Ransom

by Angelwriter84

Squilliam gets a call demanding ransom in exchange for someone very important to him after things go horribly wrong at a concert, and enlists Squidward to help. Sequel to "Squidward the Lifesaver" and "Don't Go."

Hey everyone, thanks for responding so well to "Squidward the Lifesaver" and "Don't Go." I really enjoyed reading your feedback. While I have a break, I thought I would get started on my next idea. For those of you who are new or just browsing the SpongeBob Fanfiction page…you might want to click my name and read the first two stories I mentioned above, as this is the third story in a trilogy of short stories. Of course, you are welcome to just put the pieces together. But it might be confusing.

For those of you who have been reading a while, we are picking up a few years after "Don't Go." I won't spoil the adventure here, but I hope you have fun reading it. And, as always, please let me know what you think by submitting feedback or ideas in a review.

*DISCLAIMER* The original characters of SpongeBob are not owned by me. They are created and owned by the television network Nickelodeon. All credit goes to the writers, creators, and staff of the show. Exceptions are some O/Cs, created by me (inspired by the television show, of course).

Chapter 1: Selectively Mute

Squilliam Fancyson III sat the his tentacle over the phone as it rang for the fifth time, waiting for vast amount of police officers and detectives to give him to cue to pick it up. In order for this to work, everyone in the room would have to be completely quiet; any family or friends…anyone who made any noise….could mess up the whole operation. The equipment also had to be perfectly set up in order to record the conversation.

Squilliam's heart pounded as the detective nodded, giving him the go ahead. He slowly picked up the receiver and managed a forced "Hello?"

"Ah, the big man himself. Squilliam Fancyson."

The voice on the other end of the line was rough. Squilliam's mouth went dry. "This is he. Who is this?"

"Someone who has something very important to you, Mr. Fancyson."

Unbeknownst to the speaker unless someone in the room gave them away, their call was on speaker. Squilliam glanced at his wife, Squillia, who kept both hands over her mouth to keep from bursting into tears. Squilvia stood behind her with both hands on her shoulders, with Squidward behind Squilvia.

"My son? You have my son?"

"Sitting right behind me, and I want to make a deal. Interested? "

Squilliam was silent for a moment. "How do I even know you have him?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, then a sigh followed by rustling noises. Faintly in the background Squilliam could hear someone in the saying, "Talk to your father, kid."

There was an even longer pause, followed by rapid breathing he was sure didn't belong to the previous speaker.

"Talk to him, kid! I'm running out of patience with you!"

Squilliam panicked when he heard the muffled breathing quicken on the other end of the line. If it was their little boy, he couldn't do what he was being told to. "Wait. Wait!" Squilliam yelled into the receiver as loud as he possibly could so the caller would pick up. When there was no answer, he tried again. "Hello? Pick up!" Idiot.

Finally, he heard the first voice answer his prompts. "What?" it said abruptly.

"My son can't talk." When there was silence on the other end of the line, Squilliam explained more. "He's mute. You don't have his hands tied, do you?"

"Of course I tied his hands."

Squillia was struggling to stay quiet. At the very mention of their son possibly being tied to some chair, she let a shaky breath escape her chest. It was quiet enough that it wasn't overheard, but both she and Squilvia had to place both their hands over her mouth. Squillia buried her face into Squilvia's shoulder.

That piece of shrimp. Squilliam ignored his first instinct to start yelling into the phone. "If you untie one and hold the phone up for him, he'll know exactly how to tell me that it's him."

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

Probably. "No…. How's he going to get away from you with just one hand untied?"

Silence. Squilliam continued. "I'm not making any negotiations until I know that it's definitely my son. Do you know how many 'ransom' calls I get each year?"

There was a deep sigh on the other end. "You have one minute."

Squilliam squeezed the edge of the table with his free hand. "Squilliam, son? It's Daddy. Are you there?"

On the other end of the line, Squilliam and everyone else in the room heard a sound; they couldn't decide whether it was a relief….or haunting. It was the sound of the most efficient tapping someone could possibly do the mouthpiece of a phone. Except it wasn't just random tapping…it was in rhythm to a song they all quickly recognized as "Fur Elise."

For Squilliam, his heart fell to the floor as he nearly fell right along with it. It was him! That was the first song Squilliam ever walked in to see his son playing by himself. And when the song was old and too easy, it became the exact rhythm that Squilliam instructed his son to use in a situation just like this. When he finally came to terms with the fact that their boy was selectively mute.

Except he never thought he'd actually be hearing it.

Squidward and an officer quickly braced him so he remained upright, reminding him how imperative it was that this negotiation went as planned.

Squilliam III held the phone with both tentacles. "Oh, Squilliam. It is you! I'm so sorry, Squilly… We are going to bring you home, son. C-can you stay strong for me and your mother?"

There was a hesitation before he heard two taps in response. Squilliam nodded his head to indicate that his son had answered "yes" and kept trying to use his time wisely.

"They didn't hurt you, did they?"

One tap. No.

Squilliam breathed a sigh of relief as muffled noises came from the other end of the line. The kidnapper spoke next. "Time's up. What do you say, Squilliam Fancyson?"

Squilliam's hands were shaking. "I'll give you…whatever you want. Please just don't hurt my little boy."

"Glad to see you're finally cooperating… Now this is what you're going to do…"

Squilliam was to bring two billion dollars to the most abandoned, deserted pier still crumbling on the outskirts of Bikini Bottom. This pier had a tower. They would be watching. He was to come alone; no police, no driver, no security, no friends, and no family…just him with the money in hand. If they saw any signs of security or police in the area, or even a driver, the deal was off.

"Follow these instructions, and you can have your boy back by dusk. But if it so much as looks like you didn't come alone, or you don't bring enough money…or you're late… I'll throw your son from the tower. He doesn't mean that much to me," the other voice on the end of the line chuckled. There was a clicking noise, and then the other end of the line went silent.

Squilliam just sat there for a moment with the receiver still in his tentacle. He wanted to tell the kidnapper that the deal was off if he found a scratch on his son. But after hearing that last sentence, his blood ran cold. He began to worry. What if a police car just happened by before he could get there? All he owned was limos; what if they thought he had brought a driver?

And…

Squilliam hung up the phone, feeling numb. "Two billion is almost half of what I have."

Now that talking wouldn't put their son's life at risk, Squillia stood and walked into Squilliam's arms as tears flooded down her cheeks. "Squilliam, he's just a little boy. We have to get him back."

"We'll get him back, sweetheart. Don't worry." Squilliam felt tears welling up in his own eyes as he held his wife. "He wanted to stay home today," Squilliam said. "He was afraid to go onstage… I thought if I could just get him out there, he'd realize it wasn't that bad. I wish I'd just…left him alone."

…

Squilliam Fancyson IV: Early that morning

Squilliam IV managed to get through what was going to be the last song for his recital for the fourth time in a row. He was tired, nervous, and bored. His father was always talking about sheet music and notes, but he just played. This last song was just something he came up with in his spare time; ever since his father overheard while passing by the piano room one day, he'd had to stop playing it for fun and start playing it for practice. Daddy seemed happy with him, but when he announced that Squilly (as they called him to prevent confusion between him and his father) would be playing it in his first recital the thought of the song made the keys feel like ice.

Just like words.

Squilliam IV stopped when he saw his seven year old sister, Squilla, enter the room. She was dressed for a riding event with her seahorse, Sea Foam. She came and sat next to him on the piano seat. Squilliam loved his sister, but with their schedules, they almost never saw each other. "You sound great, Squilly. Why do you look so sad when you play?"

Squilla was one of the few people he would even offer a change of facial expression for. He widened his eyes and frowned to show he wasn't really sad.

"You don't want to play today, do you?"

Squilliam stared down at the floor. That was kind of it.

"Where's your sheet music?" Squilla pointed to the wooden rest on the piano where his sheet music was supposed to be.

Squilliam kept eye contact with his sister with a blank stare. He'd hidden it.

Squilla giggled. "You know Daddy's going to want you to put it back. You should do it before he comes in. Just because it's up there, doesn't mean you have to look at it."

Squilliam did nothing. He didn't want to put it back. They both startled when they heard their father's voice call to them from somewhere downstairs. "Squilly, I don't hear much practicing going on up there!"

Squilla laughed when Squlliam IV didn't respond. "I don't want to ride today. I want to see you play."

Squilliam's facial expression softened as she made her way to the other side of the piano. She positioned her hands in a director's position. Squilliam centered himself in front of the keys. This was a game they played a lot.

"Can you keep up?" Squilla asked. She began moving her hands in a slow rhythm, which Squilliam easily kept up with. She quickly raised her pace to as fast as she could move her hands, making it more challenging for him. She sometimes gave him a cue to play quietly or louder. Squilliam loved this game. Before long, she was directing him to play random pieces of songs they both liked.

Squilliam missed a key when they heard their father's voice from downstairs again. "Squilliam Fancyson the Fourth, that doesn't sound like anything on your list!"

In response, Squilly quickly ran through his scales forwards and backwards as Squilla laughed. They both jumped up when they heard, "That's it! I'm coming up!"

Squilla opened the piano lid. "Quick, get in!"

Squilliam IV quickly jumped inside, and moved over so his sister could get in behind him and close the lid. It was a tight fit, but they were both still small enough to fit inside their grand piano. They listened as they heard footsteps come into the room.

Squilliam Fancyson III sighed upon entering the room. "Really?"

They both smiled when they heard the sound of their mother's laugh too. "Hmm…where are our kids?" she said playfully.

"I don't know, Squillia. But why don't you sit on the piano while I play you a song?" They heard a thumping noise as their father sat their mother on top of the piano, trapping them inside. Squilla smiled widely at Squilly and lightly pushed on the piano lid. It wouldn't open. This whole thing was actually kind of funny. Their expressions changed to confusion when they heard their father push back the piano bench. "Maybe it'll be so beautiful, they'll come out and listen."

They listened intently when their mother said nothing, only to be confronted with a prolonged thud of the piano's deepest and loudest keys. The sound vibrated their bodies as they both struggled to open the piano lid.

Squilly tapped on the lid while his sister called out to their parents. "Mommy! We're in here!"

Their mother opened the piano lid, tickling them both as they tumbled halfway out of the piano. Both of them laughed as she teased them. "They you are! What are you doing in there? I'm going to get you!"

Squilla squealed as their mother dove halfway into the piano herself to scoop up a giggling Squilly. He laughed and twisted around in her grasp as she tickled him even more. He loved it when their mother played with them. He stopped laughing when he noticed his father standing beside Squilla, who was still in the piano, smiling with his hands behind his back as they all listened to the sound of his laugh. He smiled shyly at them as his mother kissed his cheek.

His mother patted his head. "We could listen to you laugh all day sweetheart," she told him.

Squilliam III's eyes darted back to Squilla. She squealed with laughter as he abruptly grabbed her. "I gotcha!"

"Daddy, that was loud!" she stated as their father pulled her out of the piano and closed the lid.

"I know," their father replied with a smirk. "Squilla, get dressed for the concert. Your riding event got postponed until next weekend, dear!"

"Really?" Squilla jumped into their father's arms and gave him a tight hug before smiling at Squilly as she rushed past them to go get her dress.

"You hear that, Squilly? I get to hear you play today!"

Squilly responded by giving her an anxious look over their mother's shoulder, but no one saw it. Squillia kissed the top of his head. "Well, I'd better go help her."

And before he knew it, he was being handed off to his father. He kept his eyes on his mother as she rounded the corner and went out of sight, leaving him alone with his father.

…

Squilliam Fancyson III

The wealthiest octopus in Bikini Bottom stood in the piano room, holding his silent son in his arms. He smiled down at little Squilliam, noticing his little unibrow was furrowed and his eyes were wide. He was thinking about something, and he wasn't happy. Sometimes Squilliam wished his son would just…tell what he was thinking.

He walked around the piano and sat on the bench with Squilly on his knee. His little five year old half-heartedly placed his tentacles on the keys, probably expecting to have to go through his list of songs one last time. Instead of telling him what to play, Squilliam offered him a calm smile even though he didn't really feel calm himself. He still wasn't sure if his son would really play through the entire list, or if he would play at all once he got onstage.

"Hey," he said quietly. "What are you thinking about?"

Squilly met his gaze with a saddened facial expression, and glanced down at his tentacles on the keys without giving him any hints at all.

"Are you excited to play for everybody, son?"

Squilly tilted his face to look back up at him; his eyes shone as the corners of his mouth turned down into an uncertain frown. "What's wrong?" Squilliam whispered.

And, of course, Squilliam Fancyson IV just gave him that same look he'd given him just a second ago. He asked his son questions, they all did, but Squilly never answered. He rarely even gave nonverbal cues. He always just seemed to freeze when he was spoken to, then become sadder and sadder when he could never express whatever his brilliant little mind was thinking.

Of course, they really didn't know why their son never spoke. No one did. They realized something was wrong when he was about one year old; at some point, they finally realized that he knew who his parents were and what to do if he needed something. He'd known for a very long time. Except he never said a word….hardly cried….rarely laughed or changed his facial expressions. Neptune, he never even pointed.

But that by no means meant he wasn't smart. Oh, no. In fact, Squilliam never thought a kid so smart would ever be in his family. His family was generally intelligent, but mostly made up of strategic businessmen and artistically talented prodigies…. Squilliam IV could play any song and catch on to any beat by the age of four, but he could also solve any problem or puzzle that was presented to him. The only problem was…

He just wasn't going to talk anyone through his process.

They took him to every specialist, every psychologist….every speech therapist. The only theory they all agreed on was that Squilliam Fancyson IV was selectively mute. He had been seeing the best speech therapist in Bikini Bottom for two years, but they almost never heard the sound of his voice.

Squilly could talk, if he really wanted to. Producing sound wasn't the problem. He often laughed with his sister, occasionally cried, and even threw a few tantrums (mostly because of Squilliam frustrating him or because something went wrong).

He'd only spoken twice that they knew of. The first time was when the Fancyson family were all walking upstairs to get ready for bed after getting home late from an event one night. One of their maids had accidentally dropped something on the stairs. Squillia and Squilla were chattering, paying no attention to where their feet where going. Squilliam was watching them as he carried Squilly.

They all froze when Squilly suddenly yelled, "Mama!"

Squilliam was the first to spot the object on the stairs. He reached out with his free arm and pulled his wife away from the object. If she'd gone one more step, she would have slipped and fell down the stairs. Squilliam could still feel his son shaking in his arms, so he just rubbed his head and hugged him before Squillia took their son from him and fell to her knees as she embraced him. It was the first and only time he'd said "Mama."

Squilly's eyes welled with tears as his sister took his hand. Squillia kissed his cheek. "Squilly, I know you were trying to help me, but… that's the most beautiful sound I think I've ever heard."

Squilliam squeezed Squillia's hand as she took their children off to their rooms. He gave Squilliam IV a reassuring smile when he saw that their son was still terrified. When they rounded the corner, he picked up what turned out to be a teacup that had accidentally slipped off of a tray without breaking and followed his family.

He still didn't know what terrified his son more; the thought of his mother getting hurt, or having to say something.

The second time was something similar, except Squilla was the only one that got to hear. Apparently, Squilla was getting Sea Foam groomed for a riding event while Squilly watched. Just as Squilla was about to circle around Sea Foam's backside, a sea urchin skidded in.

Squilly stopped his sister by saying, "Squilla, wait!"

Squilla backed away just in time for the sea urchin to scamper underneath Sea Foam, who spooked and kicked out behind her with enough force to break the stall door. When the sea urchin scampered around, Sea Foam broke her rope and galloped out of the stables, where Squilliam was chatting with Squilla's instructor. They both barely managed to dive out of the way. It was after this that Squilliam heard the story from Squilla. As she told it, Squilly still looked terrified.

Sometimes, Squilliam stopped outside Squilla or Squilly's door while they were playing together, just to see if he could hear his son laughing. Right now, more than anything, he wished his son would just tell him how he was feeling. What made it hard was that, as far as he knew, there really wasn't anything stopping Squilly from talking.

It was just that, for whatever reason, he chose not to.

Squilliam patted his son's head. He couldn't tell if it made him feel better or worse. "It's okay to be nervous, Squilly."

Squilly placed his tentacles on the piano keys and avoided eye contact, looking as if he were about to cry. Squilliam picked him up and placed him beside him on the bench. "I'm sure you know it by now. Why don't I play for you for a bit?"

He reached up to the stand that was supposed to hold the sheet music, already with a song in mind. He drew his tentacle back when he felt nothing there. "Where's your sheet music, son?"

Squilliam IV's brow furrowed at the mention of sheet music. Squilliam breathed a heavy sigh of exhaustion, choosing to accept that they weren't going to find the sheet music today, and began to play from the heart. Eventually, Squilly's posture began to relax. His eyes shone as he listened to his father play. When Squilliam finished playing, he felt his son climb into his lap.

Squilliam smoothed out the wrinkles in his little tuxedo and straightened his bowtie. "So what do you think, Squilly? Are you ready to play?"

Squilliam IV suddenly did something he wasn't expecting…something he'd never seen him do before. He shook his head. Squilliam III stared blankly at him in shock. Squilly almost never communicated in any form. No notes (even though he could write), no words, and no nonverbal gestures.

"Eh, what?"

Squilliam IV shook his head.

His son was communicating with him! For the first time ever. What should he do? Should he reward it? Try to encourage his son to communicate more often? That's what all the specialists said. It's what Squillia would want.

But…

The Fancyson fans had been promised a concert with his son's first ever appearance. It was a sellout! The people of Bikini Bottom were probably already in line to get their seats. He couldn't just…not show up.

Squilliam tried to smile. "Come on, Squilliam… All of Bikini Bottom is coming just to hear you play. And it's only three songs. You know them backwards and forwards. Five minutes tops. And our security won't let anyone anywhere near you…"

Squilliam flinched when his little five year old son hung his head in dismay. No wonder he doesn't talk.

Squilliam tried to lift his son's chin. "Come on, Squilly… I want to help you, son. How can I make this better for you?"

Squilly just turned his head and sadly stared out of the window. Squilliam could see Squidward's car coming down the long driveway. He picked up his son just as Squillia and Squilla burst through the doors.

"There's my two handsome men," Squillia cooed, looking gorgeous in a flattering silver cape dress as she crossed the room. Of course, he knew she was actually talking to their son. Squilliam smiled and handed him over. Squilly's expression softened when his mother took him, but he didn't smile.

Squilliam kissed her temple. "You look beautiful, darling."

He crossed the room to greet Squilla, who waited in the doorway in a simple lavender dress. Squilliam twirled her in a circle, amazed at how grown up she was getting to be. "Squilla! You look stunning, sweetie."

She gave him a hug. "Thank you, Daddy."

Squilliam smiled. At least one of their kids were happy with him today. He called over to Squillia. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ye-es…" she chimed. She frowned when she reached Squilliam and Squilla.

He narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Squilliam, you are Squilly are dressed exactly alike." She gestured to their tuxedos which both consisted of black blazers with tails on the back, white undershirts, white collars, and bow ties.

"Not exactly, sweetheart." Squilliam pointed to their bowties. "Red for me. Purple for Squilly. See?"

The butler entered the room and cleared his throat. "The Tentacles family is here, sir."

Squillia looked thoughtful. "One of you could have at least worn grey, or something…"

Both Squilliams brows furrowed at the thought of grey. Squilliam III knew from his wife's sudden smirk that he and his son were both twinning right now.

"Not our color, dear." He ushered his family out of the piano room and down the stairs. "Fancysons, out! Everybody, down the stairs. Out, out, out!"

Squilliam spotted his archrival standing in the foyer with his family. Squidward, dressed in a tuxedo, was standing next to his wife Squilvia, who was dressed in a flowy pink dress. Squidward was holding their two year old daughter, Squidra, as she curiously glanced around while drinking from her sippy cup. Someone had dressed her in a flowy white dress with a little pink bow in her hair.

"Hello, Squiddy!" Squilliam walked over to his rival and examined Squidra's little face from a distance. She actually was a sweet looking toddler, with big curious eyes and short curly black hair.

"Well, it looks like she got Squilvia's looks after all, Squiddy. She might just stand a chance," Squilliam teased.

Squidward proudly examined his daughter. They both knew they had boundaries when it came to each other's children. "I'm with you on that one."

Squilvia ran her tentacle through his baby's hair. "I think her curls are actually from Squidward, when he had hair."

They all shared a laugh at that. Squidward let Squillia hold his daughter. Meanwhile Squilly, having been let down, started to slip away. Squilliam quickly managed to catch him because he knew that, if they lost him today, they wouldn't find him until the concert was over. It had happened before. He kept both tentacles on Squilly's shoulders as Squilvia seemed to think about something.

She examined all the boys. "You three…look just alike."

Squillia spread her free arm. "I know!"

All three brows furrowed, Squidward being the lines on his forehead rather than a visible brow. Squidward was quick to debunk this running thought. "No. Red, purple, black."

He gestured to each of their bow ties as he spoke. Squilvia thought it over a moment, then shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Squidra whimpered when she dropped her sippy cup, which rolled on the floor without the part where she drank from touching the floor. Squilly picked it up and shyly offered it back to her when it stopped at his feet. Squidra timidly took it from him, her eyes never leaving his as she took it back.

"Aw, how sweet. Squidra, can you say 'Thank you?'" Squilvia asked, trying to engage her toddler.

Squidra seemed to think it over for a moment. After deciding she was unable to remember how to say the right words, she extended a hand down to Squilly. Surprisingly, he took it and she gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go and looking to her mom for approval.

"That was cuter," Squilla observed.

Their driver poked his head in the door. "Everything is ready to go, sir."

Squilliam picked a very withdrawn Squilly up and stood by the door. "Alright, everyone. Off we go."

…

Squilliam III: Later That Day

Squilliam sat at his desk with his forehead resting in both tentacles. It had taken more effort than he thought to come up with the right amount of money he needed to get their son back. He'd lost count of how many bankers, financial advisors, and investors he'd screamed "My son's been kidnapped, you idiots!" to that day.

If their plan failed he could lose their house, his band….or their son. I wish I'd never forced him to play in that concert.

A quiet voice broke through his pounding thoughts. "Daddy?"

He looked up to see a very unsteady Squilla standing in the doorway, still in the nightgown they'd put her in and bracing herself on the frame of the doorway for support. The black bruise on the right side of her head looked worse, even though they'd said it was actually better, and her right eye was still puffy and swollen. She was holding her right side with her free arm.

Squilliam quickly crossed the room to hold on to his daughter. "Squilla! What are you doing up?"

She held on to Squilliam's arms to stand up. "I just want to know if you've….found him yet?"

Squilliam sighed and tried to think his answer through carefully. "Maybe. We're still working on it, sweetie."

Squilla hugged him tightly. "You will find him. I know you will."

"Oh, Squilla." Squilliam returned her hug and held her tight. He hoped she was right.

A little later, after Squilliam put Squilla back to bed and got everything in order, he went to find Squillia. He found her sitting on the rooftop garden with Squilvia, who was doing her best to try to comfort her. Squilvia saw him coming before Squillia and walked towards the elevator to go check on her family. Squilliam bent on one knee in front of her and took her tentacles in his.

"Squillia, we're going now."

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "Oh, Squilliam. It just…seems too dangerous. Are you sure there's no other way?"

Squilliam thought about it again for the hundredth time that day, and shook his head. Squillia fell to her knees in front of him and threw her arms around him. "Please be careful."

Squilliam couldn't promise anything, so he just nodded. They kissed three times before he slowly got up and left the rooftop.

…

Squidward

Squidward took the ice pack away from Squidra's left temple to look at her bruise. There was no swelling, but the bruise looked worse. She was resting on his shoulder, but wasn't going to sleep. He took her head in one tentacle and held her to face him so he could look at her.

"I won't let anything like that happen to you again, Squidra. I'm sorry, sweetie. Dada didn't know that was going to happen."

He gently kissed her forehead and tickled her tummy until she giggled and tried to roll away from him. He forced himself to laugh to make her laugh and kept tickling her until he heard Squilvia come into the room.

She smiled upon seeing them playing together and examined their daughter. "Is she okay? Still awake? No swelling?"

Squidward handed over their still-giggling daughter. "Still kicking."

Squilvia breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Squidra to her chest. "Do you have to go?"

Squidward thought it over. "Probably."

She tugged on his shirt collar with a worried look. Her took her tentacle and gave her a kiss as he stood up. "I'm pretty sure I'll be okay."

Squilvia was the first to crack a smile when she realized that he was actually cracking a joke. They both gradually shared a nervous laugh. After everything he'd survived, why in Neptune's blue ocean would he not make it back here?