Chapter 11: Changing Times
SpongeBob rushed into the hospital room.
"Is he gonna be alright?" SpongeBob asked.
Squidward shook his head. Plankton had been fighting pneumonia throughout the entire trial, but for the most part, he was able to stay well thanks to his own inventions. Unfortunately, before he could use it again to make him feel better again, he suffered a stroke.
SpongeBob sighed sadly.
"Y-you, s-sponge... Come over here..." Plankton said weakly from his bed.
SpongeBob walked over.
"L-listen here son... I n-never was the most generous sea creature out there... Though n-now, as I'm here on my deathbed...There's something in that box I had delivered to me today that I'd like you to open..." Plankton said through coughing.
SpongeBob saw the box on the table and opened it up, he gasped.
It was none other than the Krabby Patty Secret Formula.
"The Secret Formula?!" SpongeBob said shocked.
"Y-yes... W-while I finally was able to b-beat Eugene, I n-never had the chance to do w-what I wanted with it..."
SpongeBob was confused, why was Plankton giving him the formula?
"I realized that m-making customers happy was really what I needed to do... N-not go for w-world domination... While Eugene did many terrible things... He s-sure did know how to make people happy with those p-patties." Plankton further explained.
"Then why are you giving it to me?" SpongeBob asked.
"B-because... Being happy is w-what you take pride in, along with your patties... W-which is why you n-need to build a new legacy for the Krusty Krab, I was g-given rights to the building a-after the trial... b-but those w-will be going to you... I have great faith that you will..." Plankton replied weakly.
SpongeBob was shocked. The Krusty Krab was his!
Plankton looked and noticed that the beeps on the monitor were becoming less frequent, he turned to Karen.
"M-my time here has come to an e-end... I'm sure we'll be together a-again someday... Farewell to all of you... I w-wish n-nothing b-but t-the b-best..."
And with that, Plankton passed away.
The next week, SpongeBob and Patrick were busy placing the last boxes in the moving boat.
Squidward was moving to New Kelp City to begin his career as a professional musican.
"That's the last of it!" SpongeBob said.
"That stuff was heavy!" Patrick complained.
"Probably because you ate all of Squidward's ice cream Patrick, you had a harder time!" SpongeBob replied.
"A starfish needs his daily gallon of ice cream!" Patrick said in defense.
Squidward chuckled, "Well if he didn't eat it, it all would've melted!"
The three all laughed.
Squidward looked at his tiki house for one last time.
"So is this goodbye Squidward?" SpongeBob asked.
"I wouldn't use the word 'goodbye' SpongeBob, it always seems so final, as in the last time... I see this more as a farewell... I'm sure we'll all cross paths again in the future..." Squidward replied.
"Yeah, SpongeBob! We'll have to start sneaking into his concerts so we can get all those nachos!" Patrick replied.
Squidward laughed, "Don't worry Patrick, you'll get all the nachos you want when you come to one of my concerts."
"Woo-hoo!" Patrick cheered.
"You know SpongeBob and Patrick... We've been neighbors for several years. I honestly wish I was nicer to you two... Sure you two did annoy me to no end, but honestly... it was a nice change..." Squidward said.
"Even though you tried to get us to move out several times?" Patrick asked.
"Yes... I enjoyed a more quiet, peaceful life, but that was hard to achieve with you two barnacle heads running about, and it was actually kind of nice honestly. I came to realize that too much peace and quiet was kinda creepy and boring, so you guys kept things interesting around here..." Squidward recalled fondly.
"I'm sure going to miss you Squidward..." SpongeBob said teary-eyed.
"So will I..." Squidward said, as tears began to form.
"Me three!" Patrick said, already crying.
The three neighbors hugged each other and cried.
"Hey, would you guys quit sobbing so we can get moving?!" The mover yelled.
The three stopped crying, and Squidward walked into the boat.
"Remember you two, this is a farewell, not a goodbye! We'll see each other again soon!" Squidward yelled out as the boat headed off.
Dolphus finished cutting the last of the wrap and opened the doors to the Krusty Krab.
The restaurant had been raided clean, literally nothing remained but the building itself.
"So, you think that you'll be able to bring this restaurant back to its glory days?" Dolphus asked the SpongeBob as the two looked around.
"I mean, Plankton seemed to think I could before he died, and he basically gave this all to me and the formula..." SpongeBob replied.
"True, and he left you some inheritance money as well, which I'll assume you're gonna use to get new materials and whatnot..." Dolphus said as he looked through the restaurant.
"This restaurant will be back, though I'm going to do everything that Mr. Krabs didn't do to make it successful if the Krusty Krab ever wants to reclaim a good reputation..." SpongeBob said.
"Indeed. It won't be easy, but I think you'll do just fine..." Dolphus said as he left the Krusty Krab and gave a wink to SpongeBob.
SpongeBob walked into the kitchen, which had been stripped clean in the raid.
SpongeBob grabbed his spatula out of his pocket.
"Well... looks like its time to get back to work!"
