Here's the next chapter of the Nicktoons: After Years miniseries. If you like it so far, please review and then you'll see the next chapter.
Episode 4: A Betrayal
After discovering that the robot squirrel, Java, apparently knew SpongeTron, despite SpongeTron having no memory of her; Lexi, Danny Jr., and SpongeBob III decided to bring her to SpongeTron's home to see what she knew about SpongeTron's past and maybe help him remember his purpose.
They were gathered in the living room as she told them about the robot SpongeTron used to be, but what she told them was not what they expected.
"Whaaaa?!" Danny Jr. said, agape. "SpongeTron used to be a Nicktoon?!" he turned to the robot in question, "How could you not tell us?"
SpongeTron frowned in dismay, "Hey, I'm just as surprised as you are."
"It's true, Spongy-Poo." Java said with a cute smile, "Oh, we used to have so much fun. I would commit a crime and you and your team would try and stop me."
An unamused Lexi asked, "You call that fun?"
"You're too young to understand."
"Hold on, toots." SpongeTron asked with scowl of disbelief. "If you're saying I was a Nicktoon, then how come I ain't one anymore?"
"He does have a point." Danny Jr. agreed, looking disappointed. "My dad and grandpa were Nicktoons, and I've never once heard them mention SpongeTron. How about you, SpongeBob?"
As usual, SpongeBob III was lying on the couch, texting the whole time. Without even looking up, he shrugs and hums, "IDK."
With a sad sigh, Java responds, "I wish I knew. You were a Nicktoon. But one day, you went on some kind of mission and never returned. I guess after a while, everyone just stopped searching for you."
Hearing this, SpongeTron surprisingly fell silent and stood from the couch. Without a word, SpongeTron walked away from everyone and stood in the middle of the room. Everyone watched as suddenly, SpongeTron tossed his wrench across the room and screamed in agony as he activated his sonic cannon and shot at the ceiling, causing bits of ceiling to fall on everyone.
He stopped when he lost his balance and fell on his face. SpongeBob III was too nervous to make a move, but Danny Jr., Java, and Lexi leap from the couch and rush to the distressed robot's side.
"Spongy-Poo!" Java called in worry.
"You gotta calm down!" Danny Jr. urged.
Danny Jr. and Java pull him back to his feet to reveal his sobbing face. "Don't bother with me!" SpongeTron cried, "This only proves that I have no purpose!" He pulls himself out of Danny Jr. and Java's grasps and bitterly claims, "If the Nicktoons didn't care enough about me to find out where I've been, then I don't want anything to do with them!"
"SpongeTron, hold on a sec." Danny Jr. calmly assures, "We don't know for sure that's what happened. Now that we know who you were, we can go talk to my grandpa tomorrow and get the whole story."
Lexi comes over and hands SpongeTron his walking wrench. "I hate to admit it, but Danny's right. You'll feel better knowing the truth."
After having calmed down, SpongeTron stands up while leaning on his wrench and sighs in depression. Seeing how defeated her former lover is, Java comes over to him and holds his arm. "I can show you the truth about who you were before you disappeared. We can access my memory banks together. It'll be just like old times."
As if hell suddenly froze over, SpongeTron suddenly started to smile as he leaned closer to the female robot and felt the most comfortable than he ever remembered feeling. "I would like that." He said in a quiet voice.
The two robots walk off together, disappearing in the hallway while the two humans watch. Lexi then glances at Danny Jr. and quietly says, "Danny, if that robot is really a criminal, I don't know if I can really trust her."
"Me neither." Danny Jr. tensely agreed, "Especially if she used to be an enemy of the Nicktoons."
Still on the couch, SpongeBob III was texting while he said out loud, "'SpongeTron and Java SIAT! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! #Grossness #Yuck' And send!"
Six hours later, Lexi was just waking up from a nap on the couch. She sits up and sees how late it is, but doesn't see anyone else in the living room. With a yawn and stretch, Lexi stands up from the couch and goes to look for everyone. She hadn't seen SpongeTron since he wandered off with Java, and wondered if they were still together.
"SpongeTron?" Lexi asked as she walked through a random room through the automatic door. Upon going inside, Lexi screams in horror by what she sees, "Aaah!"
"Aaah!" Danny Jr. screams as well while sitting on the bed and hugging a costume close to his body.
"Danny!" Lexi shouted in shock, unsure about what was going on. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing!" Danny Jr. answered sheepishly, "Just…getting ready for bed."
Lexi didn't know if she believed him, especially seeing the outfit he was holding. "Well, nice PJs." She sarcastically said with a frown.
Danny Jr. sighs and replies, "Alright, you caught me. This is actually my ghost hunting uniform."
He stands up and holds the outfit in plain view. It appeared to be a black jumpsuit with white stripes on the sides of the torso, a white cape held together with a green DP clip, and on the floor were white gloves and boots with green trimming.
Lexi tried to stifle a chuckle as she saw the costume. "You actually go out in public in that?"
"It means more to me than that." Danny Jr. explains as he folds the outfit neatly and places it in his toolbox. "If you knew my grandpa, he had his own ghost hunting uniform."
Danny Jr. tosses the Nicktoon photograph to Lexi and she looks at the image of Danny Jr's grandfather to see his own simpler costume. Danny Jr. further explained, "Being half-ghost, all he had to do was transform and "bam", he was Danny Phantom- powers and all."
He then picks up a green pointed visor and puts it on over his eyes. "If you saw the outfit my dad can transform into, you'd be able to tell he was a superhero too." He removes the visor and sulks, "Unfortunately, I was never gonna get that luxury…" he suddenly perks up and adds, "…That's why I decided to make my own superhero outfit to hunt ghosts in."
Hearing Danny Jr.'s strive to be just like his Phantom predecessors, Lexi couldn't help but smile at this. "Wow…I'm impressed."
"By my determination to be the best superhero I can be?"
"No, that you actually know how to sew."
Lexi and Danny Jr. suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. Once it dies down, Danny Jr. sits on the bed and Lexi sits down right next to him. Danny Jr. smiles, mentioning, "I'm kinda hoping I can wear it while we go on Nicktoon missions."
Hearing this, Lexi groans and asks, "Do you really still think we're gonna be Nicktoons?"
"Come on, it'll be wicked. Plus since SpongeTron used to be a Nicktoon, he can teach us everything he knows."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Danny. Not to rain on your parade or anything, but we don't know if SpongeTron really was a Nicktoon or not. And…it's a little hard to think that they really gave up on SpongeTron."
Danny Jr. frowns in disbelief, "No…I refuse to believe that. You'll see soon enough that the Nicktoons really are heroes."
Lexi slyly smiles and says, "The determination's pretty impressive too."
"Really?" Danny Jr. asked while smiling excitedly.
Both Lexi and Danny Jr. fall silent while smiling. Danny Jr. then leans closer to Lexi, who suddenly leans away in confusion. "What are you doing?" Lexi asks.
Danny Jr. quickly composes himself and answers, "Uhhh…nothing?"
Lexi is unamused and said nothing. Instead she just gives Danny Jr. back the Nicktoon photo and stands from the bed while walking out of the room.
Danny Jr. rolls his eyes and says to himself, "Well, I just royally screwed that up."
Meanwhile, down the hall in SpongeTron's room, it was dark and quiet and filled with junk and recently emptied cans of oil littering the ground, aside from a large computer against the wall and a single metal table that held Java in sleep mode and SpongeTron, who was lying right next to her with a contemplative frown.
Suddenly, SpongeTron sits up and glances over at Java, still blissfully sleeping. He slides off the table and grabs his walking wrench before limping over to the computer and booting it up.
While remaining quiet, SpongeTron opens his chest and takes out a USB cord that he plugs into the computer and imports all the information he downloaded from Java. On screen, SpongeTron sees some old news articles regarding the previous two generations of Nicktoons. He didn't recognize any of them and became depressed again until he clicks on another article that shows Java being foiled by another group of Nicktoons, which he sees included SpongeBob III's grandfather.
"Find what you're looking for, Spongy-Poo?" SpongeTron turns to see Java leaning on top of the table with a cunning smile.
With a serious frown, SpongeTron turns back to the screen and answers, "I just found out you were telling the truth about being a criminal and an enemy to the Nicktoons. I'm surprised that SpongeBob kid doesn't know who you are, given that his grandfather foiled you so many times."
Java walks over to him and holds his shoulders as she stares at the computer screen. "Oh, Spongy-Poo, that's not anyone's grandfather, that's you."
"What?" SpongeTron exclaimed in disbelief. "Your eyes are worse than Lexi's. I look nothing like that."
Java grabs SpongeTron's left wrist and pushes a button on it, but nothing happens. "You used to have a cloaking device that can make you look like anyone- even your creator."
SpongeTron became fascinated by what he found out, and stared at the image of what he used to look like. "Creator…?" but he quickly snaps out of his daze and slams the button on his wrist with rage. "Oh, what does it matter? Even if SpongeBob's grandfather really created me, he obviously never cared enough about me to keep me around."
However, Java suddenly grabs SpongeTron's face and brings it close to hers. "Don't forget, Spongy-Poo. If not for SpongeBob, you wouldn't even exist."
She seals the deal with a kiss on SpongeTron's lips. But while the bitter robot seemed entranced, he suddenly feels an electric shock that renders him unconscious and Java lets him fall to the ground.
Java casually leaves SpongeTron's room and walks down the hall into the other room that contains the Portal Machine that SpongeTron and Lexi used the other day to get to Amity Park. Smirking, Java rubs the palms of her hands together while saying, "It's still here, just like I knew it would be."
She walks over to the bottom of the machine and opens a small hatch to reveal a glowing device inside. She pulls it out, detaching some small wires connected to it.
"What are you doing?"
Java became startled and quickly turns around to see Lexi suddenly standing by the doorway. "Where's SpongeTron?" Lexi asked.
Without answering, Java activates her laser gun and shoots Lexi in the shoulder, knocking her down. Lexi holds her shoulder as she lies on the ground, and her eyes widen to see the robot approaching her, still armed with her weapon.
"This is the power source for your little portal machine." Java sadistically answered, "Thanks to you and Spongy-Poo charging it up to go on your last adventure, I know for sure that it works and I'll get the payment I deserve."
Suddenly, Java yelps when another laser shoots at her hand, causing her to drop the power source. She turns to see Danny Jr. holding out his ecto-pistol that he was aiming at Java.
"I thought there was something nutty about you." Danny Jr. stated.
Java growls in anger and sarcastically retorts, "How lovely that you're just as annoying as the old Nicktoons."
Lexi tries to grab the power source, but is stopped when Java swings her tail in front of her and grabs the power source for herself. A few blasts of ecto-energy blow past her from Danny Jr. firing his weapon at her.
Danny Jr. responds to her, "I'll take that as a compliment."
As he continues firing at her, Java dodges his shots by climbing onto the ceiling and scaling across while holding the power source between her teeth. Danny Jr. rushed over and helped Lexi to her feet.
"We have to get that power source." Danny Jr. informed, "Otherwise we can't get back home."
Lexi nodded in agreement and rushed down the hall with Danny Jr. In the living room, SpongeBob III was sleeping soundly in a washtub full of water while cuddling his phone close to his body. However, he is suddenly awoken by the loud noise of Java running through the living room with Danny Jr. attempting to blast her with his ecto-pistol.
"OMG!" SpongeBob III shouted with excitement, "Recordable content!"
He quickly took out his phone and started recording everything he sees. Java scaled the walls of the living room while Danny Jr. shot at her. But she appeared to be too fast for him and only managed to hit the walls and the glass window.
Lexi ran over to Java, holding a metal rod. "How could you trick SpongeTron like that?" she angrily asked the robot. "He trusted you!"
With a sadistic smile, Java answered, "That's always been our thing. You'll understand when you're older."
Lexi screams in anger as she runs towards Java while swinging the rod. But Java lifts her spiked tail up and swings it, launching her spikes towards Lexi, but Danny Jr. quickly jumps on top of Lexi, tackling her to the ground as the spikes miss them both.
"Well, this has been fun, but I've got to go." Java says before leaping through the air and escaping through the broken window.
SpongeBob III was still recording the whole thing with his phone, and then moves to Danny Jr., who was still lying on top of Lexi. He smiles at her, but she is unamused and puts her hand on his face, pushing him off of her.
"I can't believe she got away." Lexi complained.
"No kidding." Danny Jr. agreed in disappointment. "I bet our grandfathers never lost this bad."
Lexi holds his left shoulder and assures, "Even heroes mess up sometimes. But you still fought hard."
"NK!" SpongeBob III agreed as he showed them the video he recorded on his phone. "I caught the whole fight on my phone, so I can relive it." He then starts typing on his phone. "After I post it online of course."
"Lexi? Danny?" SpongeTron walks into the room, limping as he walks with his wrench.
Seeing the robot makes Lexi smile in relief. "SpongeTron, you're okay!"
"Java just ran off with power source to the portal machine." Danny Jr. explained, "What happened to you?"
A scowl suddenly appears on SpongeTron's face as he looks away. Seeing how the robot was obviously hiding the pain of his heartbreak, Lexi said, "I'm sorry, SpongeTron."
"No, I'm the one who's sorry." Danny Jr. stated, "I didn't try hard enough to stop her."
"Pfft!" SpongeTron scoffed, "From the looks of the place, I think you did. Maybe you are meant to be Nicktoons."
Lexi playfully elbows Danny Jr. with a smile. "From SpongeTron, you should take that as a compliment."
Danny Jr. returned with a weak smile. "Thanks. I think I'm gonna take a walk to clear my head."
He walks away and heads out the front doors while Lexi and SpongeTron watch, feeling it best to leave him alone.
"Wow…" Lexi says, feeling pity for Danny Jr. "Being a Nicktoon like his grandpa really means so much to him."
SpongeTron turns away as he too begins to feel sorry for the kid. "He's not gonna learn anything from me."
As usual, SpongeBob III is oblivious to what's going on around him and is preoccupied with watching the video he took on his phone. "If Danny hadn't broken that window, the robot squirrel wouldn't have got away, LOL." SpongeBob III pointed out, "Guess he really didn't try hard enough to stop her."
Danny Jr. walked through the dark streets with his hands in his pockets, still looking melancholy. As he approaches the same alley where they first encountered Java, he lets out a heavy sigh and walks in. Danny Jr. stops halfway in, staring into the darkness of the alley.
"Did you get what you wanted?" he asks.
A cold voice responds, "Yes, I did."
Stepping out of the shadows was an old scientist with unkempt red hair, goggles over his eyes, a white lab coat with a high collar covering his mouth, and black gloves and boots.
The scientist adds, "Java delivered the power source and I paid her. So if things progress, then my machine should work just as well. Though to be honest, I wasn't sure you would actually go through with this."
Danny Jr. looks away in shame while responding, "I will admit, I feel bad for lying to everyone. But it'll all be worth it when the Nicktoons are here- the REAL Nicktoons." Danny Jr. turns to the professor in concern, "Are you sure this will work, Professor Essee? Can you really bring them here?"
Professor Essee calmly answers, "As long as you continue to keep our little secret, I will give you what your heart desires."
Now smiling with joy, Danny Jr. replies, "You're right. I'll finally get to see Grandpa in his prime, and he and the rest of the Nicktoons will show the others what being a Nicktoon is really about."
