There is climax in this chapter. Also, mind screw. And I'm still bad at action scenes. :P

Review replies;

BlooMan2: It's not right, is it? Still, Spongebob's back on his feet, and HE CAN FIGHT! [/FOP reference] Thanks for reading.

Zim'sMostLoyalServant: Yeah, I write a lot of dark stuff, don't I? :P Thanks for reviewing!

Solid Sun: Yep, we're rooting for Timmy as well. Just not as much. :/ Thanks for the review!

SOLmaster: Yep, it's Timmy-savin' time! :D Thanks very much!

TweenisodeOrange: Yeah! We believe in you! *goes to bookie - puts 100 on the Shadowed One* Thanks!

aslan333: Danke!

Chapter Ten: In Which There Is The Climax

Timmy had had better evenings.

He was backed up against the wall by the Shadowed One. His foe had a sword in hand and a psychopathic glint in his eye. Timmy, meanwhile, had a fake musket with a blunt bayonet. The odds were a little one-sided.

"Any last words, Soldier?" demanded the Shadowed One.

"Um…parley?" gulped Timmy.

The Shadowed One chuckled, and raised his sword.

There was a wet thunk as a bun collided with the back of his head.

Both Timmy and the Shadowed One turned to the seats.

Patrick Star was standing on one of the chairs, a bag of buns from the Chum Bucket in his hand.

"Boo!" he yelled, hurling another putrid bun at the Shadowed One, "Get off the stage!"

The Shadowed One ducked the bun, and clenched his teeth.

"What is this insolence, Star?" he thundered.

"What?" asked Timmy, smirking, "You really thought we'd try to take you alone?"

The Shadowed One snapped back to Timmy, his sword ready to strike again.

"Explain this audacity!"

"We brought backup," shrugged Timmy, "Patrick – Shadowed One. Shadowed One…"

Another bun hit the Shadowed One, knocking him off-balance.

"…Patrick," finished Timmy.

He leapt forward, swinging the butt of the fake musket into the Shadowed One's stomach.

Spongebob and Sandy had entered a long, bright, white corridor. At the end of said corridor was a pedestal, with a small key on it.

"Reckon that's our ticket outta here," said Sandy.

"Yes…and you will never reach it."

Before them, an army of white-coated soldiers appeared. Each of them was heavily armed, and each had blacked-out eyes. They were blocking their path to the pedestal.

"You will never regain your mind, Squarepants," the voice of the Shadowed One hissed, "You and your friend will remain here for all time – no more then figments of my imagination…"

The soldiers aimed their muskets.

"…because this is my mind."

"No it's not," replied Spongebob, stepping forward, "This is my head! I say what goes around here! And I say I'm taking it back!"

"You and whose army?"

"This one."

Out of nowhere, as if walking out of fog, ranks of soldiers in both red and blue stepped up behind Spongebob and Sandy, each one ready to help them get to the pedestal.

"I reckon you just lost," grinned Spongebob.

"No! This is impossible! Get them!"

The white soldiers charged. With a mighty bang, the red-and-blue army fired into their ranks, and a large number of white-coats dissolved into dust. Then, the red-and-blue army charged into the white one, and Spongebob and Sandy charged with them.

Spongebob soon found that the white-coats could not touch him. If they did, they dissolved into dust - and if they didn't, they were simply attacked by Spongebob's soldiers. It was hardly even a fight – Spongebob and Sandy seemed to simply stride through a sea of white, dust spraying like surf around them.

Spongebob was reclaiming his mind. The Shadowed One was losing.

Timmy ducked under a swing from the Shadowed One's sword and retaliated with a kick to the stomach. Snarling, the Shadowed One quickly swung back, stabbing at Timmy's head. He just missed – Timmy felt a few hairs yanked from his head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"You think that's painful?" sneered the Shadowed One, "Let me show you real pain!"

Suddenly, the Shadowed One was lifted off his feet. Patrick raised him up above his shoulders, roared, and threw him at the seats. The Shadowed One landed with a mighty crunch, wrecking three chairs.

"Thanks for the demonstration, Shadowed One," nodded Timmy, grinning.

The Shadowed One bellowed with rage as he climbed to his feet.

"WHY DO YOU FIGHT?" he thundered, "WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU, YOU IGNORANT STARFISH?"

"You stole my best friend's body," said Patrick, "You made him get mad at me, you turned his Nicktoon friends in to dolls, but most importantly, you're making him do bad things, and I won't let you get away with that!"

The Shadowed One climbed to his feet.

"Your friendship is worthless!" he thundered, "Spongebob Squarepants is gone, and he is NEVER. COMING. BACK!"

A ball of purple flame exploded from his body, sending Timmy and Patrick flying into the backdrop of the stage. The thin plywood broke easily, and they landed backstage with a crash.

The Shadowed One stormed up to them, a ball of flame in his hands.

"When I'm done with you," he snarled, "There won't even be enough to bury you."

"Why would I wanna be buried?" asked Patrick, "It's dark underground?"

Timmy groaned.

Spongebob stepped out of the spray of white that had filled the centre of his mind. He looked at the key, scrutinising it for several seconds.

"He's gonna fight back, isn't he?" he sighed.

Sandy walked up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yep," she nodded, "But y'all made it this far, what makes you think you can't finish this?"

Spongebob looked at Sandy's eyes, a hint of doubt in his expression.

"I believe in ya, Spongebob," grinned Sandy.

Spongebob nodded, and grabbed the key.

The whole world was swept away.

The Shadowed One held his sword over Patrick's head. Patrick shut his eyes.

Suddenly, he screamed and clutched his head.

There was a sea of colour as the whole of Spongebob's mind seemed to fly before his eyes. He would've been nauseous, except he couldn't even feel his own body. As far as he could tell, he didn't even have one.

Suddenly, swathes of black streamed towards him. Pain pulsed through his ethereal body as he felt the Shadowed One fight for control of his very being.

"You are weak, Spongebob Squarepants – you're just a naïve little buffoon with the intelligence of mortar. You have no chance…"

The Shadowed One's voice was drowned out as other voices entered his metaphysical mind.

"…I didn't mean to hurt you, in fact, I like you! I like living next door, I like your foghorn alarm in the morning and your high-pitched giggling at night…"

"…Your song is true. If y'all want to be my friend, just be yourself…"

"…It's the Best Friends Forever, Best Friends Forever Ring…"

"…forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious about people giving gifts to my friends…"

"I believe in ya, Spongebob."

There was a loud screeching, and the black splotches in his mind began to dissolve…

Patrick opened his eyes.

The Shadowed One was clutching his head as dark energy poured out from his eyes and mouth. He wasn't even screaming anymore, just thrashing as power seeped out of him.

People began to reappear in their seats, looking confused but otherwise none the worse for their dollifications. Before long, the room was filled again, and the last of the Shadowed One's evil energy was seeping out of Spongebob's body.

Spongebob fell to his knees as the glowing receded. A single puff of white smoke emerged from his eyes. The smoke gathered next to him and formed into Sandy, who swayed dizzily from side to side before regaining balance.

Spongebob groaned, and threw off the cloak. Sandy, Timmy and Patrick gazed at him expectantly.

"…I need a Krabby Patty," muttered Spongebob.

His friends sighed with relief.

Someone in the audience began to clap, and before long, there was a standing applause.

Give the guy a patty, he needs it. :P