"To be with my love"
Before I go on, I once again want to thank S.O.Lmaster for the encouragement. I just finished reading your "Future Shock" story, and it was just--AGAIN--the little push I needed to keep working. Keep up the great work ;) Alrighty, here goes!
Chapter 2
Upon arriving at the surface, they encountered a large ship emitting colorful fireworks in all directions. "Whoa..." Spongebob said, staring at the ship in awe.
Squidward shortly joined them. "Spongebob! Do you have to make everything so--" he stopped short when he saw what Spongebob was looking at. The next thing he knew, Spongebob was swimming determinedly toward the ship. He sighed. "Here we go again," he muttered, following the little yellow man.
Spongebob slid his hands onto the edge of the big boat, watching the on board activities. A little dog was running toward someone. "I think we've lost her, Bernie!" he muttered. "She's finally gone off the deep end!"
"No way, Corneil. Sandy's completely level-headed." a teenage boy with shockingly blue hair replied. Spongebob glanced toward where the two were looking, and saw a brown squirrel in a white summer dress dancing around, playing a musical instrument. "Then again..."
Then, the squirrel named Sandy came up to the pair. "Come on Corneil, dance with me!" she said, picking up the dog and swinging him in circles.
"Oh Bernie, help me!" Corneil moaned, being spun in playful circles.
Spongebob watched in a trance, a silly smile crossing his face.
Patrick finally caught up to his friend. "Hey Spongebob, what'd I miss?"
Spongebob snapped out of his hypnotic mood. "Shh Pat, they'll here you!" Spongebob whispered, putting a hand over Patrick's mouth, still staring at Sandy. "I--I've never seen a land creature from this close up before!" he said, sighing. "Is she not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" he removed his hand from Patrick's mouth, and leaned on his elbows.
"Gee I dunno Sponge, that blue hair is kinda disturbing."
Spongebob laughed his usual high-pitched giggle. "No, her." he pointed toward Sandy, her dress flowing elegantly in the breeze as she sat down with her guitar.
"Hey everyone!" the kid named Bernie with blue hair called out. "Can I get everyone to listen to me for a minute?"
The chaos on the ship slowly calmed down, until all sailors had their attention on Bernie.
Bernie looked at Sandy. "Sandy, we all got to thinking," Bernie went into speech mode, pacing slowly back and forth in front of a large sheet-covered object.
"Oh dear," Corneil muttered.
"So we all pitched in a bit," he put his hands on the sheet. "Hired some foreign artists, blah blah blah...and this is what we got. For you eighteenth birthday!"
He pulled the sheet down, and on cue, all hundred-and-somewhat sailors shouted "Happy birthday, Sandy!" as an shockingly accurate sculpture of the squirrel was revealed.
Sandy turned slightly red in the cheeks. "Aw shucks Bernie, ya shouldn't have!"
Bernie punched her gently in the shoulder. "But I did! Well, of course I was saving it for a wedding present..."
Sandy rolled her eyes. "Come on, Bernie! Y'all aren't gonna let me forget that, are ya?"
"Well, Sandy, he was the prince of Spain. And besides, you gotta marry sometime!"
Sandy shrugged her shoulders and turned to gaze out to sea. "I will...someday. I just, ya know...have to find the right guy first."
Unbeknownst to the sailors, Spongebob was watching the whole thing, a crooked and elusive smile sitting on his face.
Bernie walked up to Sandy. "Oh yes, how touching." he muttered, sarcastically. "But how will you know it's him, when--and if--you meet him?"
Sandy shrugged again. "Ah, I dunno, guess it'll just--" she made a wide gesture with her arms. "Hit me like lightning!"
As if by signal, a streak of lightning flashed across the sky, revealing the gray clouds looming above head. The winds picked up, causing the ship to rock back and forth, and also making the tides pick up. Patrick was swept away in the waves.
"Spongebob!" he called, being pulled further and further away from the ship.
"Patrick!" Spongebob reached toward his friend, but wasn't able to catch him before he fell back underwater toward Squidward and Gary, who were hiding from the electrical storm underwater.
"It's a hurricane!" One of the crewmen shouted, holding on to the mast for dear life.
Another bolt of lightning flashed, striking one of the sails. The entire support fell over onto the deck, sending the entire ship up in flames. The entire crew jumped ship, most of them managing to make it to the lifeboats, the ones that didn't make it managed to swim up to them and hold on. "I think that's everyone!" Sandy called, glancing around. Then she spotted the little yellow dog. "Corneil!" she yelled. "I'll be right back!" she jumped off of the life boat and back onto the burning wreckage that could hardly be called a ship anymore. "Jump to me!" she called, extending her hands to the frightened Corneil.
"No...I can't!" Corneil called back, frozen in terror.
Sandy huffed. "I've got you!" she jumped across a broken part of the ship, picked up the dog, and headed back toward the water. "Ahh!" she screeched, as her foot slipped between two broken planks of wood. Corneil went flying overboard, and swam swiftly toward the life boat.
Sandy grunted and strained, trying to pull her foot out of the crevice. She finally managed to free herself and dive into the water, just as the ship blew up.
"Oh my gosh! SANDY!" Bernie called into the water, picking up Corneil and watching the scene in horror.
Spongebob looked frantically around for the fallen land squirrel. He noticed her sinking slowly underneath the water, and swam up to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and struggled to pull her up to the surface, where she could breath. He set her gently on a floating slab of wood, and started pushing her toward the shore.
It was morning when the four finally made it to shore. Spongebob pulled the unconscious princess up onto shore, before flopping down on the beach by the water.
When he'd caught his breath, he finally sat up and looked at her. "Sandy," he muttered. "Sandy Squirrel, the most beautiful creature in the world..."
Patrick joined him. "Wow, we swam for the whole entire night!" Patrick commented. He spotted Sandy laying on the ground. "Who's that? She looks dead."
Spongebob's eyes filled with panic. "Oh, she isn't dead, right Pat?" he asked, starting to feel the effects of being on land. He splashed himself vigorously with water, before running back to Patrick, who had his hand on Sandy's ankle.
"I dunno Spongebob, I can't feel her pulse."
At that moment, Sandy heaved a huge sigh in her sleep. "Wait, Pat, I think she's breathing," Spongebob whispered. He sighed with relief. "What an amazing face..." he said, gently stroking her cheek. The beauty of the moment made him want to sing. "Mister sun came up and he smiled at me," he began, softly. "He said, 'It's gonna be a good one, just wait and see,'".
As he sang, Squidward made his way wearily on shore. "Oh, my aching tentacles," he muttered. He saw Spongebob singing, and just who he was singing to, and was about to protest, when Patrick put a hand up to quiet him. Gary was trailing not too far behind.
"Jumped out of bed, and I ran outside, feeling so extra ecstaticfied!" Sandy's eyes flitted open as Spongebob finished the line, and she looked up to see a laughing Sponge in front of her.
"Sandy!" Bernie's voice came flying through the air, accompanied by Corneil's bark. Spongebob glanced up, and in a moment him and his friends had disappeared back into the ocean.
Bernie ran up to Sandy, who was laying on the beach staring out into the sea.
Corneil ran to the seaside. "Wait, come back!" he called, but the posse was long gone.
"Gees Sandy, do you like scaring me to death like that?" Bernie asked, helping her stand up.
"Did you see him?" Sandy asked absentmindedly. "He--he was right right here just a second ago..."
"Uh...see what?" Bernie asked, a quizzical expression crossing his face.
"There was...there was a guy...he was--singing! He--he had the most adorable little voice..."
Bernie took a step backward. "Oh man, now you're delusional too?" he put his hands on her shoulders, examining her eyes for any signs of a concussion, only to find a faraway dreamy look. "I think you swallowed some of that saltwater, and it's making you a little psycho, let's get home and clean you up." he said.
"But wait, Bernie, she's not--" Corneil started to speak, but his interruption was interrupted by Bernie.
"You too, Corneil...you smell like fish."
-----
Patrick and Gary watched as Bernie led a reluctant Sandy and Corneil away.
Spongebob wasn't watching, though. He was too busy daydreaming off in la-la-land.
Squidward was pacing frantically back and forth, cogitating on what to do in the near future. "Okay...okay...we just broke the rules. Big time broke the rules." he turned to Patrick. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I'm gonna be in when Mr. Krabs finds out I let Spongebob wander off to the beach?" he shook Patrick by the shoulders. "DO YOU?!?"
Spongebob sighed. "That face..." he muttered to himself. "Those curves...the way she talks..."
What our friends didn't know, was that they were being watched. And not just by anyone; it was Manray and the Dirty Bubble, holding a video camera sending feed back to the Chum Bucket, where Plankton stood laughing at what he saw. "Oh, I can't take this!" he told his computer wife. "The little sponge is lovesick! And not just for anyone...a squirrel! A land squirrel, and a princess at that! Ah, this'll make Krabs insane!" he cackled, and picked up a square-shaped helmet. "That idiot will make a wonderful addition to my staff!" he laughed, then glanced at his former staff; several skeletons laying against the wall. "He'll certainly be livelier..." he muttered.
-----
A few days later, at the Krusty Krab, the Krusty Krew was making themselves useful. Well...Squidward was anyway.
"Spongebob! Where's number 5's order?" Squidward shouted through the small kitchen window.
Spongebob danced carelessly out of the kitchen carrying a tray containing a Krabby Patty and a medium soft drink.
"I wanted fries..." the confused customer said.
But Spongebob was already skipping away. On his way out, he bumped into Mr. Krabs. "Oh, hey Mr. Krabs," he said, dreamily.
"Hey..." Mr. Krabs watched Spongebob prance out of the restaurant.
"Hey Pearl," he said, as he went past.
Pearl giggled, while Squidward, uneasy about the situation, sneaked out the back door to follow the lovestruck sponge.
"He's got it so bad," one of Pearl's friends commented.
"Got what?" Mr. Krabs asked.
"Oh yeah," Pearl agreed.
"What is it? What's she got?" Mr. Krabs looked incredibly confused.
Pearl giggled again. "Well...isn't it obvious? Spongebob...he's in love!"
Krabs still looked confused. "Spongebob? In love?" a smile slowly began to creep across his face.
-----
In jellyfish fields, Spongebob lay on the ground and watched the clouds roll by, toying with a little flower, while Squidward paced on the dangerous edge of a breakdown. "Okay...okay...so far, we're safe...I don't think Mr. Krabs has caught on yet...oh but we can't keep this a secret forever!" he glanced at Spongebob, who was daydreaming, picking the petals off of the flower one at a time.
"She loves me," he sighed. "She loves me not." he tossed the petal down onto the ground. He picked the last petal off. "She loves me," he laughed dreamily, the faraway look in his eyes never ceasing. "I thought so," he said.
Squidward tried to bring the little yellow fry-cook back to reality. "Spongebob!" he grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Stop acting like a maniac! You're talking like you've lost your mind!"
Spongebob still hadn't snapped to. "I...I've gotta see her again! I've gotta see her tonight! I'll bet Gary knows where she lives...yeah..."
"Spongebob, will you get your head back on your shoulders straight? This behavior has got to stop!"
"We can swim up to her castle...Patrick could splash around a little to get her attention..."
Squidward pulled Spongebob's face so close, their noses almost touched. "This is your home, dunce! Down here, at the bottom of the sea!" he let go and started pacing again. "Listen to me, Spongebob," he tried to be persuasive, not once glancing at Spongebob. "Up there, they've got nothing but work work work, labor labor labor...it's not all fun and games!"
While he was ranting, Patrick walked up quietly to Spongebob and whispered something into his ear. Spongebob nodded, and on that note, they both walked quietly away.
"Here, we've got work, yeah, but then the rest of the time! I mean there's jellyfishing...you'd miss jellyfishing so much! And--and the Krusty Krab! Wouldn't you miss your job as a fry-cook?"
Squidward turned around, and realized that he'd lost his audience. "Spongebob?" he glanced around. "Ooh man, if I find that little yellow idiot, I'm gonna bolt his feet--"
As he spoke, a police boat pulled up beside him, which Squidward found odd out in the middle of jellyfish fields.
"Can I help you, officer?" Squidward asked, trying to hide his choler.
"You Squidward Tentacles?" the officer asked.
Uh-oh, Squidward thought. "Um, yes, that's me..."
"Your boss would like to see you." he said, and drove away.
Once the boat was gone, Squidward allowed panic to overtake him. "Oh no...he's found out!"
-----
Back at the Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs was sitting behind the cash register, staring out the window and smiling. He laughed, quietly. "Didn't think the lad had it in him..." he said, sighing.
Squidward walked timidly inside.
"Ah, Mr. Squidward!" Krabs seemed giddy for someone who was supposed to be scolding him.
"Y-yes?" Squidward stuttered, despite his best efforts, an obvious signal that he was anything but innocent.
"I'm a bit worried about Spongebob. Have ye not noticed how...strange he's been acting?"
Squidward coughed. "Strange? No, I haven't noticed anything strange..."
"Oh really? Not the way he dances from table to table...or the way he keeps hummin' these silly tunes all day?"
"Um...well...you know..."
"Squidward,"
"Hmm?" Squidward could feel his tentacles shaking. Mr. Krabs always acted real calm like this, right before he exploded at someone.
"I think ye've been keeping secrets from me,"
"Um..."
"About Spongebob...bein' in love..."
"It's not my fault, Mr. Krabs!" Squidward shouted, a crazed look in his eye. "I told him not to go near that boat, but he did it anyway! I warned him about land creatures, I said 'No, Spongebob! They're trouble!' But he wouldn't listen! He--"
"Whoa whoa whoa, what's this about land creatures?"
Squidward slapped his hand over his mouth. "I...I didn't say land creatures...where did you hear that from?" he chuckled nervously.
Mr. Krabs grabbed Squidward by the shoulders.
Meanwhile...
"Pat, can't you just tell me what this is?" Spongebob was being pulled, blindfolded, through the trapdoor in the kitchen.
Patrick continued to drag his friend mercilessly through a set of doorways, bumping him carelessly into several walls. Spongebob lifted the corner of the blindfold for a moment, but Patrick quickly pressed it back down.
He finally pulled him through a final doorway, slamming him one more painful time into the wall. "Okay, here we are!" he said, and pulled Spongebob's blindfold off.
In shock, Spongebob stared at the birthday present that Sandy had received on the ship; her self-portrait statue.
"Oh...it's...it's..." He was at a loss for words. He turned to Patrick. "You're the best pal ever!" he pulled his friend into a tight embrace, and then slowly approached the figurine. "It...it looks just like her! All the way up to her beautiful eyes..." he gazed at the statue admiringly, so much so that he didn't notice when Patrick skittered off.
"Spongebob!" a familiar voice rang frightfully through the air, and Spongebob looked up to see Mr. Krabs hovering over him.
"Mr. Krabs!" Spongebob's voice cracked in fear, as he took a step backward and away from his boss.
"I gave you a simple set of rules!"
"Mr. Krabs, I can explain--"
"And I expected those rules to be obeyed!"
"B-but Mr. Krabs, I only--"
"Is it true you rescued a squirrel from drowning?" he took a threatening step toward Spongebob.
"I--I had to--"
"Any type of contact between up there," Mr. Krabs thrust a shiny claw at the ceiling. "And down here," he pointed at the floor. "Is against those rules!"
"Mr. Krabs, she would have died!" Spongebob was practically curled up in the corner, and was all but sobbing.
"One less of those monsters to worry about!"
"Y--you don't even know her!"
"Bah, I don't have to! They're all exactly the same...spineless, ruthless, fish-eating savages!"
"Mr. Krabs I love her!" As soon as he spoke, Spongebob slapped his hands over his mouth, shocked at his own words. Squidward gasped, and Patrick hid behind Gary.
The angry crab looked like he was about to explode. "Spongebob!" he bellowed. "She's a squirrel! You--you're a sponge!"
"I don't care," Spongebob said, hiding behind the statue with a tear stain on his cheek.
"Boy, I'm gonna get this through to yer little yella head, and I'm afraid there's only one way to do it!" Krabs pulled a shelf off of the wall, sending all of it's contents smashing to the floor.
"Wait! Please, stop!" Spongebob screamed, cowering further behind the statue.
Krabs pushed the Sandy statue over, and picked up several pieces and smashed them onto the floor.
Spongebob stared in horror for a moment, before bursting into tears. He turned his face away from the infuriated crustacean.
A look of regret crossed Krabs' face, but he didn't apologize before he left the hideout.
"Spongebob..." Squidward put his hand on the doleful sponge's shoulder. "I...I didn't mean to..."
Spongebob brushed the hand away. "Go away," he whispered. "Just...just go away."
Squidward hung his head, and signaled for Patrick and Gary to follow him away. "I'm sorry, Spongebob." Squidward whispered.
Once his friends had left, Spongebob looked around at his destroyed treasures, tears running down his cheeks. "All these years," he whispered, before another sob overtook him.
"Poor, poor kid." a familiar voice said.
"What, who's there?" Spongebob looked cautiously around.
"He has a very serious problem." Spongebob spotted Manray and the Dirty Bubble.
"If only there was something we could do," Manray said, in response to the Dirty Bubble's words.
"Oh, but there is."
Spongebob looked frightened. "Wh-what are you d-doing here?" he asked, clutching the rock he was sitting behind.
"Don't be scared kid, we represent a great power," the Dirty Bubble said. "Someone who can make your wildest dreams come true."
Manray spoke up. "Picture it; You, your princess, beautiful sunsets,"
"Romantic walks on the beach," Dirty Bubble added.
"Together forever," they said, in unison.
"I...I'm afraid I really don't...understand..." Spongebob looked incredibly confused.
"Plankton has many resources and great...powers." Manray explained.
Spongebob was almost too shocked to speak. "Plankton? No...I--I couldn't. Just..." his voice trailed off as he choked back another sob. "Just go away!"
"Your choice," Manray said as he and his partner were leaving. "It was only a suggestion." he kicked a piece of the broken statue toward the lamenting sponge. "We're here if you need us."
Spongebob stared at the broken face. It almost looked sad, as if it's expression had changed. Of course, that was impossible, but it triggered some thoughts in Spongebob's head. "Wait!" he shouted after the retreating henchmen.
They turned around, expectantly.
-----
Outside of the Krusty Krab, Squidward, Patrick, and Gary were standing around outside.
"Hmm," Patrick thought aloud. "I have an idea...be right back."
"Meow," Gary said, mournfully.
"But...I didn't mean to tell...it was an accident!" Squidward sat down. "I don't think it's forgivable." he muttered.
They spotted Spongebob walking with Manray and the Dirty Bubble. Even Squidward recognized this as trouble. "Spongebob!" he got up and followed them. "Spongebob, what do you think you're doing?"
Spongebob didn't even turn around to answer. "I'm going to pay Plankton a visit," he muttered.
Squidward was utterly shocked. "Spongebob, are you insane? Have you lost your mind for good?" he grabbed Spongebob by the shoulders and spun him around. "Snap out of it!"
Spongebob pushed him coldly away. "Oh yeah? Maybe I have lost my mind! I have an idea; why don't you go tell Mr. Krabs about it, huh? Maybe that'll solve the problem!" he turned around and continued following Plankton's henchmen.
"But...Spongebob, I--" he huffed. "Come on." he said, signaling for Gary to follow him.
