SpongeBob groaned, getting to his feet once more as Dennis desperately scrambled to his. Patrick tried to stand, but his near broken ankle defeated him in the end while Squidward got up, trying to observe the area for any signs of movement. Silence... Not a sign of movement and not another footstep... Then...

*BOOM*

A a boot, absolutely colossal in size, fell upon Dennis, crushing him beneath its impossible weight. SpongeBob fell back once again, staring at the massive, muddy footwear. Much to his horror, it was connected to a leg, and that leg was attached to a body. A monstrous, terrifying, alien body. The figure looming above them seemed cold, its entire body formed of rubber. It was covered head to toe in sickly muck. It roared a bellowing laughter, despite its face only possessing one, single defining feature...

Its, immense, glass, eye.

SpongeBob froze at the sight. This was it. The guardian to Shell City, and it was ready to kill every last one of them.

The foot shifted forward, a cloud of sand billowing into the three. Squidward was quick to see their opportunity, grabbing both of them and rushing into the tangle of anchors and barrels besides them. The Cyclops found their little tactic out quickly. It began slowly, unnaturally pushing aside the rubble blocking it from its prey. Its body swayed from side to side, almost as if it wasn't accustomed to its heavy movement as it waded through the mess, right upon the heels of the trio as they ran.

Patrick was doing his best to desperately limp away, his steps off-balance. Squidward was tugging him along, barely keeping his pace in tune with the others. SpongeBob darted along the path, looking for any way out. It was a maze, however. They would get lost and most likely turned around if they strayed too much from the path. But at the same time, the Cyclops was getting very, very close to reaching them. Its boots caused the ground to shift and jitter with each shockwave they sent. They had no other option.

With a nod to Squidward and a gesture to the divulging paths, the three took a sharp left, rushing into a tangle of hugh glass shards jutting from the sand. Remnants of smashed bottles surrounded them in a surreal culmination of transparent mirrors. Squidward took a right, dragging Patrick along with him. SpongeBob followed. The Cyclops kept on them. However, this little detour seemed to have paid off to some degree, as much of the glass had a curvature to it, serving as sets of roofs to hide their exact spot. They only ever popped out on small clearings before disappearing back into the maze. Meanwhile, the Cyclops still had to push aside anchors and barrels to get across.

Soon, however, the glass ran out. As did all the other debris. The three were wide out in the open.

SpongeBob turned around. The Cyclops was advancing on them quickly. Too quickly. They needed to do something now or else they'd be crushed to death. Or perhaps worse, whisked away to parts unknown.

They only had one option, but it was unlikely they'd make it.

A good fifty yards away lay a large pipe, rusted and weathered. Attached to the side was a valve, wide open. If they could squeeze inside, they would be safe.

Without any other doubt, SpongeBob began a sprint to the pipe, fumbling a bit in his movement as he bolted to the opening. Squidward and Patrick were lagging behind a bit, but still making good enough progress. They looked to be advancing upon safety in good time. The Cyclops, however, was occupied with the last of the anchors, shoving the hulking metal aside to catch his prey. By then the trio was halfway across, although grossly out of breath by now with only their adrenaline to keep them moving.

The Cyclops shoved the anchor down, hopped over the last patch of glass, and began bolting. It moved alarmingly fast. Nothing they couldn't handle with good timing, but something certainly startling given its previously slow, deliberate movement. The creature was still moving somewhat slowly, going at only a jog. But, given its size, that would be enough to catch up to them in due time.

Three quarters of the way there. They had to keep moving. They were so close to safety, so close to Shell City, so close to the crown, and so close to saving Mr. Krabs from being executed.

The Cyclops advanced further, closer, ever so closer. Its heavy boots seemed to be swallowing everything behind it into its impossible vastness. It sunk lower and lower into the sand with each step. The creature was getting madder. Its immense feet threw plumes of dust and sand into the water, blanketing the area in thick, soupy fog. The pipe seemed so close, but so far. When were they going to reach it? Patrick was losing his footing, he couldn't run or stand for much longer. Squidward was having a greater deal of trouble just trying to carry Patrick to begin with. Still SpongeBob remained in the lead, sprinting forward without much thought other than "run".

Then, almost as a reward for that mindset, SpongeBob slammed into something hard and metal. He'd made it. Without another thought, he jumped up, barely grabbing the lip of the opening, before crawling inside and tumbling down into the darkness. He sighed in relief, knowing that he was safe.

Then Patrick and Squidward started screaming. SpongeBob had forgot about them in his rush.

Panicked, he scrambled to the opening, only to see the two in the harsh, unbreakable grip of the Cyclops. It had gotten them. It had won.

"SPONGEBOB! WE'RE GONNA BE OKAY! RUN!" Patrick screamed, pounding against the firm grip that held him so.

SpongeBob began lifting his leg over the lip of the pipe. He was going to jump down and give chase.

No. He couldn't. What good would that do?

SpongeBob lowered himself back in, sliding down out of sight. Like Patrick said, they would find a way out. They always did. SpongeBob couldn't doubt their luck now. He had to keep going. For Mr. Krabs. For the Krusty Krab recipe. Plankton was behind this. It was plain to the Sponge from the start. Plankton had to be stopped. He had to keep moving.

Without looking back, SpongeBob advanced down the pipe toward Shell City...

Author's Note: Um... Hi! Been a while! Like... Near a year, actually! And yeah, I know I said I wasn't gonna write anything on this account anymore. Buuuut, I was doing fluff-pieces for myself for a while, and I started to lose the writing drive, you know? So, what better way to get that passion back than by continuing writing my fanfictions on here! I also saw a review on my story begging me to continue and... I know that feeling. I know that feeling when an author fails to continue writing something you're really engaged in and it pisses you off, and you get so sad. And... I said, screw it, I don't wanna put my audience through that same feeling. I'm gonna finish this story. So, Mr. Guest, if you're reading this, thank you for giving me that little push I needed to continue! Also I miiiight do an Overwatch story next. Maybe. If I can think of a plot, than yeah that'll be what I do next probably. Probably with Jamie and Mako as protags 'cause those two are just the best. 'Specially Jamie. He is adorable. Also there's probably gonna be Zenny as a main character to, because Zenny is even cuter somehow.