SpongeBob and the White Snake

by SakuyaGoddess

SpongeBob SquarePants might be the strangest snake catcher in Snake Catcher Bottom, but he always gives aid to those in need. He demonstrates this when he saves an amnesiac woman named Ashi from drowning. They fall in love as they journey to find her memories, but they must protect each other from the sorcerers and demons who want to destroy them.

65

SpongeBob and the White Snake

Note to Reader

SpongeBob and the White Snake is a crossover parody between the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants and the Light Chaser Animation film White Snake. The story of White Snake is the story of the parody, and characters from Sponegbob Squatepants fulfill the roles of many of White Snake's characters. Jokes from SpongeBob SquarePants are referenced, as well. While SpongeBob and the White Snake is a parody, I modified parts of the story to make it more original to my writing. My only purpose as a fanfiction writer is to entertain readers.

SpongeBob SquarePants and White Snake are the main sources I reference in my parody; however, there are characters from other movies and television shows who make appearances in the story. I have placed SpongeBob and the White Snake under "SpongeBob Crossovers" because the other sources I reference are not as prominent as the main sources. To help readers understand which specific cartoon and movie characters play the specific character roles from White Snake, I have written a list of the characters, their sources of origin, and their roles in my story. I have also modified one of the White Snake characters to retain originality. There will be two Little Generals, and each one will be played by a different character.

Cast of Characters

Xiao Bai/Blanca: Ashi (Samurai Jack)

Xu Xuan/Sean: SpongeBob SquarePants (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Xu Xian: Samurai Jack (Samurai Jack)

Xiao Qing/Verta: Princess Maya (Maya and the Three)

Dudou: Gary the Snail (Sponegbob SquarePants)

Baoqing: Xtabay (Maya and the Three)

Baoqing's Minions: Bone and Skull (Maya and the Three)

General: Lord Shen (Kung Fu Panda 2)

Little General #1: Leonard Hofstadter (The Big Bang Theory)

Little General #2: Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)

Snake Mother/Snake Master: Aku (Samurai Jack)

Chang Pan: Plankton (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Snake Scout: Scaramouche (Samurai Jack)

Auntie: Margaret SquarePants (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Boatman: Patchy the Pirate (Sponegbob SquarePants)

Demon Trap Guardian: Mr. Krabs (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Pickle Rick, Patrick Star, Squidward Tentacles, Sandy Cheeks, Fluke the Seal, Rudder the Seal, Gerald the Seal, Potty the Parrot, Sakamoto Chiyo, Kronk, Yzma, and the mariachi band from the mariachi band button as themselves.

Prologue

While the sun was shining from outside, only a few rays entered the cave. These rays could be seen on the blossoms that gently fell from their tree to the cave spring. One could say that the cave was a paradise for the weary traveler. The sight of the tree and spring glowing in the sun rays would be reassuring, for both landmarks were beauties forever hidden from the cold world. While Ashi was quite aware of this, she was a resident and not a traveler.

She did not have time to admire the tree or the spring, for she had tasked herself with meditation. Meditation is what allows creatures to strengthen their powers, and enough meditation can grant immortality. Ashi wanted that reward, as did many of her kind. She sat on the grass with her legs crossed, and her eyelids hid the tree and spring as they fell. And then, Ashi whispered a chant:

May all things be happy and free,

And may the thoughts, words, and actions

Of my own life contribute in some way

To the happiness of all.

May health abound forever and peace …

Suddenly, Ashi felt herself falling. Her fall was initially a rapid movement, and then the falling became drifting. A world of white surrounded her; pink petals as the only colors she could see. As Ashi tried to make sense of her situation, she saw a figure standing in the distance. Perhaps, the figure knew what was happening.

Since Ashi was drifting in this groundless world, she decided to swim through the air towards the figure. While she tried to bring herself to it with all her might, she could only move so far. As she struggled, the pink petals turned into black fulu marked with indigo Mandarin characters. Once the fulu passed Ashi's feet, they became large indigo weeds. Ashi, who was already aware of what was happening, tried to move towards the mysterious figure at a more rapid pace.

Despite Ashi's efforts, the weeds grabbed her body as if they were frog tongues reaching towards an insect. Ashi grunted in pain as she became entangled, but the figure in the distance did not seem to notice her struggle. Her grunts were drowned in Mandarin chanting, and her struggles only strengthened the weeds. The world seemed to melt around her as the weeds and the chanting became the equivalent of a thunderstorm. And then, Ashi screamed two words, "HELP ME!"

While Ashi was struggling in the groundless worlds, a second maiden was placing her light colored clothes into the dryer in the cave. She was wearing a light green Chinese dress, which was the twin of the white Chinese dress Ashi was wearing. Another difference between the two maidens was their hair, for Ashi's was wavy while the second maiden wore an undercut.

"MAYA!" Ashi's voice rang through the cave.

Maya, the second maiden, could not hear her. Headphones were in her ears, and she was singing along with her favorite melody, "Bolom Chon". When Maya turned on the dryer, however, one of her earbuds fell out of her ear. Before she could complain, she heard Ashi screaming, "HELP ME!"

"Ashi!" Maya gasped.

She ran quickly towards Ashi as if she were a lightning bolt. While Maya knew what was happening, the sight of the hallucinating Ashi was too much for her to bear. With her mind running as quickly as her body, Maya grabbed a brick and threw it at Ashi's head. Ashi gasped at the moment her eyes were opened. She looked at her surroundings, allowing her panic to gently flow from her body.

Maya approached her and said, "It's alright, prima. You're safe now."

As Maya placed her hand upon her shoulder, Ashi sighed, "I had the vision again."

"Again?" Maya asked in a confused tone. "But, you've been meditating for five hundred years now. Immortality is nearly within your reach. How come you can't break through the wall?"

"I have no idea," Ashi shivered. She released a second sigh as she said, "I know there's something missing from my life, but I just can't figure it out. And when I try to find it, I'm thrown into chaos. Am I simply going crazy?"

At that moment, Maya's eyes grew to the size of saucers. Had it taken her five hundred years for her to realize what was important? She knew such a moment was inevitable, but she was not yet ready for it to happen.

"Cousin, are you alright?" Ashi gulped.

At last, Maya sighed, "You need to hold my hairpin."

"What!?" Ashi gasped. "But, you've always had it. You've never even let me lay a finger upon it."

"Prima," Maya said in a straightforward tone, "I'm afraid I've been dishonest with you for the last five hundred years. You'll understand when you hold my hairpin."

"Alright, then," Ashi shivered.

Ashi picked up a green object, waiting for the truth her cousin was concealing.

"Ashi," Maya said, "that's a pickle."

"Yes," Ashi nodded.

Suddenly, a face appeared on the pickle. He shouted, "I'm Pickle Rick!"

"You need my hairpin, prima," Maya sighed.

After throwing Pickle Rick to the side, Ashi picked up a white sock. She then said, "What have you been hiding from me?"

Maya told her she had picked up the wrong object again. This process was repeated with a bowling ball and Maya herself. At last, Maya removed a long jade hairpin from within her dress. The hairpin resembled two snakes wrapping themselves around a small ball. On the top of the pin were three jade teardrops hanging from silver chains.

"Try this," Maya said.

Once the hairpin was in Ashi's hand, it began to glow. Rays of light were shot from the pin, making Ashi nervous. The rays united themselves into a ball that immediately struck Ashi's head. It was at that moment when everything changed.

Chapter 1

Our story begins in the Gongmen province of China during the late Tang Dynasty. At that time, the Peacock Family had ruled the province for hundreds of years, protecting its residents from the demons of the world. Out of all of the demon slayers in the world, the Peacocks were the most successful. They were known for studying Taoist sorcery, which is one of the most powerful forms of magic. With their powers, the Peacocks had slain countless demons, sparing their subjects from the fate of being eaten.

While all of the other Peacocks had only dedicated their lives to protecting the toons of Gongmen, Lord Shen found another use for magic. Throughout his youth, he had learned that demons devour other life forms to convert the powers of others to their own. With powers come abilities, which lead to strength. Those who gain enough powers attain immortality, becoming invulnerable for all time. Shen had always wondered what rewards come with immortality, and he was more than desperate to learn of them.

Shen knew that the magic of snake demons was especially strong. Wanting to reach immortality at the soonest opportunity, he ordered all of the snake hunting villages of Gongmen to send him as many snakes as they could. Each delivery gave him excitement, and he never hesitated to absorb the powers of every snake he was given. The young lord could sense his own excitement, as could his two apprentices, Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper. In hopes that his apprentices could live beside him as immortals, Shen taught them everything he knew about the sorcery that strengthened his powers.

While the young lord and his apprentices were quite aware of the effects of their practices, they had never dreamt of what was to come on one particular night. It initially seemed to be an ordinary night, for the routines at Gongmen Palace were proceeding at their usual pace. What the toons at the palace did not expect, however, was the arrival of a certain assassin: Ashi. She had arrived at the palace in a disguise, failing to plant seeds of suspicion into the guards. She then proceeded to Shen's room, killing any guard who tried to stop her.

When Ashi finally reached the doorway, she slightly opened it to see what was inside. While she could not see the face of Lord Shen, his seated robed figure revealed his intentions. Ashi caught a brief glance of the sleepy face of Leonard Hofstadter, who was sitting by his master's side. By Shen's desk were open baskets filled with snakes.

"Force of darkness," Shen said, spreading his wings, "spread your power across the land."

At that moment, the snakes in the baskets gave off a purple glow. Purple rays of light were shot from the snakes, entering Shen's wings. Ashi did not hesitate to make her magic hairpin float towards the young lord. She knew her plan had to work, just as her allies had told her. As these thoughts crossed her mind, however, the hairpin fell to the ground.

Shen was startled by the sound of the hairpin when it reached the floor. That combined with Ashi's gasp were enough to awaken Leonard. Suddenly, the peacock and his apprentice looked towards the door to see Ashi watching them.

"Assassin!" Leonard gasped.

Ashi leapt away from the door as Leonard passed through it. He ran to the balcony, where he could see Sheldon Cooper standing below him.

"Sheldon, there's an assassin!" Leonard cried out.

Without hesitation, Sheldon ran towards the large drum. He would shout "assassin!" after every three bangs he placed upon it. It was not long before all of the palace guards were running to their positions. They immediately recognized Ashi as an assassin when they saw her. She threw off her disguise and leapt into the air, dodging all of the arrows that were fired at her.

When Ashi decided she had the upper hand in the battle, she noticed black fulu flying towards her. She narrowly escaped them as she landed on the ground. Leonard and Sheldon approached her, taking floating fulu with them. They fired all of the fulu at Ashi, but she dodged them with ease. Leonard and Sheldon exchanged a look of fury, and then they held their hands together to create a dark cloud that came flying towards the mysterious assassin.

Lacking a look of fear, Ashi brought her jade hairpin to her through the air. She shot a green light from it, blocking the cloud of dark magic. As the two apprentices added more power to the cloud, Ashi began to force it into her hairpin.

"What the heck!?" Leonard gasped.

Sheldon sighed, "Never underestimate females, my friend. Never underestimate females."

Ashi remained silent, resisting the temptation to grin. She knew she had to stay focused, for she had come to Gongmen City for one reason only. And then, the light from her hairpin disappeared. Before Ashi could gasp, the cloud of dark magic forced her into the nearby river.

"Bazinga," Sheldon smiled.

Neither Ashi nor the two apprentices knew that Lord Shen had been watching their battle through his window. He had also been surprised by the skills of the assassin. Unlike his apprentices, however, Shen was quite pleased by what he had seen. A woman who wielded such powers did so through one method alone, and such a method promised everlasting invulnerability. It was enough to make the young peacock grin in anticipation as he imagined the assassin's rescue from the dark waters below.

As Ashi floated beneath the waves, she wondered what had happened. Her world grew cold and dark with the passing time.

Ashi immediately opened her eyes, gasping with shock. Water had fallen on her face at a fast pace, and she was drenched within seconds. Before Ashi could learn more of her situation, water fell upon her face again.

"It's working!" a dumpy male voice said.

A third splash of water drenched Ashi's face, making her cough. She looked towards her side to discover that a pink starfish was spitting water at her. He wore peasant clothing on his body and a friendly smile on his face.

"Alright, alright, I'm awake," she groaned.

"Zao shang hao!" the starfish said in the dumpy voice. "My name is Patrick."

"Uh," Ashi shrugged, "hello, Patrick."

"Rise and shine, Sleepy Head," Patrick smiled. "I can't cook, but I have lots and lots of coconuts."

When Patrick first mentioned food to her, Ashi realized she had not eaten in a while. While she did not know where she was, or if Patrick was trustworthy, Ashi knew she had to eat something. As she followed Patrick to his coconut storage, she took the time to observe her surroundings. She was in a small wooden house, and the view through a window revealed it was on top of one of many tall rocks. Despite the beauty of the rock structures and autumn leaves outside, Ashi paid most of her attention to Patrick to ensure he would not attack her.

As the two approached the door, they were stopped by a tall sponge. Her head was large and round, and her skin was the color of cooked noodles. She smiled at Ashi and said, "Good morning, miss. I see you're doing alright."

"What's going on here?" Ashi asked in a straightforward tone. "Who are you?"

"My name is Margaret Sqaurepants," the woman replied. "I see you've already met Patrick Star."

"Oh yes," Ashi sighed. "I see he is quite the gentleman."

"So," Margaret nodded, "what is your name?"

Ashi froze in her tracks, wondering what to say. Her stillness extended to the point where Margaret had to ask Patrick to wait for their guest. Ashi thoroughly searched her mind for an answer, but none could be found.

"Where are you from, miss?" Margaret asked.

Once again, Ashi struggled to find and answer. It did not matter how many more questions Margaret asked her, for Ashi failed to answer whatever was asked of her. At one point, Patrick smiled at her and said, "Don't worry, lady. You're just hungry. Let's go."

"Wait!" Ashi gasped. "I would like to know where we are now."

"Well," Margaret explained, "you're in Snake Catcher Bottom. Here, it's our job to hunt snakes for the Peacocks."

"The Peacocks?" Ashi asked.

"Yes," Margaret nodded. "As long as we keep giving them snakes, they'll be able to protect us from the demons of the world. My son, SpongeBob, is one of our snake catchers."

"SpongeBob saved you, miss!" Patrick beamed with excitement.

Ashi sighed, "There is still so much I don't understand. I've never met this SpongeBob, and I don't know much about the Peacocks."

"Well," Margaret smiled, "perhaps a full stomach will help you understand more." She turned to Patrick and said, "Now, Patrick, why don't you show your coconut supply to our guest?"

"Yay!" Patrick cheered. "Coconuts!"

Patrick led Ashi outside of the house, crossing a bridge to another rock. When Ashi stepped upon the bridge, she realized it was many feet above the ground. Hoping not to fall, she kept her eyes straightforward as she followed Patrick to their destination. Once they were standing on solid ground once again, Patrick approached a large boulder. He rolled it to reveal a cave filled with coconuts that fell beneath the bridge.

"Oops," Patrick sighed. "Sorry, miss. No coconuts."

Ashi chuckled, "It's alright. I can retrieve them."

A white light shone from her right hand as she held it in the air. Within seconds, all of the undamaged coconuts that had fallen were floating back into the cave. When all but two coconuts were in the cave, Ashi sealed it by making the boulder float in front of the entrance.

"Wow!" Patrick gasped. "How did you do that?"

At that moment, Ashi froze. She did not know how to answer Patrick, for she did not know how she had accomplished her recent feat.

"Oh well," Patrick smiled reassuringly. "Let's eat."

He picked up one of the coconuts and sucked on its shell. Since Ashi was aware that one typically eats the insides of a coconut instead of the outsides, she was confused by Patrick's behavior. Nevertheless, she made a small rock float towards her coconut and crack open its shell. It was not long before she cracked Patrick's coconut, as well. As Ashi drank the milk from her coconut, Patrick ate his as if it were an apple.

What an unusual man this is, Ashi thought as she watched him. While he doesn't seem rude, he might be a troublemaker. I should still be careful.

When their coconuts were finally finished, Patrick offered to lead Ashi to the ground beneath the bridges. She ignored her suspicions as she obliged, and the two were on their way. Once they had reached their next generation, they saw a little girl who wore her hair in two buns. She was running with her two friends, shouting, "Look! The snake catchers are back!"

The girl's shouting reminded Ashi of Margaret's son, who was revealed to be a snake catcher. Ashi decided this would be the right time to see him for herself. No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than did several toons pushing a wheelbarrow along the nearby river. There was a yellow sponge, a tall squid, a brown squirrel, a pink-shelled snail, and several humans.

"Those are the snake catchers," Patrick smiled. "SpongeBob's with them."

"Which one is SpongeBob?" Ashi asked.

Patrick chuckled, "He's the yellow one over there."

Ashi looked at the yellow sponge, who seemed to be in a jovial mood. Although he was walking, his movements made him seem as if he were dancing. The pink-shelled snail who was slithering beside him seemed to appreciate his company. As the snake catchers came closer to Ashi and Patrick, Ashi realized that the sponge and snail were eating parts of a coconut. The squid who walked beside them did not seem pleased, for a coconut shell and milk were staining his head.

Patrick laughed, "Look, miss! Squidward got hit in the head with a coconut!"

The squid groaned, "Patrick, did you open the door to your coconut supply again?"

Ashi immediately said, "Please sir, be easy on him. He was kind enough to give me food when I was hungry. And since Patrick calls you 'Squidward', is that what I may call you?"

"Yes," Squidward sighed. "My name is Squidward Tentacles. I see you've already made friends with this big pink idiot."

"Thank you," Patrick giggled.

At that moment, the yellow sponge approached Ashi. He smiled and said, "I see you're awake, miss. How are you?"

"I'm just fine," Ashi said. "Are you the one they call 'SpongeBob SquarePants'?"

"You're right!" SpongeBob smiled. "And, what may I call you?"

Ashi gulped, "I'm sorry, SpongeBob, but I don't know what I am called."

"Don't sweat it," SpongeBob smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later." He picked up the snail and said, "By the way, this is my pet snail, Gary. He's the most loyal pet anyone could ever have."

Gary meowed sweetly to agree with his master.

"Ah, hello there, Gary!" Ashi smiled, petting him. "Aren't you a whittle cutie pie?"

Gary purred at the feeling of Ashi's touch. SpongeBob chuckled, "I think he likes you."

"He likes everyone, you big buffoon," Squidward groaned. "He's a big, stupid snail."

No sooner had Squidward spoken then did Gary hiss and growl at him.

"Gary, be nice," SpongeBob said sternly.

"How can he be nice!?" Squidward snapped. "He's a snail! He bites me at least once every week!"

"Oh Squidward," SpongeBob smiled, "You have yet to be acquainted with the ways of the domestic snail."

As SpongeBob and Squidward argued about snails, Ashi approached the wheelbarrow. Doing so helped her to realize that it was filled with woven baskets. She could hear hissing from within the baskets, for they were filled with snakes the catchers had found. At one point, however, Ashi thought she could hear the snakes talking. Their words immediately replaced the hissess they were making.

The snakes seemed to be saying, "Help! Please help! Save us, princess! You have to help us!"

Ashi was more than shocked as she heard them. She did not believe that snakes could talk, and here she was listening to them plead for her help. While she wanted to help them, she did not know how she could do so. She did not know any of the snakes, nor was she aware of their problem. It was as if they wanted her to do the impossible.

"Miss, are you alright?" a voice asked.

Ashi turned around to see the squirrel standing by her side. Ashi gulped, "I'm so sorry, miss. It's just that I'm new here and have so much to learn."

"That's finer than a glass vase on a velvet table cloth," the squirrel smiled reassuringly. "My name's Sandy, by the way."

"Thank you, Sandy," Ashi smiled reassuringly. "So, is there something wrong with the snakes?"
"Something wrong?" Sandy asked in a confused tone. "Like what?"

"Well," Ashi shrugged, "what if they're in pain or something?"

Sandy chuckled, "Oh, that ol thing. I wouldn't be so worried if I were you. These critters'll go all the way to Gongmen City where Lord Shen'll put em to use."

"Lord Shen?" Ashi asked. "Who's he?"

"What!?" Sandy asked. "You've never heard of Lord Shen!? Do you know anything about the Peacocks at all!?"

"Now, now, Sandy," SpongeBob smiled. "Our guest says she's new here and has a lot to learn. Perhaps, she's not from Gongmen."

"Actually," Ashi shivered, "I don't know where I'm from at all."

"Well," Squidward grinned, "if you choose to be a snake catcher like us, miss, you'd better not take any tips from SpongeBob. He's scared of snakes."

"Squidward," SpongeBob sighed, "just because I'm from Snake Catcher Bottom doesn't mean …"

"Hiss hiss," Squidward said.

"Ah!" SpongeBob screamed. "Snake!"

He ran behind the wheelbarrow hiding himself. When he thought he was safe, however, he heard the captured snakes hissing. It was enough to make SpongeBob lose control over his emotions. Noticing what was happening, Ashi said, "Perhaps, SpongeBob, you could show me something else. I am curious as to what else there is to see here."

"Sure," SpongeBob smiled nervously. "Just as soon as I drop off some medical herbs at the village."

"Dr. SquarePants," Squidward chuckled, "the only snake catcher who wishes he were someone else."

Gary growled at Squidward, silencing him.

"Come, on miss, let's go," SpongeBob said. "You too, Patrick."

As SpongeBob led Gary, Patrick, and Ashi into the village, Ashi could not help but look at the toons who were greeting her guide. Little children ran towards SpongeBob, eager to take samples of the herbs he had gathered. The wives of the snake catchers greeted him with respect, as did the elderly parents. Once SpongeBob dropped Patrick off at his house, he led Gary and Ashi outside of the village. It was at this point when Ashi grew more curious about what was happening, what had happened, and what was to happen.

Chapter 2

"Don't worry, miss!" SpongeBob cried out. "We're almost there!"

By this point, Ashi was getting tired. She had been following SpongeBob and Gary across many bridges and over many rocks. While she wanted to know what SpongeBob had to show her, the path they took almost made her want to change her mind. As Ashi became aware of this thought, SpongeBob signaled that they had reached their destination. On a cliff, they were greeted by a storehouse decorated with items that did not go together.

"Here we are, miss," SpongeBob proclaimed. "Welcome to my humble storehouse where I do all of my work. While the other snake catchers catch snakes in the forests, I spend my time doing my own things."

On the wall of the storehouse was a large sign marked with Mandarin characters. It read, "Chum is Fum".

"Why is your storehouse called 'Chum is Fum'?" Ashi asked SpongeBob.

"Oh, that!" SpongeBob laughed. "That's not what it's called. It's a random sign I found floating in the river. I thought, 'Waist not what not'."

Gary rolled his eyes as he gave a meow that sounded like a groan. Unaware of what his snail was thinking, SpongeBob showed Ashi everything he had displayed. There were medicine jars, star charts, calligraphy brushes, and moldy Krabby Patties.

"You see," SpongeBob explained, "there's a philosophy in life: your fate may be in stone, but you choose how you live. While I'm scared of snakes, I chose to be a snake catcher for the good of Gongmen. I still want my people to be safe and happy, though, so I study whatever I can to help them without facing scary animals."

"That's so sweet of you," Ashi smiled.

SpongeBob blushed, "Oh, it's nothing."

Suddenly, Ashi's smile melted into a frown. Her body froze as she stared off into the distance.

"Miss, are you alright?" SpongeBob asked her.

Ashi shivered, "I feel that I may be like you. I may have been tasked with doing something I didn't want to do."

"Well," SpongeBob said, "some things are better forgotten. Forgetfulness could be the antidote to the pain that came with whatever you may have been tasked with."

At that moment, SpongeBob's eyes grew wide with excitement. He grabbed Ashi's hand and ran towards a large waterfall near his storehouse. Gary immediately followed them, losing his breath. When the three finally approached the water, Gary drank from it like a horse. Using his fingers, SpongeBob led Ashi's eyes to the direction of a large rock that supported two sleeping seals.

A third seal with bushy eyebrows climbed onto the rock, seating himself next to the other seals. When the third seal was positioned, however, the other seals woke up and shouted, "Gerald, get off the rock! Come on! Off off off off off off off!"

Gerald immediately kept back into the water and swam away. Ignoring what had happened, SpongeBob spoke to Ashi again, "Yesterday afternoon, I was fishing on the rock when I saw you for the first time. You weren't moving as you floated in the river, but your eyes were on the brink of closing. Thinking quickly, I pulled you out before you could reach the waterfall. Then, Gary and I took you to my house in the village.

"Did I say anything?" Ashi asked him.

"Nope," SpongeBob replied. "Once you were out of the water, you fell asleep."

At that moment, SpongeBob and Ashi realized that Gary was gone. While they were immediately overcome with worry, their worries died when Gary returned to them. He was holding something green in his mouth.

"There it is!" SpongeBob smiled. He pet Gary's shell and said, "Good job, you smart boy."

SpongeBob took the green object and placed it in Ashi's hand. As she observed it, she realized it was a jade hairpin that resembled two snakes coiled around a ball. From the top of the hairpin hung three jade teardrops on silver chains.

In awe of the beautiful object she was holding, Ashi gasped, "What is this?"

"I don't know," SpongeBob replied, "but you were holding it when I found you. I couldn't find it till now because I lost it."

As Ashi continued to examine the hairpin, she thought she could see flashes of her memories. They were brief and blurry, but she thought she could see black snake tails and white wings. She could hear a male voice saying, "Spread your power across the land".

"No!" Ashi gasped.

From her hand came a white light that was quickly shot at SpongeBob. He found himself flying towards the cliff and falling off of it.

"SpongeBob!" Ashi screamed.

She and Gary immediately hurried themselves towards the cliff and looked beneath it. When they thought that SpongeBob was nowhere to be found, they caught a glimpse of a figure flying quickly past them. SpongeBob's voice was shouting, "Hey! Look, guys! I think I'm flying!"

When SpongeBob was floating in front of them, Ashi and Gary realized his pants had inflated. Ashi gasped, "What the…"

"Thanks for the touch, miss," SpongeBob smiled. "Now, we're really flying. Both literally and figuratively."

He picked up Gary, grabbed Ashi's hand, and flew into the distance. During this process, Ashi realized she had the ability to make herself and Gary fly. Therefore, all three of the flyers were crossing the air like giddy birds. Gary performed many loop-de-loops, SpongeBob danced with clouds of many shapes, and Ashi simply soared. The azure sky above and the rocks and autumn forests below made the three feel as if they were in a dream.

At one point, the three soared downward and across a field of dandelions. Many seeds released themselves from the plants as the wind came upon them. The seeds tickled the three flyers and made Ashi sneeze. SpongeBob laughed, making her blush. She could not help but laugh herself as they flew into the forest, for her mood was more than jovial.

The forest was a lovely place where the sun rays made peaceful light shows in the red and orange leaves. The dream was about to become a nightmare, however, for the flyers did not notice the snakes that were watching them. The snakes angrily hissed at the flyers, not attempting to conceal themselves. The jovial mood of the flyers was what blinded them from what was around them. And then, an orange snake with red markings leapt onto SpongeBob's body.

SpongeBob screamed when he saw the snake, for he was very much afraid of its species. The snake wrapped itself around his arm, preparing to bite him. Gary growled at the sight of his master in danger. As for Ashi, she immediately struck the snake with white light. It uncoiled itself and fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

Since Ashi had dedicated all of her attention to SpongeBob, she did not notice the large tree she was approaching. Therefore, she landed forcefully upon its trunk when she approached it. She lost her own consciousness when she fell upon the ground.

"Miss!" SpongeBob gasped.

While he and Gary could not see Ashi, they had heard the THUD! that had come when she struck the tree. Growing worried, the sponge and the snail turned around and desperately searched for her. When they finally caught sight of her body, they noticed it was surrounded by four human soldiers in Chinese armor. SpongeBob immediately recognized them as soldiers of Lord Shen of Gongmen province.

"She looks just like the assassin we saw last night," one of them said. "That woman was such a beauty that I doubt she had an equal."

Another soldier responded to him by saying, "Well, she's holding the same hairpin. That's for sure."

"We should not take chances," a third soldier said. "We must kill her now."

"No!" the fourth soldier gasped. "Lord Shen said he wants her brought to him alive."

Suddenly, the four soldiers heard a "meow" coming from the bushes. They turned around to see Gary wearing wide pupils, smiling at them. He meowed in a sweet tone, making the soldiers return his smile. It was not long before they were approaching him, calling him names such as "Sweety Bum" and "Cutie Pie". When the soldiers began to pet him, however, Gary attacked them.

While Gary was outnumbered, he managed to fight all of the soldiers at once. He bit them and clawed at them, removing their ability to move. As the battle progressed, Ashi woke up to see what was happening. SpongeBob immediately led her out of the forest and towards Snake Catcher Bottom. By the time Gary finally left the soldiers, Ashi and SpongeBob were too far away to be seen.

All of the demons of the world live in hiding places that could never be found by the naked toon eye. Such places must be suited for the demon's traits and features, for the demons must be able to live in comfort as they conceal their images. The Gongmen snake demons knew that well, for they were quite content with living in a dark cave beneath the ground. The cave had been their normal place of residence for hundreds of years, and Lord Aku of the snake demons had decided that it would remain their home until he said otherwise. At the time of our story however, Aku had decreed that his people could not leave the cave without his permission.

Ever since Lord Shen had ordered all of the snake catching villages of Gongmen to send him snakes, the snake demons had been in danger. Whenever they slithered in the outside world in full snake form, many of them would be taken by the snake catchers. While some snakes were better at escaping capture than others, every journey beyond the cave was dangerous. Even the scouts, who were skilled at camouflage, lost at least one companion every day. Aku hoped that keeping all of his subjects in the cave would save them from the gruesome fate Shen had planned for them.

While Aku was known to be a patient leader, there was a point when he grew tired of his clan living in fear. He decided his daughter could defeat the peacock prince, for only her father had more skills and power. On the day after the princess' departure, however, the snake scouts brought forth horrible news to their people: the white snake princess was a traitor. She had forsaken her mission, siding with the Gongmen instead of her clan. Some snakes were frightened by what they had heard, and others were enraged.

As rumors of the princess' betrayal spread throughout the cave, the snake demons could not help but discuss them. They would say things such as "How could the princess betray us?" or "Who would have thought the white snake's loyalty was false?" At one point, a snake demon named Plankton claimed that the clan would not be going through so much trouble if Lord Aku had sent him on the mission instead of the white snake princess. While Plankton was known for his jealousy over her, the snake demons realized that he might have been telling the truth. He had always been loyal to their king, as had his mate and children.

Lord Aku and his niece, Princess Maya, were the only snake demons who did not partake in the conversations. Aku did not want to seem politically biased towards a certain point of view, for he did not wish to have rivals to his seat in power. As for Maya, she loved her cousin more than anything in all of the Six Realms. They had known each other since childhood, and they had always trusted each other. Neither princess had known each other as traitors, for they had always been honest with one another.

As the other demons spoke of how the white snake princess had wronged them, the green snake princess failed to agree with them. She would merely sit behind the rocks in full human form, imagining ways she could restore the honor of her beloved cousin. Even as she ignored the other demons by listening to "Bolom Chon" on her phone, Maya could not help but think of her cousin. Maya's mother, Micte, had taught them the song when they were children, and they had sung it to each other growing up. Now that the loyalty of her cousin was being questioned, Maya was desperate to reminisce on their happy memories.

"Look!" one of the demons cried out. "A scout has returned!"

Maya could not hear the demon, for her headphones were in her ears. When she saw the scout, however, she immediately put her phone away. Perhaps, the scout would have good news concerning the white snake princess.

"Lord Aku, babe," the scout said in a jazzy voice, "I've got a little piece of impromptu for you here."

Maya immediately recognized the scout as the snake demon Scaramouche. He was known to speak in a jazzy voice and occasionally sing. While the green snake princess could easily recognize his voice, she realized something was terribly wrong. Instead of appearing in his half-toon half-snake form as most of his brethren did so, he was in full snake form. The little orange and red creature seemed helpless among the clan.

Although Maya was used to the other demons seeming inferior to her fully human appearance, she was distraught by the sight of a seemingly weak Scaramouche. Many of the other demons wore her expression of shock as if they could see her. And then, a shocked Lord Aku emerged from his chambers. He lacked a snake tail as his niece did, but he wore black horns, a green face, and flaming eyebrows. The snake king gasped, "What happened, Scaramouche!?"

Scaramouche shivered, "I have confirmed that the little tunes my brethren hum speak the truth, my lord. Your daughter was assigned to be a supporting role in your show, but her audition for the lead role of a rival show has been accepted. The white snake princess stole my powers."

All of the demons gasped when they heard the news. Even Maya was surprised. Aku, trying not to seem biased, ordered his scout to continue speaking.

"You see, my lord," Scaramouche explained, "I was scat singn' in the trees like I always do when I saw the princess. She was flyn' with a snake catcher, and they seemed to be havin' a gun time playn' Romeo and Juliet. When I tried to send Mr. Romeo off the stage, Ms. Juliet gave me what for."

As Aku listened to his scout, his shocked face melted into a scowl. He had always assumed his daughter was loyal to himself and to their clan. To hear of her committing treason was unthinkable for him, and he could not find joy in Scaramouche's news. Once Scaramouche was finished speaking, Aku said, "The time has come for us to end your worm act. Remember, our powers are of mutual strength that flows limitlessly through the source."

Using his powers, Aku created a golden light that was shaped like a coiled snake. As the snake spread itself throughout the room, all of the demons reached into it. Scaramouche was in the center of the snake, and his form began to grow larger. It was not long before he resembled his former self: a snake-tailed figure whose upper half resembled that of a robot wearing a purple coat and a black straw hat.

Once the golden snake had disappeared, Scaramouche cheered, "Thank you! Thank you very much! I'm restored babes! I'm restored and ready for my next performance!"

Seeming unimpressed, Aku spoke to all of his demons, "We must think of what to do with the now treacherous white snake princess. She is to be found and put to death."

At that moment, Princess Maya leapt in front of her uncle. She bowed to him and said, "She would not betray us, respected Tío."

"How can we be sure?" Plankton growled. "I know how close you are to the white snake. When she drew on the walls as a child, you took her punishment. As for her, she took the blame when you lost your homework that one time. And, let's not forget that incident from the Christmas Party."

"Por favor, Tío," Maya continued, "allow me to journey to the outside world and find my cousin. I will convince her that she has chosen the wrong side of our struggle against the Gongmen."

Aku sighed, "How can we be sure your plan is not a scheme for betrayal?"

"I am as sure as the sunrise," Maya replied, "and I will prove it by accepting the Scorching Death Scales."

The demons gasped when they heard Maya's response. They knew that the Scorching Death Scales had the power to make living flesh explode in fire. Aku, however, did not hesitate to throw them into Maya's body.

"There you are, little niece," Aku nodded. "Now that you have accepted the scales, you are to bring your cousin back to this cave in no more than three days. Otherwise, even I will be unable to save you."

He then tossed her a box of graham crackers, a package of chocolate bars, and a bag of marshmallows.

"Um, Tío," Maya said in a confused tone, "why do I need these snacks? Am I not capable of hunting?"

"You are, little niece," Aku replied, "but as the days go by, the Scorching Death Scales will occasionally raise your body temperature. If you get hungry on your journey, you might as well help yourself to a sweet smore cooked over your skin. You could die, so you will want to take advantage of pleasures when given the opportunity."

"I understand, Tío," Maya said as she bowed to him. "If it is to be, it is up to me."

When the green snake princess was gone, however, Aku immediately summoned Plankton. The snake king had an important task for the one-eyed demon to fulfill.

Chapter 3

When SpongeBob, Ashi, and Gary returned to Snake Catcher Bottom, they were greeted by a joyful Patrick Star. His joy grew stronger as they told him of the adventures they had. Of course, they omitted their encounter with Lord Shen's soldiers, for they did not want Patrick to believe they were traitors. As this thought crossed the minds of SpongeBob and Ashi, they realized that Snake Catcher Bottom would not be a safe place for them for much longer. Since Shen's soldiers had survived their battle with Gary, they were destined to report the encounter to their master, who would send more soldiers to its exact location.

While SpongeBob and Ashi could feel happiness as they told their stories to Margaret SquarePants at dinner, it was stained by their fear of their prediction of what was to come. There were moments when SpongeBob had to use all of his willpower to swallow his rice. As for Ashi, she would occasionally choke on her tea. Whenever Margaret asked them if they were alright, SpongeBob would tell her that they were simply eating or drinking too quickly. This response confused Patrick, who always ate his food from Margaret in one bite.

When all of the dinners were finally gone, Ashi asked Margaret if she could take a walk outside. While Margaret was concerned about her safety, SpongeBob explained that he could accompany their guest. He convinced his mother that Gary would also be a chaperone, but SpongeBob was truly concerned about his snail's safety as well as Ashi's and his own. The three left the house and the village, making sure that they did not leave tracks behind them. When they were finally on the village outskirts, SpongeBob requested that Ashi show him the jade hairpin they had found.

Ashi was almost reluctant to hold the hairpin again, for it had shown her frightening images earlier in the day. Her desire to reclaim her memories, however, led her to fight her feelings. To her relief, images did not come to her when the hairpin was in her hands once again.

"It truly is a lovely hairpin," SpongeBob said. "It must've been owned by some sort of princess or castle lady or even an empress. Maybe it was a snail's."

Gary meowed in a confused tone.

"I don't know what a snail would want with a hairpin, boy," SpongeBob giggled as he pet Gary.

"Hold on!" Ashi gasped. "I think there's something written here!"

As she and SpongeBob examined the hairpin, they realized it was marked with Mandarin characters. They read, JADE CITY: WORKSHOP, GIFTSHOP, AND CAFE.

"Hey, I've heard of that place!" SpongeBob smiled.

"You have?" Ashi asked.

SpongeBob explained, "Of course I have. Jade City is quite a renowned workshop. Last week, I read through Squidward's mail thinking it was mine. In this one edition of 'Fancy Living Digest', there was an ad for Jade City. It said that the workshop is known for making weapons and charms of …"

SCREACH! SpongeBob, Ashi, and Gary heard a loud cry from above. They looked upward to see a giant red crowned crane flying from the distance. It had four legs and three heads, and two men were riding upon his back. The men wore purple robes and long black caps.

"Oh no!" SpongeBob gasped. "We've gotta go!"

"Do those men know Lord Shen?" Ashi shivered.

"Yes!" SpongeBob whispered. "They're his apprentices! We've gotta go now!"

"Wait!" Ashi said. "We should at least watch them from hiding so we may understand what is happening."

SpongeBob gulped, "But…

He did not have time to finish his sentence, for Ashi had already flown himself and Gary to the branches of a tall tree. While SpongeBob wanted to protest, he decided Ashi knew what she was doing. And so, the three carefully watched the two apprentices as the crane landed. The people of Snake Catcher Bottom came to them, suspenseful as to what was happening. They bowed to the apprentices as they climbed down from the crane, for only Lord Shen and his parents had more power than the two men.

"Citizens," the thinner apprentice spoke out, "I am Sheldon Cooper, apprentice of Lord Shen of Gongmen. This is my companion, Leonard Hofstadter, who is also Shen's apprentice. We come with great urgency to speak of an event that has brought great concern to us and to the peacock prince. We …"

"Sheldon," Leonard sighed, "just get to the point."

"Absolutely not!" Sheldon gasped. "These people have a right to know every detail as to why we have come to them. Otherwise, they might think the reason behind our arrival is so we can bake cookies with them."

"Cookies!" Patrick cried out. "Did somebody say cookies?"

Leonard looked at Sheldon and groaned, "Now, you've done it."

"Fine!" Sheldon snapped. "I will let you do the talking."

"Thank you," Leonard sighed. He returned his attention to the villagers and said, "Lord Shen has been attacked by an assassin in white. While we could not identify her, we have managed to draw a perfect image of her face so people can help us find her."

Sandy Cheeks gasped, "Lord Shen was attacked!? Well golly, I hope he's okay."

"He is," Leonard said reassuringly. "Sheldon and I fought her off before she could do any damage."

"But, she has been seen around this area," Sheldon interrupted.

Leonard groaned, "I thought you said I was going to do the talking?"

"Oh, right," Sheldon nodded.

Leonard continued speaking to the villagers, "Anyway, as Sheldon said, the assassin in white has been seen around Snake Catcher Bottom. The soldiers who found her did not take her back to Gongmen because a snail attacked them, allowing her to escape. Therefore, we need your help to find her."

Ashi almost gasped as she listened to Leonard, for she easily identified the encounter he had described. As she thought of it, she began to wonder if she was a horrible person. While she did not possess a desire to do evil at that moment, she wondered if such a personal desire existed when she had her memories. It was more than what she could bear. The poster Leonard held to present her face to the village only strengthened the pain she was feeling.

Unaware of Ashi's pain, Leonard asked the villagers, "Have any of you seen this girl?"

"It's the assassin!" Patrick screamed. "Take her away! Take her away!"

"Relax," Leonard said as he rolled up the picture. "This is only an image of her."

"Oh," Patrick sighed with relief. "Okay."

Leonard then said to Patrick, "I'm going to show you the image again, and you're going to tell me if you've seen the assassin."

"Okay," Patrick nodded.

When Leonard unrolled the picture, however, Patrick screamed again. After this process was repeated twice, Leonard and Sheldon exchanged a cruel grin. They showed the image of Ashi to Patrick many times, and some presentations were longer than others. As long as the image was visible, Patrick would scream. It was enough to make SpongeBob, Ashi, Gary, and the other villagers exchange confused faces.

"Wait just a minute!" Sandy gasped. "I saw the assassin earlier today! She was with a snake catcher named SpongeBob Sqarepants!"

"A snake catcher!?" Sheldon gasped in response.

"Where are they now?" Leonard inquired.

Margaret SquarePants shivered, "They went for a walk outside, but I don't know where they went." She then got on her knees and begged, "Please, don't accuse us of treason. We have always adored Lord Shen, and we always send him snakes."

"I see," Leonard said sarcastically. "The thing is, though, less and less snakes have been coming from this village. Can I ask why?"

"Oh, come on!" Squidward Tentacles groaned. "We just can't find as many snakes as we have in the past! If Lord Shen wants to complain about it, he can cry it to the snakes!" Squidward imitated Lord Shen's voice as he said "'Hey, little snakes! I need more of you, so come to my palace in Gongmen City for a permanent vacation!'"

While Patrick and the village children could not help but laugh at Squidward's imitation, Leonard and Sheldon exchanged looks of disgust. Sheldon growled, "How dare you insult our lord! Do you know why he demands snakes!? Because without them, he can't protect your sorry backsides from the demons of the world!"

"Well, what's the chicken gonna do!? Turn me into a rabbit!?" Squidward growled.

"No," Sheldon said, "but I will."

Purple mist came from Sheldon's hand. It floated around Squidward, making him growl in an irritated tone. And then, POOF! Squidward had buck teeth, a gray cotton tail, and long, gray ears.

"I'm a bunny, now!" Squidward laughed. He hopped away in insane joy, shouting, "I'm a bunny, now!"

"Bazinga," Sheldon smiled.

It was at that moment when SpongeBob and Ashi decided the time had come for them to leave. Ashi flew to the nearby river, and she used her powers to help SpongeBob and Gary follow her. They found a small rowboat that was occupied by a bearded man and a small green bird. Once they approached the boat, SpongeBob requested that the bearded man take them to the city of Hua. The bearded man obliged, letting the three board the boat.

As he rowed the boat away from the shore, the bearded man introduced himself as the boat's captain, Patchy. His little green bird was to be called Potty. Patchy and Potty gladly accepted their passengers, for they were a welcoming crew. Their good demeanor was enough to help Ashi feel more at ease. While she was still worried about the girl she could be, she was happy to know that there were some who cared for her.

The midday sun was shining brightly, and Patchy's passengers were more than happy to be outdoors. They were now a good distance from Snake Catcher Bottom, which meant they were safe for the moment. Ashi's fears of being horrible were almost cast away by her good mood, for she was surrounded by many great landscapes. The river was like a bed of jade, and the tall rocks that surrounded it were like towers. The azure sky above her was calm and serene, only holding the sun and a few puffy clouds.

As midday smiled at her, Ashi could not help but return its smile. SpongeBob did so when he was her face, and Gary could not help but follow his master's example. Their joy, however, was interrupted by Patchy's singing:

OOOOOOOHHH!

Scurvy ain't for the likes of me!

Yoho! Yoho! Yoho! Yoho! Yoho!

Yoho! Yoho! Yoho! Yoho!

OOOOOOOHHH!

Yoho! Yoho! Yoho! Yoho! Yoho!

Yoho! Yoho! Yoho! Yoho!

OOOOOOOHHH!

Scurvy ain't for the likes of…

"Bwaywk!" Potty cried out. "Perhaps, our passengers know some good river tunes!"

"What are you talking about, Potty?" Patchy asked him. "I've got the perfect sailn' tune."

"That's not what they think," Potty groaned.

He pointed his beak to the three passengers, who were watching them with shocked expressions.

"Oh," Patchy blushed. "Well, do any o'yee know some music?"

SpongeBob came to him and said, "You know, I've got a good song. It was written way back in the Qin Dynasty, and people have been singing it ever since. It's called 'No Concerns,."

"Oh boy!" Patchy smiled excitedly. "Sing it, sir! I can't wait!"

SpongeBob climbed up to the crow's nest and hung a lit lantern on it. As he did so, the young snake catcher began to sing:

Can't you see waters east

Flow without a trace?

Go at their own pace?

Can't you feel sun above?

Sets behind the hills,

Rises as it will.

No concerns as it gleams.

This life floats by.

It's a dream.

No concerns as it gleams.

This life floats by.

It's a dream.

This life floats by.

It's a dream.

As SpongeBob sang, his shipmates could not help but smile sweetly. The young snake catcher sang in a peaceful baritone voice, matching the peaceful landscape that surrounded him. As the boat entered a cave, the lantern SpongeBob had hung on the crow's nest cast many shapes on the rock walls. The echoing of his voice complimented the shapes perfectly. It was like a dream, just as SpongeBob had sung.

While Captain Patchy was confident in his own ability to sing, he would not help but listen to the snake catcher in awe. Gary and Potty, who did not always care for music, found themselves forgetting this part of their personalities. As for Ashi, she felt as if "No Concerns" was opening her heart. She thought of the questions SpongeBob had asked in the song, wondering if they had correct answers. And when the time for the singer to ask questions had ended, Ashi merely froze her mind to listen.

As SpongeBob climbed down to her, Ashi gave him a heartfelt reply, "That was lovely, SpongeBob. While I have yet to reclaim my memories, I doubt any memories of music will be able to conquer the one you have helped to construct." She then looked at the distance as she said, "You know, your song speaks the truth. Life is like a dream, flowing quickly yet gracefully. I like it."

"If you like that song," SpongeBob smiled, "I could teach it to you."

"Alright," Ashi nodded.

And so, the voyage passed with SpongeBob and Ashi singing "No Concerns". During this process, Ashi learned that she was skilled at memorizing song lyrics. It was not long before SpongeBob only needed to sing her one line at a time. When Ashi finally remembered the song, she and SpongeBob would sing it together. Even when they sang it in a harmonic manner, they felt as if life truly was a dream.

If the sailors truly were dreaming as the song had said, Ashi was close to refusing to wake up. She did not want to leave the peaceful scene, for it promised her so much happiness. Of course, she was still desperate to learn of her lost memories. She knew that at some point, she and her new friends would have to stop the peaceful scene to search for them. And then, Ashi's fear of being horrible returned to her. It made her freeze in her tracks, nearly removing her ability to feel the warm sun.

"Miss, are you alright?" SpongeBob asked in a concerned tone.

Ashi gasped, "I'm fine, thank you!" She then sighed, "How can you be sure I'm not a bad woman?"

"Miss," SpongeBob grinned, "you're the last person I'd suspect to be horrible. While I do not know you very well yet, and even if you did try to kill Lord Shen, I can tell you're not a bad person."

"But, isn't Shen your protector?" Ashi shivered. "Good people don't harm protectors."

SpongeBob then picked up Gary and said, "Gary's bitten me plenty of times, and he's not horrible."

The snake catcher petted his snail affectionately, making him purr. Gary meowed sweetly as if to reply to his master. When all seemed well, however, a mischievous smile appeared on Ashi's face. She held up her hand and said, "What do you think of SpongeBob, Gary?"

Once a ball of white light appeared in her hand, Ashi fired it at Gary's throat. In a British accent, Gary said, "I do not mind the sponge, thank you very much. While he can be a bit of a burden at times, he is the one who feeds me."

SpongeBob grew still when he heard his snail speaking. Ashi giggled, and Gary wore a surprised face.

"Gary," SpongeBob shivered, "did you just talk?"

"Um," Gary gulped, "meow?"

"Oh my gosh!" SpongeBob beamed with excitement. "I'm officially the owner of a talking snail!" He then looked at Ashi and said, "Thank you so much, miss! Are you a Level Ten Wizard?"

Ashi giggled, "I guess we'll find out."

"Heaven, help me," Gary groaned.

"So, Gary," SpongeBob said, "now that you can talk, I have the opportunity to ask you the questions I have always wanted to ask you. First off, what is your biggest dream?"

Gary smiled as he gave his response, "In my dreams, I am flying."

"Wow, that's nice," SpongeBob smiled.

"And, as I fly," Gary continued, "I breathe fire down upon my enemies."

SpongeBob and Ashi were petrified by what the snail had told them. SpongeBob could merely say, "Well, everyone's got a dream."

"Squawk!" Potty cried out. "Danger ahoy! Squawk!"

Chapter 4

Patchy took out his monocular and looked into it. He saw a small, one-eyed, snake-tailed demon swimming towards the boat.

"That feller does look dangerous," Patchy nodded, "but I think we have a few minutes before he gets here."

It was at that moment when Potty noticed that Patchy was looking into the wrong end of his monocular. The little green parrot turned it around, allowing Patchy to look through the other end.

"Oh no!" Patchy screamed. "He's right on top of us!"

As the demon approached the boat, Ashi took the time to examine his figure for herself. While she could not recognize him or recall a name, she felt as if she had seen him in the past. When he was finally next to the boat, he seemed more familiar than before.

"Well well well, little princess," the demon cackled, "it's good to see that you've made some new friends."

"I do not know what you speak of, demon," Ashi growled.

"Demon!?" the demon gasped. "Don't you remember? It's me, Plankton. Your old rival."

"That doesn't matter!" SpongeBob cried out. "It's time for battle." He then grinned as he said, "with a little karate."

He ran towards Plankton, preparing to use his right hand to strike him. By this point, however, Plankton had already sculpted a plan. He stirred his tail in the river, making the waters unsteady. It was not long before the boat was rocking like a cradle. The sight of it frightened SpongeBob, distracting him from his decision to fight. He fell into the river, making Ashi and Gary scream.

"You see, princess?" Plankton smirked. "That's what we're supposed to do with toons such as, let's say, LORD SHEN!"

Plankton held his tail in the air and shook his rattle. Doing so dazed Patchy and Potty, making them unable to move. Once the captain and the parrot were deep in their trance, Plankton used his upper body to knock them into the water, drowning them. When Plankton least expected it, however, an inflated SpongeBob came swimming towards the boat.

"SpongeBob!?" Ashi gasped. "How did this happen!?"

SpongeBob climbed into the boat and giggled, "I'm a sponge. We're meant to absorb water like that."

As SpongeBob deflated himself, Plankton wrapped his tail around Ashi. While he did not hesitate to try to fling her out of the boat, she was too heavy for his little body to do so. He could not use his rattle to daze her because his tail was wrapped around her. Noticing what was happening, Ashi took out her jade hairpin and stabbed the demon's tail. As he screamed in pain, Ashi freed herself and punched his face.

Ashi's blow had given Plankton a lot of pain, but its power had forced him into the majestic rocks that surrounded the river. The demon was now stunned in the rocks, unaware of the growing distance between himself and the boat.

"Wow!" SpongeBob said in awe. He turned to Ashi and asked her, "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

Ashi chuckled, "I guess we'll find out as we go."

Suddenly, Gary began speaking, "Miss, SpongeBob, I fear it is too early for us to celebrate. Behold the demon in the rocks."

At that moment, SpongeBob and Ashi realized that Plankton was regaining his consciousness. Once the energy of the little one-eyed snake demon had been restored, he began to snarl in anger.

"If we can't play at this level," Plankton said, "I suppose the time has come for an upgrade."

As he grew larger in size, the plankton-like features of his upper body disappeared. Scales that were the same navy blue color as his tail grew on his upper body, and his plankton-like became more snake-like. It was not long before Plankton's form was that of a large, one-eyed, navy blue snake. It roared at the boat before swimming quickly towards it. While SpongeBob and Ashi initially seemed terrified, they replaced their faces with fierce scowls.

SpongeBob took out his snake stick and leapt towards Plankton. As he did so, however, Ashi saw brief flashing images in her mind again. She saw the white wings again, and then a blurry image of a tall green-faced figure appeared. She thought she heard a raspy male voice saying, "Take it, and …"

At that moment, Ashi endured a transformation of her own. Her skin turned pale, her hair turned bluish white, and her eyes became blue snake eyes. She leapt towards Plankton and used a ray of white light to slice him in half. As Ashi landed on the boat and caught her breath, Plankton's halves fell apart and into the river. A drop of his gray blood landed on her cheek, but only SpongeBob noticed it.

As SpongeBob and Gary looked at Ashi, they found another change that her body had attained: a long snake tail located where her legs should have been. It matched with her white dress, for the tail was covered in scales colored like virgin snow. Its tip was marked with long blue stingers.

"What in the world!?" Gary gasped.

When he and SpongeBob least expected it, Ashi's body returned to its human form. Once it had done so, however, ice appeared on her cheek. SpongeBob realized it had been the same cheek that had been marked with Plankton's blood. He then looked at the river to see that it was turning into ice. This was the face of every drop of water that absorbed the gray blood.

As SpongeBob realized what was happening, Ashi fell to the platform of the boat. She tried to move towards him, but her body had grown colder by that point. More ice was visible on her skin. Thinking quickly, SpongeBob grabbed her body and ran to the shore. Gary immediately followed them, hoping not to lose his master.

It was not long before the sponge and the snail approached a Buddhist pagoda. They did not hesitate to enter it and lay Ashi on its wooden floors. When they did so, however, Ashi's body created a sheet of ice that covered the floors.

"Good heavens!" Gary gasped. "I fear she might not survive this dire situation!"

"You just relax," SpongeBob said. "All we need is a little camp fire. There happens to be a bonfire stand over there."

"I see, SpongeBob," Gary nodded. "It looks like it needs some wood, but you must not worry. I can get some from outside."

As Gary left the pagoda to search for firewood, SpongeBob picked up Ashi and placed her next to the bonfire stand. He huddled with her, hoping to warm her up. Ashi tried to speak to him, but she was too numb to do so.

"You just relax," SpongeBob said softly. "Before too long, we'll have a campfire and have some fun."

At that moment, Gary brought a large stake of firewood into the pagoda. Since Gary did not have hands, he and SpongeBob switched their duties for the moment. It did not take SpongeBob much time to start the fire, nor was Gary too slow in warming Ashi. When the bonfire pit finally held a roaring fire, SpongeBob took out the dumplings, graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows he had brought with him.

"Alright, then," SpongeBob smiled. "We can't have a campfire night without dinner and smores."

The evening progressed with SpongeBob cooking over the fire and singing campfire songs. While Gary and the fire were slowly warming Ashi, she still felt numb. Even the hot food she was fed did little to restore her health. When her portion of food was finally gone, Spongebod laid himself beside her and held her in his arms. Gary followed his master's example, and the three of them immediately fell asleep.

As the night ran across the sky, Ashi's thoughts were plagued by horrifying images. Many of them were images she had already seen. She saw the white wings that accompanied the tenor voice that said, "Spread your power across the land." Then came the green faced figure, who was accompanied by the raspy voice that said, "Take it, and …"

"Enough!" Ashi would scream in her dreams. "This doesn't make any sense!"

She would then be greeted by images of men throwing black sheets of paper. Their purple robes were very similar to the ones worn by Lord Shen's apprentices. There were also snakes who screamed in toon tongue when they were caught by snake catchers. And then, Ashi found her jade hairpin laying on a nearby rock. As she examined it, she heard the raspy voice saying, " … assassinate the …"

Ashi woke up as if her mind was a flock of frightened birds. She gasped for breath, wondering if more images were to come for her. As she waited for them, however, she realized that her consciousness had returned to the Buddhist pagoda. The Buddha statues that surrounded her seemed to be greeting her with their warm smiles and peaceful eyes. It was enough to make Ashi smile in return.

When she was finally calm, Ashi realized that SpongeBob and Gary were missing. All that remained of them were bags of raw dumplings and bags of leftover s'mores supplies. Piles of crumbs had been littered on the floor, and the smell of burnt wood had already stained the air. Looking at these images helped Ashi to remember what had happened on the previous night: SpongeBob had been holding her. Although he had seen her wearing a snake tail, he had not been afraid to hold her.

As she departed from the pagoda, Ashi wondered what had made Sponegbob do what he had done. Did he not see her tail? Perhaps, his vision was too poor for him to notice the frightening spectacle. It was when these thoughts crossed her mind that Ashi saw SpongeBob and Gary sitting on the pagoda roof. They were watching the sunrise, for they were facing the east.

Ashi broke the silence in the air by saying, "Good morning, gentlemen."

SpongeBob looked at her and smiled, "Good morning, miss. I hope you're ready for a bright, shiny new day because I'm ready." He then chanted, "I'm ready, bright new day. I'm ready, bright new day."

"He always does this," Gary groaned. "Do not mind him."

Ashi climbed onto the roof, taking the time to have her own experience in the morning sun. The sky seemed as if plants of light were growing towards the clouds and blossoming. The sun itself was a shining jewel that was durable enough to shatter the dark glass of the night sky. Rays of golden light were shining on the city below, making it seem as if it had fallen from the sun.

Ashi turned towards SpongeBob and asked him, "What is this place?"
"This is the city of Hua," SpongeBob explained. "I would've taken you to Gongmen City, but since Lord Shen's apprentices claim you tried to kill their master, Hua is our next best bet. It's the second safest city in all of Gongmen, right behind Gongmen City."

Ashi examined the city as SpongeBob described it to her. She saw content, prideful toons strolling the streets in colorful silk clothing. While each toon only seemed to care for itself, they did not seem burdened by the dangers of the world. SpongeBob revealed that Lord Shen's great grandfather had founded the city as a haven for the oppressed. Its residents included refugees, orphans, and innocent runaways.

Hua had always been safe, for Shen's great grandfather had supplied it with soldiers and magic charms to keep the demons away. At the moment SpongeBob said "demons", Ashi remembered the incident with her snake tail. She took the time to speak of it, for she was anxious to know SpongeBob's thoughts concerning it.

"I have a snake's tail," Ashi shivered, "and that is a demonic feature. How can you be sure I'm not evil if I have demonic body parts?"
"Relax, miss," SpongeBob smiled reassuringly. "The world's full of evil folks with two legs. Who cares if you have a tail?"

"Some might care," Ashi sighed. "What if Lord Shen is among those who do?"

SpongeBob laughed, "If he is, I'll talk enough sense into him. He's a reasonable prince. I'm sure he'll listen."

"Would anyone care for a pastry?" Gary asked, interrupting his master.

"Oh course, boy," SpongeBob smiled. "What kind did you get?"

"Let's see," Gary replied, "I have a chocolate eclair, a frosted cinnamon roll, and a jelly-filled doughnut."

"Jelly-filled!?" SpongeBob beamed with excitement. "I'll take that one, please."

Ashi gave Gary a calmer answer, "I should probably have the eclair. Snails can't have chocolate."

Gary took out the bag that held the pastries. As he gave the doughnut to SpongeBob, Ashi took the time to read the pastry bag. It was labeled, JADE CITY: WORKSHOP, GIFTSHOP, AND CAFE. Even as Gary placed the large eclair into her hand, Ashi could not help but wonder what awaited her at the workshop. After taking a bite of her pastry, Ashi asked Gary, "Are these pastries really from Jady City?"

"Of course, miss," Gary nodded. "It is located around the corner."

"Excellent," SpongeBob smiled with a bite of doughnut in his mouth. "That makes things easier for us."

When the pastries were finally gone, the three travelers did not hesitate to proceed on their journey. As Gary led them to the workshop, each traveler felt something different. Ashi was nervous about her origin, SpongeBob was excited to have an adventure, and Gary was annoyed by the excitement of his master. Although each traveler was feeling something different, all three of them were greeted by the same sight: a Chinese building with a sign marked with the words, JADE CITY: WORKSHOP, GIFTSHOP, AND CAFE. This sign was the signal that represented their success as travelers.

"Well," SpongeBob smiled, "we'd might as well come in." He then looked at Gary and asked him, "By the way, Gare Bear, how did you get those pastries?"

Gary gave his master a cunning smile as he said, "Apparently, the door to the workshop had been left open. I came in and approached the cafe, where a young woman was standing at the cash register. I expanded my pupils for her, making her unable to refuse my request for our pastries."

"How did you buy them?" Ashi gulped.

"Past customers have thrown their coins into the lovely workshop fountain," Gary explained. "I would say I put them to good use."

"Well, regardless," SpongeBob smiled nervously, "let's come in."

He opened the workshop door, allowing himself and his companions to enter. While a sign on the door had clearly stated that Jade City was open, the three travelers could not find any workers.

"Hello?" SpongeBob cried out. "Is anybody here?"

No reply came to the snake catcher. Seeing the look of concern on his face, Ashi told him, "Perhaps, they're on break."

"Oh, look!" Gary smiled. "That is the fountain where I found the coins."

Walking upon the polished ceramic floor, the three travelers approached a large circular mall fountain. As they examined the coins in the water, they saw a little black fish swimming in it.

"Excuse me, Mr. Fish," SpongeBob said to it, "do you know where we can find the workers of this establishment?"
"Excuse ME!" the fish shouted in a raspy female voice. "I should have you know that I'm a WOMAN!"

The fish leapt out of the water, transforming into a young Latina woman with long dark hair. A lovely jade mask with a Mona Lisa smile covered her face, and a large obsidian headdress sat upon her head. Her only articles of clothing were a blue loincloth and breast wrap, and dark blue tattoos marked her bare skin. Golden earrings hung on her ears, and long golden anklets rested on her legs. The woman removed her mask and grinned at the travelers, revealing that her long bangs were covering one of the two eyes of her tattooed face.

"So," SpongeBob shivered nervously, "do you work here, miss?"

"Work here?" the woman said flirtatiously. "Why, I own this establishment. Everything and everyone in Jade City is under my control." She then addressed Ashi, "And, I see Young Lady is back. Having issues with the wand?"

"The wand?" Ashi asked, confused. "I do not recall such a thing. We only came to have this hairpin checked."

She presented the hairpin to the tattooed woman, who gazed upon it with hungry eyes. She licked her lips and took the hairpin.

"How interesting," the tattooed woman cackled. "It seems as if great power does have great consequences?"

"What the heck are you talking about, miss?" Ashi asked sharply.

"Feisty, are we?" the tattooed woman grinned. "Perhaps, then, we should cut the chit chat and head straight to the task at hand."

The tattooed woman put on her mask and led the three travelers towards a golden elevator. When it was nearby, she turned around and took off her mask again.

"Oh, where are my manners?" the tattooed woman asked in her flirtatious tone. "I am Xtabay, the Grand Lady of Illusions."

"Grand Lady?" Gary asked with a hint of interest in his tone. He bowed to Xtabay and said, "Salutations, my lady. I am Garold Wilson II of Snake Catcher Bottom, but many simply call me 'Gary'. I am proud to introduce to you my master, SpongeBob SquarePants, and a lovely young maiden we have found."

"I see, 'Gary'," Xtabay nodded. "Now, if you excuse me, we have some very important work to do."

Xtabay placed her mask back on her face before she pressed the "down" button for the elevator. It opened to reveal two skeletal girls standing in its compartment. Xtabay clenched her fists, but she calmly led the three travelers into the elevator. She pressed the button on the ground level, and the six passengers were on their way.

It was not long before the masked Xtabay faced the skeletal girls and snarled, "What are you doing here!? You should be working!"

"Relax, jefa," one of the girls said in a Latina voice. "We were just gonna get a snack at the cafe."

"Alright," Xtabay groaned. "I will let this go for now. When these three customers leave, the two of you will be free to snack."

"Yes, my lady!" the other skeletal girl cheered in a voice higher than that of her companion.

Xtabay turned towards her customers and said, "These are my assistants, Bone and Skull. They are known as the Ladies of Thievery."

"We can steal anything!" Bone and Skull cheered, unveiling a butterfly net.

So, that's how Ol' Reliable disappeared, SpongeBob thought.

At that moment, the golden doors opened to reveal a spacious workshop with long paper walls. Behind each wall was the silhouette of a demon pounding a hammer or melting ingredients to make weapons and charms. The walls surrounded a circular area where flying boxes were bound together like parts of a caterpillar. On the floor stood a large wooden desk. The three new customers realized the desk belonged to Xtabay, for she approached it and opened one of its drawers.

From an open drawer came a scroll made of bamboo strips. As it floated in the air, Xtabay summoned her powers to unroll it.

"Ah, yes," the Grand Lady of Illusions said. "Young Lady, your hairpin belonged to another if I recall correctly. It absorbs the energy of others and converts it to its ownest for future use."

"Absorbs energy?" Ashi gasped.

She took out the hairpin and examined it, wondering if it would start a magic spell. Xtabay came close to her face and grinned, "Your wand lacks an equal. It's no wonder, for you asked me for an alteration last time you were here. You requested that you become the one who controls the wand."

"Her?" Gary asked, confused.

Xtabay looked at him and nodded, "Of course, I did warn her that such alterations can create large side effects."

"I'll say," SpongeBob said. "She can't recall a thing."

"¡Claro que sí!" Bone cried out. "The wand can easily drain the magic of Young Lady's foes, but her memories went with them!"

"And, without those," Skull added, "what good are magic powers?"

"The gods know," the skeletal twins sneered in unison.

SpongeBob did not hesitate to ask Xtabay, "And yet, you …"

"Young Lady was insistent," Xtabay interrupted him. She came close to SpongeBob and continued speaking, "She said that an alteration to the magic wand would be the only thing that would save me from becoming her next meal."

"What!?" Ashi gasped. "Why would I …"

Skull placed her hand on Ashi's shoulder and cackled, "You can have quite the appetite, miss. I bet you could swallow a whole panda in one bite, and I'm sure you have."

"Anyway," Xtabay continued, "Young Lady also offered me a lot of gold for the operation. I needed that gold to pay my debts to my suppliers, but I would have made the alteration of Young Lady had paid me in sand. These sorts of reversals hold interest to us."

"¡Sí, sí!" Bone cheered. "Like changing Heaven into Earth!"

"Or, turning evil into good," Skull grinned.

The skeletal twins leapt into the air as they cried out, "Our favorite specialty is turning toons into demons!"

FLASH! The twins became large five-tailed foxes. They did not hesitate to run in the air and throw water balloons at each other.

"Hey, knock it off!" Xtabay grinned. "You'll disturb the workers!"

"Anyway," Gary sighed, "I can assume that you were aware of this young woman's risk for amnesia. Did it at least concern you?"

Xtabay giggled, "Maybe, but it did not make a difference. You can blame it on the vanity of the Grand Lady of Illusions."

As Xtabay spoke to his snail, SpongeBob desperately searched his mind for a plan. While he now knew why Ashi was amnestic, he had yet to know of the memories she had lost. Perhaps, Xtabay knew of them. Hoping to retain his politeness, SpongeBob asked her, "So, do you perhaps know who the old owner of the hairpin is, oh Grand Lady of Illusions?"

"Of course, young man," Xtabay said flirtatiously. "Of course."

She summoned a row of boxes, using her magic to open one of them. From the open box came a large snake scale that landed in SpongeBob's hand.

"This will be your compass," Xtabay explained. "It might not seem like much, but it's quite reliable. Trust it, and it will guide you to the old owner."

Chapter 5

While SpongeBob, Ashi, and Gary set forth on their journey, Lord Shen kept to his books as usual. He rarely left his room, for he knew that doing so would require him to stop his reading. He believed that thorough research in Taoist dark arts would help him to navigate the path to immortality without difficulties. Of course, only the magic of snake demons could make him progress. Shen did not care about the consequences of his dedication, for they were sacrifices he was willing to make.

Although Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper shared Shen's desire for immortality, they were more free-moving than their master. The only reason why they sometimes stayed by Shen's side as he studied was to accompany him, for Leonard and Sheldon found the task to be quite boring. Their master's room always held full bookshelves and a peacock with his nose stuck in his book while the changing seasons and yearly events danced outside of the palace. Sometimes, Leonard and Sheldon would take turns accompanying their master; one apprentice would sit by the young lord's side while the other tended to their own duties. Even Shen's exciting process of absorbing the powers of snakes inevitably fell to this routine, for Leonard and Sheldon had grown used to their master's empowerment.

On the same day our heroes arrived at Jade City, neither Leonard nor Sheldon stayed by Lord Shen's side. There were times when neither apprentice wanted to remain restrained in his room, and Shen had accepted this long ago. Of course, the peacock only gave them so much time to be outside of the room together. On this particular day, Leonard was more than excited to leave the room and share his freedom with Sheldon. Many thoughts were racing through Leonard's mind, and he was not willing to let them go.

Leonard wore a thoughtful face on this day, and it failed to conceal itself from Shen and his nine-year-old human servant, Sakamoto Chiyo. Shen had never seen such an expression on Leonard's face, for it was usually Sheldon who dedicated attention to complex thoughts. The peacock began to wonder if his apprentice was imagining a scheme. Such a thought made it difficult for Shen to focus on his studies, and it was not difficult for Chiyo to realize what was happening. As she held the bowl Shen would use to dispose of his cherry pits, her gray-blue eyes caught images of a concerned Shen peeking at the thoughtful Leonard.

It was not long before Shen spoke to his unusually thoughtful apprentice, "Hofstadter, I request that you leave my side at once."

"But, my lord," Leonard gulped, "Is my break with Sheldon not for another fifteen minutes."

"Well," Shen struggled for words, "I um … um … You have been such a wonderful apprentice, Hofstadter. For being such a man, I will reward you by giving you an early break. Every hard worker needs his rest, regardless of the time."

"Okay," Leonard shrugged, confused. "I guess I'll go, then."

"Just be back in fifteen minutes," Shen added.

Leonard gasped, "Fifteen minutes!? You give me an early break but …"

Chiyo's widening eyes silenced him. Both the apprentice and the servant knew that disobedience to Lord Shen was a serious crime that could only be punished in a severe manner. Nevertheless, Shen only gave Leonard a foreboding look as if to warn him that this would be his only gift of mercy. Taking the warning seriously, Leonard did not hesitate to leave the room. Once he had closed the door, Leonard immediately searched for Sheldon.

Leonard was running through Gongmen City Palace, for the thoughts in his mind were urgent. While they did warn him of what needed to be done, they blinded him from the outside world. He would have trampled on Sheldon if he did not see him in time.

"Why, Leonard," Sheldon said, "what has transformed you into a human Millenium Falcon?"

Leopard brought Sheldon to the wall as he harshly whispered, "Not out loud. I only have fifteen minutes, so we need to go to my room now."

Wondering what was happening, Sheldon followed Leonard into his room. While Sheldon usually dedicated his thoughts to science and mathematics, he could not help but imagine the thoughts that were racing through Leonard's head. As worry began to sprout within Sheldon, he found himself standing inside of Leonard's room. Leonard immediately closed the door and brought Sheldon to the furthest corner.

"Sheldon," Leonard said urgently, "I'm afraid we have to leave Gongmen City ASAP."

"Leave?" Sheldon asked, confused. "Why would we leave? A zombie apocalypse has yet to occur."

"Sheldon, this is serious!" Leonard replied. "It has to do with the chicken in this palace!"

"Oh no!" Sheldon gasped. "It's food poisoning! Order the cooks not to serve any of the poultry to Lord Shen!"

Leonard sighed, "I'm talking about Shen himself."

"So am I," Sheldon said quickly. "His life is at stake, and …"

"Shen is the problem!" Leonard snapped. "That chicken's gone mad!"

Sheldon sighed, "First off, Shen is a peacock, not a chicken. Second, he is an intelligent toon whose mind cannot be stained with insanity. And third, I haven't noticed anything strange in Shen's behavior."

"That is until this assassin came around," Leonard said, retaining his sharp tone. "Ever since she came, Shen's been like, 'Find this assassin and bring her to me. Find this assassin and bring her to me.' The only thing that concerns him more than this assassin incident is the shortage of snakes in Gongmen!"

Confused, Sheldon asked his companion, "And your point is?"

Leonard gave him another sharp response, "If we're to survive, we need to leave Shen ASAP. And, forget resignation. We only have enough time to run with our tails between our legs."

"But, Leonard," Sheldon shivered, "don't you remember why we took jobs with Shen in the first place?"

Leonard sighed, "I wanted to whoo Penny by showing her that I'm a sorcerer, and you wanted to learn the spell that can revive your father. Those may sound like wonderful things, but don't you see the consequences?"

"We only have so much break time?" Sheldon asked.

Leonard resumed his snapping tone, "Let me spell this, Sheldon! I think that the prince of Gongmen is focussing so much on his attempted assassination that it's only of the only things he ever thinks or talks about! Whenever his men fail to find this assassin, he threatens their lives! As long as we keep slaving away for this talking chicken, it won't be long before he turns on us! And since we can't stop him, we might as well leave while we can!"

"So, you don't want to be an immortal anymore!?" Sheldon gasped. "That's quitter talk! When we swore ourselves to the prince, we promised to never quit a mission without completing it. The mission we assigned ourselves as we took the job was to become immortal and live easy lives ourselves. I know the prince can be gruff at times, but we must be content with the sacrifice we must make."

"Fine!" Leonard barked. "Work for poultry! Be like …"

"HOFSTADTER!" a voice cried out. "COOPER!"

It was Lord Shen. His voice sounded urgent, and it was stained by many coughs. Leonard looked at Sheldon and spoke to him in a sarcastic tone, "Happy deathday, Sheldon."

As the two apprentices left Leonard's room, each carried a different mindset. Leonard had been angered by Sheldon's refusal to leave with him, for he had expected the observant Sheldon to notice Shen's behavior. As for Sheldon, he was confused as to why Leonard seemed so angry. After all, they had endured many of Shen's outbursts together. When they finally stepped foot into their master's room, they realized that their routine had grown more unusual.

Lord Shen was still sitting at his desk, but he was in terrible pain. He was coughing uncontrollably, hovering over his workspace. As a mariachi band played in the far corner of the large room, Sakamoto Chiyo beat Shen's neck with a snow shovel. When the eyes of the peacock prince fell upon his apprentices, he did not hesitate to point at his throat.

"What in tarnation!?" Leonard gasped.

Chiyo gave him an urgent reply, continuing to beat the prince, "Our master was eating a cherry when the mariachi band suddenly appeared. The sound of their music startled him, and he swallowed his cherry down his throat. He began to choke on it, so I'm trying to get it out."

"No!" Shen coughed. "Please! Chiyo!"
"Don't panic!" Sheldon said. "Do not panic. I think I've studied an anti-choking spell."

Sheldon stood still and closed his eyes, trying to remember the spell he had studied so long ago. Whenever he thought he could remember it, a new thought would tell him otherwise. His thinking did nothing to save his master, and Leonard could not fail to recognize this turn of events.

"Oh, for the love of Pete!" Leonard snapped.

He ran towards Shen to slap his neck, but he had done so as Chiyo raised her shovel. When Leonard's hand made contact with his master's feathered skin, it was struck by the falling shovel. As the cherry pit fell from Shen's beak, Leonard leapt towards the ceiling and screamed in pain.

"Wow," Sheldon nodded. "You don't see that every day."

Leonard fell to the floor to see his master inhaling forcefully. He approached the prince and asked him, "Are you alright, my lord?"

Lord Shen, who was dizzy from Chiyo's beating, asked Leonard a question from his weary mind, "Where is the leak, ma'am?" Once he had regained his focus, he did not hesitate to yell at the mariachi band, "Get out! All of you, get out!"

While the band was choked by what the prince had ordered of them, they knew better than to question him. They stopped their music and ran out of the room, hoping that Shen would not see them as reluctant individuals. Once the band was gone, Shen moved his scowling face towards Chiyo. He grabbed her by the collar of her robe, pulling her towards him. As Chiyo came close to whimpering, Shen picked up the cherry pit that had recently fallen from his break.

"Chiyo," Shen growled, "what is this I am holding?"

Chiyo shivered, "It is a cherry pit, my lord."

"That is true," Shen nodded, "but I would like you to be a little more specific."

"You were choking on that pit," Chiyo whimpered.

"Precisely," Shen grinned. When he spoke to his servant again, however, his grin disappeared, "Can you tell me why I was choking on this thing?"

Chiyo shivered as she said, "You swallowed it by accident because the mariachi band surprised you."

"Why else was I choking?" Shen snarled, pulling Chiyo closer towards him.

"Please, my lord," Chiyo whimpered, "I wasn't trying to kill you with a bad cherry. How can I know if you will choke on the pits? You will not let me tamper with the fruit?"

Shen then snapped at her, "I could have died, little girl! And that would have allowed you to succeed in killing me! And since you had grown impatient with the cherry pit, you tried to break my neck with the snow shovel!"

"What!?" Chiyo gasped.

Shen suddenly grinned at her, "I hope you did not have any plans for tomorrow, for I fear you will have to die at dawn for your attempted act of murder."

"My lord," Leonard said to him, "Chiyo is only a child. Perhaps, a lighter punishment would be more suitable for her."

After a short time passed, Shen groaned, "Very well." He called for his guards, who did not hesitate to enter the room. Once they were standing before him, Shen gave them Chiyo and said, "Take this servant to the dungeon, and let her rot there forever."

"Please, my lord!" Chiyo begged on her knees. "I'll do anything! I'll serve better fruit next time! I promise!"

Ignoring the servant's pleas, Shen remained silent as the palace guards carried her away. Sheldon and Leonard were horrified, for they did not consider the perpetual imprisonment of a child to be more peaceful than execution. As this thought crossed their minds, however, Shen asked them a question, "What is this thing by my feet?"

Sheldon and Leonard came closer to their master, looking at the red button on the ground. Sheldon then answered his question, "That is the mariachi band button, my lord. I had it placed there so you could enjoy mariachi music as you study."

"I never requested such an appliance!" Shen snapped. "As I read my books, I accidentally stepped on it, unleashing the hideous screech that is mariachi music. In fact, I never wanted a button there at all."

"Forgive me, my lord," Sheldon nodded. "I thought I heard someone in the palace raving about mariachi the other day. I guess it was someone else."

Neither Shen nor Leonard hesitated to scowl at Sheldon.

"Alright, alright," Sheldon sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Anyway," Shen continued, "there is a third matter we must discuss. It has been two days since my would-be assassin paid us a visit. I have sent countless men, including the two of you, out to find her, but I have yet to see her again." He then growled at his apprentices, "What are we doing wrong?"

"My lord," Leonard shivered, "the villagers of Snake Catcher Bottom told us that while they did see the assassin, they don't know where she went. She could be …"

Shen grabbed Leonard's collar as he snarled, "You said that when you returned from the village, and here we are with no assassin. And, may I ask why you and Sheldon did not set out to search for her?"

"I've said this before, but she could be anywhere," Leonard answered him in a desperate tone. "I know you want her brought to you alive, but I have no idea how long it will take. You must understand."

Shen released Leonard as he sighed, "Very well. If your answer is true, Hofstadter, I will give you and Sheldon one final attempt to find the assassin. If you return to me empty handed again …"

Shen dropped one of his cherries on the ground before stepping on it.

"Yes, my lord!" Sheldon gasped. "We won't come back until she's ours."

"Actually," Shen nodded, "I would prefer the two of you to work on a timed mission. I want you to bring the assassin in no more than three days."

"Only three days?" Leonard gulped.

Shen grinned, "You see, as I watched you and Sheldon fight the assassin, I realized she had immeasurable powers. I already depend on the qi of snakes to strengthen my own qi, but the assassin is worth ten thousand snakes. If I am to attain immortality at a sooner date, I am to be given the assassin in little time."

"And, what will happen if Sheldon and I fail our mission?" Leonard asked him.

"Then, I will search for the assassin myself," Shen cackled. "After absorbing the qi of the two apprentices who failed to find her, I shall succeed where they failed. And then, I will be the most powerful creature in all the realms."

"Either way, my lord," Sheldon smiled, "you benefit. I like that."

"Precisely," Shen nodded. "And now, I will ask the two of you to leave Gongmen City and obey my orders."

"With pleasure, my lord," Sheldon said, bowing alongside Leonard.

The two apprentices departed from the palace and saddled their giant crane. Their thoughts were quite similar as they entered the skies, but Leonard was aware of something Sheldon could not imagine.

Chapter 6

Confusion. That was what SpongeBob, Ashi, and Gary felt as they departed from Jade City. Although Xtabay had instructed them to trust in the snake scale she had given them, it did not seem like a reliable compass. It did not bear a needle, nor did it possess magnetic qualities. It was simply a large scale.

"Well," Ashi shrugged, "I could never imagine that we could come all this way just to get conned by a sales clerk."

"Cheer up, miss," SpongeBob smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure more faith would let this compass do its job."

"Faith?" Ashi sighed. "How can you trust that something can do what it was not meant to do?"

"You just relax," SpongeBob said. "We'll find your memories soon. I promise."

Ashi did not know what to do. While Xtabay and SpongeBob had seemed sure of themselves, the snake scale did not seem promising. As Ashi reflected on what SpongeBob had said to her, she began to wonder if he had been playing with her. This thought, however, reminded her of the kindness she had found in SpongeBob's heart. He had rescued and cared for a stranger, and he had not concerned himself with what others would think of those actions.

Although she was nervous of doing so, Ashi decided to trust SpongeBob's words. If he had been kind to her up to this point, nothing would have encouraged him to play a trick on her. She repeated a personal mantra many times, Trust in the sponge. He brings no harm.

After a few minutes of reciting her mantra, Ashi thought she could see the snake scale spinning. Its speed grew faster and faster, making the three travelers curious as to what was happening. When they had decided that the strangest of occurrences had already happened, the scale sharply stopped with its thinner end pointing towards the west.

"I guess that is a compass," Ashi smiled.

SpongeBob giggled, "I told you so. In times like this, all you need is a little faith."

At that moment, the sponge and the woman began to smile at each other. Why they had occasionally exchanged smiles early in their journey, this exchange was longer than its predecessors. SpongeBob and Ashi were now wearing warmer smiles, and they found it impossible to stop gazing at each other. After a short time, Gary groaned, "Excuse me, love birds. I believe we have a journey to continue."

"Oh, right!" SpongeBob gasped. "Thanks, boy."

Neither Songebob nor Ashi noticed that Gary had rolled his eyes at them, for they were distracted by each other. While SpongeBob was holding the magic scale in his right hand, his left hand grabbed the right hand of Ashi. They two walked at a leisurely pace, looking straight forward into the distance. Gary retained his annoyed expression as he slithered behind them. He had never found himself fond of such scenes, and he had hoped he would not encounter one on his master's journey.

As the day progressed, SpongeBob and Ashi became more focussed on each other instead of their journey. If they had not checked the magic scale every few minutes, their goal of finding Ashi's memories would have been forgotten altogether. They would take the time to smell the flowers, listen to the songbirds, and gaze at the majestic landscapes they passed. It was not uncommon for SpongeBob and Ashi to exchange more smiles with each other, unintentionally disgusting Gary. At one point, Ashi wrapped her arm around SpongeBob as they walked.

While they had gotten to know each other quite well by this point, neither SpongeBob nor Ashi wondered what it was they were feeling. They did not burden themselves with questions of love or even friendship, for they felt that concerns would distract them from the fun they were having. After all, SpongeBob's song was titled "No Concerns". If life floated like a dream, they had to cherish it while they could. While the river of life can seem slow at times, SpongeBob and Ashi wished they could preserve its slowness forever.

When night finally fell upon the sky, SpongeBob and Ashi took the time to gaze at the stars. They found Chang'e awaiting her beloved on the moon, and they felt pity when they saw the Cowherd and Weaver awaiting each other. As they looked upon the tragic lovers, SpongeBob and Ashi tightened their grasps on their hands. They understood that Ashi's memories had the potential of requiring them to separate, but they were not ready for such a moment. If it was to come, they felt it must arrive on the most distant tomorrow.

As SpongeBob and Ashi focused on their thoughts for each other, and as Gary was drowned in disgust, none of the travelers could see what was lurking in the woods around them. The features of the figure were concealed from the world, for it was draped in a black hood. Even as it unintentionally exposed its face while watching the travelers, they did not think to look for it. It was a tan-skinned face marked with red, white, and green paint. Its mouth bite into a s'more figure had prepared, but no campfire was present.

When the three travelers came close to the figure, it ran towards them in a single blink of an eye. In a female voice, the figure shouted, "The snake catcher is mine!"

The figure exposed its right arm as it approached SpongeBob. Thinking quickly, Ashi exposed her own hand and blocked that of the figure. From Ashi's hand came a great wind that threatened to force the figure to the ground. The figure, however, remained on its feet as the wind lowered its hood.

"Ashi!" the figure gasped.

Now that the hood was down, the three travelers could see the full head of the figure. It was that of a young Latina girl wearing her hair in an undercut. As the brown eyes on the girl's painted face glared at her, Ashi muttered a single word, "Cousin?"

Both girls were now staring at each other, confusing SpongeBob and Gary. The expressions the girls were wearing revealed a certain softness that could be shared only by members of a loving family. When it seemed as if all would be well, however, the soft expression on the hooded girl's face was replaced by the scowl she had been wearing earlier. The girl growled, "What the heck were you thinking, prima!? Hanging out with snake catchers!?"

"Who is this young lady?" SpongeBob shivered.

Ashi gave a nervous answer to her companions, "SpongeBob, Gary, this is my younger cousin, Maya. When her face was exposed to me, I recognized it."

"Excuse me," Gary said, "I believe your cousin has referred to you as 'Ashi'. Is that your name?"

Maya did not let her cousin answer his question, "It is, Kibble Breath. And when I'm done with you, she's coming with you!"
"What's this all about!?" Ashi gasped. "Do you know these men?"

"No," Maya growled, "but I've heard a great deal about their people. And, the Ashi I know wouldn't waste her time …"

"Wait, time out!" SpongeBob interrupted her. "Would you please start from the very beginning?"

Maya sighed, "If you insist, snake catcher." She approached Ashi as she said, "Since you're a toon, I suppose you've heard a great deal about the Peacocks and Lord Shen, have you not?"

"I have!" SpongeBob smiled. "They're the ones who protect us from all the demons. And as long as we send Lord Shen plenty of snakes…"

"He'll be able to protect you?" Maya grinned mischievously. "Protect you from demons like me?"

Maya seemed to be rising upward, but it was the result of her legs becoming a long snake tail. Scales that shared the tail's green color grew on her exposed skin. Before SpongeBob could gasp out of frightfulness, Maya grabbed his neck and quickly slithered away.

"Maya, no!" Ashi gasped.

Her white snake tail and scales reappeared, and her black hair and brown eyes were blue once more. She quickly followed Maya, who was still holding SpongeBob by the neck. Gary, being a loyal snail, followed the snake girls in hopes of rescuing his master. When the members of the chase finally stopped, Maya was holding SpongeBob over a cliff.

"And now, you little sponge cake," Maya grinned, "I'm gonna tell you the truth about Shen. It's stuff he doesn't want you to know, so he'll kill you if I don't."

She licked SpongeBob's cheek, making him grunt in discomfort. While Ashi wanted to save her friend from her cousin, she was curious about the hidden truth of Gongmen's crown prince. She decided that if she heard Maya out, their family's political opinions would expose her lost memories.

"You see," Maya continued, "you toons think that when you send Shen snakes, he uses them to protect you. Well, he wouldn't care about you if every village in Gongmen was in flames. Do you know why he really wants snakes?"

"He likes reptiles and wants a lot of house pets?" SpongeBob gulped.

"NO!" Maya barked. "Whenever Shen gets snakes, he absorbs their qi and adds it to his own. He does this to attain immortality, the one thing he does care about. But the thing is, all of the snakes he's killed as a feathered qi vacuum were MY PEOPLE!"

Ashi gasped as she listened to her cousin. She had never heard of such a side to Shen, and it was the opposite of SpongeBob's description. Ashi could sense the hatred flowing through Maya's veins, and it was not difficult for her to recognize its aim at all toons, including Shen. She understood why Maya would hate all toons, for it was toons who had hunted the snakes Shen had been given.

"As long as Shen keeps doing what he's doing," Maya continued, "it'll be the end of my people and my tío, King Aku of the snake demons. He sent his princess daughter, who's also my cousin, to assassinate the chicken and save us, but as you can tell, she has failed. SInce she's now hanging out with you, snake catcher, my people have labeled her as a traitor, but I will fix that" She grinned as she said, "If it is to be, it us up to me."

The green scaled demon broke her grasp on SpongeBob's neck, allowing him to fall. He screamed as he imagined the painful fate that awaited him at the bottom of the fit. When he had lost hope, however, he felt himself being grabbed by magic. White smoke was holding him, returning him to the elevated ground. Once his feet were on solid ground once more, SpongeBob realized that it was Ashi who had saved him.

Maya glared at Ashi and growled, "Why are you doing this, prima!? Do you not love our people!? Do you not love your papá!?" Her expression shivered as she asked Ashi, "¿Tú no me quieres?"

Ashi gasped, for she had not expected such an expression to appear on her fierce cousin's face. Although she now recognized Maya as her cousin, Ashi had yet to recall the moments they had shared.

"Maya," she sighed, "I love you as much as any girl has loved her cousin. I understand that Shen needs to be stopped, but do toons such as them deserve such a fate?"

Ashi pointed at a petrified SpongeBob and a worried Gary.

"Please don't hurt us, Maya, ma'am," SpongeBob gulped. "We didn't know a thing about this whole snake killing scheme."

"Cousin," Maya said sternly, "Tío always said that the only good toon is a dead toon. They destroy our homes and kill our loved ones, regardless of their opinions of Shen. To trust in a toon would be to welcome death with open arms."

"Please, Maya," Ashi shivered, "do not harm these two toons. They're my friends."

"Friends!?" Maya growled. "They're merely playing. If Tío…"

She stopped herself before she could finish her sentence. After a short pause, Maya stole another bite from her s'more. She presented a softer face to the three who were watching her.

"Do you understand, cousin?" Ashi asked her.

Maya growled a stern reply, "Just you wait, prima. Just you wait."

And, she was gone. Ashi changed back into her human form, leading her companions back into the forest.

"Wow," SpongeBob shrugged. "That was … weird."

Gary nodded, "Quite so. As for me, I am beginning to wonder if that snake demon was telling the truth."

"Why wouldn't she be?" Ashi asked, confused. "She's my cousin."

"You see, Ashi," Gary explained, "Maya did not give us evidence to prove that she is indeed your cousin. Therefore, we cannot support her claim that she is right, nor can we prove that Shen is doing what she claims he does."

"So, you're saying we need to do detective duties?" SpongeBob gulped.

Gary sighed, "Actually, I was about to tell you that I am considering the purchase of a lying detector."

"A lying detector!?" SpongeBob gasped. "Those things are expensive! How will you pay for it!?"

Gary grinned, "I have found more coins and gift cards at Jade City than you could possibly imagine. And, if you are considering convincing me not to purchase a lying detector, I have already ordered one online."

"Gary," SpongeBob sighed, "how many times have I told you not to purchase things without my permission?"

"We must let this matter slide from our hands," Gary replied. "My purchase was, after all, for the greater good."

Suddenly, the sponge and the snail could hear Ashi screaming. When they looked behind themselves, they realized she was gone. Where she should have been standing was a hole that stood above an underground water slide.

SpongeBob looked into the hole and cried, "Don't worry, Ashi! I'm coming!"

He leapt into the hole and slid down the slide. Gary looked towards the reader and sighed, "Pethood is never an easy stage of life, children."

He leapt into the hole, hoping his master would not get them into trouble.

Chapter 7

Ashi screamed as she fell deeper into the darkness. She had not seen hints that could have warned her of the hole that had swallowed her. A sign had not been standing on the ground, nor had there been orange cones. As these thoughts crossed Ashi's mind, she looked to her side to see another water slide. A muscular man and an old woman were riding in a roller coaster car that slid quickly down the second slide.

"Yzma, put your hands in the air!" the man cheered.

SPLASH! Ashi was submerged in a large pool of water. She changed back into her snake demon form during the splash, but she had not changed intentionally. A brief vision entered her mind, reminding her of the robed men from previous visions. They were pushing her into another pool of water, leaving her to drown.

Once the vision had crossed her mind, Ashi swam to the surface. She noisily inhaled a lot of air as her upper body rose from the water. She grabbed a pool wall, allowing her breathing to return to its normal pace. When she thought she was at peace, however, she heard SpongeBob screaming. He fell into the pool, splashing her with water.

"Sorry," SpongeBob nervously smiled. "Didn't see ya there."

Suddenly, SpongeBob's body began to absorb the water, causing him to inflate. When Ashi turned around to look at him, she gasped. Thinking quickly, she returned to her human form and escaped from the pool before SpongeBob could absorb her. When Ashi felt safe, however, SpongeBob quickly released the water his body had collected. It spilled all over the room and into the pool, splashing Ashi again.

Once SpongeBob returned to his normal shape and size, he apologized to Ashi again. Gary fell upon his head, making him absorb more water.

"SpongeBob, I think you need to leave the pool," Ashi sighed.

Realizing why Ashi had told him what she had said, SpongeBob swam towards the pool wall and climbed out of the pool. He placed Gary on the ground and squeezed the water in his body into the pool again. Trying not to grow annoyed towards the sponge, Gary looked around the dimly lit room. Its walls and floor were made of stone, and the little light came from lamps in the wall. As Gary examined the scenery, his eyes widened with awe.

"SpongeBob, Ashi, do you know what this place is!?" Gary gasped.

"An indoor water park?" SpongeBob asked with excitement.

"No," Gary groaned. "No. This is one of the many demon traps placed in Gongmen."

"Demon traps?" SpongeBob and Ashi gasped in unison.

"Yes," Gary nodded. "When the Peacocks came to power, they immediately dedicated their leisure time to finding ways to protect their toon subjects from the demons of the world. In doing so, the Peacocks ordered the construction of sixteen demon traps throughout the province. This is one of them."

"Oh boy!" SpongeBob cheered. "How do these things work?"

"You see," Gary explained, "the experiences a demon has in demon traps are different from those of a toon. While such traps grant safety to any toon who enters them, demons within them are in serious danger. The entrance to every trap is a water slide that is hidden by a trap door in the ground. When a passenger of the slide enters the enchanted pool of water below, the water determines if the creature is a toon or a demon.

"If the creature that falls into the water is a demon, the water forces it to shapeshift into its true form. This does not happen to toons, for they remain in their true form as long as they remain toons. Once the water has determined if the creature is a toon or a demon, it sends signals throughout the entire trap to determine how it must treat the creature. The obstacles then work to shield passing toons and kill passing demons."

"Wow, Gary!" SpongeBob smiled. "You sure are smart."

Gary sighed, "Did you think my shell was full of hot air?"

"Wait!" Ashi said. "Did you just say these traps kill demons?"

"Of course they do," Gary nodded. "Otherwise, they would not be demon traps."

Ashi shivered, "That's not good. When I fell into the magic water, I turned into a snake demon. That means I truly am one."

"Oh no!" SpongeBob screamed. "That means the obstacles will try to kill you!"

"Relax," Gary said reassuringly. He turned to Ashi and said, "If you follow my lead, Ashi, I will assure you that you will be harmed by as few obstacles as possible."

At that moment, a stone pincher grabbed Ashi's leg and pulled her onto the ground. It quickly pulled her down the hallway, making her scream.

"Oh dear!" Gary gasped. "That is an obstacle!"

It was not long before a long distance stood between Ashi and her companions. SpongeBob and Gary immediately ran after her, trying to imagine how they could rescue her. While they wanted to save her, they understood that to do so without knowledge of the source of the pincher would have been imprudent. As this thought crossed their mind, they finally approached the screaming Ashi, who was still trapped in the pincher. As the pincher raised her into the air, SpongeBob and Gary realized it belonged to a giant stone crab.

"Money money money!" the crab cried out. "Money money money! Money money money!"

Ashi shot her powers at the crab, but he remained undisturbed. He seemed to enjoy his captive's efforts to free herself from his grasp.

"Money money money!" the crab cackled. "Money money money!"

Gary turned to SpongeBob and said, "It seems as if this statue is fond of money."

"Money!?" SpongeBob gasped. "That's it! Gary, how many coins from Jade City do you have left?"

"Forget coins," Gary grinned. "I have something else in mind."

He opened his shell, revealing a large goldbrick. Once he had removed the gold brick from his shell, Gary used his eyestalks to throw it at one of the eyes of the stone crab. He screamed in pain, abandoning his grasp on Ashi. SpongeBob raised his upper body towards her and broke her fall. As SpongeBob lowered Ashi to the ground, the impact of the gold brick caused the stone crab to shatter into many pieces.

"Who'd've thought that money was his weakness?" SpongeBob gasped in awe. "How clever of him to say in a riddle."

"We must depart at once," Gary said. "If we wish for Ashi to live, we must leave."

While the three travelers were determined to exit the demon trap, many dangerous obstacles awaited them. After guiding Ashi through a freezer, SpongeBob and Gary had to help her stay cool in the oven they had to walk into. There were poisoned darts, falling grenades, razor blade floors, and hungry stone tigers. Gary was almost always responsible for saving Ashi, for he had studied demon traps and Taoist philosophy in his spare time. As their time in the demon trap progressed, SpongeBob realized that the books Gary had studied were indeed the items he had ordered in the past without permission.

After facing a wide variety of obstacles, Ashi was too frightened to continue walking. She sat on the ground and laid her back against one of the stone walls.

"Ashi, it's fine," SpongeBob said to her. "I'm sure the exit's around here somewhere."

"He is right," Gary nodded. "If this demon trap is a traditional sixteen obstacle trap, only one obstacle remains unvisited.

Ashi shivered, "I do not know if I understood this when I had my memories, but I feel as if toons and demons are meant to be enemies."

"That's absurd!" SpongeBob laughed. "I don't hate you."

"I know," Ashi said, "but I have seen many horrible things. Your prince has been accused of killing my people, my cousin tried to kill you, and these many obstacles have tried to kill me."

SpongeBob placed his hand on Ashi's shoulder. He smiled sweetly as he said, "Don't worry about that stuff. No concerns as it gleams."

"That song," Ashi nodded. "It speaks."

"That's what songs do," SpongeBob replied. "Why else would I sing 'I'm Ready' in the morning?"

"To ruin the life of Squidward Tentacles," Gary sighed.

Suddenly, the entire hallway began to shake. Doors slid in front of its ends, trapping the three travelers. As they wondered what was happening, they felt the hallway moving downward.

"What is it now?" Ashi groaned.

Gary gave her a dramatic reply, "Here it is. The final obstacle awaits us at the bottom. The obstacle that will be the ultimate difference between life and death. The…"

"Oh, just spit it out!" Ashi snapped.

At that moment, the motion of the hallway disappeared. One of the doors opened to reveal a large stone room with lit torches. Weapons were standing in the skeletons of demons, revealing that the demons had been stabbed many years ago. As the travelers entered the room and examined their surroundings, Ashi's eyes widened.

"Wow!" SpongeBob gasped. "What is this place?"

"It is an underground exorcism chamber, SpongeBob," Gary explained. "Now, this trap is truly a masterpiece of the Peacocks."

"Would you check it out?" SpongeBob smiled. "Graffiti!"

He ran towards a wall marked with many forms of graffiti. It held drawings, mottos, and even complete messages.

"These are hilarious!" SpongeBob laughed. "This one says, 'Up with bubbles, down with air!' And, here's another good one: 'Nematodes are people, too!' And, uh oh! Here's one someone forgot to finish."

The "incomplete" message he had found read, "The Peacocks smell". Wondering why such a message would be "unfinished", SpongeBob used his permanent marker to write "good" at the end of the sentence. As SpongeBob changed the message, Ashi examined a sword that was standing in one of the skeletons. It was marked with Chinese characters that stole Ashi's attention:

Heaven and Earth, breath of all life.

Ceaseless honing, magic abounds.

Demons whither, monsters shrivel.

Evil expires, drowned by Heaven.

Suddenly, the yin and yang on the sword began to burn with a golden light. Ashi's jade hairpin glowed as if to reply to it. Both glowing objects shot beams into the air, creating a larger beam that was shot at Ashi's forehead. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

"Ashi!" SpongeBob gasped.

He quickly ran towards her with Gary close behind him. When they approached their companion, she struggled on the ground as if she were having a seizure.

"I don't understand," SpongeBob gulped. "She looks healthy."

Gary smiled, "I believe our quest to find her memories is just about over, SpongeBob. Listen and observe."

As Ashi struggled to return to her feet, the visions she had seen in her mind returned to her. On this occurrence, however, she understood them. Her first vision was the snake catchers from Snake Catcher Bottom hunting in the forests. The snakes screamed and grunted in toon tongue when they were caught, for Ashi could understand them. And then, she was a white peacock spreading his wings in front of baskets of the captured snakes. She recognized the peacock as Lord Shen.

"Force of darkness," Shen said in the vision, "spread your power across the land."

The snakes were glowing with a purple light. Purple beams rose from their bodies and entered Shen's wings. As the snakes grunted in pain, Ashi recognized the light as their qi. Horror had only been planted into her when she saw a third vision: her father, King Aku of the snake demons. In his hand was her hairpin.

Aku came to Ashi as he said, "This is a magic hairpin. Take it and assassinate the peacock prince."

The vision of Shen returned to Ashi. She used her powers to move the hairpin into his neck, but it fell beside his feet. And then, Ashi's vision of Shen's apprentices returned to her. She recalled that she had tried to absorb their powers with the hairpin only to be forced into the river. And then, she saw a concerned SpongeBob looking at her from above the waves.

"Miss, are you alright?" he asked her.

The visions stopped, and Ashi was in the exorcism chamber once more. When she found the concerned expressions of SpongeBob and Gary, she realized they had been watching her.

"I remember it all!" Ashi gasped.

"Do you see, SpongeBob?" Gary grinned. "My hypothesis was correct."

SpongeBob smiled as he exclaimed, "How wonderful! Now, tell me, Ashi, what's really going on with Shen and your people?"

Ashi sighed, "My cousin was telling the truth about everything."

"What!?" SpongeBob gasped. "So, you mean to tell me that…"

At that moment, SpongeBob's expression grew as hard as stone. He took his snake hunting tools and beat them on the decorated sword, destroying them.

"Forcing us to catch snakes for the slaughter!?" SpongeBob growled. "Has the world gone mad!?"

"No," Gary sighed. "I believe that the prince of Gongmen is the only one who lacks sanity at this moment."

SpongeBob leapt around the chamber in a frenzy of rage. He crushed the demon skeletons, threw the weapons into the wall, and wrote "Has the world gone mad?" on many areas on the walls. He then made hundreds of s'mores over the burning lamps and ate many of the desserts at a time.

"How wonderful," Gary groaned. "He is stress eating. The stress eating of SpongeBob is a sign that he is out of control."

"Perhaps, we should go, then," Ashi nodded nervously.

"You are right!" Gary gasped. "If I recall my books correctly, the final obstacle of every demon trap is a test of the demon victim's sanity. Unless they can calmly search for an exit in the exorcism chamber, they will be forever trapped, earning the fate of death by thirst or starvation."

Once Gary had finished speaking, a calm SpongeBob gracefully skipped towards him and Ashi. He smiled as he said, "Glad that's out of my system. While I was throwing my tantrum, I found the exit."

"Where is it?" Ashi asked him.

SpongeBob pointed towards a distant wall as he gave his answer, "It's right over there."

His finger led to a small white sign marked "EXIT". It stood above a door that could only be pushed open. When the travelers approached the door, SpongeBob gladly held it open for his companions. Once they had returned to the outside world, however, SpongeBob's smile disappeared.

"I'm sorry about what's happening, Ashi," SpongeBob sighed. "I promise to help you in whatever you may endure."

"Help me!?" Ashi gasped. "I should be the one apologizing. I'm the one who had the alteration done to the hairpin. I'm the one who dragged you and your snail into this mess."

SpongeBob's tone grew serious as he said, "We were already in this mess! Ever since Shen's ordered more and more snakes, the world's been in chaos! And, if this goes on, things will get even worse!"

Ashi sighed, "There's nothing you can do, SpongeBob. Shen may be the enemy, but he leads your people. This is a situation for demons alone."

"But, Ashi," SpongeBob shivered, "your people need all the help they can get. Even if my people hate them, I will guide your people through the thick and then."

He gently placed his hand on Ashi's shoulder, creating a warmth that flowed through her body. She felt as if time had stopped. As she faced him, SpongeBob wore a soft smile on his face.

"No matter what happens," he said, "I'll be there."

Ashi could not hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. The snake catcher was still supportive of her, even after the return of her memories. As this thought crossed her mind, Ashi pulled him towards her and kissed him. While SpongeBob was shocked by her sudden action, he could not help but place her embrace into his own. The world seemed to melt around them, for they could only think of each other at that moment.

"Aaw, what a cute toon-demon romance moment," a female voice sneered. "A pity I have to stop it."

It was Princess Maya of the snake demons. When SpongeBob and Ashi broke their kiss, they saw her human form standing near them. The snake catcher and his lover faced her, ending their embrace.

"You," SpongeBob growled. "What do you want!?"

Maya grinned, "Isn't that obvious? I want my stolen cousin back, you thief."

"If you want her," SpongeBob said sternly, "you'll have to go through me."

"Easy enough," Maya nodded casually. "I can see why toons love soft, spongey entrances such as you."

Before SpongeBob could speak again, Ashi slowly walked towards her cousin. She grabbed her hand and said, "Cousin, I'll go with you."

"Great!" Maya smiled.

"Wait!" SpongeBob gasped. "Ashi, what are you doing!?"

Ashi turned towards SpongeBob and sighed, "I'm so sorry, SpongeBob. I love you, but there are rules in the world. You're a toon, and I'm a demon."

As she spoke, she shapeshifted into her snake-tailed blue-haired form. The eyes of SpongeBob and Gary widened as she looked at them sadly. When it seemed as if the demon and the snake hunters were destined to never exchange words again, however, SpongeBob ran to Ashi and hugged her.

"I know what you're saying," he said, "but what we have is real. Even if it takes me a thousand years, I'll find a way for us."

"Why bother?" Maya growled. "Even if there was a way, you wouldn't live to find it."

"Oh yeah?" SpongeBob grinned. "Well, I say we agree to disagree." He looked at Ashi and said, "Wait right here, Ashi. This won't be long."

As SpongeBob and Gary departed from the area, Ashi could not help but gaze at them. They had already endured so much together, and now fate was determined to tear them apart. This was the moment Ashi had wanted to delay. She was skilled at delaying it before its arrival, but that power had suddenly vanished. It was too much for her to bear.

As heartbreak flowed through Ashi, annoyance sprouted in Maya's mind. In the years she had spent with her cousin, Ashi had never seemed fond of toons. She had suddenly changed, and Maya was not fond of it. While the green snake princess was determined to change her cousin back to her former self, her annoyance was suddenly shattered by Ashi's movements. Maya knew her cousin was in pain, and she could not bear to accept it.

After a strenuous battle in her mind, Maya decided to let the white snake princess await the return of the toon she should have never met. She led Ashi into a nearby Buddhist pagoda, for it had begun to rain. Ever since the cousins were children, they had enjoyed slithering into such buildings to play games or prank toons. Even as they waited for SpongeBob, Maya slithered around the statues in her snake-tailed form as if she were a floating ribbon. Ashi, however, could not bring herself to leave the window or her human form.

"You are a toon," she said softly. "If we were together, it would just hurt you."

Maya's annoyance quickly returned to her. It seemed as if Ashi had forgotten the fun they would have in temples. While the green snake princess was tempted to scold Ashi for her strange behavior, she knew that the behavior was the result of heartbreak. Pitying her cousin, Maya slithered towards her and cooed, "Prima, I doubt he'll return. We should go back to the cave."

Ashi remained still and silent as if she were one of the statues. Maya was further annoyed, but she embraced her cousin and nestled her head on her shoulder.

"Prima," Maya cooed again, "we've been together for hundreds of years. Let's not stop it now."

"Things are different, though," Ashi sighed.

The white snake princess turned around and left her cousin's embrace. While Maya's annoyance had grown even stronger by this point, it could only be seen as shock on her face. And then, Maya felt a pain sprouting in her body. As she searched for it, she realized it was coming from the Scorching Death Scales. Thinking quickly, Maya took out two marshmallows and roasted them over the scales. She slithered towards her cousin during this process.

"Why now do you turn your back on our motives?" Maya asked in an almost flirtatious tone. "We've worked so diligently and endured such hardship." She changed into her human form as she said, "Forms like these aren't easy to attain, you know."

Once Maya approached Ashi, she stroked her shoulder and looked at her face.

"Someday," Maya grinned, "the sponge will see us for who we really are. When he does, do you think he'll still like you?"

"He was not frightened by my tail," Ashi replied monotonously. "Love has funny effects on the eyes."

"Aaw, come on," Maya laughed. "Tío says that only toons know how to love."

"When I woke up in Snake Catcher Botton," Ashi said, "I thought I was a toon."

"Isn't this good enough?" Maya groaned. "Playing pranks? Lounging around in cold, dark spaces? Causing trouble and covering each other for it? I still laugh at that incident from the Christmas party."

"It's cold, though," Ashi sighed.

At that moment, Maya quickly backed away from her cousin. She grunted in pain, struggling to take out her graham crackers and chocolate bars. It was not long before the green snake princess was holding two fresh smores in her hands.

"I think you need food, prima," Maya said. "Here, have a smore."

"Wait a minute!" Ashi gasped. "If there's no fire in here, how…"

The eyes of the white snake princess were as wide as saucers. The expression on Maya's face was her proof that the thoughts in her mind were correct.

"The Scorching Death Scales!" Ashi screamed. "Why did you take them!?"

Maya sighed, "I promised Tio I would take you back to him within three days time. If I fail…"

"You idiot!" Ashi snapped. "Do you realize what you've just done!?"
"I had no choice!" Maya separately. "How else could I convince the others we weren't scheming against them!? And besides, you'd do the same for me, right?"

Suddenly, the cousins heard the screeching of a crane. A male voice from the outside said, "They're in there. Let's go."

"Hold it," another male voice said. "You do know I'll be doing the talking, right?"

"Fine," the first voice groaned. "Just keep it short."

The cousins exchanged faces of worry, but they were quickly hardened into fierce scowls.

Chapter 8

"Yes, young one," Xtabay said flirtatiously. "I can help you."

She stood upon her workshop desk and leapt towards SpongeBob, bringing her face close to his. She removed her turquoise mask, exposing her flirtatious grin to the light.

"You know," Xtabay said, "I was young once, too. They say I was rather frivolous as well as wild. Even now, I have a few regrets." Once she had brought her mouth close to SpongeBob's ear, she softened her voice, "You should know, one day, you could regret this."

After Xtabay backed away from her, SpongeBob gave her a stern reply, "I regret things already. As long as we're not together, my life's meaningless."

"You are young," Xtabay cackled.

SpongeBob and Gary could hear Bone and Skull cackling from behind them. They turned around to see the two skeletal women lying on their backs, tossing doughnut holes into each other's mouths. Skull dramatically sighed, "Ay, pobre niño. Muy triste."

When SpongeBob returned his eyes to Xtabay, she said, "There is one way I can solve your little problem. It is a specialty of this establishment.

Bone began to say, "You turn…"

"Hey!" Xtabay snapped. "Let me do this!"

"Lo siento," Bone mischievously grinned.

"Anyway, young one," Xtabay nodded, "if you and Ashi are to stay together, you must become a demon."

"A demon!?" SpongeBob gasped.

Xtabay's suggestion had frightened him, for he knew that many toons hated demons. To become a demon would mean to forsake the friends and family who had supported him throughout his life. Xtabay and her appendices could sense the conflict within SpongeBob, as could Gary.

"Pardon me, Xtabay," Gary addressed to her, "is there, by chance, another way to keep my master and his lover together?"

"I'm afraid not," Xtabay shook her head. "I hope this doesn't disappoint you, young ones."

"No, no, it's fine," SpongeBob sighed. He then spoke to Xtabay in a more serious tone, "Transform me."

"Of course," Xtabay said, "I will need to take your vital essence."

"What!?" SpongeBob and Gary gasped in unison.

At that moment, a large pot rose from the floor. The platform on which Xtabay, her apprentices, and their two customers stood began to rise towards the brim, exposing the contents of the pot to SpongeBob and Gary. Their eyes widened as they noticed a dark blue liquid with waves of many glowing colors. As they listened to Xtabay, the customers realized the liquid was the essence of toons.

"Demons such as ourselves," Xtabay explained, "require toon vitality to make our magic weapons. The most effective demonic weapons are forged from this very vitality. I am proud to say that Jade City is renowned for staying on the leading edge of that front."

The shopkeeper and her apprentices grinned as they watched the snake catcher struggle with his conflict. They could hear him softly sigh, "If I have to…". And then, he spoke in a stern voice again, "It's a deal."

"Of course," Xtabay nodded. "Then again, do you understand the consequences? As a toon, you are granted advantages such as safety and peace. You muddle through life, taking it for granted."

Gary groaned as SpongeBob nervously shook his head.

"But, as a demon," Xtabay continued, "gods, toons, and Taoists will all want to kill you. Even your own kind will want to kill you. And, once I finish taking your vital essence, you will be turned into the weakest and smallest of demons. No matter how hard you try, there will be no advancing."

SpongeBob could hear the workshop's demon workers laughing from behind the paper walls. He, however, was not willing to have his mind changed so suddenly. And so, he retained his stern tone as he said, "I understand. Do it."

"Perfect!" Xtabay exclaimed.

At that moment, large statues of foxes rose from the ground. They opened their mouths, spitting chains onto SpongeBob's legs and arms. The platform then left without him, leaving him to hang over the pot of toon essence. Bone floated towards him and moved their hands as if to cast a spell. She was, for SpongeBob's vital essence began to shed a golden light.

As Bone absorbed the light in her mouth, Xtabay spoke again, "I almost forgot, young one. For this to work, I need one more vital ingredient."

"What ingredient?" SpongeBob gulped.

Xtabay pointed at Gary as she gave her reply, "I need him."

Before Gary could escape, Skull picked him up.

"Stop!" Gary screamed. "This is not proper! Release him!"
As SpongeBob witnessed the struggles of his pet, he wondered if he had made the right decision. He had always loved Gary, and he never liked to see the snail in pain. The snake catcher could only imagine how Gary would be used in his transformation. When Ashi returned to his mind, however, SpongeBob understood the entirety of his situation.

"Let the transformation begin," he nodded.

"No!" Gary screamed.

"Very well," Xtabay said in her usual flirtatious tone.

"Hooray!" Bone cheered. "I love this job!"

Once she had finished taking SpongeBob's essence, Bone floated towards Gary and took out a syringe. She inserted it into the end of Gary's body, taking a sample of his plasma. She then returned to SpongeBob and inserted the syringe into his nose.

SpongeBob giggled, "that tickles."

Once the entire sample of plasma was inside of SpongeBob's body, Bone happily returned to her master. Xtabay returned the platform to SpongeBob, allowing the statues to release him.

"Alright, then," SpongeBob smiled. "Now that I'm a demon, what powers do I have?"

Xtabay laughed, "Silly one! It always takes a while for the transformation to be in full effect. It will happen, however. Until then, have a nice evening."

"Perfect timing," Gary sighed. "I believe it would be best if SpongeBob and I left this establishment at once."

The snake princesses departed from the pagoda, transforming into their snake-tailed forms. While they preferred not to let recognition affect such events, Ashi recognized the two voices as those of Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper. It was not long before she found herself glaring at the faces of Lord Shen's apprentices. They were sitting on their crane demon, which was wearing scowls of its own. The two apprentices returned the scowls of the princesses as if demons could not frighten them.

"Well, well, well," Sheldon grinned, "what have we here?"

Maya growled, "I was about to ask the same thing about you."

"You see," Sheldon continued, "by order of Lord Shen of Gongmen, my faithful companion and I are to take you to Gongmen City, where Shen will deal with you/ This has been quite a difficult time for him, especially since you tried to kill him. He has…"

"Sheldon, please keep it short," Leonard groaned.

"What!?" Sheldon gasped.

Leonard sighed, "You've told them what they need to know. Should we not continue with our plan?"

"But, Leonard," Sheldon said, "everything I have to say is important. I…"

"Fine, I'll do the talking!" Leonard snapped. He then turned his attention towards the snake princesses, "You're going to die tonight, so you'd better get used to the idea."

"Oh yeah?" Maya grinned. "And, what makes you say that?"

Leonard returned her grin as he said, "Lord Shen wants your white-tailed friend brought to him alive, but it would be rude of me to save him the trouble of killing you."

"What!?" Sheldon gasped. "Where did this betrayal come from!?"

Leonard groaned, "Don't you remember my complaints about working for poultry? Well, this is our chance to change that. With the qi of these two demons…"

At that moment, Maya leapt towards the two apprentices. She prepared her hands to strike them, but they immediately threw fulu towards her. Ashi pushed Maya out of the line of fire, saving her.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Leonard sneered.

Suddenly, Sheldon pushed Leonard off of their crane. He summoned the crane to fly away from the area, leaving Leonard behind.

"Hey, where are you going!?" Leonard gasped.

Sheldon cried out, "I'm going to Snake Catcher Bottom, where Shen will join me! You're not gonna win this, Leonard!"

And he was gone. As Leonard watched the stormy sky in confusion, Maya and Ashi pushed him to the ground. Ashi summoned her jade hairpin to float into Leonard's neck and stab him. As it came close to doing so, however, Leonard summoned waves of golden energy to force the princesses and the hairpin away. He ran into the pagoda as they fell to the ground.

It was not long before the snake princesses got up and chased Leonard. They engaged him in another aggressive fight, for he was an enemy of their clan. The snake princesses summoned their qi to make sword-like rays of light, and Leonard threw more fulu and them. The cousins destroyed the fulu by striking it with their weapons. Maya then used her magic to force Leonard to the ground, allowing Ashi to slither to the top of a Buddha statue.

When Leonard realized what was happening, he saw Ashi preparing to leap down towards him. He instinctively summoned his powers to make the statue fall, forcing Ashi to leap onto another statue. This process was prepared many times, and Leonard always aimed the falling statues at Maya. She, however, did not find it difficult to escape them. The green snake princess leapt out of a window as Leonard forced the last few statues to fall at the same time.

Ashi immediately followed her cousin, as did Leonard. It was not long before the three fighters had moved their battle to the rooftops of the nearby city of Lan. Many townspeople were awakened, for the battle was quite noisy. Some ran at the sight of the two snake-tailed women. Those who did not found it impossible to move, for the battle was suspenseful.

Whenever the snake princesses came close to Leonard and tried to stab him, he shoved them away with his powers or his fulu. His attacks, however, were always thwarted by the tactics of the slithering cousins. It seemed as though the battle would be a stalemate.

"Give it up, Cara Gorda," Maya sneered at Leonard. "Your Taosit magic is no match for our demonic powers."

"Really?" Leonard growled. "I wouldn't be so sure."

The apprentice concentrated all of his energy into a single orb of golden light. It became a ring, surrounding the cousins. The ring grew wider and brighter as if it were becoming a nighttime sun. Ashi and Maya gazed upon it, wondering what the human was planning to do with them. And then, the ring quickly transformed into a web of fulu, capturing the cousins.

Leonard grinned as he said, "And now, the time has come for me to finish this."

The fulu moved closer towards the cousins, making them shiver in fear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Leonard nodded. "Your struggles will only tighten the web."

Suddenly, an idea sprouted in Ashi's mind. As Leonard concentrated his energy into the web, Ashi's flowed into her jade hairpin. It rapidly flew out of the web towards a prideful Leonard who had been blinded by confidence.

"I don't get it, Gary," SpongeBob shrugged. "Xtabay claims she's turned me into a demon, but I don't look or feel any different."

"She said the transformation would be slow," Gary replied. "We can only give it more time."

The two had been walking to Lan for quite a while. While it was a temptation to stop and rest, they were not willing to extend Ashi's wait. They feared that doing so would provide her thoughts or her cousin with an opportunity to encourage her to leave. Neither the sponge nor the snail paid attention to the landscapes they passed, nor did they stop to eat. At one point, however, SpongeBob felt his stomach rumbling.

"I don't know about you, Gare Bear," he said, "but I'm starving. Do you think we should stop for a bite to eat?"

Gary sighed, "Lan is nearby. We should be with Ashi at any time. Perhaps, we should wait until we are with her again."

"You sure about that?" SpongeBob grinned. "I have a hankering for some Snail Po, myself."

"Snail Po!?" Gary gasped. "But, that is snail food. Why would you want to eat that?"

SpongeBob giggled, "Sorry, Gary. I don't know what got into me."

He then meowed.

"Are you alright, SpongeBob?" Gary gulped. "You have meowed like a snail."

"I don't feel weird," SpongeBob said before meowing again.

Gary sighed. "I do believe we must find a doctor in Lan. Perhaps, they can see if you are alright."

"Look at me, Gary!" SpongeBob said desperately. "Do I seem ill?"

"Come, SpongeBob," Gary sighed again. "I fear Ashi's wait will have to be extended."

While it was a temptation to argue with his snail, SpongeBob knew that doing so would not shorten Ashi's wait. As he followed Gary, the sponge began to feel a strange force flowing through his body. It was not long before it became difficult for him to walk.

"Wow, Gary," SpongeBob said, his voice slowing down as he spoke. "You seem to be getting a lot faster."

He grabbed a tree to regain his balance. Gary, feeling as if his master could not stay with him, turned around and slithered towards the struggling sponge.

"Look at me!" SpongeBob gasped. "Never better!"

At that moment, his face was twitching uncontrollably. A shocked Gary tried to back away from him, but the snail's surprise towards the situation was enough to freeze him in his place. And then, SpongeBob seemed to have eyestalks.

"I'm serious!" SpongeBob gasped.

He lost his grasp on the tree and fell to the ground. When he and Gary thought the strangest events of the evening had passed, SpongeBob's clothes slipped off of his body and gathered on his back, becoming a shell.

"It's okay," SpongeBob smiled nervously. "It's a humid night, anyway."

His legs shrank, disappearing.

"SpongeBob," Gary gasped, "do you understand what is happening!?"

SpongeBob gulped, "I don't need new shoes anymore?"

Suddenly, SpongeBob's body was bent and stretched, becoming less sponge-like and more snail-like.

"I take it back, Gary!" SpongeBob screamed. "Something is wrong with me-ow!"

"Good heavens!" Gary gasped again. "You are … you are …"

SpongeBob cheered, "I'm a demon! I can't believe it! I'm a demon!"

He slithered around Gary, meowing. Gary merely groaned, "It seems as if you have been specifically turned into a snail demon due to the origin of the plasma that has been injected into your body."

"Wow!" SpongeBob. "Wait'll Ashi sees!"

He slithered to Lan as if he were a carriage being led by rapid horses. Gary looked at the reader and groaned, "And they said they took his vitality away."

"Ashi!" SpongeBob cried out. "I'm back, Ashi! And, I'm like you, nw!"

The sponge snail had expected an overjoyed Ashi to run to him and drench him in kisses. When he approached Lan, however, he realized that such a moment was not possible. The city was a display of smashed buildings, capsized ships, and blocked roads. The helmets of fallen soldiers were littered across the ground. As SpongeBob searched for the force responsible for the destruction, he saw a large white python slithering near the harbor. When he recognized the creature's identity, his eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"You've missed all the fun, primo," a female voice sneered.

It was Maya. SpongeBob turned around to see her standing in her snake-tailed form.

"What did you do!?" SpongeBob gasped.

Maya grinned, "While you were away, an apprentice of your poultry prince came to kill my cousin and I. He put up a good fight, but he was no match for Ashi. With her jade hairpin, she sucked his qi and combined it with her own.

"That's kind of what Lord Shen does!" SpongeBob screamed. "Why…"

"But, it's more fun when we do it," Maya cackled. "Anyway, when Ashi finally had more power, her demonic form became that of a giant python. I'd say that sucking the qi of the Lan was her way of putting her new form to good use."

SpongeBob's tone became serious as he asked Maya, 'Why would you follow the tactics of your enemy!? He's…"

"He's our enemy," Maya said, retaining her grin. "You're one of us, now. As demons, we absorb the qi of toons to strengthen our own. The Gongmen Chicken currently stands in our way, but not for long. When we go to Snake Catcher Bottom, he will be exterminated Kentucky style. And then, the qi of the snake catchers will be ours."

SpongeBob gasped, "I can't do this! I love Ashi, but I could never bring myself to hurt innocents!"

"That means you only loved her for her face," Maya sneered. "Now that you've seen her true nature, do you still like being a demon? Because you can never change back."

SpongeBob immediately slithered towards the demon he loved.

"Ashi!" he cried out. "Ashi! It's me, SpongeBob!"

The white python glared at him as if she did not recognize him.

"Ashi," he said desperately, "I know this is a rough time, but there must be another way to save your people. We can fight Lord Shen without hurting anyone else. Just please don't turn Snake Catcher Bottom into a second Lan."

The python was still for a moment. Her eyes grew soft as she gazed at her loved one, but the expression was brief. She slithered away with her green cousin close behind her. Maya looked at SpongeBob and cried out, "Loser!"

By this point, Gary had finally caught up with SpongeBob. He took deep breaths as he said, "What has happened? Why is Lan in ruins?"

A serious expression appeared on SpongeBob's face as he said, "It seems as though we have a village to save."

"My lord!" a soldier cried out. "I have an urgent Tweet!"

Lord Shen was studying his books as usual. When he heard the soldier's cry, however, he rushed out of his room to see him.

"What is it?" Shen asked him.

"This Tweet has come from your apprentice Sheldon Cooper," the soldier explained. "You must read it at once."

From the soldier's hand came a small blue bird that flew towards Shen. The peacock prince took the scroll it was holding in its feet. The scroll read:

Assassin is snake princess STOP

Leonard defeated STOP

Princess in Snake Catcher Bottom STOP

Help me stop her STOP

"Good heavens!" Shen gasped. "It seems as though the assassin is more powerful than I imagined." He seemed to growl as he said, "We must use the ultimate weapon."

All of the palace guards gasped when they heard the prince say "ultimate weapon".

"But, my lord," one of them said, "the ultimate weapon hasn't been used in hundreds of years. It might be unstable."

Shen grinned, "That is the idea. Since we are the bad guys, we are supposed to wield powerful, unstable weapons."

He summoned two of his servants to bring him his ultimate weapon and a sheet of paper. When they returned with the items he had requested, Shen nearly drooled when he saw the ultimate weapon: a large pencil. When it was placed in his wings, Shen felt as if new power was flowing through him. He grinned at the reader as he said, "I love making things worse."

Once the sheet of paper was placed on the ground, Shen drew an image of a sponge soldier on it. The drawing came to life, becoming a full-sized sponge in Chinese armor.

"Neophyren," the soldier said.

"Perfect!" Shen smiled. "With a drawn army by my side, only the gods shall be able to stop me. That is, of course, until I am a god."

He drew more sponge soldiers on the paper, and every drawing came to life. As Gongmen City Palace was filled with living drawings, the peacock prince laughed maniacally.

Chapter 9

It was a cloudy day in Snake Catcher Bottom. While the people were curious about the possibility of rain, they knew their chores needed to be done. The snake catchers themselves were grateful for the rain, for they knew that the snakes were attracted to wet climates. As the hunters set out to hunt, they wondered what had become of Squidward Tentacles and SpongeBob SquarePants. They did not know what Rabbit Squidward was doing, nor did they know of SpongeBob's whereabouts.

"Hey, guys!" a voice cried out. "It's me, SpongeBob!"

As the snake catchers were about to leave the village, they saw two figures in the distance. They seemed to be shelled figures slithering on the ground. The snake catchers readied their weapons, for they did not know if the figures were demons. The sound of SpongeBob's voice inspired the other villagers to gather around them. They were concerned about SpongeBob's safety, and they wanted to enhance it in any possible manner.

When the figures could finally be examined in great detail, the villagers identified one of them as Garold "Gary" Wilson Jr. Since Gary had lived with the SquarePants Family since his kittenhood, the villagers knew he was trustworthy.

"Come here, Gary!" Patrick smiled. "Here Gary Gary Gary."

"Wait, Patrick!" Margaret SquarePants gasped. "Who's that with him?"

While the second figure was truly SpongeBob SquarePants, the villagers were not willing to welcome him. His sponge snail form exposed his new identity as a demon, frightening the villagers. SpongeBob, however, was too excited to see the suspicious expressions of the villages. When he was finally close to them, he proudly said, "I have returned, comrades."

"Who are you?" Patrick shivered.

SpongeBob giggled, "Oh Patrick, it's me, SpongeBob. Meow."

"No, it ain't," Sandy said suspiciously. "SpongeBob ain't a snail demon."

"Come on, Sandy," SpongeBob grinned. "I'm still SpongeBob. Only my appearance has changed. Meow."

Margaret SquarePants spoke out of fear, "When I last saw you, you were indeed my son. But now, you are a heartless monster."

It was at that moment when SpongeBob realized the villagers were not willing to welcome him. They had heard many stories of demons murdering toons, and they did not want to be at the mercy of the new "demon" who stood before them. A little girl watching him screamed, "You're evil!"

"Excuse me!" Gary snapped. "This village is in terrible danger. The princesses of the snake demons will be here any minute, and they will devour you if you are not evacuated by the time of their arrival."

Patrick screamed, "Gary's talking! He's a demon, too!"

At that moment, the villagers noticed that many flocks of birds were crossing the sky. They seemed to be panicking, for they were flying as quickly as their wings could carry them. And then, SpongeBob sensed something he did not know he could sense as a demon.

"The princesses!" he screamed. "They're here!"

As he said so, the white python that was Ashi appeared before the village. She roared at Snake Catcher Bottom, frightening the villagers. They screamed and ran in many directions.

"Everyone, remain calm!" SpongeBob cried out. "Just stay inside and let me handle this! That snake is not evil!"

"Oh, shut up!" a female voice barked.

It was Maya. Her snake-tailed figure could be seen beside her larger cousin. It was not difficult for SpongeBob to see the cruel grin that stood upon her face. While her grin was strong, it was shattered by a surprised face when it was turned towards Ashi's softening eyes. The large white python seemed to gasp at the sponge snail that was slithering towards her.

"Hello, Ashi," SpongeBob smiled. "Do you recognize me? Meow."

The white python nodded.

"Look at me, Ashi," SpongeBob said. "Notice anything different?"

As she gazed upon his changed appearance, the python seemed to smile.

"Now, I'm a demon, too," SpongeBob continued. "We don't have to stay apart anymore. In fact, you don't have to destroy this village anymore. With me, Gary, and your cousin by your side, we can easily take down Lord Shen as a team."

The python grew excited as her loved one spoke. As Gary and Maya watched them, surprise froze their entire bodies.

"And then, Ashi," SpongeBob smiled warmly, "when this whole struggle is over, you and I will set out for the ends of the earth and see so many places."

Ashi lowered her head towards him, allowing him to stroke her scales.

"A pair of demons, you and I," he said. "No matter what happens, nothing will stand in our way. My love for you will conquer all."

"Oh my," a male voice said. "It seems as though demons can love. I've always imagined that they only cared about which toons would become their next meals."

It was Lord Shen. He had flown from Gongmen City to Snake Catcher Bottom, and his army of DoodleBobs had followed him. SpongeBob, Ashi, and Gary gazed upon the army with widening eyes, for the babbling drawings seemed intimidating. As for Maya, she glared at them with disgust in her eyes. Shen could see her disgust, and he grinned at it.

"What have we here?" the peacock asked, preserving his grins. "It appears that we have a new demon in our midst."

"You truly are as observant as they say you are, Lord Shen," SpongeBob nodded. "No wonder you're a famous demon slayer."

"Quite so," Shen said. "And, since you have recognized me as a demon slayer, little demon, I suppose you know of the fate I have in store for you, your sweetheart, and your friends."

"Sounds to me like you're scared of your fate," Maya grinned. "Chicken dinners …"

"Silence, green princess!" Shen snapped. "I was speaking to the little demon."

Another male voice cried out, "Impeccable timing, my lord!"

It was Sheldon Cooper. The prince, the snail, the drawings, and the demons could see his crane circling above them. It landed next to Shen to reveal a smiling, excited Sheldon. When he saw the scowl on his master's face, however, Sheldon's smile disappeared.

"You seem tense, my lord," he said. "Perhaps, this will relax you."

Sheldon took out his recorder and played "Greensleeves". As the combatants watched him, they could not help but wear faces of shock and confusion. After stopping his apprentice midtune, Shen turned towards SpongeBob and said, "It pleases me to know that you understand what this is, little demon."

"And I'm happy to know that you know what it is, big peacock," SpongeBob replied.

At that moment, Shen began to laugh. His back seemed to bounce as he tilted his laughing head towards the sky. As the drawings and some of the demons grew more confused, SpongeBob began to laugh, as well. Neither he nor Shen could control their laughter as an hour passed. Two more hours were filled with their laughter, and three more hours followed.

"Could you move it along?" Patrick Star cried out. "I'm all out of time cards!"

When the laughter finally stopped, the earth began to shake. The combatants looked towards the distance to see the ground preparing to erupt. Instead of lava, however, came many snake demons. Among them was King Aku, the father of Ashi and the uncle of Maya.

"Perfect timing, Tío!" Maya smiled. "Suddenly, a chicken cookout sounds like even more fun."

Ignoring his niece, Aku spoke to Shen, "You have plagued the hearts of my people with fear for so long, but the winds of change have finally come."

"Is that so," Shen grinned. "Only our battle will tell."

"Let's fight, then!" Sheldon shouted.

He summoned his crane to fly towards the demons. When Sheldon thought he could easily approach them, however, Ashi grabbed his crane's tail with her jaws. She swung the crane in the air, causing Sheldon to fall. As the apprentice summoned his powers to float to the ground, Lord Shen and King Aku ordered their armies to attack. SpongeBob then tackled Shen, for the peacock was close to summoning a spell to rescue Sheldon's crane.

Maya could not help but watch Ashi in awe, for the white princess was proving herself to be a formidable warrior. As Sheldon's crane struggled to free itself from her jaws, she increased the force she used to shake it. While Maya was tempted to remain still and watch the struggle, she knew of her place in the battle. When she realized that Sheldon had freed Shen from SpongeBob's grasp, Maya punched the apprentice's face. Shen then threw knives at her, but SpongeBob leapt towards them and ate them.

The sponge snail looked at Maya and grinned, "I've been eating knives long before I became a demon."

"You don't say," Maya chuckled as she fought Sheldon hand-to-hand.

While the battle SpongeBob and Maya fought against the prince and his apprentice was fierce, it was child's play when compared to the struggle between the DoodleBobs and the other demons. The DoodleBobs were formidable fighters, for Shen had drawn them as such. They did not find it difficult to leap over their opponents and slice or stab them. The snake demons, however, were formidable themselves. They would grab and devour their opponents, shredding them with their teeth.

When Ashi had finally devoured the crane she had caught, she realized that her people were becoming desperate. Many of them had been killed by the DoodleBobs, and the few demons that remained seemed to be losing hope. Even Aku was having his struggles.

No! Ashi thought. It cannot be!

The white python that was Ashi roared as if to scream. She quickly slithered towards the DoodleBobs, being careful to dodge the weapons they threw at her. When she was finally near them, the white snake princess grabbed five DoodleBobs in her mouth and swallowed them. She repeated this process with every five DoodleBobs she found.

"That's my girl," Aku smiled. "Tough as nails, just like her old man."
Aku devoured a few DoodleBobs himself to prove his point. Unaware of what was happening between the snakes and the drawings, SpongeBob and Maya continued to fight Shen and Sheldon with tooth and nail. At one point, Maya grabbed the hands of her cousin's lover. The green princess grinned, "Care to dance, primo?"

"Would I ever!" SpongeBob smiled excitedly.

Gary turned on his radio, allowing it to play tango music. At the moment the music started, Maya began to lead SpongeBob in a tango. Sheldon immediately threw fulu at them, for he assumed they had forgotten their battle. When all seemed well for the apprentice, however, Maya grabbed him with her tail, using him to swat the fulu away. Shen threw more knives at the dancers, but Maya brought SpongeBob's open mouth into the line of fire.

"Perfecto, mi prima," SpongeBob smiled as he swallowed the knives. "Now, it's your turn."

Maya used her new position in their dance to her advantage. As SpongeBob spun her, she knocked Shen and Sheldon to the ground.

"How does it feel when you're the ones on the ground, little Taoists?" Maya smirked.

Shen returned to his feet and prepared to strike the princess, but he was interrupted by the screaming of the DoodleBobs. He turned towards his side to see that only five of them remained. Before the peacock could speak, the last of his soldiers were devoured by the white snake princess.

"Fools!" Shen barked. "Did you truly believe I would only bring so many soldiers!?"

He reached into his sleeve and brought his magic pencil into the light. He drew on the ground, creating another DoodleBob. As SpongeBob and Maya realized that they were in danger of being outnumbered, Gary grabbed the pencil in his mouth. He tossed it to SpongeBob, who slithered away with it at the speed of lightning. In gratitude, Ashi devoured the newly drawn DoodleBob. When she thought the end of the battle was near, however, she found an enraged Shen flying after SpongeBob.

"You can run, little demon," Shen sneered, "but you cannot …"

BONG! Many coconuts fell upon the peacock, making him fall to the ground. From the mountaintops, Patrick Star laughed, "That peacock got hit in the head with coconuts!"

SpongeBob and Ashi smiled when they realized Patrick had accessed his coconut supply.

"Way to go, Pat!" the sponge snail cried out in gratitude.

"Thanks," Patrick smiled. When he looked into his supply, however, he gasped, "Where are all the coconuts!?"

Unaware of Patrick's experiences, SpongeBob gave the magic pencil to his mother. He said, "Whatever happens, Mom, don't let the Taoists have this."

"Okay," Margaret SquarePants shivered nervously.

When SpongeBob returned to the battlefield, he came across a horrified Sheldon Cooper and a pile of coconuts. Ashi looked at her loved one and gently purred.

"Oh gee, Ashi," SpongeBob blushed. "It was nothing. Patrick helped, after all."

Suddenly, the pile of coconuts began to shake it. From it came a furious Lord Shen in a robe that was drenched in coconut milk. He growled,, "I am done playing! The time has come to end this!" He then grinned, "I may have called the pencil my ultimate weapon, but I have something greater for occasions such as this."

"Oh boy!' Sheldon smiled. "I love this part!"

As the demons wondered what Shen was planning to do, he removed another weapon from his sleeve. It appeared as a small twig, but it quickly turned into a large staff topped with a silver ring and wooden cover. Hanging from the ring were strings of many skulls, and the wooden cover held purple cloth marked with Taoist spells.

"And now," Shen declared, "you shall be vanquished! Body and soul!"

When he planted the staff into the ground, the silver ring and wooden cover began to spin. They created a large dome that spread itself over SpongeBob, Gary, and the snake princesses. Snow showers were born within the dome, and the captives found themselves unable to stand.

SpongeBob grunted, "What's happening!?"

"Shen's using something called a soul crusher," Maya explained. "That type of weapon destroys the bodies and souls of living creatures. Once your soul's destroyed, you can never be reborn again."

"Bazinga," Sheldon smiled malevolently.

Shortly after Sheldon had spoken, glowing red shards flew out of Maya's body. They were followed by her last marshmallows. As Shen tried to assess the situation, the shards entered his body, making him grunt in pain. The marshmallows fell upon his wounds and inflated.

"You fool," Maya sneered at the prince. "You've just absorbed the Scorching Death Scales. Have fun exploding."

"No!" Shen gasped.

He tried to summon his powers to remove the scales from his body, but he was too panicked to use them properly. The scales grew brighter and began to smoke.

Shen screamed, "No! I smell roast chicken! My beak should not be watering!"

Sheldon immediately reached his hands into the scales, pulling them out. As he tossed them into the sky, they exploded into an array of colorful fireworks. Sheldon played "The Star Spangled Banner" on his recorder to accompany the show.

"Cooper!" Shen snapped, interrupting him mid-tune.

"Sorry, my lord," Sheldon nodded. "By the way, why do you want to destroy those demons body and soul? Do you not want their qi?"

Shen groaned, "Of course, you idiot. When only their souls remain, I will take my soul crusher out of the ground so I can catch them."

Sheldon smiled as he said, "That makes a lot more sense."

As the villagers listened to the prince and his apprentice, their eyes widened with horror. Never had they heard of their prince committing himself to such an action as horrible as the robbery of qi.

"That's right, people!" Sheldon cried out to them. "Shen's collecting snake qi so he can be immortal!"

As Shen began to glare at his apprentice with anger, Rabbit Squidward hopped from the distance. He repeatedly hopped upon the soul crusher, crushing the weapon. This process destroyed the demon that had been encasing Gary and the demons.

"I'm a bunny, now!" Squidward cried out. "I'm a bunny, now!"

"What in the Six Realms!?" Shen gasped.

Sheldon smiled nervously as he said, "You see, my lord, when Leonard and I came here the other day, that squid questioned your authority. He then asked if you would turn him into a rabbit if he angered you, so I did so to demonstrate your power over Gongmen."

An enraged Shen transformed Squidward back into his natural squid form. A confused Squidward stood on his four feet and gasped, "Where am I!? What …"

At the moment he saw SpongeBob, Squidward could not help but laugh.

"Hey, Squidward!" SpongeBob smiled. "How've you been?"

Squidward chuckled, "Why, SpongeBob, you look absolutely ridiculous with that shell and those eyestalks. And, was it you who caused all of this destruction?" He looked at Shen and said, "Uh oh. It looks like the sponge snail is a noble pain in your noble neck, my lord."

Shen sighed, "Sheldon, escort this squid to the village so I may fire you."

"I live to serve you, my lord," Sheldon nodded.

The apprentice walked Squidward back to the village, showing little concern for the plans of his master. Thinking quickly, Ashi grabbed Shen by the wing. She swung him in the air, making the young peacock scream as if he were a frightened child. When it seemed as though Shen could not endure greater suffering, Ashi tossed him into the distance and let her jade hairpin follow him.

"She scores!" Maya cried out. "And, if the fall doesn't kill him, the hairpin will take his qi! It's a win win!"

"Is that so?" Aku growled.

Maya turned around to see her respected slithering towards her. She bowed to him and said, "Tío, we have defeated our arch nemesis. All is well. We no longer have …"

Aku grabbed his niece's neck. He sighed, "I never imagined my daughter would steal another's powers, especially with the whole hairpin incident."

"You knew!?" Maya gasped.

"How did I not know, little niece?" her uncle grinned. "I have spies everywhere. But, you mustn't worry, little niece. You have said it yourself; our enemy is gone. That is wonderful news for me."

At that moment, Maya felt as if qi was flowing out of her body. It was. She saw her uncle smirking at her, and a blossom of surprise bloomed in her face.

"Tío," Maya grunted, "¿por qué …"

"As we've been hiding from that feathered Taoist," Aku explained, "I've learned a thing or two from him. If he could absorb the qi of others, so can I. If he could take your magic, I can take your magic. It's all so simple."

When Aku released his niece from his grasp, she turned into a small green snake. Maya hissed desperately at her cousin, who roared as if to scream.

Chapter 10

The other snake demons could hear Ashi's mighty roar, as could the villagers. They felt as if the roar had shaken the Heavens and the Eight Hells. And then, the other snake demons found the weakened Maya watching them helplessly. Their eyes widened in terror, and their expressions remained as they turned towards their king. Aku took the time to gaze at his people before summoning his powers.

Golden light shone around Aku, taking the shape of a coiled snake. As the snake king held his hands into the air, a golden light appeared in the bodies of the lesser snake demons. A force of magic dragged them towards Aku, overpowering their efforts to resist it.

"Majesty!" the demons screamed. "Why!?"

Aku cackled, "Did you honestly believe the war would end with the death of the Gongmen prince? Your fate was sealed all along, little demons. Our powers are of mutual strength that flows limitlessly through the source. And since I'm the source, it all flows back to me!"

When the golden coiled snake disappeared, the snake demons turned into little snakes. They fell to the ground as the last of their qi entered the body of their king. As SpongeBob, Gary, and Ashi watched the display in horror, Aku's body gave a red glow that quickly became magic smoke. The voice of the snake king grew deeper as he laughed in triumph.

"The qi of the world is mine!" he cried out.

Suddenly, a large two-headed snake stood in Aku's place. Both of its heads roared at the sky, shaking the earth. Ashi roared defiantly at her transformed father.

"Ashi, no!" SpongeBob gasped. "He'll take your qi!"

Ignoring her loved one, Ashi quickly slithered towards the two-headed creature. It was not difficult for spectators of the battle to notice the courage and ferocity of the white snake princess. She bit at each of her father's heads, strengthening his anger. Aku roared at his daughter on several occasions, but those actions did not affect her efforts. As the few little snakes who had survived the loss of their qi looked up at the battle, they could not help but gaze at their princess in awe. She was fighting their oppressor, and they took pride in her action.

Despite the valiance of the princess, the spectators knew that she could not subdue the king forever. Their predictions came true as one of his heads escaped her jaws. It stayed still in the distance, waiting for the proper time to strike. That time came once Ashi had wrapped herself around the other head. Thinking quickly, SpongeBob slithered towards Snake Catcher Bottom.

"SpongeBob, wait!" Gary cried out. "What are you doing!?"

SpongeBob did not stop slithering as he shouted his response, "I'm gonna set things right!"

When the sponge snail entered the village again, the villagers did not greet him with the fear and disgust they had shown him earlier. They knew to respect him, for the truth of Lord Shen had been exposed to them. The reveal of King Aku's true intentions had further justified the actions of SpongeBob SquarePants. As he requested Shen's magic pencil, Margaret did not hesitate to give it to her son.

"May I ask how you plan to use it?" she shivered.

SpongeBob spoke to her in a serious tone, "What I'm about to do may seem unthinkable, but it's the only way."

"And, I still don't have my coconuts," Patrick gulped.

At that moment, Sheldon discovered the intentions of the sponge snail. While SpongeBob had not revealed them, Sheldon's experiences with a scheming Shen had taught him how to read silent plans. The former apprentice ran towards SpongeBob and shouted, "Wait! Don't make the picture too big! Otherwise, things could go wrong!"

SpongeBob could not hear him, for a lot of distance was already between them. He took one of the banners that had fallen from the soul crusher and placed it on the ground.

"SpongeBob, the princess!" Gary screamed.

When SpongeBob looked towards the distance, he saw a struggling Ashi entangled in the necks of Aku. Both of their mouths were open, sucking the qi from her body. The sponge snail immediately drew an image of a soul crusher on the banner. He allowed the image to fill the entire area of the banner, for he believed that larger crushers were more effective than smaller crushers. When at last the drawing had come alive, he slithered towards Aku and planted it into the ground.

Although the soul crusher was not directly next to the two demons, it did not need to be, for soul crushers always plant their orbs at some distance away from their staffs. Before a single thought could cross SpongeBob's mind, an orb was formed around the snake king and princess. Since SpongeBob's soul crusher was larger than Shen's, SpongeBob's blizzard was stronger. Aku's heads screamed in pain as his body turned into ice. It broke into many shards, allowing Ashi to fall to the snow-covered ground.

A golden light flowed over Ashi's body, and she was transformed into her human shape. She struggled to return to her feet, for the blizzard of the soul crusher was weakening her. When SpongeBob realized she was still struggling, he slithered into the orb to save her.

"SpongeBob, have you lost all sanity!?" Gary snapped.

Unable to hear his snail, SpongeBob quickly came to Ashi. Once he had lifted her body, he held her close to keep her warm. He whispered, "It's alright, Ashi. We'll be out of here in no time."

Unbeknown to the two lovers, the soul crusher's orb began to expand. It grew wider until it came close to placing the crusher into it. While neither SpongeBob nor Ashi knew what had happened, the effects of the action were present. As SpongeBob tried to leave the orb the way he came, he realized that the path was longer than it had been in his memories.

"Impossible!" he gasped. "The exit should be right here!"

"SpongeBob …" Ashi shivered.

"Relax," he said. "I'll find another way."

He slithered in many directions, searching for another exit. As his search progressed, however, he realized that such a find was impossible. Neither he nor Ashi could find the borders of the orb, for the storming sky and air had grown as white as the snow-covered ground. Ashi brought her hairpin to them to light their paths, but her plan was ineffective. As the princess began to despair, SpongeBob stopped in his tracks.

The sponge snail sighed, "I'm sorry, Ashi. I'm afraid we're stuck here forever."

"No!" Ashi gasped. "We can't be! Not after all …"

SpongeBob silenced her as he gently said, "It's not in vain, Ashi. We'll still be together."

"I didn't want it to be like this," the princess sniffled. "I … I …"

"Try to think of happier things," SpongeBob smiled. "Do you remember those dandelions? And those pastries we ate on the pagoda? And singing on the riverboat?"

As Ashi tried to imagine the scenes he was describing, a sudden warmth sprouted in her heart. All of those memories were happy scenes, and she had spent them with her true love. The white snake princess closed her eyes as if doing so would allow her to relive the memories. Much time passed, for she wished to savor them. When her eyes were finally opened, she smiled at SpongeBob and said, "I can see it all."

"Wonderful," SpongeBob said, returning her smile.

Outside of the orb, Gary dug the earth around the soul crusher as quickly as he could. He knew that the orb would remain until the crusher was freed from its support. While he was determined to save the two demons, he could not perform the task quickly, for he was only a little snail. As he struggled to dig the earth at a fast pace, he grew tired. He wanted to rest, but he knew that doing so would further endanger the two captives.

Despite his determination, Gary took a short pause from his digging. He knew that his strength could be preserved for a longer period of time if he stopped to breathe. When he looked towards the distance, he saw Sheldon Cooper and the villagers running towards him. They were holding farming tools and wearing urgent faces. When they approached the soul crusher, they did not hesitate to dig the earth around it.

Gary's temptation to rest grew stronger, but his determination was strengthened with it. He continued digging the earth, hoping that the soul crusher would fall soon.

A weary Lord Shen struggled to return to his feet. It was difficult for him to do so, for his wing was badly injured. The early departure of Ashi's hairpin was the reason why he still held a reasonable amount of qi in his body. As this thought crossed his mind, he heard the sound of snakes hissing. He looked around to see the few snakes who had survived the robbery of their qi.

The snakes quickly surrounded the peacock prince, sensing his qi. The little green snake that was Maya seemed to grin as she hissed at him. While Shen was frightened, he knew of a way to defend himself. He spread his wings, ignoring the pain his action ignited.

"Force of darkness," Shen said, "spread …"

A cherry quickly entered his beak, falling down his throat. As the prince began to choke, he looked around to learn of the cherry's origin. Nearby stood a smiling Sakamoto Chiyo holding a slingshot and a bag of cherries. Shen tried to yell at her, but his choking prevented him from doing so. His former servant waved at him and ran away.

As the peacock glared at the running girl, the distance between himself and the snakes grew smaller. He tried to fly away, but his injured wing became an obstacle. It was not long before the snakes were covering his body.

As Ashi thought of more happy memories with SpongeBob, she heard a mysterious sound. She opened her eyes and raised her head, wondering what it was she had heard. The sound was repeated, resembling that of clinking.

"SpongeBob, do you hear that?" she asked him. "Someone's trying to break through the orb.

Ashi had expected him to be overcome with joy, but such a reaction did not happen. The sponge snail remained still as if nothing had happened.

"SpongeBob?" Ashi asked, confused.

As she touched his chest, she realized it felt colder than it had earlier. Its texture resembled that of a block of ice. SpongeBob's face was also ice-like, and its expression did not change as Ashi touched it.

"SpongeBob!?" she gasped.

He did not speak, nor did he move. He could not. He was gone.

"SpongeBob, you can't," Ashi sniffled.

She touched his face again, bearing the vain hope that a single shard of life still rested within him.

"Did you not say that we would set out for the ends of the earth and see so many places?" Ashi sobbed. "Did you not say that nothing would stand in our way, and that your love for me would conquer all?"

She embraced her loved one, wishing he could return her gesture.

"Please, SpongeBob," she begged, "don't leave me like this. Not now."

Suddenly, Ashi heard the sound of ice cracking. She fell to the ground as her loved one's frozen body began to fly into the air. The white snake princess desperately grabbed his hand, catching him. And then, she thought she could hear him singing …

Can't you see waters east

Flow without a trace?

Go at their own pace?

Can't you feel sun above?

Sets behind the hills,

Rises as it will.

As SpongeBob's voice sang, her memories of him played in her mind. She saw visions of him singing on Patchy's boat, embracing her, and showing her his storehouse. While his body of ice was slowly shattering, his singing remained strong. At one point, Ashi could not help but join the sponge snail in his song …

No concerns as it gleams.

This life floats by.

It's a dream.

No concerns as it gleams.

This life floats by.

It's a dream.

This life floats by.

It's a dream.

When all that remained of SpongeBob was his golden soul, Ashi lost her grip on his hand. While one can easily grab solid objects, souls cannot be taken by mortal hands. The soul of the sponge snail floated towards the top of the dome, awaiting its demise by the soul crusher. When hope seemed lost for the soul, however, Ashi used the magic of her hairpin to grab it. She struggled to pull it close to her, for the winds of the blizzard were strong.

Although SpongeBob's body was gone, Ashi was determined to keep his soul. She would have been content with keeping at least one part of his physical self. As this thought crossed her mind, however, the hairpin lost its hold on the soul.

"SpongeBob!" Ashi screamed.

"It's no use," Squidward groaned. "It'll take forever to dig this thing out."

Margaret gasped, "No! We have to keep going! SpongeBob's in trouble!"

"I'm too tired," Patrick panted. "I need coconuts."

Sandy groaned, "Well, at least I'm a squirrel."

She threw her farming tool to the side and began to dig the earth with her paws. While this method was more efficient, the soul crushed remained in the ground. As Sandy dug, however, a thoughtful smile appeared on Sheldon's face.

"I have a solution that might work," he said. "SpongeBob drew this soul crusher, did he not?"

"He did," Gary nodded. "In fact, the magic pencil is still here."

He picked up the magic pencil to prove his point.

"Anyway," Sheldon continued, "if this soul crusher can be drawn, it can be erased. Therefore, our only option might be to erase the soul crusher."

He took the pencil and rubbed its eraser on the crusher. His plan was effective, for each stroke of the eraser made a part of the crusher disappear.

"Mr. Cooper, speed it up!" Sandy snapped. "Our friends are dying!"

Sheldon did as he was instructed quickly, for he was used to doing so to please Lord Shen. Therefore, it was not long before the soul crusher was gone. The orb of blizzards disappeared when it no longer had a crusher to support it. When it was gone, a large field of ice stood in its place.

"Alright," Margaret SquarePants nodded. "Does anyone see SpongeBob?"

"I see him!" Patrick cried out. He ran towards a small figure, crying, "SpongeBob! SpongeBob!"

At the moment he picked up the figure, he began to cry helplessly. He held it close to him, embracing it.

"Oh, SpongeBob," Patrick wept, "what has become of you? Shrunken to the size of an egg roll and wrapped in this cheap plastic wrapper!"

When Sheldon, Gary, and the villagers saw the figure Patrick was holding, they stared at the reader in disbelief. Squidward approached the starfish and groaned, "That's not SpongeBob, nincompoop! Those are cleaning sponges!"

"Does that mean he's still alive!" Patrick gasped.

At that moment, a small golden light floated into the partly sunny sky.

Epilogue

It was at that moment when Ashi finally understood. Immortality was nearly within her grasp, for she had meditated for five hundred years. And yet, immortality remained out of her reach. Her heart had yearned for something, leaving her with an emptiness. And now, she knew what it was she had been yearning for.

"Maya," she said to her cousin, "that adventure I had with SpongeBob five hundred years ago, why did you let me forget it?"

Maya sighed, "When you were released from the orb of the soul crusher, the magic of your hairpin knocked you unconscious and sealed your memories of the sponge. This was another of those large side effects Xtabay had talked about. I knew that if you were to reobtain the memories, you would be thrown into endless sorrow. And yet, you have grown curious as to what it is your heart lacks."

"SpongeBob is the figure in that vision I keep having," Ashi nodded. "Now, I understand. I couldn't identify him because I didn't remember him. But now, I remember." She then shivered, "And, what about my immortality?"

"Lo siento, prima," Maya said with remorse. "Since you have fallen in love with an earthly being, you'll never become immortal. It wouldn't work out with a mortal soul mate."

Maya had expected her cousin to grow disappointed, for she had wanted what all demons wanted: immortality. As Maya awaited the expression, however, a smile appeared on Ashi's face.

"That's alright," the white snake said. "Now, my life has a new purpose."

"Really!?" Maya gasped.

"Yes!" Ashi beamed with excitement. "I can't believe it! All these five hundred years, I've been wondering what it is toons savor about love! Now, I know!"
Maya chuckled, "Well, it's your lucky day, prima. You still have the opportunity to court with the sponge you love."

"I do?" Ashi asked, confused. "But …"

"He's lived many lives by now," Maya explained. "Now, he's a toon bachelor once more."

"Maya," Ashi smiled widely, "no matter where he is, no matter what he looks like, whether he remembers me or not, I have to find him because I remember."

The white snake departed from the cave, letting the sun rays embrace her. She reached out towards the sun as if she could hold it in her arms. A proud Maya came close behind her and cherished the light herself.

"Love truly is a wonderful feeling, prima," the green snake said, "but do you know what the best part of that five hundred-year-old adventure was?"

"I saved SpongeBob's soul?" Ashi asked.

Maya laughed, "No! Lord Shen tasted just like chicken."

Ashi stared at the reader, feeling confused about what her cousin had said.

While the sun had been shining brightly near the cave of the cousins, rain fell like the tears of a widow in Kyoto, Japan. The toons outside had to carry umbrellas to save themselves from the fate of becoming drenched. Among these toons was Yoshimitsu, a samurai who was the son of the current shogun. While the shogun and his family lived in the city of Kamakura, he would sometimes spend summers in Kyoto with the emperor. While the true name of the son of the shogun was "Yoshimitsu", many of his close friends would refer to him as "Samurai Jack".

On this particular day, Jack was walking among the other toons in the rain. He had not forgotten to take his umbrella with him, for he was known for being a prepared man. As he passed a pair of Chinese girls on a red bridge, he heard something clink upon it. He looked at the bridge below to see a Chinese hairpin made of jade. When he picked it up, he realized the two girls had dropped it.

"Sumimasen!" Jack cried out. "Sumimasen!"

He did what he could to run to the girls, but he was careful not to move his umbrella or run into the toons he passed. While it seemed as if it would take a long time for him to approach them, he was surprised to be close to them so soon. He saw that the hair of one of the girls was in a top knot while that of the other girl was in a buzz cut. Jack did not know that he had found the white snake and the green snake.

"Sumimasen," Jack said, "is this your hairpin?"

Maya turned around and smiled at him. She giggled as she nudged her cousin. Ashi then turned around and smiled at Jack. She said, "Thank you so much, sir."

"It is an honor, miss," Jack said as he bowed to her.

He placed the hairpin into her hand, and she put it in her top knot.

"This hairpin is a priceless family heirloom," Ashi explained. "I don't know what I would do without it."

"You would never forgive yourself," Maya grinned. She looked at Jack and said, "My name's Maya, by the way. This is my cousin, Ashi."

Jack smiled as he said, "It is an honor to meet you. I am Yoshimitsu, son of the shogun, but many people call me "Jack".

"Alright, 'Jack'," Ashi nodded. "I like that name. It suits you."

The reincarnation of SpongeBob SquarePants blushed at her comment. He then asked her, "Where did you come from?"

"It's a long story," Ashi said, retaining her smile.

The End