• Published 16th Nov 2023
  • 1,934 Views, 63 Comments

My Little Pony: Friendship is Cine-magic: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water - IndyWriter Productions



The Main Six and Spike are sent off to a world of aquatic life. However, this aquatic life will be nothing they have ever seen before.

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Part 3: The Formula Goes Missing

Fluttershy still couldn't shake the guilt away. The yellow sea pony watched as Plankton sobbed out a river against the Krusty Krab sign. The others didn't really seem to share her guilt or sympathy, however.

"If he's poured all his time and effort into stealing this one object, then sympathy is the last thing he deserves. it's just pathetic by now." Is what Rainbow had said earlier.

Fluttershy thought that way of thinking was a little hypocritical. They all had goals that were just as important to them. Admittedly, none were cynical or selfish goals like Plankton's, but that was besides the point. And even then, they still allow to let Discord roam free despite his mischievousness. And while it took some time to warm up to Starlight, Twilight was willing to take her in despite what she was willing to do to keep her equality village intact. And so, she could only watch Plankton cry his eyes out. However, Fluttershy wasn't only one watching him.

"He's been out there crying for 20 minutes." Mr. Krabs said, holding up a spyglass. "Pathetic. I'm just going to go out there and gloat a little."

Handing the spyglass to SpongeBob, he walked outside with an cheeky smile.

"Um...SpongeBob? I want to ask you a question. If that's alright with you." Fluttershy said softly.

"Sure, Fluttershy." SpongeBob responded.

"Is this what usually happens when Plankton...attacks?" The sea pony asked.

"Well not every time. And the times it does happens, Plankton always bounces back with another plan to steal the formula." SpongeBob answered.

"Wait. So it's all just an act?" Fluttershy questioned.

"No, not really. But, it wouldn't surprise me if he was scheming up another plan right this minute." The sea sponge said confidently.

Fluttershy looked back at Plankton who was still crying against the sign. That's when Applejack swam up to her.

"Mind if ah talk to ya for a second, Fluttershy." The sea pony asked.

"Oh. Of course, Applejack." Fluttershy said politely.

The two swam away for some privacy, leaving SpongeBob by himself.


From inside the safe in Mr. Krabs office, the penny Plankton had given to the restaurant owner popped open and out came...Plankton?

He laughed victoriously which was quickly halted when he felt a sharp pain down his back. Plankton grunted as he cracked his back, relieving himself of the cramped soreness.

"Cyclops to Laptop. Come in, Laptop." Plankton said through the headset microphone.

Meanwhile, back at the Chum Bucket, Karen, Plankton's computer wife, was playing solitaire with a deck of cards.

"Laptop." you do realize that nickname is demeaning?" She replied sharply. "I have twice the processing power of a laptop."

"Never mind. Maintain radio silence." Plankton said quietly.

He gasped when he spotted the secret formula sitting in the center of the safe. He threw the headset to the side and slowly walked over to the bottle.

"Finally!" Plankton said, rubbing his hands together.

He stopped and look down, noticing an elevated portion of the safe's floor that surrounded the bottle with wires attached to it.

"A pressure plate, eh, Krabs?" Plankton said smugly. "Amateur hour."

He opened the safe door and looked around Krabs's office, trying to spot anything he could use as a substitute for formula. Lo and behold, on Mr. Krabs's desk, sat another bottle that held a miniature pirate ship.

"Perfect." Plankton said with a devilish grin.

He got to work. He pushed the ship out and stood the bottle upright. Taking a pen, he wrote something down on a piece of paper, rolled it up, put it in the bottle, and corked it shut.

"Not a bad likeness." Plankton said to himself.

He made his way back to pressure plate with the fake formula bottle.

"Good enough to fool that idiot Krabs." He carefully slid the fake bottle in place of the real formula. "Easy, easy."

The fake formula now sat on the pressure plate. It beeped several times with a green light flashing, then it stopped. Plankton stood with an accomplished smile. Now it was time to take the real formula back to the Chum Bucket.


Back outside, the other Plankton was still crying while Mr. Krabs moonwalked around him in a gloating manner.

"Plankton's broke! Ha, ha!" The red crab sang.

"Look at Mr. Krabs go." SpongeBob said. "I've never seen him gloat this hard before."

"Really?" Rainbow swam up to the sea sponge. "With how arrogant he is, that's surprising to hear."

"C'mon, he's not that bad." SpongeBob replied.

Back outside, Mr. Krabs laughed once more at Plankton’s misery.

"Hey, well, Plankton, me bunions are telling me it's time to stop gloating." He grabbed Plankton by the antenna, but then noticed a thin piece of string out of his head. "Looks like you're falling apart at the seams."

Mr. Krabs pulled on the string. It unraveled Plankton's skin revealing that it wasn't Plankton at all. Mr. Krabs stood there dumbfounded.

"Poor me. Sob, sob." The fake Plankton sparked.

"A robot?" The greedy restaurant owner said in disbelief.

To make matters worse, SpongeBob had just entered Mr. Krabs office. He spotted the real Plankton with the secret formula in-hand.

"Plankton?!" The sponge gasped.

"Uh, oh." Plankton turned around too quickly and knocked the fake bottle off the pressure plate. It rolled out of the safe and onto the floor. "That ain't good."

"Initiating lockdown sequence" A robotic speaker announced.

A siren went off and a red light craned down from the ceiling, flashing every so often. The Main 7 all looked around in confusion and apprehension, when they noticed SpongeBob in a panicked state. The quickly rushed over to him.

"SpongeBob what's going on?" Twilight asked in concern.

SpongeBob pointed at the safe where Plankton stood with the secret formula. The sea ponies and pufferfish all gasped in shock.

"How did you get in there?!" Spike asked in shock.

"Wouldn't you like to know, bloatboy." Plankton said harshly.

"Me Formuler!" Mr. Krabs said with a horrified look. He turned to see the Krusty Krab's interior flashing red, signaling to the crab that someone was taking the formula.

Inside the restaurant, metal bars and doors encased windows, doorways, and every possible escape route. Customers panicked as metal walls encased themselves around the Krusty Krab. Even Squidward was encased by them. He groaned, realizing what was going on. Mr. Krabs raced to the front entrance to get inside.

"No, no, no! No!" Mr. Krabs arrived too late. He banged on the metal wall. "Squidward! Open up!"

The Plankton robot stood back up and began to dance.

"Ha, ha. Victory dance. Boo-ya." It said.

Back inside, SpongeBob ran over and grabbed the formula bottle.

"Give me that!" He strained, trying to pull the bottle away from Plankton's clutches.

The Main 7 joined in, grabbing hold of the sponge and pulling back.

"That doesn't belong to you." Twilight grunted.

"Come on, SpongeBob, ladies, Join me!" Plankton yelled. "And we'll be rich and powerful, until I eventually betray you all.”

He looked around, trying to think of anything else to say to convince them. “Join me!"

"No! Never! I'm on Team Krabs for life!" SpongeBob resisted.

"Exactly!" Pinkie held up a foam hand with Team Krabs written on it.

"We ain't ever joinin' you, ya thievin' varmint." Applejack said.

"Geez, for someone as small as him, he sure is strong." Rarity admitted.

While that was going on, Mr. Krabs had finally pulled the wall apart and opened the front doors.

"Plankton!" He bellowed.

SpongeBob and the Main 7 all pulled back hard, but Plankton didn't relent.

"Give it up already." Rainbow growled.

"Never!" Plankton seethed.

Back and forth the tug-of-war went, both sides sweating and straining to take the bottle. All of a sudden, the Krabby Patty secret formula disappeared in a cloud of magic sparks and bubbles. The nine sea creatures stood there in complete surprise and confusion.

"What? Where'd it go?" SpongeBob wondered.

"Ooo. Is this a magic trick?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"Read the room, Pinkie." Twilight said.

"Wait a minute. Molecular deconstruction? I proved that to be a scientific impossibility seven times!" Plankton thought to himself.

"Wait a minute. I think I forgot to empty Gary's litter box today." SpongeBob thought to himself.

"Was that some kind of vanishing spell? If it was, where did it go?" Twilight thought to herself.

"Did that stupid green bean do that? No, he looks just as confused as we do." Rainbow thought to herself.

" You know. I think I should try a Krabby Patty myself." Pinkie thought to herself.

Their thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Krabs barged through the office door. He gasped when he saw that the formula was gone.

"Where's me formuler, Plankton?" He demanded angrily.

"I...I don't know! It just disappeared!" Plankton answered.

"Why should I believe you, you lying liar?" Mr. Krabs asked, getting angrier by the second.

"He ain't lyin', Mr. Krabs. He speaks the truth." Applejack defended.

"Normally, I'd agree with you, Mr. Krabs, but this time he's telling the truth. It just vanished!" SpongeBob said.

"Yeah. Into thin air." Fluttershy added.

"It's true!" Plankton shouted.

Mr. Krabs wasn't listening. He grabbed Plankton and taped him to his office desk. Plankton looked around fearfully, sweat pouring down his body.

"Mr. Krabs, I'm telling you he's innocent!" SpongeBob affirmed.

"You're jumping to conclusions, dude." Rainbow said.

"Not now, dear. Leave this to the adults." Mr. Krabs said sternly.

"I am an adult!" The sea pony argued angrily.

"What are you gonna do, Krabs?" Plankton asked nervously. "Pour hot oil on me? or put bamboo shoots under my nails?"

"Dear, Faust. Are you actually going to do that?" Rarity asked with a distraught tone.

"No." Mr. Krabs answered simply. "Knock, knock."

The others stood around with perplexed looks.

"Knock-knock jokes? I can do this all day, Krabs." Plankton smiled smugly.

"Mr. Krabs, with all due respect, this isn't..." Twilight explanation fell on deaf ears.

"Knock, knock." Mr. Krabs growled.

"Oh, boy. Who's there." Plankton asked tiredly.

"Jimmy." Mr. Krabs added.

"Jimmy who?" Plankton asked.

"Jimmy back my formuler, Plankton!" Mr. Krabs shouted furiously.

“That was so lame." Rainbow face-hooved.

"...Well, that's stupid, but how is it torture?" Plankton asked.

"You'll see." Mr. Krabs snickered, putting a set of earmuffs on.

"Jimmy back my formula?" SpongeBob said to himself.

Pinkie came up to him and whispered the explanation to his ear.

"Ohhhhh. I get it!" SpongeBob said in realization.

"See. It's funny isn't it?" The sponge and sea pony began to laugh uncontrollably.

Plankton screamed as soon as the cacophony of laughter hit his ears. Mr. Krabs stood with closed eyes and a complacent smile.

"Make it stop, Krabs! Make it stop!" Plankton pleaded.

"Would you two please quit. We've got a situation on our hooves." Twilight said.

SpongeBob and Pinkie just laughed and laughed. It seemed like nothing could stop them.

"Okay. This is really starting to get irritating." Rainbow said.

"No, kidding. Spike agreed.

Plankton screamed torturously from the heinous laughter. His saving grace would come in the form of Squidward barging through the door with a mass of angry customers behind him.

"Mr. Krabs? SpongeBob, Pinkie, zip it!" He yelled.

The two immediately stopped laughing.

"Thank, goodness." Rarity sighed.

"Thank you, Squidward." Plankton groaned.

"The customers are getting restless! They're asking for...refunds." Squidward said with a pretentious smile, before closing the door.

Refunds

That single word made it through Mr. Krabs's earmuffs. His eyes bulged out and he spat the letters out on his claws.

"Refunds?" He said in disgust.

"Refunds! Refunds!" The customers chanted outside.

"Now what?" Spike asked.

"Listen up, boy. Get in there and make me customers some Krabby Patties!" Mr. Krabs nudged SpongeBob to the kitchen.

"Maybe we could help him out." Pinkie said eagerly.

"Huh. Oh, sure, fine, whatever. Just get out me office." Mr. Krabs said nonchalantly.

The Main 7 all filed through the kitchen door.

"All right, Plankton..."Mr. Krabs looked back at his desk, but saw that Plankton had already escaped. He gasped and clasped his claws to the sides of his face.

Back in the kitchen, SpongeBob was hurriedly preparing the grill.

“What can we do to help, SpongeBob?” Applejack asked.

“Get some Krabby Patties from the freezer.” SpongeBob ordered

AJ and Rainbow went over to the freezer door and opened it.

“Uh. What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?” Rainbow asked with an uneasy tone.

“Brownish-red, circular slabs of meat.” SpongeBob explained.

“Meat!?” Rarity guffawed.

“Well, yeah. Most of the folks around here are meat-eaters.” The sea sponge said.

“Well, we don’t eat meat. And some of us aren’t really comfortable with even thinking about it.” Twilight pointed to a paled Fluttershy.

“Really?” SpongeBob said with curiosity.

“Well, all ah see is a pile of nothin’.” Applejack said.

“What!?” SpongeBob pushed the two sea ponies out of the way and took a look.

He let out a girlish scream. Mr. Krabs heard the commotion and raced over to see SpongeBob shaking while staring into the freezer. The Main 7 all looked on with surprise and confusion.

"SpongeBob! What's wrong, boy?" Mr. Krabs asked. He moved him out of the way and peered into the freezer. He let out a girlish scream from the horrific sight

"We're out of Krabby Patties!?" He asked, staring into the empty freezer.

"Wait. Can't you guys just resupply. Those Krabby Patties have to come from somewhere." Twilight tried to calm the situation.

"Yeah. It's not like they appear out of nowhere." Applejack added.

"Yes, but, how can we make more Krabby Patties without the secret formula?" SpongeBob asked, panicked.

"You've got to have that formuler memorized by now!" Mr. Krabs turned to the sea sponge.

"But as you are aware, sir, the employee handbook clearly states and I quote..." SpongeBob pulled out a book and flipped to a specific part. "No employee may, in part or in whole, commit the Krabby Patty secret formula to any recorded written or visual form, including memories, dreams, and/or needlepoint."

"What kind of rule is that?" Rarity looked over the page.

"A stupid rule that's what." Rainbow replied. "Why is it such a crime to memorize a, flipping, recipe?"

"it's a sacred recipe. Not even Mr. Krabs is allowed to memorize it." SpongeBob argued.

"Well, if you could memorize it, we wouldn't be in this situation. Would we?" Rainbow countered.

"Girls, please. Don't start fighting." Fluttershy quietly pleaded.

"Curse you, fine print!" Mr. Krabs cried.

The angry customers continued to demand for refunds. Some even held up the ordering station in rebellion. Squidward, who was reading a magazine, paid no mind.

"Stop!" Mr. Krabs shouted as he came out of the kitchen area.

The customers all stopped, dropping the ordering station to the floor. It crashed into pieces taking Squidward with it.

SpongeBob and the Main 7 peered out through the doorway.

"I'm not your enemy! Plankton is your enemy!" Mr. Krabs held up a wanted poster with Plankton on it.

"So is he an anemone or a plankton?" Squidward asked.

Ba-doom ching!

In the the corner of the restaurant was a familiar pufferfish with a drum set.

"Well, someone had to do it." She said.

"But, Mr. Krabs..." SpongeBob tried to say.

"He took this from you!" Mr. Krabs then held up a poster that depicted a Krabby Patty.

"Krabby Patty." One customer said.

"I can almost taste it." Another said.

"Mr. Krabs, Plankton didn't take the secret formula." SpongeBob explained.

"We saw it disappear with our own eyes." Applejack added.

"Not now, you lot." Mr. Krabs through the poster away.

Patrick, who was sitting at one of the tables, managed to grab it.

"Hey! I ordered a double Krabby Patty!" He complained bitterly.

"So join me! Help get the formuler back, and I'll give each and every one of a you a free Krabby Patty!" Mr. Krabs announced.

The customers all cheered in joy and agreement.

"No! Wait! Even better, a slight discount!" Mr. Krabs backtracked.

The customers all groaned in disappointment, but that didn't dissuade them joining the Mr. Krabs.

"To the Chum Bucket!" Mr. Krabs and the customers all marched out the Krusty Krab, ready to confront Plankton.

SpongeBob and the Main 7 looked through the glass doors.

"But he didn't do it." SpongeBob said softly.

"We got to do something. It isn't right for them persecute Plankton for something he didn't do." Twilight said.

"Well, to be fair, darling, he did try to steal the formula with a giant robot." Rarity clarified.

"Yeah, but he didn't succeed and now they think that he did steal it." Twilight responded. "Plankton's innocent and we can't stand here and do nothing."

"You're right, Twilight. I think it's time we take matters into our own hands." SpongeBob struck his palm with his fist.

"Even after what he did today and all the things he's done before." Rarity argued.

"Land sake's, Rarity. We know he ain't a saint, but that doesn't mean he deserves to be framed." Applejack snapped back. "Let me ask ya somethin'. How would you feel if a bunch of ponies came up and started blamin' ya for a crime ya didn't commit?"

Rarity pondered over the question for a bit.

"Confused, offended, maybe a little scared. I would never do something as heinous as stealing." The pristine sea pony answered.

"Exactly. Whether we like him or not, Plankton is being blamed for something he didn't do. It isn't right for us to be silent about, either." Twilight said firmly.

"We need to save him for those angry fish." Fluttershy pleaded.

Rarity gave a slow, disappointed sigh.

"I suppose you're right. I'm sorry. I really need to stop thinking about the past and look at the present." She said softly.

"There ya go, Rares." Applejack said happily.

"But, now how do we save Plankton?" Spike asked.

"Don’t worry, girls. I already have an idea in mind." SpongeBob replied.


At the Chum Bucket, Plankton was lamenting to his computer wife about today's escapade.

"I had it right in my greedy little mitts, and then...Poof!" He complained. "And now it's gone. Gone forever. I was so close to gaining the people's respect-slash-fear."

"Um, Plankton?" Karen tried to get his attention.

"Oh, when will my frustration-slash-humiliation end?" Plankton continued.

"Plankton?" She pressed on.

"Not now, hon! I'm ranting-slash-raving." Plankton sighed. "All right, what is it?"

"Well, I was trying to tell you there's an angry mob outside." Karen and Plankton looked amongst the angry people inside the Chum Bucket. "But now they're inside."

"Oh." Plankton said, just as Mr. Krabs grabbed him.

The angry mob then glared at Karen.

"I just work here." She said unconvincingly.

"We'd like to have a word with you!" Mr. Krabs stormed at of the Chum Bucket. The angry mob followed behind, carrying Karen with them. Mr. Krabs then threw Plankton to the ground.

"You all look very hungry." Plankton said uneasily, sweat sliding down his face. "Can I get anybody a Chum Burger?"

"Enough with the niceties, Plankton." Mr. Krabs poked is little, green rival. "This is the last time I'm going to ask you. Where is me formuler!?"

"I told you, Krabs, I don't have it." Plankton weakly crawled backward.

"Wrong answer." Mr. Krabs growled cruelly.

He lifted his foot up, ready to stomp Plankton into oblivion.

"Stop!" A voice called out.

The crowd looked to see SpongeBob with the Main 6 and Spike behind him.

"All right, Mr. Krabs, let me get in on this." He growled, walking over to them.

"What's going on around here?" Plankton said to himself.

"You may want to step back a little, Mr. Krabs." SpongeBob encouraged his boss. "This could get messy."

"Let's hope so." Mr. Krabs said with a cold smile.

"Are we sure this plan will work?" Spike whispered to Twilight.

"It's an...interesting plan, to say the least." Twilight admitted. "But, I'm putting all my faith in SpongeBob."

"Same here." Rainbow agreed.

"Me, too." Pinkie added.

"So you won't talk, eh, Plankton?" SpongeBob kneeled down, pulling out a bottle of bubble solution and bubble wand. "I didn't want to have to do this. Plankton, here comes the pain."

The sea sponge dipped the bubble wand into the solution.

"Soap in the eye, eh?" Diabolical." Mr. Krabs grinned.

SpongeBob took in a deep breath.

"No! Stop! Don't!" Plankton pleaded.

SpongeBob blew a large bubble, trapping plankton inside. He sat inside with a neutral expression.

"Wait. That didn't look painful." Mr. Krabs critisized.

"Now, everypony." Twilight said quietly.

The quickly swam forward and entered the bubble with Plankton still in it. because Spike was a pufferfish, Twilight covered her body over him to keep his spines from puncturing the bubble.

"Seriously. What is going on?" Plankton asked.

SpongeBob turned to his boss.

"Mr. Krabs, you may not understand what I'm about to do today, but someday we'll look back and have a good laugh." SpongeBob back up into the bubble. Once inside, the bubble began to lift into the air.

"Wait a minute." Mr. Krabs said suspiciously.

"Hey, they're getting away!" One the fish shouted.

"Sorry, Mr. Krabs." SpongeBob said apologetically.

"It was nice knowing you." Rainbow said. "Not really."

"So, you've been running a long con on me, eh?" Mr. Krabs accused. "All these years you've been working for Plankton! And I bet those seahorses and pufferfish were in on it, too. All that "from another world for a special mission" mumbo jumbo was just a cover-up story."

"They're in cahoots!" Another fish yelled.

"Yeah, I guess that's a short way of saying it." Mr. Krabs said. "Stop that bubble!"

The angry mob chased after SpongeBob, Plankton, and the Main 7. The sea sponge and sea ponies ran-slash-swam forward, trying to make the bubble go faster.

"Sheesh. They act wild animals." Rainbow observed.

"Just keep swimming." Twilight said.

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." Pinkie sang.

The mob started throwing random object at them. One object, a football, bounced into them, sending the bubble rolling forward. Our heroes felt as if they were in a washing machine. A muscular fish grabbed another unsuspecting fish and threw him at the bubble. The fish hit the bubble, but it still didn't pop. He held on for dear life.

"Please tell me there's something soft below me." The fish said.

"Nope." They all said. They fish lost his grip and dropped to the ground.

SpongeBob!" Mr. Krabs's voice echoed throughout the reef.

They all watched as the bubble float away into the distance.

"Oh. You were like an underpaid son to me." Mr. Krabs said sadly. "I would've expected Squidward to stab me in the back."

"Huh, what, huh." Squidward awoke from his upright nap.

"But SpongeBob? me most trusted employee? Working with me sworn enemy? Along with his new group of friends that randomly showed up today?" Mr. Krabs looked up. "You know what this means, Mr. Squidward."

"We get the rest of the day off?" Squidward grumbled.

"No!" Mr. Krabs raced up to the octopus. "This be but a harbinger of what I fear lies ahead. For you. For me. For all of Bikini Bottom! The Krabby Patty is what ties us all together! Without it, there will be a complete breakdown of social order. A war of all against all! Dark times are ahead. Dark times indeed!"

The old crab flopped to the ground face-first.

Seriously?" Squidward asked incredulously. "Aren't you overreacting a bit?"

Instantaneously, the entire atmosphere changed. Everyone was now where gnarly, apocalyptic clothing, the sky changed from blue to brown, and buildings were collapsed or on fire.

"Welcome to the apocalypse, Mr. Squidward." Mr. Krabs said, as everyone else began running around in maddened states. "I hope you like leather."

"I prefer suede." Squidward said matter-of-factly.


"And so Bikini Bottom became an apocalyptic cesspool forevermore." The pirate closed the book. "The end."

The pirate stood up and cracked his back.

"Wait a minute. That's a terrible ending." One of the seagulls said.

"Oh. This is bad. Really bad." Another said. "SpongeBob and his friends are in trouble and the story's over."

The seagulls began to panic over the situation.

"Ouch. Ouch. Ouch." Another banged it's head against the ship's bell.

"Hey, call a therapist. I have anxiety!" Another said.

The pirate jaunted over to the helm when one of the seagulls flew up to him.

"There is no way that that's the end of this story." The seagull said.

"Of course it is. I'll show you." The pirate said. "Just turn around."

"Oh, all right." The gull turned around allowing the pirate to pluck a tailfeather off him. The gull yelped.

"Hey! I need that to fly, you jerk." He said angrily.

The pirate didn't listen and dipped the feather in a bottle of ink. He opened the book and in big, bold lettering he wrote...

"The End!" The pirate said.

"That's not the end!" The seagull grabbed the page with its beak.

"Of course it is!" The pirate pulled back.

"Unhand that book!" The gull demanded.

"You let go of that!" The pirate said.

"Let go, you numbskull!" The gull shouted.

The two pulled back and forth until the page tore from the book. The pirate lost his balance, fell and crashed through a cargo door that led to the lower deck.

The other gulls gathered around the opening.

"You better keep reading, Mr. Pirate..." The gulls turned around and pointed their backsides to him. "Or else."

The gull from earlier left the ship with the torn paper.

"I know I shouldn't be littering, but that ending was rubbish!" The gulled dropped the paper, which sank into the salty waters below. "Rubbish!"

The page sank further onto the apocalyptic Bikini Bottom. With our heroes left free-floating and the town in ruins, things could only get better from here on out. Right?


To be continued