Atlantis Squarepantis
Chapter 2: On Our Way
Spongebob, Patrick, Squidward, Sandy and Mr Krabs continued on their run from the security guards, hoping to get to the Pineapple before they caught up. Spongebob squinted his eyes and then he smiled. "There it is! Come on, let's hurry!" Spongebob said, looking over at the rest of the group. As they came to the entrance, Spongebob opened the door to let the others in and then ran in, slamming the door behind him. Inside, all five were trying to catch their breaths after that long run.
"That was exhausting, but I think we lost them." Spongebob said, as he looked out the window and noticed that the security guards weren't there. Just then, they could hear loud pounding on the door and it was rather surprising that the door didn't fall off its hinges. Then, they could hear someone from outside.
"Okay, Eugene Krabs. Come out with your hands up. We have you surrounded from the outside." It was one of the security guards; the group gasped in unison, realising that the guards had caught up. They then looked at each other, uncertain of what to do. Spongebob was silent before he smiled, having an idea.
"You guys wait for me in my room. I'll take care of those guards." Spongebob said. With this, the rest scattered upstairs while Spongebob went to answer the door. The security guards were still pounding on the door before Spongebob opened it to see them. "Good day, officers. Can I help you?" Spongebob asked.
"We're looking for Eugene Krabs. He attempted to rip off a visitor on a weekend by making them pay and saying that it was Monday. You wouldn't happen to see him, would you, kid?" One of the guards asked. Spongebob scratched his head like he was in thought for a few moments before he looked back at the guards.
"No, I haven't seen anyone like that. But, I'll let you know if I do." Spongebob responded, and immediately closed the door before the guards could say anything. The guards looked at each other in confusion before they started to head out. Spongebob looked out the window to watch them leave and sighed from relief knowing that they were out of trouble.
"Well, that was a close call." Spongebob commented. He then headed upstairs to his room to see that everyone was there waiting for him. "It's all right, everyone. Those guards won't find us anytime soon." Spongebob said. The rest of the group sighed in relief, knowing they were in the clear for the time being. Spongebob then got his photo of Sandy out of his pocket and smiled.
"I know just what to do with this." Spongebob said. He grabbed a photo frame out of one of the cupboards, put the photo in it and then put the photo on his bedside table beside the clock. "There. That way, I can always see it." Spongebob said, as he looked at the photo with a bright smile.
"Spongebob, were you able to get the map as well?" Sandy asked. Spongebob brought the map out and unrolled it so everyone could look at it. "I don't believe it. To think this is a route to the lost city of Atlantis. Can you imagine what secrets that city might have, just waiting to be discovered?" Spongebob asked, as the group had gathered to look at the route.
"Not to mention the treasures! Any special city like that might have a large amount of treasures." Mr Krabs commented. The others looked at him for a few moments, but then shrugged it off since they were aware of how much Mr Krabs loved money.
"I don't know about any of you fellas, but I think a city like that would be tough to find. Maybe that's why it's stayed unknown for a long time, because no one's been able to find it yet." Sandy explained. Spongebob suddenly smiled, as that comment gave him an idea.
"I know! Why don't we look for Atlantis?" Spongebob suggested. The others stared at him in alarm, wondering if he was serious. "What?!" They asked in unison, which caused Spongebob to look at them, confused. "What's wrong with that idea?" Spongebob asked.
"Spongebob, is your brain covered with algae? There's a reason why it's called the lost city; no one's been able to find it!" Squidward said. "Exactly! And we can be the first ones to find it. We'll be able to be the first to say that we've found a city that has stayed secret for so long, and we'll be able to say what we found as well!" Spongebob explained. The others stared in uncertainty, and then they looked at each other unsure of what to say about this.
"Come on, you guys! It'll be the best. We'll have a lot of fun while we're looking, and there's nothing like having fun while you're looking for something special. Not to mention if we all work together, it'll be a lot better than one of us getting it all to ourselves. What do you think?" Spongebob asked, with a smile. There was silence as the others looked at each other, before they then looked back at Spongebob.
"Well, I need to be at the Krusty Krab. Someone needs to make sure that Plankton doesn't get his hands on the Krabby Patty formula." Mr Krabs explained.
"Yeah, and I need to keep an eye on my place too. Why do I need to do that, though?" Patrick asked, scratching his head to try and remember. "I'd prefer staying at the comfort of my home than risk myself not making it back alive on something like that." Squidward said.
"Sorry for sitting this out too, Spongebob, but I have a lot of important projects to attend to as well." Sandy said. Spongebob's smile faded, and he looked around at everyone.
"You have your own business, huh? Well…thanks anyway, guys. I'll get ready to go…alone." Spongebob said, doing his best to hide his disappointment and started to head downstairs. As the others watched him leave, Sandy then looked back to the group.
"You know, I think we're all being a bit hard on Spongebob. He was looking forward to this a lot, and I hate seeing him so disappointed." Sandy commented. "Yeah, that's true. But we all have our own business to attend to, and I wouldn't want my restaurant to go out of business." Mr Krabs said. Annoyed, Sandy then turned to him.
"Mr Krabs, would it hurt too much to close your restaurant for just a few days, just so one of your most loyal workers can be happy?" Sandy asked. Mr Krabs was surprised by this, but then he started to look down feeling a bit ashamed of himself for that. Sandy then directed her attention to Patrick.
"Patrick, you were looking forward to this as much as Spongebob was. I think it would be great for you to have a fun time with your friend, as well as enjoy the adventure." Sandy explained. Patrick then started to smile, realizing Sandy was right. She then turned to Squidward, since she had saved him for last.
"Squidward, even though Spongebob's driven you crazy on more occasions than I can count, I can tell you still really care for the little fella. Don't you think it would make you feel good to put your own priorities aside and have a great adventure with him?" Sandy asked. Squidward found himself unable to say anything to that question, and he just remained silent. Sandy then stood up and started to head downstairs, but not before she looked back at the others.
"I'll leave you all to think about it." Sandy said, and she headed downstairs. Spongebob was sitting on his couch, upset that everyone had turned down this adventure of a lifetime. But then, he could hear someone come downstairs and turned around to see who it was.
"Sandy?" Spongebob asked, his voice quiet. Sandy then walked over to Spongebob and she could see that he looked really upset; he was certainly disappointed by everyone turning the adventure down. "How come you came down?" Spongebob asked.
"Spongebob…you won't be going alone. I'd like to come with you." Sandy said. Spongebob sat up in surprise as soon as he heard Sandy say that. "Really?" he asked, as he was slowly starting to brighten up.
"That's right. As much as I like doing my own things, one thing I can't stand is seeing you disappointed. So even if no one else comes with you to find Atlantis, I'd like to." Sandy responded. Spongebob started to smile at this, but then he and Sandy turned to notice the others come downstairs as well.
"Yeah! I'm coming with you too, buddy!" Patrick said. "So am I! A good crew never turns down one member." Mr Krabs agreed. They then turned to Squidward to hear what he would say. Squidward then sighed, and looked up at the rest.
"I can't believe I'm saying this…but I'm coming too!" Squidward said. The others cheered at this, and Spongebob's smile was as bright as it usually was, hearing that everyone was coming.
"Wow, thanks everyone!" Spongebob smiled. The group then looked down at the map to see where they'd need to go. "Let's see. Atlantis is right off in the distance, over the Kelp Forest. So that means we'll need to take the bus so we can get as near as possible, and then we'll be right walking the rest of the way." Spongebob said, as he trailed his finger across the map to show the route they would take.
"All right then, let's get ready to go and then it's off to Atlantis!" Sandy said. The others couldn't agree more; this was going to be one great adventure. That night, Spongebob was asleep, but then he got up and looked at the clock to see what time it was.
"Yep, that looks about right. Let's get ready." Spongebob said. He jumped out of his bed and slowly snuck through the room to not wake Gary, his pet snail, up. But then, Gary opened his eyes and looked up to see Spongebob.
"Meow." Gary said. Surprised, Spongebob turned around and smiled to see that Gary was awake. "Oh, Gary! It's you. I didn't wake you up, did I?" Spongebob asked. Gary shook his head and Spongebob sighed in relief.
"That's good. I need to get ready; me and the others are heading off to find an ancient city." Spongebob said. "Meow." Gary responded, simply.
"You'd like to come along too?" Spongebob asked. Gary smiled; that meant it was a yes. Spongebob then picked his little partner up and smiled. "All right then, you can come too, Gary. Just make sure you behave, okay?" Spongebob asked. Gary nodded in agreement.
"Okay then, let's go!" Spongebob said. After getting dressed and packing everything he needed, Spongebob opened the door of his house, headed outside and closed the door behind him with Gary following close behind. "Okay, Gary, we need to meet everyone at the bus stop. I'm ready!" Spongebob smiled, and started to make his way to the bus stop happily cheering "I'm ready!" Gary followed, secretly wondering how long it would be until they got there.
Patrick lifted his house, which was a giant brown rock with an antennae-like satellite at the top, up and looked around to make sure no one was there. He then headed out carrying a jar of mayonnaise and started to make his way to the bus stop.
Sandy, wearing her oxygen suit, headed out of her tree dome locking the door behind her. "I've got everything I need, and to make sure no one gets inside…" She got out a remote control form her bag and pressed the button, completely sealing off the tree dome. "There we go." Sandy said, and started to head off to the bus stop.
Squidward opened the door of his house and headed outside, closing it behind him; he had everything he needed as well as his clarinet. "Clary, what made you think I'd leave you behind? When we get to Atlantis, they'll be able to recognize talent when they see it." Squidward smiled as he looked down at his instrument. With that, he started playing as he headed off to the bus stop. When he arrived, he was surprised to see that almost everyone else had come before him.
"All right, it looks like almost everyone is here. Has anyone seen Mr Krabs?" Sandy asked, looking around to make sure everyone was present.
"He headed off to close the Krusty Krab. He took the map with him as well. I just hope he doesn't lose it; I wouldn't want that map to fall into the wrong hands." Spongebob responded, and he looked down in worry at the thought of anyone else getting the map.
"Oh, don't worry, Spongebob. Who else besides us would want that map, anyway?" Sandy asked. Meanwhile, Mr Krabs had just finished locking up the Krusty Krab, and he was starting to make his way to the bus stop.
"There we go; the old girl should be fine without me for a few days. And the map is safe as well; it almost feels like nothing can go wrong." Mr Krabs commented. He should have chosen his words more carefully, because the wind started to blow lightly and the map blew right out of his pocket. "Hey! Come back here!" Mr Krabs called, as he started to run after the map. However, the map blew high into the air and right towards the Chum Bucket.
Inside, Plankton was asleep. The map blew into his room landing right beside the bed. But then, the wind started to blow into the room, causing Plankton to suddenly start shaking because of how cold it was. "Dear Neptune, it's freezing in here! What's going on?" Plankton asked, as he opened his eye and looked up. He then noticed that the window beside his bed was open and he sighed in annoyance.
"I knew there was something I forgot to do." Plankton commented. He walked over to the window and immediately slammed it. But, he must have done it a bit too hard because the glass on the window shattered causing the wind to come in again. Plankton sighed and shook his head, but then he turned around to notice something lying behind him.
"What's this?" Plankton asked, as he went over to have a closer look. He unrolled it on the floor to have a closer look and his eye started to go huge with surprise. "A map? And it leads to…" He then gasped when he saw the destination. "The lost city of Atlantis?" Plankton remained silent for a few moments, but then a smile crossed his face.
"Maybe this is what I need. If I can take control of the Atlantean weaponry, then the entire city will be under my command!" Plankton said. He then started laughing, knowing that this would be one plan that wouldn't backfire. With that, he headed right out of the Chum Bucket taking the map with him.
Back at the bus stop, Spongebob, Patrick, Squidward and Sandy had been waiting for quite a while for Mr Krabs to come. Spongebob was keeping an eye out, and then he smiled when he saw Mr Krabs come. "There you are, Mr Krabs. Do you still have the map with you?" Spongebob asked. Mr Krabs was alarmed; he didn't want to mention that he had lost it on his way here. So to get himself out of trouble, he smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I do. I've got it in my bag, and I'll get it out once we're further on down the road." Mr Krabs responded. Spongebob smiled at this, and then he looked to notice that their bus was arriving. "Look! Here comes our bus." Spongebob said. The bus stopped short and the door opened, letting the group get inside. Nearby, Plankton was running over with his bag and the map, and he noticed that the bus was there.
"There it is! I'd hate to miss out on this." Plankton said, and he immediately ran onto the bus without the others noticing him. As the group came onto the bus, they were surprised to notice the small number of seats there were.
"Look at the seats. I'm surprised they weren't able to get more than just a few rows." Spongebob commented. "Well, maybe there are some buses that take just a few people, and they're just the small buses for that job." Sandy suggested. Spongebob nodded; that could be the case. The group started to get into the seats with each of them getting their own row, but Sandy noticed that there wasn't one row for her.
"Hey, fellas. You wouldn't happen to have a spare seat for me, would you?" Sandy asked. The others except for Spongebob shook their heads, but Spongebob had an idea to solve that problem. "Sandy, there's a spare seat next to me." Spongebob said, pointing to the empty space beside him. Sandy smiled when she heard this, and she came over and sat down beside Spongebob.
"Thanks, Spongebob. You don't mind the company, do you?" Sandy asked, looking over at her bus partner. "Of course not. Feel free to make yourself comfortable." Spongebob responded, brightly smiling at her. Sandy couldn't help but smile as well; Spongebob was such a generous person and was more than happy to make room for others.
Squidward was watching the two with annoyance; he then sighed and lay back in his seat, reading one of his art magazines. But then, he looked at the row in front of him to notice Patrick holding his jar of mayonnaise. "Patrick? Why do you have a jar of mayonnaise with you?" Squidward asked. Patrick looked at Squidward and smiled.
"So I can be a musician like you, Squidward. I'm bringing my own instrument with me." Patrick responded. Squidward sighed and slowly shook his head before directing his attention back to Patrick.
"Patrick, I went through this with you before. Mayonnaise is not an instrument." Squidward said. Patrick was surprised, but then he opened the jar and started to help himself to the mayonnaise. Squidward then lay back in his seat, trying not to get annoyed straight away. "This is going to be a long bus trip. I just don't want to lose my mind by the end of it." Squidward commented to himself, and looked back down at his magazine.
Meanwhile, Plankton was looking around the bus to see that everyone was comfortable in their seats, and he didn't want to get noticed. But then, he looked up to notice the glove box at the front of the bus and smiled. "That'll make a great place to stay until we get there. Soon, that city will wish they never met me!" Plankton smiled. He jumped up into the glove box, dropping the map in the process, and closed it before anyone noticed him. Spongebob turned and noticed the map lying between the seats; he then smiled and picked it up.
"Hey, there's the map! How did that get here?" Spongebob asked. Mr Krabs remained silent, still not wanting to bring up the fact that he lost it on his way here. "Oh well, it's great we still have it. That way, we know where to go." Spongebob said. He then looked outside to notice that it was late into the night, and the bus was already on its way down the road.
"Have you guys noticed how late it is already?" Spongebob asked. As he turned to look at the others, he noticed that Patrick was already asleep. Smiling, he then looked at the others. "Hey, why don't we all get some rest now? We'll be ready to go tomorrow morning." Spongebob suggested.
"Yeah, you're right. I was getting sleepy anyway." Sandy agreed. "I don't see why not. I never like to overwork, you know." Mr Krabs commented.
"I guess that's not a bad idea. Just wake me up when we get there." Squidward responded, and made himself comfortable in his seat. The others didn't take long to get to sleep after him; they certainly knew they would need the sleep for later on in the trip.
The next morning, Spongebob slowly opened his eyes and looked outside to see that it was early in the morning; the sun had just started to rise and they had gotten further away from Bikini Bottom. He then noticed that Sandy was asleep against him, so he slowly climbed out of his row and went over to Squidward's row to see that he was still asleep.
"Hey. Hey, Squidward. Squidward?" Spongebob asked. Squidward got up and noticed that Spongebob was brightly smiling at him. Seeing this, Squidward immediately sat up. "What?" he asked, but Spongebob immediately put a finger to his lips to shush him up.
"Everyone's still asleep." Spongebob whispered, and pointed the rest of the rows. Squidward then looked to see that sure enough, everyone was still asleep. After noticing that, Squidward then directed his attention back to Spongebob.
"Why did you need to wake me up when it's still early in the morning, and it's not even the time that I'm usually up?" Squidward asked. Spongebob smiled and jumped up onto the seat to sit beside Squidward, much to Squidward's discomfort.
"Squidward, I've been thinking about something since we left last night." Spongebob said. "I highly doubt that, but I'm listening." Squidward responded, as he slowly darted his eyes to look at Spongebob.
"I figured that since we're looking for a lost city, don't you think that over time the Atlanteans may have forgotten important things, like art or culture?" Spongebob asked. Squidward started to brighten up at the mention of those two words; those were exactly what he had aspiration for. He then looked over at Spongebob, interested and a bit confused at the same time.
"So, what are you saying?" Squidward asked. "I'm saying that they might be looking for someone like you, Squidward. Someone who can teach them about the true works of art, and what culture is really about. Did you bring your clarinet with you?" Spongebob asked. Squidward nodded in agreement and brought out his clarinet to show Spongebob.
"If you start practicing from now until we get to Atlantis, you'll be able to give those Atlanteans a performance that they'll never forget!" Spongebob continued. Squidward then started to brightly smile; this was turning into the opportunity he had been waiting for.
"Spongebob, get ready to witness the work of a true artist!" Squidward said as he held his clarinet up ready to start playing. Spongebob then put on a pair of earmuffs knowing what was coming. Squidward then started to play one of the songs he knew best, but what he didn't realize was how terrible his music really was. However, the others started to notice as they were started to get woken up by Squidward's clarinet playing.
"Now, what's that sound? I don't know about you, but I haven't heard anything like it!" Sandy commented, as the group blocked their ears. The only one who wasn't bothered was Patrick, who was still fast asleep.
"That would have to be Squidward; there's no one else who owns a fish flute like his." Mr Krabs responded. Inside the glove box, Plankton was asleep when he could suddenly the clarinet music coming from outside. Since it hurt his ears so much, he immediately blocked them so he wouldn't have to listen to this.
"That's unbearable! Whoever's playing that needs to stop, because it's complete torture!" Plankton cried, obviously unable to stand listening to the music. He then opened the glove box and poked his head to see who was playing that music, and he noticed that it was Squidward with his clarinet.
"I thought just as much. I'm not going to spend my entire trip listening to this!" Plankton commented, and he immediately jumped out of the glove box, ran towards the row Squidward was sitting and climbed up onto the top of the seat to stare at Squidward. After a few seconds, he immediately snatched the clarinet away much to Squidward's alarm.
"Give me that! I can't sleep with the ruckus going on where I can hear it." Plankton said. The group gasped when they saw it was him and Mr Krabs immediately ran over to where he was.
"Plankton! I had a feeling you'd try and sneak along." Mr Krabs said. Plankton turned to notice Mr Krabs and smiled. "Oh, don't mind me, Krabs. I'm just enjoying the ride like everyone else. Well, I was until this guy thought it would be a smart idea to play this thing!" Plankton responded, as he held Squidward's clarinet over his head.
"Don't play coy with me, Plankton! I know you want something with Atlantis, and I'm not going to let you do that!" Mr Krabs retorted. Plankton's eye went huge as soon as he heard Mr Krabs; he didn't expect him to work it out as quickly as he did.
"Krabs, you read me like a book. And I'm not very easy to understand sometimes." Plankton commented. But then, he realised how heavy the clarinet was and dropped down onto the floor taking the clarinet with him. Squidward picked his clarinet up, deciding to have it back, and Mr Krabs picked Plankton up by his antennas.
"Now, would you like me to suggest your next course of action?" Mr Krabs asked. He opened one of the windows and held Plankton out over the ground. "You have anything you'd like to say before you're sent flying out like a bug?" Mr Krabs asked. Plankton looked down at the ground for a few moments, and then looked back at Mr Krabs.
"Well, actually I do have one question. Have you noticed that the road doesn't look the same?" Plankton asked, pointing down to the ground. Confused, Mr Krabs looked out the window and noticed that Plankton was right; they had gone off the road and were now driving on sand.
"I don't think this was called for on our trip." Sandy commented, as the others looked out the window to see they were off course. "I'll go talk to the bus driver." Spongebob said and started to head up to the front of the bus. But when he arrived at the bus driver's seat, he gasped to see that it was empty.
"The bus driver's missing!" Spongebob cried. "So, does that mean that…no one's driving this bus?" Squidward asked, as the others then caught on with what that meant. The bus then started to veer sharply to the left, sending the group flying against the wall where the windows were. As they shook themselves off, Patrick had chosen that time to wake up and looked around in surprise.
"What's going on? What did I miss?" Patrick asked. "Patrick, our bus driver has gone missing and the bus is steering off the road!" Spongebob explained. Patrick was alarmed and immediately sat up in his seat, while the others quickly got back into their seats.
"What are we going to do? We're going to crash if we don't do something!" Squidward said. Spongebob was silent, but then he had an idea. "I know just what to do!" he said, and immediately ran to the driver's seat, putting on the seatbelt and getting behind the wheel. "I'm going to get the bus back on course!" Spongebob said. The group then gasped when they heard this.
"But Spongebob, you don't have your boating license yet!" Sandy called. "Maybe, but I've taken the boating test enough times to remember exactly what to do!" Spongebob responded. Patrick grabbed Gary, who had been asleep beside him, so he could keep an eye on him.
"Everyone, hold on tight to your seats! This is going to be one rough ride!" Spongebob called. The others then grabbed onto their seats so they didn't fall out. Spongebob then started to veer hard to the right, causing Plankton to fly straight out and grab onto the window to avoid flying out.
"Help! I don't want to end up like a green blob!" Plankton called. Mr Krabs noticed Plankton holding onto the window for dear life and, without a second thought, grabbed him and pulled him back inside. Spongebob then stopped his hard veer noticing that the road was just right beside them.
"There's the road! We're back on course!" Spongebob smiled. "I wouldn't talk too soon, Spongebob! There's a sharp turn up ahead!" Mr Krabs warned, pointing in front of Spongebob. Spongebob turned to see that sure enough, there was a sharp turn going left and it was right over a cliff. Keeping his full focus, Spongebob turned quickly to the left, causing the bus to be lifted to the right for a few moments, and made the turn safely with the bus getting back on its four wheels. After a few seconds, Spongebob started to smile realizing they were safe.
"We…we made it, everyone. We're not going to fall off the road." Spongebob said, struggling to catch his breath after that thrilling experience. The others looked out the window to see that he was right; they were still safe on the road. After a few seconds, everyone started to cheer.
"I can't believe he pulled it off! But we made it, and that's really all that matters to me." Squidward smiled, still unable to believe that they survived. "All right, buddy! That was amazing!" Patrick called, happily rooting for his best friend. Mr Krabs and Plankton were staring in disbelief, before Mr Krabs started to smile.
"You see why Spongebob's one of my most loyal workers? He always come through when you expect it, and he makes me proud while doing it." Mr Krabs commented, smiling. Sandy then ran over to Spongebob, who was still behind the wheel.
"Wow, Spongebob, that sure was a dangerous feat you pulled off there. But, I'm glad we all made it and I need to thank you for that." Sandy smiled, and she hugged the little yellow sponge tightly. Spongebob smiled and let go of the wheel to return Sandy's embrace.
"Oh, thanks, Sandy." Spongebob responded. Unfortunately, since Spongebob had his hands off the wheel, the bus started to steer off course again and they were driving right over a cliff which they were about to fly off!
"Spongebob, look out!" Squidward warned. Spongebob noticed that they were still going and before he had a chance to react, the bus fell off the cliff and started to roll down the surface of the cliff downwards.
"Hold on!" Spongebob called, as the bus skidded down the cliff's surface. As they came near the bottom, the bus suddenly collided with a giant part of the cliff and sent the entire group flying through the air into the Kelp Forest.
(See the link here: .gov/petition/stop-sopa-policies-trans-pacific-partnership-notice-and-staydown-efforts-and-other-policies/dXMRvNh8)