This chapter absolutely refused to get written. I apoligise for the delay.
Review replies;
OwlheadAthena: That's really nice of you. :) Also, that scenario would be a bit of a bummer, wouldn't it? :P Thanks for reading!
dr-fanmai-lover: Uh...thanks...I think.
TweenisodeOrange: Unless I'm mistaken, that's the one with the keychains, right? It's been yonks since I've watched Digimon... Thanks for reviewing!
SOLmaster: Indeed, who is next? It could be you... :D Anyway, thanks for the review!
Zim'sMostLoyalServant: It only get's darker from here...because for some reason, I can't write anything light-hearted. :P Thanks very much!
aslan333: Indeed, my friend. ;) Thanks!
Chapter Five: In Which Things Get Worse
Jimmy had been reported missing early the next morning, and his house had been turned upside-down by the police for clues of his whereabouts. However, they were unable to get into his lab, so Timmy and Cindy were able to search it unhindered.
They had found him, lying on the floor in the main room. He looked almost peaceful – in a very, very creepy way.
"So," gulped Timmy, picking up the doll, "What do we do now?"
"How should I know?" demanded Cindy, "Nerdtron never told me about his stupid little plans!"
She glanced at the giant screen.
"Maybe he left a hint on his computer?" she mused.
"Well, it's all we've got to go on," shrugged Timmy.
He strode up to the computer and typed in a twelve-letter password.
"What's his password?" whispered Cindy.
"You don't wanna know," replied Timmy.
Six missing posters appeared on screen. Each of them was issued by a different police department, but all were familiar to the two kids.
"There's Danny," pointed out Cindy.
"Isn't that Kwan from Danny's school?" mused Timmy, "And Tad and Chad? And Nick? And that guy who keeps hurting his leg?"
"They've all got the same date," added Cindy, "Yesterday."
She looked at the floor, and noticed four newspaper clippings lying on the ground. She picked them up.
"Look at this," she added, "The only thing they ever leave behind is a doll. Just like that!"
She pointed at Jimmy.
"So, that guy is definitely not on the level," mused Timmy, scratching his chin, "Well, it gets me outta the play!"
"I don't think it's him," responded Cindy, "If it'd been him, he'd have called you on the recaller. Let's check out the security feed."
She brought up the video, and began to fast-forward through the night. It went on for several seconds, until it suddenly stopped.
The last frame showed Jimmy glancing at a cloaked intruder into his lab. The intruder wore a black cloak, but that was all that could be made out. Cindy tried to fast-forward some more, but the video wouldn't budge.
"That doesn't look like a white suit to me," noted Cindy.
"Dang it," sighed Timmy, "More rehearsal."
"He might still be connected to him though," decided Cindy, "Grab Spongebob, your holograms and Dani – we're going to talk to him after rehearsal tonight."
"…but we only rehearse on weekdays and today's Sunday."
Cindy facepalmed.
"Alright, we'll catch him as soon as possible, then," she groaned, "Until then, don't get caught by him."
She stormed out of the lab.
"…okay then," nodded Timmy, meekly.
Spongebob paced in his kitchen, Patrick sitting at the table behind him.
"I think there's something wrong with me, Pat," he stated.
"Did you lose your nametag again?" asked Patrick.
"I had a weird dream last night," replied Spongebob, "And this morning I woke up outside, and the cloak was right next to me. And that's after I snapped at Jimmy yesterday…"
"I'm sure that's just a phase," shrugged Patrick.
"…but Timmy called this morning, and he said Jimmy got turned into a doll last night," continued Spongebob, clutching his head, "Just like Danny."
Patrick seemed to contemplate for a moment.
"Can I have the doll?" he asked at last.
"NO! YOU CAN'T HAVE THE DOLL!" thundered Spongebob.
Patrick blinked, his face having been blown back by Spongebob's breath. He slapped his face with his hand, and it returned to normal.
"Spongebob, you're taking this way too seriously…"
"You don't get it!" snapped Spongebob, "Two of my friends got turned into inanimate objects, weird things are happening to me, and I don't have any idea what's going on!"
Patrick shrugged.
"You're acting kinda creepy, Spongebob," he stated.
Spongebob's eye twitched.
"OH, FOR NEPTUNE'S SAKE!" bellowed Spongebob, "WOULD YOU JUST GET A CLUE THROUGH YOUR THICK HEAD?"
"Hey, that's offensive!" snapped Patrick, standing up.
"IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, BARNACLE HEAD!" roared Spongebob.
"Oh yeah?" retorted Patrick, "Well you're a…uh…uuhhhh…poorly dressed!"
"GET OUTTA MY HOUSE!" barked Spongebob.
"Gladly!" snapped Patrick, "I'm gonna go home and eat a Krabby Patty, and you don't get to have one!"
He stormed out of the house, striding off in the opposite direction to his house.
"Yeah, well, I don't need you!" growled Spongebob, "I can work this out on my own!"
He slammed the door.
Then he burst into tears.
"Oh, Gary!" he wailed (there was no-one else to hear him), "Why did I do that?"
"It's simple, my friend," a voice in his head sneered.
Spongebob jumped.
"Who said that?"
"Who do you think, simpleton?"
There was a gust of wind, and the cloak wafted downstairs and towards him.
"The-the-the…you're the-the-the-the…"
"Yes, Spongebob, I am."
"You're the Box Ghost!" exclaimed Spongebob, panicked.
The voice in his head gave a despairing groan.
"I'm the Shadowed One, you imbecile!" snapped the voice.
"Bu-bu-but that can't be right!" gasped Spongebob, "You're dead – and fictional!"
"Yes, all make believe, isn't it boy?" sneered the Shadowed One, "I'm afraid that I'm quite real, Spongebob, and I intend to utilise your body to make my return."
"But I'm using my body," considered Spongebob.
"Not for much longer."
Spongebob felt a sudden, sharp pain in his head, and all of a sudden, he was back in the courtroom. The giant Mr. Krabs glared down on him again.
"Prosecution calls James Isaac Neutron to the stands," the lawyer Plankton snapped.
Jimmy marched to the front of the courtroom, glaring angrily at Spongebob.
"What do you think of the sponge standing before you?" asked Plankton.
Jimmy sniffed.
"He's a naïve twit," he scowled, "Half of our problems wouldn't exist if he wasn't so darned trusting. Heck – he can't even trust his own body…"
"NO!"
Spongebob stood up, kicking the cloak away.
"You can't have my body!" he yelled, "I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone else with it!"
"Fine, a challenge," accepted the voice, "We'll see who falls first…"
MISSING – AJ Ibrehim. Trixie Tang. Geraldine Waxelplax. Mark Chang…
Spongebob stood in rehearsal, reading out his lines. Mr. Bickles and the Man in the White Suit were watching, and a very bored looking Timmy was holding his own script.
Spongebob clutched his head, and squinted his eyes for several moments. He recovered, and kept reading.
MISSING – Kwan Sie. L. Lancer. Nathan Lester. Paulina Sanchez…
Cindy, Timmy, Dani and the fairies were in Jimmy's Lab, looking over a floor plan of Lindbergh Elementary.
"…so, the Guy always meets with Principal Willoughby after rehearsal," mused Wanda, "But he stays behind for a few minutes to check up on the cast."
"We just need to find his route, and we can catch him in the hallway," nodded Cindy, "But how do we track him?"
Dani grinned, and turned invisible.
MISSING – Bolbi Stroganovsky. Nick Dean. Betty Quinlan. Oleander Svalsbord...
Spongebob climbed into his bed and tucked himself in.
He winked at Gary, before pressing a button on a remote in his hand.
A giant metal clamp descended from the roof, locking him in place.
"…hey, how'd we afford this?" Spongebob asked himself.
MISSING – Flatts Flounder. Poppy Puff. Larry T. Lobster. Old Man Jenkins...
"…so, we gonna practice some of the climax tonight?" asked Sandy.
She and Spongebob were sitting at the picnic table at the Treedome.
"I was thinking maybe…" began Spongebob.
Spongebob cringed and clenched his head. Concerned, Sandy looked up from the script.
"Uh, Spongebob?" she asked, "You okay?"
"NOTHING IS WORKING!" cried Spongebob, slapping his face in frustration.
"…you try aspirin?" quizzed Sandy, tilting her head.
"It's not a headache," groaned Spongebob, shaking his head, "It's…"
There was another massive pain in his head, and he fell to the ground. For a brief moment, he was aware of Sandy calling out his name, and then…he was gone.
Spongebob was back in the courtroom, with the giant Mr. Krabs and the smirking lawyer Plankton. This time, however, the place felt much more real, much more…there then it had before.
"Jury!" thundered Mr. Krabs, "What's yer verdict?"
Spongebob's attention was drawn to a jury panel consisting entirely of anchovies. The whole panel began repeating 'guilty' over and over again, out of synch with each other.
"Wait!" gasped Spongebob, "You gotta understand, I'm not…"
"SILENCE!" thundered Mr. Krabs, "I sentence you to an eternity of misery…rotting in the prison of yer own mind!"
Suddenly, Spongebob was falling, falling through darkness, vaguely aware of some sort of unseen demonic entity laughing at his fate, until he collided with a cold, hard stone floor.
He climbed off his face, and found himself in a torch-lit prison cell, chained to the wall. A white-uniformed guard who seemed to be twelve feet tall slammed the cell door.
"No…wait…I'm not a criminal, what am I…"
"Save it for the rats," sneered the soldier, laughing as he walked away.
"No! No! Come back! Help me!" cried Spongebob.
But he was left behind in the dark jail cell, completely alone…
Y'know, Cindy was only going to have a small role in this, but then I found I was having a lot of fun with her lines. :shrug: