Chapter 25 – A Sponge's Finest Hour!

Back on the conveyor belt, SpongeBob and Jimmy are glad to have that nasty man out of the picture. SpongeBob gave out a cordial salute. "Happy trails, Mandible!"

"SpongeBob! Jimmy!" Clifford called out from behind.

"Help us out here!" Cody called out. The sponge and boy genius turn to see the toys work together to free Sandy and Spirit from the green case. Cindy grunted as she tries to climb out of the case, but the substantial weight from the foam insulation caused her to struggle to pull herself out.

"Hurry!" Alex alerted.

"Oh, no! Cindy!" SpongeBob cried. He and Jimmy, tries to get Cindy out, but it's no use. The case slides down the ramp, and stopped by a luggage carrier. Cindy immediately went limp, and the worker shoves Cindy back into the case. He takes it to the tram.

"Cindy!" SpongeBob said. The pull-string sponge grits his teeth in a genuine concern. SpongeBob will never bear the thought of Cindy spending the rest of her miserable life behind glass at a museum exhibit. But the collection would be incomplete by now, and Cindy would be haunted with the thought of being in storage. But SpongeBob was not done with yet, never ready to give up. There is no way Cindy would find herself in a dreadful fate. He whistled for Spirit and the horse came over.

Sherman concerned, "Are you sure you can do this?"

SpongeBob smiled and he hugged Sherman supportively, with the latter recopriating it, "I'm sure I'll be fine. Then when it's all over, we can all go home again."

Agnes piped up, "Good luck out there."

"Thanks." SpongeBob said. SpongeBob gets on his horse's back and he reminded, "Come on, guys!" Jimmy closed his helmet, prepared for action. SpongeBob helped Jimmy and Sandy climb onto the horse's back.

"Ride like the wind, Spirit!" The trio slid down the ramp, and onto the pavement, just as the baggage cart pulled away. Spirit gallops after the luggage tram at full speed fast as the wind. Cindy may be the damsel-in-distress, despite the animosity of going home or going to the Japanese toy museum, but SpongeBob will never let Cindy ever be separated from a toy family like them. This is now the final mission: rescuing Cindy. "Hey-Howdy-Hey! Giddy up!" SpongeBob declared bravely.

"Go, Spirit! Yeah!" Sandy shouted encouragingly.

As Spirit catches up to the luggage tram, Jimmy dared courageously, "Come on, Spirit! Hyah!"

Spirit is now close to the baggage cart. "Jimmy, Sandy, give me a boost!" SpongeBob carefully climbs onto Jimmy's shoulders, with Sandy supporting his weight. He reaches out to a tag, and loses balance for a moment. He managed to finally grab onto the tag, taking SpongeBob's feet from Jimmy's shoulders into the wind. "W-Whoa! WHOA! WHOA!" SpongeBob cried, dangling from the tag.

"SpongeBob!" Jimmy and Sandy cried after their friend being carried away with the luggage.

However, the sponge managed to climb up to the top, using luggage as a ladder. Arriving at the top, SpongeBob's eyes locked on Cindy's case. The sponge in the car at the end. He runs forward, and he jumps over gaps between the cars. As soon as the sponge arrives at the front, he jumps into the huge trunk filled with other cases. The worker stopped his luggage cart the moment the vehicle stopped upon an airplane heading to Japan, with waiting passengers onboard, including a certain toy collector. The cargo carrier takes out the green case, with SpongeBob peeking out among the luggage. He finds the carrier loading the case onto the ramp moving upward to the plane.

The luggage carrier to his co-worker through a headset, "Here's the rest!"

SpongeBob thought in his mind about the possibility that the attempts to escape the plane may be life-threatening than he thought. The sponge looked around until he came up with an idea. He hid in a golf bag, the minute it was picked up. After the coworker loads a box containing fragile objects into the hatch, the worker tosses the golf bag inside it. The bag unzips, and SpongeBob crawls out as golf balls spill out. He sees the green case on a pyramid of cases. SpongeBob runs up the tiered hill of cases, unlocks it, and opens it, revealing Cindy curled in a fetal position, clearly saddened of the impending future in a museum.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I believe you're on the wrong flight." SpongeBob replied, talking like a flight attendant.

Cindy beamed, and went over to him. "SpongeBob!" Cindy whispered in relief. SpongeBob and Cindy both hug.

"Come on, Cindy, it's time to take you home." SpongeBob advised.

Cindy pulled away, and asked worriedly, "But…what if Mike doesn't like me?"

SpongeBob chuckled heartily, "Nonsense. Mike will really love you! And besides, he's got a little sister."

"He does?!" Cindy exclaimed happily. "Well, why didn't you say so? Let's go!" She jumps out of the case, grabbing SpongeBob's hand and pulling him from behind. The sponge's invitation to be a part of Mike's toy family had successfully won Cindy over, because he mentioned that Mike has a little sister; if Mike outgrew Cindy, then Nina will play with Cindy likewise. They hid behind a circle bag to avoid any coworkers.

"Hold it! There's a couple more bags coming from the terminal!" The coworker issued to the baggage handler.

SpongeBob whispered, as they are beginning to jump, "OK, on 3. One, two…"

Before they can get through, the cargo bay door slammed shut. "Too late! Put them on the next flight!" Another worker called out. The plane began to move down the runway as the engine ignites. The passengers are accounted for, and the wheels begin to stir and move down the road. Inside the cargo bay, the lights flicker off, indicating that the luggage would not be fiddled until it arrives at its predestined location.

"This is bad." SpongeBob dreaded.

"How are we gonna get out of here?" Cindy worried.

A dim light shined on the other side of the cargo bay in the back, meaning that a latch is all the way in the back. "Over there! Come on!" SpongeBob urged. SpongeBob and Cindy run over to where the light is: a small door with a window in it. Through the window, SpongeBob and Cindy see the planes front wheels running against the pavement. It may be a high chance of risk for their lives, but it's their only chance to escape. SpongeBob and Cindy both work together to turn a handle to wrench it open. That lifted the door up, and a strong current of wind filled in.

"You sure about this?" Cindy asked.

"I don't know! Come on!" SpongeBob climbed out onto the axels, helping Cindy out. The two toys carefully manuver down the greasy axels without any problems overwhelming them. As they almost reach the bottom, the plane is getting closer for takeoff. Unfortunately, SpongeBob slipped and he fell, but Cindy caught him by the hand. SpongeBob began to yell in panic.

"Hold on, SpongeBob!" Cindy screamed. SpongeBob's arm rip gets a little bigger, revealing a larger hint of cotton beneath it. SpongeBob feels concerned about this: one more rip and he's done for. Suddenly, his mask flew from his head and he thought it's about to be a goner, until a hand caught it. It was Jimmy Neutron behind Sandy Cheeks, still riding on Spirit.

Jimmy called up, "Who's SpongeBob SquarePants without his mask?"

Sandy chuckled, "You really oughta hold on to your mask!"

"Jimmy! Sandy!" SpongeBob shouted excitedly. Even Cindy was relieved to have some friends to their aid. Spirit gallops alongside the plane's tires. The massive plane turned a corner and the engines accelerate even more, gaining the strength to lift up off the ground. SpongeBob looks around to see that it's ready for takeoff. That is until he looks down at the wheels and sees a metal plate with a bolt studded on it. This gave SpongeBob a smart idea.

"Jimmy! Sandy, get behind the tires!" SpongeBob called down.

Sandy called up, "I think you may be onto something, SpongeBob! We've got your back!"

Jimmy urged, "Come on, Sandy!" Jimmy and Sandy both go backwards, with Spirit decreasing his galloping to go straight behind the wheels. SpongeBob pulls out his string, twirls it around like a lasso, and throws it down. The white ring caught on the bolt.

"OK, Cindy! Let go of the plane!" SpongeBob called up.

"What? Are you CRAZY?!" Cindy exclaimed.

"It's an attempt I came up with, but believe me! Just pretend that this is the final episode of SpongeBob's Roundup!" SpongeBob issued.

"BUT IT WAS CANCELLED! WE NEVER SAW IF YOU MADE IT!" Cindy concerned.

"Well then, let's find out together!" SpongeBob said.

Cindy, seeing that she has no other choice has to face facts at SpongeBob's plan. Squeezing her eyes shut, she lets go of the pipe, getting caught into SpongeBob's arm. Screaming, they swing down between the wheels. The ring on SpongeBob's pull string loosened from the bolt, and land onto Spirit's back behind Jimmy. Spirit finally stops as they watch the plane fly off into the sky, without any of the Roundup collection onboard. SpongeBob's pull string recoiled into his back. They are now free!

"WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" Cindy whooped.

"Nice roping, Sponge!" Jimmy congratulated.

Sandy hugged SpongeBob, "Oh, SpongeBob! That escape plan was so awesome and very brave!"

"Thanks, Sandy!" SpongeBob smiled.

"That was definitely SpongeBob's finest hour!" Cindy whooped.

Jimmy opened his helmet, and he gives SpongeBob back his mask. "Your mask, partner." SpongeBob takes back the blue silk material.

"Whoo-hoo!" SpongeBob cheered. Their celebration was short-lived as another plane whizzed over them, close to their heads. They huddle together, their eyes widened, remembering they're still on the tarmac.

"Let's….go home." SpongeBob grinned. The rest of the group couldn't agree more with him.