Only two chapters left! The story will be over soon. I want to thank all my readers for supporting me so far and leaving encouraging reviews. You've all been great! We're coming to the end of summer now, but until then, I hope you can enjoy my story in the meantime. Get to reading!


Squidward purposely headed straight for the gateway that led out of Sea Sanctuary. Hopefully he could reach Coral Town in time and then find a way to rescue Squilliam. With the unfortunate death of Flora Flowers, he was more determined than ever to stop the Supreme Society. Lord Stripes was going to open the vault at Ancestor Castle, and when he did, Squilliam would no longer be useful to them. Lord Stripes would have Squilliam killed for sure. Just as Squidward reached the gateway and was about to exit, voices from behind called out to him. Squidward turned around to see Dolph, Kelsey, Eyrie and Butch hurrying to catch up to him.

"Hold up there, tough guy! Where do you think you're doing?" Butch demanded. "You're not seriously thinking of going to Ancestor Castle by yourself, are you? That place will be crawling with saw-sharks and not to mention the Supreme Society members."

"You think I don't know that?" Squidward said sharply. "I have to help Squilliam. I can't just leave him. I have to tell him I lov…" Squidward stopped but quickly saw that it was already too late. He looked up to see Butch, Dolph, Kelsey and Eyrie all staring expectantly at him. "Oh screw it! I love Squilliam! Okay? That's why I have to get him back!" Squidward finally stated the obvious.

"Well you can't do it alone," Dolph said while walking alongside him. "We're coming with you, Squidward. We'll help you get back your man. Time to overthrow some villains!"

However Butch was still scowling doubtfully. "I hope you know what you're doing, tough guy. You do realize that you'll be taking on an army? Not to mention the five members of the Supreme Society?"

"Actually it's three," Kelsey corrected Butch. "Flora Flowers and Drago the Hunter are dead. Squidward fought them both. He's surprisingly strong for a cranky cashier cephalopod." She flashed Squidward a look of admiration as she said this.

This made Butch look incredulously at Squidward. "Both Flora Flowers and Drago the Hunter are dead because of you? Man… Remind me not to provoke you from now on."

"It was an accident," Squidward defended himself when he saw the way Butch was looking at him with unease. "I was only trying to protect myself. I don't routinely go around and cause people's death, I can assure you."

From above them, Eyrie flapped his wing-like fins smoothly through the sapphire-blue ocean while keeping up with the others. "Even so, there's still Lord Stripes, Lionel Leo and Salina Clawford to deal with," he called down to them. "It won't be easy getting into Coral Town. I'll bet Lord Stripes will have all kinds of saw-sharks guarding it."

"You know, he's right," Kelsey said thoughtfully. Then she turned to Squidward. "I hope you have a plan, Squidward. It won't be easy rescuing Squilliam from the clutches of the Supreme Society. It's going to be very dangerous."

But Squidward didn't slow down. He wasn't about to be discouraged. "Tell me something I don't already know," he quipped. Although it was reassuring to know that Squidward was bringing allies with him. Don't worry, Squilliam. I'm coming for you. I'm on my way now. These thoughts kept Squidward going.

It took half an hour but Squidward and the others finally reached Coral Town by sunset. The ocean was a beautiful mixture of orange and purple colors as the sun was starting to disappear into the horizon. Upon their arrival, they immediately noticed a change in the bustling town nearby. No longer was the town filled with happy sea-life but instead it almost looked empty and forbidding. Looking further on, Squidward spotted the saw-sharks standing guard around every entrance to the town. It looks like Lord Stripes was making absolutely sure Squilliam didn't escape this time. Unfortunately this posed a big problem as Squidward wondered how he was going to enter the town.

"I just circled around the whole town, there's no way in," Eyrie reported to Squidward. "There are saw-sharks everywhere! I think Coral Town is under heavy watch."

"Great. Squilliam is being held captive in Coral Town and here I am out here cooling my heels!" Squidward complained. But now he was starting to worry. "There's got to be a way to sneak in."

There Squidward started walking around the back of the houses, yards and buildings but he didn't enter the town. Everywhere he looked, Squidward saw saw-sharks patrolling the streets. This was going to be tricky. Suddenly a building-door opens and someone came outside, causing Squidward to quickly duck out of sight. But then he quickly saw that it was only a little golden-fish girl. Wait…she looked familiar to him. And as Squidward watched, to his surprise, the girl ran up to him with a welcoming smile. Squidward finally recognized her, her name was Goldie.

"Hello Mr. Tentacles," she greeted Squidward politely. "Do you remember me? My mother, Vanna, runs the Golden Fish Inn. Come there with me!" With that, Goldie turned headed back to the inn and Squidward and the others all followed her inside.

Squidward was welcomed back by Vanna herself who treated him like an old friend. "I'm glad to see you're safe," she said relieved. But then her expression became concerned. "I wish I could say the same for your friend who you were traveling with before. Squilliam Fancyson… I've just seen Lord Stripes bring him straight to the castle not too long ago."

"Did he look okay? Was he hurt?" Squidward said nervously. "I came back to save Squilliam. I've got to hurry! Lord Stripes will finally be opening the vault. If that happens, Squilliam will be as good as dead!"

Vanna looked worriedly out her window before turning back to Squidward. "Squilliam is okay. For how long, I'm afraid I don't know. The streets are crawling with saw-sharks out there. If you're all going to the castle, I'd suggest you keep out of sight. No one is happy about those saw-sharks running the streets; that's why the town looks so empty right now."

"And if we're going to infiltrate the castle, we'd best do it by going through the sewers," Butch suggested. "Stick with me, tough guy. I'll help you get into the castle. Follow me guys!"

Inside Ancestor Castle…

Squilliam sat alone inside the dungeon in the basement of the castle. Sitting on the wooden bench and gazing morosely out the barred-window, Squilliam wondered if he was going to come out of his ordeal alive. Lord Stripes had finally gotten what he wanted. To add insult onto injury, the tyrannical tiger-shark insisted on having a Fancyson witness their vault being broken into and violated. It was insane… However Squilliam did have one thing to comfort him and that was knowing Squidward was safe. It broke his heart having to leave behind the man he loved… My only regret is that I couldn't tell Squidward I love him, Squilliam thought dejectedly. Suddenly realizing he wasn't alone, Squilliam looked up to notice Lionel Leo peering in at him through the barred window on the door.

Lionel was glaring hatefully in at Squilliam. "I hope you're squirming in there, Fancyson," he said coldly. "I can promise you this. When Lord Stripes opens the vault, I'm going to take great pleasure in killing you. I won't bother with a quick and painless death. I want to have fun inflicting so much pain on you until you beg for death.

"Are you done rubbing it in?" Squilliam snapped. "Go be condescending somewhere else, I want to be left alone." It was all Squilliam could do to try to keep himself calm and not think about how he was about to die. He couldn't think about that at all…

Suddenly Lionel let out a disturbing flamboyantly chuckle. "Oh I don't blame you, Squilliam. But don't worry… You'll be joining your precious servant soon enough anyway…," he said lazily through the barred window.

"What do you mean by that?" Squilliam said suspiciously. Then he saw the depraved smile Lionel was giving him and that's when Squilliam felt a cold chill run down his back. "Y-You mean…Squidward? Is he…?"

"Flora Flowers has been given the great honor of disposing everyone at Sea Sanctuary," Lionel told Squilliam, his amber-colored eyes glinting with malicious delight. "With a little luck, that lowly servant of yours is good and dead. Serves him right for interfering in our affairs, and at least Drago's death has been avenged." Lionel sneered at Squilliam's horrified expression. "Enjoy whatever precious moments you have left, Mr. Fancyson. Your death is sure to come soon enough."

And when Lionel turned and strutted away, he was satisfied to hear furious fists pounding at the dungeon door, followed by Squilliam's anguished yelling coming from within. Squilliam banged and kicked repeatedly at the heavily locked-door until he exhausted all his energy. And then Squilliam slumped down onto the ground and buried his head into his knees as despair finally overtook him. Squidward is dead… It was all for nothing. I couldn't save him. I'll have to live with this for the rest of my life. But then Squilliam remembered that he was going to die soon and he let out a hollow laugh. Maybe it didn't matter…

"Well…at least I got to fall in love," Squilliam tried reassuring himself. "For once in my spoiled life, I finally learn that it's not all about me. I've lived a pretty meaningful life. And I found a special connection with someone." But whenever Squilliam thought about Squidward, he'd start sobbing in grief.

...

Squidward followed Butch through the dank sewers while Dolph, Kelsey and Eyrie stayed close behind. As Butch led them along a wet tunnel, Squidward really had to give the roguish barracuda some credit. Not only was Butch streetwise and cautious, but he seemed to know exactly which tunnel would lead them straight to the basement level of Ancestor Castle. Squidward prayed that Lord Stripes hadn't opened the vault yet. He had to get to Squilliam before that happened. Along the way, Squidward realized something was bugging him about Butch. The barracuda seemed awfully familiar with the Supreme Society and it made him wonder.

"How do you know so much?" Squidward asked Butch.

Butch turned and flashed him an irritable frown and Squidward thought the barracuda wouldn't answer him but he was wrong. "Want the truth?" he growled. "Okay fine. I used to be a bodyguard for the Supreme Society." When he caught the way Squidward was eying him, Butch explained himself. "I know what you're thinking and it's not like that. If you really must know, I'm the one who left. I was tired of being lorded over by a bunch of high-class snobs. Plus it disgusted me to see how the Supreme Society treated those they considered beneath them. I decided I wanted no part of that so I ditched them."

And as Squidward listened, he was surprised to see Butch smiling. "I went to Sea Sanctuary and Father Benjy kindly accepted me. Since then I've been protecting people from the Supreme Society. I may be a rebel, but at least I'm fighting for the good guys."

"How touching…," Squidward said monotonously. Although he was glad he had Butch on his side.

It's a good thing there weren't any saw-sharks patrolling around the sewers or tunnels. According to Butch, not too many people knew about this secret entrance to Ancestor Castle, not even Lord Stripes. Long ago when the castle had first been built, Squilbert Fancyson must likely have had the basement connected to the sewers as an escape route in case of emergencies. Well now Butch led everyone to the stone staircase and opened a cellar door. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, Squidward and other others came up from sewers and looked around to see they were inside a dusty unused wine cellar.

"So far so good," Eyrie remarked. "We'll be able to get in, grab Squilliam, and sneak out of here without anybody noticing!"

"Sorry to disappoint but it won't be that simple," Dolph pointed out. "Just look." There Dolph went over to the rickety old door and opened it an inch to peek out. Sure enough, they could all see saw-sharks guarding the basement levels. "We'll have to get past those saw-sharks. We could try taking them on, but that'll cause too much of a loud ruckus and it'll alert everyone in the castle."

"I see what you mean, Dolph," Kelsey said, thoughtfully rubbing her chin. "So how do we get rid of them?"

From behind them, Squidward suddenly chuckles nasally when he reached down and picked up a long white table-cloth from the ground. "I have an idea. Those saw-sharks aren't exactly on the bright side. And let's just say I know how to get rid of "unwanted company!" he told them.

Out in the basement hallway, a group of saw-sharks were guarding the dungeon which contained Squilliam. They were in the middle of an argument about football when a sudden loud creepy moaning immediately caught their attention. Now the gang of saw-sharks huddled together fearfully when hearing the sounds of frightening moaning and groaning echoing in the basement hallways. They didn't know what it was but it sounded unnerving.

"Do you guys hear that? What is that? It sounds scary!" said one saw-shark nervously.

"It…it sounds like…like a ghost!" another saw-shark gulped. "Is the basement haunted? I've never noticed before."

"There are no ghosts around here…are there?" piped up another saw-shark who looked really spooked. "Oh no, what's that?" he pointed.

The saw-sharks all saw it at once. Floating down the hallway towards them was a ghost moaning and wailing in a frightening manner. This made the saw-sharks all scream in terror and immediately high-tail it out of there while shouting about ghosts and specters. Once the saw-sharks were gone, Squidward calmly went up to the ghost and pulled off the sheet to reveal Eyrie underneath. Butch, Dolph and Kelsey came out of hiding and now they all shared a laugh at the easily fooled saw-sharks. But Squidward had to hurry; those saw-sharks were bound to attract attention in the castle. After locating the chain-link keys hanging on the stone-wall, Squidward hurried to the dungeon where Squilliam was imprisoned.

"Hold on Squilliam. I'm here to rescue you!" Squidward cried. Unlocking the door, Squidward pushed the door open and stepped into the dungeon…and he felt someone ram into him and tackle him to the ground. Squidward landed on his back and looked up to see Squilliam on top of him with his fist raised.

Squilliam was teary-eyed and he wore a furious scowl, but his expression softened upon seeing who it was. "Squidward…?" Squilliam whispered in disbelief.

"Nice to see you too, Squilliam," Squidward greeted the unibrow-octopus with a cool smile. "What gives? Is this your standard greeting?" Squidward's smile faded when he saw that Squilliam had been crying. "Squilliam? Are you okay?" The next thing Squidward knew, Squilliam was sobbing into his chest.

"I thought I never see you again! I thought you were dead! I thought it was all my fault!" Squilliam cried tearfully while bringing Squidward into a tight hug. He was so emotionally wrought but his heart burst with happiness upon seeing with his own eyes that Squidward was alive and well. "How did you escape? What happened to Flora Flowers?"

"She's dead…," Butch said before Squidward could answer. He stood in the dungeon doorway and was looking down at Squidward and Squilliam lying on the ground in each other's arms. "I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" the barracuda snickered at the happy couple.

"Flora Flowers is dead?" Squilliam said shocked. He got off the ground and helped Squidward up. "But…but how?"

"Flora took a spill off the bell-tower at Neptune Chapel," then Butch pointed at Squidward. "You've got one heck of a man there, Fancyson. You better treat him right lest you want him to accidentally cause your death too."

"Oh come off it! It really was an accident! I wasn't trying to kill Flora!" Squidward quickly protested. Squidward grumpily crossed his arms and then caught Squilliam giving him a searching look. "What? Quit staring at me like that! Can we please escape from here now?" Squidward grabbed Squilliam's hand and together they exited the dungeon.

Up on the upper floors, Lionel Leo was sitting by the large window-ledge with a perfect view of the castle courtyard below. He'd been feeling antsy ever since he returned to Ancestor Castle and tried having a glass of fruit-juice to calm his nerves. Sitting at the elegant dining table was Salina Clawford who was carefully examining the Fancyson Emblem with a loupe to make sure it wasn't a fake. Lionel couldn't wait for Lord Stripes to finally open the vault. Once the vault had been opened, Squilliam Fancyson would die. The lionfish smirked to himself when he thought about how exhilarating it would be to torture Squilliam for all the trouble he's caused them. It would be worth the wait…

At last, Salina sat up from the dining-table and looked over to Lionel. "This is the real deal," she confirmed. "The Fancyson Emblem is made with the finest silver and it has the perfect indentation to fit the vault. This is the key!"

"Good…," Lionel said pleased. "In that case, let's take it to Lord Stripes." And then the lionfish's smirk became more twisted. "Let me go fetch Fancyson for us. He's not going to want to miss this."

Suddenly Lionel and Salina heard a loud commotion. They both hurried to the door and looked out it to see a gang of saw-sharks running through the halls, shouting about "ghosts." Lionel and Salina exchanged puzzled expressions. "Ghosts? What are they on about?" Salina said in bewilderment.

But Lionel was already suspicious. This could mean only one thing. "There must be intruders down in the basement." There Lionel went over and took down his favorite rapier that was hung up on display. Before leaving for the basement, Lionel called back to Salina. "Bring the emblem to the lord and let him know what's going on. I'm going to the basement!"

Squilliam joined the others as they navigated their way through the empty basement hallways and tunnels. Now that Lord Stripes had the emblem, he could go ahead and open the vault. Hopefully now Squilliam would no longer be a target of the Supreme Society anymore. All he wanted to do was get far away from this castle. But then Squilliam reached out and took Squidward's hand, earning a loving glance from the cashier cephalopod. Squilliam wasn't interested in this castle and its treasures, he'd found something more valuable on this adventure. And once they returned to Bikini Bottom, maybe the two of them could really enjoy being together.

"Here we are," Dolph said, leading everyone to the old wine cellar. "Hurry! We may be able to get away with it after all!"

Butch, Dolph, Kelsey and Eyrie hurried into the wine-cellar and headed through the staircase that led back down to the sewers. Squilliam started to follow the others, but turned to look back and cried out. There he shoved Squidward out of the way in time as Lionel Leo seem to appear out of nowhere and brought down his rapier at them, narrowly missing Squilliam. Squidward fell onto his side but looked up in horror when he saw an ax-crazy Lionel bearing down on him.

"You're still alive? I'm glad…Now I have the pleasure of killing you myself!" Lionel said with a slasher smile and raised his rapier above his head and prepared to slice Squidward to death.

Before Lionel could harm Squidward, Squilliam flew at Lionel in a rage and bowled him over with so much force that it sent the lionfish flying. "STAY AWAY FROM MY BOYFRIEND YOU ASSHOLE! Squilliam yelled in fury.

Lionel hit the ground hard and the rapier flew out of his fin and clattered to the floor. This gave Squilliam time to hurry over to Squidward and quickly help him back up. They both looked up in time to see Lionel back on his feet too and he was picking up his rapier on the ground. Now the lionfish turned with his wrathful eyes on both Squidward and Squilliam who stood directly in front of the cellar entrance. The two octopuses exchanged determined expressions and prepared themselves as Lionel started to charge at them with his rapier ready.

"You ready?" Squilliam asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Squidward replied back.

Standing together, Squidward and Squilliam got into position and just as Lionel reached them with his rapier aimed straight for Squidward's heart, the two octopuses jumped out of the way with perfect timing. Lionel let out a surprised shout as he went falling down the cellar stairway and they could hear him stumbling all the way. Now Squidward and Squilliam stood at the top of the stairs and looked down to see Lionel lying at the bottom unmoving. Good, they've managed to outsmart the sadistic lionfish for now. This was a good time to get away. Squidward followed Squilliam down the stairs and they carefully stepped over Lionel's fallen body. Squidward let out a startled gasp when Lionel reached out and grabbed hold of his leg.

"What the…?" Squidward cried, looking down at the injured lionfish.

To his horror, Squidward saw the blood pooling out from underneath Lionel. Squilliam noticed it too and they both stared in shocked silence as Lionel sat up and they could see he accidentally stabbed himself with the rapier while falling down. And now the pitiful lionfish was bleeding fast and there was nothing they could do to help him. In his frenzied attempt to murder his enemies, Lionel ended up impaling himself with his own rapier. Karma had hit him hard… As Lionel looked weakly up at Squidward and Squilliam, suddenly he didn't look so dangerous anymore. Lionel seemed to reach out for Squidward and his twisted smile was disturbing.

"You're…dead…you're…still…dead," Lionel managed to choke out before dying in a pool of his own blood. Lionel Leo was dead.

Squidward morosely turned away and gently took Squilliam by the shoulders and steered him away from the dreaded sight of Lionel's dead body. It couldn't be helped… Squilliam was visibly upset and Squidward wanted to get him to safety. Heading back through the sewers, they've managed to find the ladder that led back up to the surface. Squilliam climbed up first and Squidward looked back one last time before climbing up the ladder after him. It was finally over. Together he and Squilliam could get away far away from here and go back to Bikini Bottom.

Just as Squidward was climbing out of the manhole, he felt rough hands grabbing him and forcefully pulling him out. He hardly had a chance to struggle. When he looked up, Squidward saw Squilliam and all their friends, Butch, Dolph, Kelsey and Eyrie tied up and captured by the saw-sharks. Then the saw-sharks were tying Squidward up too before pushing him down onto the ground with a nasty laugh. And as Squidward struggled to sit up, a shadow fell over him and he looked up to see none other than Lord Stripes and Salina. The two last members of the Supreme Society…

"It's a good thing I decided to wait out here," Lord Stripes said, stepping forward with his elegant cane in hand. "My patience has been rewarded. Now then…" The tiger-shark turned his cold unflinching eyes upon Squilliam. "It's time. Come with me to the vault, Squilliam. I want breaking into your precious family vault and stealing all its valuable treasures to be the last thing you see before you die."

The saw-sharks pushed Squilliam to get him to move. But then Lord Stripes was looking down at Squidward with utter contempt and added. "Bring this lowlife with us too. If Squilliam tries anything funny, you have my permission to slit this commoner's throat." Butch, Dolph, Kelsey, and Eyrie watched in concern as Squidward and Squilliam went with Lord Stripes and a couple of saw-sharks back to the castle while they were stuck with Salina Clawford to guard them.


Get ready for the big show-down between Squidward, Squilliam and Lord Stripes. And at long last, the vault will open. What will happen next? Nice try, reader. I could give away spoilers but where's the fun in that? But I will get that new chapter up soon enough. I'm proud of how this story came out and I think it's my best Squidiam story yet. I've had plenty of time to plan this story and how I wanted the plot to go. I'm glad that all my hard work paid off!