noticed she wasn’t paying attention, so he reached for her leg and pulled her off the ledge. She acted quickly and blasted him, and his other hand let go of the ledge. She grabbed the ledge with her left hand. 

“Sam!” Squidward rushed over and pulled at her wrist, “C’mon, you can’t go like this!” 

The warrior laughed and tried pulling himself up on Sam’s leg, “Squidward! I’m gonna let go.”

“Let go! Are you nuts?! You’ll fall into the ooze!” 

She tried shaking off the warrior, but he wouldn’t let go, “I know. This suit will keep me safe. But Squidward. You have to shut down the drill! It’s our only hope!” 

“But. But I can’t do this on my own! I don’t know how to fight like you guys!” 

She shut her eyes and forced a smile on her face, “Squidward. I know you can do this.” 

His grip loosened and Sam watched Squidward grow smaller and smaller. The warrior alongisde her didn’t register to her, as she braced for impact. Her whole world turned soft and squishy and pink. The Florian warrior sank beneath the ooze, but she didn’t offer sympathy to him. The Peeler Suit alerted her the acidic damage, and she pulled herself out of the ooze. 

The shore wasn’t far and she swam to safety. The Peeler Suit retracted itself back into handheld form, and she collapsed on the rocky ground. 

Squidward watched her and was fretting about, “What do I do now? Ooh, I wish I wasn’t alone. Oh! I wish I wasn’t on this stupid island. Why do I have to deal with all this? I just wanna go home and paint and play my clarinet. Why me?” he hugged his legs to his chest, “What did I do to deserve this?” he rested his head on his legs and cried. He sniffled and wiped away his tears, “Ok, Squiddie. I gotta shut down the drill. Yeah, shut it down,” he swallowed his fear and stood up, “Everyone’s relying on you. The island. The others. Let’s face it, you. Alright. Well, let’s get going.”

He encircled the drill and climbed a ladder to the upper floors. Every section of the drill he crossed grew longer the higher he went, and the engines were becoming deafeningly loud. He was so focused on covering his ears, he found himself almost walking off the catwalk’s edge. The air was growing thick with diesel fumes and the floor was slick with oil. It reminded him of Plankton’s robots when they attacked Bikini Bottom. He was tripping over robot parts for weeks. A wave of resentment came over him when he remembered them breaking into his bathroom during a mud bath.

The cavern ceiling was finally in sight and so was the drill’s engine, “Alright, now what do I do?” he crossed his tentacles, “Hm, SpongeBob and Patrick break everything. I got it, I’ll just get into their mindset,” he rubbed the sides of his head, “Hey, Patrick! Squidward has this drill! Let’s go give him a hand! What could go wrong?” 

He spotted an engine block powering the gears turning the drill. With a big smile on his face, he found a nearby tool box, “This oughta fix what Squidward messed up!” he said with a deep voice, and he dropped it on the block and dove for cover. The iron box bounced along the pistons and its content leaped out and into the engine’s mechanisms. This swiftly caused a jam, and the engine block tore itself apart under its own power. The gears slowly came to a stop and the machine gradually powered down. The cavern turned quiet as the drill slowed to a stop. The gushing ooze gradually smothered the tip and prevented more from flowing out. 

“I did it! Woohoo! Take that! I can contribute to this group!” he cheered. Silence was his only reply, “Right, I’m all alone. Well, better get off this thing and make sure Sam’s alright.” 

He didn’t realize he wasn’t alone.

He was bonked on the head with a stick, and he fell unconscious. 

The perpetrator stood over him and pulled him by his feet. Ooze and stone taking the form of a statuesque young woman dragged him from the drill to a nearby cavern, which gradually led to the volcano. Fumes from the ooze filled Squidward’s nostrils and looked into his memories before he was pulled too far away. 

Nearby Sam, ooze and rocks came together and formed the shape of another cephalopod, one with a distinct unibrow. He reached down and grabbed Sam by her wrist, and pulled her.

Danny and Patrick were breathing hard. They were surrounded by an army of Florians. Though they put a big dent in their numbers, they were still severely outnumbered. The half ghost was starting to regret his plan, after realizing that taking on an army with only one other person might have been a mistake. Still, he maintained his footing, even though he wanted to collapse. Patrick was worse off and looked ready to pass out at any moment. 

“Danny, I’m gonna pass out,” he said, seriousness in his voice. 

He couldn’t kid himself anymore, and decided to bail. He wrapped his arms around the sea star and took off for the skies above. The Florians were not pleased and they chucked their staves at him. Danny turned intangible and the staves flew through him harmlessly. But this put a strain on his powers and he lost altitude. With no other sanctuary in place, he decided to make an emergency landing at the observatory. Before Patrick could protest this hasty decision, they were already dive bombing on the facility. Before they knew, they were on top of Cosmo, much to Timmy and Tucker’s bewilderment. 

“Guys? Aren’t you supposed to be keeping that army distracted?!” Tucker asked, a half dozen tools between his fingers.

“If it sounds so easy, why don’t you try it yourself?” Patrick groaned. 

Timmy peeked over the tanker and panicked, “They’re coming this way! Counting’s never been my thing, but I think I lost count around five hundred!” he leaped over Patrick and Danny and rubbed Tucker’s shoulders, “You’ve been working on this for a while! Get in contact with Neutron!” 

“I’m trying! This takes a bit more effort than it looks!” Tucker complained.

“Just give it a kick. That’s what I always do,” he gently kicked the satellite dish, and all at once, it produced the results Tucker was waiting for.

Tucker, Patrick, Danny, Timmy, Wanda, and a crushed Cosmo watched the satellite aim itself at the sky. The five fixed their gaze on Timmy, who stared at his own foot, wondering what else it could do in dire situations. Tucker snapped himself out of his amazement and contacted Jimmy on the communicator.

“Jimmy Neutron! Come in Jimmy Neutron,” 

The image came in, and Jimmy was tapping on his keyboard rhythmically, “Oh, hey guys. What’s up?” 

Danny pushed himself off of Patrick and approached the communicator, “Good new and bad news. Good news, we’ve got a satellite in working order.”

“Oh? That’s incredible! Wait, before I ask anymore questions, what’s the bad news?” he asked.

Patrick got off of a flattened Cosmo and came to the communicator, “Oh it’s nothing much. Just an army of green people coming after us.” 

Jimmy blinked, “Danny. Tucker. When he says army, does he mean-”

“It’s a long story. But we could use your help, Jim,” Danny said, “Me and Patrick are worn out, and I don’t know how we’re getting out of this without your help.” 

Jimmy sucked a sharp breath of air, “Tuck. Can the satellite dish get in contact with me?” 

Tucker tapped on his PDA, “I’m gonna send a signal out into space, but it’ll be just as good as a flashlight in the dark. I don’t know if you’ll be able to find us.” 

Wanda heard a ruckus around the tanker. She peeped over the edge, and her eyes bulged out of their sockets. Below, the Florians congregated around the tanker, and a dozen were climbing up the ladder. She waved her wand and poofed a saw in her hand and began cutting the ladder from their perch. 

“You boys need to do something quick, or we’re all in huge trouble!” 

Danny locked eyes with Timmy, “I need to tap out. Do you got this?” 

Timmy grinned. He reached for Cosmo’s wand and waved it. A jetpack and a jumbo water gun appeared on his person, “Do you even need to ask?” he took to the sky and encircled the tanker. He aimed and fired a torrent of ice cold water at the Florians climbing the ladder. Several let go and fell into the horde below. He fired another torrent and had the Florian army in shivering fits.

Tucker adjusted the satellite’s position, but no matter where in the sky Tucker attempted, Jimmy could not get a reading, and it was getting on his nerves, “I don’t get it! This satellite is reaching into the universe! How are you not getting this?”

Before the wave of realization smacked into Jimmy, he was trying with every resource he had at his disposal to detect their signal, yet there hadn’t been the slightest blip. His prevailing theory was that the island was somewhere in a far off galaxy whose light had yet to reach earth. But that didn’t make sense for two reasons. Even if Tucker’s signal was coming from beyond the reaches of space, Jimmy would have caught a hint of it. And the other, their call was crystal clear. 

“Tucker, I’m going to make a suggestion,” was Jimmy’s way of preparing Tucker for the absurd.

“Uh, ok? I’m all ears, man,” 

“Direct the satellite toward the storm over the volcano,”

Danny’s face furrowed, “What good will that do?!” 

“Just trust me!” Jimmy shouted.

Patrick eyed the battle below, “I think we better listen to him, guys. If we don’t get going, they’re gonna get their hands on us.”

Danny looked where he was facing, and the Florians were forming a human ladder to reach them, despite Timmy’s constant water blasting. He prevented Tucker from getting a look and remarked, “Do what Jimmy says.” 

Tucker relented and hammered the commands into his PDA. The satellite dish turned from the sky above and aimed itself at the storm, “Alright. Signal’s at full blast. Are you getting anything at all?”

Jimmy said nothing. He stared at his computer screen, waiting for a result. He didn’t allow any thoughts to appear that could dissuade and form doubt. Seconds felt like hours, and minutes felt like days. 

And finally, Jimmy detected Tucker’s signal, “I’V’E REACHED YOU!”

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!” Patrick, Danny, Tucker, and Wanda victory screeched, but Jimmy didn’t hear. They were so loud, they clipped the communicator’s mic. 

“Yaaay,” Cosmo meekly added.

Jimmy immediately captured the coordinates and powered on the Universe Portal Machine, but not the one in his lab. In his hangar, he constructed a much larger portal for his hovercar and astrocar to fly through, as he anticipated they would come in handy one day. He never thought he would use it to fly into a tropical island that couldn’t be found anywhere in the universe.

“Wait, Jimmy! Where are you going?!” Tucker panicked.

Jimmy hadn’t realized he left the communicator on. He looked back and waved to his friends, “Gotta blast!” and he walked off. He grabbed every invention he thought he needed, and stored them inside his hypercube. He entered his hangar and slid down the chute onto a pile of mattresses and he hopped into his hovercar, where it came to life after ignition. It floated in the air, as the massive portal taking up a side of the wall came to life. A green vortex swirled into existence and spiraled into an enormous portal. He gripped the controls, “Alright. Everyone’s counting on you! Let’s just hope getting back home isn’t too painful.”

He swallowed his fear and stamped out all reservations and flew into the portal. He blinked and he was suddenly flying over a glowing pink river next to fields and an enormous tanker. To his right, he glimpsed at the volcano. Its might could never be conveyed through any image, and he gazed up at it and the storm it wore as its crown.

“And here I thought I wouldn’t be sharing the spotlight, but yet you come anyway to steal my thunder,” Timmy’s snide comments pulled Jimmy’s attention, “You wanna save our friends’ lives or do you wanna space out all day?”

“Right! There they are, let’s save them,” Jimmy stammered.

Timmy rolled his eyes and flew ahead of Jimmy, “Hate to break it to you, guys,” Timmy said to everyone as they were pushing the Florian ladder back, “But this island just got a lot lamer when this dork came.”

Wanda scowled at her godchild, “Timmy! Now is not the time!” 

Jimmy floated the hovercar above the tanker’s platform, “Everyone get aboard!” 

Danny blasted the Florians for a farewell and leaped onto the hovercar and helped Patrick get aboard. The sea star’s weight upset the hovercar’s balance, but Jimmy adjusted and had him sit in its center. 

“Tucker! Now would be a good time to get aboard!” Danny shouted.

“We can’t leave without the satellite!” he objected. 

Jimmy saw these green, human-like creatures coming up to the platform and he said, “There’s no time! We can get another satellite!”

Tucker reluctantly left what he believed was their only means of salvation, and climbed aboard. Cosmo and Wanda hopped onto the hovercar, and Jimmy flew away, just as the Florians swarmed over the tanker. Timmy flew alongside in his jetpack and they flew high over the forests below.

Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief, “Well. Now that that’s out of the way, it’s good to see you folks again. Well, maybe not Turner.”

“Hey!” 

Danny shook his head, “Is your rivalry worse now or what?” 

“Oh, believe us. It’s worse,” Wanda chimed in. 

Jimmy brought the hovercar to a stop, and it floated in place. With a pair of binoculars, he watched his portal close in on itself. He attempted contacting Vox, but as expected, no signal was reaching his world. He marooned himself, with possibly no means of ever getting home. 

“Are you realizing you marooned yourself with no means of going home?” Patrick asked.

Jimmy turned his head and eyed him with a raised eyebrow, “Yes.” 

Timmy landed on the hovercar and rested against its side, “So, what now?” 

“Well-”

“We need to go down into the mines and reach the others before those Florian goos do. Jimmy, can you fly your hovercar underground?” Danny asked.

Jimmy was stunned for a moment before responding, “Uh, sure. But my hovercar has a weight limit.”

“Rub it in, why don’t you?” Patrick said, incredulously. 

“We can work that out later. Head back the way we came and go into a mineshaft,”

Jimmy obliged. He wasn’t used to deferring to someone. It was usually him who made the decisions, but now he was following Danny’s words. How much had changed since they all came to the island, he wondered. 

Timmy took notice of his rival’s state, and relished in it.

SpongeBob and Sandy were hiding behind a boulder, watching the Florians conducting their ritual. A dozen warriors bowed to a cliff overlooking a well of ooze, where a jar hung in the air by a pair of chains held by a statue of a Florian. Inside the jar was a human-sized praying mantis adorned with brooches and a flowery crown. She held a royal baton in her hand and tapped the glass every few moments. Standing by one of the chains was an especially brutish Florian. He was big and bulky, and his shoulders were covered in ooze-filled cysts. He looked the praying mantis over and grimaced.

“Youse bugs better give up! Or King Gorge will crush youse all!” 

The praying mantis wasn’t intimidated, but she spoke softly, “Sergeant, I beg you to take heed to my words. You are under the Mawgu’s control. For your people’s sake, you must resist, or our island is doomed.

He didn’t consider her words for even a moment, “Shuddup! Soon you will be one of us. A loyal servant, to the Mawgu!”

“One of us, one of us, one of us, one of us,” the Florians chanted. 

SpongeBob shook nervously, “Oh, Sandy. What’re we gonna do?”

Sandy sat against the rock and crossed her arms, “If we had a distraction, we could get to that big fella over there and knock him off that ledge. If we try brawling with those fellers, he’ll just dip her in the ooze.” 

“What can we use as a distraction?” SpongeBob asked.

The answer came sooner than expected. 

Everyone heard footsteps coming from down the way, and the Florians turned from their ritual to their chamber’s entrance. The sergeant glared and curled his fist, ready to attack the intruder.

“Whose are you? What’re you doing here?!”

“Will you relax?” the voice was familiar, “I’m one of the Mawgu’s creations. Besides, I have a prisoner with me.”

SpongeBob and Sandy looked at the ritual chamber once more. To their shock, they saw what they first thought was Squilliam Fancyson, but upon further inspection, it was another familiar created by the Mawgu. And worst of all, he was dragging Sam by her feet. 

“You a Mawgu thing?” the sergeant asked.

“Indeed. I was formed by one of those Chosen One’s memories of their worst enemy. Although I am not impressed with this being’s form.”

A Florian pointed to Sam, “Who dat prisoner?”

Squilliam laughed, “The Night Girl. One of the Chosen Ones. I figure we could have some fun, and dip one of the Chosen Ones into our master’s ooze, and send her after her friends. I’m certain they would love to see one of them enslaved to our master’s will.”

The Florians were very receptive to the idea, and they approached Squilliam to carry Sam to the sergeant. 

“We don’t got any time, SpongeBob! We gotta act now!” 

He took a deep breath and reached for his bubble wand, “I have an idea, but I’m not thrilled about it. I’ll be the distraction, and you’ll save the queen and Sam.”

Sandy wasn’t sure; she couldn’t imagine what SpongeBob could do. If anyone were to be a distraction, it would be her. She was stronger and could easily keep the Florians at bay. But there was a glint of confidence in SpongeBob’s face. ONe that she didn’t see often. She nodded her head and stepped away.

SpongeBob blew a few bubbles to wet his lips. Now ready, he in quick succession, blew a bowling ball to roll and a bubble missile at the same time. The bubbles popped simultaneously, followed by another bowling ball and missile. A force was now acting on SpongeBob’s forward momentum, and he was pushing himself into a rock. He rubbed his body against the rock, until he brushed past it and zipped through the opening. He flew through the air at a wickedly fast speed, and smacked into a wall. He turned himself around by force and he was pushed into the group of Florians. He confused the warriors, which gave him the opportunity to lock them inside bubbles. With his bubble wand, he quickly sealed half the soldiers in a sudsy prison, and then wrapped a bubble around Squilliam. While the warriors screamed in fear, Squilliam allowed his body to collapse on itself, and the ooze turned his bubble a dark purple.

SpongeBob was darting all around the ritual chamber, smacking warriors with his bubble wand or leaping over them. He was picking up speed with every second, and his attacks packed a greater punch. But so did smacking into a wall too. 

“Sir! What’s goin’ on?!” 

The sergeant was trying to swat at SpongeBob, but even when an attack seemed successful, SpongeBob would go flying off in another direction. He tried blasting him with ooze, but he was too fast. He was just as lost as his subordinates. 

“I don’t know! Just! Try and hit him!” he smacked the ground, “Form a circle and hit the ground, he can’t get us if they ain’t no opening!” 

The Florians formed a circle and they beat the ground with their staves. For a moment, SpongeBob wasn’t attacking them, but he was still picking up speed. 

The bubble containing Squilliam popped, and the ooze and rocks that formed the familiar fell on the floor. The ooze reformed into Squilliam’s shape and he scrutinized the Florians, “You idiots! If you don’t take the offensive, he’ll be faster than your swings!” 

The Florians didn’t seem to comprehend what he was saying, and only interpreted his words as an order to pound the ground faster. He rolled his ooze eyes and attempted to keep track of SpongeBob, who was growing faster by the second. 

Sandy couldn’t believe SpongeBob could get this fast. How come he never mentioned that before? She knew there was no time to think up a reason and took the opportunity her friend gave her. She pulled out her lasso and swung it in the air like a circle. The wind picked up around her, and she stopped. She could make it work. 

She stepped ten paces backwards, and ran toward the cliff. She leaped off the rocks and somersaulted through the air. She judged herself losing altitude and took out her lasso. She twirled it like a helicopter and hovered through the air. During a particularly slow day at the treedome, Sandy developed this technique in case she ever needed to fly and was without a jetpack. She employed it plenty during the robot invasion, but hadn’t needed it for a long time. She quickly remembered how tiring the effort was, and she wished the ordeal was over.

She landed at the platform next to the Myrmec Queen’s enormous jar. She looked over the edge where ooze bubbled below. The praying mantis was spooked by her appearance, “It’s alright, queenie. I’m here to get you outta there.” 

This put her at ease, “Oh, thank you so much. Quickly, before that strange thing attacks.”

Sandy chuckled, “Don’t fret. He’s with me,” she knelt down and felt the jar of glass. There hardly seemed anything special about it. She considered her options. If she had her knife, she could carve a hole into the glass. She glanced at her own hand and considered using karate, but she worried about shattering the entire jar. She decided that if that happened, she would lasso the queen and pull her to safety. She even used her left hand as a precaution. 

Sandy assumed a stance and concentrated on her own strength and the place she intended to strike. Karate was not just a physical activity, it was a means of becoming in touch with one's body and spirit simultaneously. She struck the glass with a swift karate chop. The glass vibrated under the force of Sandy’s power, and all at once the glass shattered. Sandy quickly lassoed the queen and pulled her up to safety.

“Forgive me for that, queen,” 

She was catching her breath, “Thank you anyway. Oh goodness, that was too close. Now, my savior, where does our path lead us?”

Sandy intended on answering, when a tentacle composed of ooze pulled her off the platform and dragged her to the ritual chamber’s center. She tried fighting off her captor, but the sergeant rested his foot on her helmet. 

The Squilliam familiar scanned for SpongeBob’s movements, when it launched a tentacle through the air. It wrapped its tentacle around his leg, and then encircled his body. SpongeBob smacked into the wall, losing the force propelling him forward. Squilliam pulled him down alongside Sandy and Sam and glared at him. 

“H-hi, Squilliam Fancyson. S-Squidward’s not with us, you know,” SpongeBob attempted small talk.

Squilliam guffawed, “Oh if it weren’t for him inhaling the ooze’s fumes, I wouldn’t have been born from his memories! Hah hah hah!” he fixed his eyes on the queen, “As for you. Your fate hasn’t changed. Sergeant. In the name of the Mawgu, dip her in the ooze.” 

The hulking brute lifted his foot off of Sandy and slowly approached the platform. Sandy glared at Squilliam while the remaining Florians pointed their spears at them, “You ain’t gettin’ away with this, Fake Squilliam.” 

“Oh but I will. And you three are next. But first, I want our master to search your memories. A warrior as powerful as you? Whoever you must fear must be especially strong,” 

Sandy laughed, “Hah! I don’t fear no one! So why don’t you get your grubby mits off of me so I can serve you up a Texas-style butt kicking.”

Squilliam chuckled, “I will enjoy dipping you in ooze more than I should.”

The sergeant approached the queen. He ignored her strikes at his arm as he grabbed her by her wait. He leaped to the floor and stood before the cliff overlooking the ooze. The queen lost her composure and she struggled and screamed in the sergeant’s grip, to no avail. 

Squilliam took his gaze off his prisoners and watched the queen squirm. In every part of Squilliam’s personality that enjoyed watching Squidward embarrass himself, the familiar replaced it with a relishment for the innocent suffering. His master prided himself on creating familiars who embodied the worst in their subjects, and all that made the Mawgu powerful. 

“Hey, you hear something?” one of the Florians asked, but Squilliam didn’t notice, until the noise became obvious to everyone present.

It was like an industrial fan from around the corner, but the Florians didn’t need them. So what could it be? Squilliam turned his head when he witnessed an orange intertube soaring through the air. With the Florians distracted, this was the opportunity Sandy wanted. She tore through her own suit and squeezed Squilliam’s tendrils and tore them off. Then she karate chopped the familiar’s bulbous head, and the ooze forming its body collapsed in on itself, with the rocks falling harmlessly on the ground. 

SpongeBob was freed from the tendril and grabbed Sam and carried away from the chaos. He ran backwards to watch the battle, “Hold on? Is that Jimmy Neutron?!” 

Jimmy, with his hover shoes, blasted the sergeant with his freeze ray while Danny flew down and pulled the Myrmec Queen out of the Florians grasp. The ice cracked behind him, and Danny grinned. He kicked the sergeant over the edge, and he fell into the ooze below. The Florians had recovered their nerves when Patrick stumbled out of the hovercar and fell on top of several Florian soldiers. That’s when Timmy zoomed in on his jetpack, and knocked the rest of the warriors out with Cosmo hammer. 

The battle was over. SpongeBob came back to the center of the chamber wearing a huge grin, “I can’t believe it. Jimmy. You’re here! That means! Oh goodness! The Chosen Ones are all together! Hooray!” 

Danny let the Myrmec Queen down, and upon hearing those words, she reacted with surprise, “Chosen Ones? You people are the Chosen Ones?”

Danny scratched the back of his head and let someone else explain. It unfortunately fell to Patrick, and he was smitten by the queen, “You know it, ma’am!” he grinned, “We are the Chosen Ones!” 

The Myrmec Queen pretended she hadn’t noticed and focused on her own thoughts, “Then, the legends are true. Oh, Shelley was right all along. Why didn’t I believe him sooner?”

Collectively, SpongeBob, Danny, an awakened Sam, Patrick, Timmy, Sandy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Tucker asked, “Shelley?!” 

“Yes? Has he not spoken his name?” she asked.

Danny snorted, “Half of us call him the Wise Old Crab, the other half call him elder. He never mentioned his name once.” 

She shut her eyes and smiled, “That sounds like him. Always embarrassed by his own name. I never understood why,” she faced her saviors and bowed, “I express my thanks, Chosen Ones. You have saved not only my life, but my faculty as well. Without your intervention, I would have been a slave to the Mawgu, and my people would have fallen.” 

Patrick blushed and waved his hand, “Aw, it was nothing.”

Sandy shook her head, “Pat, you ain’t foolin’ no one.”

Jimmy was away from the group and was studying his watch, “Guys! I’m detecting an aqueous thermal diffuser nearby. We need that for the Rip-Zipper.”

No one knew what that meant, nor did they know what they should be looking for. Still, there was a brief search around the chamber until SpongeBob spotted their quarry, “It’s over there! Wow, it’s beautiful.”

Danny stared at it, “Dude. It’s an espresso machine.”

“That’s what I said,” Jimmy explained.

While they were loading the hovercar with the espresso machine, Sandy, Danny, and Sam attended the queen. Along with checking to make sure she was alright, they asked her why the Florians captured her. There they were told about the Florians unusual activity in the past few months. It had been concerning, but the Queen believed that the kingdoms should live and let live when it came to how they conducted their lives. It was only when the Florians displayed hostility did she take her kingdom far away from their forests and hid her people away. 

“I do not know how they found me so quickly. I was certain that no one, not even the Mawgu could find us, but I was wrong. Oh, I fear for my people’s safety, Chosen Ones,”

Sam offered her hand to the queen, “It’s alright, ma’am. We’ll get you back to your people safely.” 

She smiled, “Thank you. But, it is not only my people I concern myself with. The Florians are in great peril as well,” 

Danny furrowed his eyebrows, “You mean these guys that have been trying to kill us for the past few hours? The ones that tried dipping you in ooze?”

The queen nodded, “I know it seems odd, but the Myrmec Tribe and the Florian Kingdom once got along famously. King Gorge is an old friend of mine after all. But under the Mawgu’s influence, they’re destroying their own people for that monster’s sake,” she looked away and recounted memories not yet dwelled on, “My commando bugs have reported what has become of my old friend. Once, his people were never deprived of water. But now, their water is withheld, and they are forced to drink the Mawgu’s ooze.”

Danny squeezed his fist, “And they’re enslaved to him when they do.”

“Yes. They are turned into soldiers who toil away in these mines,”

Sam exploded, “It’s an environmental apocalypse, and it’s all the Mawgu’s fault. Your majesty, please tell us how we can save the Florians.”

Her lips curled, “I knew you’d want to save them. It’s just as the legends foretold when my mother told me as I grew up,” she faced them again with a look of authority, “My commando bugs can deliver you to King Gorge himself. If you can keep him focused on you, my subjects can free the river and wash away the ooze from the Florian Kingdom forever.” 

“You’re willing to help us?” Danny asked, surprised that she would lend her resources to their cause.

“It is not just for your sake, Chosen One. My friend is at stake, and if he can be saved, then I will waste no resources,”

SpongeBob had overheard their discussion and included himself, “I’ll tell you what I told Shelly,” he smiled, “You don’t need to ask us. We will help you no matter the danger.” 

Danny nodded, “Exactly. You people call us the Chosen Ones because you believe we’ll save you. Well you didn’t need to choose us for that.”

The Myrmec Queen bowed her head, “To think I ever doubted your heroism, Chosen Ones. You truly are everything Shelly promised and more.”

Jimmy overheard the others as he made adjustments to his hovercar. He hadn’t expected to be transporting so many people at once, and if he had, he would have brought the astrocar. Still, his hovercar could fly with five people as long as those who could fly could lighten the load. He felt a pair of eyes watching him, and he turned around and caught Turner watching him.

“What is it, Turner? I’m a little busy right now,” 

“What? I can’t say hello to my good friend?” he jested, “Hey, jokes aside, it’s good to see you again, pal.” 

Jimmy smiled, “Likewise. I understand your computer holograms function on this island?”

Timmy couldn’t believe he forgot about Jimmy’s lack of belief in fairies and magic. He was the smartest kid in the universe, but he couldn’t offer a smidgen of belief for the supernatural, even if it was staring right at him. Which Cosmo and Wanda were doing. While it started out as a cover for Cosmo and Wanda, Timmy sometimes wondered if Jimmy was being obtuse on purpose. 

“Y-yeah! They’re working just fine. I mean, they had a power issue for a little while, but that got sorted out,” he explained.

Jimmy nodded. He glanced around and no one seemed to be watching, and he signaled Timmy to come closer. The boy didn’t follow, so Jimmy repeated the motion. Again, Timmy didn’t recognize what Jimmy was attempting to communicate, “Turner, just get closer,” they laid on the hovercar’s floorboard, and he whispered, “So, what’s been going on with Danny?” 

“What’re you talking about?” 

“I mean, was he always calling the shots when we were together?”

Timmy's face formed a confused smirk; unsure of what Jimmy was talking about, but savvy enough to realize it got on his nerves, “Neutron, are you jealous?”

He fumed, “No! I’m just, not used to this dynamic. I mean, sometimes I would defer to him, and he would defer to me. But he’d look to me first to make a judgement call.”

“Alright, so what would you have done if Danny hadn’t spoke up?”

“Well-”

“Lemme guess, the same thing Danny said,”

Jimmy rolled his eyes, “Forget it, figures you wouldn’t get it,” and he hopped out of the hovercar.

“I’m not the only one who won't get it!” 

Patrick stood by Tucker and watched the pair stomp away from each other, “What’s their problem?”

Tucker shook his head, “Man, you know as well as I do. You ready for another tussle?”

“Wait, I thought we were going back home,” Patrick complained.

“‘Fraid not, man. Looks to me we’re going deeper into Florian territory. You good with that?”

Patrick didn’t answer. But he looked around and pondered for a moment, “Hey. Where’s Squidward?” 

Tucker was about to ignore him, when he realized that in all the excitement, Squidward hadn’t been accounted for yet, “Guys! We’re missing Squidward!” 

Danny, Sam, and SpongeBob reacted first, and then the others turned their focus to Tucker. After his words settled in their heads, they turned to Sam, “The last time I saw him, I was falling in the ooze. He was trying to shut the drill down.”

Danny crossed his arms, “Well, he got that accomplished. Could he still be there?” 

The Myrmec Queen raised her arms, “It is likely your friend was taken by the Florians. To King Gorge.” 

SpongeBob raised his bubble wand, “Then let’s go stop this mad king, and let’s save Squidward! C’mon everybody! A Chosen One is relying on us! Let’s go!” 

His words were inspiring, and everyone finished preparations. Sandy and Sam helped the Myrmec Queen into the hovercar before boarding and pulled Patrick and Tucker up. Jimmy was uneasy with so many individuals aboard, and calmed his nerves as best he could. The hovercar came to life and floated over the rocky floor. Danny carried SpongeBob on his shoulders and floated before the hover car while Timmy donned his jetpack again and flew ahead. Danny flew after him, followed by Jimmy. 

They left the mines behind and flew over the forests of the Florian Kingdom, straight to its heart. Danny cautioned them to be wary of the Mawgu’s watchful eye, but he was unsure his warning was necessary. For most of their time on the island, even if he didn’t realize it until then, he felt something was watching him. That feeling was gone, and it was a feeling he never realized he felt until it vanished. 

“Something wrong, Danny?” SpongeBob asked. 

He shouldn’t have been surprised the sea sponge could tell how he was feeling, considering he was riding his shoulders, “Do you feel like you’re being watched?” before SpongeBob could answer, he said, “Because I don’t. And that scares me.”

He stirred from unconsciousness, and he awakened to being dragged by his tentacles. He didn’t have the strength to fight back, but he tried catching a glimpse of his captor. It looked like it was made of ooze and rocks, but it moved like a person, and was shaped like a human. This only confused him, and he wondered if it was better to just shut his eyes until it was all over. 

But his was a busy mind, and a busy mind developed ideas, no matter how benevolent or abhorrent they were to a person's emotions, and Squidward’s mind asked him if where he was was safe. 

He pushed his eyes to widen and looked around. Where he was, didn’t seem real. It was an enormous cavern, several miles wide and a kilometer tall. He was being dragged along a path suspended thousands of feet over an ocean of ooze. An ocean that succeeded in drowning whole city blocks of skyscrapers. 

His captor brought him to a chamber at the end of the path.They stood on a rock island standing in a pool of ooze. He dreaded the possibility of this place becoming the last moments of his life. 

“You have brought him to me,” 

“Yes, master. The Whiny Cephalopod is here,” 

His captor let go of his leg and he pulled himself away from her, “Wh-wh-what’s going on?!” 

She looked at him with contempt. She wanted to punish him for his outburst and took a single step forward.

“That will be enough. I have no need for you. Return to me,” 

The face molded by the ooze convulsed in pain, and she slowly fell apart until the rocks bounced away from a pile of ooze. It slithered away and fell off the island. Squidward decided he had enough and stood himself up and ran away back to the path hanging over the ocean. He was stopped, when a wall of ooze appeared in front of him. 

“How rude, Whiny Cephalopod,” the voice filled the chamber, “I invite you to my home, and you reject my hospitality? To think, the Chosen Ones possess such disdain for good manners.”

Squidward returned to the island and looked around. The chamber was illuminated by dark-pink lights, and its ceiling stretched thousands of feet upward. Squidward squinted, and he seemed to make out the night sky hanging above their heads, and the edge of a storm’s eye. 

“Where am I? This, this couldn’t be-”

“The volcano. Yes, it is,” 

“Then, you must be,” his name was caught in his throat, and he couldn’t speak it. 

The ground rumbled beneath his feet, and the sloshing of ooze filled the room and clouded Squidward’s ears. 

Then he stood before him and said, “The Mawgu, the Volcano’s Prisoner. And its master. Squidward Tentacles. I have waited a long time to meet you. It is so good to see you at long last.”

Chapter Text

The Myrmec Tribe were a nomadic people. They never rooted themselves to one spot for long. It wasn’t unusual for the queen to delegate to her people on a beach in the morning, and then in a valley that afternoon. They worked with nature, and never cleared the jungles or forests to make room for their tents. If there wasn’t rom, they used a smaller tent. If there was no room for tents, then their blankets were their kingdom. 

That evening, the Myrmec Tribe stood in a clearing at the edges of the Florian Forest and the cusp of one of the island’s many jungles. The Myrmec people were apprehensive at first to the arrival of the Chosen Ones, at first. This was unusual for them, as they prided themselves on being amicable people; never turning away a hermit crab or Florian travel from their doors. 

The queen made her appearance known, and there was instant celebration amongst the tribe. She dampened the festivities and brought her advisors to her quarters, needing to discuss with them as soon as possible.

Her saviors were left in a square surrounded by the temporary tents of the village, as it was forbidden for outsiders to see the queen in her chambers. Wanda wasn’t enthused about the tribe’s denizens. Some of the insects were hard on her eyes, and she didn’t like how the moonlight reflected off their exoskeletons. She hid in Timmy’s watch because of this, but her godson didn’t mind. In fact, he was enthused with so many bugs about. When a commando bug appeared, he was ecstatic. These titanic beetles captured his imagination and he abandoned his friends to explore the bug. 

“Whoa there, friend. Ask before you climb on an old bat, like me,” the soft voice caught him off guard and he fell back in surprise. 

SpongeBob stretched his arm and pulled Timmy back when the Myrmec Queen emerged from her chambers. She brought with her the most accurate map of the island ever scribed, one that Tucker and Jimmy were eager to add to their databases.

“Here is the Florian Village. This river passes through their home and gave them freshwater. But King Gorge has built a dam to keep the water out. Now the forests are overflowing with water, and his people are forced to drink the Mawgu’s ooze,” the Myrmec Queen reported. 

Sandy crossed her arms, “Sounds like we’ll need to pull that dam down. Y’all got any dynamite?”

She was unfamiliar with the compound, “I’m afraid not, but my grasshoppers are our tribe’s engineers. Sir, please explain your proposal to them as you did to me.”

A grasshopper with a long beard cleared his throat, “We could chip away at that dam, you see, and the water would wash away all that nasty ooze.”

Danny squeezed his chin, “There’s a catch to this, isn’t there? How well guarded is it?”

“Only one, Ghost Boy,” a younger grasshopper explained.

Patrick let out a sigh of relief and wiped sweat from his brow, “And here I thought this was gonna be tough. This sounds easy!” 

The grasshoppers shook their heads, “Its sole guard is King Gorge himself,”

Sam snorted contemptuously, “Is he someone worth worrying about?” 

The oldest grasshopper ran a hand through his bead and thought on this question, “I believe he is, Night Girl. ever since his enslavement to the Mawgu, he has changed into a strange being. Few have ever seen it up close, but he is ferocious. I wouldn’t doubt that he is a challenge for you, Chosen Ones.”

Danny nodded his head and crossed his arms, “So our plan’s gonna be keeping the king distracted, while you guys work on the dam. Is that right?”

The old grasshopper grinned, “Aye, Ghost Boy. You’re right on that.” 

The Myrmec Queen gestured to the massive commando bug, “He will carry you to the Florian Kingdom, Chosen Ones. If that is alright with you.” 

Jimmy wanted to speak up. He thought that all they needed was his hovercar if they left a few folks behind, but Danny spoke first, “That sounds like a plan. While we deal with King Gorge, what will you be doing, your majesty?”

Her grasshoppers thought this was an absurd question. It should be obvious their queen needed rest after such a dreadful ordeal. But she threw them for a loop when she answered, “I will be gathering my people to tend to the Florians’ corruption and heal them. It is imperative that the Mawgu’s influence is expunged from this world.”

Sam raised her hand, “You think Squidward was taken to their village, right?”

She nodded her head, “It is likely your friend is being held prisoner by King Gorge and his men. If he is not within the King’s clutches, I promise my people will find him,” she assured her. 

SpongeBob smiled, “It’s great to hear you worry about my friend, Sam!” 

Sam smiled back, “He did a big favor for me. It’s only right that I pay him back.” 

Jimmy studied the Florian Kingdom on the map, “I believe the last component of the Rip-Zipper is at the Florian village. If it matches up to my scan of the island, this should be where it’s at. If only I knew what it was.” 

Danny nodded his head, “That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get there, Jimmy. In the meantime, we have a kingdom that needs saving.” 

Jimmy dipped his head downwards, but he watched Danny give instructions and orders to the others. He was told to follow the commando bugs with his hovercar while ferrying the few who couldn’t fit in the commando’s carriages. During a lull moment when he finished preparations, Jimmy approached Danny. 

“You seem to be the man in charge around here, huh?” 

Danny eyed Jimmy with a weird look. He didn’t think then was the time for small talk, but answered the boy genius’s question anyway, “It had some headaches to it, but yeah. It started off with me and SpondBob, and then Patrick, and then it just never stopped.”

Jimmy nodded his head, “But you know that when we were together the first time, you and I made most of the decisions.” 

Danny guessed what Jimmy was getting at. A big part of him wanted to retort with an explanation of their present situation, but a small part, the leadership part, informed him that would just sow conflict. Something he learned with Squidward. So he thought about his response before he spoke, “Back then, we were against your arch nemesis. You knew Calamitous better than the rest of us, so you knew how to take him on. I’ll admit that none of us know anything about the Mawgu. Even after spending a week on this island, we only just learned about what the ooze is. But I was making decisions for everyone because of the circumstances. Maybe if Sandy found me after she had everyone at the camp I wouldn’t have made all the choices. But that’s not what happened.”

Jimmy didn’t have a proper response to Danny. His logic made perfect sense, especially given that Patrick and SpongeBob were the first to group up with him, “I get it.” 

“We can talk about this more later. But I need to rely on you for the fight ahead. You still game for that?” 

Jimmy smiled, “Of course. Unlike Turner, I never lost my touch.”

Danny lightly punched his shoulder, “That’s what I like to hear!” he saw Sam, SpongeBob, and Sandy boarding the commando carriage with the grasshoppers, “It’s about time we go. You ready?”

Jimmy turned the ignition, and his hovercar came to life, “Of course I am!” 

After Patrick, Timmy, and Tucker boarded the hovercar, Danny flew over the Myrmec Tribe as the commando bug unfurled its massive wings beneath their elytra. They beat the air and sent whirlwinds in every direction before they flew in the air and went ahead. They were shockingly fast and Danny followed after it with Jimmy at his heels.

Out from the bubbling ooze a massive forearm of stone and ooze gripped the edge of the island Squidward stood. It pulled its body aboard and it towered over him, reminding the octopus of King Neptune during his brief apprenticeship at the Krusty Krab. This being was hunched over and his neck and face jutted out, almost weighed down by its enormous chin. 

“The Mawgu, the Volcano’s Prisoner. And its master. Squidward Tentacles. I have waited a long time to meet you. It is so good to see you at long last,” he lowered his face and examined Squidward closely, “Yes, just as I remembered. But nothing is the same when you see it in person. As an artist, you would agree with that sentiment, wouldn’t you?”

Squidward was shaking inconsolably. Hardly anything the Mawgu said registered in his panicking head, until art was mentioned. Then he realized that the Mawgu spoke his name, “You, you know who I am?”

A pair of stony lips curled upwards, “Of course. You are one of the Chosen. I have known you for a very long time.”

Squidward gulped, “S-s-so, w-w-what do you plan to do with me?”

“Do? I don’t plan to do anything. I merely wished to meet one of the Chosen Ones. You were the easiest to pluck from the outside world, and you are sharing an audience with me. How lucky you are.” 

The Mawgu’s booming voice he projected before was gone. In his presence, his voice was deep and dulcet, but barely hid maliciousness. Squidward did not enjoy listening to the Mawgu, and wished he could leave the chamber, but he knew he didn’t stand a chance against the Mawgu in a race. His mind was going hundreds of miles a second and overflowed with dreadful thoughts.

“W-w-well, you’ve met me. So, that’s all, isn’t there? Heheh,”

The Mawgu smiled once more, “Surely you don’t wish to end our meeting. I would think in your position, this would be a fine opportunity to discover information for your allies. Wouldn’t you say?”

The casual tone in his voice did not set Squidward at ease. But then, that wasn’t the Mawgu’s intentions either. Squidward realized that this monster wanted to converse with him. And if Squidward didn’t give him what he wanted.... He chose not to consider those thoughts further. 

He plucked up courage and spoke aloud once more, “You have a plan, I take it? You know, there’s always people making plans, so I figure, you might have one. What with all that energy, you know?” 

The Mawgu observed Squidward’s nervous face and the sweat dripping off his scalp before he reached upwards. A stream of energy swirled around the Mawgu’s arm and enveloped his entire body. It sank into his ooze, and the Mawgu seemed rejuvenated from it, “Plan. Yes, I do have a plan. You must be curious why I am reaching into the stars and taking the energy for myself, is that right?” 

Squidward nodded, “Well, I didn’t fully get what fudgehead was trying to say. I just-”

“Wanted to go home,” the Mawgu finished, “I know. You have been very vocal about leaving this island. I do sympathize with your desires, and because of that, I feel I must apologize for swatting you out of the sky the other day.” 

For an instant, Squidward had no idea what the Mawgu was speaking about, until he remembered falling out of the sky when he hijacked that space vessel. Panic swiftly returned to Squidward and he held up his arms, “No, no, no! Don’t worry about it! It’s all in the past!” 

The Mawgu observed Squidward’s reaction and smiled, “You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?” he didn’t wait for his guest to respond, “Not that I can blame you. I would be afraid too. You have spent all this time hearing about a being’s power and might, but know so little about it that your mind fills in the blanks with fear and dread. Rest assured, Squidward. I live up to your fears. I am your nightmares given breath. So why worry? There’s nothing you could do to stop me. Why feel fear?”

Squidward didn’t know how to answer, and he stared at the Mawgu in silence. 

The Mawgu took it upon himself to continue the conversation, “But I do apologize for striking your vessel. I would have loved to see how you Chosen Ones wield that spacecraft. Irken technology is such a wonder to behold. Untold generations spent exploring space, and they have perfected their technology to make warfare and space travel as efficient as possible. It is quite remarkable. But I must confess, I had to prevent you from attempting to leave this world. You would have soon discovered that there is no means to escape this prison.”

Squidward blinked and he looked up at the Mawgu, “This prison? Isn’t it just this volcano your prison?”

The Mawgu reached the walls of the chamber and felt it with his rocky fingers, “This volcano holds my physical form, but it is this whole world and dimension that keeps me a prisoner,” he pulled away from the wall and faced Squidward again, “The sky you see above your heads, think of it not as a window into the universe, but a photograph of a reality that once was. Do not allow it to fool you into believing it is a means of escaping this dimension. This place, is inescapable.” 

Squidward’s eyes widened, “The Wise Old Crab warned me about going out at sea. He told me that I would never find my way home.”

“Did he, now? He is not far from the truth, my friend. This island is the only land in this endless ocean. I confess that I do not know if this dimension is without end, but it would not surprise me,” 

Squidward nodded his head, “So, I take it that you’re trying to leave this world behind?” the fear in his voice was fading away, and he spoke casually with the Mawgu, “If you’re so powerful, how come you haven’t made a portal?”

He thoughtlessly criticized his host. The Mawgu glared and pounded the chamber’s walls, “Do you think I haven’t tried that? I devised countless means to escape this infernal world! This blasted dimension is cut off from reality!” his face softened, “That is, until a short while ago. When the portals appeared around the universe, the world between worlds was opened. This dimension exists on the other side of the world between worlds, isolated from every point of existence. But, I could snuff out the portals cutting in and out. Using all my strength, I began reaching out into the worlds for the first time in aeons. My senses were overwhelmed by the universe. So, I began to siphon the energy from the worlds I could reach first. It was mere droplets of power at first, but gradually I became more powerful.” 

Squidward was finding it difficult to keep up with the Mawgu. Most of what he said made no sense to him, but he knew he couldn’t ignore him. He had a good feeling his host did not like being ignored. He cleared his mind and spoke, “Hold on, you’re going too fast. Why don’t you tell me what happened from the beginning?” 

If the Mawgu was surprised or intrigued, he didn’t show it. Only the slightest hint of amusement alerted Squidward that his pulverization wasn’t imminent just yet, “The beginning, you ask? Why, certainly. Aeons ago, I did battle with the defenders of the universe. Our war lasted generations, and whole planets were wiped out in our clashes. I believed victory was in my grasp. But a moment later, my enemies acquired the upper hand and they smote me.

“They could not destroy me. I do not believe I could be destroyed either, if the truth is to be told. So, they devised a scheme to imprison me forever. They constructed this dimension, and sealed it away. I was trapped here, forever. All I could do, was spread my consciousness into the universe. Seeing the worlds turn before my eyes. When I returned to my body, I found it submerged in the bottom of an ocean. Then, it was submerged under mud, and then rock. Every time I woke up, I was stuck deeper in the earth. From there, the island bloomed around me. And under its weight, I was crushed. Over and over again. Until the matter of my body reformed into the very ooze itself. The denizens of the island believe that the ooze is something I created, but as I told your friends. The ooze is me. 

“The island formed around me, and life blossomed over my head. A volcano rejuvenated life all around, and people came from the dirt. Civilizations have risen and fallen thousands of times on this island. The Hermit Crab Village, the Myrmec Tribe, the Florian Kingdom, and the Exile Crabs are just the latest tenants of my cell,” the Mawgu chuckled, “It is a very long story. I take it, you understand it?”

Squidward cleared his throat, “You’re a lot more ancient than we thought you were. If you were here since before this island appeared, how come they know about you?” 

“I’ve made my presence known many times. It is not very hard to call upon me,” he seemed lost in his own memories, “I don’t imagine you would indulge in those old stories.” 

Whether it was an ability the Mawgu possessed or if Squidward was just an especially frightful person, but he felt a great weight upon himself after hearing the Mawgu’s offer. The ooze surrounding the platform bubbled, and every popped filled his ears. Squidward was once again very aware of his own mortality. 

“Alright, look. I know what you’re doing here, buddy! You know about that prophecy stuff, right?” to his alarm, the Mawgu walked toward him. Squidward stumbled backwards and spewed out appeals to mercy, “Look, Mister Mawgu! I don’t like the prophecy either! I never wanted to come to this island either!” he forced a smile onto his face, “Hey, do you wanna know the truth? I don’t believe in that stupid prophecy! I mean,” he realized he was standing at the edge of oblivion. Might as well go out making jokes, “How could a bunch of crabs know who we are and summon us, right? It’s all a bunch of bologna if you ask me.” 

The Mawgu eyed Squidward with an amused smirk, “Is it now?” he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. 

The snap echoed across the entire chamber, and then the ooze from below slithered onto the platform. Rocks shaped their forms, and they took the shapes of several familiar and unfamiliar faces. The ones Squidward recognized were villains Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy faced, Kevin the Sea Cucumber, and Carl. 

“Tell me, Squidward!” Manray called, “Everything you’ve seen on this island, and what you doubt most of all was the easiest to accomplish.”

A hulking figure donning an eyepatch and wicked armor snarled at him, “I have already told you that looking into the universe was effortless. Why would you then think it is anymore difficult to glimpse into the future?!” 

A motherly fairy floated in the air, “Doubt anything to your heart’s content. But I profess this. Never doubt my power or anything I’m capable of.” 

“That’s a fact!” Carl added, “You should always remember that I am all powerful, and nothing is beyond my reach!” 

A man in a trench coat and top hat cackled, “Those fools thought they could keep me in this infernal dimension. Well, it’s only a short time before I tear a hole through this dimension and bid this island farewell!” 

A young kid in shades and flannel snapped his fingers, “Exactamundo. This place is like, totally lame. I can’t wait to break out of here and finally finish out what I was made to do!” 

Squidward threw his arms in the air, “Alright! That’s enough! I’ve had enough of your little fun house, mister! I’m getting out of here!” 

He charged to the exit, slipping in between Flats the Flounder and a pair of peppy teenagers. Sprinting across the walkway hanging over the sea of ooze, he hoped to find a way to escape the volcano soon. Only, his escape plan fell through when an army of hands reached out and grabbed him, and dragged him back before the Mawgu. And he screamed the whole way there. 

The Mawgu knelt on one knee and rubbed his index finger on Squidwar’ds scalp. 

“Now tell me, why do you want to upset your host so bad?” 

Squidward shut his eyes, “Look, mister! Clearly you haven’t seen enough movies. But, every time the bad guy knows about some prophecy, they do everything to try and stop it. So, c’mon buddy. Fate’s not gonna let you get rid of me!” 

The air went quiet and the tension vanished. He felt it was safe to open his eyes and look around. The familiars stared at him with blank faces, when before they were full of emotion. Then they cast their heads back and laughed their hearts out. Squidward merely stared at them, unsure of how to react to this development. Until they melted in front of him. Their oozy forms collapsed in on themselves, and the rocks holding them together fell on the ground. All the ooze swirled in the air and formed a spiral. Squidward looked behind him and found the Mawgu performing hand gestures. The ooze moved to the Mawgu’s movements, and then it swirled around his body. 

“Precious memories returned to me,” he stated, “Now, tell me. What were you saying about the prophecy? I thought you doubted its truthfulness?” 

Squidward sweated, “Well, you know, I, uh-”

The Mawgu chuckled once more, “Under stress, I imagine. Have no worries, I understand. But please, tell me what you said about the prophecy just now.”

Squidward pursed his lips, “Well, you know. I thought that if this were a story, that a bad guy trying to stop a prophecy would only be ensuring the prophecy.” 

“Do you believe that, Squidward Tentacles?” 

“I mean, it’s an ancient trope. It happened to Perseus, to Lugh, to Oedipus,” 

The Mawgu rubbed his chin, “I understand your reasons, Squidward Tentacles. Yes, your position makes perfect sense. The prophecy states that in this island’s darkest hour, the Chosen Ones will appear from the sky, and they will do battle with the Mawgu and save the island. The Nine. The Absorbent Yellow One, the Ghost Boy, the Pink Star, the Tech Geek, the Night Girl, the Whiny Cephalopod, the Three-Headed Boy, the Coconut Head, and the Deep Sea Squirrel. They will save this island and defeat me once and for all. That is the prophecy. That is how it will commence. And you believe that because of the existence of this prophecy, it ensures not only your survival, but also your safety. Would that be true?” 

Squidward nodded his head, unsure of how to take the direction of his words, “What are you getting at?”

The Mawgu looked Squidward directly in the eye and said, “Squidward Tentacles. I came up with the prophecy. It is my invention.” 

Squidward’s mouth hung ever so slightly open. It didn’t seem right and he furrowed his brows accordingly, “No, that can’t be true! There’s, what? That’s not possible!” 

The Mawgu let out a rumbling chortle, “I have been waiting for this. If you, the most doubtful of the prophecy, have this reaction, I cannot wait to see how the others will!” 

Squidward shook his head, “Listen, you neolithic jam jar! If this is just some trick to mess with me, I’ve had enough of it! I will-”

“YOU’LL WHAT?!” he struck the chamber’s walls, “WHAT CAN YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE, YOU INSIGNIFICANT MOLLUSK!? I AM THE MAWGU! I AM MIGHT INCARNATE!” he bellowed, “You have tested my patience, Squidward Tentacles. I will illuminate your standing, so your feeble mind can act in your best interest. You are nothing but a source of entertainment. I brought you here to amuse myself, nothing more and nothing less. Killing you is so effortless, the effort put into it is not worth my infinite existence. Tread upon my ground once more, and I promise you, I will subject you to the same torment I experienced and grew bored of aeons ago!”

Squidward’s eyes couldn’t blink. The Mawgu’s outburst shook the whole chamber and the whole volcano. Rocks from above fell into the ooze below and Squidward could feel ringing in his head. He hadn’t been careful with his words. He was being toyed with. He was a child’s toy meant to receive and give nothing but entertainment. If a toy caused the child pain or irritation, then the child retaliated with anger. 

He shuddered upon realizing that a child’s boredom brought similar outcomes.

“Now then,” the Mawgu’s tone changed back to what it was before, “The prophecy is a tale I made up. This is the truth I tell you.”

He was careful with his words. Couldn’t be too accusatory, nor could he be too passive. He had to show fear, some resentment, but not retaliation, “But that’s not possible! The old crab told all of us the prophecy was told to him by his father, and his grandfather before and so on.”

The Mawgu laughing was a good sign, and it put Squidward back at ease, “And he did not lie. His forefathers passed down the prophecy from generation to generation. But it was I who whispered that prophecy to them.” 

Squidward recalled what one of the familiars told him about seeing into the future, “So, you saw into the future, your own defeat at our hands?”

The Mawgu was still smiling, but he shook his head, “That is not how it transpired. I looked far into the future, to an epoch where the threads of the universe could be unwound and I could reach further through with my power. It was the portals Jimmy Neutron and Finbarr Calamitous created that began the unraveling of the universe’s threads. Just enough that I could siphon the energy from the worlds, to build my strength again.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you made us the Chosen Ones? What was the point in making up the prophecy?” 

The Mawgu told Squidward. 

The portals weakened the boundaries between the dimensions. He could reach out and siphon off energy, but in practice this would never gather the power he needed in order to break free from his prison. He needed a strong rip in the dimension to begin draining the energy. If nine links to the universe were pulled into this dimension, that would have created a strong enough rip to begin pulling energy.

“Yet in all my power, I cannot summon anyone to this island. I am its prisoner, after all. And bringing about my masters was the reason for my imprisonment,” the Mawgu explained, “I formed a landmark that could reach out to anyone in the universe and bring them to the summoner.”

“You mean, you made Summoner’s Rock? That was yours?!” 

The Mawgu chuckled, “You flatter me too much. It isn’t difficult, but it only works if you know who you’re summoning. And as I said, I cannot use it. Thus it necessitated that the islanders must know who they need to summon. I decided to use the same individuals from the epoch Jimmy Neutron came from. Him, his allies and their friends, I carved their faces and ascribed their names onto idols. I formed the prophecy, and I scattered those idols around the island. The islanders discovered them, and erected temples in your honor.

“When your epoch was finally upon us, I began preparations for my plan. I spread the ooze from the volcano and enslaved the Florians to my will. I spread chaos to all corners of the island and made it known I would seek vengeance against my captor’s descendants. As they believed. I crushed their hope of standing against me, unless they sought out their saviors.

“I watched those crabs traipse about my island, taking the idols I had carved so long ago, and taking them to my relic. Never in all my years, did I watch them with such anticipation. And yet, for a brief moment. I thought it was all for naught. Squidward Tentacles, I felt fear for the first time in my life, that the accursed elder of the Hermit Crab Village, would call off the ritual. 

“It’s ironic really. That small sign of doubt. If he had acted on it, all those millennia. A hundred thousand years worth of planning. Would have gone to waste. So I acted.  

“The truth of the matter is, Squidward Tentacles, is that the prophecy was on the verge of extinction. Shelly spoke of it, but he had his doubts. Gorge believed it out of a sense of tradition, and the Myrmec Queen never believed it the moment she inherited her crown. So when I sensed from Shelly’s mind, that he was about to speak to his followers a dreadful sermon of accepting our own demise as a part of the universe’s plan. And if they disbelieved in you, Summoner’s Rock would not work. I had to do everything in my power to legitimize the prophecy. I showed fear in your summoning and disrupted their ritual. 

“Has it ever occurred to you how fervent Shelly is in guiding you? He believes it is a form of atonement, for all the years of doubting the prophecy, he acts as your guide. He led SpongeBob SquarePants and Danny Fenton through Shipwreck Cliffs as a test of their worth. It certainly helped that you all are capable warriors, in your own respect. But believe me when I say, none doubted the prophecy more than he did. And now none are as devoted to the Chosen Ones as he,”

Everything the Mawgu said made sense in Squidward’s mind. It had been a mystery for so long how the island’s ancestors conjured the prophecy. And even then, he couldn’t grasp how someone like him could ever be considered a Chosen One. While he might have appreciated the prestige of such a title in another time, he knew himself well enough to know that he was not of saving the world material as the others were. He admitted this when it came to saving Bikini Bottom; only in it so his paycheck could clear. 

“So you made up the prophecy to tear a rip in this dimension. That’s all you needed us for?” 

“When you put it like that, it sounds so simple, but yes, that is true,” the Mawgu admitted. 

“Then what happened with Jimmy? All I ever hear about is contacting Jimmy Neutron, and from what I’ve heard, he’s one of the Chosen! So how come he didn’t show up?” 

Squidward realized that discussing the failings of the Mawgu’s plans with him so plainly was an insult, and his heart raced in anticipation of an outburst. But the Mawgu was amused by this slight and answered his question in earnest, “Jimmy Neutron is another matter entirely. I do not know why his world in particular was so difficult to reach, but I couldn’t pull him into this dimension like I could the others. This setback didn’t tear a hole wide enough in the rip just yet, but it was enough to turn a drip into a steady stream. But, I had to act as a villain. Forced to engage with you all and become your motivator. I needed to be a threat worth thwarting. I needed to be a villain worth despising. I needed to be a tyrant worth uniting for. So I did. I became something that all of you needed to defeat, by any means necessary. When that succeeded, I began my preparations. That communicator falling into my world was the perfect opportunity I needed.”

“You knew about the communicator?” 

“Knew about it? Tell me, did none of you find it strange that a power source for that communicator was found in the Great Carapace’s depths? He was a being of my own design. I sent him there so you could find that power source. I honestly thought I would have to lure you all back to Summoner’s Rock, but instead you went there on your own accord. You all played your part brilliantly, and I admire that so much. Once you made contact with Jimmy Neutron, I had no more need for any of you. I only acted in order to amuse myself. Looking into your memories has proved an excellent form of entertainment. It’s why I orchestrated the Myrmec Queen’s kidnapping. I desired an audience with one of you Chosen, and here you are, Squidward,”

Squidward avoided the Mawgu’s eyes and looked down at his own feet and contemplated the information he just learned. There was one question he still had, “So, when you leave this dimension. What then?”

The Mawgu fixed his sight on the sky the caldera permitted him to see, “It has been a hundred thousand years since I started my plan. And even longer since my imprisonment. And in all that time, I have never wavered from my goal. You see, Squidward Tentacles, you and your friends have wondered what I am and where I came from. I have looked into your memories and know about this, so do not deny it. The answer is actually quite simple. I am an emissary for my masters.

“My masters are extra-dimensional beings of pure chaos. They exist on different planes of existence, and after their banishment, they cannot interact with this plane of reality. As beings of chaos, they must bring destruction to existence and nonexistence. And if they couldn’t break into reality, they would be pulled through.

“They constructed my body and gave me life for the purpose of ensuring their freedom. Once I have gathered enough energy from half the universe, I will unleash my masters and allow them to tread upon this dimension. And soon, they will break the very fabric of reality, and bring an end to all.

After spending time with the Mawgu, he distinguished the differences when he spoke of the past and when he spoke of the future. His memory as an ancient being was impeccable and without uncertainty. But the future was spoken vaguely and with a level of promise. And while speaking of these extra-dimensional beings, Squidward was reminded of SpongeBob, when he would rattle off the fun he and Patrick would have at Glove World. 

“So that is true fear. How fascinating. In the face of overwhelming odds, there is no panic nor resentment. It is acceptance and awe. I appreciate your honesty, Squidward Tentacles,” 

Life returned to Squidward and he put distance between him and the Mawgu, “I don’t know what you’re going on about, but they’ll stop you! SpongeBob may be an idiot, but that kid can do amazing things when he’s motivated. They’ll stop you!” 

The Mawgu chuckled, “You really think that?” he snapped his fingers. From over the edges, rock monsters empowered with ooze came over growling at Squidward, “You are more than welcome to try. But be advised. You don’t have long. All this power I am gathering, I am using it to induce this volcano’s eruption. It will finally break the seal, and my physical form can finally leave this accursed prison. But it will most certainly destroy this entire island, and everyone in it,”

Squidward had had enough and he ran off down the pathway over the ocean of ooze, where the Mawgu’s laughter followed him and echoed all around him. He shuddered, realizing that all the ooze below him was the Mawgu. He tuned it all out and ran faster. As he ran through the volcano’s caverns, the Mawgu’s laughter followed him. Even after he escaped.

The commando bug soared through the air with Danny and Jimmy’s hovercar flanking her. They followed the overflowing river to the Florian Village. The bug said, “This is King Gorge’s doing. River isn’t meant to be this high, it should be flowing through their village. 

The grasshoppers raised their pickaxes, “That’s what we’re here for!” 

Danny smiled, “So what’s the plan? Are we infiltrating King Gorge’s castle?” 

“No need. I’ll take you folks right to him,” she replied, “There. See that head of lettuce?” 

They narrowed their eyes and spotted the flaps of green fiber flapping in the wind. The commando descended and landed at an alcove of land surrounding the enormous cabbage. Standing behind it was a dam holding the surging river back, so that the ooze could flow freely. 

Sam, Sandy, and SpongeBob jumped out of the commando’s basket before she took off again. Jimmy landed his hovercar, and he, Tucker, Patrick, and Timmy got off, as Danny landed in the center of everyone. 

“So, is this overgrown caesar salad King Gorge? Or is he somewhere in there?” Tucker asked. 

Patrick pretended to barf, “I hate salads.” 

Movement inside the cabbage shook its leaves, and a gurgly voice boomed from inside, “Why does my master not answer my calls? Oh mighty Mawgu, I am your humble servant, and I only seek your help in my time of need. Haven’t I served you well?”

That confirmed for everyone present that King Gorge was before them. Sam stood before the others and fell to her knees, “King Gorge! I beseech you! I am a Chosen One. I am the Night Girl, and I beg of you. You cannot let your people suffer anymore than they already have. They need water. If you release the waters, you would be saving their lives.”

Silence fell. Then, the cabbage’s leaves began to unfurl, “The Chosen Ones? So, you did fall from the sky after all. No matter!” the leaves completely unfurled, revealing a throne in the structure’s center, where a sphere composed of algae, wearing an organic crown, and leaking ooze from every follicle stood, “I have heard your plea, and now you will know my answer. My master, the almighty Mawgu, who rules from deep within the volcano, commands that all become one with the ooze!” he belched, drips of ooze spat out between words, “Submit!” 

SpongeBob pointed his bubble wand, “Not a chance, Gorge! You’re not going to make these people suffer anymore!” 

Patrick slapped his belly, “That’s right! You’re big! You’re mean! And you’re ugly! And that’s why we’re gonna beat you up!” 

Tucker shook his head but added, “Maybe you should have learned a thing or two about kings, but they serve the people. And if you’re not giving them water, then you’re a lousy king.”

Timmy whispered to his watch, and he pulled a watergun filled with soy sauce and a fork-shaped halberd from nowhere, “You should’ve gotten the memo on the Chosen Ones. We don’t lose, and we don’t let lousy tyrants rule!” 

Sandy popped her knuckles and donned her karate gear, “I’m from Texas, mister. We’re predisposed to lashing out against people like you.”

Jimmy wielded his freeze ray, “You’re not the first algae-based foe, I’ve faced. You should be trivial.”

The Peeler suit surrounded Sam and she aimed her blaster at King Gorge, “If you betray the environment, you don’t deserve to wear any crown.”

Danny pounded his fists together, “You hear that, King Gorge? We’re ending this now!” 

The algae meatball grimaced and growled, “Not before I end you first!” 

Tendrils burst from the ooze and struck the ground. One smacked Patrick backwards, while the others dodged the attacks. Jimmy, without missing a beat, fired his freeze ray and turned the algae-covered tendril into a frozen obelisk. Timmy took the opportunity to smash it with his giant fork, rubbing in the kill steal to Jimmy’s face. Danny flew upwards and fired an ecto beam at Gorge. The attack bounced off his hide and he spat a glob of ooze at him and sent a swarm of tendrils after him. This opened up the opportunity for Sam, Sandy, and SpongeBob to rush King Gorge and strike at him simultaneously. The back of his throne broke the impact and he gurgled a pained scream. He belched a beam of ooze that forced the trio back to the alcove of land while the tendrils retreated from Danny to attack the group on land. Sandy and SpongeBob slapped these tendrils aside with their karate techniques. 

As Jimmy hung back to observe the battle and wait for an opening, Patrick came stumbling forward. The attack from before dazed him and he wasn’t aware of his surroundings just yet. Jimmy saw this as an opportunity. With the tractor beam in his watch, he lifted a very confused Patrick off the ground and held him over King Gorge. As Tucker asked Jimmy if this was in any way ethical, the boy genius dropped Patrick and watched him fall onto King Gorge. 

“If it worked with Plankton, it should work with algae,” Jimmy quipped, but no one found it funny.

Patrick sat on the king’s top and pondered his seat, “This isn’t a very comfortable chair,” he hopped off and walked back to the alcove on the unfurled leaves. 

King Gorge shook his body, “Impudence! You will all suffer before you bow to the Mawgu’s might!” 

“News flash! We’ve heard that before, it’s gotten old, it’s never gonna happen,” Sam declared as she aimed her blaster, “And this is what Tucker Foley wishes he could do to every salad bar,” she fired a voluminous beam directly at King Gorge. Her aim was slightly off, and the blast evaporated most of his throne and the structure holding it upwards, while also drilling an enormous crater into the cliffs far out in the distance. The king fell into the ooze with a great plop.

Timmy’s jaw dropped, “I think you overdid it a little, Sam.”

The Peeler Suit, now without power, pulled itself off of Sam and went into handheld form, “You’re probably right. That was honestly a waste of an energy cell.” 

Jimmy came up to Sam and examined the Peeler, “I think if you give me a few hours, I could install reserve tanks. That way you could fire that mega laser multiple times without running out of power.” 

Danny landed on the alcove and leaned on Jimmy’s head, “You’ve been studying up on Fenton technology?”

With an unamused expression, Jimmy responded, “Yes. Your thermos has been of great assistance. Now if you please-”

Timmy leaned his hand on Jimmy’s head, “Wow, finally! A good use of Neutron’s head!” 

Sandy giggled, “SpongeBob, I couldn’t believe I forgot how much of a riot your friends could be!” 

“Deyeyeye! I know! It’s been great to be with these fellas again, hasn’t it?” 

Sam stifled a laugh and replied to Jimmy’s original offer, “I would be glad, Jimmy. Thanks.”

“Guys?” Patrick called everyone’s attention, “I don’t think that the cabbage is done.”

King Gorge, from the remains of his throne, hissed at the group and stood on his own tendrils, “My throne! My precious throne! That was an heirloom from my ancestors, going back generations!” he gurgled, “Now I will make you all pay for your insolence.”

Tucker eyed the dam with a smile. Since they started clobbering the good king, the grasshoppers they came with got to picking away at the dam’s walls, and they gradually peeled chunks out. Tiny squirts of water became jetstreams tearing the dam apart. The grasshoppers sensed the river surging for their openings and fled as the water burst forth. To his displeasure, he didn’t get the chance to joke, “Hope you brought your royal umbrella,” when the water flowed directly on King Gorge.

His gurgly scream was muffled by the stream, and he was swept by the current and fell into the river of ooze. The water mixed with the ooze at first, but it soon distilled the noxious goop. 

Upon witnessing this, SpongeBob and Sam highfived each other, “We did it! We saved the Florians!” he cheered. 

Danny watched the replenished river sweep the ooze away. The ooze that had settled now seemed as though it hadn’t been there at all, and the lands reflected this swift change. The land was rejuvenated under this fresh well of water. 

“I say after we clear this dam, all the water oughta flow freely again, and these folks can get back to their lives!” Sandy stated.

They heard something come out of the water. A green man crawled onto the alcove’s shore and collapsed on the dirt, “Please. Help me.” 

Immediately, Jimmy and Sandy rushed to his aid. Sandy performed CPR while Jimmy scanned his body, “He’s hurt, but he just needs rest.” 

The man coughed and hacked up ooze, “Oh my goodness. I feel so much better. Thank you, for saving me.” 

“Weren’t nothin’ at all, mister. You think you’ll be alright now with all this water?” Sandy asked.

He felt his head and stood himself up, “Forgive me, my faculties are still not normal. Oh I haven’t been myself for months. Oh, it is so good to be my own self again.” 

He was a regal-looking man. He was composed of plants and stood on four legs. But out of anyone they met on the island, he was the closest to resembling a human being. On his head, was what appeared to be a crown. 

“I am afraid I have not introduced myself. I am Gorge, the King of these Florian Forests,” he bowed his head, “How should I ever go about thanking you, my saviors? Actually, if you could do me a service, I wish to know the names of you mighty heroes.”

Everyone’s faces turned to SpongeBob. He stood before everyone and cleared his throat, “We are the Chosen Ones, your majesty. And we are here to save your island from the Mawgu.”

Gorge blinked. The next moment he was on his back. 

“Whelp! He was not ready for that bombshell!” Tucker exclaimed.

Danny and Sandy lifted him on their shoulders, “Let’s get him somewhere safe. We can fix him up at camp.”

“Sounds like a plan to me, but I just need to know where camp is, you know,” Jimmy said.

“Is that the genius way to ask for directions?” Timmy snarked.

Hours later, Gorge was sitting at the pool banks with his feet in the water as Jimmy and Sandy tended to him. He hacked up several more globs of the ooze into a spare jar before he could be called lucid, but it was progress. The others watched his progress from around the campfire where SpongeBob was cooking up a storm. After such a long day, everyone needed a big meal in order to rejuvenate their spirits, and SpongeBob was going to deliver. 

“So, if that guy’s King Gorge, why do you think he was all meatball-like when we were fighting him?” Timmy asked.

Tucker shrugged his shoulders, “Could be all that corruption from the ooze.” 

“But the ooze doesn’t corrupt someone on its own, it just puts someone under the Mawgu’s control,” SpongeBob clarified. 

Sam proposed her own morbid idea, “Maybe the more ooze someone ingests, the more the Mawgu can change that person, from the inside to the outside.” 

Everyone shuddered at the thought, “Don’t ruin our appetites while we’re so hungry!” Patrick complained, “Oh no! My stomach’s not growling! No! I want to be hungry!” 

Danny pinched his nasal bridge, “Patrick, calm down. Still, he’s nothing like that monster we were fighting. I’d hate to imagine what we would look like if we drank any of that nasty stuff,” silence fell on the group, and he noticed SpongeBob was looking at their dinner rather remorsefully, “Everything alright, Bobby?”

He reacted surprised at the sudden nickname, “Oh, it’s just I’m worried about Squidward. It doesn’t feel right leaving him behind like that.”

Sam came to his side and patted him on the back, “It’s alright. The Myrmec Queen promised us they would look for him. I’m sure he’s somewhere in the mines just waiting for someone to rescue him.” 

This dispelled his worries, but SpongeBob still looked dejected. 

“Hey, don’t sweat it, SpongeBob. We have to go back to the Florian Kingdom to find that Rip-Zipper part. If the Myrmec people don’t find him, we can swing by the mines and go looking for Squidward,” Timmy proposed. 

Danny, Sam, SpongeBob, and Tucker smacked their own faces, “I can’t believe we forgot about the Rip-Zipper part!” Danny exclaimed.

“That was the whole reason we were there!” Tucker complained.

“It was fifty-fifty, but how could we forget that?!” Sam asked.

Wanda poofed out of Timmy’s watch, “Because you needed to fix up walking celery stick over there.”

“Oh,” they collectively said. 

Danny sighed, “Well, we have something to do after dinner. We can take Jimmy’s hovercar and fly back to the mines and the Florian village.”

Timmy rolled his eyes, “Ugh, you guys can do that on your own. I’m bushed.” 

“Tim, we’ve all had the same day as you,” 

“Counter point, but most of us aren’t half-ghost superheros,” 

“Counter counter point, but you have fairy godparents. You can just wish yourself to be a superhero,”

“Counter counter counter point, I can contribute and don’t have to go if I wish for Squidward. Can I?” he asked Wanda.

Timmy stood on his seat and pointed to the sky, “I wish Squidward was here with us!” 

Wanda waved her wand, but it farted on her, “Apparently you can’t. Huh, I wonder why?”

Danny had been rolling his eyes while Timmy solved his problems with magic, but that caught his attention, “Wait. Wanda, when can you guys not make someone appear?” 

She crossed her arms and thought about this, “Well, if it interferes with anything in Da Rulez then we can’t grant a wish. That includes helping to win a competition, acts of true love, death, etcetera.” 

Patrick, in a rare moment of lucidity, pondered on this, “Well since there’s no art competing around here, and Squidward’s a confirmed bachelor, then it must be something else.” 

Tucker shut his eyes, “There is one possibility we haven’t considered yet.”

SpongeBob’s spatula clanged on rocks and sand, “Oh no. You don’t mean. That-”

“Ok, there’s two possibilities, but I wasn’t referring to that one!” Tucker clarified, “I was thinking, if none of us saw him. Then, what if the Mawgu got his hands on him?”

The spatula fell again. SpongeBob froze in mid-squat, his eyes staring ahead, “Guys. I think there’s something I should tell you. Before you folks rescued us, we were in the middle of fighting one of those Ooze-Lookalikes. And, it looked exactly like Squilliam Fancyson.”

Danny furrowed his eyebrows, “Squilliam? Whose that?” 

“Some guy Squidward went to high school with. Lemme tell ya, he was trying real hard to impress him by turning the Krusty Krab into a five-star restaurant. Man those were some good times,” Patrick reminisced.

SpongeBob stood up and stated, “Patrick, I locked you and Mr. Krabs in the supply closet when that happened.”

“Yep, good times,” 

Timmy shook his head, “Weird tangents aside, this Squilliam is one of Squidward’s enemies? Well, those monsters in the temple, they all looked like our enemies.” 

Sam crossed her chest and held her upper arm, “I was unconscious when me and Squidward were separated. I fell off the drill into the lake of ooze. Maybe, while we were in there, the Mawgu reached into Squidward’s memories. Probably mine too.”

“But Sam, we never saw anyone from Amity Park,” SpongeBob said.

She nodded her head, “I know. That’s why I’m thinking, what if the monster from my memories took Squidward, just like how Squilliam took me.” 

The rest of the group fell silent. 

“Is everything going alright? SpongeBob! You’re burning our food!” Jimmy called as he walked around the bend. 

“Mama mia!” he sprang into action and finished preparations, “Oh, it’s a little crispy, but dinner’s done!” 

Jimmy sniffed the smell and sighed, “Mm, I missed your cooking, SpongeBob. So, how’s everyone doing?”

Timmy eyed him and laughed, “Neutron, you’ve read all these books, and yet you still don’t know how to read a room.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes, “Like you’re one to talk.” 

Jimmy rolled his eyes and addressed the others, “What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

As Danny helped pass plates around the campfire, he answered, “We think we know where Squidward is, or at least we know what happened to him.”

They explained, in between sessions of eating, the familiars they fought in the temple. How the Mawgu could reach into their memories and form a monster with the same appearance and personality as their enemies. But with a body of ooze, they weren’t limited to the original person’s strengths. 

“Was wondering if you knew anything like that in the natural world,” Danny admitted.

He shook his head, “Brains are the most complicated computer systems we have in the whole universe. Something reaching inside and tampering with how a brain functions isn’t too terribly uncommon, but it’s usually accomplished by parasites and performed on insects. And even then, it only changes how the insect behaves,” Jimmy scratched his head, “Something reaching into the brain and finding memories. That’s outright frightening.” 

Again, the group fell silent, save for Patrick gorging on the food. It was one thing for the others to admit something scared them, but when Jimmy Neutron thought it was frightening, then it meant that they had taken the Mawgu for granted. 

The group found themselves too shaken to have much in the way of conversation. All that entailed was Jimmy explaining his own predicament, how they needed to find a way to contact his lab without having him there acting as a beacon. They reconciled that it was something they could solve when tomorrow arrived. Eventually, Sandy and Gorge joined the festivities and the mood lightened up ever so slightly. Gorge ate vigorously, and later apologized for appearing unkingly to them, but they assured him it didn’t bother any of them. 

“You have my thanks, Chosen Ones. For so long, my mind has been clouded by anger, hatred, and fury. I can hardly believe that the form I took seemed so natural to me. I can only hope that I didn’t bring too much harm onto you all,”

Danny smiled and shook his head, “Don’t sweat it, your majesty. We were there to save you and your kingdom, and we did just as we promised.” 

“Oh yes. If you would forgive me, but I must be ferried back to my kingdom. My people will need much recovery before things can return to normal.”

SpongeBob raised his hand, “If you don’t mind, we would like to look around your village! We have this part for our invention that we’re looking for.” 

Gorge bowed his head, “Most certainly, Absorbent Yellow One. It would do me a great honor to assist you. Though, if you don’t mind my intrusion, will this invention assist in defeating the Mawgu?”

“Of course,” Jimmy said, “It’s a bit complicated, but yes. There is a part in your village that we need to finish the Rip-Zipper.” 

“Then I will do all that I can to help you. The Mawgu is the cause of all this evil, and he must pay for his crimes,” he declared.

Danny stood from his seat and placed his plate in a small pile of dishes, “Then I say, we should get going. If we can get the Rip-Zipper finished, then all that’s left is the Mawgu himself.”

Timmy rolled his eyes but stood up too, “Fiiine. But I’m not happy about working too hard.”

SpongeBob laughed, “Oh, Timmy! There’s no such thing as working too hard!” 

Soon, everyone was getting ready to depart from their camp once more. While he was conducting tests on the hovercar, Jimmy spotted and was pleased to see his rocket again. He checked its systems, and while it seemed to function, he realized there was a leak in the fuselage. He would need to seal the hole shut and to refuel the whole engine. Coming up with an alternative fuel source could either be a huge pain, or something so simple it was like making paper volcanoes in Pre-K again. 

Just as they were about to help Gorge onto the hovercar, they heard the beating of massive wings off in the distance. An enormous commando came flying over their camp. It landed at the beach next to the gorilla statue, and waiting in its basket was the Myrmec Queen and her troops. She stepped toward the busy Chosen Ones and called for their attention. This struck Gorge as odd, considering how familiar he was to her sometimes demanding nature. 

“Chosen Ones, I already owe you a great debt, and now I owe you two. You have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you all are great heroes that will save us from the Mawgu’s tyranny. You have no idea how grateful I am for saving my friend, King Gorge.”

Gorge stood and took a knee in front of her, “My queen. It brings me great shame, knowing the pain and suffering I have caused not just to a good friend, but to a good people. I hope you can find it in you to forgive me.”

She instructed her friend to rise and placed a hand on his shoulder, “My friend. All was forgiven the moment I saw you were alright.” 

They embraced one another, earning a few awws from SpongeBob and Wanda. 

Gorge pulled back and eyed the commando, “The Chosen Ones were about to escort me back to the village. I must attend to my people, and they have an errand they must conduct.”

The Mymec Queen’s smile weakened, “As it occurs, I am here on an errand as well. I must apologize, Chosen Ones. I was unable to find your friend. If he’s anywhere, he is not at the mines.”

SpongeBob took an audible breath of air, “Oh well. I’m sure we’ll find him soon enough. After all, his home’s over here. He won’t go to sleep unless it’s in there.”

Danny snorted, “You know, you’re right on that.” 

“Well, folks! Let’s get to that village and find the last part to the Rip-Zipper!” Sandy declared. 

They were preparing to take off after boarding the hovercar and the commando bug’s carriage, but the arrival of two individuals changed the trajectory of their evening. First, the Wise Old Crab emerged out of the sand. He was delighted to see the Myrmec Queen alive and well, and shocked that King Gorge was back to his old self. He wished his friends well, and paid his respects. Danny wanted to ask him if he found anything from the ancient texts about the Mawgu. It was the whole reason he left them in the forests, after all. And the Elder did intend on answering the ghost boy’s question. But the camp’s final arrival interrupted that. 

Someone fell off the waterfall into the pool below, and let out a dejected, “Owwwwww,” through the bubbles. 

“Squidward?!” SpongeBob exclaimed. 

Danny flew over and carried him out of the pool to land, “Are you alright, man? You look terrible.” 

Squidward glared at him. He was painfully aware of every scratch, scar, and blister on his body, but it mattered little to him, “That’s not what matters right now!” he threw Danny off himself, “Where’s that communicator?! We need to contact Jimmy Neutron!” 

Jimmy called his name and waved to him, “No need. I’m already here.”

Squidward sprinted to the hovercar, “Jimmy! You need to open a portal and get us out of here! We need to leave, ASAP!” 

Jimmy held his hands up, “I’m sorry, Squidward, but I don’t have contact with my computer. I marooned myself to save your skins.” 

Squidward clutched his head and screamed, “No! This can’t be happening! This just can’t be happening!”

His outbursts were not of the normal affair; there was despair and desperation, and the others felt it in their souls.

“Squidward. You can’t leave yet. We need to stop the Mawgu,” SpongeBob murmured. 

He held SpongeBob and declared, “We can’t! He’s too strong. He’s too strong for anyone!”

Danny came between them, “That’s enough. Squidward, just stay calm and tell us what happened.”

He rolled his eyes, “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything, as soon as we’re off this rock! Jimmy, these morons tell me you’re the smartest kid in the universe. You can figure a way to get to your lab and get us off this rock. Can’t you even make a new portal or something?” 

Jimmy blinked, “I could make rocket fuel, if I set my mind to it. But a portal? The resources just don’t exist, and if they do, I can’t extract them.”

“Dude, just tell us what happened,” Timmy said, “You sound like you met the Mawgu.”

Squidward was dead silent, “I did.”

“You what?!” everyone present collectively asked. 

“Yes! That monster kidnapped me and took me inside the volcano! I spoke with him, and it was terrible!” he looked everyone in the eye, “He’s draining the worlds of energy to make himself stronger! Once he’s strong enough, he’s going to tear his way out of this dimension. But before that happens, he’s going to make the volcano erupt!” 

The Wise Old Crab stamped his staff, “That can’t be right. The volcano has not erupted in many generations. How is it possible?”

“Because it’s full of ooze! There’s oceans of it! Whole skyscrapers are submerged in that nasty stuff! He made an army of weirdos in an instant! We can’t fight a guy like that! He’s beyond powerful!” Squidward ranted.

Patrick laughed, “Squidward, if you only learned. We’re the Chosen Ones, we’re prophesied to stop him.”

King Gorge leaped out of the commando basket and stood by Squidward, “Please, Cephalopod. You are one of the Chosen. You are our people’s only hope.” 

Squidward glared at them, “You can forget about the prophecy, because there is no prophecy!” 

Danny scowled and confronted him, “You’ve gone too far, Squidward! You’re out of line!” 

Squidward pushed him away, “I’m not! I’m the only one talking sense! You wanna know who made the prophecy?! You want to know who made Summoner’s Rock!? Who made the idols?! I’ll tell you. It was the Mawgu!” he screamed, “He made it all up! We’re just pawns in his scheme to get out of this dimension!” 

The Wise Old Crab confronted him and gritted his teeth, “I will not entertain this blasphemy, even from the Chosen Ones! There is no possible way that-”

“Get a grip on yourself, old man! The Mawgu made up the prophecy. Who else could have made it!?” Squidward saw the doubts forming in the elder’s mind, “And he knew you didn’t believe it either.”

“WHAT?! How could, I mean,” he shut his mouth. 

Everyone stared at the elder and Squidward, “You doubted it. He knew that. He wanted to show fear in the ritual. Because you were about to accept your own fate.” 

He couldn’t speak. His eyes were wide open and looking all around, “No, that. That can’t be true. Cephalopod I,” he reached for Squidward’s hands and squeezed them, “You’re pulling a terrible trick! I’ve never wavered from believing the prophecy. The Mawgu, lied to you!” 

“Get a grip, man. You dedicated yourself to us so you could atone for not believing the prophecy! The Mawgu told me this!” 

The elder let go of Squidward, and cast his eyes to the volcano. He fell to his knees and glowered the storm, “Devil! You laugh at us! You laugh at all of us! Cast ye down in the abyss, banished from all light! Smother yourself in the darkness you imbibe yourself on!” 

And the Mawgu laughed. 

Chapter Text

Most nights the moonlight reflected off the pool illuminated the whole camp, and it was one reason why the group never bothered with putting up torches, besides the campfire. But that night, with the moon obscured by the clouds, the pool was darker than usual, and all that illuminated Patrick’s world were the stray embers dancing around the charred logs. It offered no warmth, but it distracted the sea star from the memories of the previous evening. But they gradually crept in and he covered his face, trying desperately to keep them out. 

“Trouble sleeping?”

Patrick flung up and looked around until he saw Sam standing at the other side of the firepit. He calmed himself down and sighed, “Yeah.” 

Sam came around the firepit and sat a couple seats away, “Well, neither of us sound like we’re going to bed anytime soon. You wanna tell me what’s on your mind?”

He was silent for a few moments. Sam didn’t quite know if he knew how to answer or if he took a long time to answer. The latter turned out to be true, “Well, I just really thought we were gonna be the Chosen Ones.”

She shut her eyes and sighed, “Last night is still getting to you, isn’t it?”

He nodded his head, “A lot of what Squidward said was scary, but what made me sad was, not being a Chosen One anymore. We were gonna be these great heroes, but that’s not happening anymore,” he rested his face on his hands, “And, now we don’t have the prophecy keeping us safe anymore.”

This caught Sam’s attention and she probed him further, “What do you mean by that?” 

“The Prophecy? Well, all these crabs said that when the nine are gathered together, they’ll defeat the Mawgu and save the world. Because a prophecy means it’s the future, right? That means we were gonna save the world no matter what. I thought it was gonna be easy because of that.”

Sam pulled herself besides Patrick and leaned forward to look at his face, “You thought all this would be easy?”

“I’ve had a lot of fun with everyone, but ever since I came here, I’ve been really scared. These monsters, these weird places, and being away from home. My mom and dad, I could always give them a call and they would tell me that everything'll be alright. But I couldn’t. I don’t have my phone!”

All this time, Sam had thought of the sea star as their dimwitted, fun-loving guy they had to babysit. She never once considered that he was just as scared as the rest of them. And yet, he was. This whole time he had been frightened. 

“So the prophecy made you less scared?”

“Yeah. Once I knew about the prophecy, I thought everything would be alright! It’s like reading the end of the book before you finish it. I don’t have to be worried about what happens because I know everything will be ok!” he laughed, but he quickly returned to his dejected appearance, “But it’s made up. And I’m scared.” 

Sam placed her hand on his shoulder. He was warm and his skin felt leathery, but not unpleasant, “You’re not alone. I was scared too.”

He looked at her confused, “But, you like scary stuff? Don’t you?”

That caught her off guard and she snorted, “I mean, judging by my taste in fashion, sure I do, but that’s beside the point.”

“Oh I wasn’t talking about your clothes, I was talking about your crush on Danny. He’s better looking than the Flying Dutchman, but he’s still a ghost and-”

She smothered his mouth, “Enough! No more please,” she pulled back and took a deep breath, “Ignoring that, wild accusation. I do get scared. When fighting ghosts is a regular part of your routine, getting scared is a common occurrence.”

“Wow. Fighting ghosts sounds really cool. But, what scares you if you’re always fighting them?”

She pulled her gaze away from Patrick and stared down at the last embers. She picked up a twig and kindled the embers, allowing the flame to grow bigger, “That one day my parents and my grandma will wake up and wonder what happened to me. But mostly, I get scared for my friends. For Tucker and Danny. Him especially. He put himself through so much. He’ll go through the wringer to save people who hate his guts.”

“He would really do that?” 

She smiled, “Of course. He’s a hero. He puts others before himself. He’ll risk his life to keep everyone he loves safe, because he’s scared of losing us. And yet, I’m scared he pushes himself too hard.”

“Then, what do you do? Do you do something to make yourself not scared?”

Sam nodded, “I don’t.”

“What?! Then, how can you do all this stuff while being scared?!” 

She smiled, “I don’t let it control me. Every time there’s a fight with a ghost or something else, I’m scared. But I fight even if I’m scared out of my mind. Because my friends are counting on me. I can’t let them down.”

“Wow. You guys go through a lot. I don’t know if I can do any of that stuff,” 

“You kidding? You’ve been doing fine the whole time we’ve been here. Don’t tell me it was just the prophecy stuff keeping you going,” 

“Well. I think it was that, but I think it was also because I was trying to keep up with you guys. And, also sometimes I was worried about SpongeBob, and Squidward, and Sandy! And, then I started worrying about Danny, and Tucker, and you, and Timmy, and Cosmo, and Wanda, and Jimmy, even though he just showed up, uh where was I going with this?” a drip of drool slithered down his face, “Oh yeah! I was worried about all of you, so I thought that I should make sure you guys don’t have something bad happen to you!” 

“There you go, man. That’s exactly how it is with me, Danny, and Tucker too. I mean, sometimes it’s Tucker, but it’s usually me,”

Patrick smiled, “Yeah! We gotta watch out for him, don’t we?” he and Sam laughed, and laughed even harder when they heard Tucker’s angry groan, “So, what are we gonna do about the Mawgu?”

Sam didn’t know the answer to that question. None of them did. It was a tense evening when Squidward returned and ranted about the Mawgu and the prophecy. She could still remember King Gorge and the Myrmec Queen’s dejected and disappointed faces when they took off in the commando bugs. But no one was as depressed as Shelly. He was downright catatonic, and they had to move him to one of the huts so he wouldn’t be exposed to the elements. Things were no better among each other. Squidward still insisted they needed to leave the island despite Jimmy repeatedly explaining they had no means of contacting his lab, which meant no portal. This just aggravated him further, and he demanded they try to find the means to make a portal until Sandy knocked him unconscious. After that outburst, everyone tended to themselves. There were no celebrations or fun that evening. Everyone quickly went to bed, but Sam was sure that everyone was like her and Patrick at some point. Staring at the ceiling or the stars, unable to shut their eyes and catch an iota of sleep. 

“Sam?”

She leaned into Patrick and stared at the dead embers, shut her eyes, and said, “I don’t know, Pat. I don’t know.”

He sighed, “Yeah. I don’t know either.”

“I guess it’s a little comforting,”

“What is?”

“I don’t know if it’s obvious, but I’m a kid. I’m barely older than Jimmy and Timmy. I don’t have my life figured out. Not by a longshot. I know what I’m about and I have my passions, but, I don’t have the answers to life. Sometimes I’ll look at my parents or the adults in my life and, sometimes I would resent them. They have their lives figured out. They’ll know what to do when there’s a crisis and keep me safe,” she faced him, “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m humbled that you and I are just as lost.” 

He smiled, “Well I have no idea what you’re talking about, but thanks!” 

She closed her eyes and shook her head, “No problem, dude.” 

Patrick turned around and looked at the volcano, “Even if we’re not the chosen ones, the Mawgu is still a bad guy. I’m scared he’ll hurt us. But I’m scared he’ll hurt other people. So I guess, I guess we have to stop him no matter what. Is that right?” 

She nodded, “That’s part of being a hero.”

“Hero? I’ve never been a hero, but I can try that,” he stretched his arms and yawned, “I’m gonna catch some sleep, Sam. See ya in the morning!” 

She waved her hand, “See ya then. Thanks for the conversation.” 

He wandered up the hill and pulled his rock up and allowed it to fall on top of him. She was all alone. A couple nights ago, she would’ve relished the opportunity but she loathed the loneliness. It came with that dreadful feeling where a night was long, and no matter how tired you became, you were too restless to sleep. She detested those nights. 

“Hey,”

She nearly screamed, “Hey!” she realized it was Danny and her heart raced, “Can’t sleep either?”

He sat around the campfire. The embers had long gone out, “Yeah. I couldn’t keep my eyes shut. I was gonna walk around the beach but I saw Patrick and wanted to check on him.” 

“He just turned in,”

“I saw. I wanted to talk to you alone,” he looked up from the firepit at Sam’s silhouette, “I overheard what you said. First of all. Flattered,” they shared a stilted laugh, “Second. I can’t believe the sea star’s acted more reasonably than the rest of us.”

“You think so?” 

Danny thought to the hours before. How Squidward begged Jimmy to build a portal, growing so desperate that he began disturbing the others. And he didn’t do anything to quell him. If he didn’t have his powers, he would likely be as desperate to escape as he was, “All I’ve been thinking about is how this is gonna affect the rest of us. I’ve been racking my brain on how to hold us together. Biggest reason I couldn’t sleep.”

“You think that’s unreasonable?” 

“When the universe is at stake, just a bit,” he admitted.

Sam took a deep breath, “The universe is too big for people like us to even comprehend. Honestly, keeping your mind on all of us is the best way to cope with what we’ve learned.”

“Yeah. But that doesn’t change the fact that the Mawgu’s gonna rip his way out of this dimension, unless we stop him,” he said, “But, I don’t know how we’re gonna make that happen. Or how many of us will be here to stop him. It’s nights like these, where the dawn will never come that I hate the most.”

Sam smiled, “Funny, I was feeling the same way.” 

The two sat in silence. Clouds passed them by and the stars shone down on them, “What do you think tomorrow morning will be like?”

She looked around her, “I think we’ll wake up and see everything around us will be the same. The ocean will be beating that beach, the pool will be cool, and that waterfall will keep pounding the surface. All that’ll be different is us.”

Danny suddenly stood up and stretched his arms, “Isn’t that how it is every time we wake up?” he yawned and popped his back, “I, actually wanted to ask you something. There was another reason why I was waiting for Patrick to leave,” Sam raised her eyebrow, “Uh. Would you like to, uh. I don’t know how to ask this without it sounding awkward,” he paused, “Do you want to sleep in the same bed as me?”

The stars could not show the blush on Sam’s face, “S-sure! I mean, yeah.” 

“Cool,” he felt he replied too quickly.

Sam followed him to his hut and came inside. It was the first time she saw anyone’s hut besides her own and SpongeBob’s. After walking inside, there was a small study sitting next to a ladder leading up to a second floor of sorts that a futon lay. The blanket was barely wide enough for two, and they found themselves squeezed together to share the same space. 

They said nothing. They hoped the other didn’t notice the intense blushing, or the increased tempo of their heartbeats.

Timmy prided himself on his heavy sleeping. If given the chance, he would sleep late into the morning, sometimes the afternoon. On weekends, if he woke up at a reasonable hour, he would purposefully knock himself out for more sleep.

So when he was missing out on these precious hours, he was particularly frustrated with only staring at the ceiling with barely a wink. His fairies weren’t much better, and they whispered to each other about their current state. After tossing and turning for another ten minutes, he threw off the covers and pulled his clothes on.

“Sport, is everything alright?” Wanda asked. 

“If I can’t go to bed, then I’m gonna go out for a walk,” he said. 

“Do you need us to come with you?” 

“Nah. Are you having trouble sleeping too?”

Cosmo emerged from the fish bowl, “You know it! I’m restless!”

He smiled at their solidarity, “Then I wish you guys would have a good night’s rest.” 

Before Wanda could ask if he wanted to sleep too, Cosmo waved his wand and they were knocked out. He left the snoring fish behind and he wandered around the camp. The moon was still out, but it was the hours of the morning where the sun’s rays illuminated the edge of the horizon. A sign Timmy associated with gaming sessions that had gone on for too long. He walked along the bridge before the waterfall and balanced along the wooden boards. He reached into the streaming water and winced at the chill. 

A silhouette caught his eye. Down at the beach someone was standing by the ocean. With nothing better to do, he ran down the cliffs, by the temple ruins, and past the marshes to the beach to check who was there. 

“Oh, it’s you,”

The silhouette was Squidward, who stood at the water’s edge. Waves reached to his tentacles before receding backwards. He turned around and looked at him contemptuously, “What do you want, kid?” 

“Nothing. Just wondered who was down here when I saw you from the falls,” 

“Hmph,” 

Timmy’s conversational skills weren’t great even at the best of times, but with someone as moody as Squidward, he was out of his element. Still, he had nothing else he could think to do. He took a deep breath and tried his hand again.

“You know, with everything that you told us about, I’d think you’d be in bed more than anyone else,”

Squidward barely glanced at him before shutting his eyes, “Well, I couldn’t sleep, and since there is no twenty-four hour spa on this island, I thought my best bet was to listen to the ocean so I can relax.”

“They have twenty-four hour spas in Bikini Bottom?”

“Oh, I wish. But the next best thing is my bathroom,” he admitted.

Timmy pulled his shoes off and rolled his pant legs up before sitting at the shore and dipping his feet in the seawater, “Is it? You live in that face-lookin’ house next to the rock and the pineapple?”

“Yes. Wait, how have you seen my house?” 

“Oh, when we first came to Bikini Bottom, we showed up in front of your house,”

“Yes, that’s my house. It’s referred to as an easter island head, for your information.” 

“Had a run in with the Easter Bunny once,”

“Right. Look, I’m not in the mood for small talk. Unless you have something important to discuss, I would rather be left alone,” 

Squidward took a deep breath and gazed out in the dark ocean, wondering what was over that horizon. He shut his eyes and breathed through his bulbous nose. He lifted his left legs and placed them on his right leg's sides. He raised his tentacles and held them over his head to a point. He counted to ten before releasing his breath and breathing in more oxygen.

“So what was the Mawgu like?”

Timmy’s question threw Squidward off balance and fell back into the sand, “You ruined my concentration! I was in the middle of yoga.”

“Oh is that what that was? Never knew,” Timmy said, “So could you tell me more about the Mawgu?”

Squidward furrowed his brows and picked himself up, “I don’t know why you’re asking. I thought I was being very thorough when I explained my situation last night.”

“Yeah, you just told us what he told you. You didn’t tell us what he looked like, and I wanna know,” 

Squidward groaned and rolled his eyes. As he dusted sand off his shirt, he said, “He was tall, he was made of ooze and rocks, and he liked to talk.”

“C’mon, dude. That’s now what I meant. I want to know if he was strong, if he was really evil, and if he has any weird powers.” 

Squidward rolled his eyes, “Why don’t you go and say hello? I’m sure he would love the company!” 

“C’mon, be serious,”

“I am being serious,”

“You know what, forget you!” Timmy complained, “I wanted to check on you, and you’re just mean for no reason! I don’t know why SpongeBob puts up with you!” 

Squidward was going to ignore him and get back to his beach yoga, but hearing that remark put him over the edge, “Excuse me? Puts up with me?! Do you have any idea the torment I suffer, having that twerp for a neighbor?!” 

Timmy stopped in his tracks and looked Squidward directly in the eye, “You remind me of my dad, Squidward. Our next door neighbor is Mr. Dinkleberg. He’s the nicest man in all of Dimmsdale, and my dad treats him like he’s his arch nemesis. I’ve listened to him go on rants at the dinner table about him, and you know what I’ve learned? It’s all fake! It’s just all in my dad’s head. Now I don’t know what having SpongeBob for a neighbor is like, but I know what having you as a teammate is like. You’re mean, you’re rude, you barely help us out, and you won’t even stick your neck out for the universe!” he pointed at the storm swirling around the volcano, “You’re scared of that? Well so am I! But if we don’t do anything about it, the Mawgu is gonna bring an end to the universe. Like it or not, you’re a part of this. I don’t like it, but I can’t let the other seven people go at it alone. We’re the only ones left in this world who have what it takes to beat the Mawgu, but you won’t bite the bullet and work with us!” 

Squidward avoided Timmy’s gaze, “And am I wrong for that?”

“You aren’t,” Timmy said, “But, when the universe is gone, who are you going to blame?”

He left him alone. Squidward watched him enter his hut before turning his gaze back to the ocean again. He wondered if he started paddling, how far he could reach by dawn. Maybe far enough that the eruption wouldn’t affect him, and he could find a way to get to the rip the Mawgu tore apart. 

He sat on the sand. In times like this, he would wind down with a session of playing his clarinet. The drive to play wasn’t there, nor was there an image to paint. His mind was wrapped up with the island, the others, and the Mawgu. He shut his eyes and frowned, hoping the strain could keep the tears away. 

Eventually, he fell asleep under reddened eyes.

The dawn came a couple hours later and most at the pool admitted to sleeping poorly. SpongeBob was the first to rise and he set to work on preparing breakfast after donning his square pants. Jimmy stirred when the door to their domicile opened, and SpongeBob quietly shut the door behind him. Without a hut of his own, the boy genius bunked with SpongeBob for the evening, and he spared him a hammock. 

Once the door was shut, he observed the campfire and noted fresh footsteps, but thought nothing of it and went to prepare food. The crate of meat Tucker and Danny had risked their lives for was running out, and SpongeBob doubted there was enough for lunch. It hadn’t bothered him at first, but every morning with more mouths to feed, SpongeBob grew more concerned at the damage it did to their food supply. In an effort to make their meat last, he found himself substituting portions with nuts, and that was running low too. And after giving their pantry a quick inventory count, he thought they could use a fresh restock in fruit. If they were going to stay on the island indefinitely, as far as he knew, they needed a steady supply of food. Especially with eleven mouths to feed.

He stoked the embers in the campfire, and the fire burned through the wood nice and hot. As he prepared the raw food, he heard the popping of bones, “Nothin’ better than smellin’ firewood burnin’ to start a good morning!” 

“And a good morning to you, Sandy!” 

Sandy sat down at a seat by the fire and stretched her arms, “So, you’re in good spirits.” 

“Well, trying to. I’m hoping that this brightens up everyone’s mood,”

“Whatcha cookin?”

“Oh, nothing special. Just fruit, nuts, some meat, and lots of rice. Hope you’re not looking forward to the meat, because we’re almost out,” he admitted.

“Well, we can go huntin’ later. I think Tuck, Jim, and myself will get that Rip-Zipper finished before too long, and then we can all go and search for some supplies. Besides, I haven’t done any salvaging since I came here!”