I'm back at it again with another chapter.

Mr. Krabs crosses the street and looks closely at the Fry-Right Zone. Its large shiny exterior dwarfed the crab, but he isn't deterred; he just glares at the restaurant. As he approached, he could hear the sound of music and smell the scent of recently fried goods. He goes to put a claw on the entrance, but hesitates.

'Should I really do this?' He asks himself. After all these years, Plankton has finally been a successful restaurant owner. Part of him is even slightly impressed at Plankton's success, though he would never admit it. Would he really pull the rug out from under Plankton?

Krabs shakes his head and clears his thoughts. He knew what he had to do. He would not let Plankton be the more successful one. He couldn't. After a few moments, he takes a deep breath and enters the restaurant.

As soon as he steps inside, he is hit with a wave of nostalgia. The walls, painted with vivid colours and patterns, are covered with pictures, decorations and knick-knacks from three decades ago. The tables and chairs are brightly coloured and wooden in contrast to the black and white tiled floors. Plastic potted plants decorate the corners of the room, and televisions hang from the ceiling, playing music videos from days gone by. One side of the room has a row of arcade machines, each with a line of kids eagerly waiting for their turn.

'Arcade machines? Why haven't I thought of that?' Krabs chastises himself, somewhat angered at a missed opportunity for money.

As he was thinking, a few fish push past him, and he realises just how full the restaurant is. The place is bustling with customers of all shapes and ages. From the youngest anchovies to the oldest whales, anyone and everyone had come to the restaurant for some food. There was barely a seat left to sit on. He can see two long lines of fish in front of the register, manned by none other than Plankton himself. He scowls and goes to confront him, but a large muscular goldfish stops him.

"Hey! No cutting in line!" Several other people in line glare at Krabs, and he sheepishly goes back and lines up with everyone else. After everyone loses interest in him, Krabs exhales. This is going to be a long wait.

Outside the Fry-Right Zone, SpongeBob and Squidward sneak around the back of the restaurant. Behind the restaurant is a few dumpsters, some rat-scallops making their homes in said dumpsters, and, most importantly, a back entrance. SpongeBob goes to open the door, but Squidward stops him.

"SpongeBob, no! Plankton must have some security measures to go with his new restaurant, so the door would have an alarm. We'll have to find another way in."

SpongeBob puts his hand to his chin, thinking of a solution. He looks around and sees an answer. "What about that window?" He points to a window, opened slightly ajar. Squidward smiles, a sneaky glint in his eye.

"Perfect." He goes and opens the window more, and pokes his head in. He's found a storeroom, with shelves and cupboards filled with various ingredients from regions near and far. Searching through the storeroom is Archie, who is looking around as he tries to find a specific ingredient. He looks over to Squidward and, upon realising he's being watched, jumps up in fright and screams.

Squidward realises what's happening and quickly goes into the storeroom, with SpongeBob right behind him. He goes over to Archie and covers his mouth with a tentacle, glaring. "Shh!" Squidward whispers harshly. "Don't blow our cover!" After Archie calms down, Squidward uncovers his mouth.

"S-Squidward?! SpongeBob?!" Archie questions. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you two be working at the Krusty Krab?"

SpongeBob walks over to Archie, a nervous smile on his face. "We've been sent on a top-secret mission by Mr. Krabs, so we can't tell you."

Squidward nods. "Exactly. Now forget you ever saw us and don't tell anyone we're here." He moves towards Archie and menacingly looms over him. "Or else."

Archie, in response, screams and faints, falling limp to the ground. SpongeBob and Squidward surround him, with SpongeBob poking him to see if he's OK. "What are we going to do with him, Squidward?"

Squidward proceeds to pick up Archie and shove him through the window they snuck through, accidentally making him land in a dumpster. "Problem solved. Let's move on." He walks towards a hallway, and SpongeBob nervously looks at the window before following Squidward. The two slink from room to room, trying to find any sign of a formula that Plankton may have. After several unsuccessful searches, Squidward peers into a nicely decorated bedroom and finds a safe.

"Aha!" Squidward says as he and SpongeBob enter the room. "There it is. The formula is probably in there."

The two move toward the safe, and Squidward takes out a stethoscope. He goes to touch it when SpongeBob stops him. "Leave this to me, Squidward. I've got a skill for cracking safes." SpongeBob then simply spins the lock on the safe, and the door opens up revealing piles of money.

Squidward smiles and starts rummaging around through the cash. "Good job. Now we just have to find the formula and... Wait a minute." Squidward grows concerned as he continues to dig through the safe, only finding more and more stacks of cash. "There's nothing here. It's just bundles and bundles of cash! Where's the formula?"

"HEY!"

The two freeze at the harsh voice. They turn around and see a really steamed Karen accompanied by a confused Spot. "So, Mr. Krabs is so determined to stop our success that he's making his cronies steal from us?"

SpongeBob hides behind Squidward as he nervously touches his tentacles together. "Well, you see, SpongeBob and I have quit working for Mr. Krabs and are now safe inspectors. Under city law, we have been assigned to check every safe in town and see if they're up to code. Now if you'll just excuse us, we need to finish-"

Karen zooms past the two and slams the safe door shut as she glares at the two, her screen red with anger. "Don't give me excuses! You've broken in here and were trying to steal from us!" She turns to Spot, who is looking at the commotion with a blissful smile on his face. "Hey, Spot! These two are intruders! You remember what to do with intruders, right?"

Upon being told that SpongeBob and Squidward are, in fact, intruders, Spot loses his smiles and growls at them. While SpongeBob is afraid, Squidward scoffs. "Please. What is this speck going to do to us?"

Karen smirks. "You'll see." She turns to Spot. "Spot, use mitosis!"

Spot, upon Karen's command, begins to grow larger and larger. Squidward's smug smile fades away as he realises that the "speck" is now more than three times his height.

Karen laughs, before glaring at the intruders with a sly grin. "Spot, sic 'em!"

She snaps her fingers, and Spot lunges towards the sponge and squid. They scream and leap out of the way just in time, before running into the hallway as Spot and Karen give chase. As Squidward runs, he hopes that Mr. Krabs can keep Plankton stalled. The last thing they need is an angry Plankton.

In the main part of the restaurant, Mr. Krabs has finally moved to the front end of the line. After enduring endless amounts of praise for Plankton's food, and just being in the restaurant in general, the time has come for him to initiate his part of the plan.

The last person in front of him is served, and Krabs walks up to Plankton, who is putting money in the cash register. "Hello, and welcome to the Fry-Right Zone. How may I take your-" He looks up and realises who is speaking, and smiles smugly. "Well, well, well, look who's here in my restaurant. Mr. Eugene Harold Krabs himself. What is a crab like you doing in a place like this?"

"Well, Plankton." Krabs starts. "I've been thinking to meself, 'I should go to Plankton's restaurant and see what the fuss is about.' So I've come out here and the place is raising a lot of red flags for me."

Plankton, intrigued, moves closer. "What do you mean?"

A small, blue fish behind Mr. Krabs overhears the conversation. "Yeah, what do you mean?"

The line erupts in a cloud of murmurs, the various customers wondering what this crab is talking about. Mr. Krabs smiles. "What I mean is, ya know how chum is sold here?" The various fish nod, and Krabs continues. "Haven't you people heard of the dangers of chum? The rumours? There's a reason why the Chum Bucket was the worst restaurant in Bikini Bottom."

The crowd of fish talk to one another, remembering the hazard that was the Chum Bucket. Plankton slams his hand on the register, somewhat worried. "Krabs, where are you going with this?"

Krabs ignores him and continues looking at the crowd. "I'm saying that chum isn't safe from consumption, deep-fried or regular! If anything, deep-frying chum causes side effects!"

The crowd gasps as Plankton jumps up at the accusations. "Slander! You have no proof that my deep-fried chum causes side effects."

Krabs steps back, looking around in thought. "I do! Fer example... "He looks around and spots the perfect target; an old woman and an extremely shrivelled up... thing in a wheelchair beside her. He gasps and moves towards the pair. "Dear Neptune! Look at this lady's poor child, all shrivelled up and lifeless. She had a bright future just a few days ago, but deep-friedchum caused her to rapidly age. She was forced down a path of no return. She will be remembered."

The crowd gasps as Krabs shakes his head in sadness, internally smiling due to having the crowd's attention. The old woman gets up and slaps him. "How dare you! That's my mother you're talking about!"

Krabs steps back in actual shock. "That thing is ya mother?"

The old woman nods. "Yeah, and she doesn't like being insulted." She turns to her mother. "Mom!"

In response, the shrivelled up thing turns to her daughter, scaring Krabs. "What do you want, Mary? I was sleeping!"

Mary points to Mr. Krabs. "This man just insulted you! He called you 'shrivelled up' and 'lifeless'."

"He did what?! Turn me towards him!" Mary does so, and Mary's mother gives Krabs the angriest glare an eyeless person could give. "I'll have you know that I've lived a long and fulfilling life over these past 197 years. I don't have to put up with insults like these. Mary, we're leaving."

Mary grabs her mother's wheelchair and starts pushing her mother towards the entrance, scowling at Mr. Krabs as she does so. Mr. Krabs looks around nervously and notices that everyone is also giving him dirty looks. He needs to think of something fast.

"T-That isn't the only side effect of chum! Other side effects include..." He looks around and sees another target; Bubble Bass, stuffing his face with food as usual. Krabs goes up to him. "Look! This young gentleman was a promising sports star, but chum made him bloat to this size after only four meals. What a waste."

Bubble Bass leans back, insulted. "Well, excuse you. You're not the fittest person in the room either, Krabs!" He grabs his drink and pours it on Krabs, before grabbing his remaining food and leaving.

Krabs ignores the glares aimed at him and looks around, spots a three-headed fish, and goes up to him. "This man ate some chum and it mutated him; made him grow two extra heads! He had a promising future in television, but having two extra heads ruined everything. Devastating."

The fish's three heads look at one another, before frowning at Krabs. "So what if I have three heads? It makes me unique." The fish gets up and dumps coral chunks on Krabs. "Respect people for who they are."

As the fish walks away, Krabs spies an injured Fred trying to get into a chair while in a leg cast. "Chum has made this poor man's bones as brittle as glass! They break every day, and there is no known cure. Truly a travesty."

Fred gives Krabs a dirty look. "It's the combination of a genetic condition and horrific luck, jerk!" He hits Krabs with his crutch and hobbles away. Krabs dizzily walks towards Plankton, who just shakes his head.

"Krabs, are you really going so low as to propagate lies about my restaurant?" Plankton questions, a disappointed tone in his voice. "You're being really petty, you know."

Krabs regains his bearings and stares at Plankton as he puts a white glove on his claw and runs it along the counter. He looks at the glove and shakes his head. "Just as I thought; a dirty surface. What other messes are you hiding, Plankton? The health inspector wouldn't be happy with this."

"Right now, I'm not happy with you."

Krabs nervously turns around to find Health Inspector Andy Yellowtail and his assistant, Carl, eating at a nearby table. Andy sits up and walks towards Krabs. "I've been running a surprise health inspection for the Fry-Right Zone and it has been receiving some of the best marks I've seen in years. I'd appreciate it if you were to stop soiling this restaurant's name, especially since your restaurant is next on my list to inspect. Knowing that you're trying to undermine your opponent's business will not look good on your report." Krabs swallows nervously and nods in understanding, and Andy turns to leave. "Come on, Carl. Let's get this report back to headquarters."

Carl looks at the food that he has yet to finish, and sighs. "Coming." He jumps out of his chair and catches up with Andy.

Plankton gives Krabs a smug smile. "Looks like my restaurant has passed the test." He laughs to himself, before giving Krabs a serious stare. "Now, Krabs, what are you actually here for? You've been stalling today's business for far too long, and..."

Plankton's words spring a warning into his mind. He looks over his sentence and thinks about how Krabs has just waltzed in and disrupted business for several minutes. Something's up.

"Wait a minute. Stalling. You've been stalling, haven't you? You have an ulterior motive, right Krabs? There's no way you'd be in here unless..." Plankton's eye widens upon realisation. "You wouldn't dare-"

Before Plankton can finish, faint screaming can be heard within the depths of the restaurant. Krabs realises who exactly is screaming and his eyes widen in dread. "Oh no..."

Nearby, the kitchen door bursts open as a screaming SpongeBob and Squidward run from Spot and Karen. The two are backed up against the wall due to a growling Spot as Plankton points an accusatory finger at Krabs. "Aha! You were stalling! You were distracting me so that your cronies could snoop around my restaurant. This is a new low, even for you, Eugene."

Mr. Krabs notices the glares from Plankton, Karen and the many customers are giving him and quickly shakes his head and claws in defense. "Y-You don't have proof!"

Karen rolls her eyes and points to SpongeBob and Squidward."Well then, why did I find your employees breaking into a safe and stealing our money?"

"Actually," Squidward corrects in an indifferent tone. "We didn't want the money. We were trying to find Plantkon's secret formula for Krabs."

Mr. Krabs stares at Squidward in disbelief as Plankton thinks to himself. "Formula?" He and Karen share a glance, before bursting into laughter as everyone, Mr. Krabs especially, looks in confusion. After a few moments, Plankton hops onto Krabs' nose and looks him in the eye. "There's a slight problem with that plan, Krabs; we don't have a formula."

Mr. Krabs backs away in utter shock. "No formula?! That's impossible! How can you be this popular without a formula? Hypnosis ray? Paid actors? There's no way you can be popular without a formula."

Plankton shrugs. "We just deep-fried stuff and it worked. The only reason that we've become popular is that people are just too lazy to cook food." He turns to the crowd. "Seriously! When was the last time you people cooked your own food from scratch?

The crowd mutter to one another in admittance; most of them had gotten their food from restaurants for the past several years. Krabs just stands motionless, trying to fully comprehend that Plankton has been a more successful businessman than himself through completely legitimate reasons. It made him sick. Perhaps a bit too sick.

Plankton looks at Krabs in concern."You OK, Krabs? You don't look so good."

Krabs tries to turn and talk to Plankton, but his legs give out from beneath him and he collapses, passed out. The restaurant erupts in a wave of shocked gasps and concerned mutterings, and SpongeBob and Squidward lift Mr. Krabs off the ground.

"Quick, SpongeBob. To the hospital!" Squidward commands as they run towards the exit, Krabs in tow. Plankton watches his fallen rival with a tinge of sadness, and Karen goes to join him as Spot shrinks to his normal size. Plankton and Karen look at each other and back at where Krabs was, wondering if he'll be alright.