In this chapter, our heroes will climb up the mountain.
It's going to be a long climb.
Can our heroes reach the summit?
Well, first things first, they'll have to contend to Plankton's forces.
Wonder how they managed to get up the mountain.
Ironically enough I found out that Mr. Krabs has a worm for pet, just like Squidward does in this fanfic. The irony is that Spongebob has a snail for a pet. Worms are dogs on this show and snails are cats on this show. Funny, huh?
The worm in question has only been in a few Spongebob episodes, so you probably haven't heard of him.
As a side note, I hope you're all dealing well with COVID-19.
I figured that since I'm staying at home I might as well continue working on this fanfic.
Chapter 23: Mountain Mayhem
"Man, this mission has taken us all over Bikini Bottom." noted Squidward. He never thought he would be traveling this much.
"I went on a long adventure with Spongebob once." spoke Patrick. Perhaps it was fortunate that he did. Plankton mind controlled everyone in Bikini Bottom with mind control helmets. Even Gary.
"Yeah...you went to retrieve King Neptune's crown from Shell City." replied the octopus.
He would have gone with, but to be honest, he didn't really like Mr. Krabs that much. And he figured that even if Plankton hadn't framed him, Mr. Krabs' greed would come to haunt him sooner or later. Which it had.
Perhaps it was fortunate that Shell City was so far from Bikini Bottom.
Otherwise, they would have been in a whole lot of trouble. The Cyclops would be picking up the city's citizens left and right and drying them out.
He never thought he would try mountain climbing. He figured that would be dangerous.
There was always the possibility of avalanches. The idea scared him.
Although, living next to Spongebob and Patrick could be dangerous as well. Sometimes they came up with some crazy ideas.
He wasn't sure when their mission would end. Who knows what else would be thrown at them?
However, Spongebob seemed determined to keep going.
He wouldn't rest until he had reached the summit.
In fact, he wouldn't rest after he had reached the summit. Mr. Krabs was still in the hands of Plankton and his army.
So Squidward decided he would follow him.
Chances are it would be dangerous, but he figured that maybe Plankton should be stopped. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was up to something big this time. Like the time he mind-controlled Bikini Bottom.
Unsurprisingly, there were cousins waiting on the mountain.
Specifically, there was another wizard plankton.
"What is he up to?" asked Squidward.
Using magic, he brought a pile of rocks to life.
"Oh no! It's a rock golem!" exclaimed Spongebob.
It looked as if they would need to defeat it to continue.
But considering how big it was, that probably wasn't going to be an easy task.
Unfortunately, punching and kicking it wouldn't exactly work.
"Oww!" exclaimed Patrick.
Now his fists were all bruised.
"Maybe you should have thought that through." noted Sandy. She may be skilled at karate, but she wouldn't try punching a boulder.
The starfish nodded. Maybe he shouldn't have done that.
Unfortunately, fire didn't work well.
He'd be better off shooting stars at it.
So, Patrick decided to try that.
The rock golem took damage this time.
"C'mon! I didn't animate you for nothing!" exclaimed the plankton.
Unfortunately, the golem was too heavy to be blown away by Spongebob's wind.
However, explosives seemed to stagger it.
As such, Pearl was well-suited for this fight.
However, the rock golem stepped on her in retaliation.
"Oww!" exclaimed the whale.
It occurred to Spongebob that maybe he should use water.
That seemed suited to dealing with a rock golem.
And indeed it was.
The rock golem recoiled from the bubbles.
Squidward wondered what animal would be best suited for dealing with rocks.
He decided to summon rock crabs.
These were smaller than Mr. Krabs, but they still packed a punch.
Fortunately, they had the strength to break through rock...hence their name.
This made them effective at fighting the rock golem.
Spongebob blew a big bubble at the golem, and it collapsed.
"Should I get a new spellbook?" pondered the wizard.
That rock animation spell hadn't gone over so well.
Patrick whacked the wizard on the head, and he passed out.
"Maybe we should have done that before..." noted Sandy. Without a spellcaster to keep it animate, the rock golem would have most likely collapsed.
Pearl shrugged.
After the encounter with the rock golem, slugs appeared.
It seemed that Madame Hagfish was recruiting slugs to do her bidding...it was rather appropriate.
"Good grief, they're naked!" exclaimed Gary in terror.
Where was his eye bleach?
At the Chum Bucket, Plankton felt a strange sense of deja vu.
These slugs could spit acid.
"Oww!" exclaimed Spongebob. That acid was scorching hot. It would be best if they tried to avoid it.
Fortunately, Gary had a shell for protection.
He was glad that Spongebob had gone into so much effort to get him another shell after his old one broke. Small wonder he had accepted him as his owner.
He still owned the shell shop owner a lot of money though. And considering how little Mr. Krabs paid him, it would take a miracle to pay off that debt.
Oh wait, Spongebob was manager of the Krusty Krab 2 now. Perhaps he stood a chance. If only a small one.
The slugs wondered if they should get a shell of their own.
Shells provided for extra defense.
But on the other hand, they felt more mobile without one.
Wendy tried spewing webbing at them...
...but the acid melted the webbing.
She let out a sigh. It looked as if that wouldn't work against them.
And to make matters worse, the acid was capable of melting Patrick's ice.
"Aww..." complained Patrick.
However, while the slugs were capable of spewing hot acid, they weren't fireproof.
Sandy found out when she launched a wave of fire at them.
Pearl decided to zap them as well.
"MEOW!" exclaimed the slugs.
The slugs decided to run away.
Why? Because Patrick had a salt shaker.
"I'm so glad I brought this!" exclaimed the starfish.
Now he had something to put on his Kelp Fries.
After the slugs, our heroes encountered sponges.
These sponges were dressed as magicians.
"Are you liking the magic show that I made?" asked Madame Hagfish.
"Not in particular, no." answered Squidward. He would prefer a magic show where he wasn't getting attacked.
"Well, there's plenty more where that came from!" exclaimed the slug.
"Oh joy." spoke the octopus. Who knew what magical horrors she would throw at them?
A sponge magician threw cards at Squidward.
"Oww!" shouted the unfortunate superhero.
These cards were razor sharp.
Appropriately, one of them was a joker.
Another pulled a sea bunny out of a hat...which proceeded to violently attack them.
"I didn't think that sea bunnies would be so vicious..." remarked Patrick. They all seemed to be cute and friendly.
"Well, one of them wreaked havoc on my garden." noted Squidward. Though he didn't always get along with Gary, he had never been so destructive whenever he paid his lawn a visit.
Fortunately, he knew from experience how to deal with one.
He made a noise imitating a ferret.
The sea bunny became frightened and decided to run away.
He would take his chances somewhere that was safer. He could run away from a lot of predators easily enough but he didn't want to take any chances.
"Aw, man!" exclaimed the sponge magician who had summoned him.
Now where was he going to get another bunny?
Well, considering how fast sea bunnies bred, he probably wouldn't have a hard time finding one.
He'd probably have to climb down the mountain first though.
Well, he had more pressing matters to attend to than finding a new bunny.
Like the superheroes that were fighting him.
Squidward beat him up with his tentacles.
"Oww..." murmured the sponge.
He had starfish swirling around his head.
Eventually, the sponges decided to perform a different magic trick.
Disappearing.
The sponges disappeared in a burst of smoke. Seemed that they had exhausted all of their tricks.
"Thank goodness they're gone." remarked Squidward.
"I was hoping one would teach me magic..." complained Patrick.
"Considering those varmints work for Plankton, they probably wouldn't." suggested Sandy.
"Aw man!" exclaimed the starfish.
On the mountain were also swordfish.
"En garde!" exclaimed one of the swordfish.
"Swordfish?" questioned Spongebob. That was a new one.
Perhaps Plankton was trying a different strategy.
After all, he came up with a bunch of different strategies to get the Krabby Formula. Some had been more successful than others. The ones that had fallen flat on their face were nothing short of amusing.
At least, Mr. Krabs thought so. Spongebob wished that the two of them would put aside their differences. But perhaps that would never happen. Not after Plankton tried to have Mr. Krabs killed.
Regarding Plankton's plans, Plan Z had definitely been the most effective. The sight of Mr. Krabs frozen solid was nothing short of scary.
He looked like one of the patties that was in his freezer.
The swordfish were unsurprisingly effective combatants. Though people didn't typically react with the same fear that they did whenever they encountered a shark.
"Oww!" exclaimed the sponge. He had been cut by one of the swords.
"Ouch!" shouted Pearl. Perhaps she shouldn't get too close to them.
However, Sandy's suit provided her protection from them.
Patrick launched a shooting star at the swordfish.
However, it didn't really seem to bother him.
"Tis only a flesh wound!" exclaimed the swordfish.
"A flesh wound isn't a big deal? Hmm, maybe I should cancel my doctor's appointment." noted Patrick. He wanted to check his health.
"Actually, it is." answered Sandy.
"Oh. Never mind then." spoke the starfish.
Unfortunately, Spongebob couldn't use bubbles against them.
They would simply pop them with their noses. No doubt Bubble Buddy was frightened of them. One could only imagine the panic that would result if they ever decided to visit Bubbletown.
He would have to try a different strategy.
"Hmm, what should I try?" asked the sponge.
He didn't want to try attacking them from close-range.
That seemed like a bad idea. Besides, he didn't have experience with swordsplay. Though he did once end up in medieval times.
However, Spongebob then came up with a strategy.
Why not use his wind abilities to blow them away before they could stab him with their swords?
That seemed like a good strategy.
So, he decided to do that.
The swordfish were blown away.
"This mountain is awfully windy." remarked one of the swordfish. Perhaps they should consider going to a lower altitude.
"Thy don't think that was the mountain wind." answered another swordfish.
Unfortunately for the swordfish, they couldn't cut through Patrick's rocks.
If only they had brought a hammerhead shark with them.
The swordfish decided to leave.
Perhaps their swords had gotten rusty.
Continuing up the mountain, our heroes encountered snowjellies.
Predictably, these jellyfish were white.
"Yes! I was hoping that they were real!" exclaimed Patrick.
"I guess I'll probably be climbing up this mountain later." noted Spongebob.
It gave him a new area to try jellyfish hunting.
Now that Patrick had discovered snowjellies, he could get some ice cream jelly.
"Um, Patrick, I think these jellyfish are under Plankton's control." warned Spongebob.
"Darn it! Plankton must have discovered them first!" pouted Patrick.
"Maybe." answered Squidward.
Unfortunately, being stung by a snowjelly froze you solid.
"That's c-c-old..." remarked Pearl, shivering from the sting.
However, Patrick didn't have anything to worry about.
Perhaps it would be best if he squeezed the evil jelly out from the jellyfish.
He decided to do just that.
"Oh boy! Ice cream jelly!" exclaimed Patrick.
The snowjellies began to turn back to normal.
"I'm so glad we saved these jellyfish..." noted Spongebob. Animal cruelty was not something that he approved of. Especially considering that he was a pet owner.
Though at this point, he wondered how many jellyfish had fallen victim to Plankton.
As it turned out, there were more sharks on the mountain.
These sharks were nurses.
"Somehow, I don't think these sharks are here to help us with our illnesses..." noted Spongebob.
Well, he didn't have suds anyway.
They attempted to inject our heroes with poison using their syringes.
"Aahh!" exclaimed Patrick. Needles scared him.
And to make matters worse, they could give themselves first aid whenever they were injured.
Sandy breathed fire on the nurse sharks.
"Ouch!" exclaimed one of the nurse sharks.
Wonder Snail tossed rocks at the sharks.
"Whatever happened to your hippocratic oaths?" asked Gary.
The nurse sharks decided to leave. If this kept up, they were the ones that were going to need medicine.
As soon as they were halfway to the summit, our heroes encountered Puffy Fluffy.
"Since you're getting close to me, I've decided to introduce you to my lovely little pet." noted Madame Hagfish.
"Somehow, I don't think we're going to find it lovely." remarked Squidward.
"I remember you! You used to be my pet!" exclaimed Spongebob.
"That brings back bad memories..." noted Gary.
"Look at how cute he is!" shouted Patrick.
"I don't know, there seems to be something wrong with him." warned Wendy.
Something about Puffy Fluffy seemed...unsettling.
But Patrick (being Patrick) simply didn't notice.
"Let me pet him!" exclaimed the starfish.
Suddenly, Puffy Fluffy shapeshifted into his monster form.
"On second though, don't let me pet him!" bellowed Patrick.
He began to sweat, and he put his hands on his mouth.
Who would have thought that such a cute animal could be so frightening?
Puffy Fluffy roared at them.
"Aahh!" exclaimed Spongebob. No wonder Gary had been so frightened of him.
Fortunately, Gary had the means to defend himself this time. Being a superhero had its perks.
He threw a rock at the nudibranch.
This injured Puffy Fluffy, but he had no intention of stopping the fight.
In fact, this seemed to make him angry.
In retaliation, he spat poison.
"We really shouldn't touch that." noted Squidward.
That poison was probably as poisonous as the Nasty Patty that Mr. Krabs had designed for the health inspector he thought was a phony.
Maybe he should have checked to see whether he had a badge or not. That would be a good way to make sure.
Silkworm nodded in agreement.
Unfortunately, Pearl ended up being poisoned.
"I feel sick...like the time that I got a pimple..." noted the whale.
"It's part of growing up." answered Sandy.
"I wish it weren't..." complained Pearl. She wanted to look attractive, and having a pimple definitely wouldn't help with that.
Unfortunately, being poisoned hampered her ability to fight.
Her lightning bolts just weren't as strong as they were before.
It would take some time before the poison wore off.
Puffy Fluffy followed by breathing fire.
"Aah!" exclaimed Spongebob.
Narrowly, he managed to dodge the flames.
Oddly enough, Gary didn't recall Puffy Fluffy being able to do that.
However, it was plausible that Madame Hagfish had done a few enhancements to make Puffy Fluffy stronger.
It would make sense that she wanted him to be ready for fighting the heroes.
Patrick punched Puffy Fluffy, but he swallowed him and began chewing on him.
"Oh no! Patrick!" exclaimed the sponge, his eyes widening with fear.
Unsurprisingly, Gary had been worried that would happen to him back when Puffy Fluffy was living with Spongebob.
How was he going to make him spit him out?
He decided to punch Puffy Fluffy in the stomach.
The nudibranch spat Patrick back out.
However, he was covered with drool.
"Ugh! I've been slobbered!" exclaimed the Shooting Star.
"Sorry to hear that." sympathized Sandy.
Spongebob used bubbles to wash Patrick off.
Puffy Fluffy then attempted to eat Spongebob.
But he inflated himself to prevent the nudibranch from doing so.
He spat out the sponge.
Squidward summoned snowjellies to freeze Puffy Fluffy.
"I'm so glad I never adopted a nudibranch..." noted the octopus.
Wendy nodded in agreement. Chances are the nudibranch would try to eat her, much like Puffy Fluffy had attempted to eat Gary.
Pearl followed by zapping Puffy Fluffy.
He let out a screech.
He then clawed at Pearl.
But she dodged it.
The nudibranch then punched Squidward.
"Ow!" bellowed the octopus.
This angered Wendy, who proceeded to bite into Puffy Fluffy.
Gary then followed by launching a boulder from above at the nudibranch.
Puffy Fluffy gasped as the boulder approached him.
But it was too late to do anything about it.
After being struck by the boulder, the nudibranch shapeshifted back to his normal form.
It seemed that he couldn't fight anymore.
He panted in exhaustion.
"No more being a vicious monster!" exclaimed Spongebob.
Puffy Fluffy nodded.
From now on, he would be more amicable to other pets.
Gary sighed in relief.
Puffy Fluffy still gave him nightmares.
He wished that Spongebob had gotten rid of him sooner.
Perhaps he would listen to a gypsy next time.
After defeating Puffy Fluffy, our heroes encountered a strange green mist.
"What is this mist?" asked Sandy.
Inhaling the mist made the heroes feel...sleepy.
"Is it just me, or am I feeling tired?" asked Spongebob.
He began to yawn.
"Well, we have been climbing up this mountain for some time." noted Squidward. That would make anybody feel tired, even Spongebob.
It was a small wonder that they were starting to feel worn out.
"I'm starting to feel worn out too." noted Patrick.
"Why doesn't that surprise me..." answered Squidward. It seemed that whenever Patrick wasn't bugging him, he spent his time sleeping.
And yes, he snored. It was annoying.
Sandy wondered if this was some sort of spell.
She had a bad feeling about it.
"Maybe we shouldn't have inhaled it." noted Pearl. It didn't seem to be poisonous, but she got a feeling that perhaps Madame Hagfish had brewed it up in a cauldron.
She wasn't quite sure whether she had one, but it was likely.
Although, Sandy seemed affected by it even though she wore a suit and theoretically wouldn't be breathing it in.
One by one, our heroes began to fall asleep.
Unsurprisingly, Patrick began to drool.
And yes, he fell asleep first.
It looked as if their journey had gone to a screeching halt.
Gary began to dream about William Shakesphere.
"Alas poor Yorick...I knew him well...for about fifteen minutes." mumbled Gary.
And yes, he tended to read a lot of literature.
Thankfully, Spongebob had a huge library so he never had to worry about running out of books.
Though he wondered where he had gotten so much money to buy them, considering how cheaply Mr. Krabs paid him until recently.
Patrick dreamt about eating Krabby Patties.
Lots and lots of them.
He was at the Krusty Krab. Where else would you find those patties?
It was a good thing that Spongebob was capable of flipping patties so fast. Otherwise he would be never be able to keep up with his best friend.
"I should probably eat them one at a time...I don't want to choke." noted the starfish.
Then they would have to call an ambulance...and Mr. Krabs sure wasn't paying the medical bill.
Spongebob had advised him to do so.
Thankfully, he had been smart for once and had listened to Spongebob's advice.
Fortunately, he had received a discount coupon.
Mr. Krabs was unhappy that he had one, but he begrudgingly allowed Patrick to eat Krabby Patties half-off.
"I'm starting to wonder if this coupon thing was such a good idea..." noted Mr. Krabs. Considering that Patrick had one, it could potentially cost him a lot of money.
And everyone knew how much he loved money.
"Well, it seems to attract customers." noted Spongebob. More customers had shown up at the Krusty Krab ever since he started making coupons.
"True..." answered the crab.
He could never have enough of those.
Spongebob dreamed about playing at a rock 'n roll concert.
"I'm a Goofy Goober!" exclaimed the sponge.
"Gee, I couldn't tell." answered Squidward in his dream.
He wasn't trying to save Bikini Bottom this time, but he still put his best effort into the song.
Judging from all the fans he was getting, he was performing a good show.
Well, he aimed to please his audience.
Sandy dreamed about Texas.
"It's good to be back home." noted the squirrel.
Though it would be nice to head back to Bikini Bottom sooner or later.
Chances are Spongebob and Patrick would miss her.
Besides, Squidward liked it whenever Spongebob and Patrick went to visit her.
It meant that they weren't home, and that he could have some peace and quiet.
Considering that Spongebob's dream had come true (becoming the manager of the Krusty Krab 2), perhaps one of her dreams would come true as well.
That was a happy thought.
Pearl dreamed about winning a beauty pageant.
She was wearing a red dress and red lipstick.
Her friends happily applauded her.
"Way to go, Pearl!" exclaimed one of her friends.
Maybe someday SHE would win a beauty pageant.
"This is the best day of my life!" exclaimed the whale, raising her fins in the air.
It was certainly going to be a day that she remembered fondly, at least.
She was probably dreaming, but she figured that she would savor the moment. Perhaps it would motivate her to do better at beauty contests in the future.
Although, beauty was kind of in the eye of the beholder...wasn't it?
Besides, she could hear her father clapping in her dream.
It was always nice to hear.
Wendy dreamed about being in a worm show.
There was a big audience. Perhaps this show happened to be popular.
She had won first prize.
Thankfully, she didn't have to wear any demeaning outfits.
Squidward was very proud of her.
Now he would have a trophy to hang on his shelf.
Speaking of Squidward, he was dreaming about relaxing at a beach.
"This is one great vacation..." remarked the octopus. Though he was surprised that Mr. Krabs allowed him to take a day off.
He was wearing sunglasses and was sitting on a beach chair.
It was a warm, sunny day. Because it would be weird if somebody decided to visit the beach at night.
Naturally, he was away from Spongebob and Patrick.
However, the octopus was actually starting to tolerate the two to some extent.
It was a really weird experience.
Madame Hagfish smirked.
It looked as if her spell had worked.
Now if she could invade their dreams, chances are the heroes would lose their will to fight.
Fortunately, she still had minions at her command.
It was time for her to invade their dreams.
Soon they wouldn't have the hope to continue their journey.
She delighted at the prospect.
Alternatively, she could simply have her minions steal their equipment while they were sleeping. Spongebob and Squidward wouldn't be so tough without their bubble blower and their clarinet.
However, there was a possibility that they would wake up if they tried that.
And chances are they would try to avoid the green mist the next time.
So, she figured that it would be best if she invaded their dreams instead. It would be a good chance to learn about her enemies. And knowing was half the battle.
Of course, the other half was wiping the floor with them.
She decided that she would start off with Spongebob.
He seemed to be the type of person that would scare easily.
So she had her forces enter her dreams.
"This is going to be fun to watch..." thought Madame Hagfish.
I know that people don't seem to like Pal for Gary...but personally I like the concept of the nudibranches. Who would think that something so cuddly could become a monster?
Well, Jimmy Neutron probably already taught us that.
Uh-oh! It looks like Madame Hagfish has cast a sleep spell! Now she's going to invade our heroes' dreams!
How are they going to get out of this one?
Hopefully our heroes will wake up.
But in order to do that, they need to defeat the plankton lurking inside their dreams.
In the next chapter, our heroes are going to try to wake up. They can't defeat Plankton while they're sleeping.