Polly was shivering as she stepped off the tram, and it wasn't just because she was in her nightgown. The Third Floor had always been rather creepy, and it seemed especially so now. The fact that the third spirit was nowhere to be seen only served to make her even more uneasy.

But just then, the third spirit flew right in front of her. This spirit looked like a real ghost and a very terrifying one at that!

"Boo," he said.

"Who - who are you?" asked Polly, shaking like a leaf.

"Muhahaha... boo..." he answered. "I am Repsac, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come! You must see my vision or risk your future!"

With that, he led her into the Robot Maze, the most dangerous part of the Mountain! Polly's little heart pounded as Repsac led her over to where Dr. Bug-Bot worked on defective robots. There, on his examination table, Polly saw the scattered, broken remains of Botley! Dr. Bug-Bot, Egbert, and Professor Spark himself were all gazing down at the horrible sight with very grim looks on their faces.

"Can - can anything be done for him?" asked Egbert.

"I'm afraid not," said Dr. Bug-Bot. "He's pretty well totalled. Even his memory cards were destroyed, so I can't even transfer his memory into a new body. I hate to say it, but Botley is dead."

"But how did he even get this badly damaged?" asked Egbert.

"Well, it was Polly, of course," muttered Dr. Bug-Bot. "She was using the telescope in the Observatory to spy on the neighbors again. When Botley caught her and told her that Sally and T.J. deserved their privacy, Polly got really mad at him. She pushed him out the window right there in the Observatory, at the top of the Mountain! He tried to save himself with his retractable rocket, but you know how he was never programmed to fly. In the end, the rocket just made him plow into the ground faster."

There was a terrible moment of silence. Polly desperately wished she could get out of this. The lifeless gaze of the dead Botley was really creeping her out.

"Take Botley's remains to the scrapheap," said Professor Spark eventually. "I'll deal with Polly." He turned to leave.

"Will you make her another companion robot?" asked Egbert, floating after him.

"Why? So she can kill that one too?"

"Then what are you going to do?"

The Professor didn't answer. He just marched onto the tram looking very determined yet also very sad. Polly and Repsac followed him down to the Second Floor and then down the green staircase to the First Floor. A huge Christmas party was taking place there, with the award-winning, all-robot chorus singing "Jingle Bells." The Professor walked up to the future Polly.

"Polly," he said, "do you realize that you've killed Botley?"

"No big deal," she said, laughing. "He's just a robot. You can fix him, right?"

"He's beyond repair this time. We've had to scrap him."

At those words, everyone stopped partying at once, and the whole room became dead quiet.

"No, not Botley!" said Maestro Trombot, turning away from the now silent robot chorus.

Brunwella sighed. "Now I wish I'd gotten to know him while I had the chance."

"You would have liked him," said Mrs. Beasley. "He was always a good friend to everyone."

"Well, everyone except Polly, that is," Mort grumbled.

And with that, all the robots started complaining about all the ways they had ever been wronged by Polly. The future Polly looked shocked and terrified, as did the present-day Polly.

"I - I swear I didn't mean to kill him!" said the future Polly.

"Didn't mean to kill him?" asked the Professor. "Did you not push him out the window in the Observatory?"

"Well, yes, but I didn't think that would kill him!"

The Professor sighed. "I hate to do this, Polly, especially on Christmas, but you've really crossed the line this time. Hiring sitters didn't work, and now my attempt to invent a robotic sitter has failed too. There's nothing left but for me to send you to boarding school on Haunted Island."

"Daddy, no!" gasped the future Polly. "I promise I'll be good from now on! I'll even be nice to the new Botley!"

"There will not be a new Botley," said the Professor, turning to leave. "That ship has sailed. Ms. Grunkle's methods may be crude, but they just might be what you need to learn how to behave."

"No, please, nooooooooo!" begged the future Polly, but the Professor just ignored her as he walked back up the stairs. The robots, meanwhile, were all smiling at each other, pleased to hear that she would soon be gone for good.

"Spirit, does it have to be this way?" asked the present-day Polly, turning to Repsac. "These events can still be changed, can't they?"

"You're right," he said, "but I'll doom you... next time." And then, he flew away.