Chapter Forty-nine: Black on Power
Despite the human's idiocy of destroying most of his Chum Bucket, Karen filled Plankton's mind.
When they'd arrived in the Chum Bucket, Plankton had called Karen's name, but she hadn't responded, her screen blank like someone had turned her off. Usually, she would greet him with some snide comment, like, "Oh, Plankton, is that you? I didn't see you under today's failure." According to her, Plankton always returned having failed at something, whether he had tried for the one-millionth, seven-hundred thousandth, two hundred and thirty-second time to steal the krabby patty secret formula (Plankton kept a tally board above his bed as motivation) or had failed to walk through Bikini Bottom without being stepped on with a crunch.
She loved him in her own way. Maybe. Perhaps she put up with him because she was stationary and had no choice. Perhaps Plankton tolerated her because she was all he had, although he could reprogram her to be nicer. But he loved Karen, snark and all.
Which was why Plankton had run straight to his W.I.F.E. instead of setting the D3000 to "Obey." Before he could power her on, she flickered on. They'd had a brief conversation, Plankton warming at her belief in him; made one person out of however many lived in Bikini Bottom.
Her screen had blanked again. A red line etched onto her screen, not the usual green. Someone else had powered her on. His heart began to sink.
She had said, "Who the heck are you?"
The sounds of the robots, the roaring sea approaching his restaurant, the clunking D3000 drowned out. Plankton's vision tunneled so he could see only Karen. "Why?" he said, nearly breathless. She'd forgotten the first face she'd seen every day for the past twenty years.
Who'd hacked her? How? Before he could take Karen apart to restore her to the one he loved, the sea slammed into his restaurant, and Plankton's world collapsed into shambles.
When Plankton had been flying with Makoto, Patrick, and SpongeBob, stashed inside of Patrick's pocket, he'd watched the sea engulf his Chum Bucket, demolishing it from the inside. All his effort to build an empire over decades, destroyed in an instant by an airheaded, arrogant woman who couldn't control her powers.
Plankton had been arrogant, too. He had no right to complain about others after what he'd done.
He wanted to bury himself in a hole but felt compelled to watch his life, the Chum Bucket and Karen, ruined.
His vision blurred. When had he last cried?
Makoto stood on the ground. Sometime, they'd landed.
She took Plankton by the hand, tugged him out of Patrick's pocket, and embraced him.
The tears poured. Why was she being nice to a headache like him, someone who had hurt others because of his obsession with success?
Plankton managed to peer up at Makoto. She smiled at him.
His pride implored him to push away from her. His neediness begged him to hug her more tightly. Everything else that he'd held to—his restaurant, his chum, his plans, his laboratory, Karen—was gone.
Another force from behind. Yellow. SpongeBob.
Yet another, almost crushing. Pink. Patrick.
They were here for him. Regardless of his attempts to control them. Regardless of his countless mistakes. They still showed him…what was this? Whatever it was, it was warm, safe, unconditional, patient, kind, didn't hold the grudge of what he'd done. Saw him as someone with emotions and needs, not trying to get anything out of him.
Plankton liked this thing. Maybe he should treat Karen like this, and then, without reprogramming, she'd start treating him like this, too.
Treating people kindly. A radical idea.
No, what these cretins were giving him was more than kindness.
Plankton could control others through this greater-than-kindness thing. Brilliant. Once he started scratching their backs, they'd scratch his.
Treating them kindly to get something in return didn't seem right anymore. Not after receiving what these humans and sea creatures were showing him. Something more than mere hugs and kindness.
The sea stopped roaring. The heap of the Chum Bucket was still.
A silhouette, shrouded by smoke billowing from the Chum Bucket's broken doorway and windows, moved forward, lightened into a stone-faced Michiru.
Plankton jumped out of Makoto's arms, the warmth forgotten. He charged toward Michiru. "You flooded my Chum Bucket."
Michiru's eyes followed Plankton, and her eyebrows arched ever so slightly.
"I demand an explanation for this. Or do you not have one? Or is your explanation that you wanted to destroy something of mine to punish me?"
Michiru shook her head. "I'm sorry, Plankton. I thought I could control my powers. But I couldn't, and I destroyed too much."
"Too much?" Balling his hands, he ground out, "What happened to Karen?"
She rubbed her arm, like it was in more pain than Plankton was, than what Plankton was about to endure. "I…I destroyed her, too."
The world unplugged, like someone had unplugged a television, and grew fuzzy. No thoughts ran through Plankton's mind, but a heaviness threatened to bury him. Perhaps being buried and never coming up would be best.
Some might believe that Plankton should be relieved that his wife had been destroyed so she couldn't tease him anymore. Others might say that he could build another Karen. But Karen was irreplaceable. Had taken Plankton years to build her. In addition to building the hardware and software from scratch, he had to create and install a unique personality. He'd coded software, parsing together different personalities that he'd seen and liked, some he didn't like, made sure that she could keep up with his genius. And Karen was born.
He had a backup, though, in his pocket at all times. His heart lifted. How could he have forgotten?
He started toward the Chum Bucket, but Michiru grabbed him. Curse his size.
"I can't let you go in there."
Plankton glowered. "Let me see what little of mine is left."
Michiru's expression softened. Pity. "It might not be safe inside. Because I destroyed everything but the Duplicatotron. Someone took it away. I'm not sure where."
Heat coursed through Plankton. "You mean to tell me that you destroyed everything I cared about but the thing causing the robot mess?"
She nodded. So ashamed that she couldn't speak. As well she should be.
Plankton tightened his fists to keep himself from gouging the simpleton's eyes out.
"I'll have to let everyone else know, too. About King Neptune coming."
"Is that all you care about? Yourself? Your pride?" Plankton's vision blurred more, Michiru fragmenting. "You destroyed everythingI own. Now someone else owns the Duplicatotron. Everyone takes from me because I'm small and they know they can get away with it." He grinded his teeth. "And now you come along. Because everyone else wasn't enough." How Plankton wished that he could flush her brain down the toilet, for all the good it did. "But you're a goddess now, right? You should be able to restore everything I own." He crossed his arms. "Go ahead." He flicked his hand. "I'm waiting, Goddess."
Michiru's jaw tightened. She faced the smoking Chum Bucket, flexed and then extended her free hand toward the restaurant.
"What's wrong?" Plankton said. "King Neptune can do anything. He made you the goddess. You should be able to do everything, too."
"He didn't give me any powers. He withdrew his own from Bikini Bottom so my powers are no longer restricted. That's why I lost control."
"Somebody else's fault?" Whenever things were going well, it was all thanks to oneself; but when things were going wrong, then it was somebody else's fault.
"I'm not trying to pin the blame on somebody else. I should've practiced more before I used my powers. Then none of this"—she gestured toward the Chum Bucket— "would've happened." She spread her fingers. "I can't try again. Who knows what'll happen?"
"Michiru-san, you can't give up." Plankton warmed at Makoto's voice. "Things turned out badly before, but you can't not use your powers the rest of the time we're down here. We can't fight without you."
"You did it without me before the Outer Guardians arrived. The rest of you are more capable than you think."
True. The first set of Guardians had made Plankton cower, with their not-so-empty threats, their powers that rocked the world, controlling and summoning the elements.
Michiru lowered her hand. "I can't. Not now. If I decide to use my powers again, I'll have to practice someplace where nothing else can be destroyed. But first, we should go back to the treedome and tell everyone what happened." She placed a hand on her heart. "I'll tell them everything. The rest of you have nothing to do with what I did."
Makoto opened her mouth.
"No words. Let's just go back."
The group walked back to the treedome in silence. Inside, Chibi-Usa lay on the ground, snoring softly, her head cradled in Setsuna's lap, the older Guardian massaging Chibi-Usa's shoulders. Beside Chibi-Usa lay Hotaru, arm tucked under her head, eyes closed, rising and falling steadily. Chibi-Usa's mother and father watched their daughter sleep from afar, not daring to near her or anyone else. Even though they were afflicted by their illness, they didn't take advantage of their free time to rest, unlike Minako, who sat upright, arms crossed, but whose chin was pressed to her chest, asleep. Looks like she had tried to remain awake.
Haruka, back against the tree, sitting beside Sandy, vaulted onto her feet. Started toward Michiru, but Michiru raised a hand.
Sandy stood. "We heard this big explosion earlier. We were gonna see what it was, but we figured y'all were fightin', like you usually do. Thought that you might have taken care of that duplicatin' contraption. But by the looks on your faces, it don't look like you did."
Minako opened an eye. "Looks like somebody died." She stretched. "What happened?"
"I died," Plankton mumbled.
Chibi-Usa stirred, sat upright, leaning on Setsuna and then carrying her own weight. Hotaru pushed herself onto her knees. Usagi and Mamoru stiffened in unison.
The other humans' eyes raked over Plankton, SpongeBob, Patrick, Michiru, and Makoto. Michiru kept her expression neutral, but her tense body told a different story. Haruka cocked her head at Michiru. She noticed.
Michiru explained. Said that Makoto, SpongeBob, and Patrick had tried to stop Michiru, but their power paled in comparison to hers.
"Why's that?" Sandy said.
Michiru tightened her grip on Plankton. Any more squeezing, and Plankton would suffocate. "Because King Neptune relinquished his godhood to make me the goddess of Bikini Bottom."
The silence slammed into the treedome, so great that the robots wheeling about outside, the people screaming, seemed deafening. No one breathed. Even their outspoken leader, Minako, kept silent. What, she'd never been taught how to deal with humans becoming goddesses in leadership school?
What little color Usagi had had left, drained. Everyone stared at Michiru, like she was an alien.
After what she'd done, which she'd explained in excruciating detail, of course they believed that they didn't know who she was.
Plankton was clueless about the dynamics between the Guardians, but it seemed as though they'd been close when he'd first met them, working like a well-oiled machine. Their unity was crumbling.
Michiru spoke again, perhaps to end the crushing silence. "We can move past this. But I can't use my powers until I figure out how to control them." She flexed her free hand. "King Neptune was restraining me through his own, greater powers. Now that he's stepped back, the full extent of my powers is being shown. An extent that I wasn't anticipating." She straightened. "It's hard to believe, but King Neptune was protecting Bikini Bottom. I could feel his protection lift when he made me the one solely responsible for Bikini Bottom. He didn't seem like he was working at all, but he was protecting Bikini Bottom from afar, from predators and fishermen from the surface. The king did let some fishermen penetrate occasionally, but not as much as they could. He diverted those fishermen elsewhere. For some reason, he never let you all know what he was protecting you from. Maybe because he didn't want you to see. Maybe he's not as selfish as we thought, or he would've kept on saying that he was protecting Bikini Bottom so the fish would worship him. Maybe he wanted the fish to keep living carefree lives." She looked at the ground. No longer looked others in the eyes when she had all the power she could want.
At her most powerful, she felt powerless.
"I haven't been goddess for a long time, but it'll be the most difficult job I've ever had. Somehow, I have to protect this entire sea."
By the way Michiru had nearly gone off the deep end, reigning over a small world wasn't the dream Plankton expected.
What did Michiru's trouble mean for Plankton's inevitable leadership?
Plankton had broken down over losing the Chum Bucket, not bounced back, like rulers.
He shouldn't compare himself to a mere human. He was Sheldon J. Plankton. He alone could remake the world into a place worth living in, a fair place for all.
He only needed a chance.
Plankton wouldn't rule as stupidly as King Neptune or Sailor Neptune. He'd take away Bikini Bottom's defenses, forcing the fish to fend for themselves. They'd become stronger, especially fighting the hooks.
He'd give the smaller creatures more rights than the larger ones, tailor the world to them. Would draw those smaller creatures to Bikini Bottom, boosting the economy. Those larger fools wouldn't have anyplace to escape to.
One could dream.
"I don't want to slow us down." Michiru gazed at her hands like they belonged to someone else. "Even though I did what I did, and King Neptune made me all-powerful, we need to move faster than ever before. We have to finish what we started, destroy the robots, end the Dead Moon Circus' plans, and destroy the Duplicatotron once and for all."
"She's right," Haruka said. "We have to keep moving."
"Yes, of course." Minako brushed herself off. "Thanks for relieving us for a little while. I can't say that we got plenty of rest, but the little bit of rest we did get is better than nothing."
"Michiru, are you sure you're doing okay?" Usagi said. "I mean, I don't know what to say. Technically, you're the most powerful Guardian here." She scratched the side of her head. "Sorry, I'm not making things better."
Michiru regarded Usagi, her eyes piercingly teal. Her smile made her look creepier. "It's okay, Usagi. I'll get used to it. I don't want to make you all uncomfortable but, based on the way you all are looking at me, we're past that."
Many people shifted from foot to foot, trying to look Michiru in the eyes without looking at her like a species that had never been seen.
"Aw, come on," Haruka said. "You guys can try better than that."
Patrick sidled up to Michiru. "I still like you, Michiru. You can be my nightlight, like you were in Rock Bottom."
Rei scrunched her mouth. "I thought we disposed of your painful fear of the dark."
SpongeBob hurried to Michiru, bowed, pressing his face to the ground.
Plankton jolted. "Hey. That's the posture you should be reserving for me."
"I bow down to you, great goddess." SpongeBob raised his arms, lifting his face, his eyes to the sky, and then bowed once more. "Only you are worthy to be worshipped. Tell me, what would you like this humble servant to do for you today?"
"Get up," Michiru said.
SpongeBob sprung onto his feet. "With gladness. What else?"
"SpongeBob, don't treat me any differently. I am not like King Neptune. I don't want your or anyone else's subservience or worship."
"Yes, I'll obey you at all times, your godliness."
Michiru sighed.
Minako nearly sprung at the door. "We should get going."
"You're too happy about destroying a machine, going out and fighting for the five hundredth time within forty-eight hours on two hours of sleep," Haruka said. "Anything to stop how awkward this day has been?"
"That's not—"
"Don't give me that crap. You want something to rally around and take our minds off of Michiru."
"Not true. Don't start anything. Not now." She glanced at Michiru. Her glance, her unwillingness to look Michiru in the eyes, said all they needed to know.
"I like taking things head-on." Haruka clenched and unclenched her hands. "So we're gonna solve this. Now."
"The Duplicatotron takes priority."
"The machine will still be out there when we go. We can't work well together with this awkwardness surrounding us."
"I agree with Minako." Setsuna gripped her rod planted in the grass, taller than her, giving her a queenly aura. "The Duplicatotron is producing robots as we speak. We should go destroy it now and sort out Michiru's situation later."
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the treedome.
Haruka raised her hands. "Fine. Doesn't make sense to me, but I know when I'm beat."
The group rushed out of the treedome, to Plankton's pile of a Chum Bucket. Remains of steaming, freshly made chum; the menu; chum-pumping machines; and Karen were heaped atop one another. His life, literally on the ground.
Everything was there but the Duplicatotron. Like they hadn't believed Michiru's giant wave could miss a giant machine until they laid eyes upon it.
Everyone stared. For the second time that day, they'd been rendered speechless.
Minako grit her teeth. "We were so close, and now, it's gone? Who moved it so fast?"
"It looks like they moved their base so they wouldn't be discovered," Ami said. "They have to have left some clues."
"True." Setsuna stepped toward the rubble. "We might have to look through all these pieces to find clues. Or we can see if they left any trails behind. Moving a machine that large couldn't be easy. Other fish had to have seen or heard a giant machine moving, too, and they might be able to point us in the right direction."
For the umpteenth time, silence descended, louder than any words that had been spoken that day.
Looking to Michiru without looking at her. Hoping that, as a goddess, she'd gained telepathic powers and could read minds, answer unspoken questions.
"Okay, people," Haruka said, "we can't keep walking on eggshells here, just because we're in the almighty presence of—gasp!—a goddess. Michiru is still Michiru, and we can talk to her like she's still Michiru. We understand?"
Everyone remained silent. If anything, Haruka's attempt at a pep talk had made the situation more awkward.
Michiru rubbed Haruka's shoulder. "Thanks for trying. Anyhow, I know you all are thinking that, as a goddess, I can see everyone and everything, that I have all the answers. And I do have a greater clarity than I had before. Not really the answers, but more choices. I can see what certain decisions will lead to and the scenarios that can take place. And yes, Plankton, that means that I was able to see a scenario in which I destroyed your Chum Bucket. Which came true, sadly. It also means that I was able to see a scenario in which only the Duplicatotron was destroyed, we defeated the robots and the Dead Moon Circus, and then we returned to the surface, leaving Bikini Bottom safe once again. The ideal scenario I was hoping to cause. But I couldn't. I thought I could control my powers because I'm able to control so many other things." She glared at her hands. "But I wasn't. I can't apologize enough for letting you all down." She closed her eyes. "Some mistakes shouldn't be excused. Especially mine."
Darn straight. Plankton bit his tongue to keep from saying his thoughts. Haruka would crush him into dust if he did.
"Anyhow, when I see difference scenarios, it's like I'm looking through glass, transported to another dimension, almost, while still being able to control myself in the present. So you can't tell when I'm seeing these scenarios. They run through my brain quickly, like flash cards, but I'm able to see, absorb, and understand every detail.
"You'd think I could see everything that's happening, at least in the undersea world, all at once. If I focus on certain things, I can. For example, if I focus on Plankton when he's far away, I can see where he is, something that I usually wouldn't be able to do without my mirror. I can focus on the robots, but they aren't living beings, so I can't track them down. Which means, I can't track down where the Duplicatotron is, unless a fish saw it and knows where it is. And I don't know who all the fish in Bikini Bottom are so, even if they know where the machine is, I can't get that information from them because I can't read other people's minds. If a fish was physically beside the Duplicatotron, I wouldn't be able to find the machine because I wouldn't know who the fish was to focus in on him. I'm aware of all the fish's presences, but not their specific locations.
"That's the basics of my powers. Any questions?"
"Many," Chibi-Usa said at once as Usagi said, "Just the basics?"
Makoto rubbed her head. "That was more complex than math."
"More complex than a jackrabbit with six fingers," Sandy said.
Rei narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't sound complex at all."
"You'd be surprised," Ami said.
"I didn't understand a word you were saying," Patrick said. "Are you sure you were speaking a language?"
"He has a point this time," Rei said. "I could barely understand you myself. But I think I followed the gist of it."
Usagi shrugged. "I feel like your explaining what it's like to be a god has driven us further apart. We'll never experience what being a god is like. I'm the Moon Princess, but I'm not a god. There's a big difference between the two."
Michiru's eyes grew wistful. "That's okay. To be honest, I don't need you to understand. I don't feel lonely. I only need your support, and you're supporting me well. That's all I can ask for."
Nods from the Sailor Team.
The group ran about Bikini Bottom, asking fish if they'd seen a mountainous machine moving, but none had.
"It's like it disappeared," Hotaru said.
Setsuna rubbed her chin. "Maybe it did."
Plankton growled. "Maybe that scoundrel who turned Karen on and wiped her memory did it."
"We might be able to get some clues from the robots about who that is," Minako said. "I have a feeling that he's someone who isn't associated with Dead Moon." She turned to the sponge. "SpongeBob, where else do you think the robots would tear things up?"
"Three places again."
"Always three," Chibi-Usa muttered.
"There's the dream world, Kelp Forest, and the Flying Dutchman's Graveyard."
Ami cocked her head. "Dream world? Like the ones the Dead Moon Circus has been manipulating?"
"I don't know. I mean, there's a sacred rock circle that let's you fall asleep right away and live out your wildest dreams. You can lucid dream in it, and others can join you if you let them, so you can play together in a dreamland. But the robots might have found a way to get inside those dreams."
"I don't really understand," Usagi said. "I guess we have to try it ourselves first."
SpongeBob waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, it's as simple as the teleporting boxes."
"Meaning, not simple at all," Ami said.
"Plus, the rocks protect us from elements, like rain and snow. It might protect us from the robots, too."
Haruka placed a hand on the back of her head. "Worth a try. We just have to be one-hundred percent sure that we can't be attacked while we're sleeping."
Sandy stiffened. "I don't think I want to sleep for a while, at least not in the dream circle."
Makoto's eyes softened. Sailor Jupiter was so insightful, so compassionate. Hugging things like him.
SpongeBob smiled broadly. "I have a special ability. I'm able to visit others in their own dreams. Maybe that'll rub off on you guys, and we'll be able to venture inside the dream world together."
"Again, not quite sure how or why that works," Ami said, "and why you, SpongeBob, are the only one who has that ability, but I'll try and figure it out as we go along."
"Does that mean you want to go to the dream world with me?"
"We do work pretty well together. But maybe we should try to balance the teams this time. For example, I go with Rei-chan, whose attacks aren't as powerful down here."
"I want to go to the dream world." Plankton wanted to see if he could dream his vision of being ruler. He'd do better than Michiru.
Maybe.
Of course he would. If his genes were superior to all of fishkind's, then his genes must be superior to humans', too.
"You have no powers," Rei said, lips in a thin line.
"My brain is my power. Besides, the dream world might bless me with more."
She gestured toward Ami and Setsuna. "We already have at least two people who are as smart or smarter than you are and don't have the ego to drag them down and make them stupid, like yours does."
Her bluntness did not make her words true. "Maybe I can run a few scenarios of how to defeat the robots. C'mon, you know you can't leave me by myself. Why, poor little me would perish alone."
"He's right, you know," Minako said.
SpongeBob shuffled to Plankton. "That's okay if he comes with us. Plankton and I have had our ups and downs, but we get along."
SpongeBob wasn't as loyal of a minion as Patrick, but the starfish was an idiot. SpongeBob wasn't as much of an idiot, so he could be relied on a bit more.
"I'll go, too," Michiru said. "I'm hoping that my powers will be contained in our dreams."
"So will I," Makoto said immediately. Wherever her enthusiasm had come from, at least Plankton would have the closest he had to a friend, besides SpongeBob, with him.
"I will, too," Mamoru said. "Our sicknesses shouldn't spread to anyone in this dream world, so we can work together there without fear of contaminating anyone." He turned to Usagi. "And I'd like you to come with me. Not just because of our curse, but because I want you to see my dreams, and I want to see and be part of yours."
Usagi's mouth parted. "Mamo-chan…" Looked like she was going to kiss him right then and there. Plankton almost gagged. They spoke to each other like they were in a soap opera.
"The forest sounds like an interesting place to study," Ami said. "I'll go there."
"I'll go to the graveyard," Setsuna said. "It sounds supernatural, and I'd like to study it."
Patrick raised a hand. "I know the Flying Dutchman. He likes me. I'll go to his graveyard."
"Are you sure he likes you, Patrick?" Rei said. "Because none of us want to be killed because of someone not liking you."
"Surer than sure." He chattered on his nails. "And Kelp Forest is d-d-dark. I don't wanna go there."
"You overcame your fear of the dark."
He stepped forward. "That's right. I wanna see if I can handle the dark again. And I don't want any nightlights. So Rei, if there are dark parts in the graveyard, stay away from me."
Rei smiled. "Okay. If you're sure." Gone was her patronizing tone. "I'm afraid I'll burn down a forest. I'll go to the graveyard too, with you, Patrick. Maybe my psychic abilities will become more powerful there."
Hotaru's eyes twinkled. "A graveyard sounds delightfully morbid. I'll go too."
Chibi-Usa stepped back. "You look scary, Hotaru-chan."
She giggled. "Thank you."
"I'll head to the graveyard, too." Haruka pounded her fist into the palm of her hand. "It sounds fun and exciting. A forest sounds boring and cliché." Ami opened her mouth, but Haruka raised a hand. "I know, I know. Nothing's boring or cliché down here.
"Then I'll be headin' to good ol' Kelp Forest," Sandy said. "I ain't been there in so long. Lots o' jungle to run around in."
"Sounds pretty fun," Minako said. "I'll go with you and Ami."
"That leaves me with Kelp Forest, too," Chibi-Usa said, "to keep things even."
SpongeBob clasped his hands. "Lovely. We have our teams and assignments." He blew a bubble that looked like a soldier's hat and then topped his head with it. "Soldiers, let's move out."
Plankton might not be much of a soldier, but his intelligence would make him an asset. In his dreams, he'd show that he lead more greatly than Michiru ever could.
Finally, Plankton had gained an opportunity to prove himself. He would not squander it.