Chapter 3
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After thanking his latest client, the bounty hunter returned to the surface world to his big house.
SpongeBob heard a beeping in Mr. Krabs office, so he went inside and saw a giant television with scores of monitors.
"Come here, boyo! Thanks to these security clams, there's no way we can lose Plankton now."
After many many hours, there was still no response.
"Yarrrr.", Krabs sighed heavily. "SpongeBob, I think you're right. He doesn't want me formuler anymore."
He then quickly got up and realized it was 8:00.
"Then again, Plankton must've realized that his own hover-drone cameras were tampered with. Or perhaps he's created the real diversion somewhere off the Krusty Krab, so when we leave to find it out, he'll be free to steal the formula. He doesn't know about the scallops."
Krabs began to pace rhythmically across the floor.
"Or maybe he knows that by causing a diversion, he knows we'll head over to the Krusty Krab, which could in itself be a diversion of an even bigger plan in the long run. Maybe he's already stolen the formula and planted a fake. I don't exactly know how that would work, but oh-ho-ho-ho... he's incredibly deceitful."
The sponge told his boss to calm down and get some rest.
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Back at the Chum Bucket, Plankton had just woken up from the deepest sleep he ever had.
"Wh-what happened last night?"
Karen reminded him that it was still the same day.
Plankton was surprised to find his wife fully charged again.
"Karen, what happened to you? All I remember is you turning off, a man in blue, a cringy trap number, and that's it."
He pondered for a moment and realized his security drone monitors were on the fritz.
"Krrrraaaaaabbbbbsssss!"
He angrily kicked the analog TV sets.
Karen assured him that the job was actually done. Yes, Plankton had already stolen the formula, and by that, he actually copied it. He invented the hover-drones as a diversion, and called attenion to it by planting the monitor in a place where he knew Krabs would spy on him. Plankton knew Krabs had recently been eyeing the complex network, because he figured the amoeba would go the scientific route for that extra thrill.
With that distraction, he was free to sneak right past Krabs, steal the recipe, use his duplicator ray, and make a perfect copy.
After 60 years, he was home-free.
"Hmmm. Now to figure out what I should do with ole' SpongeBoy."
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A few days later, Krabs and Co. made it to the laboratory of a distinguished scientist named Dr. Walter Bass, a short, green, mustachioed fish.
He showed them a tour of his recent inventions: infared goggles, a bio-mechanical android maker, and an invisibility ray.
"Hmmm. An invisibility ray, you say?", Krabs wondered.
Dr. Bass answered the crustacean with a hearty "Yes, sir."
"But?", Krabs prepared for the catch.
The scientist replied, "But it'll cost you 5,000 dollars."
Krabs' mind was racing fast.
"Am I really going to dismember me greatest love to spy on somebody?"
A few seconds went by then Krabs perked up.
"Of COURSE I am!", the crustacean laughed.
He handed Dr. Bass the money, left with the invisibility ray, and returned to the Krusty Krab to call The Player back.
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At his home in the surface world, the vigilante was asked if it was okay with him to make his security clam army invisible.
The Player responded, "Sure, Mr. Krabs. I've got plenty more at my house."
"Thank you, sir." (hang up)
Back at the Krusty Krab, he used a special scallop-whistle to call the swarm to him.
He zapped them with the ray, then sent them back into the air vents.
The monitors saw every detail of the vents, including a strange circular room Krabs had never seen before.
"I never knew we had that. But then again, neither would Plankton. It'll be the perfect place to stash me formuler. Arr ar ar ar ar ar!"
Krabs stared at the monitors for days, never sleeping, never eating, for fear that a certain single-celled organism was watching.
SpongeBob was concerned about his boss's well-being and he asked him to take a break.
The crustacean informed him that is was the sponge's job to make the patties and serve them, and he would be in there not bothering anyone.
SpongeBob went back to work on his cooking, and suddenly inspiration struck in a way he never thought before.
He remembered Krabs telling him not to mess with the patty's formula, but then he realized that the formula is in the meat itself, not any of the other ingredients. Those were just toppings.
So he went to the store, and bought crisp bacon, extra grease, eggs to fry, and finally dipping sauce.
After making the best patties of his life and yet another mental breakdown from Squidward, the clock ran 8:00 and he bolted out the door to tell his friends of his new idea.
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SpongeBob burst into his pineapple house to greet his beloved snail, Gary.
"Gary! Gary! I just made the best Krabby Patty in the world! It has BACON... and dipping sauce. DIPPING SAUCE, Gary!"
The sponge waited for his pet to come slithering to him, but the snail was nowhere to be seen.
"Are... are you here, boy?", the worried sponge asked.
He went to check on Gary's litter-box. The hunks were right there, as usual, but showed a more sickly color.
Concerned with his snail's health, SpongeBob trembled nervously as he opened the door to his room.
The snail's skin turned a pale greenish-blue, and not the cartoon color.
With a condition like that, the sponge knew something was wrong.
He also saw many projectiles of sickly vomit mixed with snail blood, and quietly phoned the animal hospital.
SpongeBob was worried how Gary, a once-happy-go-lucky snail, could have suddenly contracted an ailment like this.
The purple doctor fish picked up the phone on the other end.
"Hello, Dr. Gil Gilliam. Bikini Bottom Pet Hospital."
The sponge informed him of his snail's situation, when suddenly he heard a loud thud as the snail lost consciousness and hit the floor.
He knew instantly what had happened. The poor sponge's own stomach began to turn as this day went from his best to worst.
An ambulance picked up the unconscious snail and drove him to the Pet Hospital, where treatment was done immediately.
The sponge was in the back-seat with his beloved pet, trying to get him to hold on. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him, but he was sure he could hear a familiar maniacal laugh echo in the air like the wind. This laugh was truly diabolical, like the cackle of a deranged killer.
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The ambulance finally stopped at the hospital, and the snail was delivered to the treatment center.
After spending hours in the waiting room, SpongeBob was informed of the worst: Gary had passed away.
His eyes began to well up with tears, as he could not believe what he just heard.
"We still don't know what the cause is, so we just need to run a couple more tests."
While Gilliam left the forlorn owner, he planted a special camera inside the snail's system.
He could see everything.
But wait a minute.
He guided the drone to the snail's nervous system where two thin black and pinkish-red chemicals seemed to mix.
He knew instantly how the snail had died and went to the waiting room to deliver the cause.
"Mr. SquarePants.", he explained in his usual doctor voice, "I've completed my scan of your pet's system."
The sponge very timidly looked up. He was prepared to know the truth. He already knew Gary was dead. What more could bring him lower?
"Diagnosis:..."
SpongeBob closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, fighting back tears.
"...homicide!"