28. One of These Days

The Moon Warriors just all looked puzzled upon Iapetus' remark, but that's when they thought things are becoming diverse. They have to know everything they need to. However, being imprisoned in some kind of spaceship cabin was still stopping them.

This is just too strange for Iapetus to confine us like this, Titan thought, Most importantly, why would he also even want to tell us all this?

"Well, good for you to say…" said Lee. "What now?"

"Here in the planet of Farside, we are a race similar to those Pisconarchs," Iapetus explained. "Every being who has inherited powers utilize "Fool's Powers," where mental abilities are the main force." Directing towards the concealed Moon Warriors, he then states, "Your new friend's seal tells him he is a Moon Warrior, but his abilities tell me that he's one of us."

Farside…, Titan thought while still feeling weakened from the power controlled from the containers, I've heard from that planet and its tight relationships with my home planet. What else is Iapetus trying to explain here?"

"Of course, sweeping you all from your souls one by one is another reason why you're trapped," Iapetus continued. "After that, I figure I'll settle with Yang and Yin next…"

"Not on my watch!" Patrick cries out

Patrick unwillingly activates his beast mode, acquired not too long ago, once again destroying his container and also frees Sandy afterwards. At the time he was going to be able to threaten Iapetus and being only temporary, Patrick has then already come back to his usual self.

"No, no, no!" Iapetus exclaims.

As Iapetus concurrently tries to fend off the Moon Warriors, he lapses into his mind, pondering about Patrick's powers. That could not be possible though, but the pink one has received an alternative form somehow… He contemplates.

"That is, if I actually had a watch…" Patrick adds, before Iapetus duplicates his Soul Reaper, pointing it over to Patrick, Sandy, and Lee.

"It looks to me like somebody is trying to work some kind of strategy here – stalling my plan and leeching off the energy I'm charging up, perhaps. I at least have the energy I need to ensure you're all trapped, so you're still out of time…"

As Iapetus used the term "time," than then begins to give Patrick an idea, as he was thinking to himself: That's it! None of this will happen if I could "rewind" time with my powers. If I'm able to do that, Titan would also not doubt me too!

Patrick mediates for his attempt to have his so-called psychic powers to come in effect. To everyone's surprising, Patrick was giving off a glow and static was being formed around him.

"What is he doing?" Lee questioned.

I see, Iapetus thought. Even the starfish's power seems to differ from the rest of the Moon Warriors like Lee…

"It's working! I can feel it! I can-!"

Patrick's powers then immediately fill the entire scenery with a bright white light. As soon as it was fading out, Patrick can be seen from the view again…but this time, he was facing the boulder before it was destroyed. His "psychic powers" sent him back to the morning before Iapetus captured the Moon Warriors, thus rendering his Moon Powers unusable.

"Hey, I was right. It worked!" Patrick said, showing some delight.

The boulder suddenly looks to be moving on its own as Patrick see it launch out from its spot and crush the other side of the ground.

"I didn't do that…." Patrick said to himself.

Cutting away from Patrick, Squidward was now shown as he appears to be in some unknown world. The particular world Squidward sees around him was only blank white matter. Squidward still appeared in his Moon Warrior attire.

"What happened? Where am I?" Squidward asked. "Ugh, this is like the time I once used a time machine and ended up nowhere…"

Squidward was all alone, but that was when a mysterious robe-wearing alien figure then spontaneously appeared in front of him.

"Welcome," he said, causing Squidward to react shockingly, making him jolt a bit. Squidward turns around and the figure then says, "I assume that you're a Moon Warrior."

"I got a very important query for you, then: where the hell am I?" Squidward asked.

"You're in a world of oblivion. You can call me the Lord of Hollows," he introduced. "Your soul has left your own world and has been transferred here from the use of a certain weapon, or for other reasons…"

"Well, Iapetus did attack me with that blade of his," Squidward replied.

"So, you've met a match with someone from the planet known as "Farside,"" the Lord of Hollows replied.

The Lord then strolls around while Squidward was feeling dumbfounded by what the person meant by a planet called "Farside." Squidward also notices that the alien was wielding a reaper like Iapetus.

"It looks like you know nothing about that," said the Lord of Hollows, facing back to Squidward, "but should I expect someone like you to have knowledge about Farside?"

"I am Squidward Q. Tentacles, since you haven't known," he greeted. "I am also otherwise known as the second current Moon Warrior in line, cashier from a cheap fast food restaurant, and the one who's wondering how he's going to get out of here!"

"I never wanted your name," the Lord of Hollows responded, "but I accept your admittance. Anyways, unless somebody is there to save you, you're stuck….or you won't have enough time as it will be too late for you."

Static, distorting lines then started to appear around the oblivion world, as part of the effects from Patrick's powers.

"Speaking of time, I am going to start having a talk with a certain somebody outside of this dimension," the Lord of Hollows said before leaving Squidward behind in the oblivion world once as the bright light appeared.

"Serves me right for trying to trust someone who looks like the grim reaper," Squidward said to himself.

Patrick was now shown again right after his surprising confrontation with the boulder that moved "on its own."

"I guess I won't have to worry about Iapetus for now," said Patrick.

Bright yellow lights, in from of a vortex, then appeared flashing behind Patrick for him to see a mysterious alien figure making an appearance, unlike the Lord of Hollows.

"Now what!?" Patrick grumbled.

The mysterious being spoke up once Patrick has gotten full attention of him.

"I can sense that you're technically not a highly ranked Moon Warrior," the mysterious figure said, "but I wonder why someone like you would be able to alter time itself."

"I think I have psychic powers, so there's no need to thank me," Patrick responded.

"Psychic powers…" the mysterious figure muttered, looking baffled, "That sounds rare for a Moon Warrior like you. –

By the way, I am known as the Lord of Time," he introduced.

"Patrick!" Sandy hollered, rushing over to him, "It's a good thing I found ya', because things are definitely ain't looking normal here."

"This squirrel seems to be reacting just fine," said the Lord of Time. "Does your friend here have anything to do with this current situation, mister…" he was saying until realizing he hasn't caught the starfish's name.

"My name's Patrick and that chipmunk is Sandy," he greeted.

"What are you sayin' about me now?" Sandy asked.

"Now, if you're wondering why I've come here," said the Lord of Time, "I am here to tell you, Patrick, that you have transported yourself, among some others, into an alternative timeline. It's also a complex one at that."

"Alternative timeline, you say?" Patrick asked. "Is that the name of a special order I can get from the Krusty Krab?"

"That's not even close to what I'm trying to tell you," the Lord of Time continued. "In this alternative timeline, expect some surprises. What I can tell you though is that your presence into this "alternative timeline" is due to time travel. Anybody who has not travelled with you is not affected by the timeline."

Patrick then notices Spongebob exiting out of the tent and catches his eye on him.

"Hey, it's Spongebob!" Patrick said, now walking over to him.

As soon as Patrick was trying to talk with him, Spongebob was paying no attention and that he couldn't be touched, as Patrick's hands went through Spongebob's square body.

"Considering that you're time travelling, you can't talk to your friends," said the Lord of Time. "It's important that I do not allow you to interact with everybody else so that I cannot allow a drastic change in time."

"That's so unfair!" Patrick cried out, walking back over to the time lord sternly.

"If you indeed have psychic abilities, I need for you to prove it."

In spite of being daytime right now, Patrick's Moon Warrior armor was activated abruptly until it was shifted out.

"I didn't do that," said Patrick.

This is strange. He didn't even use any force to activate it, the time lord thought. "I will now be going," the Lord of Time finished, "one more thing though is that because you're the one who set this up, you're the only one who could undo this. So I hope you figure everything out…"

The Lord of Time exited the scene by activating his vortex to transport himself out of sight from the alternate timeline.

"Well, if you happen to have psychic powers, then why don't you fix this time setting right now?" Sandy asked.

"But the time lord said I'm not allowed to talk to anybody," Patrick replied.

"I time travelled with you!" Sandy replied. "That darn force was enough to even bring me into this "alternate timeline," and that could also mean that we can make contact with Lee once we find him around here! Please, just fix the time setting if you can…"

"Whatever you say, here it goes…"

Patrick begins to concentrate in his mediated position to try and use his "psychic powers" to set the time back to the present. Nothing was happening while Patrick was practically concentrating as hard as he could.

"Aw shucks, I don't know why your "powers" ain't working," said Sandy. "How could you have done it before though? Do you just have to become a Moon Warrior and it will work? Titan managed to do this without his armor, but still…"

"Just don't worry about it," said Patrick. "We'll figure this out later."

"Squidward should be trapped inside Iapetus' blade," Sandy added. "That would also mean that a part of this timeline has already been changed."

Patrick and Sandy then see Squidward outside of the tent where he would take a glimpse at the boulder that had been shifted. From afar, Sandy saw Iapetus making an entrance.

"Look out, it's Iapetus!" Sandy said, dragging Patrick away from Squidward.

"This is strange meeting you in a moment like this, Iapetus," Squidward greeted. Little do the two Moon Warriors now that he's under possession by the Lord of Hollows.

"I wonder how I'm going to get out of this time setting," said Iapetus. "My chances at using my abilities to shift time aren't working somehow…"

"Huh…so that's how Squidward just suddenly disappeared," said Sandy.

"Relax Sandy, we won't be able to talk everybody else, remember?" Patrick responded.

With that said, Patrick starts jumping in front of "Squidward" and Iapetus' conversation. Sandy, trying to stop Patrick, failed to talk him out of it.

"Look at me now!" Patrick shouts out loud. "I'm a time traveler and the best part is that you can't do a thing against me, so there's no point in talking with you two sitting ducks!"

"Squidward" and Iapetus now stopped and just stared at Patrick, expressing how puzzled they look.

"Patrick, don't you remember how close by Iapetus was before we were time travelling?" Sandy asked.

"Oh shoot…" said Patrick right before Iapetus would launch an attack.

Iapetus gives a dash attack at Patrick with his scythe, giving him a fair amount of damage. After that, Patrick's Moon Warrior armor was abruptly activated again. In the meantime, Lee was seen making his way through where Spongebob and co. camped out, where Iapetus' whereabouts has caught his attention.

"God damn this, I couldn't talk to anybody? What kind of place is this?" Lee said to himself.

Iapetus' swift movements were preventing Patrick from giving retaliation against him. Patrick was losing energy from trying to fight before Lee jumps right in and clobbers Iapetus with a simple kick.

"Surely that can't be the only thing you can possibly attack me with…" Iapetus said to Lee, "but I'll hack you away, like with that starfish!"

While Iapetus was giving Lee direct damage from his variety of attacks, Squidward was now shown in the oblivion world, looking weakened and in pain.

"I need to get…out of here," Squidward murmured as if he was going to choke. "Whatever it is, it's getting painful…!"

Back to Patrick and Lee's fight with Iapetus, Lee was beaten down.

"I'll save you Lee, and you too Squidward!" Patrick said.

Suddenly, the scenery around them was beginning to blur, as if the background was being rearranged.

"What is this!?" Iapetus questioned and stopped battling.

The background eventually became clearer now, but only for everyone to notice that they were not in Spongebob and co.'s campgrounds but in "the City of Southern Lights," a few hours before dusk.

"We're in this place now?" Lee said.

"You're going to waste that soul you've acquired, Iapetus," "Squidward" pointed out, "you would best wait until time turns over to night…"

"Squidward, you sound really different…" said Patrick.

"That's probably because that's not Squidward," Iapetus declared. "To put it simply, when you go back in time with a victim still inside this Soul Reaper, the Lord of Hollows takes place of that person. Anyhow, I guess I have no other choice. When night comes, you just wait when I finish you three."

"I'll see you later," Squidward/Lord of Hollows finished and disappears from the scene while Iapetus runs off from the city.

"With Lee on our side, we'll be able to stand a chance, right Sandy?" Patrick said.

"Why trust this guy? Wasn't he a phony?" Sandy asked.

"Well, Iapetus is right about how I use these Moon Powers I've acquired," said Lee, "but it looks like I have to gain the trust from the both of you to be accepted as a Moon Warrior now. The same would go for the rest of your friends once we get out of here…"

"Thanks to Patrick's sudden "psychic abilities," we're supposedly stuck in an alternative timeline," Sandy responded.

Sandy's words now had Lee feeling intrigued. Giving a pause, he was now contemplating about Patrick's newfound powers.

"In a way, I think Patrick might have developed "Fool's Powers,"" Lee stated.

"Just like you, are you sure!?" Sandy asked, wide-eyed. "Maybe you're just lying…"

"Don't start freaking out," Lee replied. "I think we'll be able to find a way back to the current time if we beat Iapetus."

Once as the background blurred out to the City of Southern Lights' summit, Iapetus was waiting whilst the Lord of Hollows was gone for now. Patrick, Sandy, and Lee show up for the duel.

"You're quite late," said Iapetus. "I'm just dying to get started with this duel…even if it's kind of awkward with Phobos, Deimos, and the other Moon Warriors in the background…"

"Do your worst, we're not afraid of you!" Lee shouts out.

"All right, and then let's see you three take on this!"

Iapetus starts by using one of his abilities to generate two others clones of himself to attack at one another of the Moon Warriors. As three of the clones were about to strike the Moon Warriors first thing, they each froze.

"That's just strange, is that right Lee?" Patrick asked him, only to realize Lee and Sandy have also become frozen.

In a matter of seconds, a bright white light appears again, even from Squidward's perspective from the oblivion world, now appearing with two other clones. Once as the bright light subsided, there was only one Squidward now while Patrick appeared back where he started from the alternative timeline with the boulder being shifted and crushed sideways to the ground. It was morning again.

"What's going on, I'm back where I started!?" Patrick asked.

This time, when Sandy was close by, Lee was also there with her, also trying to figure out what just happened.

"Now I know what the Lord of Time was tryin' to convince us by the means of this alternative timeline," said Sandy. "We're just going to end up repeating the same day until we find a way to get back on that Farside planet!"

"Once we get to the summit, we better handle this job quickly," said Lee. "Think about this Patrick, you've done a remarkable job as a Moon Warrior, but usually because of Yin. Now you better do this task, but for your friends."

Patrick thinks for a few seconds and then tells them, "You're right, and we'll undo this as a team. Now let's go save Sandy!"

"I'm right over here!" Sandy corrected angrily.

"Now, we need a strategy here," said Lee. "Iapetus is a fast attacker as well as a fast thinker with the way he uses his so-called "Fool's Powers." We need to be able to counter his moves as quick as we could…"

It was nighttime again, but the brigade showed up earlier, with Iapetus waiting around.

"Let's get this over with, so we won't have to again – and again," said Sandy.

"Good, now let this fight commence!" Iapetus proclaimed.

Iapetus takes the first move and creates two other clones of himself alongside his Soul Reaper. With the real Iapetus directing his attacks at Patrick with his mind powers, Patrick dodges the incoming blade to his head and strikes him with his big bang attack, hitting him successfully. Iapetus then tries to swipe Patrick numerous times, but only hitting once. Patrick remains focused and hits Iapetus with a dark blast, then a nova blast.

With the second Iapetus fighting with Sandy, the clone aims the scythe for Sandy's helmet, but it misses. The clone continues by swiftly swinging the reaper around, but gets dodged by Sandy's quick reflexes before taking a hit from Sandy's Pisces shuriken. The Iapetus clone continues by hitting Sandy through one strike until Sandy charges up her light blast to hit the clone. The clone once again attempts to retaliate with a long drive with the Soul Reaper, but gets hit by Sandy's aurora blast.

Most of the time against the third Iapetus, Lee was dodging in the best ways he could while taking a look through Patrick and Sandy's attacks. Eventually, he starts attacking the clone with a big bang attack. The clone creates multiple blades, with Lee only taking two hits. The clone jumps near him, ready to strike, but Lee regains stability and attacks the clone with Pisces shuriken and further on, a dark blast.

"You want to know a secret?" Iapetus asked. "When a collected soul from this reaper is used in fight, whatever attacks are made, it drains out the soul until it just fades," he explained. "Using a victim's soul allows me to become more quick-willed."

"Well, there's no way you're getting rid of Squidward's soul!" Sandy cried out. "Let's go for the big guns, Patrick, like how it's part of the plan!"

Like so, Patrick's beast and Sandy's were-squirrel forms were activated and given a better advantage against Iapetus. Lee takes care of the third clone with the big bang attack for his finishing move. Patrick uses his shield give the real Iapetus more critical damage and eventually tire him out after his next turn, while Sandy also easily takes care of the second clone with her increased strength. After that, Iapetus admits defeat while Patrick and Sandy's forms become disengaged.

"I admit it, I will consider myself defeated," said Iapetus. "Well, I'll try to kill you guys next time, but in the long run, you can have your friend back."

Iapetus then releases Squidward's soul from his reaper, as well as transporting back his body on the summit.

"Squidward!" Patrick called out.