Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island
Chapter 7: Sleepless Night
After the village was saved from the sand monster, Shelly and the crabs were safely returned to the town. Fortunately the beast was confined to the pit and there was little damage to the structures.
"Thank you, Chosen Ones!" the shaman crab was saying to Danny, Spongebob and the others. "You have saved us! We will make you honorary members of our tribe, for all of eternity!"
The crabs cheered and snapped their claws in appreciation. Having all of this attention made the team feel a little shy.
Not long after, Shelly had led the heroes into his shaman hut. Inside, there were collections of stones, leaves and berries of all sizes and colors. Scrolls of paper hung on the sides and several different staffs were lined up on a rack.
"So this is where you do all of your spells, Shelly?" asked Timmy, looking around.
The shaman crab nodded. "Oh yes, absolutely. I've collected all of these ingredients over the years."
He motioned the others to sit on some woolen mats. Once everyone was seated, Shelly squatted down and began speaking, "So, have you found the Amber Stone?"
Sam dug into one of the knapsacks, took out the red stone and gave it to the old crab.
Shelly analyzed the stone, turning it over in his claws. "Yes...yes, this is it! The sacred Amber Stone!"
"Is it the same Amber Stone that's gonna defeat the Mawgu?" asked Spongebob.
The old crab nodded as he gave it back to the goth, "This is the one; use its power wisely, though."
"That's perfect, then," said Jimmy as he stood up, "I'll start working on the Rip-Zipper right away!"
Shelly stared at him. "Now why would you want to do that, especially since there's going to be a celebration tonight?"
"Celebration?" asked Danny, "What are you guys celebrating?"
The crab smiled, "Why, the annual Island Harvest Festival! Even if the Mawgu is breathing down our backs, we have our Chosen Ones to protect us; it's definitely not going to stop us from celebrating!"
"So we're invited to all this celebratin'?" asked Sandy.
The wise crab gleamed in excitement, "Of course! You're our guests of honor!"
Patrick's eyes widen. "Yippee, guests of honor!...What does that mean?"
"It means we're gonna have a good time," explained Wanda.
Shelly nodded as he left the tent, "Indeed. We'll be expecting you, Chosen Ones. I'm off to prepare the festival with the other crabs."
After the wise crab had left, the team decided to turn in at their camp. When they arrived, the hut was still in it's place, hardly touched. The heroes relaxed in the hut for some time, talking about their plan of attack for the Mawgu. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a young crab, who peeked in shyly.
"Uh, great Chosen Ones?" it asked tentatively, "The...festival is...ready."
Danny turned to the skittish crab and smiled. "Okay, cool. We can't wait to see it."
"Uh huh," the crab stuttered, brushing its claws together.
The teen cocked his head, confused at the crab's behavior. Danny dropped to one knee at the crab's height. "Hey, you alright, little guy?" he asked, concerned.
The crab slowly looked up, his expression fearful. "I-I-I'm just a little nervous; I never thought I-I would be rescued by the Chosen Ones myself."
Danny was still confused until Sam squatted down next to him. "You're the crab I saved from that sand monster, aren't you?"
"He is?" asked the teen.
The crab continued, "I was gonna thank you for saving me, but...I was just to scared."
Danny smiled and inquired, "What's your name, little guy?"
"Torren," answered the crab kid.
"Well, Torren, there's really nothing you should be afraid about us. We're here to help stop the Mawgu."
Torren's eyes widen in excitement. "Really? You're gonna do it?"
"Yeah, of course," said Sam. "Why? Didja think we weren't?
The kid crab cringed a little, but stood tall. "No, I never doubted you. It's just that some of the other crabs didn't think you could pull it off."
Danny blinked and said, "I see..." The teen then puffed out his chest and put on a brave face. "Well, those guys are wrong; we're gonna save this island and defeat that Mawgu guy, no matter what happens."
Torren beamed and cheered. As the two teens stood back up, the kid crab heard a conch-horn and said, "C'mon, the festival's starting!"
The crab scuttled down to the beach with the team following. Up ahead, a large, luau-like party was in full swing; dancers in grass skirts and coconut bras hula around several wooden tikis. A bonfire with a spit was blazing in the moonlight, roasting many fruit and berry sish kabobs with a stage set behind it. The atmosphere was joyous and festive among the crabs.
The moment the heroes stepped in, the islanders cheered and snapped their claws again.
As they walked through the throng, Jimmy pointed out, "It looks like they use their claws to applaud, as we would use our hands."
"Hey, that looks like fun!" exclaimed Cosmo and he transformed into a crab. The fairy snipped his claws along with the crowd.
Once the team had reached the stage, Shelly, who was on it, motioned the others to join him. After they had boarded the stage, the wise crab took out a beautiful conch and blew through it. A low, trumpeting sound echoed through the island, silencing the crowd.
"Ah, that's better," said Shelly as he put the shell away and cleared his throat. "Crablettes and Crabmen of all ages, it is with great honor that I, Shelly, present to you, the legendary...Chosen Ones!"
An ecstatic ovation from the crab crowd made the team feel humble.
After the villagers quieted down, Shelly continued, "Let's wish them luck, everyone, and give them a celebration they'll never forget!"
Another cheer went up and the festival started up again. The team soon received a table filled with lots of fruit and berries.
Just the scent itself made Patrick drool. "Oh, they look so good."
"Go on, now," coaxed the wise crab, "dig in! Don't be shy; there's plenty of food."
Timmy smiled as he reached for a mango. "You don't need to tell us twice."
The heroes were soon gorging themselves with the fruit. After a couple minutes, the gang had eaten their fill and were beginning to relax.
Timmy let out a burp and leaned back. "Ah, it's good to be the Chosen One."
"You got that right," agreed Jimmy as he patted his full belly.
Spongebob hiccuped and said, "Boy, who knew these crabs would be such great cooks? I should reference them to Mr. Krabs."
Suddenly, calypso-type stirred through the party. The band playing the music was on stage and used conga drums, gourd rattles, rhythm sticks and ukuleles. A moment later, a few she-crabs made their way to center stage and began hula dancing.
Patrick had a dopey look on his face again. "Ooh, I wanna try!"
One of the crabs heard him and tossed the sea star a hula grass skirt. Smiling, Patrick slipped into the garment and started dancing near the bonfire.
Two more hula skirts were flung to Spongebob and Sandy. They too put them on and joined the sea star. Danny was watching the three friends until he felt a tug on his arm. Uncomfortably standing up, the teen saw that it was Sam.
"C'mon, let's try it out!" she tempted.
The flustered ghost hero chirped an "Okay," and the two teens accompanied the others.
At first, Danny was a little clumsy, as was Sam. But soon, they were dancing smoothly, the teen holding the goth's hands. The two of them twirled and shimmied, slowly growing oblivious to the others. It really felt as if the whole universe was revolving around just them.
"Hm, I never would've guessed you were a good dancer," mused Sam as she swayed back and forth to the beat.
Danny smiled as he moved his shoulders up and down, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about you."
As they danced more, the two teens came a little closer. After a couple of days fighting the Mawgu's minions, searching for the Amber Stone and saving entire tribes, they were finally beginning to enjoy themselves.
Suddenly, the music stopped, snapping the two teens from their trance. They realized that the crabs and their friends were watching them the whole time, even Spongebob, Sandy and Patrick. The audience applauded at the teens' dancing.
Finally comprehending the situation, Danny shyly put his hands behind his back and sheepishly smiled. Sam rubbed the back of her neck and timidly looked over at her friend.
After the teens had retired back to their seats, Timmy rolled his eyes as he said to Jimmy, "Can you believe those two? All lovey-dovey and stuff; it makes me wanna barf."
"Yeah," replied the genius, looking at Danny and Sam. "I'm getting a little worried."
The bucktooth raised an eyebrow, "Worried? Why?" Then he palmed-faced. "Oh, don't tell me that you have a crush on Sam and you want to get Danny away from her."
Jimmy glared at Timmy, "That's not it at all! I'm just concerned that since Danny has all of his attention drawn to Sam, he'll have none to spare when we go up against the Mawgu."
"Really?" asked the bucktooth, "I hadn't noticed it. Danny's been as strong and attentive as usual for the past three days."
The genius, however, didn't seemed convinced. "I know, but..."
"C'mon," said Timmy, handing him a piece of fruit. "Let's not talk about that and let's instead enjoy the party."
Jimmy looked at him for a second before taking the food. The genius shrugged, realizing that maybe he was overreacting and began chewing the fruit.
The party continued for several more hours until a bright full moon hung in the night sky. The four boys had left the party and were laying on top of a leafy platform, giving them a clear view of the sky.
"Wow, that moon sure is pretty tonight," Spongebob reflected.
Timmy nodded, "Yeah, and a lot bigger, too."
"Well, it's actually an illusion," explained Jimmy, "although I'm not sure how it works or what causes it."
Danny turned his head to the genius. "The great and wise Jimmy Neutron has no clue why the moon looks bigger?"
"Hey, it's not me," protested the boy genius, "it's the scientists who have no clue why the moon looks bigger."
Timmy said, "It would still be awesome to go there. With all that low gravity and stuff, I'd be bouncing and flying all over the place."
"Hm, maybe if you're nice to me," Danny replied, "I could take you there once I become an astronaut."
Jimmy flipped over to one side to look at the teen. "You want to be an astronaut when you grow up?"
"Yeah," continued the teen, "ever since I was a little kid I wanted to see what was up there, in space. You know, just out of curiosity."
Timmy dully pointed out, "I've always wanted to see what made Vicky such a mean babysitter, but you don't see me studying 'Vickyology'.
"But there's no such thing as 'Vickyology', Spongebob said.
"Exactly."
"Hey, you guys!" cried out a voice.
The four boys lifted their heads up and looked down from their perch. Sandy, Sam and Patrick were standing at the bottom.
"There ya'll are," said the squirrel, "we were wonderin' where ya'll took off."
Patrick looked at Spongebob, teary eyed. "I was worried that something bad happened to you, Spongebob."
"Oh, there's no need to worry," consulted the sponge, "as long as we stick together, we're safe from those evil minions of the Mawgu."
Patrick asked, "So does mean I need glue to stick to you guys?"
"No, it doesn't," replied Sandy dully, then she looked up at the boys again. "We're hittin' the hay, boys. See ya'll tomorrow!"
After the boys said goodnight to Spongebob's friends, Sam was left alone.
"Sam, aren't you gonna follow them?" asked Danny.
The goth replied, "Nah, we goths love the dark. Besides, I'm not sleepy yet."
Timmy yawned and stretched, "Well, I'm getting sleepy, so I'll join those two."
"Right behind ya, Tim," said Jimmy as he and the bucktooth friend jumped down from the platform and made their way into the hut.
Spongebob carefully climbed down, saying, "I don't like the dark myself, so I'll follow them."
After the sponge had left, Danny looked over at Sam and said, "So, wanna watch the stars? The view's incredible up here."
"Okay," the goth replied, a little shy. She climbed up to the platform and lay next to her friend. Above them, the stars twinkled in different shades of white and the moonlight gleamed off of every surface. It was, indeed, incredible.
Danny and Sam silently observed the celestial bodies for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company.
The ghost teen stretched one of his arms behind his head and placed the other on his chest. He slowly transferred his gaze at the stars to the goth. Her black hair fell across her face and her eyes reflected the moon's light. A silly grin crossed the teen's face.
Sam felt Danny's eyes on her and looked at her friend. Once she saw him, the ghost hero cringed and turned his head away. Seeing his black hair drape over his sky blue eyes made the goth smile.
Soon the two friends began to relax as they watched the stars play into the night...
Danny leapt as high as he could to pound the monster's rocky face. The punch connected, but it hardly did any damage. Instead, the monster grabbed him in its fist and glared with eerie purple eyes.
"Fool! Did you really think you could destroy me?" it roared.
Danny struggled in the fist's grip. "Well, I don't have a chance, but me and my friends do!"
It sneered, "Not for long..." The rock monster lifted up another fist. In it were the others, struggling as hard as Danny.
"Guys!" exclaimed the teen in horror. He shot daggers at the monster. "Let 'em go!"
"Oh, I'll let them go," it began, "RIGHT INTO THE VOLCANO!"
Danny gasped in fright as he watched the monster fling his friends deep into the lava pit. Their screams echoed through his ears...
"NOO!" Danny shouted as he sat up. Blinking, the teen realized he was in his cot. Laying back down, Danny took a few deep breaths to relax and slow his beating heart.
Spongebob peeked in, looking concerned. "Everything okay, Danny?"
Timmy poked his head in as well, "Yeah, we heard a scream."
Danny sat up again and swung his legs over the cot. "It's okay, just a dream."
"Another one?" asked the sponge.
Jimmy suddenly popped up behind him. "What do you mean, 'another one'?"
Spongebob explained the last time Danny had a nightmare.
"Well, don't worry, Danny," consulted the genius as the teen joined them, "like you said; it's just a dream."
Spongebob worried, "But what if that dream was like, ya know, a warning or something."
"You mean like precognition?" said Jimmy, "That's just a myth."
Timmy pointed out, "That's what fairies and ghosts are."
The genius was about to reply when Sandy entered the hut. "Mornin', boys! Ya'll ready to head to the volcano?"
"Yep," answered Jimmy, "the Neutronic Rip-Zipper is complete!"
Danny said, "Cool, let's get going then!"
The boys and squirrel left the hut and met up with the others outside.
Sam and Patrick were waiting patiently next to a strange contraption. It was made of thick vines that acted as a stand and created a depression on top. Sitting in it was the Amber Stone.
The sea star hugged the device. "This thing is gonna save the world!"
"Patrick, be careful!" warned Jimmy, gently taking the contraption from his hands. "It's very sensitive."
Timmy poked the device and asked, "Are we really gonna carry this thing all the way to the volcano? It looks heavy."
"It sure is," Jimmy answered, "but I got it covered."
The genius took out his Hyper Cube and pressed a button. A beam of light from it enveloped the device and teleported it into the cube. "There we go," said Jimmy and he put the device in his pocket.
Suddenly, Shelly came up racing up to them.
"Chosen Ones! I have grave news!" exclaimed the wise old crab as he skittered to a stop in front of the heroes.
Danny frowned. "That doesn't sound good; what's up?"
"My spells for slowing down the Mawgu have been broken!"
Spongebob cowered, biting his fingernails. "What does that mean?"
"It means we've gotta get our butts up there if we wanna save the multiverse!" said Jimmy as he looked at the smoldering volcano.
Danny pounded a fist into his hands, transforming into his ghost form. "There's no time to waste, then. Let's roll!"
The team took off towards the rain forest that lead to the volcano. Behind them, Shelly yelled, "Good luck, Chosen Ones!"