Sandy: Cheeks.mp4

The footage was grainy, the colors bled at the edges like a bruised sunset. It started with a static-heavy shot of the Treedome’s interior. But something was wrong. The grass wasn't green; it was a sickly, pale yellow. The air inside the dome looked thick, almost like smoke.

Karen’s monitor flickered to life, showing a flat green line. "Plankton, that’s a magnetic tape. You can’t just name a physical object with a digital file extension. And besides, why would Sandy have a tape of herself labeled like a video file?" Sandy Cheeks.mp4

On the screen, the grainy footage shifted. It was no longer the Treedome. It was the Chum Bucket. The camera angle was from the very corner of the ceiling, looking down at Plankton and Karen. They watched themselves on the screen, watching the screen. The footage was grainy, the colors bled at

"Computer!" Plankton squeaked, his eye gleaming with the frantic light of a thousand failed schemes. "I’ve found it. The ultimate surveillance footage. I swiped it right out of the squirrel’s treedome while she was busy practicing her karate on a defenseless tree." The grass wasn't green; it was a sickly, pale yellow

In the video, a shadow moved behind the digital Plankton. A tall, suit-wearing figure with a glass helmet.