Uh oh! Will they save SpongeBob or will they be too late?

Enjoy!

Chapter 15

The Rush to Rescue

His ears were filled with the roar of water and breaking metal, his head was tilted back and he was breathing the last bit of sweet air he had left. A third wave washed over his face, making him splutter and his wounds sting from the salty, dirty water. He tried to scream, call for help – anything! But he simply couldn't get his muffled voice louder than the cacophony of disaster outside, he shut his eyes and accepted that he might not get free in time.

The four friends watched in horror as the collapsed warehouses were washed away. They couldn't just stand there any longer, they had to move if they wanted their friend back alive and in one piece.

Patrick and Sandy barged past the two villains, knocking them over and sending them tumbling down the stairs. The two desperate friends paid them no heed as they ran over their bodies and leapt into the water, Phineas jumped up and immediately pursued them.

Squidward hurried after them, deciding to use the debris and stuck roofs as stepping stones. Mr Krabs stuck the bottle back in his back pocket securely, he grabbed Plankton by the neck and pulled him up.

"WHICH WAREHOUSE!?" He screamed desperately, Plankton simply smirked.

"How do you know he's not already under one of them?" He grinned, Eugene dunked his enemy's head under the water. He let him struggle against him for a moment before pulling him back up.

"LAST CHANCE!" He snapped, "WHICH WAREHOUSE IS HE IN!?"

Plankton glared at him.

"Last one on the right. Now, give me the formula." He snarled, Mr Krabs smirked.

"SPONGEBOB'S IN THE LAST WAREHOUSE TO THE RIGHT!" Eugene called to his friends as he threw Plankton behind him and pushed his way into the water, Sheldon hurried to follow him when he spied the bottle in his back pocket.

Plankton charged forward and leapt onto Eugene's back, the two fought as the now deep current swept them along. Squidward was jumping between debris piles when he noticed them float past, he grit his teeth and sped up. He glanced forward to see Patrick and Sandy working together to get to the warehouse, both there lying in the water and swimming with the current using it to move faster. No doubt Sandy came up with that genius plan. Phineas unfortunately was using the same method and was quickly catching up.

Squidward sprinted along the rooves until he was in line with Phineas, he leapt over and landed on the man and pushed him under the water. He then used his foot to push against the body to move himself forward using it's momentum, effectively slowing the enemy down in the process.

Phineas rose to the surface spluttering, the others were close to the warehouse now. He yelped as Eugene and Sheldon charged into him, dunking him under the water again. He rose for the second time with grit teeth, clearly his boss wasn't going to stop the three so it was up to him. He swam forward as quick as he could, he could feel the water rising. He chuckled, the boy's head would be under soon then it was all over.

SpongeBob struggled, the water was lapping over his face and rising rapidly. He took one last deep breath as the water rose above his head, he blinked his eyes open and tried to see through the murky water. His eyes and wounds stung terribly but he was on the look out for help, he could see a lot of splashing going on outside. His eyes widened when he saw his boss and Plankton float past mid wrestle, they were heading for the edge and would end up in the sea soon!

He wished he could call out to his father figure to let him know where he was, instead he had to watch as he disappeared from view.

Mr Krabs was so caught up in his fight, he realised too late he had passed the warehouse. He yelled in fear and frustration but soon calmed when he saw Patrick and Sandy swimming towards the entrance.

Patrick and Sandy swam in through the door and gasped at the tips of ginger hair floating just under the surface. They both took a deep breath and dove down, they were met with familiar relieved blue eyes.

Sandy jumped into action, she swam round the back and began working on the ropes. Patrick cupped his friend's uninjured cheek reassuringly and gave him a small smile, SpongeBob returned it with a subtle nod.

Squidward entered the warehouse next, he dove down and joined the three. He patted the missing boy on the shoulder before moving to help Sandy, Patrick was poised and ready. He whimpered when he saw his friend was starting to lose the battle with his lungs, he patted him gently to get him to look at him. SpongeBob met his eyes, his eyebrows creasing in fear and dread. The boy shook his head, he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

The second the ropes loosened, Patrick snatched SpongeBob around the waist and pulled him along as he pushed himself upwards. His heart clenched when he saw the bubbles leave the boy's mouth, he pushed SpongeBob's head above the surface first before quickly following behind.

He nearly laughed with relief when he heard his friend take a lungful of air, coughing and spluttering from the new oxygen. He realised his wrists were still tied behind him.

Patrick lay back and pulled his friend on top of him to keep his head above water, Squidward was first to start untying the ropes. Sandy surfaced not long after, coughing as she inhaled.

"Are… y-you ok?" She spluttered as she floated next to the two best friends.

"Y-Yeah, you made it just in time!" SpongeBob nodded shakily, "That was really scary!"

"We've got you buddy!" Patrick soothed gently, SpongeBob cuddled into his friend as he tried to calm himself.

All four glanced up in shock as Phineas splashed into the warehouse, Squidward finally whipped the rope off the boy's wrists. SpongeBob rolled off Patrick and into the water, he ran forward and tackled Phineas as his friends screamed his name.

"Why did you do this!?" SpongeBob growled as he held onto the other, "You tricked me! You made me think I was a bad person!"

"Cry me a river!" Phineas snapped as he overpowered the young boy, "I'm just working for a pay check, same as you!"

He pushed SpongeBob under the water as the current pulled them out of the warehouse, debris hit into the metal building as the three friends hurried to follow the two.

"It's not my fault you were so easy to manipulate!" Phineas grinned viciously as SpongeBob struggled.

The warehouse collapsed, the wave washed over Phineas and the force made him loosen his grip. SpongeBob kicked him in the stomach before swimming to the surface, he tried to swim against the current to join his friends. Phineas grabbed his foot and pushed off to follow the current, dragging the boy further from the friends. Patrick pushed forward to follow, Squidward helped Sandy onto a pile of rubble that had collected in the middle of the docks. They looked around trying to spot the missing friends.

Mr Krabs punched Plankton as he hit into a bollard, saving him from being swept over the edge and into the sea below. Sheldon continued to wrestle him for the bottle, Eugene caught a glimpse of his fry cook struggling in the water behind him. The boy was being dragged by Phineas closer to the edge with Patrick not far behind.

Eugene let out a growl and kicked out, he didn't look back as he used the line of bollards to try and intervene the wrestling two. Sheldon slipped off the edge but grabbed onto the bollard, saving himself.

SpongeBob yelped as Phineas dug his nails into his skin.

"Let me go!" He yelled when he saw the ledge, "We're gonna fall!"

Phineas growled tugging him harder, they washed toward the edge. SpongeBob looked forward to see Patrick coming closer, one hand outstretched. SpongeBob reached for his last chance at salvation.

He felt the pull as Phineas went over the edge, he felt his legs drop down. Patrick thrust forward in a last desperate attempt, he grabbed his friend's wrist and the two held on for dear life. Patrick yelped as he tried to stop them falling but struggled to keep himself upright.

Eugene dashed forward and grabbed Patrick bodily, stopping the two boys. The suddenness of the halt caused Phineas' hand to slip from SpongeBob's leg, the man cursed as he fell into the sea below.

The three friends clung to the bollard as they finally straightened up, they laughed in disbelief and hugged each other.

"LOOK OUT!" Squidward and Sandy screamed, the three whipped round to see Plankton throwing himself at the group.

"NO!"

It's not over yet!