(Author's Note: Hi! It has been... a minute. I've been meaning to write a conclusion for all my old stories for years but always felt weird popping back in out of the blue. But now is better than never, so why not wrap things up? Out of all my fanfics, this one was the closest to its ending, so it's only fitting that I get through this one first. I'm just going to give an overview of how I planned to wrap the story. To anyone still reading this years later, thank you for for your patience. ~M)


Plankton was aware of the situation his rival was going through, but never expected it to get so bad that the one person keeping him afloat was right in front of him, asking for a job. It was too good to be true, so good that he was convinced this was one of the many pranks Eugene had made to bask in his victory. Even then, this new employee had some requests: First, he would be allowed a "trial run" to decide if this was the place he wanted to direct his talents towards. Second, he would get free reign of the kitchen to go at his own pace. Lastly, there would be no discussion about the secret formula - that would be his final form of goodwill to his former boss should be make any decent attempt to keep him. If Plankton broke any of those accommodations, he would continue his search for a place that would actually care about him. Plankton, realizing he was not in a serious position to argue, accepted, and the two began to work together.

At first, the only customers they got were Spongebob's closest friends and the few customers who were willing to try what was easily the worst restaurant in all of Bikini Bottom. Even with a new head chef, the food wasn't anything more than barely palatable, as Spongebob could only work with the few ingredients at his disposal. Yet, as time went on, he began toying with new recipes to figure out a way to make chum work. It took some time - enough for Plankton to get nervous - but eventually he came up with a secret formula of his own. In time, the Chum Bucket received a steady flow of customers, and said customer base expanded until it was enough to rival their one competitor.

It was easy to attribute this success to Spongebob's talents, but Plankton also proved to be a helpful boss. At first, he tried figuring out a way to further involve his new employee into the constant back-and-forth between himself and his rival, but Spongebob put a stop to any of that before he had the chance. His wife gave him the novel idea of actually trying to ensure his employee was in a comfortable workplace - this time, without any ulterior motive. It was a change in pace he was not used to, but the money finally entering his wallet gave him a reason to learn new tricks. As Plankton gave his employee more space, the two bonded over their mutual distrust of good ol' Eugene. During the occasional lull in crowds, the two would share stories about him - of all the times Krabs went to extremes for just a couple of cents. Most of these stories were funny in hindsight, although tears were shed on more than one retelling. In a weird way, Plankton's greatest revenge was making a new friend.

As for Eugene, he tried to keep his restaurant afloat. He repeatedly told himself that he had been successful without his fry cook, and even without his longest-lasting employee, and he would do it again. Unfortunately, all that he had to work with was the goodwill he had spent years building up, and without the two of them, said goodwill could only last so long. Sure, Eugene was a competent chef at this point - he was the inventor of the sea-famous Krabby Patty, after all - but something was missing from his cooking. With his former employee, every burger was made with a love only someone with a passion for their job could wield, a love that only became an issue out of abundance. Now, where there was love, all that was left was the desperation of somebody who cared only for the pursuit of money. Customers came in smaller batches, and once word spread about the new and improved Chumburger, his profits began spiraling downwards. No one was dumb enough to work with him, and anyone who even considered it swam in the other direction as soon as they heard the stories. Even the Chum Bucket found workers willing to join the business, including Patrick, who found unexpected success as Plankton's chief of marketing. Mr. Krabs' shed any attempt at keeping up a face: His former employee and former friend both killed his business, and it was time for them to pay.

Spongebob was hard to retaliate against - he was living with that one squirrel now, and any time he was not working, she was at arm's length, verifying that Spongebob was never in a vulnerable position. He knew she was one of the smartest and strongest there ever was, and getting on her bad side was a death sentence, so he held off for the time being. He wanted payback against Squidward as well, but his former employee's girlfriend was also diligent about keeping his location hidden at all times. All that was left was his former best friend. He may have had Karen by his side, but he knew all of Sheldon's ticks and secret fears, and how to aggravate him in a way no one would notice. Even he realized this was low - even coarse - but there was no other choice.

The figure always appeared in the corner of Plankton's eye. Initially, he dismissed them, attributing the creaks and shadows to the holes and cracks in the walls. Yet, this figure seemed to follow him outside of work, whenever he was buying supplies for the restaurant or even take out the trash. It was a monstrous shadow, one that always towered over him but never fully revealed itself. He stopped going outside, fixed up all the walls, and threw curtains over all the windows, but the figure always felt close to him. He stopped talking to anyone, leaving the day-to-day operations of his restaurant to his wife and head chef, ignoring any of their attempts to talk to him. This went on for too long, and at some point, he had enough.

One morning, Spongebob came into work, but saw the doors to the Chum Bucket were locked. As he looked around to see what was up, he looked to the road in horror. There lied Plankton unconscious, a victim of a boat that never saw him. Panicking, he took his boss to the nearest hospital, hoping there was still time left for the unexpected friend he had made. Angrily, he decided to confront Eugene, the first conversation he would have had with him in months by this point. He went to the Krusty Krab - a few loyal customers were nearby waiting for the restaurant to open up, wondering why it was taking so long for the doors to open. He paid a visit to Eugene's house with Sandy and Patrick as support. After knocking for minutes, they went to the local high school to see if his daughter was there. After Pearl tried to make a fun from it, she was stopped by Spongebob's friends, demanding answers for Plankton's situation.

Eventually, Pearl confessed: she brought up how her daddy was heartbroken about going bankrupt and enlisting her in a plan to scare Plankton. She did not get her role - she was asked to stand outside the Chum Bucket motionlessly here and there - but did it anyway in the hopes that her daddy would finally have money again. The three expected Pearl to be upset when they told her what happened with Plankton, but she seemed to take it rather lightly. She told them that her daddy skipped town for a fast food convention, so he couldn't be taken in for anything he did. They could not blame her for her assistance in the plan, as the police would take her family's side regardless of the circumstances. With that, the three return to the hospital, upset with the circumstances.

By the time the three had returned, a small crowd had gathered in front of Plankton's hospital room to send their wishes. Spongebob was unsure if they were there because they cared about him or the future of his restaurant, but at least it was more than he would have ever gotten before the two started working together. Once Spongebob was noticed, the crowd gathered around him, seeking answers about the fate of the Chum Bucket. At first, Spongebob kept it calm, answering each question to the best of his knowledge. But when he took a look at Plankton's body, the tone shifted, and the fire he had shown that first day he stood up to Eugene erupted in him again. Composing himself, he accused Mr. Krabs of trying to kill Plankton, and taking his revenge too far. Instead of owning up to his actions, Mr. Krabs tried to take the high road and seek retribution over fixing anything. He even lacked the guts to show his face and acknowledge his actions. With the crowd fired up, Spongebob made a bold assertion: he would no longer cook another burger ever again until Mr. Krabs was brought to justice.

And if the police won't make him pay for his crimes, Spongebob will do it himself.


THE END.

(Author's Note: I hope this ending provided some closure to anyone still reading this story. While the ending may not be fully conclusive, this was always where I had planned to end this story. I had wanted to make a sequel where Spongebob and Mr. Krabs began an intense conflict where nothing was off limits, but considering how long it took to finish this, maybe that was a tall order. Regardless, thank you to anyone who stuck with me til the end. Maybe one day I'll find a reason to return to my fanfiction roots ^^)