//------------------------------// // Rescuing Karen // Story: G5 Adventures in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// As night reached its darkest, the ponies, SpongeBob SquarePants and Plankton went down the mountain and back toward Bikini Bottom, stopping at a ledge overlooking the Chum Bucket. Fish were all around it, wearing intimidating outfits and preparing to knock down any intruder, so the gang had to make sure the stayed completely out of sight. “Plankton, are you sure there are no guards around the ledge?” Hitch asked worriedly. “With Sparky missing, my sheriff senses are tingling beyond measure.” “Trust me, sheriff-- I know that we're safe up here,” Plankton cockily spoke. “Izzy, hand me that telescope from Zipp's bag.” “Wait a pegasus feather,” Zipp blinked as Izzy did as he said. “How did you know that was in my bag? I never saw you look in there once.” “Hey, I got my ways, Zipperooni,” Plankton shrugged before lifting the telescope up to his face. “Now let's see...” He scanned around the lower area until he was able to spot Karen, locked up in the chains of the Chum Bucket's back storage room. “There she is, my computer wife. They've got her tied up in the back room,” Plankton observed, lowering the telescope. “I've never seen this many people at the Chum Bucket.” That caused SpongeBob to shrug innocently. “I've never seen anyone there.” “Now was that really necessary?” “Cause the food's really bad.” “Oh, come on, really?” Luckily, Sunny was able to shush Plankton before he was able to give away their location. “How are we gonna sneak past those guards?” “Hmm...” Plankton hummed, getting an idea as he smirked. “Misty, Izzy, give that tire a shove. That oughta buy us all the time we need.” Izzy and Misty immediately saluted, pushing the tire down the hill, and while all the fish were distracted by the tire, they snuck into the pile of tires on the fencers edge. And as three fish beat the pony out of the tire, SpongeBob and Plankton led their equined friends closer. “We better hurry!” SpongeBob whispered. “Those guys really hate tires.” The group quickly crept closer and Plankton leapt down and approached the tiny door on the side of the building. But, no matter how much Plankton strained, he couldn't get it open, leading him to sigh. “We'll never get in... the door's locked.” SpongeBob threw the sack of tires they were hiding in, just before he noticed an open window right above them. “Wait... the window is open!” he noticed. “Sunny, you and your friends go in first.” “Let's go to the wiiiindoooow...” Pipp quietly sang as the ponies swam through the open window, and after they were through, SpongeBob turned to look down at Plankton. “Come on, Plankton, it's time for some teamwork. Give me a boost.” “Okay-- wait a minute! NO!!” Plankton tried to stop SpongeBob from stepping on him, but managed to hold him up for a while before he was smashed flat. “Just a little higher, Plankton. Plankton?” SpongeBob looked at his foot to see a smooshed Plankton talking to him. “Why don't you boost me up instead...?” “Oh, yeah. Good thinking.” SpongeBob lifted his shoe up to the open window and scraped Plankton off. Groaning, Plankton landed on the windsill and then, he jumped through the window into the Chum Bucket, landing right in Sunny's hoof. Once he had hopped down, Plankton ran to the small door and opened it. “Come on, SpongeBob, come on!” Then, before the ponies' eyes, SpongeBob squeezed through the small door and into the restaurant. “We're in!” That's when SpongeBob slammed the door shut, prompting Plankton to jump on his nose and silence him. “There's a guard over there,” he whispered, pointing to a sleeping Patrick. “Let's take the key from around his neck. We're gonna have to be very quiet. Let's walk on the tips of our toes.” After jumping down from SpongeBob’s face, Plankton began to tiptoe over toward Patrick, while mildly loud notes are played. Patrick began to stir in his sleep, causing Plankton to stop. When he and the ponies looked again, they saw SpongeBob playing a tiny piano with two of his fingers. “Would you stop playing that tiny piano?!” Plankton bellowed. “You're gonna get all of us caught!” “Sorry...” SpongeBob said, just before he got on Izzy's back and rode her over, where Izzy got her first set of instructions. “Now just reach over and grab it.” Izzy nodded and leaned her horn over to grab the key, but her hoof stepped on a squeaky board, causing Patrick to mumble in his sleep. Once they were sure he was asleep, Izzy tried to pull the key off of him, but it wasn't doing much good. “Stop!” Plankton whispered. “Pull it over his head!” “Oh,” Izzy nodded and pulled up, but ended up choking Patrick. “Stop, stop!” Plankton whispered again, stopping her. “Let me get up there.” Plankton jumped onto Patrick and climbed up to the key. He yanked the chain free, but then the key slid down Patrick's chest, heading straight for his belly button. Plankton leapt onto the key and rode it like a snowboard, and the others watched with nervous eyes. Just as Plankton and the key were about to completely disappear into the depths of Patrick's navel, SpongeBob plucked them out, covered in gross lint. They had the key to save Karen! Now this mission was getting someplace. Except, at that moment... Patrick began to wake up, and when he saw the group, he pulled out a giant whistle and inhaled, ready to blow a mighty blast. “NO!!” SpongeBob tackled Patrick to the ground, and began rocking him. “Plankton, help! I'll rock him, you tell him a bedtime story.” “Uh, uh... once upon a time, there was a big, fat, pink idiot who went to sleep. The end!” “Nice try,” Patrick snarled, “but it's gonna take more than that to--” And just like that, Patrick fell asleep in SpongeBob’s arms, prompting the ponies to set him down elsewhere and entered the backroom to find Karen chained up, like Plankton had told them. “I told you,” Karen sneered, “I don't have the formula, you monsters!” “Hey, baby,” Plankton said swooningly, “how are you?” “Plankton! My hero!” Karen cried out in relief. “You must need something, otherwise you wouldn't have come back.” “Plankton’s got a plan to save Bikini Bottom,” Hitch said as he unlocked the chains, but Karen fell over, prompting him and Zipp to pick Karen up. “Doesn't matter, Plankton. Krabs knows all your plans,” Karen sighed. “He's been through my hard drive looking for the secret formula.” “Eh, I never had it. But we're going to get it,” Plankton answered his wife. “We're gonna go back in time and steal the formula before it disappeared.” “Time travel. Where are you gonna find a computer that can do that? Wait a minute...” XXXXXXXXX The next thing Misty knew, she and Zipp were helping carry Karen's monitor out of the Chum Bucket in the cover of darkness. Misty shuddered at carrying the head of Plankton's wife on her back. “I've never carried a head before.” “You'll get used to it,” Plankton said, and as the darkness remained, they got out of there as fast as their fins could take them. XXXXXXXXX “Sister, I know they're here!” “Riverstream, we've been over this. That wave of magic coming through is just your imagination. Besides... they forgot about us.” “Skygrace, don't you get it?! If they're here, then they must be here for a reason. And... if they are here... I think I know what that reason might be. The evil one must be here too.”