The Witch and the Sponge

Bikini Bottom is a thriving ecosystem of a lot of fish folk. However, not everyone thinks this bustling city of colorful fauna deserves to exist. Natalie, a powerful sorceress, conspires to destroy the town with the power of Malum. Not to be outdone, Aquarius, protector of the city and Element Immortal of water enlists SpongeBob SquarePants' help. This seemingly ordinary sponge holds a great power he uses to better his world. With his friends to support him, Natalie doesn't stand a chance. Even with Black and White Willy's help. (Who is a pirate without color and wants to destroy Bikini Bottom for some reason.)

SpongeBob was at work, whistling a tune while he flipped patties.

"Ooh," SpongeBob said, "I think you guys might almost be done."

SpongeBob rushed to a table behind him and set up several buns on plates with vegetables and condiments. Then he rushed back to his grill and flipped the patties up and behind him onto the buns. Then he closed the patty's buns and left the kitchen to serve the sandwiches. Customers smiled back at SpongeBob's warm grin. Natalie was watching all this unfold from a crystal ball. She held back vomit.

"Why do these idiots think the Krabby Patty is so tasty," Natalie asked herself, "when they look disgusting?"

Black and White Willy asked, "Have you ever had a patty yer highness?"

Natalie answered, "No, and I don't plan to. Instead, I will poison the patties to make everyone sick."

Black and White Willy, "Wouldn't Eugene know better than to serve poisoned patties?"

Natalie answered, "He wouldn't know the difference."

Natalie pulled out a bottle of black liquid and put a drop onto her crystal ball.

The magical poison found its way onto a crate of Krabby Patties and leaked directly onto the disks. When SpongeBob entered the freezer to take it out, he noticed a weird aura around the patties. He took the case out of the freezer and went to Mr. Krabs. Mr. Krabs was surprised and stood up from behind his desk.

SpongeBob said, panicked, "Mr. Krabs, something is wrong with these patties."

Mr. Krabs asked, "What do you mean, lad?"

SpongeBob pulled out one of the raw patties to show Mr. Krabs. Mr. Krabs took it and looked it over.

"It seems fine to me," Mr. Krabs said, then handed SpongeBob the patty back, "But I'll keep an ear out if anyone makes complaints."

SpongeBob went back to the kitchen and cooked a couple of the patties. He could smell something was wrong with them but trusted Mr. Krabs would address whatever problem presented itself.

The customers who got the patties immediately spat it out upon eating the first bite.

Customer 1 grumbled, "Ugh, that does not taste right."

Customer 2 agreed, "Yeah, that doesn't taste like a Krabby Patty to me."

Mr. Krabs was outside his office, seeing the dining room for this occasion. He overheard this conversation and stopped the next batch from leaving the crate. He went into the kitchen.

Mr Krabs said, "Full stop on that crate, lad. The patties have gone bad on us."

SpongeBob sighed in relief, "Oh, thank Neptune, I was worried we'd have a big problem on our hands."

Mr. Krabs said, "Don't celebrate just yet, lad; we still need to figure out what's wrong with them.

SpongeBob asked, "But how?"

Mr. Krabs took out the crate and pulled out a patty. He looked at it, rolling it in his claw. SpongeBob mimicked the action and flipped the patty between his fingers. They both began thinking.

Natalie was watching this through her crystal ball and was chuckling to herself.

SpongeBob asked, "What if I try something?"

Mr. Krabs asked, "What did you have in mind, lad?"

SpongeBob threw the patty he was fiddling with into the air. The patty glowed a dim red while it was in the air, and then when it landed on SpongeBob's hand again, it stopped. Mr. Krabs gasped in shock.

Mr. Krabs then copied the motion, but his patty didn't glow.

SpongeBob said, "Hmm, that's odd."

Mr. Krabs asked, "Lad, is it possible that whatever is wrong is magical?'

SpongeBob answered, "It is possible. That would mean that the solution is also magical."

SpongeBob waves his hand over the patty in great focus. At first, it seemed like nothing happened, but then a blue glow encapsulated the patties. Then it stopped.

SpongeBob said, "Now when we cook them, it should undo any dark magic embedded within them."

Natalie watches from her crystal ball and casts the second phase of the poison. The two customers who went home to their families began complaining to anyone who would listen about their terrible meal. Anyone who heard them wouldn't eat at the Krusty Krab. They would also share the story with others. It was like a plague of bad press. Eventually, the Krusty Krab had a drought of customers.

Squidward asked, "Where did everyone go?"

Mr. Krabs answered, "I'm not sure."

SpongeBob said, "The patties that the customers ate earlier probably affected their prescription of the Krusty Krab. I can have it only last a few days rather than a few months if you want me to, Mr. Krabs."

Mr. Krabs said, "Don't sweat it, lad."

Natalie was frustrated watching this unfold from her crystal ball.

Willie asked, "What do you think would happen? Mr. Krabs would get jealous of SpongeBob?"

Natalie snapped, "Shut up, you!"

Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs kept composure throughout the workday. When he finally got home for the night, he went to his bedroom and screamed in frustration into his pillow.

Mr. Krabs asked himself, "Why couldn't I tell the difference? Why didn't it glow for me?"

Mr. Krabs then said, "I know the lad has a gift for these things, but I was the one who made the darn patties."

As if his woes were heard, his window opened, and a piece of paper flew in. Mr. Krabs picked up the page and saw that it was an old newspaper clipping.

The headline read, "Neptune vs. Local Fry-cook."

Mr. Krabs was surprised as he saw a picture of SpongeBob facing Neptune. Mr. Krabs read further down, and his mouth slowly opened as he read the story of SpongeBob winning a cook-off against the deity. Shortly after the fight, Neptune was trained under SpongeBob for two months. Through this endeavor, Mr. Krabs realized that SpongeBob had become the demi-god of fry-cooking.

Mr. Krabs felt very foolish now and asked, "Why did he stay working for such a small business owner like me?"

He decided to ask SpongeBob this question the following day.

In the morning, when SpongeBob came in for his next shift. He was intrigued to see Mr. Krabs put up a new picture frame with a newspaper clipping.

SpongeBob said as he looked at it, "Oh, I remember that day."

Mr. Krabs turned to SpongeBob in surprise.

Mr. Krabs asked, "When would you tell me you were a demi-god, lad?"

SpongeBob answered, "Eventually, but I guess it doesn't matter now."

Mr. Krabs said, "I think it should matter, lad. You shouldn't be working here under me; you should be with the gods in Atlantis."

SpongeBob whimpered, "Those other gods are mean to me, and I prefer working at the Krusty Krab."

"Lad," Mr. Krabs said, "I appreciate your loyalty, but you can't hold yourself back from success."

SpongeBob chuckled, "Hold me back? I've already succeeded to the highest point of my life."

Mr Krabs asked, "Really, this is the height of your life?"

SpongeBob replied cheerfully, "So far, anyway!"

Mr. Krabs hugged SpongeBob suddenly and said, "You're the best, lad never forget that."

Natalie was watching from her Crystal ball. She hated this display of friendship so much that she threw up in her mouth a little. After swallowing, she threw her bottle of poison at the wall and stormed off. The bottle shattered, and Willie was frightened.