Would have written this chapter much earlier if it wasn't for a "family emergency"...
This chapter probably won't be as good as usual, because of that. :/
Chapter 11 - Discord
SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy were trudging down the silent street solemnly. Nobody they knew had believed them about Plankton; but deep in their hearts, they knew no-one would. The whole story was ridiculous anyway - so why would anyone else believe them?
SpongeBob finally broke the cold silence between everyone; "What do we do now?" he asked the two.
Sandy and Patrick continued to remain mute for a short while. Then Sandy replied, "I think this is one of those situations when we'll have to take matters into our own hands."
SpongeBob became curious as he searched for the right word for what Sandy was suggesting. Then he found it; "Vigilantism?" he asked the squirrel.
"Yeah, that," she answered. "I mean, if the cops and our friends won't believe us, then what can we do? I say we confront Plankton ourselves."
SpongeBob and Patrick were mildly shocked by Sandy's suggestion – but it was true; what else could they do now? It seemed that directly confronting the madman was the only option they had left. But Patrick had a reservation.
"Guys..." the starfish said tensely. "...I'm scared. I don't wanna see Plankton, or go near the Chum Bucket ever again." He shivered, then started to whimper.
SpongeBob comforted his friend. "Don't cry again, buddy. I know, I'd never want to go near the Chum Bucket or Plankton again if he did all of that to me. But we've gotta be strong right now. OK?"
Sandy stared at the two. She couldn't help but feel ticked off with them – maybe it was just the moment they were in (especially after what had happened in the Krusty Krab previously), but the squirrel couldn't help but feel cross at them.
SpongeBob noticed the dark look on Sandy's face. Rarely did the sponge see his other best friend like that. He directly asked, "What's wrong, Sandy?"
Sandy sighed angrily, and walked quickly ahead of SpongeBob and Patrick. The two tried to keep up with her.
"Sandy, what's wrong?" SpongeBob asked her again. "Is it because Patrick's upset?"
Sandy stopped in the middle of the street, her head hanging low. SpongeBob and Patrick watched her carefully. Finally, the squirrel turned around and replied as coolly as she could; "Yes... it's partly that. We shouldn't be crying and weeping at a time like this. We have potential lives at stake here." She sighed after that sentence. She wanted to yell at the two, to rage about the obstacles they faced, but she couldn't. Certainly not in front of her friend.
SpongeBob seemed to know how Sandy felt. He then came up with an idea. "Patrick, you don't have to come with us, if you feel scared. You can stay at home. Me and Sandy will go and confront Plankton alone."
SpongeBob wasn't too sure why he said that. Truly, he was just as frightened of Plankton as Patrick – but this was about his best friend, who almost died at the amoeba's hands. It was almost like his duty to obtain justice for Patrick. He had to be brave – something he often struggled with, but tended to persevere despite this.
Patrick nodded at SpongeBob's suggestion. Sandy then smiled, and said; "Right, I've thought up the first step. Me and SpongeBob will storm the Chum Bucket tomorrow night. That way, we'll have more time to plan tonight and Plankton will hopefully be caught off-guard. Sound good?"
"Yes!" SpongeBob nodded happily. He was still scared at what he was getting himself into, but he didn't really want to worry until tomorrow night.
Patrick smiled weakly too, also anxious for SpongeBob and Sandy. He was feeling guilty about not going with them to confront Plankton, but he was too traumatised to go near the place where he was almost killed, and the man who almost murdered him.
As the trio walked down the street with more springs in their steps, Patrick then thought about Karen again – was she fine? Did she manage to avoid Plankton's wrath?
Meanwhile, Plankton was crying in his office over the death of his beloved Karen – or rather, his murder of Karen. How in Neptune's name could he have done that to her, and why? Scratch that last sentence, he knew why – she betrayed him. She let that fat pink moron escape. He couldn't easily forgive her for that. But he was sure that he had never meant to kill her.
The amoeba wasn't actually too sure what had happened when he had murdered her – in fact, his memory was disjointed. He could remember a crazed giggle and the pulling out of a gun, but that was it. Even if he had really wanted to kill the computer back then, Plankton was certainly regretting it now.
Karen's body was still lying in a broken heap in the middle of the restaurant floor. Plankton wasn't sure when he was going to clean up the body, but it wasn't his main concern right now. He was still grieving over the loss of his wife by his own hands.
"Karen..." he sobbed quietly. "What have I done to you?" Plankton thought that the phrase he had just uttered was rather cliché, but he didn't care. It was true.
Plankton continued to bawl at his desk for quite some time; until something nudged in the back of his mind. He stopped crying and became silent. This nudging... it felt strange. Incredibly strange. Plankton had never felt something like that before. He started to rub the behind of his head, until he heard something:
"I don't see why you're crying over her."
Plankton looked around the room. He was the only person in the office; and no-one visited the Chum Bucket often, either. He stared down at the desk, his eye filling with tears again – until he heard a voice.
"You're gonna cry over her again? And I thought that sponge-freak was a baby..."
"Who's there?" Plankton questioned to the open.
"Your subconscious," the voice replied.
"My... subconscious?"
"What are you, stupid? Now listen, stop bawling over that hunk of machinery on the floor. She betrayed you – you can't ever forgive her for that."
"But she was my wife – the only thing I truly loved in this world," Plankton whimpered. "I never meant to kill her, even if she did betray me. I never wanted to hurt her."
"Well, too late now," the voice replied unsympathetically. "Karen's dead. You can't change that. But there's the matter of the starfish I'm concerned about."
Plankton then remembered, horrified – Patrick could tip him off. He'd most likely tell that porous freak of a friend. Then whose to say the yellow creep wouldn't tell Mr. Krabs, or even the police?
"He's probably run off to the sponge's house," the voice echoed Plankton's thoughts. "We're doomed if they decide to report us to the cops. That's why we still have to carry on with the game."
'The game'. Was that what his subconscious called 'murder'? Did murder simply become a game to Plankton? He didn't know. After what he had done to Karen, he didn't even want to know. Nevertheless, the voice continued.
"SpongeBob and Patrick can't rat us out – so that's why I suggest you kill them. Both. You kill the only two people who know what we're doing. Then our secret is safe."
"NO!" Plankton shouted. "I can't do this anymore! Sure, simpletons may have been easy targets, but now I've lost my Karen – by my own hands! I'd rather turn myself in now than kill again."
The voice remained silent. Then it said; "Fine. Have it your way. But too bad, because I live in your mind. I've been biding my time, waiting for you to do something truly awful, and now was the right time. But it seems you don't want my help. You can pretend I don't exist all you want, but I'll still be there, mocking you."
"Leave me alone!" Plankton begged his subconscious. What was happening to him? Was Karen right when she said he was going insane?
"Tough luck, Sheldon," the voice referred to Plankton by his first name. "I'm not gonna go away so easily. You can either accept my suggestion on killing those two idiots, or you can ignore me. But eventually, I'll take over."
'Take over'? What was that voice talking about? Plankton didn't want to know – he was truly scared at that moment.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed again. But the voice didn't leave. This was what it wanted from Plankton – suffering.
Plankton wailed and roared around the office, trying to persuade the voice to leave; but it didn't. Then, he started to lose comprehension of himself again. Exactly what the voice wanted. Plankton's mind became fuzzy, losing awareness. The world became distorted as Plankton fell to the floor, still screaming at his subconscious to leave, and cradling his head. But still, the voice refused to leave as he fainted on the cold floor of the Chum Bucket office...
Plankton's going crazy... O_o;;
Read and review – the usual. :P