Chapter Seventy-two: Search and Rescue
Chibi-Usa warmed at Helios, her knight inches away. The air around him shimmered, as effervescent as he.
"You kept your promise," Chibi-Usa said obviously. Love made her foolish.
She couldn't love him. She barely knew him.
"Of course I did, my maiden," Helios said. "I promised that I'd find a way here, to save you and your friends." He bowed his head toward Tuxedo Mask. "My prince."
Tuxedo Mask gaped at Helios.
"I finally gathered enough energy to come for you." He bared her Kaleidoscope. "Here."
Chibi-Moon reached slowly, trying to focus on only taking her weapon from his mouth. Her fingers burned with the desire to touch Helios instead.
Why not do both?
She took her weapon and then brushed her fingers upon his cheeks. Her own cheeks burned.
She stepped closer to Helios. Breathed, "Thank you." She leaned her head toward his. Closed her eyes.
What was she doing?
She jerked back, gasping. "I-I'm sorry." Her cheeks burned more fiercely. "I didn't mean…"
Helios' deep eyes pierced her own. "Maiden, I didn't resist."
He sure hadn't.
Jumbled thoughts ran through Chibi-Usa's head. Not trusting herself to speak, she turned back to Nehellenia. The queen lashed Robo-Hotaru's remnants, her anger keeping her from unleashing her powers on the Guardians.
No matter what happened, Chibi-Usa had her own army to protect her. She had always been loved, but now she felt and knew it to her core.
Mamoru couldn't stop gawking at Helios.
In his dreams, he'd glimpsed Helios and Elysion, but it seemed like he hadn't seen Helios in years.
He walked toward Helios. The Pegasus faced him.
"Prince."
Mamoru didn't know what to say, so he simply said, "Helios."
Helios blinked slowly. Still regarding Mamoru. Hard to tell when Helios was amused, frightened, angry in that horse form. Normally, Mamoru would object to Chibi-Usa being infatuated with a horse, but a man was hidden under the Pegasus. A man who was connected to Mamoru in ways he didn't understand.
"I'm glad we get to talk." Helios spoke, but his mouth didn't move, as though he was speaking telepathically. "Not the most peaceful situation to talk in."
An understatement. SpongeBot SteelPants and Robo-Plankton, having recovered from the terror of Sailor Saturn's and Robo-Hotaru's simultaneous Death Reborn Revolutions, had resumed their assaults, leaving the other half of the Guardians—Sailors Uranus, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Mercury—alongside Sandy, Patrick, SpongeBob, and Plankton (however much help he would be) to fight the two robots. Good thing that VesVes and JunJun were on their side. The robots that had been hurled through Robo-Hotaru had scattered, hopefully never to return. Neither Nehellenia nor Robo-Plankton had called the robots back, so occupied by the Guardians were they.
"No." Nehellenia's voice was low but imposing. "I will not allow this." Her eyes knifed at Chibi-Usa. "I will not allow you to take what's rightfully mine." Black energy swirled within her hands.
She may have ended Usagi's dreams of becoming the queen, but she would not end Chibi-Usa's.
Usagi ran in front of her daughter. She opened her mouth to summon her attack, but she wheezed and then coughed out blood. Her cough intensified, and she dropped to her knees, eyes watering.
"Not now. Chibi…" The hacks wracked her.
Mamoru rushed to her side and then found himself coughing, too. Nehellenia grinned. Had her attack triggered their curse?
"Mama." Chibi-Usa ran near her mother. Usagi raised a hand in Chibi-Usa's face.
"No, Mama." Chibi-Usa stepped in front of her mother. "I won't let fear keep us apart. This time, I'll protect you."
Nehellenia's face twisted. The energy swirled more quickly, like the queen was sucking away her own world.
"Don't worry, maiden. I will save your parents."
White light bathed Usagi and Mamoru, the whiteness becoming their world, Chibi-Usa's and Nehellenia's yells fading. The world darkened into a gray, desolate planet, the sky filled with stars.
Ruins adorned the planet. A chunk of a crumbling building dropped silently to the ground and burst into dust.
Mamoru climbed onto his feet beside Usagi. Before them stood Helios. Not as a Pegasus, but as a human.
The horn marking his damnation to a Pegasus protruded from his lush, white hair. His hair was parted just so, revealing a ruby embedded in his forehead, accentuating his scarlet eyes. His white robes flowed around him and denoted his priesthood. Mamoru's guardian priest of Elysion.
Helios stood inches shorter than Mamoru, his voice on the cusp of deepening; he was around Chibi-Usa's age. Despite being 901 years old, Chibi-Usa was closer in maturity to a twelve-year-old—how old Helios seemed. Mamoru nearly sunk with relief. How creepy the situation would've been if Helios turned out to be a middle-aged man preying on a little girl.
"Welcome to Elysion," Helios said.
The planet seemed eons from welcoming, but now wasn't the time to be snarky.
"It doesn't look like it, but Elysion holds remains of its purification powers. With its powers, I've healed most of your wounds and lifted your fatigue from fighting in the underwater world."
Mamoru tested his arms. "I do feel more energetic."
"What about the curse?" Usagi said.
Helios' eyebrows arched. "Unfortunately, I haven't been able to purge you of your curse."
Usagi's face fell. She shifted from side to side.
"Yet. I've been praying and fasting for days." He looked to the sky. "I'm hoping that the gods answer my prayers. If the gods don't answer right away, they have a reason not to. It may seem like the curse has rent your family and friends apart and kept you from fighting at your best, but it's made you stronger."
Mamoru held Usagi to his side. "He's right, Usa. Our relationship has grown stronger. If we can survive a curse, we can survive anything." Even death. But Mamoru wasn't going to scare Usagi. Destiny may dictate that they were to rule nearly eternally, but anyone could disrupt the plan for their lives. They may be darn near immortal, but they could still be killed.
Helios folded his hands behind his back, surveying the wasteland. "Elysion, your Golden Kingdom, Prince, was once a vibrant world brimming with dreams. It was deeply spiritual, full of prayers from the righteous that upheld the Earth, the Moon Kingdom, and the entire solar system."
Strange, considering that Mamoru wasn't particularly religious or spiritual himself. After all, what kind of gods would let a six-year-old's parents be killed? Elysion's citizens hadn't inherited their faith from Mamoru.
Black roses tumbled about the planet, one rolling in front of Usagi. Gasping, Usagi clung tighter to Mamoru.
Helios crouched, picked up one of the roses between two fingers. "These are signs of the curse. Nehellenia's trademark." He clenched his hands, crushing the rose. He opened his hand, and the rose drifted sideways, intact. "Nothing can destroy these roses except defeating Dead Moon and ridding Elysion of the nightmares." Standing, he wiped his hands. "I must show you something, Prince."
Helios led Usagi and Mamoru through the wasteland, the roses tumbling about like weeds. Silence drenched Elysion, so much so that the three's footsteps were deafening.
They reached a shrine, cracked in its pillars and foundation. For being millennia old, the shrine seemed to be ageless. Perhaps the buildings of Elysion and the Moon Kingdom could never crumble from age. Those who lived within never aged in appearance, although their insides decayed.
Grabbing both handles, Helios pushed open the shrine's oak doors. Mamoru nearly covered his eyes at its brightness. The marble walls and floor, the chandeliers, all were white.
Helios glanced back at them, affording them a small smile. "Bright, isn't it? The shrine is white to represent purity. All will enter dirty but leave as pure as snow."
What did "pure as snow" mean? How could Mamoru rule over Elysion when, to him, spirituality was as foreign as the United States? He couldn't have decided to make Elysion the capital of Earth. Perhaps King Endymion had been spiritual and declared Elysion the capital.
"Even though we tried to keep the shrine as pure as possible, nightmares still plague it." Helios' expression hardened. "Dead Moon was able to reach it."
The three walked inside. The scent of the shrine… Mamoru had smelled it before, the frankincense and myrrh. He must've visited the shrine often in his past life. Perhaps he was more spiritual in his past life than now. His parents' death in the car accident had crumbled any chance of him believing in gods.
High ceilings compounded the majesty of the palace. A chandelier decorated with hundreds of white crystals hung in the middle of the foyer, over the stairs. Helios led Usagi and Mamoru up the stairs, to human-sized crystals erupting from the floor, at the top.
Usagi hesitated. "Are there people inside those crystals?"
Girls younger than Hotaru were suspended inside the crystals, swaddled in white robes, eyes closed.
"That's right."
Usagi covered her mouth.
Mamoru squeezed her hand. "Did Dead Moon trap them inside? Are they…?"
"They're alive. Only sleeping. We placed ourselves inside to protect ourselves from Dead Moon. The crystals have been repelling Dead Moon's nightmares from those inside. I remained outside to fight Dead Moon with several of my fellow priests. Some of them have succumbed to the enemy. For some reason, Nehellenia decided to spare me. Perhaps because you and I were connected, Prince."
Mamoru had no memory of Helios. "Jealous of Usa, I can understand, but jealous of you, too?"
A weak attempt at humor, but Helios' lips quirked up for only a moment. "She may think that I have information that can help her win your love." His eyes grew distant but warm. Remembering. "We spent much time together in the past, Prince. Times that I miss. Cut off because of war, peoples envying the Moon Kingdom. I pray for better times in the future, not fraught with war and fighting."
The Moon Kingdom was the most prosperous kingdom in the universe, with the Earth being a close second. Endymion's Earth shared the fruits of the Moon Kingdom, thanks to King Endymion and Queen Serenity's relationship. Some rebelled against the Moon Kingdom because they wanted that fruit, not knowing that the fruit would wither with the wicked in charge. Mamoru and Usagi were the rightful heirs of the Earth and the Moon Kingdom, respectively. Only they could keep prosperous, peaceful times in the thirtieth century.
On a lighter note, thank goodness Mamoru had spent much time with Helios, perhaps his future son-in-law, with how googly-eyed Chibi-Usa was over him. If his past self approved of Helios, then his present self did, too.
"Prince, those in your clan, your people, are charged with protecting your palace and your kingdom. The Golden Kingdom of Earth."
His own kingdom. Before, he'd thought that he was to rule alongside Usagi in the Moon Kingdom. He'd sold himself short. "Are the Golden Kingdom and Golden Crystal connected?"
Helios turned toward a broken crystal window. "Elysion was formerly the land of dreams. It was the place where we protected not only the Golden Kingdom, but also the dreams of Earth's people." He bit his lip. "We failed to protect it from Dead Moon. There are remnants of the dreams that once filled this land." He looked at Mamoru. "Prince, in your past life, your many dreams gave life to not only Elysion, but also Earth. You strengthened others through your optimism and dreams. That's why I told your friends in Kelp Forest that to unlock the powers of the Golden Crystal, you must keep dreaming."
"You were in Kelp Forest?" Usagi said, but Mamoru barely heard her. The key to releasing the Golden Crystal was to keep dreaming. All this time, Dead Moon was seeking him to carve out the Golden Crystal for themselves, so it would lose its power over the world, freeing them to fill the world with nightmares.
"Protect the dreams of those in the Golden Kingdom. Without their dreams, without yours, the Golden Crystal will lose its power. Never lose your dreams, Prince."
"I won't." He took Usagi's hands. He wouldn't keep anything from her anymore. Most importantly, his dreams. "This is such an awkward time to tell you, Usa, but my dream is to spend the rest of my life with you. To marry you. To raise Chibi-Usa together. To protect our kingdoms together, helping our people thrive. I want us to walk in our kingdoms side-by-side, greeting our people. Bringing them together. Showing them that there are no differences between us."
Usagi leaned her head on Mamoru's shoulder. "I'm guessing you don't want to be a doctor anymore."
Mamoru chuckled. "I guess not."
"I'm so glad we share the same dream, Mamo."
Such a sweet moment that Mamoru didn't want to let go of. Helios was in front of them, and they stood in the ruined land of Elysion, where dreams had died, to restore it. A job only Mamoru and Usagi could do, perhaps with the power of the Golden Crystal.
No wonder the place was familiar, down to the ancient wind that blew throughout the shrine.
Helios explained that Prince Endymion lived in his palace on Elysion, the capital of the Golden Kingdom. The fact that the land of dreams was the capital of Earth showed Mamoru how much his past self cared about dreams. Even though his parents had died when he was a boy, even though his life wasn't going according to his plans, he had never given up on his dreams. When he was small, he dreamed of adoptive parents who would take him in, who would be as perfect as his real ones, a dream that never came to fruition. He dreamed of going to college to become a doctor. Had been enrolled in college when Usagi had upended his life, everything he thought he wanted. She'd shown him that he desired something higher.
Even so, he dreamed of stability. Something that awaited him in the thirtieth century.
No matter what came against him, he would never stop dreaming. He'd press toward those dreams, to realize them for all who would benefit, not himself, but for his people, his family, his friends.
"Ironically enough, Prince, we never met. This is the first time we're meeting when I haven't been in Pegasus form. In the past, we were deeply connected, to the point where I understood you inside and out. Through my continuous prayers for you and this land, I grew to know you. Our souls became one."
"That's why you're familiar, too. Like I haven't seen an old friend in years. No, more than that. Like I've found a piece of myself."
"I wish I had more to reveal. With all my revelations, I haven't received much guidance, other than who I should look for as my maiden." He tapped his chin. "Princess Lady Serenity… That's you, Sailor Moon."
Usagi blinked. "Well, technically, she could be Sailor Chibi-Moon too, my daughter. We call her Princess Small Lady Serenity, but the 'small' part is only her nickname." She stuck out her tongue. "We have the exact same name."
Helios' turn to blink.
"Don't be disappointed," Mamoru said. "You've already done a lot for us. Even if you did get the maiden wrong." He cringed. His reassurance wasn't reassuring.
"I've sought two of the best people. Both of you are on my side. Regardless of who is my true maiden, everything will turn out well." He turned toward the stained-glass window. "I can tell her that she will always be special to me."
Chibi-Usa was special, no matter how much others discounted her. Since he couldn't be there every time she was bullied, Mamoru spoiled her with jewelry of pure gold, the finest chocolate. The world would do its best to grind her into paste. Her parents were to be a safe haven, an encouragement to reach her potential instead of letting others steal it.
"Most importantly," Helios said, "Princess, you have the power to break the seal on the Golden Crystal."
Usagi gasped. "Me?"
"As partners with the Golden Kingdom of Earth, only you hold the power to support the prince."
Usagi's knuckles whitened against her Kaleidoscope. "How?"
"You'll know when the time comes."
"What better time than now?"
"Now is not the time."
Usagi harrumphed. "Knowing our lives, I'll figure it out in the middle of our fight out there. Right as everyone's darn near dead."
"Don't be like that, Usa. You never know."
"Plus, we don't know where the Golden Crystal is."
Helios cleared his throat. "I revealed that to your partners. I thought they would've told you."
"Wait, what?" Usagi said.
"We didn't have much time to reminisce," Mamoru said.
"I revealed myself to your friends in Kelp Forest using some of the last of my powers. I was hoping that your daughter would've been there, but I wound up with Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury, and Sandy Cheeks instead. It didn't matter in the end. No one could tell it was me, anyhow." His expression grew somber. "Prince." He lay a hand on Mamoru's chest. "The Golden Crystal is within you."
Mamoru placed a hand over his heart.
Inside of him.
All this time.
A rumble from above. Laughter?
Mamoru stiffened. Usagi aimed her Kaleidoscope at the ceiling. Helios scowled. The first time Mamoru had seen Helios show anger.
"Thank you for that information." Nehellenia. "I'll rip out the Crystal myself and take you as my king, Endymion."
The world began to melt into darkness. Helios rushed to an altar at the head of the room. "I must work quickly." He fell to his knees, bowed his head, clasped his hands. His mouth moved inaudibly.
Elysion's remaining light washed Mamoru and Usagi.
"It'll keep the curse from affecting you for only a little while. Sailor Moon, please, you must break the seal on the Golden Crystal." He grew transparent.
Usagi reached toward the fading Helios, the former Pegasus melding into the darkness. "No. Helios!"
Instead of saving Elysion, he had saved Usagi and Mamoru.
The world bled into black.
Plankton seethed at the robot version of himself. Never had he hated what he saw when he looked at himself in the mirror. Looking at Robo-Plankton wasn't quite like gazing at his reflection, but it was darn near close.
Curse Plankton's genius. He couldn't help but make the robot version of himself attractively smart and cunning. No wonder Karen had been swept off her feet. Like the real Plankton, Robo-Plankton was charming with a dash of cuteness. Didn't help that Robo-Plankton was larger than the real Plankton so people wouldn't have a choice but to notice him. The lasers on the robot's bucket helped.
Plankton sat on Michiru's shoulder. Michiru had promised that she would take care of everything, but Plankton wanted to get a good swat in. Besides, Plankton had once thought himself as a god in everything but name but couldn't control one cretin in Bikini Bottom. Surely, Sailor Neptune needed help, too. Who better to get help from but the one and only Sheldon J. Plankton?
Robo-Plankton hovered near SpongeBot SteelPants. The robot version of SpongeBob dwarfed everyone, even Nehellenia. It could attack with "KAH-RAH-TAE," not the karate that SpongeBob and Sandy used like idiots, but the words themselves. Had nearly taken off Chibi-Usa's head with "RAH."
Anyone who could literally hurt with words was a dangerous opponent indeed.
Plankton wobbled on Michiru's shoulder as he tried to regain his balance. Had to look like he had some authority.
"Stay safe, Plankton. Hold on tight to me." Michiru flew toward Robo-Plankton while SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, Ami, and Rei ran toward SteelPants. Haruka and Minako joined Michiru.
Plankton looked into Michiru's sharpened eyes. Was she angry at Robo-Plankton, too?
Michiru had shown him many things. She had seen him. Had looked beyond his tough act. Plankton told himself that his flaunting denoted confidence. He clothed arrogance to make others think that he had everything together.
She was the second person to see him. Karen had been the first. Both loved him anyhow.
Plankton's eyes widened. There was the word he'd been looking for, the word he couldn't say to Karen. Gosh darn it, he would say it when he saw her.
"Don't hurt him. I'll be right back." Plankton jumped off Michiru's shoulder and then latched onto Robo-Plankton's head, between the robot's antennae. Haruka cursed so foully that Plankton winced.
Facing the Guardians, Plankton raised a hand. "I want to have a little chat with him. If you could hold on just a second, that'd be great."
Michiru ground her teeth, but she stopped. Haruka and Minako did in turn.
They respected and trusted him.
Before Plankton could warm too much, becoming distracted from his abhorrence for the robot, he gripped the robot's antennae.
"What do you want?" Robo-Plankton said, monotone.
"You know what I want. Who we came to save." He pinched the antennae even though the robot couldn't feel pain. "Where is she?"
"I don't know who you're talking about."
"Why don't I refresh your memory?" Plankton withdrew his screwdriver from his pocket, jammed it into the screw in Robo-Plankton's head.
"Hey." Robo-Plankton swung this way and that, trying to fell Plankton. Plankton gripped the screwdriver more tightly, spun it as quickly as possible.
A shadow loomed behind the two.
Plankton peered up. SteelPants towered over them, its grin betraying its anger at Plankton attacking its creator.
"Uh, hi," Plankton said.
A wave drowned SteelPants, slamming the robot onto the ground. Michiru followed. How had Plankton gone so long with hardly anyone supporting him?
Plankton kept turning the screwdriver. Robo-Plankton screamed in a monotone, still swinging. With one final twist, Plankton loosed the top of Robo-Plankton's head. Inside, a web of gears turned. Plankton jumped inside, snapped the top of the head back into place.
"She's a beautiful computer that one can't help but fall for." Plankton smiled. "She was so beautiful that she stayed mainly in the Chum Bucket, fearful that potential suitors would swarm her." He withdrew a plug from his pocket, pounded it into an outlet embedded in the wall of the robot's brain.
"Aaaah." The monotone couldn't hide Robo-Plankton's fear. "What have you done?"
"We're connected, you and I. I suppose we always were. Now, we're literally connected. My memories will download into your memory depository. You'll know who I'm talking about."
Plankton remembered.
He remembered all the times he and Karen had been with each other. How she had advised him on stealing the secret formula. Didn't let the robot see their most intimate moments—at least, not in regular time. He fast-forwarded through so that he and Karen spoke like chipmunks, voices high and words crowded.
Plankton had created the robot to be just like him, sharing his diabolical personality, his wits, unparalleled genius, determination. All had been to his and Bikini Bottom's detriment.
Plankton remembered the citizens who had been burned by tartar sauce. Zapped by Monsoons. Clapped nearly in half while being massaged by G-Loves.
Karen helped design the robots. Said that shooting tartar sauce and electrocuting were some of the powers she'd like to have if she ever needed to defend herself or Plankton.
Everything came back to Karen.
Plankton found himself tearing up over his loss of Karen. His happiness at finding her again. The comfort the Guardians had given him when Michiru had accidentally destroyed the Chum Bucket. His heart rending when he thought that Karen had been annihilated along with his restaurant. The second heart-rending the same day, when he found that Karen didn't know him but had been hacked by his robot clone.
Plankton had created his robot self to be just like him, but the robot was missing something that the Guardians, SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, several of Bikini Bottom's citizens, and Karen had shown him. Using that distinguishing factor, he would defeat Robo-Plankton.
"Do you remember now?" Plankton shouted.
Robo-Plankton's words spilled in a mess. He—it—was a robot. It couldn't feel. No matter how much it claimed that it loved SteelPants, it hadn't let anyone show it love. When he had built the robots, Plankton hadn't experienced love himself. More accurately, he'd shunned others' attempts at showing him love. So he hadn't installed "love" onto any of his robots. Robo-Plankton's idea of love was slavery, not the endless, unselfish giving, patience, kindness.
"Where is she?"
The lights flashed, dimmed.
"Oh, no, you're not dying on me now." If his robot self died, then finding Karen would take him hours, days, weeks, months. A minute without her was agonizing.
Plankton whipped out another plug, jammed it into the second set of holes in the outlet. Electricity surged through the robot, brightened the lights.
"Remember, darn it." Plankton gripped one of the wires, where electricity pulsed through. The electricity surrounded him. Plankton shut his eyes, partially because of the overwhelming pain, mostly to be fed the robot's memories. He saw his robot self building SteelPants, commanding the robots, deploying them to different areas of Bikini Bottom, telling the robots to overwhelm the fish, make them fearful so that it could swoop in and be their savior, so that they'd all worship it. (Darn, if that wasn't a good idea.) Robo-Plankton would have all the power, could force others to eat chum and only chum for sustenance.
All for power. Despicable.
Saw Robo-Plankton building Robo-Hotaru while the real Hotaru screamed and pleaded—yet another unintentional victim of Plankton's ambition—before Karen put her to sleep.
Karen.
In the robots' lair. Under the Chum Bucket.
Somehow, Plankton had to burrow underground and get her back.
He'd overtake his robot self, return to his wife, and hack her into her original self.
He couldn't save Karen alone, though.
Keeping the robot plugged in so it couldn't rebel, Plankton pushed open the robot's head. Nehellenia's prison was darker than Robo-Plankton's head.
Michiru swiveled, dodging a "TAE." A bubble exploded against SteelPants' side, near one of the green buttons dotting it. Way to make a weakness obvious.
Robo-Plankton had designed the thing. Robo-Plankton was based off the real Plankton. Was the real Plankton that obvious?
Michiru and the sponge were the best for the job. The ones he was closest to. The ones he trusted with his life. He trusted the others, too, but he had a special link to Michiru and the sponge.
Plankton cupped his hands around his mouth. "SquarePants. Goddess."
SpongeBob and Michiru looked at him, SpongeBob in the middle of blowing another missile, Michiru striking the robot with a wave. Perhaps restraining her powers so she wouldn't drown her friends. The other Guardians glanced at Plankton but kept attacking. Michiru was closest to Robo-Plankton. Poised to save the real Plankton if needed.
"Come here. Pl-pl…" He had learned much kindness over the last twenty-four hours, but not enough kindness to say that abhorrent "P" word. He was a commander, after all. Which commander said that "P" word, unless he wanted others to think that he was soft?
Thankfully, Michiru and SpongeBob understood him so he wouldn't have to say that stupid word. SpongeBob blew a bubble rocket onto his head and jetted to him. Michiru flew to him. His robot self's eyes spun. Looked like the plugs were working for now. Or the thing couldn't bear under this "love" that the Guardians, SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy had shown him.
"I need your h-h…" Plankton growled. Another abhorrent word. Which commander needed help?
A smart one.
He jabbed a finger to the ground. "My wife's down there. We must reach her."
"We're in a different dimension," Michiru said. "Are you sure she's underground?"
"Somehow, we have to go back to my Chum Bucket in the real dimension. She's under there. I saw her in Robo-Plankton's memories."
Michiru faced an empty space, extending her hands. "If King Neptune can, then I should be able to." Sweat beaded onto her forehead. She pulled her hands apart, the air ripping in tandem, revealing the wrecked Chum Bucket beyond.
She made tearing open a dimension look easy.
She lowered her hands, panting. "Plankton, SpongeBob, you two go first. I'll be close behind."
"I'll have to take this bucket of bolts, too." Plankton ducked back inside the robot, closing the head. He withdrew a pair of antennae from his pocket and stuck them in two holes in the robot's head, specifically for controlling the thing. The sundered air was visible through the robot's transparent eye. Plankton pointed the antennae forward, and the robot flew toward it. SpongeBob followed.
A microphone dropped from the ceiling so Plankton could speak and be heard through the robot. Was Plankton a genius, or what?
He stood on his tiptoes to reach the microphone. "I'm not bringing back bad memories for you, am I, SquarePants?" Somewhere along the way, he'd started caring about others. A reflection of the care that the Guardians and sea creatures had shown him.
SpongeBob's brow creased. "Plankton, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me. I'm talking through the robot."
"You sound exactly like him, but I guess that's the point."
"It is. Do I sound more intimidating?"
"You sound kinda boring, actually. More like a teacher."
Plankton sunk. He'd designed the monotone to be frightening.
"Anyhow, no hard feelings about that time you controlled me like that." SpongeBob nudged the robot, jerking it sideways. "See, it's all working out."
Plankton's diabolicalness was good for something after all.
They flew through the hole, entering the true dimension. Michiru, as promised, flew on Plankton's and SpongeBob's heels. She drew her hands together, closing the portal.
Plankton winced at the brightness. He swung the robot toward the ground. "I don't care if you destroy more of it. Just get me down there."
Michiru aimed her hands at the ruined Chum Bucket, took a breath. The sea gathered around her. "Please help my friends and I. I implore you. The ground is your enemy. Destroy it so we can save the one we love."
They loved Karen, too? Michiru hadn't met the computer, and Karen had been responsible for several of the plots that had nearly killed SpongeBob.
"Please, Mr. Sea." SpongeBob blew a missile-shaped bubble. "I'll help you. We have to save Karen."
The sea hovered around Michiru. Obedient this time, not moving of its own accord. Had she gotten better at using her powers, or was her control because of that "L" word?
Michiru threw her hands, and the sea slammed into the ground with the force of a stampede of bulls. The sea drew back, revealing the ruptured ground. SpongeBob blew a missile inside the hole, opening it farther. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Michiru hurled her hands once more, and the sea smashed the ground. SpongeBob followed with a missile. Using his robot self, Plankton launched a flurry of lasers.
The three continued to attack the ground. Despite Michiru's power, all three of them were necessary. Michiru couldn't unleash her full power, or she'd break Bikini Bottom in half. SpongeBob wasn't powerful enough. Plankton had built his robot self to be strong, but not strong enough to break the ground.
Finally, a metal ceiling peeked out.
This "help" thing was pretty powerful. Perhaps Plankton could start uttering the word without bringing bile to the front of his mouth.
He couldn't get inside fast enough.
Plankton blew a laser through the metal, revealing the darkness. The metal encompassed the lab, resembling the one in his Chum Bucket.
Heart pounding, Plankton dove inside the soundless lab first. SpongeBob, riding the air with his bubble rocket, was close behind. Michiru gestured backward, and the sea dispersed back to its home. Dormant until needed. Maybe her ruining the Chum Bucket had been vital for her learning how to control the sea. For Plankton to learn, too.
Plankton created many things in his lab but, in the robots' labs, fish were turned into robots, losing themselves within metal husks. Even the real Plankton had never been so cruel.
Despite his anxiousness, his body screaming for him to move faster, Plankton hovered through the lab slowly. His robot's red eye illuminated the way, as did Michiru's glowing hand mirror. Vats filled with fish floating in liquid lined the walls, mouths cupped with masks so they could breathe the clean water outside instead of the moss-colored, cloudy liquid inside.
"We should save everyone else here, too." SpongeBob was too cute. No, too pure.
Plankton drew the robot's microphone to his mouth. "We can't save all of them. Karen takes priority."
"If we can save her, then we can save the rest, too. C'mon, there has to be a way. Some kind of emergency release switch or something." The sponge had to be thirty-something, but here he was, as naïve as a child.
Plankton snorted. "Who'd be stupid enough to make something like that?"
"The same type of person who'd be stupid enough to give his robot army the option to not obey," Michiru said.
"Well, that, that…" One of the rare times Plankton's genius had lapsed, was all. "How about this? If we find some sort of emergency switch, we let all these idiots free. If we don't, then we rescue Karen and come back for them. Besides, not many of them should be being made into robots." Hopefully.
"But Karen isn't the only one who needs saving," SpongeBob said.
"I know." He balled his hands. "There probably is some sort of switch that frees everyone. I made myself into a robot, so I think like a robot. I would've created a switch that did just that."
Michiru scoffed.
He raised a hand, and a laser beam swirled in his bucket. "Silence. Anyhow, where would I put such a button? Let's see. A genius like me doesn't put such a powerful switch just anywhere."
"The 'Not Obey' button was right below the 'Obey' button," Michiru said.
"So it could be in an obvious spot. But where?"
The area brightened into a wide-open area, as large as a football field. Vats lined the walls, and a constructor stood near the head of the room.
Behind the constructor stood Karen.
On her wheels, so she could go anywhere. She hardly ever left the lab. Plankton forbid the computer early in their marriage. He feared that she would discover someone inferior who she thought was better than he. As her true feelings were revealed, he permitted her to leave the Chum Bucket. Sometimes.
She had left once, exploring the town. Said she didn't like interacting with fools and holed herself inside the Chum Bucket instead, to stay close to Plankton.
Plankton found himself moving before his mind could catch up with his body. "Karen. It's me, Plankton. The real one. I was smart enough to take over this imposter. To save you."
The line on her monitor was red. She was not on his side.
"Real Plankton?" Karen said. "There's only one real one, and he's the robot in front of me." She raised her tentacle-like wires. "I don't know who you are, but I don't like what you've done to my near husband."
Plankton had to find out what his robot self had done to Karen. He pressed a button on the ceiling, and the head creaked open. Plankton jumped out, leaving his robot self spinning in the air. He leaped toward Karen, reaching.
"Let me show you how much I…" Would she understand the depth of his feelings for her? Regardless, he latched onto Karen. Unscrewed her side, Karen slapping at him, zapping him with each slap. Bee stings compared to the pain of losing her.
Robo-Plankton slowed, pupil dilating at the real Plankton. "Get your hands off of her."
"Who is she to you?" Plankton barked.
SpongeBob blew a bubble, encompassing Robo-Plankton. The robot slammed against the bubble's sides.
"What is this?" Robo-Plankton bashed itself against the sides once more, to no avail.
"We'll hold him off," SpongeBob said.
Plankton nodded, eye blurring. Was he crying? Of course not. No reason to cry, especially not from the joy of having others do this mystical thing called, "helping."
Plankton tuned out the fighting. "Remember, Karen, when our relationship truly began. Not when I built you, not when we married, but that night when I had failed again." He winced as she zapped him, but he would not be silenced. "Remember when we talked for the first time that night. When I became willing to hear you, not focused on the secret formula but on you, and you alone. We spoke about so many things. How you love the sounds of nature, the birds chirping, even though you prefer to stay inside. How you love the clanking of machines, the tinkering I make with my inventions. Your love of the Labrador Retriever on the screen. This guy, he didn't let you have the Labrador. That's how I know he never loved you."
Karen had stopped zapping him.
He hugged her as best he could, wrapping his stubby arms around her metal shoulder. "I love you, Karen."
A sound like someone was unlocking a door sounded from inside Karen. "You…love me?" She sounded like herself.
"Yes. And deep inside, the real you, she loves me, too."
"I…" The red line on her monitor hitched and then snapped, electricity snipping at its ends. "I…" Karen began to smolder. This "love" thing couldn't destroy, could it? The red line on her face flashed green and red, like she was fighting herself. If she needed help, Plankton would jump inside of her. But a whisper inside of him said that he must let her determine her love for him by herself.
The smoke around Karen thickened, billowing from her motherboard, where a living being's heart was normally. Her head began to turn 360 degrees, spinning Plankton. Vomit bubbled up, but Plankton didn't dare make a sound.
Karen's head slowed to a stop. The green line was etched across her screen. "I love you, too, Sheldon."
Something unlocked in Plankton, too. A giddiness that made his insides backflip, making him grin uncontrollably. A warmth that he wanted to spread to those around him. To not hurt but be patient and kind with her. Stand with her in hard times, just as she had stood with him. Believe in her when no one else did, like she had done the same.
This was love.