I won't say much here. I know you're all dying to see what happens to Squilliam after the last chapter. Go ahead and read to your heart's content!
At the dark and haunted Shipwreck Cemetery, Squidward was cradling a badly wounded Squilliam in his arms. In an act of revenge, Lionel Leo tried to impale Squidward with one of his venomous spines. But Squilliam pushed him out of the way and took the blow instead. And now Squidward was tearfully holding onto Squilliam while calling his name over and over. Squidward looked down at his hand and saw blue-colored blood. The back of Squilliam's maroon robe was soaked with blood from the spine still imbedded in Squilliam's back. With quick thinking, Squidward carefully pulled out the pointy spine out of Squilliam's back and tossed it away. Gasping and trembling nonstop, Squilliam looked up into Squidward's tear-stained face.
"Squid…ward… you…okay?" Squilliam stuttered weakly.
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Squidward snapped. He didn't bother to stop the tears spilling forth from his crimson-red eyes. "You're an idiot! Why did you do that? Why!" Squidward yelled as he became more distraught. "Why? Why would you do that for me? Why…"
Squilliam reached out and touched Squidward's face lovingly. "I…I did…it…because…because…," Squilliam was starting to lose consciousness. Up until now, the pain has been unbearable, but now he was sweating and he could feel himself losing more blood. "Squid…Squiddy, please. I'm… scared…I think I'm…" Squilliam closed his eyes and succumbed to the effects of lionfish poisoning.
"Squilliam? Squilliam!" Squidward cried in heartache. "No…No, no, no, no! Stay with me Squilliam! Don't you dare die on me! Don't you dare die! I can't lose you, not like this!"
Not too far off, Lionel Leo saw the damage he had done. And he was panicking upon realizing that he struck Squilliam Fancyson instead of Squidward. "No… That wasn't supposed to happen. It was an accident! Barnacles!" With that, Lionel turned tail. This was not good. His orders were to bring Squilliam Fancyson in alive. If Squilliam died because of him… Lord Stripes would have him murdered for it. For the first time ever, Lionel truly feared for his life.
Squidward buried his head in Squilliam's chest and sobbed quietly. As he held Squilliam in his arms, he only looked up when he saw Eyrie, Dolph and his gang hurrying over to them. "Thank Neptune you guys are okay!" But Eyrie realized he spoke too soon upon seeing the badly injured Squilliam. The stingray became absolutely appalled.
Kelsey rushed forward at once and knelt down beside Squilliam. "It was one of Lionel Leo's spines, wasn't it? That means the venom has been injected into the blood. We've got to get him to the nearest doctor. Let's hurry back to Ocean Oasis!" she urged.
There Squidward carefully lifted Squilliam into his arms. He was scared but also determined. "Hang in there, babe. I'm going to take care of you. You'll be alright," Squidward said soothingly to Squilliam. The poor unibrow octopus was trembling nonstop from the throbbing pain and Squidward wondered how much blood he's lost. "It's okay, Squilliam. We're going to get you help," Squidward gently kissed Squilliam's forehead and kept whispering comforting words to him.
Things were looking very dire for the Supreme Society. Once again, they've failed in their objective. But that wasn't the worst of it. Flora Flowers was making her way around the mazelike cemetery of sunken ships. After searching among the shipwrecks, she eventually found who she was looking for. Lionel Leo stood leaning against an abandoned tugboat and he was breaking into a cold sweat. He became startled as Flora approached him. As Lionel looked up at the lovely sea-anemone, he tried getting a hold on himself by straightening up and calming his nerves.
"You fool…," Flora firmly admonished the lionfish. "What were you thinking? Do you realize what you've almost done? Lord Stripes will have you killed for this. You better pray he never finds out you've almost killed Squilliam Fancyson."
"I was aiming for that lowborn servant of his!" Lionel snapped back. And then to Flora's surprise, she saw real tears in Lionel's eyes. "That…that no good servant…he killed Drago. He's responsible for Drago's death…my best friend."
As much as her heart went out to poor Lionel, this was no time to grieve. They would have to send word to Lord Stripes and let him know that one of their own was dead. "Come on Lionel. We better bury Drago's body in a more dignified place. We…we owe him that," Flora said solemnly.
Taking Lionel by the arm while being careful to avoid his pointy spines, Flora was able to coax the lionfish into coming with her. Lionel was still greatly disturbed by the death of his fellow cohort and by also causing the death of Squilliam Fancyson. Hopefully his venom wouldn't be enough to kill. And as for that worthless lowborn servant? Lionel vowed right then and there that he wouldn't rest until he killed the one he held personally responsible for Drago's death. But for now, they had more important matters to attend to. Revenge would have to wait.
The night ended and dawn had finally arrived… The sun was starting to come up and the dark-blue ocean was slowly turning to a lovely shade of light-blue. Upon arriving safely back at Ocean Oasis, Eyrie led Squidward to the nearest medical clinic where he could get Squilliam help. There Squidward watched with a heavy heart as the most important person to him was carefully laid down on a stretcher and wheeled away to the emergency room. Squidward stood there and felt himself go into shock. He still had Squilliam's blood on his shirt, part of his shirt had been torn, and he'd come so close to dying. Worst of all, Squilliam was probably on the verge of death…
"Hey man, you okay?" Dolph asked. He became concerned upon noticing how visibly shaken-up Squidward appeared.
But Squidward dropped to his knees with the same dazed expression. Maybe it was from exhaustion or distress, whatever it was, Squidward could barely function anymore. Nurses rushed forward to help Squidward get back on his feet. After that, Squidward changed out of his tattered collar-shirt and grabbed a much-needed shower where he let the hot water soak him for hours. Then he wore a plain white shirt that the nurses lend him. Half an hour must have gone by and yet Squidward felt like a zombie all morning. He hardly ate the hospital meal that was brought to him. All he could think about was Squilliam and prayed that the unibrow octopus was going to be okay.
Squidward returned to the waiting room and sat down on one of the chairs. Then he'd keep asking any nurse that walked by about Squilliam's condition. Last he heard, Squilliam was still in the intensive care unit and the doctor in charge was still tending to his wounds. Try as he might to stay calm, Squidward couldn't stop fidgeting in his chair or lifting his head up expectantly every time a doctor walked by. Dolph and Kelsey also stayed in the waiting room to give Squidward some company. Then Eyrie showed up to report to Squidward about the recent activity of the Supreme Society. It turned out that Drago the Hunter was dead…
At first Squidward said nothing, although his expression became incredibly grim and he bowed his head. After a moment of silence, Squidward found his voice again. "I didn't mean to get Drago killed…," he said quietly. "Guess that explains why Lionel Leo was on the warpath. It was me he was trying to kill."
"But then that would mean…Squilliam...he," Eyrie said hesitatingly while twiddling his wing-like fins.
Squidward looked down at the porcelain-tiled floor and avoided meeting anyone's eyes. "It should have been me… Lionel was aiming for me… But Squilliam…he pushed me out of the way…and now he's…" Squidward couldn't string two sentences together because a powerful emotion swept over him.
And as Squidward sat in that chair, that's when the reality of the situation hit him hard. Squilliam might die… And it would be his fault. The thought of losing Squilliam devastated Squidward so much that he broke down into tears before he realized it. Without caring who saw him, Squidward buried his face into his hands and finally allowed himself to cry. This never should have happened. I'm the one who should be in that emergency room, not Squilliam. Who does Squilliam think he is taking the bullet for me like that? Why does it always have to be him? What am I supposed to do if I lose Squilliam? These agonizing thoughts tormented Squidward as he couldn't stop falling apart. Kelsey kindly took Squidward into a comforting hug and held him as Squidward continued to fall apart. At last one of the doctors came to see him and Squidward tried to calm his pounding heart as prepare himself mentally and emotionally for what the doctor was about to tell him.
"Your friend Mr. Fancyson will be just fine," the doctor smiled reassuringly. "Good thing you got him here in time when you did. We were able to remove pieces of the spine that has broken off and was still in the skin. We were also able to wash the wound with hot water and put antibiotic ointment on it. That'll help the swelling go down and it'll keep the venom out."
Squidward's heart burst with pure happiness at the news. "Can I see him?"
"Of course you can. Mr. Fancyson is resting in room 208 on the second floor." Squidward hurried for the elevator. He's alive. I didn't lose him. Squidward thought with tears of joy.
After getting off the elevator on the second floor, Squidward easily found room 208 and stepped inside to find Squilliam lying peacefully on the hospital bed. Squilliam was looking a little pale but he was perfectly all right. Squidward came closer and closer to the bed, looked down into Squilliam's sleeping face, and then… BOO! Squidward let out a cry of surprise and stumbled back before realizing that Squilliam was wide awake and laughing at his scared reaction.
"Sorry Squiddy, couldn't resist!" Squilliam guffawed.
"Well I see someone's made a full recovery!" Squidward growled sarcastically.
Squilliam settled himself on the hospital bed until he found a comfortable position. "Blame it on the painkillers. I'm so pumped full of them that I'm feeling pretty woozy," Squilliam said casually. When he looked up into Squidward's face, his expression became concerned. "Squidward, are you okay?"
As if to answer his question, Squidward suddenly moved forward and flung his arms around Squilliam's neck and pulled him into a protective hug. The tears dripped from Squidward's eyes, but he didn't care. All that mattered to him was the unibrow octopus in his arms. Squidward has never been so scared in his life. So scared to lose someone he loved… Squilliam was surprised at first, but then his hands reached up and hugged Squidward back. Squilliam had been afraid too; afraid that he would die before ever having the chance to redeem himself in Squidward's eyes. Despite everything that's happened, Squilliam still wanted to make things right between them.
"Squidward…," Squilliam said softly. He's never seen Squidward this emotional before. And then he realized that Squidward had been crying over him. His beloved Squiddy who has grown to care so much about him. The very thought filled Squilliam with pure happiness.
"Thank you…," Squidward whispered. "Thank you for saving my life."
With that, Squidward bent down and planted a full kiss on Squilliam's lips. Squilliam returned the kiss just as passionately, going so far as to pull Squidward onto the hospital-bed with him. The two octopuses continued kissing while entwined in each other's arms until the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat interrupted them. They both looked up and quickly became embarrassed to see Professor Trevor standing at the hospital doorway. Squidward hastily got off Squilliam and sat himself in a nearby armchair with his face burning red. Squilliam sat up in bed before smiling awkwardly and inviting the professor into his room.
"When I heard you were at the hospital, I came as fast as I could. Eyrie told me what happened at Shipwreck Cemetery." In his hand, Trevor held up the Fancyson Emblem, which he handed over to Squilliam. "I take it that things didn't go so well with your earlier plans?"
"That's putting it mildly," Squilliam said, looking down at the silver emblem he held in his lap. "I was almost killed back there. I should have known the Supreme Society would find a new way to backstab me. This isn't going to be as easy as I thought."
"And things are about to get even harder," Trevor agreed. He started pacing around the room with a troubled look. "According to Eyrie, Drago the Hunter has been killed in an accident. Not good. The Supreme Society will really be out for blood now. They don't take too kindly to anyone hurting one of their own."
"Terrific," Squidward scoffed. "I didn't think things could get worse, but whaddya know, it has!"
"My, my, aren't you the little ray of sunshine, Squiddy," Squilliam chortled at Squidward's usual cynicism. "Look on the bright side; at least we're together again. The only reason why I bothered to show my fancy face at that dismal cemetery was in order to get you back. I hope you appreciate what I go through for you, Squiddy."
Squidward folded his arms across his chest and let out a grumpy hmph. "You already know the answer to that," Squidward said, but not without a smile.
At that moment, Dolph entered into the room and he was breathless from having run all the way here. "Sorry to barge in like this, but there's something you should know," he said urgently. "My gang told me they've seen saw-sharks patrolling around the streets in Ocean Oasis. I don't know what they're up to and I don't like it. In fact, I don't think it's safe for you two to be here."
Upon hearing this, Squilliam decided there was only one thing to do. "We've gotta skip town again. Ocean Oasis isn't safe anymore, not with the Supreme Society still here." There Squilliam tried moving himself out of the hospital bed while trying ignoring the stinging pain in his back.
"Whoa there! What do you think you're doing?" Squidward said frowning. He hurried forward and tried to gently push Squilliam back down onto the bed. "You can't go anywhere right now. You're still hurt. I don't think you're fit for traveling."
"Don't fuss over me, I can move perfectly well," Squilliam insisted.
Squidward watched as Squilliam tried sitting up and swinging his legs to the side of the bed. Taking a deep breath, Squilliam got up and tried to walk but felt his legs give way. Squidward darted forward to catch Squilliam into his arms before he collapsed. Squilliam held onto Squidward's shoulders for support and waited for the pain in his back to subside. Once he got the strength back in his legs again, Squilliam looked up into Squidward's eyes and smiled triumphantly.
"See? Piece of cake!" Squilliam said smugly.
"Whatever…," Squidward said, rolling his eyes.
After that, Squilliam changed back into his elegant maroon-robe and prepared to check himself out of the hospital. One of the smiling nurses gave Squidward back his olive-green shirt which had been washed and sewed for him. With his family emblem safely tucked away inside a carefully wrapped parcel, Squilliam leaned on Squidward as the two octopuses exited the hospital with Professor Trevor, Eyrie, Dolph and Kelsey in tow. With a little luck, they could avoid running into the Supreme Society and make a clean getaway. Squilliam still needed assistance walking because he was feeling woozy from all the painkillers the doctor prescribed to him. Squidward didn't mind this at all because it meant he could keep Squilliam close to him.
"I'll book you a ride on the Ocean Current Express," Trevor said, pulling out his shell-phone and making a quick call. "Don't worry about the expenses. I'll pay for your train tickets myself. The sooner we get you two far away from the Supreme Society, the better."
"And just where are we suppose to go now?" Squidward asked while looping Squilliam's arm around his shoulder. "We've been running all over the place. Are you suggesting we leave the Pacific Ocean altogether?"
"We'll go back to Sea Sanctuary," Squilliam said groggily.
"Sea Sanctuary?" Squidward said doubtfully. "Why there? Not to mention it'll take us days."
But then Squilliam whispered into Squidward's ear in a come-hither voice. "I don't mind another trip…especially if it means I can keep being with you."
This sent shivers of excitement through Squidward that for once he didn't argue. "Fine by me…," Squidward grinned. No matter where they'd go, Squidward would always be by Squilliam's side.
Soon Squidward and Squilliam headed straight for the station where they would board the next luxury train out of Ocean Oasis. Much to their surprise, Professor Trevor, Eyrie, Dolph and Kelsey all insisted on coming with them. As Trevor had pointed out, things were about to get dangerous and they would need all the allies they could get. Everyone boarded the train and in no time at all, Squidward and Squilliam were looking out the window as they left the town of Ocean Oasis behind. At least coming here had enabled them to accomplish their main goal. In Squilliam's hands, he held the key to the Fancyson Vault.
Well at least Squilliam is going to be okay. For those of you who aren't familiar, lionfish in real life can be very dangerous if you're not careful. Their venomous spines can cause serious infections and even death if not treated the correct way. Fish-tank owners are always advised about being careful with their pet lionfish. I like for my readers to learn new interesting facts! Thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter!