A/N: Ooh, so happy is me! Thanks to northernlight33, SpongeFanSquareFiction, and kpetty for the awesome reviews! Okay...

Now...the last chapter was kind of a sort of cliffhanger, okay? So...here we go. This chapter is a lot shorter than most but it speaks volumes. (sniff)

Hopefully I'll get the DVD for the movie today! Okay. Here's the chappie. Enjoy.

Part Seis

By the time he reached the Krusty Krab, the carriage was gone. Tire marks confettied the driveway.

He peered inside. There was only one old crab there. Standing high up on a ladder, he was carefully painting over prices on the menu.

He barged in. The old man turned.

"Hello, sir. The Krusty Krab II will be open first thing tomorrow. I need another day or so to rest!" he said laughing. Dennis scowled.

"I'm looking for some people…is all," he said gruffly, twirling a toothpick in his teeth.

"Well everyone cleared away after Neptune left. Either went home or down to that Goofy Goober kiddie place for a party with SpongeBob and Patrick."

He'd failed then.

"Do you know a man named Sheldon Plankton?"

The crab laughed. "Oh yes. He's the one that started this whole crazy scheme. Almost worked too. Apparently he pins the blame on some lack-wit assassin…anyway, he'll be locked away for a looong time."

He had a contract. If the client was jailed, he held no responsibility to finish the act. He should leave now. But nothing in him was willing to let the FOOLS slip away that easily.

"Where did you say the…party was?"

"It's Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Parlor. You can't miss it. Not really your scene though. You look like someone who wouldn't be caught dead in that place!" The old crab laughed again.

"This conversation never happened…" Dennis slowly backed out the door.

flashBACK

The carriage stopped in front of Dennis' house. Mindy stared at the reins, running her fingers over the silky covering. Mark pretended to be interested in a flock of scallops cooing noisily overhead. He could feel that something wasn't right.

He hadn't looked outside much during the ride home, and the carriage was practically soundproof. So the scene before him shocked him into a dazed stupor.

Cars were parked all over the lawn. Ambulances, police cars, sirens twisting, turning. His stomach knotted. He saw no one he knew.

"Mom?" he called. Somewhere in the mass of confusion was his mother. She would help it all make sense. He called louder, "Mom! Mother!"

"That's him!" a voice cried from the porch. Surrounded by police officers, an old lady in pink curlers was pointing at him. He remembered. This was Aunt Mae, who he hadn't seen in 6 years. She hadn't changed a bit.

The officers came down the steps. He recognized O'Malley. She'd been at the mall a couple of days ago. But her face was sympathetic.

"Are you Dennis?" one asked hesitantly.

He nodded.

"Is this woman your mother?" asked O'Malley, waving a photo in his face. It was of him and his mom outside their house.

"What do you mean? You have coffee with her everyday! OF course that's Mother!" he exclaimed. He felt like he was about to throw up.

Nancy nodded at another officer who started barking orders in German into his walkie-talkie.

"Ms. O'Malley, what's wrong?" he pleaded. She looked down at him with tired eyes. She looked over at Aunt Mae, who was wringing her fingers nervously.

"I'm not sure if…" she trailed off, then looked somberly into his pleading eyes. "Okay. I think they're done in there…follow me."

They crossed the porch. Two more officers exited the house, carrying bags of recording equipment. O'Malley held open the door for him. He stepped inside.

It was dark. The kitchen was in shambles. Nancy kept walking, through the hall. She paused at the living room. He looked inside. The safe was open.

Upstairs now. O'Malley put her hand on Mother's door. She looked back at him one last time. Then she opened the door.

He gasped, more like a ghostly moan. He was looking past Nancy, into Mother's room, on the bed. No. Things like this didn't happen. No no no no.

He stepped in hesitantly. No. It only looked that way. She was fine. No no. Dream. A nightmare. Step, step. Too real. No. How could he deny it?

As final proof, he reached down and squeezed Mother's hand. Cold.

He broke down sobbing. No. Why? How? He had only-NO. He took a shaky breath. His entire body felt like it was being wrenched apart. His voice caught. Swallow. Dumb. No.

Through tear-drenched eyes he looked again. The face…an eerie blue. Hands-cold. No. No movement. She was-

"Dennis?" O'Malley's voice, back, faint. "We-it's…" She said nothing else.

His heart rate accelerated. Straight ahead. Nothing.

"It was this morning. I came to let her know that we were certain you'd run away. She-she was just sitting there. She said she'd been robbed. Robbed of everything she owned. Then she said she had nothing to live for anymore and-" Nancy broke off and pointed to the table. "She swallowed the last of those pills and died. I couldn't-she'd already OD'd…I couldn't get them out of her…she'd already swallowed…I-she…she wanted to die."

Lies. Everything. How could someone want to die? Something…she'd said she'd been robbed…the safe. His eyes darted around. Broken jewelry chests. Her purse…overturned, empty. Did she think-because of him? If he hadn't run away would she-could she-still be alive?

Two men came in, a stretcher between them. They loaded the body off the bed. He fled, charging past Nancy, out the door, down the porch, around the tangle of boats, into the trees. Panting. Sigh. Gotta outrun it. He took a gulp of breath, leaning against the tree. He heard someone behind.

"Mark told me yesterday you'd run away. Around 6:00. I wanted to tell the police, or your mom, but Mark wouldn't…" It was Mindy. Her voice was flat, a tiny tremor floating in the air. "Then Tina called…she sounded so desperate…wondering if we knew…we ended up telling Nancy O'Malley right before we went searching for you…we got the call shortly after…"

He said nothing. If he hadn't been so stupid, so selfish!

She placed a hand on his thin shoulder. "I know what it's like to lose a mother, Dennis…" She choked as tears gushed from her eyes. "It's the hardest thing I've ever gone through…it's…"

She pressed her lips together and wiped her eyes. He swallowed, racked with grief. For a moment, everything went dark and he pressed his head against the tree. He opened his eyes and saw Mindy staring at the police cars. She turned around.

"They don't know who robbed her. Whoever it was knew the combination to the safe. They can tell by the marks on the lock…I listened to what they were saying about it…"

His head darted up. Of course. He turned. Mindy stared at him, deep remorseful eyes. Of course…

"Chad…" he whispered faintly. His eyes met hers. They gripped her in a eerie stare. "Chad…" he hissed more vehemently. He took off running.

"Dennis, wait!" she called. He paid no heed.

Vengeance would be his.