A Different World
(Chapter Eight)
When Spongebob finally woke up he had a massive headache, he felt dizzy, and he was a bit confused; he wasn't sure about where he was. He tried thinking of the last thing he remembered, but that only made his head hurt worse. He looked around for someone, but no one was around that he could see, since he was unaware of what had happened and couldn't really think because of his headache he didn't know that he was tied down to a chair. When he tried to move there was a small bit of electricity that went through his body. He cried out in pain, which got the attention of Plankton.
"Oh good you're awake now, I thought you were dead." Says Plankton.
Spongebob was then afraid because he knew that voice; he looked around for him but didn't see him anywhere.
"Hello where are you, what's going on?" Asks Spongebob.
"You mean you don't know?" Asks Plankton.
Footsteps were heard as a Plankguard came in with Plankton in his hands.
"No I don't." Says Spongebob confused.
"Do you know why you are here?" Asks Plankton.
"No… I can't remember anything." Says Spongebob.
"Figures… that's what happens to all of my prisoners once they are immobilized and electrocuted, they get a headache and they forget things. Don't worry… the headache will go away in a few minutes to an hour from now, then your memory will return and you will tell me what I need to know. Usually… people like you I would have already killed, but you… you have some valuable information and I need to keep you alive. Also you made a great Plankguard, I could use you again." Says Plankton.
Spongebob looked around terrified as his memory slowly started to return.
Meanwhile at Sandy's treedome Sandy was pacing the ground worrying about Spongebob. It had been several hours since she had seen him run out of the treedome.
"How long has he been gone?" Asks Sandy.
"A few hours." Says Eugene.
"Hours… that seems a little too long. What if something happened to him?" Asks Sandy.
"Surely not… I think he knows what he is doing by now." Says Eugene.
"But what if that idiot Patrick got him in trouble?" Asks Sandy.
"He did kind of run out of here… obviously Patrick wasn't thinking." Says Eugene.
"Wow that's a shocker." Says Sandy sarcastically.
"Then again it wasn't exactly the smartest idea for Spongebob to run after him either." Says Eugene.
"He ran after him because Patrick ran out in the open with a picture of me and Spongebob, if Patrick got caught with that picture, then Spongebob would get caught for breaking Plankton's love law." Says Sandy.
"Well we don't know if they got arrested or not… they might just have to be careful on their way back." Says Eugene.
Just then a newsflash came up on their television screen; it was another addition of Planktopolis News.
"This just in… we have an update in criminal arrests. Our Plankguards have arrested two men by the names of Patrick Star and Spongebob Squarepants. As soon as we investigate these two we will know what crime they have committed. This is Planktopolis News signing off." Says Plankton.
"No! This is all my fault!" Says Sandy as she starts to cry.
"No it's not." Says Eugene trying to comfort her.
"Yes it is… it was my idea for Spongebob to be a Plankguard… and it was my fault for… falling in love with him. If it wasn't for me… none of this would have happened. He would have been better off if he had not met me." Says Sandy.
"It will be ok… we will rescue them." Says Eugene.
"How?" Asks Sandy.
"I'm not sure yet… but don't you worry we will get him out. We just need something that will stop us from being affected by Plankton's immobilizer ray." Says Eugene.
"Well… I've heard that Plankton's immobilizer electrocutes people so I've been working on something that will shield people from the electricity." Says Sandy.
"What would that be?" Asks Eugene scratching his head in confusion.
"Rubber. Rubber does not conduct electricity so if Plankton fires his immobilizer ray it won't affect us." Says Sandy.
"Interesting." Says Eugene.
"How many members do we have left in the BBFF?" Asks Sandy.
"I could say about ten." Says Eugene.
"This may seem a little weird… but I was thinking that we wear rubber body suits so that no one gets electrocuted. It may look a little weird, but if we get caught we won't get hurt if Plankton tries to immobilize us." Says Sandy.
"Well let's see it first." Says Eugene.
Sandy pulls out a blue rubber suit.
"It doesn't look that bad. At least it's blue." Says Eugene.
"Will you try it on?" Asks Sandy.
"Well… it beats these old clothes so sure. Come on men." Says Eugene.
His two navy friends and the rest of the BBFF try on the rubber suits.
"Now to test them." Says Sandy.
She pulls out an immobilizer ray. The members of the BBFF looked at her in terror.
"She's one of them!" Says one of the guys.
"No… it's just to test it out." Says Sandy.
She pressed the button and a ray of light went towards them, but nothing happened.
"Hey nothing is happening." Says Eugene.
"No pain." Says another guy.
"See it works, rubber does not conduct electricity therefore no painful shock." Says Sandy smiling.
"Now for a rescue plan." Says Eugene.
The group gathers around to discuss a plan to save Spongebob, Patrick, and all the other prisoners. Meanwhile Plankton was in Spongebob's cell talking to him.
"Ok I think we've waited long enough… It's time for you to tell me what I need to know." Says Plankton.
Spongebob had been beaten up by Plankton's Plankguard, Plankton would have used his immobilizer ray, but he wanted Spongebob's memory to remain. Spongebob had a black eye, a few cuts and bruises on his face, and a busted lip.
"Who is the girl you are kissing in the picture?" Asks Plankton.
"I won't tell…" Says Spongebob.
"I'll take care of this." Says the Plankguard.
"No… if you beat him too much he won't be able speak." Says Plankton.
"I don't care how much you beat me… I won't let anything happen to her." Says Spongebob.
Plankton snapped his fingers, and his Plankguard hit Spongebob in the stomach.
"Not only did you break the love law, but you also broke the most important law. You are a traitor; you are a member of the BBFF. You will tell me what I need to know. Hit him again!" Says Plankton.
His Plankguard does what he was told and hits him in the stomach again.
"You know where their hide out is. Where is it?" Asks Plankton.
"I will… never tell." Says Spongebob coughing a little bit.
"Some people never learn. I will be back in a few minutes. I'm going to check on prisoner 1879 aka Patrick Star. You know what to do." Plankton says to his Plankguard.
"Yes sir." Says the Plankguard.
The door closes to Spongebob's cell as the Plankguard continues to punish Spongebob. Plankton goes to Patrick's cell down the hall.
"Hello Patrick." Says Plankton.
"No… no more beatings please…" Says Patrick shaking.
"Are you ready to talk now?" Asks Plankton.
"Why don't you just kill me already?" Asks Patrick.
"Because you have information on the location of the BBFF and also… do you know who this girl is in the picture?" Asks Plankton.
Patrick hesitates for a moment while looking at the picture.
"No… I mean Yes! Yes!" Says Patrick.
"Who is she?" Asks Plankton.
"She's Spongebob's girlfriend." Says Patrick.
"I know that… I mean her name, what's her name?" Asks Plankton.
"Her name… it's Sandy." Says Patrick.
"Excellent… now the location of the BBFF." Asks Plankton hopefully.
"No… I won't tell you that…" Says Patrick.
There wasn't a Plankguard in Patrick's cell so Plankton just left frustrated. He waits a few minutes and goes back to Spongebob's cell hoping that he will let him know something. Spongebob had a busted lip and was bleeding, he kept coughing and he held his stomach. He had been hit in the face and stomach many times.
"Ok your friend Patrick gave me a name, but he did not give me a location. No matter… we will find these members of the BBFF and they will suffer a similar fate." Says Plankton.
Spongebob coughs for a moment and then he speaks.
"Why… why are you doing this? Why are we… not allowed to love?" Asks Spongebob
"Because if I let that happen, people will get the idea that there is hope in the world and will try to escape my control." Says Plankton.
"What happened to Patrick and Squidward?" Asks Spongebob.
"Your buddy Patrick is in a cell being punished just like you. I had a Plankguard go in once I left. As for Squidward… he was the one that said that you were a member of the BBFF so we let him go. We decided that there were crimes more important than Self Expression so he, and Patrick turned you in too whether it was an accident or not your friends and your precious girlfriend betrayed you. She was the one that got you into this, she got you started in the BBFF and she is the one that got you arrested for the love law also. All of this… is because of Sandy." Says Plankton.
"You know her name?" Asks Spongebob as his eyes widened.
"Yes… Patrick gave us that little bit of information, now I plan on getting the location from you." Says Plankton.
"No… I won't give away her location… I love her." Says Spongebob.
"Oh give it a rest already… don't you understand… she played you like a violin… she caused this to happen to you… she doesn't care about you… if she did she would be here." Says Plankton.
"I don't care… I still love her and I'm not going to let anything happen to her." Says Spongebob.
"Don't you realize that I could kill you with just the push of a button?" Asks Plankton.
"Yes I do realize that." Says Spongebob.
"Aren't you afraid?" Asks Plankton.
"Yes I am afraid, but I have more hate for you than I do fear… even if I die… the BBFF will still fight on and one day Bikini Bottom will rise again." Says Spongebob.
"You are very foolish to be in a group that will get you put to death… and you made such a great Plankguard too. You showed so much potential, but oh well life is full of disappointments." Says Plankton.
"Sometimes… you have to fight for what you believe in… even if it costs you your life. Do what you want to me, but I will never tell you anything!" Says Spongebob.
"I don't have to do anything… If I can't get you or Patrick to talk… I'll just see what Sandy has to say. We will find her, and she will die because of you.
Spongebob stays silent, he knows that there is nothing he can do to protect her, all he could do was hope that they never find her. Plankton's Plankguard came over and hit him one more time in the face knocking him out. There was a noise in the air vents above them. Suddenly it breaks and people come out of it.
The Plankguards fired their immobilizer rays, but nothing happened, then they looked at each other in disbelief, but soon they were on the ground immobilized themselves, but it wasn't a immobilizer gun, it was Sandy and the other members of the BBFF. Plankton looked in disbelief and stepped back a few steps.
"Hey what's going on here?" Asks Plankton.
"You threatened to find me… no I believe we found you. Say hello to the BBFF… The Bikini Bottom Freedom Fighters." Says Sandy.
"This is impossible… how are you guys not dead?" Asks Plankton.
"Because our suits… they are made out of rubber, and your immobilizer ray can't affect us. We are here to free the citizens. Your reign of tyranny is over. We are here to take back our city." Says Eugene.
The other BBFF members go around to cells and free the other citizens. Plankton was about to make a run for it but Sandy grabs him before he could escape.
"Put me down! That is an order." Says Plankton.
"Sorry Plankton, but you won't be ordering anyone else around ever again." Says Sandy.
She put him in a tiny jail cell that she had made and locked it to make sure that he didn't escape, then she goes and unties Spongebob. She notices how badly he was beat up and almost started to cry, but she also noticed that he was knocked out. While the other guys released the citizens she picked him up and carried him back to her treedome.
"Is he going to be ok?" Asks Eugene as he walked by.
"He's still breathing, but he doesn't look so good. I'm going to take him back to the treedome to clean him up a little." Says Sandy as she gently strokes his head.
She hands Eugene the small cell with Plankton in it and went back to her treedome.
Eugene looked around and was surprised to see that the other members of the navy were alive. They were prisoners that were finally free and they all were happy to see each other again and happy to be free. Eugene noticed a camera and a broadcasting screen that read Planktopolis News. There was something that needed to be done. He had to let the rest of the town know what was going on so he turned on the camera and began to speak. People all over town watched as they expected to hear the next edition of Planktopolis News.
"Hi… My name is Eugene Krabs and I am part of a group called the Bikini Bottom Freedom fighters or the BBFF. I know you were probably expecting to hear from Plankton right now, but let me just tell you that this is your lucky day… No longer will you have to live in fear or hatred of him because you are free from his reign of tyranny. This town has been called Planktopolis under his rule. Some people that are my age know that life was better than this. The town used to be called Bikini Bottom and now it can be called that again. Citizens of Bikini Bottom you are free. No longer do you have to live in fear, you can do what you have always dreamed of doing. You can pursue your dream job; you can fall in love with who you want. Plankton is now in jail, we need to do some serious redecorating for this town. We can take down all of the Plankton is watching you posters, and we don't have to worry about Plankguards coming to arrest you. For those of you younger people we can show you what freedom is, I think you will like it." Says Eugene.
Outside of the building cheers could be heard all around, this is a day that some citizens have been waiting their whole lives for. Eugene and the rest of the BBFF go back to Sandy's treedome to pack up their stuff, they could finally return to their homes, but first they wanted to check up on Spongebob. Sandy turned on her sprinkler system which woke Spongebob up. His vision was fuzzy at first, but then he thought that he was in a dream or that he was dead. Sandy was cleaning him up and putting bandages on him. When she saw that he was awake she kissed his nose and said…
"Well it's about time you woke up… you had me worried there for a while Spongebob." Says Sandy.
"I must be dreaming… I think I was hit in the head too hard… maybe I'm dead. Am I in the presence of an angel?" Asks Spongebob.
"No silly… we've won." Says Sandy.
"Won what?" Asks Spongebob.
"We're free from Plankton." Says Sandy.
"Really?" Asks Spongebob.
"Yes. Look around you. People are in the streets cheering." Says Sandy.
Patrick is outside running around.
"Woo freedom!" Shouts Patrick.
"We're glad to see that you're ok." Says Eugene.
Then everyone starts to cheer.
"This calls for a celebration. We couldn't have done this without you Spongebob." Says Eugene.
"We're just sorry that all of that happened to you." Says Sandy.
"Oh… it's ok… all of that was worth it. We're free now." Says Spongebob.
Eugene takes out his record player and puts on some music. This time everyone starts dancing.
A few years later…
Bikini Bottom is how we've always known it to be. There were building everywhere, Spongebob was still trying for his boating license, and he finally got his dream job as a fry cook at none other than the Krusty Krab which was run by Eugene Krabs. Squidward was working there, but only because he was waiting for his dream as a famous clarinet player to get going. Spongebob and Patrick were still the best of friends; he took care of Gary, and visited his girlfriend Sandy everyday where she still taught him karate. Everything was as it should be, everyone was happy, and everyone was free.
(The End)