Metal Gear Sponge: Re-Served (Metal Gear Rising x SpongeBob SquarePants)

[LanceSennin]

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Disclaimer: I don't own these two series or any of its characters...

---

With the loud honk of his alarm clock, SpongeBob stood up on his bed with his arms outstretched, and his usual smile plastered on his face.

"Good morning, world! I'mmmm… ready!"

SpongeBob took in a deep breath - the fresh smell of a new day - and let out a sigh of satisfaction. A new day meant another day of serving up smiles at his favorite place in the world, with the best job he could ever ask for.

"Good morning, Gar- oh. Ehe, excuse me~" SpongeBob clapped his hands bashfully at the sight of his beloved snail resting inside of his shell, with his head and the rest of his body nowhere to be seen. "I didn't think you'd still be sleeping, Gare-Bear."

No response.

Gary was like this for several days by now. From the moment he'd wake up in the morning until he lies back down in the evening, SpongeBob would find Gary in the exact same position, almost as if the snail didn't move the entire day.

Then again, Gary could wake up after he leaves, just in time for him to miss it… and that could exactly be what's been happening everyday lately.

"You know, I don't think I've seen you up and about for almost a week now. You sure tire yourself out while I'm not around, eh?"

Still no response.

"Well. I'm off to work! See you later, Gary!"

Rushing out of his bedroom, SpongeBob took a bath, brushed his teeth, put on his clothes, ate a quick breakfast, and stood outside of his home in no more than thirty minutes. He looked up at the hat atop his head and giggled, before skipping off.

"I'mmmm… ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm rea-"

SpongeBob took no more than twenty steps when he noticed the empty crater in between his and Patrick's houses.

Seeing Squidward's house was a normal part of SpongeBob's day, but for the past few days, it was nowhere to be found.

At first, SpongeBob chalked it up to his mind playing tricks on him, because Squidward's house has always been where it's supposed to be. It's not like the house could move on its own… except for the few times that it did.

But the more he walked past the empty crater, the more SpongeBob realized that the Easter Island Head was completely gone.

"Gee, Squidward's house used to be in that spot. And then it disappeared. Like it was never there. I wonder what happened to it," he wondered aloud. "Oh, and Squidward too. I wonder when he'll be back from his vacation? He didn't say how long he'll be gone for, and now his house is gone. He didn't say anything about bringing his house along either."

SpongeBob's eyes drifted towards the house next to it, which was still standing in one piece. The seastar who lived inside it though, was a different story entirely.

The last time that he saw Patrick was more than a week ago, when he was waiting for a new jar of mayonnaise to be delivered to his home. After returning from work, his best friend wasn't by the road anymore.

He simply thought that Patrick finally got his jar of mayonnaise and was back inside his home.

Little did the yellow sponge know that it would be the last time he'd see the face of Patrick Star, and now an entire week had passed since then.

No updates, no news, not even a phone call from his best friend.

"Patrick? You in there, buddy?" asked SpongeBob, walking up to the rock and knocking on it a few times.

Similar to Gary in his home, there was no response…

"Hm… a whole week, and not a word from Patrick. I wonder what happened to him…" his eyes suddenly grew wide in alarm. "Oh, no… I sure hope he wasn't involved in a horrible accident! Oh, my dear Patrick! What could have happened to him…?!"

…until the rock opened up.

"Oh. Dahahahahahaha, it opened by itself! Dahahahahaha…!"

Jumping down, Spongebob walked around for a bit while calling out to a certain seastar.

"Patrick? Paaaatriiiiick…?"

His best friend's home was nowhere close to being as spacious and big as his and Squidward's home, so there couldn't be any hiding places for Patrick to hide in. Yes, not even the attic.

—wait, scratch that. Patrick doesn't have an attic.

"Patrick? You in here, buddy?"

SpongeBob made sure to call out his name as loud as he could - so much that it could possibly summon Squidward just to tell him to be quiet - but no one responded to him at all.

"Well, this is really weird. I didn't know Patrick wasn't at home," SpongeBob muttered, before shaking his head in disappointment. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, just why would he leave without even telling his best friend where he is? Now I don't even know how long he's been gone for."

Deciding to put a pin on the issue for now, SpongeBob left the place and finally continued on his way to the Krusty Krab. Them patties won't be flipping themselves, after all.

But it was easier said than done.

SpongeBob did his best not to think about his growing worries, but Patrick was his best friend. Why would he not worry about the guy? Patrick also isn't the type to stay quiet about what he's doing.

Knowing what Patrick is like, the guy would have told him where he is. Or, at the very least, leave a note for his best friend to find like that one time he left to find giant paper.

"Come on, SquarePants… you have to stay focused! Mr. Krabs isn't gonna like it if you're distracted while you're at work!"

Shaking his head, SpongeBob put on a serious look and quickened his pace towards his destination… but his moment of seriousness didn't last long when he noticed something strange in the far distance to the east.

"Huh…? Say, isn't that the place where Sandy's treedome is supposed to be?"

The place that used to be Sandy's home didn't look anything like how it used to be… due to the humongous pile of trash that was there.

Giant broken glass shards, a big tree cut in half, its branches, smaller branches, leaves, and even patches of grass… but no treedome to be found, nor a squirrel in an underwater suit and helmet.

There was only one thing that looked like it was still in one piece, which was a wooden sign in front of the pile of junk.

SpongeBob blinked in confusion, glanced at his surroundings, and decided to get a closer look.

"'Property of PLANKTON Logistics'. Hmm… never heard of 'em," SpongeBob read the sign out loud, before shrugging. "But why is this thing here when Sandy's treedome is supposed to be in this exact spot? In fact, what is all this junk doing here? Don't they know they've dumped all this in someone else's house? Boy, whoever left this pile of garbage here, they're not gonna be laughing when Sandy sees this."

For the second time today, the frycook shook his head in disappointment, while hoping that the fish who left all this garbage won't suffer the wrath of a karate-chopping squirrel too much.

"I can't just leave all this here. Sandy's gonna have a hard time cleaning all of this alone when she shows up!"

He quickly checked the time on his watch and noticed that it's still one hour before his shift starts, m

"Well, I got one hour before my shift starts! I guess I can help Sandy with some cleaning while she's not around."

Putting on a mask and gloves that he pulled out of his pants, SpongeBob approached the mountain of garbage and thought about how to handle this delicate situation.

"Now let's see here… oh, all of these have got to go. No junk is going to be left behind. Starting from the smallest, of course."

Putting words into action, SpongeBob happily went for the smallest pieces he could find before everything else. All the ones that could fit in a garbage bag, basically.

"Hoho, don't you worry, Sandy. I'll handle all of this garbage. All this glass, this tree trunk, these branches, these leaves, and… all these… patches of… grass….l"

The smile on his face slowly disappeared as the realization began to sink in.

"SANDY'S TREEDOME IS GONE! AAAHHHH! SANDY'S TREEDOME IS GONE!"

Completely clueless on how to deal with this dilemma, SpongeBob ran and screamed all the way to the Krusty Krab, leaving the remains of the demolished treedome behind.

From inside his office in the Krusty Krab, Eugene Krabs held a stack of papers in his hands while he laughed like a madman. There were tears in his eyes and he was also struggling to breathe, like he had been doing this for hours already.

"Argagagagaga! Oh, one more time, one more time… let's read this one more time…"

Mr. Krabs read through the papers in his hands with a monocular for what seemed like the umpteenth time today, and it didn't even take ten seconds for him to break out in another laughing fit.

"Agagagagagaga… hooo, I can only imagine how me profits would be after I sign these papers…"

*BANG!*

Eugene's eyes darted towards the door as it sprung open, revealing a certain yellow frycook who was sniffling like crazy.

"Mr. Krabs! Mr. Krabs! Oh, something terrible has happened!" SpongeBob wailed, running towards his boss's desk and crying into it.

"...what happened, boy?" asked Krabs.

SpongeBob looked up to face him and just cried harder. "Oh, it's terrible, Mr. Krabs! Three of my best friends are gone!"

"Gone?"

"I haven't heard from Patrick in weeks and when his rock opened earlier, he wasn't there! Squidward and his house are gone too, and I haven't heard from him either! Something strange is going on in Bikini Bottom, I tell you!"

Eugene placed a claw under his chin and thought about what the boy said for a moment, and he could actually see where SpongeBob was getting here.

"Hmm… I didn't notice Mr. Squidward's absence from his post because business has been pretty good lately, but you're right. Even today, he's not around. Where is he, anyway?"

SpongeBob sniffled, "Uhm… t-that's because I pulled double-duty, Mr. Krabs. Squidward told me he was going on a vacation before he left. I just didn't tell you because I love being behind the cash register just as much as I love being behind the grill."

"Oh," Krabs blinked, before scowling at his employee. "Well, you're not getting a raise from me! I didn't ask ye to man the cash register while Mr. Squidward is in who-knows-where!"

"...yes, sir."

"Aaanyway, they're probably off with somethin' important, lad. It's not the end of the world, y'know?"

"But even Sandy and her treedome are gone! It's been smashed to bits and pieces and the only thing left standing was a sign that said 'Property of PLANKTON Logistics'! Who knows where she's living right now?!"

"'PLANKTON Logistics'? Hm. Weird name," Eugene commented, before shrugging nonchalantly. "But, who cares about that? I got more important news for you, boyo!"

"News for me?" asked the frycook, wiping his tears away.

Mr. Krabs then showed him the stack of papers, flipping through the pages so quickly that SpongeBob couldn't even read a word from them.

"Look at this, boy! A giant chain of shopping malls called 'Big Shell' wants to sign a deal with the Krusty Krab to distribute Krabby Patties all across the sea! It turns out this Big Shell has a BIG reach, hehe! They have malls in almost every town and they want the Krabby Patty to be the only food that's sold in all of 'em! And all profits will go straight to me, no taxes involved! In fact, I'm traveling to New Kelp City today to sign the papers!"

"But Mr. Krabs… what about our friends? They're missing and we have to find them!" SpongeBob cried out, bringing the attention back to the missing individuals.

"Hey, hey, I'm not going out of my way to find a lazy squid who won't even show his face to work. As far as I'm concerned, HE'S FIRED! You can do double-duty, can't you?"

"Uhm, I suppose, but what about Patrick?! Sandy?! They haven't done anything to you, Mr. Krabs!"

"Bah, I have more pressing matters to deal with. Pressing matters that involve me wallet and you!" Eugene waved the issue off without a care in the world. "Do ya know what the best part of this is, boy? The contract is so heavily weighted in me favor, I didn't even have to pay for a security escort! I got a call from a group called K.A.R.E.N. who offered to protect me transportation on the way there for free. A trial run, they called it! For free! Do ya know what that means, boy?!"

"It… means you don't have to spend a single penny for a security firm?"

"Exactly! Now put on this high-tech suit that they sent over. You're coming with me to New Kelp City as me personal assistant and briefcase carrier."

Eugene brought out a set of clothes that looked more like a military combatant's gear, with some high-tech circuitry that he couldn't even comprehend, complete with a tie that was similar to his own.

SpongeBob took the gift in his hands and sighed, unable to feel any sort of excitement for something that he should be happy about. Being able to make Krabby Patties for fishes in other places sounded like a dream of a lifetime but now that it was actually happening, SpongeBob couldn't derive any kind of fulfillment from it.

"Aye, aye, sir…" the frycook bowed his head and walked out to follow his orders, though he still looked disturbed by the fact that he was at a dead end regarding the disappearance of his three friends.

"Now move it, lad! We're expanding our reach and in the end, we'll be filthy, stinkin' rich!"

Realizing what he just said, Eugene quickly followed it up with his next words.

"...I-I mean… I'm gonna be filthy, stinkin' rich!"

After SpongeBob had his change of clothes, Mr. Krabs made a quick phone call to his security firm, saying that he and his frycook were ready for the trip.

About ten minutes later, a lineup of four limousines appeared right in front of the restaurant. Mr. Krabs wasted no time getting inside one of them, while a downtrodden SpongeBob followed behind him with his boss's suitcase in his hand.

During the journey to New Kelp City, the difference between the two passengers was very visible.

On one hand, Eugene was completely preoccupied with his fantasies of having a complete monopoly over the food business, playfully tossing dollar bills into the air.

On the other, SpongeBob was completely quiet while looking out into the window, his mind still wandering off to thoughts about where Patrick, Squidward, and Sandy could have gone.

The frycook wanted to be happy about this franchise deal with the Krusty Krab. He wanted to serve up smiles for more fishes out there by delivering the goodness of Krabby Patties everywhere.

But he couldn't find it in himself to smile right now.

"What's wrong, boy? You sick or something?" asked Eugene, showing a bit of concern when he finally noticed his frycook's somber expression.

SpongeBob sighed, before shaking his head. "No, Mr. Krabs. I'm just wondering where my friends could be… it's been so long since I've seen any of them. What if they're gone and they're never coming back?"

Eugene planted both of his claws on his hips. "We already talked about this, lad. They're probably off doing something important. Just because they haven't been around lately, it doesn't mean they're gone for good. We all have our own lives to handle."

"Well, I guess I can believe that… but none of them have told me about what they've been up to. Especially Patrick, because he's my best friend!" SpongeBob exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. "The only one who did was Squidward and even so, he just said he was going on a vacation…"

Karen: Oh, would you cut it out already, SpongeBob? You have a job to do, don't you? Focus on what you're supposed to do.

SpongeBob's eyes widened upon hearing that familiar computer-like voice. It seemed to come from the military radio on his hip, so he looked down and plucked it off his belt.

"Karen? Is that you? You're part of this security team?" he asked.

Karen: Of course it's me. Why do you think we're named K.A.R.E.N.? Because we felt like it?

"Uhm… because it's a cool acronym for something?"

Karen: Well, you're right that it's an acronym, but that just makes it more obvious. K.A.R.E.N. stands for Kinetic Analysis and Reconnaissance Enforcement Network.

"Cool…" SpongeBob's eyes shined in awe and wonder, as he leaned back against his seat. "So how have you been so far, Karen?"

Karen: I'm doing fine. In fact, I'm feeling better than I've ever felt before when I was still with Sheldon.

"Oh yeah, you guys are separated…" he mumbled, now feeling a sense of shame for making her bring up an unpleasant memory. "I'm so sorry that happened."

Karen: Don't be sorry. It was the best decision of my entire lifespan. Now I can do what I want and go where I want without a nagging husband that's always preaching about world domination and being a supreme overlord.

SpongeBob just let out an awkward giggle. The divorce and subsequent separation of Sheldon J. Plankton and Karen Plankton became a hot topic in the Bikini Bottom news for a bit in the past year, mostly because the former used the attention as a way to attract customers through sympathy.

Of course, it was forgotten in no time after the little guy showed his true colors like he always did, and the Chum Bucket found itself with no customers afterwards.

"So… what exactly do you guys do?" the frycook continued on, hoping to steer the conversation elsewhere.

Karen: Well, my original plan for this group was to provide biometric security options for institutions, businesses, and private companies.

"Bio-whaaa…?"

Karen: ...just think of it as a way to access something using your face or fingerprints instead of a lousy password. Anyway, we're nowhere close to that goal right now because my funding has been solely coming from my divorce settlement. We'll need better equipment and more resources if we want this organization to be successful and for that, we need more money.

"So the reason why you offered to be Mr. Krabs's security for free is because—"

Karen: —because the best way for our startup to gain attention is by being the hired security for the most successful restaurant owner in Bikini Bottom. Especially when you're heading to New Kelp City, one of the largest cities under the sea.

"Woah… a lot of other fish are gonna see us then!" SpongeBob grinned in excitement. "Are you working all alone, Karen?"

Karen: Not quite. Aside from the fish who'll be escorting you and Eugene the whole way, I have a few people here with me who'll be helping with the escort operation. One of them is someone you know and see quite often.

"Someone I know…?" he parrotted, wondering who this individual could be.

Mrs. Puff: Uhm. Miss Karen, is it really necessary to announce my presence…?

SpongeBob gasped. He immediately recognized that voice the moment he heard it, and he wasted no time making sure if his guess was right.

"Mrs. Puff? Is that you…?"

An audible sigh could be heard from the other line, one that could only come from a boating teacher who's stressed out almost everyday.

Mrs. Puff: Yes, it's me, SpongeBob…

"W-Why are you with K.A.R.E.N.? Shouldn't you be at boating school, Mrs. Puff?"

Mrs. Puff: ...I should be, but a few weeks ago, I saw a flyer for a brand-new startup in town and it was looking for recruits that specialize in vehicle navigation and maintenance. I thought it would be a good break from all the teaching I've been doing, so I decided to give this whole security thing a shot.

"That's great to hear, Mrs. Puff! But I will see you again when it's time for school, right? Dahahahahahaha!"

Mrs. Puff: I sure hope not…

"Man, it's so good to hear from you, Mrs. Puff! Who else is with you, Karen?"

Karen: There are two more people here whom you're very familiar with. They're too old for me to hire them officially, but their experiences in the field will be vital for whatever complications arise.

Before SpongeBob could ask for a hint on who these people could be, their voices rang out through the comms, overshadowing Karen's voice completely.

Mermaid Man: That's right, little hero! We're here to help you by… uhhh, how are we going to help again…?

Barnacle Boy: Could you just keep quiet if you don't know what to say, old man?

"Mermaid Man? Barnacle Boy?" the fanboy inside the sponge instantly woke up. "You guys are part of K.A.R.E.N. too?!"

Barnacle Boy: Well… we didn't want to, at first. But, Karen promised us we'll be retiring in style if we lent our services to her organization for a while.

Mermaid Man: And because a hero's work is never done! We must always be prepared for whenever danger arises!

SpongeBob felt his chest swell with emotion, but in a good way this time. "Gee, having my heroes and my boating teacher by my side… I feel like I can do anything!"

Karen: "Don't be too complacent, SpongeBob. You're not in Bikini Bottom anymore. Nobody knows who you are in New Kelp City, but they do know the tales about the goodness of a Krabby Patty. There's no doubt that Mr. Krabs's arrival in the town will attract all sorts of attention… and danger."

The yellow frycook considered the mental image in his imagination for a moment, before frowning in realization. "You're right, Karen… what should I do then?"

Karen: Stick to Eugene as much as possible when you arrive and don't keep him out of your sight. He'll be having a little tour of the city with the higher-ups of Big Shell first before the big contract signing later this afternoon.

"Affirmative! You can count on me, Karen!"

Karen: Good. I'll radio in again once you've reached the borders of New Kelp City.

Feeling a sense of rejuvenation, SpongeBob straightened his posture and smiled, the lighthearted talk with Karen, Mrs. Puff, Mermaid Man, and Barnacle Boy doing wonders for his state of mind.

"You seem happier, boyo. Something happen?" asked Eugene… rhetorically, of course. He was listening to the conversation the entire time, but kept quiet just so that SpongeBob could snap out of his sad state on his own.

"I just realized that I still have some friends here with me, Mr. Krabs. Maybe it's true that Patrick, Sandy, and Squidward aren't around, but I can always look for them later! What matters right now is that I do what I do best: to serve up Krabby Patties for everyone!"

Eugene grinned, slapping his chef on the back happily. "Attaboy, lad! Now keep watch, we might be getting close to New Kelp City!"

"Aye, aye, sir!"

The trip continued on without any problems or conversations for the next hour, to the point that Mr. Krabs had fallen asleep in a makeshift bed made of money. SpongeBob continued to look out the window, keeping watch if they were nearing their destination. Right now, his missing friends were at the back of his mind but SpongeBob quietly promised himself that he would look for them once this day is done.

And then, out of nowhere, a massive explosion could be heard not far away. The intensity of the explosion was enough to rock the ground a bit as the entire line of limos skidded to a halt.

"Argh, what the barnacle is happening out there?! Yer disturbing my quality time with me money!" Krabs complained as the event woke him up from his slumber.

SpongeBob quickly plucked the radio off his belt as he turned on the comms.

"Karen, what's going on?"

Karen: "An explosion just happened a hundred meters away from you. Hang on. We're trying to identify the source of the incident."

Outside of the car, the security personnel in the other vehicles had gathered at the very front, all equipped with harpoons and weaponized zappers to defend the main limousine.

Standing before the first limousine was a big, muscular red-skinned creature with a cybernetic suit that completely covered his exoskeleton and a mask covering the lower half of his face. In his right claw was a long but narrow blade with saw-like teeth, which looked eerily similar to conjoined lobster claws.

"Clear the road, crustacean! You're interfering in an important escort operation! This is your first and only warning!"

The mask on his face folded back into his suit like it was a part of it, and the creature flashed a grin afterwards.

"I said, clear the road! We're authorized to use force if—"

The crustacean moved so fast that nobody could comprehend what happened next. In a few seconds, he appeared right in front of one personnel, grabbing the poor fish by his throat. The crustacean lifted him off the ground and with a loud crunch, his neck was snapped.

Mrs. Puff: Oh, dear! Turn around, everyone! Get out of there right now!

Mrs. Puff's voice rang out in all of their radios, but it fell on deaf ears when the commander of the security force gave his next order, after snapping out of his growing fear.

"Get him!"

And then the creature's blade was drawn.

Completely unaware of the massacre that was happening outside of the limo, SpongeBob waited for Karen's response while Mr. Krabs was slowly losing his patience. He was hugging his briefcase that contained the contract and the rest of his money, whilst having a look of absolute boredom on his face.

"Sheesh, what is happening? Are we in New Kelp City yet, boy?"

SpongeBob was just about to give Eugene the answer, only for his radio to give another update on their current situation.

Barnacle Boy: We're getting a visual on what's causing the ruckus outside, kid. It's… it's… it's a lobster.

SpongeBob frowned in confusion. "A lobster…? Did you just say 'lobster', Barnacle Boy?"

Mermaid Man: A lobster with a sword of EEEVIILLLL…! And he's using the sword to gut innocent fish!

"A lobster, eh? Oh, I'm gonna give that shellhead vermin a piece of my mind! He thinks he can stop me from signing this contract?! I'll show him!" Mr. Krabs pounded his claws together as he grabbed the door handle and prepared to leave the car.

Fortunately, SpongeBob was quick to act and grab his boss's arm before it could turn the knob. "No, Mr. Krabs! Don't go outside! It could be dangerous!"

"Let go of me, SpongeBob…!"

"No! I can't let you get hurt!"

Karen: Now running a facial recognition on the lobster threat… results point to only one match: Larry the Lifeguard.

"Larry the Lifeguard?" SpongeBob repeated what he just heard as if he needed to say it himself, before laughing in amusement. He even waved off Karen's words as if it wasn't serious in any way. "Dahahahahahaha! Oh Karen, I didn't know you could be such a kidder!"

Karen: Do you really think I have the time to be kidding around, SquarePants?

"But it's Larry! Larry's my friend, there's no way he'd cause an explosion and an earthquake that's going to lead to fish being in danger. He's a lifeguard, he saves people instead."

Karen: He is literally slicing through our security personnel outside while making his way towards you.

Mrs. Puff: She's right, SpongeBob! I'm not exactly sure of what's happening, but our cameras are not playing tricks on us. Larry the Lobster is outside and he's leaving a massacre…!"

SpongeBob continued to chuckle, waving off that scenario like it's impossible. "Oh, it's probably just a misunderstanding! In fact, I'll go talk to Larrh and ask him to stop bothering us so we can be on our way."

"What…?! Are ya crazy, lad?! Yer supposed to be protecting me!" Krabs exclaimed, this time being the one to stop his frycook as the dynamic switched.

"I am protecting you, Mr. Krabs. I'll go check what's happening outside and have a talk with Larry about all this," SpongeBob shrugged, seeing nothing wrong with what he wanted to do.

Mrs. Puff: No, you have to stay inside the car too, SpongeBob! Just tell your driver to turn around and speed away! Find another route to take!

"But Mrs. Puff, we're on a one-way road with no u-turn sign anywhere! We can't turn the car around," he pointed out.

Mrs. Puff: That doesn't matter right now, SpongeBob! Your priority is to get yourself and Eugene away from danger!

"I just want to see what's going on outside, Mrs. Puff. And it's Larry who's outside. He's my friend! I'll be right back."

Mrs. Puff: SpongeBob, no…! Don't take one step outside of the car!

Ignoring all the warnings that came his way, SpongeBob stepped out into the open and surveyed the area around. He noticed the number of fishes scattered everywhere, but didn't

The weirdest thing about this is that everything is now quiet for some reason, when it's the exact opposite just a few moments ago.

A colossal shadow then towered over him and his surroundings, making SpongeBob turn his head. Before his eyes was a massive robot shaped exactly like his neighbor Squidward's Easter Island Head, complete with the eyebrows, ears, nose, and door for a mouth. The two window-like eyes glowed red, and it had giant limbs that looked more like a human's.

"Holy shrimp… that's Squidward's house! AAAAAHHHH!"

The robot's giant nose split open with a mechanical hiss, revealing a high-intensity laser aimed directly at the limo and prepared to fire. SpongeBob was completely frozen in place out of fear, clueless on what he could even do against a giant robot like this.

Fortunately for him, the robot didn't proceed with its laser. Instead, a lone figure stepped out from behind the giant mechanical house. A crustacean with a cybernetic suit and saw-like sword in his right hand. His mask wasn't on, so

"Larry! It's really you! What you been up to? Are you also on vacation?" asked SpongeBob, completely forgetting about his perilous situation. "Are you with this giant robot that looks like Squidward's house?"

"Sorry, frycook. Nothing personal with you. But I have business with the crab inside that vehicle," Larry cracked his neck and pointed his sword at the limo where Mr. Krabs was in.

"H-Hey, what are you doing with that sword…?"

Gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, Larry dashed past SpongeBob and the car with unbelievable speed that he was like a blur in the wind. The blade sounded like it sliced through something as the lobster slid to a halt, before casually flicking his sword to the side. Behind him, the limousine was sliced perfectly in two as one half gave way to the other passenger inside.

Mr. Krabs tumbled out of the wreckage and into the asphalt, his money scattering into the wind while his briefcase sprung open.

"Agh! Me money! Come to daddy, come to daddy…"

He immediately stood up and grabbed every bill he could gather, cradling them in his arms like a baby. Distracted by the [imaginary] cries of his scattered profits, Eugene was oblivious towards the ominous lobster approaching him from behind with his sword drawn.

"Larry, what are you doing?! Stop…!"

Acting out of desperation more than anything, SpongeBob charged at Larry with his standard kitchen spatula drawn and swung it with all his might. The lobster barely paid him attention but he was still able to catch the spatula with his bare claw, shocking the frycook. Before SpongeBob could do anything, Larry shattered the spatula into tiny pieces and followed it up with a brutal spin-kick that launched the boy across the highway, sending him crashing into the wreckage of another limo.

SpongeBob fell to the ground, his high-tech suit short-circuiting and his radio shattered into pieces as well. As he lay there paralyzed, a second individual walked past him, dragging a high-frequency machete across the ground that left a trail of sparks.

Eugene looked to be at peace after managing to recover his scattered money, and that was when he noticed the approaching figure.

It was Patrick Star, but he looked nothing like how he usually did. His upper body was covered and augmented with cybernetic armor, while his lower body seemed to be replaced with robotic parts, making him bigger and taller than how he was before. His eyes were blank and driven by impulse more than anything, making him look menacing instead of harmless.

"Patrick?!" Krabs blurted out in surprise, before smiling at the presence of a familiar face. "Well, I'll be! The boy was looking for you earlier! Now what in the blue name of Davey Jones is going on? What's with the suit and—?!"

The greedy old crustacean got cut off from what he was saying when Patrick grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.

"It's pretty simple. I'm tired of your prices, Krabs. I'm tired of your schemes. And I'm tired of your restaurant. I just want to eat whatever I want, and you're in the way."

"W-Wait! Patrick…! I-I'll give ya a discount! A free Krabby Patty! All the patties ya want! Just don't kill me!"

"Hehe, you'd like that, wouldn't you? If it means saving your cheap shell," Patrick asked as he squeezed tighter.

With what little strength he had left, Mr. Krabs managed to pry himself off the seastar's grip and was ready to run away with his money, only to see his path blocked by a sword-wielding lobster that towered over him.

"Nowhere to go, Krabs."

"Oh, nooooo…" Eugene mumbled to himself, hugging his money closer against body as if it was going to be taken away from him after this.

Because of this, Patrick was able to catch him again, this time grabbing him from the back of his neck.

The seastar laughed in amusement. "Did you really think we were going to let you get away, Krabs? Hehe, I don't think so!"

At the same time, SpongeBob slowly woke up after that painful crash he had not long ago. The impact took a lot out of him, but it wasn't enough to keep him down for long. When he finally came to, he noticed a familiar pointy-headed pink thing not far from where he was,

"Patrick…? Patrick, is that you?" asked SpongeBob, his smile returning upon possibly seeing his best friend again after a week.

"SpongeBob! It's you!" Patrick smiled at the sight of his best friend and turned around, inadvertently giving the frycook a good view of the crab that was held hostage.

"Patrick… w-what are you doing? Put Mr. Krabs down! And get away from Larry right now! He was trying to hurt us!" SpongeBob warned him as he got back up on his feet.

"Oh, I can't do that, buddy. We're here to kill Mr. Krabs, not to put him down."

SpongeBob looked convinced that Patrick might have said something different from what he was expecting.

"What are you talking about? What happened to you? And why are you dressed like a robot?!"

Patrick giggled. "Hehehe, because it's Halloween, silly. I see you're also wearing a cool costume!"

"Patrick, just answer me! What do you want with Mr. Krabs?! What is going on around here?!"

"Oh, Mr. Krabs just did a lot of bad things, and now he's going to pay for all of 'em."

"What kind of bad things?"

That left the starfish stumped, to the point that his head started to hurt from thinking too hard.

"Uhhh… I can't really remember. But he did a lot of bad things! He wouldn't even let me have a normal job, remember? He would rather have me hurt myself because it's what brought him money! I just wanted to have a hat like yours, but he wouldn't let me have one if I didn't get hurt!"

"But Mr. Krabs didn't ask you for that hat act, remember? You started doing it on your own! And you even insisted on keeping on going, because you didn't want to lose the hat!"

"...w-well, he never let me have another patty again! I did everything he asked, didn't I? I cleaned the bathroom, I helped with the ice cubes, and I threw away the trash!"

"But that was only after you didn't pay for all the patties you ordered! You promised that you'd pay Mr. Krabs back for it, and you never did," SpongeBob corrected him, but also choosing not to reveal anything about what really went down.

The money that was shredded to pieces by the garbage disposal…

"Look, buddy… I can make you all the Krabby Patties you want! I'll even pay for them! Just… put Mr. Krabs down, okay? Put him down nice and easy…"

Patrick growled, his hand squeezing tighter around Eugene's neck. "T-Then how do you explain this cheapskate throwing me out of his restaurant when I wanted him to put the buffet I ordered on my tab?! I was a king, and he didn't follow what the king ordered!"

"Y-You were not a real king, remember?" SpongeBob pointed out again, stating nothing but the things that factually happened. "Gary was the rightful owner of that crown."

The starfish gasped loudly, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"S-So that's how it is! You'd pick this cheapskate over your best friend?!"

"N-No, t-t-that's not it…! That's not it at all, Patrick!"

"That does it!" Patrick seethed as he threw a look of pure hatred at the helpless Eugene. "Taking away all the food is one thing, but stealing my best friend away?! Huh?! Is that how you want to play it, Krabs…?! You're going to die!"

"S-SpongeBob, me boy…! H-Help me…! I'm… l-losing my breath…" Krabs was barely able to get the words out by this point, due to the uncomfortable pressure on his neck.

"Hold on, Mr. Krabs! I'm coming…!"

Finally recovering from his crash earlier, SpongeBob ran towards them to help out his boss, only to be completely stopped by Larry using one claw.

"I can't let you interfere, SpongeBob. We're here to do a job just like you."

"I don't know why you're like this, but this isn't the Larry I know! This isn't the Patrick I know, either!"

"You're disappointing, SpongeBob. I thought you were the best frycook in the sea?" asked Larry, his cybernetic mask returning to cover his mouth. "The best frycook in the sea shouldn't fight to protect a greedy pig like Eugene Krabs, you know? You should be focused on the people instead of one man!"

"Get out of my way, Larry!"

"With pleasure."

Larry drew his sword and with one lightning-fast swipe, SpongeBob screamed in agony. A massive gash appeared on the left side of his face, across his eye, while his left arm was completely severed from his body.

"Woah, that's gonna leave a mark!" Larry joked.

SpongeBob fell to his knees, breathing heavily while looking up at his contemporary in pure terror. His remaining hand went up to cover the part of his face that got slashed, while his mind continued to wonder just why were his two friends out for blood.

"You're not bad, SquarePants. I'll even concede defeat when it comes to frycooking, because no chef can hold a candle to you. At the same time, do you even know what you're fighting for?"

"I… I don't want to fight anyone, Larry… I'm just doing my job and protecting Mr. Krabs!"

"Maybe you need some help with seeing the truth that's in front of you. How about I take that other eye of yours too?" the lobster asked, pointing his sword at the boy's right eye.

Out of instinct, SpongeBob sprang off the ground and did the best thing he could do right now: run away.

"Nice move! But can you keep on dodging and running forever, SpongeBob? Surely you know you're gonna have to fight back!"

Deciding to indulge the kid in this little game of cat and mouse, Larry sped after him like a predator, while SpongeBob just ran without looking back.

"Don't be shy, SpongeBob! Don't you practice karate with Sandy? Weren't you the one to beat Neptune in a cooking competition? Show me you got what it takes to protect a greedy cheapskate!"

Meanwhile, Patrick glared at the crab who was at his complete mercy. There was nothing stopping him from finishing the job now, but he still had a few things to say to this greedy crustacean.

"You've taken over for long enough, Krabs. I used to love Krabby Patties, until I realized how horrible you are. You want to ban every other food there is just so you could be rich. There's no line you won't cross if it means making a quick buck or saving your stupid money."

"No…! I haven't done anything wrong! Honest…! Please let me go already!" Eugene sobbed, flailing his arms around helplessly.

"You didn't even care about SpongeBob getting hurt just to try and save you?" That realization affected Patrick more than anything. "Oh, you've done it! I'm going to kill you now!"

"No… no, no, no, no…!"

Patrick could have easily snapped the man's neck in one sick crunch, but his hatred for this greedy old crab was too much for a quick death.

No… he needed to be given what he deserved!

"Hey, SpongeBob!" Patrick called out to his best friend, drawing one of his machetes and raising it high for the frycook to see.

SpongeBob turned his attention back towards Patrick, and his eyes widened in horror.

"No… Patrick…! Mr. Krabs… no! S…Stop…!"

He tried to run towards them, but Larry had caught up to him and stopped him with one claw again. SpongeBob desperately tried

"Look at it! Look at this sweaty cheapskate, SpongeBob! This is the crab you've been trying to protect and until now, he still doesn't care about anything but himself. I'm sure he'd run away from this if he could and just leave you behind."

"Larry, we have to stop him!" SpongeBob stopped resisting at this point and tried to make the former lifeguard see reason instead. Anything just so he could reach Patrick and stop him from doing what he's about to do.

But Larry ignored him.

"Patrick…! Don't do it…!"

"All I'm saying, SpongeBob…" Patrick smiled like a madman. "...is give your stomach a chance!"

In one swoop, Patrick drove his blade through the old man's back, easily breaking through the crustacean's shell and impaling him completely. SpongeBob looked on in terror as the life in Eugene's eyes disappeared in an instant.

"NOOOOOO!"

Patrick pulled his machete out and flicked the blood off, before throwing the carcass of Mr. Krabs away like garbage.

At that moment, SpongeBob didn't think about friendship or happy memories anymore.

In his mind, Patrick Star was not his best friend, but the one who murdered his boss in cold blood.

And all SpongeBob could think of was anger.

Pure anger and a growing thirst for revenge.

Revenge for the crab who gave him a job, a second home, and a calling.

"PAAATRIIII— GUH!"

Before he could even do or say anything, the rug was pulled out from underneath him again. A massive punch from Larry sent the frycook skidding across the asphalt, and only coming to a stop when he crashed into another limo.

"Nnnghh…" SpongeBob groaned, too dizzy to even figure out what exactly hit him this time.

He would get his answer when Larry stood right before him, his imposing figure casting a shadow over the poor sponge.

"Would you look at that? You weren't able to save Eugene Krabs, SpongeBob. I thought you said you were going to protect him?"

"Larry…" SpongeBob struggled to get his words out, his body in too much pain to function properly.

"I think I know what your problem is, SpongeBob…" Larry rested his saw blade on his shoulder as he looked down in disappointment. "You're blinded by your loyalty to that stinking crab. You think being a frycook is all about doing your job, don't you? I may have been only a lifeguard my entire life, but even I know that it's not just about the job."

SpongeBob couldn't even think of a response to that, his mind still at a complete blank from everything that happened.

"Right now, you're too broken to give me a challenge. But I guess we'll meet again soon enough. Change is coming to the entire sea floor, kid."

Patrick showed up beside him out of nowhere, now looking bored after being in a bloodlust frenzy just moments ago. He didn't look at SpongeBob, nor did he acknowledge the rough state his 'best friend' was in.

"I'm out of here. Do what you want with him, Larry. I'm gonna go grab a bite."

"Hey, count me in on that, Patrick! Our job's done here, anyway."

As darkness began to take over SpongeBob's vision, the giant mechanical Moai let out a deafening roar that shook the ground once again. Both the seastar and the lobster leaped off the ground, landing directly on top of the robot's head, as the machine walked off.

Whether it was from the pain or exhaustion, SpongeBob finally closed his eyes and passed out, his last thoughts being nothing but pure shame and regret for what he failed to do.

Eugene Krabs was dead… the creator of the Krabby Patty was gone… and it was all his fault.

---

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance