37. Bubble Dreamer

Today's cryptogram is Caesar.

Boggly Tree

The humans and Spongebob were allowed into the Boggly Tree. In-between the bark walls were glass-like barriers in which water flowed through, little bubbles inside of it. There were black columns and statues with white, intricate designs, and the floors were of colorful grass. It was a beautiful type of scenery, but Jessie and Sandy's attention had been drawn to something else for a while.

Shelly stood on a tree stump with anger on her face, impatiently awaiting a reaction from the giant-to-her first-graders. Jessie and Sandy had been staring at the tiny bully for at least three minutes. "It certainly looks like Shelly." Sandy said.

"It does." Jessie folded his arms. "But there's something awfully different."

"What's that?"

"The fact I am very happy to see her." Jessie smiled wryly.

"For your information, Shorts, I just learned I'm the princess of an entire race of chipmunks, which is more than anything you accomplished!" Shelly squeaked.

Jessie bent closer and replied, "That won't change the fact that you are small enough to replace Fluffleupagus as our classroom pet."

"Ugh! Hey Elder person, these brats have to shrink too, right?" Shelly yelled at the Puni Elder behind the stump.

"Actually, Jessie is more important than you, ergo we shall not alter him."

"WHAT?! You biased son of a-"

"DON'T TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME!" Elder puffed giant. "Also, I would not be a 'son,' I would be a 'daughter'!" She shrunk down.

"Perhaps we should tell Jessie why exactly we were expecting him." Gonshiri informed.

"I ain't recapping that entire story." Elder stated. "Besides, he doesn't need to know it all, yet. All he needs to know is that he and that sponge are Bubble Dreamers."

"We were told." Sandy replied. "Could you, um, remind us what a Bubble Dreamer is?"

"As you might have learned, Bubble Dreamers are a rare type of people, reincarnations of the spirit Polokus. Their job is to enter people's dreams and put a stop to rogue Dream Spirits. Such spirits are a different type from general Nightmares, just so you know. As for the term 'Bubble,' a Bubble Dreamer's primary power is control over Dream Bubbles. Dream Bubbles are bodies which are born from sleepers' minds and form dreams and Dream Spirits. A Bubble Dreamer can bend those bubbles to their will. The embodiment of people's dreams makes the 'dreambender' (in this context) stronger."

"So Spongebob and Jessie can control dreams and use them to fight?" Gonshiri tried to summarize.

"You know, I did something like that once!" Spongebob beamed. "I once fell out of my own dream and explored my friends' dreams."

"Spongebob and Jessie have explored their power already." the Elder said. "But there is more they can do. A Bubble Dreamer can ease or subdue Bad Dreams by encasing them inside Sleep Bubbles. Those bubbles will then take their place in thousands of stars in the Dream Realm sky. Now, are you three aware of Bill Cipher?"

"Mr. Kyogre mentioned someone by that name." Sandy replied.

"Bill was once in slumber thanks to Polokus's power, but he escaped 4,000 years ago. Bill Cipher had since found a hobby with aiding the World Government behind the scenes, doing so by helping American presidents with their position. You should know that the World Government controls America greater than any other country. If a president, such as Abraham Lincoln or John Kennedy, do not comply by their rules, the World Government has them executed. However, thanks to Polokus's power, Bill is trapped in the Dream Realm, and can only communicate to the World Government, or anyone, using images of himself. For that reason, the Government has images of Bill everywhere, and all of their workers bare his likeness as a tattoo. They call it the Eye of Providence.

"It was only 30 years ago when a man named Stanford Pines found a way of summoning Bill into our world. Bill helped Stanford create a machine that the former could use for his own goals, which is finding the Thirteen Darknesses. Thankfully, Stanford realized Bill's treachery and had the demon banished again, until last year, when Gideon Gleeful summoned him back. During the 30-year gap, Bill Cipher began to communicate with Jimmy McGarfield, using a simple one-dollar bill that displayed Bill's likeness. Under Bill's guidance, Jimmy trained to become stronger. While serving in the army, Jimmy learned the best strategies of conquering countries, it is thanks to Bill Cipher that Jimmy has become a renowned president. When Jimmy learned that Gideon had a means of summoning Bill, he made Gideon his adviser. Now under their command, Bill Cipher is brainwashing the children of America to obey the World Government."

Jessie shook his head, "You're ***king losing me, Lady! Just get to the point of this story!"

"THE POINT IS," Elder puffed giant, then shrunk down, "you are a Bubble Dreamer, reincarnation of Polokus, so it is your job to defeat Bill Cipher! Otherwise, you will not be able to save your friends."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the children of Gallagher accused the middle school of kidnapping you kids and Shelly. They went to war, and many of them were captured. They are slaves in President Jimmy's school now, and Bill Cipher, your fated enemy, is their teacher. Jessie Sidney, there is no choice in the matter, you must learn Bubble Dreaming!"

"Yeah, Jessie, let's do it!" Spongebob perked up. "It sounds like fun!"

"…" Jessie thought for a second, his eyes furrowed. "So this 'Bill' person is controlling our classmates. Hmmm… if this is the only way I can help them…"

"So be it. Your training shall begin now."

"Shouldn't we wait a little bit first?" Sandy asked worriedly. "Jessie's been through a lot lately, and we're really tired from the walk."

"Then it's a good thing the little brat will have to be asleep. Come upstairs, we have some nice patches of flowers for you."

Jessie, Sandy, and Spongebob followed the Elder and a group of Punies a few floors up the tree, to a small room with white patches of flowers. Jessie and Spongebob rested their selves on two of them. The flowers were very soft and comfortable, and Jessie already felt his body easing. His unconscious body hadn't had any decent bed to sleep on this whole time. "Your main weakness is that your real body is vulnerable while in slumber, so someone has to protect you. You can count on these whippersnappers for that. Now into slumber…" The Elder dipped her purple antenna into a bottle of pink soap. She waved the antenna and blew bubbles over Jessie and Spongebob's eyes. Their lids grew heavy as they sank into slumber.

Dream World

Stage 43: Boggly Woods, Act 1.5

Mission: Become a Bubble Dreamer.

The sky over Boggly Woods was black, while the outer horizon became yellow, with a milky gradient in-between. The grassland was a mix between yellow and red, while the black Boggly Tree towered in the distance. Bubbles of neon color floated everywhere. "Welcome to my dreamscape." The Puni Elder sat a few feet before them. "This is where most of your training will take place. Keep in mind a few things: your power only exists in the Dream World, ergo cannot be used in the Waking World. Now then, since Bubble Dreaming is essentially 'dreambending,' you must expect it to be on psychicbending's level of power. However, dreambending is like a mix between psychic and energybending, as you are bending the energy that makes up Dream World, which in itself requires imagination."

"Teehee! Bubbles!" Spongebob giddily popped a few bubbles. "Tehehe!"

"I don't even know what psychic or energybending is, how the *** would I-" Jessie cursed.

"BY SHUTTING UP AND LISTENING!" Elder puffed giant, then shrunk. "Perhaps you impatient brats want some direct practice. Well, no harm. Grab the bubbles in the air and make whatever your hearts desire."

Jessie and Spongebob both took bubbles from the air. Spongebob molded his like clay, into pickles, ketchup, onions, lettuce, molded into the finest Krabby Patty he'd ever seen. Meanwhile, Jessie molded a bubble into himself, another one into Shelly, then placed a smaller bubble beside his bubble-self like a kickball. He made his bubble-self kick the ball at Shelly, smiling proudly. "Good, good NOW AWAY WITH THOSE THINGS!" Elder puffed giant and blew those bubbles away. "The Dream World is made of such bubbles. They exist in the air and ground. So quit being blind old bats and grab them."

Jessie and Spongebob exchanged glances and shrugged. They waved their arms like waterbenders would, and Jessie soon found bubbles form around his arms. Spongebob created a bubble jellyfish net, which he used to catch a bubble jellyfish he made. "Alright, enough of that." Elder told them simply. "Make use of your fancy bubbleworks. Get to the top of that tree." She turned to face the Boggly Tree in the distance.

Jessie and Spongebob waved their bubble wands in the air to catch and mold bubbles, afterwards blowing them into a stairway of platforms. They raced across the air on an ever-rising bubble stairway, but ended up going much higher than the treetop. With excited smiles on their faces, Jessie and Spongebob jumped down and raised their wands, forming bubble parachutes. They plummeted into a shaft down the tree, landing in a dark underground area. They stood on the ledge over a black chasm as the Puni Elder appeared from a puff of bubbles. "You already know your bubbles can take any form. Do what you just did to cross this chasm."

Jessie and Spongebob waved their wands overhead as they ran off the edge, creating bubble hang-gliders to soar over the darkness. They maneuvered left and right when Pale Piranhas popped out of the sides, before they were able to take land on safe ground. There was a Bubble Bowl wheel, in which Spongebob spun said bubble into being and hit the wheel, opening a hatch at the top of a towering shaft above them. "It'll close in a matter of seconds." Elder informed them. "It'll take faster work than just flying to get there."

"No problem! Hit me, Jessie!" Spongebob opened his mouth wide as Jessie released a storm of bubbles into his throat. The sponge grew larger and larger, and when his roundness was ripe, Jessie jumped into his mouth. Spongebob aimed directly above and POPPED, sent Jessie flying like a bubbly cannon, sliding him through the hatch before it closed. Spongebob hit the wheel and opened the hatch again, creating his own assortment of bubble springs as he bounced higher into the air, soon to join Jessie above the hatch. This next passage was a grayish-white, and completely blocked by thick bubble substance. Some of the bubble was clear, but other parts were a shiny, solid white-neon.

"You'll have to force your way through this maze of Waking Water." Elder said. "If you touch that stuff, you'll have to start from the beginning." Jessie went first and forced his hands into the substance, tearing it open. Spongebob kept close behind, helping keep the back of their makeshift tunnel open while Jessie tore a way for the front. They were like moles digging through dirt, they had to maneuver left, then rightward around the Waking Water. A wall of Waking Water blocked them, they had to dig back a few feet, then dig a stairway that barely inched above the Waking Water. Jessie noticed a tight-looking tunnel through the water, so he dug through carefully until he managed to find a sock. In their attempt to maneuver out of the tunnel, Spongebob touched the Waking Water and suddenly vanished in Jessie's vision. "Gash, blast it!" Elder cursed. "Looks like you're on your own, boy."

"I don't think so." Jessie burrowed into the Waking Water himself. The next minute, he woke up tiredly in the real Boggly Tree.

"What the devil was that for?!" the Elder shouted.

"If I don't get to take Sandy with me, Spongebob and I are still a team." Jessie stated.

"Ugh, the youth of today… Fine, if that's the way you want it. We'll do this all day if you insist!" So the Elder put them to sleep again.

The duo made their way to the Waking Water maze and, with no more need to use the tunnel, they continued higher. Columns of Waking Water stood, Jessie and Spongebob made careful use of their steps as they maneuvered around, until they could exit the maze at the top. They came to a locked door sealed with a keyhole. "We're in the Dream World, remember?" Elder asked. "Make anything that suits your needs from the bubbles."

The situation here required a key, by the looks of it. So Spongebob blew a large bubble, and from that bubble was born… a cannon. After the fuse was burned all the way, it blasted the door clean open. Jessie and Spongebob entered a clear, narrow passage, where a Deathtoon (a red Doomtoon) appeared out of midair and approached them with a beefy pose. "Now the real test: trapping Dream Spirits inside Sleep Bubbles. You must let your mind be calm, and imagine your very serenity as you mold a bubble from your mind. Trap the Dream Spirits inside such a bubble, and they will know slumber."

"How the *** do we make it from our mind?" Jessie asked.

"JUST move your hands closer to each other in front of your forehead and imagine pulling a bubble out!" Elder shouted. "Now hurry! Deathtoons can destroy your mind by the touch!"

Jessie shut his eyes tight and enclosed his hands beside his forehead. He literally pulled a bubble from his mind and threw it at the small red creature. The Deathtoon was trapped, but his anger fumed as the bubble steamed, and the Toon broke free. "No no, your mind was too angry, you have to make a CALM bubble!"

"You keep ***king yelling at me-!"

"Watch out, Jessie!" Spongebob pulled a bubble from his own mind and threw it at the Deathtoon. The creature furiously tried to break free, but it soon became drowsy. The Deathtoon fell asleep, and Jessie and Spongebob watched as the bubble floated into the sky, taking its place among stars. Jessie huffed with aggravation and touched his forehead.

"You'll never defeat Bill Cipher with a torrential mind!" Elder shouted. "You can be angry while you're fighting him, but at the calling moment, you'll have to put that anger aside! Now buck up, there's more coming."

A green, man-size bug called a Cricket came, whose yellow shoes and light-green head were separate from its dark-green body. It wore a taunting scowl as it kept in the two's way, and when Jessie tried to approach, the Cricket flew into the air and kicked him away. Jessie sighed, relieving himself of anger, and calmly pulled a bubble from his forehead. He let it float to the Cricket, but the creature kicked it into nothing. "Is that puny bubble gonna catch a creature that big?!" the Elder yelled.

"No, but this one should!" Spongebob positioned his hands to pull out a bubble, moved them further from his head, and extracted a bigger bubble. The bubble was able to encase the large Cricket, put him to sleep, then it floated into the stars. "Like that, you little snot." Elder scolded.

Jessie huffed. "How the *** do you expect me to pull this off? Hell, why can't Spongebob fight Bill himself?"

"You just said you two were a team, you hypocratic dope! Besides, you're the one who needs to take his place in destiny, this lousy sponge is just along for the ride. Either way, I'm afraid at some point, you'll have to continue this training on your own. A Bubble Dreamer's other power is entering peoples' dreams, but it's hard to practice that when not many are willing to go to sleep. Well, I suppose there's millions asleep right now, but it won't matter. You at least need to master your Bubbling before we conclude. The next room should suffice." Elder led them along. "I borrowed these guys from a friend of mine."

The Puni led them to an enormous room of Stone Demons—those seen in the Chronicler's Realm. Jessie and Spongebob exchanged smirks—Spongebob molded karate gloves out of the bubbles while Jessie made a soccerball. Spongebob leapt around and karate-sliced all of the stone monsters, Jessie kicked the soccerball and bounced it around their heads. After dizzying them, Jessie blew Bubble Torpedoes to explode the statues into pieces, but their remains lived and crawled toward the Bubble Dreamers.

Spongebob smiled with solace and pulled bubble after bubble from his mind to encase each piece of broken stone. Jessie was surrounded by Stone Demons both together and broken, hurriedly molding Sleep Bubbles from his mind, large and small, to catch them. He threw the wrong-sized bubbles at some statues, while the others easily broke free. "Just think of something happy, Jessie!" Spongebob told him. "I think of Krabby Patties!"

"I have had the worst few days, so telling me to be ***king happy is a stretch!" Jessie whacked a demon away with his wand.

"That's a real shame, boy!" Puni Elder called. "I guess I left Shelly at that miniscule size for you for nothing!"

Jessie only just remembered. He didn't have enough time to appreciate the sight, before he was forced into training. He pictured himself in the Waking World, happily poking the little Shelly, flicking her around, calling her "Shrimp." Jessie closed his eyes and stretched a large bubble from his mind. He threw it at a single whole Stone Demon and trapped it. In the creature's attempt to break free, the demon felt incredibly giddy, dancing a tap-dance, before the bubble broke open. "You almost had it, but you have to be serene!" the Elder scolded. "As though you were dreaming."

"When I'm making Krabby Patties, I feel like I drank 10 cups of cocoa and fell asleep under 20 blankets. Haaaaaah." Spongebob sighed with the purest relaxation as he Bubbled another monster.

Jessie imagined himself tucked cozily under his blanket… with a mini Shelly screaming angrily from a jar on his nightstand. He pulled another large bubble from his mind and trapped two Stone Demons. Jessie watched as those demons fell asleep and floated to the stars.

By the time it was all over, however, Spongebob had Bubbled many more demons. The sky was filled with stars, which in reality were Bubbled monsters. The Puni Elder approached the two Dreamers. "You have a long way to go, Jessie. Perhaps it is good Spongebob is with you. This yellow devil's mind is so unbearably happy, it's a haven."

"I never asked to be a ***king 'chosen one of destiny.'" Jessie folded his arms and looked away. "Before all this started, I just wanted to eat ice cream."

"Be that as it may, it's time for you brats to wake up." The Elder turned away from them; Jessie walked away in a half-awake fashion. "There are a couple things I should warn you about Bill Cipher. First, you should never look directly in his eye, that's how he…" She turned around. Jessie was gone. "Eh? Where did that boy go?"

Jessie walked up a stairway that neither Elder nor Spongebob could see. The Boggly Tree slowly faded into black, and was replaced by endless stars. The stairs led Jessie onto a floating, flat asteroid with a golden circular pool. Jessie stared into the surface, the golden light making his eyes heavier. …He fell in with a splash.

Jessie appeared on the shore of a starlit sky. The massive full moon was halfway over the horizon of the indigo sea. The atmosphere of this space was making him sleepy. The waves brushed across the shore and touched his feet, sending a chill through his body that would ensure his sleep faster. Jessie looked at the tall pedestal not far away. On it rested a very short creature with a tall top-hat. His hat was violet with faint yellow stars, his skin was a pale yellow, and he bore very long arms. His body was very short and round, his mouth stretched across the whole of the top front. He had bare feet under blue pants that covered his bottom body.

"Welcome, Jessie…" He spoke with a calm and patient voice as Jessie walked closer.

The boy stopped a few feet away, staring with half-awake eyes. He believed this creature was only a figment of his imagination. "Who the *** are you?"

"I am the Bubble Dreamer the Elder speaks of… I am the spirit who resides in all Bubble Dreamers like yourself… I am Polokus. For a very long time, I knew that one of my incarnations would be one of the Seven Lights… as it was planned by my Creator."

"Cre…ator?" Jessie spoke tiredly.

"Let me tell you about Creations, Jessie. In all of existence, there have always been two types of Creations." Polokus outreached his long, right arm, sticking up the index finger. "There are Dream Spirits, Creations born in the Dream World from the subconscious mind of sleeping mortals. And there are Imaginary Friends," he stuck up the middle finger, emphasizing 'II,' "Creations directly created by conscious mortals. Bill Cipher and I are the latter. We are Imaginary Friends, dreamt up by two Creators. My Creator… was the one who originally thought of the Twenty Keys Prophecy. She is the reason the prophecy exists. And the reason the prophecy exists, its primary purpose… was to defeat Bill Cipher's Creator. An extremely powerful, and terrifying monster, whose abilities defied Time and Space. The destiny of you, and the other Nineteen Keys, will ultimately be to defeat this monster."

Jessie shook his head, speaking tiredly, "Hold up, hold up… I thought I was learning this to beat Bill Cipher… not some ***king monster. What the *** do 'Twenty Keys' have to do with anything?"

"Ohhhh, yes… You were not yet told the prophecy. All in good time, Jessie… There is only one thing you need to be certain of. Bill Cipher is our fated enemy. He has in his captivity the ones you hold dear. That is why, I will bless you with my greatest of powers, Jessie. I will bless you… with the knowledge of my Creator's name, and Bill Cipher's Creator's name. By knowing my Creator's name, as I am a part of her, I can bless you with her power. By knowing his Creator's name, you will have power over Bill Cipher. But this power will only come into play, after you have said his name in front of Bill Cipher himself. That is why I want you to take extra care in remembering them. Will you?"

Jessie's look stated that he was still hallucinating, thinking it was all a dream. …He nodded.

"Very good. My Creator's name… is Calliope. And Bill Cipher's Creator, whom she has invented this Twenty Keys Prophecy to stop… his name is…"

Boggly Tree; Waking World

Shelly and Gonshiri were outside as the former was sitting on the ground and mindlessly waving her Sand Wand. "I still don't like this whole thing." Shelly admitted. "When did a twerp like Jessie get to be a big deal? I kick way more butt than he does. And he can't even use his superpowers in the real world!"

"Regardless, we agreed to help Jessie fulfill his supposed 'destiny,' didn't we?" Gonshiri reminded.

"I still can't even believe this whole 'Apocalypse' thing. I just don't want Uncle Andrew to raise a zombie army, and I also wanna save my less-graders from that Bill Cipher weirdo."

"But according to the Elder, Jessie and Spongebob are the only types of people who can defeat a Dream Demon. As strong as you are, simple earthbending wouldn't work."

"This Sand Wand is totally useless, too. I mean, in the desert I'm a badass, but talkin' about concrete or marble, what can this piece of junk do, besides pick up little grains?"

"The Sand Wand is meant to help the user concentrate their own chi."

"Which is utterly useless if my chi is limited to DUST!" Shelly shouted.

"And my studies of the Quartzite Family prove otherwise." Gonshiri narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "A sandbender who develops their skills becomes a formidable force in almost any landscape. This is because sandbenders can destroy entire landscapes into deserts. What was once a marble temple becomes a pile of sand under their power. What I understand from reading about the Quartzites is that their power is destruction."

"Pssh, I thought lavabenders had that honor." Shelly snickered.

"That's true, too." Shiri smiled lightly. "But lavabenders can solidify their rock, and by extension make sand into one body again." Shiri looked up reflectively, "Then there were the metalbenders, Hornfels. I read that they were very smart people who specialized in archaeology. Through mastering their abilities, they could return any solidified rock to its pure form, such as gold or platinum, and they could locate all of the pure quantities inside rocks. As you might surmise, the Hornfels were hugely responsible for technology and industrial development. Then as for the Granites, well, they were considered the leaders because they saw the beauty in Earth and earthbending. To harness nature from a very core element." Gonshiri softly rubbed the soil. "Where plants grow, water flows, where shadows rest upon, what makes space so diverse, that is Earth."

"I'm complaining about my crappy sandbending, I didn't ask for a history lesson."

"For your information," Gonshiri spoke fast and angrily, "I only know all that stuff from my forced studies, which YOU didn't have to endure because you've been living the simple life with human peasants, you never had to worry about a thing because you're so unintelligent!!"

"So I can break anything into sand, is that what you're saying? Okay, so how do I do that?"

"Develop your Seismic Sense so that your chi can burrow into the very confines of the ground. Then you force your chi to destroy the ground it connects with."

"Perfect. I'll just go ahead and do that." Shelly remarked sarcastically.

"Uh, excuse me, princesses?" They turned right as Punio approached them. He had dark-gray stripes and a green ball antenna. "The Elder says that Spongebob and Jessie are wrapping up their training. With that in mind, we're setting up to take you all to the Tree of Beginning. I'm sure your mom must be worried."

"Since when do a bunch of tree mice have a ship?" Shelly questioned.

"Since these tree mice became the Puni Kids Next Door, a division of the Minish Kids Next Door." Gonshiri replied.

"And HOW long have you known that??"

"I'm the princess, I have to know all of my operatives. The Punis are a stealth sector, so that's why I didn't say anything."

They entered the tree and traveled to a high balcony, where Sandy was trying to keep a half-awake Spongebob and Jessie standing. "Nnnnn, don' worry, Mrs. Puff, one-thousand, two-hundred and sixty-seven's a charm…" Spongebob mumbled.

"May I stomp on Shelly now…" Jessie wobbled.

"No, Jessie, that's mean." Sandy replied politely.

"The first thing I'mma do is stomp you when I'm bigger, Shorts." Shelly declared.

"Before you kids leave, take this with you." The Puni Elder came with a bubble bottle of pink soap. Sandy picked it up and studied it. "Those are Sleepytime Suds, the very same bubbles I used to draw those two into slumber. Tell Jessie to use them whenever he needs to put somebody to sleep. Bubble Dreamers of old used them to help rid the demons inside peoples' heads."

"Thank you, Mr. Elder. But, how would Jessie be able to tell when-"

"THAT'S MISS ELDER TO YOU!" Elder scared the girl with her giant size, then shrunk. "The reason I'm giving it to you is because of Bill Cipher and James McGarfield. Jessie will only be able to fight Bill inside the Dream World, leaving his mortal body vulnerable to James. The only safe option is for Jessie and Spongebob to fight them both in the Dream World. And that's not to mention all of McGarfield's subordinates. Seeing as McGarfield's the United States President, you kids will need one hell of an army."

"An…An army?" Sandy spoke with worry.

"The Apocalypse is coming, so everyone is being put to the test. Including you kids. The battle that is about to happen may shake the whole world, and the outcome may surprise everyone. You young whippersnappers better be prepared."

"Here come the ships!" Punio announced. "Get ready to board!"

Shelly and Gonshiri gasped at the magnified sounds of flapping wings. A swarm of Jabbies were coming, their eyes spinning and their mouths as spiky as ever. "IT'S THE JABBIES!" Shelly screamed. "Turn me to normal so I can swat their asses!!"

"No no, it's okay!" Punio exclaimed. "The Jabbies are on our side, they just thought you were intruders before! We can ride them to Europe, they'll get the big people, too."

Shelly and Gonshiri seated their selves on individual Jabbi, whom were laid down and big as one-man planes to their sizes. Groups of Jabbi roped the arms of Sandy, Jessie, and Spongebob, and had the means of lifting them in the air. "Are you sure this is safe?" Sandy asked.

"This isn't the first time they lifted humans." Punio replied, seated on the Captain Jabbi. "In fact, you guys are kinda lightweight. Let's go!" He kicked his Jabbi. "To Minish Kingdom, Europe!"

The Elder watched all of her children and the others fly away. Sandy's look of worry didn't change as she watched the Boggly Tree shrink in the distance, while the horizon grew closer. Even if it was destiny, she feared for the fate that was in store for her brother. Jessie was still half-awake; no matter how much Elder talked about 'Bubble Dreaming,' he still looked completely helpless in that state. She prayed that everything would turn okay. A single dollar bill was flapping halfway out of Jessie's pocket, and the Eye of Providence stared from the paper.

Bill Cipher watched them from this very dollar. His eye narrowed with interest. "Well, well, well. The Bubble Dreamers are coming for me again. Then I guess that means… IT'S TIME TO GO TO WAR." His eyes viewed the scene over Washington, flashing images of the Teen Ninjas, Li'l Gideon, King Sandy, then President Jimmy.

Twilight Town

The friends of Sector V yawned and stretched awake. It was a crisp and clear… sunset in this time-frozen land of Twilight Town. The kids felt refreshed after their sudden battle last 'night,' and they weren't in a hurry to leave Twilight Town right away. Besides, it seemed Dillon had some rekindling to do with his shadow, thankfully they didn't need to worry about him combusting in the sunlight anymore.

Dillon was currently lain on the ground within a garden of bushes, staring at the full moon in the magenta sky. "Any idea what the science is behind this place?" he asked Mario. "Like, how could the sun be in one place forever, for this particular town? Even assuming it's an illusion, it's still being projected millions of light-years away, isn't it?"

I'm as clueless as you, Master. Mario replied.

"I'm just not gonna think about it." Dillon laid still and closed his eyes to clear his head of that thought. He reopened to stare at the yellow moon. "So what exactly are you mad about, again?"

I don't know… For the past few days, I feel like I've been getting pushed too hard. And I couldn't force myself to fight like you want me to because inside I sensed your true feelings. I always wanted to think that I was a part of you that you cared about, not just some means of power.

"That's why shadowbenders talk to their shadows, isn't it? Because it's their power?"

That's what I mean. You were truthful with what you said to Daphne. Because of shadowbenders, we shadows don't have to act as still and silent as we do, we feel like we have a conscience. But I also know that you wanted me back because you wanted to feel powerful again. I sensed your unspoken fear with having no means except Midna to protect yourself.

"Why the heck wouldn't I feel afraid, I was going to burn up in sunlight." Dillon spoke with a logical and angered tone. "Why accuse me for wanting to protect myself, it's no different from the other guys. Aurora didn't even think we could beat that woman before you turned me all giant."

I admit that part of the reason I did that was to make up for all the times I failed you for something. You could call it a means of 'tough' or 'ironic' love, but at least I didn't let you explode.

"That comforts me." Dillon rolled his eyes. "All I mean to say is if Chris's firebending could talk, or Mason's poisonbending, they'd tell it to work harder. And why shouldn't they, after what happened to Mr. Uno, why shouldn't they want to get as powerful as they can?"

I'm your shadow, Dillon, you think I don't have a clue with what's been going on here at all? I know why you want to get more powerful, I would've been glad to help you, but Shadow is the only element that has a conscious, and it can feel when its master is spiteful toward whatever. All I'm saying is I didn't want to be thought of as just a way for you to have power. Even against the Apocalypse, I want to feel like I'm your friend, too.

"You are my friend, Mario." Dillon stroked his shadow's hair (really stroking the ground). "I didn't mean to say- or, think all those things… I guess I just got a little frustrated. I mean, this Apocalypse thing came outta nowhere, I guess I feel a little… behind. You remember Sheila's little show, don't you?"

Sigh… I guess that isn't your fault, either. When Cheren made that announcement, I felt your worry strongly. None of us could have seen it coming. Both of us wanted time to grow with each other, but this forces us to push ourselves against our own will. I guess I shouldn't hate you for getting a little frustrated. My anger is yours, after all, and it isn't just because I'm your shadow.

"Well… even if I do get a little mad at you, I don't want you to leave me, Mario. I want to have someone – besides Mason and the guys – I can be worried with and vent my anger to. You've been with me for so long, Mario; you really are a part of me, so I guess I never thought about our… friendship much."

You humans have that weakness often, but it's alright. I'll tolerate your anger and stay with you until the end, Master.

Dillon smiled and patted his shadow's head. "I love you, Mario."

Now you're just being narcisstic.

"***k you, Mario." He punched the shadow lightly.

Meanwhile, Haruka had decided to visit the clothing store, and dragged Mason along with her. "Which do you think would look cuter?" Haruka asked him, holding two Twili dresses. "Blue-to-white gradient or violet-to-orange?"

"I'm not a fashion expert, Gothic Lolita." Mason replied with a grumpy frown.

"You go shopping with Mom all the time, Pocket Mason." Haruka smirked wryly. "You expect me to think all her cute clothes aren't 'cause you picked 'em?"

"Fine, I'll help you as long as you don't use that nickname again. Speakin' of which…" Mason decided to look at his phone, and saw a text message from Carol. "Maybe she rescued Mr. York." He clicked the message labeled To Cheren, though he was confused by the title. "…Huh?"

"What is it?" Haruka asked.

Before she got an answer, Mason rushed out of the store and saw Aurora observing a pig pen. "Aurora!" She looked over to see him come. "Check it out!" Mason showed her his phone.

The message featured flashlight-lit blueprint images of NFL Stadiums, and "X" marks on each of them. "'Teen Ninjas gonna attack Moonbase, Arctic, and Undersea with Footbombs. Let Cheren know ASAP. :Heart: Carol.'"

"You think she found that out while helping Dillon's dad?" Mason asked.

"I'm sending this to Cheren right away." Aurora stated, quickly tapping buttons on Mason's phone. "I wonder if this is because we caught one of their Leaders?"

"We only caught Daphne last night, they couldn't have planned this so quickly. I wonder if they even know, yet?"

"Sigh, well I just sent Cheren the message. I'm sending it to Francis too, get as many people in on this."

They ran around to all their teammates to tell them of Carol's message, so they sent messages to different friends of theirs, like Harry to Sunni, Artie to Danny, Dillon to Leanne, while said boy also texted Carol to ask if Dad was saved. (Dillon wouldn't expect his father to wanna come home afterwards, ergo his mother couldn't call to confirm this.) "That reminds me, has anyone seen Midna?" Dillon asked. "I didn't see her in our room, so I thought she already got up."

"Why don't we go ask Aunt Victoria?" Harry asked.

However, when they entered the Shady Inn, the woman in question was absent from the reception desk. "Hellooo? Aunt Victoria?" Dillon called.

THUMP. THUMP. They started at the sound of the forceful bang against the closet door behind the desk. Kirie climbed over and opened it—Victoria Anderson tumbled out, tied up and gagged. The kids gasped as Kirie pulled off the gag. "Finally, I was waiting for someone to get up." Victoria gasped. "Kids, I saw Midna get kidnapped by three Twili!"

"What?! Who?" Dillon exclaimed.

"It was those three employees who showed you to your room!"

"How far did they get?" Aurora asked. "Maybe we can find a trace!"

"I think I found one." Django called, standing outside as he looked up to the building's roof. "Guys, out here!"

They all ran out to join him, and gaped at the sight of the Meowth hot-air balloon floating over the inn. "Prepare for trouble, we are not what we seem!" a woman's voice declared.

"Make it double, under twilight's gleam!" Two figures appeared on the roof of Shady Inn. The male and female employees that Victoria mentioned had a still-sick Midna tied up.

"To protect the world from devastation!" the woman began.

"To unite all people within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of twerps on adventure!"

"To extend our reach is our conjecture!"

"Jessie!" She threw off her disguise.

"James!" He threw off his.

"Team Rocket, blasting off across the horizon!" Jessie continued as they boarded their balloon.

"Surrender now, 'cause we're on the rise, son!"

"Meeeeowth: that's right, Hun!" Meowth concluded.

"Woooobbuffet!"

"Chiiiiime." Chimecho sang.

"Yaaaay, they brought Chimecho back!" Aurora applauded softly.

"Are you guys from the same group as Butch and Cassidy—who'm I kidding, I watch Pokémon." Chris stopped himself.

"Oh, so you met Butch and Cassidy, did you?" Jessie smirked. "Unfortunately for you, those two are small-time compared to us three."

"Yeah, but it'll only take one of us to take you down!" Django strummed his guitar and blasted an energy beam.

"Wobbuffet, use Counter!" Jessie ordered.

"Wooobbuffet!" The blue blob glowed red and bounced the laser back to the ground, blowing the kids apart with an explosion.

Chris tossed twin beams of fire, but- "Pumpkaboo, use Shadow Ball!" Jessie summoned the floating Ghost Pokémon.

"Pumpkaboo!" It formed a black-and-purple sphere that struck Chris's flames and exploded into smoke.

"Chimecho, catch them with psychic!" James declared.

"Chiiiime." The wind chime Pokémon lifted the 11 kids high into the air, steadily squeezing them tighter. Django felt his bones about to crack while the humans felt like their blood would squirt out like jelly.

"I think we made our point quite clear!" Meowth said proudly.

"Clearer than the cleanest glass." Jessie agreed.

"Oh, don't make me laugh." A gruff voice stated.

"HM?" Team Rocket turned the opposite direction. A yellow bolt of lightning flew up from above and struck the balloon, swallowing it in smoke. "AAAAAAH!" In the next second, the three agents and their Pokémon were seen flying across the orange sky. "Team Rocket's blasting off already?!" ("Wobbuffet!") Twinkle.

The Sector V operatives landed on the ground and rubbed the sore spots. Dillon noticed Midna landed a few feet away, so he scrambled to get over and untie her. "Midna. Are you okay?"

"Uuuugh… I knew there was something funny about that soup they gave me."

"That was awfully convenient." Aurora said. "Who do we have to thank for that?"

"Me." Stated the same gruff voice.

The kids except for Django gaped at their appearance. A tall, black shadow with a long beard, and bright yellow eyes, floated beside a short leprechaun with orange hair and two horns, one big and one small. "GRANDFATHER?!" Aurora exclaimed.

"Chancellor Cole?!" Haruka followed.

"I assume by the looks on your faces that my great-grandson hasn't mentioned us, yet?" Grandfather smirked.

"Chris?…" Everyone looked at the Uno boy curiously.

"I found them in one of the rooms at the inn yesterday." Chris admitted. "I was gonna tell you guys, but…"

"Please, do not be alarmed, kids." Grandfather smiled openly, sinking to the ground beside Cole. "I'm not here to harm anyone. In fact, I happen to have special rights in this town. I am the King of Shadows, after all."

"Since when?" Artie asked unbelievingly.

"Since he married the Shadow Queen, Malevolous Djinn." Midna remembered.

"Correct." Grandfather winked. "Which is why I come here every now and again for vacation. After all, it is the setting where my beloved wife is buried." He frowned sadly. "For 50 years, ever since she was murdered by Ganondorf."

"You know, I always wondered about that." Mason said. "If you guys' great-grandmother was the Shadow Queen, aren't you part-shadow?" he asked the Unos.

"Quite the contrary." Grandfather raised a finger. "My descendants are part-Twili! Malevolous was born an ordinary mortal, who achieved a very long life force through the aid of her shadow. That is, after she became a Logia shadowbender. But alas, even the most powerful of creatures is nothing to a sick devil like Ganon." His features furrowed. "Enough about me, however. Chris told me what's been taking place during my absence. Is it true that my grandson is dead?"

The friends exchanged solemn looks. They looked at him and nodded.

"That's a shame." Grandfather bowed his head, as did Cole. "And a trifle curious." They looked up quizzically. "Is it not true that Malladus's genes passed on to you afterwards?"

"Whaddyou mean?" Aurora raised a brow.

"Hmmm… I guess it hasn't." Grandfather stared up at the sky, stroking his beard in thought. "Interesting…"

"Wait a minute, this guy is your grandfather?" Django spoke up. "You guys are related to the Demon King?!"

"Did we forget to mention?" Aurora asked.

"I say, Sire, I don't believe we've seen that one before." Chancellor Cole said, floating down to observe Django up close. The leprechaun was a few inches shorter than the skeleton.

"No, Cole, I believe we haven't." Grandfather smirked. "But there is an interesting presence radiating from him. Tell me, boy… are you familiar with Lucifer?"

"Doesn't sound familiar." Django folded his arms coolly and turned away.

"Don't play coy with us!" Cole shouted. "Every decent mortal's at least heard of Lucifer! Especially if they've come back from the dead!"

"'Guess I shoulda paid more attention in history." Django flicked Cole's forehead with his boney finger before walking away. "I'm goin' to the forest to look for dead animals. Don't wait up."

"Wonder what his deal is." Chris thought aloud quietly. "So, who was Lucifer, exactly?" he asked Grandfather.

"The short story is, he's the reason we Unos exist." Grandfather replied.

Twilight Forest

A gassy purple ghost with a white mask, pointed red nose, and yellow eyes led her terrified, white-skinned human sidekick through the dark forest. "W-W-Wuya?" Jack Spicer, evil boy genius, stuttered. "These shadows give me the creeps. W-What'd you say we came here for again?"

"Someone very important to me, of course." Wuya hissed. "You still have the Shen Gong Wu, right?"

"Uh-huh." Jack pulled out an octagon-shaped mirror with a fancy design, and a wooden trinket that curled on one end, but had a red eye inside a black space on the other end. "The Reversing Mirror and Zing Zom-Bone. Right?"

"Yes, boy. We are almost at the place… ah-ha!" Wuya's mouth (which didn't move while she talked) became a wide smile. Jack saw they had arrived at a graveyard of deceased Twili. There were all sorts of names Jack didn't recognize, while one of the graves was written in jumbled letters: WKH KHURHV RI WKH XQLYHUVH DUH ZLFNHQV! KRRUDB IRU HOOHQ! Wuya floated to the largest grave in the center, a stone tomb that was atop some stairs, perfectly exposed to the twilight. Jack joined her up there. "Jackie, boy… would you be interested in a little story?"

"Okay?"

"One thousand years ago, the Xiaolin Warriors banished my spirit into the Realm of Shadows, using a magic mirror. Lost and lonely," Wuya frowned for a second, then grinned evilly, "I was taken in by a marvelous lady, the Queen of Shadows. As time passed, I came to call her my 'sister.' Then, around 80 years ago, the two of us met two fetching young demons. I forget the one she fell for, but I was in love with another: Cole Fulbright! The old man took pity on my disembodied soul, so he conducted a ritual, to allow my ghost to inhabit the body of a simple Irish woman. My body was mortal, but my soul was not, so we bypassed those anti-mortal laws and had a son!"

"Wait, you had a son?!" Jack exclaimed. "When were you gonna tell me that??"

"I was going to tell you after the Brotherhood conquered the world, but clearly I had my hopes too high." Wuya rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter now. It was then, approximately 50 years ago, when a man called Ganondorf attacked our family. He killed the body I was inhabiting, was court-martialed in the Underworld, then he killed my older sister." Wuya looked sad again. "Then I fled in fear of Ganon capturing me, and a couple decades later, I met you." She looked disbelieved. "I never lived that down."

"Hey!"

"Which BRINGS us to the reason why we're here!" Wuya shot to Jack's face, grinning with malice. "Jack Spicer… use the Zing Zom-Bone on this grave! Then, combine it with the Reversing Mirror, and the corpse inside will be free and, partially alive!"

Jack gulped, looking at the tomb. He knew exactly who this was now, but the idea of a reanimated corpse freaked him out either way. "Zing Zom-Bone!" He zapped the tomb with the artifact. "Reversing Mirror!" Then shone the mirror's light.

The tomb quaked, and the lid slid open as Jack tumbled backwards down the steps. Wuya smirked with pure evil and madness in her eyes. The shadows of the trees and graves became more black. Gray, wrinkly, decaying hands clutched the sides of the tomb as the body climbed out. "Yeeees… YEEEEES!" Wuya's hissed voice screamed. "Behold, Jack Spicer… my adoptive sister! The Queen of the Shadow Realm!" The corpse sat completely upright, her mouth and right eye drooped open. The grayish gold, jeweled crown sat on her head of long, grey hair. "Malevolous Djinn!"