Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island

Chapter 6: Love and Monsters

After the gang defeated and returned King Gorge to the Mermec tribe, he and his soldiers were receiving treatment at the medical hut. As all the purple ooze was destroyed by Queen Anorra's spells, they reverted back to their normal selves. Once the Florians realized what had happened, they were apologizing like crazy to the team.
"Forgive us, Chosen Ones!" begged the leader as he bowed low.
"We were completely under the control of the Mawgu!"
"His powers were simply too strong to overcome!"

Danny tried to calm them down, saying, "It's okay, we forgive you. We're just glad everyone's safe."
That seemed to make things worse for the heroes as the Florians began kissing their feet.
"Thank you for sparing us, great ones, thank you!" they said.
The team felt a little embarrassed with all the attention, but Patrick just giggled, "Haha, that tickles!"

Anorra raised her head to the Florians. She was leaning over on the cot where King Gorge laid on. "Florians, your king is awake."
The plant people rushed over to the pickle man who was starting to regain consciousness and sat up.
"Ah, I feel much better. Thank you, Anorra," he said with a smile as he slid out of the cot.
The queen smiled, "Of course, but it was the Chosen Ones who purified the river and reversed your condition."

King Gorge caught sight of the heroes and nodded. "You have my eternal gratitude, Chosen Ones. I only ask one favor; please stop the Mawgu. He is cause of
all of this evil."
"That's what we're here for!" replied Timmy as he puffed out his chest.
Danny did the same, "We'll do what ever it takes to defeat that monster!"
"Yeah!" cheered Spongebob, but then asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Jimmy thought for a moment and said, "We should probably head back to Shelly; he might be worried about us."
"So I take it you're heading back to the Crab's village?" inquired Guil, who was sitting on a cot next to Eirk.
The genius nodded, "That's right. I think I can redesign the map he gave us to find the Amber Stone so we can backtrack to camp."
"Sounds difficult," replied Spongebob.

Jimmy smiled, "Don't worry; I'll have it finished in about an hour. In the meantime, you guys can relax."
Timmy stretched and yawned. "Good. All this 'saving the worlds' and stuff is exhausting; I need a nap."
The others nodded and headed back to their temporary hut, leaving Jimmy and the two tribes alone in the medical tent. Danny, however, stayed behind and sat against a palm tree, thinking. Spongebob noticed the teen's behavior and rushed over.

"Hey, Danny, are you okay?" asked the sponge.
The ghost teen lifted his head and blinked. "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I'm just thinkin', that's all."
Sitting next to Danny, Spongebob pressed, "What are you thinkin' about?"
The teen stiffened a little. But after looking at the sponge's innocent face, he sighed. "If I told you, would you keep it a secret from the others?"

Spongebob beamed, "Sure, no problem. And it'll be a pinky swear, too." The sponge held up the said finger.
Danny chuckled, "All right, then."
After a quick swear, the teen started, "Well, here's the thing..."
"Yes?" said the sponge as he listened intently.

Danny bit his lower lip, doubtful. But after another deep breath, he finally said, "I think I maybe, just maybe, have...you know..."
"You think you have a crush on Sam, don't ya?" finished Spongebob.
The teen was about to protest, but just weakly smiled.
The sponge gave Danny a big hug. "Oh, I knew it! I knew it all along! You and Sam go together like sea-nut butter and jellyfish jelly!"

"Shh! Not so loud!" hushed the teen as he gently pushed him away. "Besides, I don't even know if it's...real or somethin'.
Spongebob's eyes widen in shock, "You don't know if it's...c'mon, Danny, stop kiddin' yourself; of course it's real!"
"Really?" asked Danny.
The sponge nodded eagerly and continued, "In fact, I have a feeling that Sam...well, feels the same thing about you."

"Huh?" the teen squawked, stunned. "Could that be true?"
Spongebob put his arm around Danny. "I'm not sure myself, but if I've learned anything about love, and I've learned a lot, it's to prepare for the unexpected."
"Okay, I think I get it," said the teen, still unsure. But then he asked, "Well, what about you and Sandy?"
Spongebob cocked his square head, "Huh?"

"You heard me; I think you have a crush on that squirrel friend of yours."
The sponge startled, "What?! I have no idea what you're talkin' about." He folded his arms and turned away.
Danny chuckled again, smiling. "Oh, really? Then why are acting so defensive?"
"I'm not actin' defensive!" protested Spongebob, "Geez, you sound just like Gary."

The teen gave the sponge a gentle punch on his arm. "C'mon, you said so yourself; prepare for the unexpected."
"Well, I..." Spongebob trailed off when he saw Sandy and Sam conversing with each other.
Danny saw the two and asked, "What do you think they're talking about?"
"Maybe about us..." wondered Spongebob, but then quickly added after the teen gave him a look. "I mean, about you. Sam's maybe talkin' about you." The teen rolled his eyes at the sheepish Spongebob.

"...so back in Texas, we call ice cream, frozen cow juice," Sandy was telling Sam.
The goth nodded, but she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. "Uh huh, interesting."
Sandy noticed this and asked, "What's on yer mind, Sam?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just...letting my thoughts drift," she answered, twiddling her fingers.

The squirrel tried again, "Ah, shucks, ya'll don't need ta be shy 'bout it. You can tell me."
"Uh..." Sam stuttered, not sure what to say.
Sandy smiled as she added, "And don't worry, I'll won't tell a single soul. A Texas Squirrel's promise."
The goth gave her another look and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll tell you..."

Carefully, Sam told Sandy what was bugging her. After she was done, the squirrel nodded, understanding.
"So, yer tellin' me that you have a crush on Danny, but yer not sure how to tell 'em."
Sam lowered her head, "Yeah, and I'm not even sure if it's real."
The two girls sat in silence, thinking deeply, until Sandy said, "Well, I would like to help ya, but I've got my own host of problems."

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.
The squirrel rubbed the back of her furry neck, "Well, ya see...between you and me...I think Spongebob's kinda cute."
"So you like Spongebob?"
Sandy stiffened, "That I'm not so sure. And I don't think he feels the same way, ya know what I mean?"
Sam looked down and muttered, "Yeah, I know what you mean..."

"HEY, GUYS!"

A loud call got the boys' and girls' attention. It was Jimmy, who had poked his head out from the tent.
"The map's ready! Let's get packin'!"

Soon, the entire team was ready and were saying goodbye to the Mermec queen and Florian king.
"Again," Danny was saying, "thanks for helping me and my friends. I doubt we would've made it this far if it haven't been for you and your tribe."
Anorra beamed, as did Eirk and Guil. "Of course, anytime, Chosen Ones," replied the queen.
"I wish you all the best of luck," stated King Gorge, "you have my blessing."

After a final nod, the gang departed deep into the forest once again, this time with Jimmy leading the way. They trekked through the thicket for about an hour until they came to an open field, filled with beautiful flowers.
"Whoa," mused Timmy as he looked around, "did we stumble upon a little girl's fantasy?"
Jimmy shook his head. "Nope. These are real, organic flowers. Their colors are so vivid because of the nutritious soil from the volcano."

"Wait, the volcano?" asked Spongebob, "Doesn't the volcano usually burn things to the ground?"
The genius explained, "At first, the lava will destroy everything in sight, but after it cools and crumbles, it will contain all the nutrition plants would need to grow and reproduce."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense...somehow."

Jimmy pointed ahead, "Once we cross this field, we should be at the Crab's village."
With that said, the team walked through the meadow. For the first time, the flower field made the heroes start to relax, as if the stress was melting away from their bodies.
Sandy took a deep breath and sighed, "Golly, these flowers smell sweeter than honey on comb."
"You got that right," agreed Spongebob as he picked a stunning bloom and showed it to the squirrel.

The sponge said, "But I think this'll look fantastic on you."
Sandy grinned and placed the flower between her ear. "Why, I'll be tickled pink! Thanks, Spongebob."
Beaming a happy smile, Spongebob started skipping through the meadow, plucking several other flowers. He then noticed that one stood out in particular; a red-black rose had poked out from the gathering of blooms.
The sponge got an idea and picked the rose, careful not to get stabbed by its thorns. Hiding it behind his back, Spongebob bounded over to Danny.

"Here you are, Danny," said the yellow sponge and showed the flower to the teen, winking.
Danny was confused at first, but then got the hint; he took the bloom from Spongebob's hand and turned to Sam.
"Hey, Sam," said the teen, "Check this out!"
The goth turned and gasped when she saw the rose. "Wow, a black rose! It's super rare to find one in the wild."

"Really? Then that's makes it one of a kind," replied Danny. Then he added shyly, "Just like you,"
Sam blushed a little at the comment as she put the rose on one side of her black hair. "Aw, that's so sweet of you, Danny."
"Yeah," said the ghost teen as he reddened, too. "I'm a sweet guy."
Meanwhile, Jimmy heard the entire conversation between the teens behind him. The genius started to worry a little...

"There it is!" shouted Patrick, interrupting everyone's thoughts.
Timmy exclaimed, anticipating an attack, "What?! Where is it?"
The sea star pointed ahead and the team realized they were standing on a hill overlooking the crab village.
"Oh! We're back!" said the bucktooth kid in relief.
Jimmy replied, "Yep, now let's go and find Shelly. I'm sure he's-"

"AAH!"

A scream startled the heroes and they saw a horde of crabs racing toward them. As they past the group, they could hear their yelling,
"The Great C-C-Carapace!"
"He has come to life!"
"And he's destroying our village!"
"Run for it!"

After the mob had left, the heroes heard a loud roar from the village.
Danny said to the others, "Looks like there's a monster rampaging through the town."
"Oh, gee," said Timmy sarcastically, "ya think?"
Giving the kid a glare to shut him up, the teen continued, "Jimmy, Timmy, Patrick, Sandy and Sam; I want you guys to led the crabs away from the village. Me and Spongebob will stop that monster."

"Yeah!" cheered the sponge and then he said, "Wait, we'll do what now?"
Danny didn't answer and grabbed him, rushing towards the center of town. After they had gotten close enough and climbed a mound of sand that acted as a ramp, the two realized that the monster was in a pit surrounded by a pointed, wooden fence.
Spongebob gasped, "It's a huge sand monster, with a big wooden shell!"

Danny then spied something on another pile of sand not far away. It was Shelly!
"SHELLY!" the two exclaimed together.
The wise old crab turned to the sponge and teen, but it was too late; the sand monster saw him first and picked him up with its gritty hand. Danny and Spongebob watched in horror as the beast tossed the crab into the air and caught him in its mouth, swallowing the defenseless crab.

"NOO! Not Shelly!" screamed the sponge and he was about to dash into the pit when the ghost teen grabbed him by the shirt collar.
"Spongebob, wait! If you go down there, that monster will gobble you up too," Danny warned.
The sponge turned to the teen in fright. "But we hafta save Shelly!"
"And we will," consulted Danny, "Just lemme think for a sec."

Just then, the sand monster noticed the two boys and roared. It gathered a giant fistful of sand and flung it at them.
"Yikes! Look out!" cried Spongebob and he and Danny jumped out of the way. The teen watched as the glob of sand crashed into the sea nearby and broke apart. The sand's disintegration in the water gave Danny an idea.
"Spongebob!" he said, turning to the sea creature. "I need some water!"

The sponge stared at him in confusion. "Danny, I told you to get a drink before we left."
"No, that's not it," groaned the teen as he explained, "I need you to soak up water and hose that sand monster down."
Spongebob's eyes lit up in realization. "Oh! Then why didn't you say so! I'll be right back!"
The sponge dashed to the beach as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, Danny began distracting the beast from attacking any of the crabs.

"Hey, ugly! Over here!" shouted the teen. When the monster turned to him, he blasted it with several ghost and ice rays, stopping the beast momentarily. Suddenly, Danny noticed Sam just below him, helping a young crab escape. Just seeing her gave the teen the strength to continue fighting.
All of the sudden, a dull BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!, sounding like giant footsteps, echoed through the village. An enormous, swollen yellow form appeared, almost as big as the sand monster. It came to a stop next to Danny on the sand ramp, dripping sea water.

"I'M READY!" it gurgled in Spongebob's voice.
With a cringe, the water-logged sponge blasted water from his mouth. The monster became drenched in the liquid and its sand was starting to crumble to the ground. As more water flowed from Spongebob, he grew smaller until he was back to his normal size. The giant sand monster had completely collapsed; all that was left was a giant pile of sand.

The two cheered until Spongebob exclaimed, "Wait! Where's Shelly?"
His question was answered when, a the very top of the pile, the crab shook off the excess sand from himself.
"As foretold in legend!" he exclaimed, smiling at the two heroes.