There was a loud beeping sound that came from the technically advanced device by SpongeBob's bed. SpongeBob slowly woke up to make it stop by answering it.

SpongeBob said a bit weakly, "Good morning Jimmy."

"Sorry to interrupt your eight hours, SpongeBob," Jimmy said, "But my early Mawgu warning system was going off. The time has come, SpongeBob. I'll get a portal to your location shortly."

SpongeBob said, with a yawn, "Oh, don't worry about me; I can't feel pain anymore."

He rubbed his eyes, trying to get up for the day.

An error message popped up on Jimmy's end, and Jimmy asked, "Uh... SpongeBob, if I may ask, where are you in the multiverse?"

SpongeBob answered, "Oh, tight, I forgot to tell you, I'm in The Nightmare Realm. It's sort of a place between places. Your portal needs to be recalibrated accordingly. If memory serves me right, You're going to need to set your portal between coordinates 567-Omega and 3752-Delta. Make sure your Quatum processor is sat to high uncertainty and (yawn) set your internal clock to the year 2012."

Jimmy said, "I have a few keyboard commands that will come in handy for just this occasion.

Jimmy typed on his computer a bit, and the message disappeared.

Jimmy said, "Got it, thanks, SpongeBob!"

A portal opened nearby.

SpongeBob said, "Give me like five minutes to get a shower first."

Jimmy said, "Please hurry, SpongeBob."

FIVE MINUTES LATER

SpongeBob went into the portal with his pendent and Karate gear on.

SpongeBob said, "Alright, Jimmy, I'm ready!"

Danny gasped, "Woah, SpongeBob, What happened to your eye?"

SpongeBob said, "Oh, don't worry about it. My new boss just gave me an alteration when I was initiated into his circle of friends."

Timmy said, "That's so cool! It looks like a lizard."

Jimmy asked, "How did you know how to recalibrate my portal?"

SpongeBob answered happily, "Part of being in my boss's friend group is a shared collective knowledge. Kind of like a hive mind, but I keep my individuality."

Danny quipped, "That's convenient."

Jimmy then said, "I'm also curious as to the nature of the pendant pinned to your tie."

SpongeBob said, "Oh, this is a gift from one of my friends; my new boss says that he can see through it. So, since I'm not in the Nightmare Realm right now, I'm wearing it."

Shelly scuttled in and said, "Chosen Ones, I see in your future many chaotic spirits coming to your aid."

SpongeBob chirped excitedly, "Oh, those are my new friends! They're called the Hanch-Maniacs. I wonder how they'll cross over."

Suddenly, SpongeBob's left eye stung, and he held his hand over it. He saw Bill waving goodbye.

Bill said, "Bye, you all; SpongeBud is in charge while I'm gone! He's in another dimension himself, but I'm going to give him an item to summon one of you to help him."

The pain subsided, and the vision faded.

Danny worriedly asked, "SpongeBob, are you alright? Your eye started glowing for some reason."

SpongeBob said, "Oh, that's how my new boss communicates with me."

Bill popped in. He tipped his hat to the others in the room. The room tilted to one side very subtly. Then, When Bill put his hat back on, the room was set back up. Before SpongeBob could explain, Bill took SpongeBob's wristwatch off. Bill set the watch on fire in his hand, and as it burned, the nature and function of the watch changed. After a minute, the fire died down, and Bill put SpongeBob's watch back on his wrist. Then, as quickly as he appeared, he vanished. Everyone else was in a bit of a shock.

Danny asked, "Who was that?"

SpongeBob answered, "Uhh, my new boss. Bill Cipher! I guess he was in a hurry today."

Shelly said, "Ah, well, good thing he's on your side."

Jimmy asked, "What did he do to your watch?"

SpongeBob answered, "I'm not sure. Let me see."

He looked at the watch, and it had changed to a more digital version of itself. On the screen were the words, "Rotate the rim to select a Hench-Maniac to aid you, and tap the face to summon them."

SpongeBob rotated the rim of his watch, and the screen displayed pictures of the different individual Hench-Maniacs.

SpongeBob said, "It looks like he made it into some kind of Friend Summoner."

Timmy said, "Huh, that reminds me of a television show I saw about a ten-year-old boy and his alien watch. I forget what it's called."

SpongeBob chuckled, "I think this works a bit differently."

Cosmo and Wanda popped in and gave Timmy a loving hug.

Wanda said, "Sorry we're late, sport; we were wrapping things up with Cloe."

Timmy hugged them back and said, "Don't worry about it; I'm just happy to see you."

They let each other go, and Cosmo looked over at SpongeBob.

Cosmo said, horrified, "Oh my gosh, SpongeBob, your eye!"

Wanda also noticed it and said, "Oh no, don't tell us that you joined those awful Hench-Maniacs!"

SpongeBob was saddened and said, "I did, but they're not so awful anymore. I helped them realize that they can use their gifts for good!"

Timmy asked, "How do you know about them anyway?"

Wanda explained, "Their leader, Bill Cipher, attempted to make a deal with one of the Ancient Ones, and when they understandably refused, he drove him to the brink of insanity."

Cosmo asked, "How did you manage to convince him to stop being evil anyway, Sponge?"

SpongeBob answered, "That I don't know; maybe he's just growing fond of my presence."

Cosmo and Wanda exchanged worried glances. Then, an alarm blared.

Shelly said, "Come now, Chosen Ones, the wail of red light signals the Mawgu's emergence."

The group went outside. Almost immediately, they were confronted by a giant building.

The Mawgu's voice boomed, "YOU'RE TOO LATE CHOSEN ONES; I HAVE BUILT AN IMPENETRABLE FORTESS FULL OF TRAPS AND PUZZLES YOU WILL NEVER FIGURE OUT! MWA-HA-HA-HA!"

Shelly tapped on the door; it clanged under his claw, and he said, "That's barred up tighter than a coconut's shell."

Jimmy attempted to shrink the door, but it didn't budge. Timmy attempted to wish the fortress away, but it didn't work. Cosmo and Wanda were saddened. Danny attempted to blast it down, and nothing.

SpongeBob fitted with his watch and tapped on an image of Teeth. The creature jumped from the watch onto the ground. He was about the same height as Timmy when he grew to size.

Teeth said, "Oh wow, this place looks great!"

Danny was surprised and said, "Woah, talk about a pair of pearl whites!"

SpongeBob asked, "Teeth, can you chew your way into this fortress?"

Teeth grinned and said, "My bite can gnaw through any mortal material."

Teeth then began chewing on the door, and within a few seconds, there was a hole big enough for the group right through the first door.

Teeth said, "Bleh, that didn't taste very good. But there you go, you're in!"

SpongeBob said, "Thanks Teeth!"

Teeth then hopped back in the watch.

Shelly said, "I'll stay behind; I'm too old for adventures like this. Good luck, Chosen Ones."

The group went into the first puzzle. In this first room, there was one wall with three stacks of blocks with letters leaning against it. On another was what looked to be a bundle of gibberish words carved into the surface, and the third and final wall was a door with four slots.

Jimmy scanned the gibberish and used a simple algorithm to decode it into the riddle: "I'm a strange contradiction; I'm new, and I'm old; I'm often in tatters and often decked with gold. Though I never could read, yet lettered I'm found; Though blind, I enlighten; though loose, I am bound, I'm always in black, and I'm always in white; I'm grave, and I'm gay; I am heavy and light - In form, too, I differ - I'm thick, and I'm thin, I've no flesh and bones, yet I'm covered with skin; I've more points than the compass, more stops than the flute; I sing without voice, without speaking, confute. I'm English, I'm German, I'm French, and I'm Dutch. Some love me too fondly; some hate me too much; I often die soon, though I sometimes live ages, And no monarch alive has so many pages. What am I?"

SpongeBob chuckled, "Sounds like something Bill would write."

Danny muttered, "Gee, I wonder what the twist of this adventure will be."

Jimmy said, "Oh, I think I know the answer."

Jimmy set up the block into the slots to spell "Book."

The door opened, and after, everyone passed into it—they were all teleported into the center of a maze. Jimmy tried to use his GPS, but there was no signal. Timmy tried wishing them out of the maze, but that was against Da Rules.

Wanda said, "Sorry, sport, big labyrinths like this are out of the question for navigation spells."

Timmy said, "Aw, man."

Danny tried to fly up to see a way out, but some magic prevented him from floating, and he landed flat on his face.

Danny groaned, "Ow! Hey, not cool!"

The Mawgu's twisted laughter filled the air. SpongeBob fiddled with his watch and tapped on an image of Kryptos. Krptos popped out of the watch, and when he came into his size, he was about as tall as Jimmy.

Kryptos said, "Hey Spongebud, how can I help you?"

SpongeBob said, "Hey, Kryptos, It seems we're trapped in a labyrinth. We need your help to get to the next room."

Kryptos said, "Say no more, follow me!"

He led them out of the center of the maze and to the next door at one of the edges.

Jimmy asked, "How did you get so good at navigation?"

Kryptos shrugged and said, "I guess when you eat enough maze books, you absorb their knowledge."

He then jumped back into the watch. They opened the door, and it was a seemingly safe hallway. The group made their way across it. Danny felt his ghost senses stab him with chills harder and harder as they made their way into this hall. Finally, Danny pulled out his Termos device and aimed it somewhere, anywhere, to make the stabbing stop. Before anyone else could act, the thermos started sucking up the hall from one end.

Danny said, "I flipping knew it! Hang on, we're going to be dumped!"

The room was completely stripped away, and they began falling. Danny still couldn't fly, Jimmy's jetpack was on the fritz, and SpongeBob frantically fiddled with his watch, but none of his new friends fit the situation at hand. Timmy wished for the group to land on something soft. A giant pile of pillows appeared under them. They all landed softly.

"Phew," Cosmo said, "That was a close one."

Wanda cheered, "Quick thinking, Sport. Nice work!"

They all looked around and realized that there was a door nearby. They slid down the hill of pillows and opened the door, only for a second door behind it, and it was locked. Unlike last time, it had a padlock on it. SpongeBob fiddled with his watch and tapped on a picture of Keyhole. Keyhole hopped out, and when he came of size, he was by far the smallest member of the group.

Keyhole said, after a look around, "Ah, I know what I need to do here."

He pulled out a box and opened it. He pulled out a few thin tools and began picking the lock. After a few minutes, the padlock unlocked, and Keyhole put his things away. He hopped back into the watch. They entered the next room and were met by an army of sand monsters.

"Now this is more my speed," Danny quipped, "Let's kick monster butt!"

Danny used his plasma beams to mow through some of them. Jimmy and Timmy worked together to zap and poof the monsters away. SpongeBob used his karate to slice, dice, and chop his way through. They fought their way to the other door. They took a moment to celebrate just how much fun it was to be working together again.

Jimmy said, "Danny, your ectoplasmic accuracy is off the carts."

Danny said, "You and Timmy are still such a great team!"

Timmy said, "SpongeBob, your karate is still on point! Those moves are so cool!"

SpongeBob said, "You and your, uh, artificial hologram intelligence protocol friends were great as well!"

Wanda and Cosmo said in harmony, looking at each other, "That's why I married you."

They calmed down and opened the door to the next room. The room was pitch black and dark. Danny made a flame appear in his hand. Timmy wished for glow sticks, cracked them, and shook them up. Jimmy pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. SpongeBob fiddled with his watch and tapped on Pyronica's image. She hopped out, came to size, and was as tall as Danny. Her firey glow was warm and illuminated the room.

Pyronica kept her distance from the others as they went through this room. SpongeBob very pointedly walked next to her.

SpongeBob said, "I appreciate you are being cautious with my friends, but you shouldn't be afraid of yourself."

Pyronica chuckled, "I can't hide anything from you, can I? Well, I guess a part of me is still coming to terms with all the horrible things I've done before."

SpongeBob asked, "What do you mean?"

Pyronica answered, "Well, I used to do a lot of damage because I'm fire, and things tend to burn at my touch. I embraced the idea that my fire was deliberately destructive. I thought that when creatures or people got burned, it was like I was sharing my culture. After being connected to the collective knowledge of the other Hench-Maniacs, helping Bill dominate Gravity Falls, getting connected to you, and feeling that painful rainfall. I think I realize why I kept getting into so much trouble."

SpongeBob said, "I see."

They came to the door to the next room.

SpongeBob said, "Your fire is a light now, embrace it."

Pyronica smiled and said, "Thank you, SpongeBob."

She hopped back into the watch.

Danny used his ectoplasmic blast to melt the door. He was getting pretty upset, considering that the magic of the fortress was still denying him his instinctive need to float. They entered the next room.

Danny growled, holding his head, "I don't know what the hell Mawgu is doing to me, but it feels like I'm being torn apart. But I don't want to leave, but I have to fly. Grr."

Jimmy scanned Danny and gasped, "Your molecular structure is becoming unstable."

SpongeBob said, "Take it easy, Danny."

Danny said, starting to hyperventilate, his eyes glowing, "I have to go, someplace, high, please, just let me fly."

He collapsed on the ground, and before the other's very eyes, Danny was torn in two. There was a translucent version of him with blank eyes that floated up and away. The other half was just an ordinary teenage boy, left on the ground writhing in agony.

SpongeBob rushed to Danny's side, shouting, "Danny!"

The average boy, Danny, slowly opened his eyes, groaning in pain.

Timmy said, finally able to speak, "Woah."

Jimmy asked, "Are you okay?"

Danny sighed, "Yeah, but I think Mawgu just absorbed my ghost half."

SpongeBob helped the boy Danny get on his feet and kept an eye on where the ghost Danny was going. The spirit flew up and out of the fortress. Phantom then sighed in relief.

Phantom then snapped, "Okay, what the blip is going on? I need to be with Fenton!"

He attempted to re-enter the fortress, only to be denied by a blue chain around his neck, and before SpongeBob could see who had grabbed him, his vision was pushed back to the current problem of a hoard of Ghosts surrounding them.

Danny said, "Oh great, we're surrounded by ghosts, and I'm without my powers. Today is just going peachy."

Jimmy pulled out several devices and said, "Then we'll need some of that Fenton ghost-hunting gear!"

SpongeBob was given a staff that had two green lasers on either end. Danny was given a pair of gloves that glowed a green aura around them. Jimmy had a mechanical suit on, and Timmy had a thermos-looking device. The group cleaned out the room quickly. SpongeBob's vision returned to Phantom as they put the technology away. Phantom Danny was released from his chain.

Phantom Danny said, rubbing his neck, "Geeze, dude, do you have to be so intense?"

There was no reply. Phantom returned to Fenton, and they merged into one again. Danny hugged himself once the glowing stopped.

Danny cooed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go. No, No. I understand. I'm just glad you're feeling better now."

The group made it into the next room, and it was empty. They took advantage and stopped to eat and rest. It was an hour before they finally made their way out of the fortress at the foot of the volcano. They looked towards the beam of power shooting up into the sky. The Mawgu peeked out, his dark form looming over them. Jimmy pulled out a little cube-like device and pulled from it the Rip-Zipper. But then SpongeBob noticed something was off about the evil being.

SpongeBob noted, "Is it just me, or does the Mawgu's eyes look different?"

Danny said, "Yeah, they're golden, sort of like your eye, SpongeBob."

The Mawgu was chuckling mischievously, startling the group. Then he broke out into crazed laughter!

SpongeBob gasped in recognition, "Bill?"

The Mawgu boomed, "OOPS, I GUESS THE JIG IS UP!"

Suddenly, the Mawgu was drained into a triangle-shaped hole like a toilet flushing. Then, the triangle hole grew more extensive, and the inky blackness was replaced by gold, and Bill opened his eyes. His bow tie and top hat appeared on his body as he came into the world.

Bill excitedly said, "Surprise! I already tormented that big bully Mawgu to death, or at least catatonic, and I figured as long as I had a vessel, I would have fun with it! Aw man, you guys were so cool as a team! I saw everything, and I definitely made the right decision to play with you for a bit."

Jimmy asked, "So, there's no more danger?"

Bill answered, "Oh no, you should still seal up that tear in your space-time before your universe implodes. Let me get out of your way."

Bill floated to the side out of the blast of the Rip Zipper. Jimmy used it to seal the tear in space-time. Then, when the sky turned to blue, the group cheered!

SpongeBob hugged Bill and said, "Thank you so much, Bill! You're the best!"

His hug was a bit too small to fit Bill, so he quickly let go with a bit of embarrassment.

"Let's head home," Bill said. He snapped his fingers, and the fortress vanished. Shelly was taking a nap. Danny flew off to the mobile Lab; Timmy wished for him and Jimmy to share a mech suit and followed Danny. Bill scooped up SpongeBob and disenchanted his watch. He followed the group.

Danny tapped Shelly and said, "Uh, Wise Old Crab, the Mawgu is gone."

Shelly woke with a start and cheered, "The Mawgu is gone? Oh-ho, thank you, Chosen Ones. Volcano Island owes you a great debt of gratitude once more. And Triangle One, make sure you pass on my gratitude to your chaotic spirit friends as well."

Bill said, "They already know gramps, but I do appreciate the gesture."

Jimmy opened the portal in his mobile lab and sent each of the group home.

SpongeBob said as he and Bill returned to the Nightmare Realm, "Well, I guess all well that ends well!"