Scary Story Contest

[OWM]

 

Happy Howl-oween, boys and ghouls. As you compete in these haunting games and scare your fellow members, this topic is a good chance for you to share your own creative, spooky talents with others. Our annual Scary Story contest is back for another round!

Rules:

1.) The story does not have to be SpongeBob related, but it can be if you want. It doesn't matter to us.

2.) It must at least be 500 words, but can go over.

3.) It must at least have a Halloween/spooky/creepy theme.

Just post your story here, and a panel of supernatural judges (myself, jjs the Grim Reaper, and Cha the Real Live Ghost Mop) will judge who has the best one. The winner will receive...

 

-1,500 cursed doubloons

-Haunted GCA style trophy to display in your signature/profile/wherever

-A point for their team on the scoreboard (if you don't want to be on a team, you will represent Independent, so everyone can still participate)

 

Now get writing, spooky storytellers!

[Jjs Goodman]

Notice: Deadline to submit a story is by October 30th at 11:59pm EST.

[4EverGreen]

A mysterious voice says: "Submitted for your approval; there is a place underwater, where the normal rules of logic and coherency do not apply. While this is normal for the standards of these sea creatures, there are some events that go beyond what even THEY can comprehend and accept. When this happens, perceptions are shattered, viewpoints are altered, and beliefs are challenged, as to what is, and what isn't real. This is a zone not defined by geography, but a zone defined by mind, superstitious beliefs, curses, magic, and mundane made awesome. This is a place simply referred to as: The Tidal Zone." /

"The Sea Monkey Hypothesis" . The Mysterious voice says: "We open up on an ordinary day, in the busy, busting town of Bikini Bottom. Home to many interesting sea creatures with various character traits and quirks. But our story today, focuses on one character known as Spongebob Squarepants. A plucky, lovable, if somewhat annoying to SOME sea creatures, guy, who is an all loving character to children, pets, and a certain squirrel by the name of Sandy. So naturally, when Spongebob sees an ad that tugs at his heartstrings, he HAS to react to it." The ad plays Sarah Maclachlan's "Adia" over a montage of tiny sea monkeys (who resemble ACTUAL monkeys), looking really sad, abused, and neglected! A beautiful fish, RESEMBLING Sarah Maclachlan (and VOICED by her), says: "Hi, I'm Sarah Maclachlan, and this is a stereotypical song recorded by me, to guilt-trip you into feeling for these tiny creatures. These creatures, through no fault of their own, have been abused, mistreated, neglected, or just not been walked in three days. But there IS hope! For just the low, LOW price of $19.99 (quickly) plus $8.99 shipping and handling (normally) YOU can provide a safe, happy, loving, nourishing home for these sea monkeys!" Spongebob asks: "Who, ME?!" Sarah Maclachlan says: "Yes, you! Just dial our toll-free number; 555-5555, to find out how YOU can provide a home to 4,444 sea monkeys!" Spongebob asks: "Wait a minute. Isn't that the EXACT same phone number for every single OTHER ad and/or place of residence and/or business that I know of in this town?" Sarah Maclachlan says: "Just make the call. It's the only phone number we are ALLOWED to say, where we WON'T get sued!" Spongebob picks up the phone, and says: "Makes sense to me!" /

The scene cuts to Spongebob getting a knock on the door, and Norton says: "Package for Spongebob!" Spongebob opens the door and says: "That was FAST! It felt like only FIVE seconds passed!" Norton says: "Really? Felt more like FIVE hours to me! Which is STILL kind of fast for a delivery of this nature if you THINK about it!" Spongebob hands over the money and says: "Here's the $19.99, plus $8.99 for shipping and handling!" Norton says: "Thank you. Now be careful that you don't--." But Spongebob SLAMS the door in Norton's face! Norton just shakes his head and sighs: "They NEVER listen to the warning!" Spongebob says: "Gary, my latest contribution for the betterment of Bikini Bottom has arrived!" Gary inquisitively asks: "Meow?" Spongebob says: "Yes, it HAS, Gary! Sea Monkeys! All 4,444 of them!" And Spongebob holds up an aquarium FILLED with water, but it looks like there's nothing in it! Gary angrily says: "Meow, meow, MEOW!!!!" Spongebob asks: "What do you MEAN, 'I got ripped OFF?!' The Sea Monkeys ARE in there, they are just TOO tiny to be seen by the untrained eye! Luckily, I have a magnifying glass so we can observe for ourselves!" And Spongebob pulls out a magnifying glass, and looks into the aquarium. Sure enough, he SEES a bunch of tiny sea monkeys in the aquarium, acting like ACTUAL monkeys, by hanging around in the coral trees, scratching themselves, and eating THEIR equivalent of bananas. Gary groans, and says: "Meow." Spongebob says: "I KNOW it doesn't LOOK like they're THAT exciting, but I'm sure that once you get to know them, they're quite fun!" Gary shakes his head, and says: "Meow, meow, meow!" Spongebob says: "What do you MEAN by, 'Every time I take in a pet OTHER than you, it always ENDS in disaster?!' That's NOT true, is it?!"

Gary says: "Meow! Meow, meow!" Spongebob groans, and says: "Fine! There was that time I found a wild seahorse that ate some of Mr. Krab's money, and the time I tried to take care of a wild sea bunny, and ESPECIALLY that time with the Nudibranch, which I have PROFUSELY apologized to you over a MILLION times for, but I'm a MUCH better pet owner for having gone through those experiences! I'm not going to make THOSE same mistakes again!" Than the door slams open, and Patrick says: "Hey, Spongebob!" Spongebob says: "Oh, hi Patrick!" Patrick asks: "Want to see the latest Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy movie?! It's playing downtown at The Reef, for PG-13 audiences ONLY!" Spongebob says: "I've already seen that movie THREE times already! Besides, whoever Mr. Lawrence is, he can't replace the ACTUAL Mermaid Man! At least, not in MY books! And besides that, I've got 4,444 sea monkeys to take care of!" Patrick asks: "Monkeys?! Well, where ARE the monkeys?!" Spongebob says: "They're inside this little aquarium, but you need this magnifying glass to see them though." Patrick says: "Cool! Let me see!" Patrick peers through the magnifying glass, and sees a bunch of monkeys going behind a bush. The camera pans BACK to Patrick's face, and he makes a CLEARLY grossed-out face, saying: "EWWW!!!!" Spongebob asks: "What?! What did you see?!" Patrick says: "Trust me. You do NOT want to know! TAKE my WORD for it! Let's just say whoever RAISED these sea monkeys, did NOT teach them the proper manner for going to use the restroom. Honestly, it's almost as gross as the time Bubble Bass said he would PAY me two nickels to make lemonade out of Squidward's ink AND make ice cream out of a toilet!" Spongebob asks: "THAT'S why you did those things?!"

Patrick says: "Spongebob, I don't do something BLATANTLY out of character for ME, unless I get the PROPER incentive to do so! EVERYBODY has standards, you know! In any case, what's so great about watching a bunch of sea monkeys?! They're small, they're tiny, they're petite, they're miniature, and furthermore, they're the opposite of BIG!" Spongebob says: "Patrick, those words ALL mean the exact same thing!" Patrick says: "All right, here's a different reason, and I speak from PERSONAL experience, they're DUMB!!!! There's no movie theaters, no arcade centers, no restaurants, no plumbing, no...architecture!" Spongebob says: "First of all, I'm SURPRISED that you even KNOW what the word 'architecture' MEANS!" Patrick says: "I surprise myself sometimes." Spongebob says: "Secondly, what were YOU expecting?! They're just SEA monkeys! Living the simple life is all they KNOW!" Patrick says: "Well, it's STILL boring! I wish we could SOMEHOW make them scientifically smarter! I wish we could just SOMEHOW find out what they are thinking, just to know what they're like!" Spongebob says: "Than why don't we just use Sandy's 'Make Sea Monkeys Scientifically Smarter-o-macrifier' thingy that she built last Tuesday?" Patrick is drinking some Pepsi, and he SPIT takes it onto Spongebob, who absorbs it, BEING a sponge! Patrick gasps and says: "What a BRILLIANT idea! You absorb information like you're...part SPONGE or something!" Gary sarcastically says: "Meow." Spongebob rolls his eyes, and says: "It's EASIER just to play along with him." /

The scene changes to the inside of the Tree Dome, where Spongebob and Patrick are wearing water helmets, and Sandy is dressed up like a scientist. Sandy says: "I sure am glad you fellas came over to ask ME my personal opinion on the whole matter! It's mighty mature of you!" Spongebob says: "Well, I didn't want to jump to conclusions or anything; not like the time I ASSUMED everyone in Bikini Bottom was aliens, or that time that I accidentally warped ourselves into the Doodle Dimension!" Sandy says: "Well personally, I've been looking for an excuse to try out an experiment like this! It would make for a PERFECT candidate for the best Scientific Study of the YEAR award! It might even win me the Nobel Prize!" Patrick asks: "What's a 'No BELL' prize?!" Spongebob says: "It's pronounced 'NOBLE', and it's kind of like the award YOU won for doing absolutely nothing LONGER than anyone else, only fancier! You could probably WIN one if you EVER decided to read a bunch of BOOKS again!" Patrick says: "Only when I'm outside! Learned MY lesson the last time!" Sandy says: "Trust me, this scientific experiment should prove to be VERY interesting! Why, I'm sure with the THREE of us working together, we'll make scientific history!" Patrick nervously says: "Uh, I wasn't told there was going to be any WORK involved!" Sandy says: "Don't sweat it! I mean, it's no big deal! All you have to do, is to use this special monitor that I've installed over the sea monkeys, in order to monitor their progress. I want to see what happens, when knowledge is introduced into a wild sea creatures! That way, we can finally find out once and for all, if it is KNOWLEDGE that causes critters to become dangerous, or is it the misuse of knowledge that makes all the difference?" Spongebob asks: "You mean there's risk involved?"

Sandy says: "Sure. Practically everything revolving around science involves SOME risk, but what fun WOULD science be without the risk?! Well, I guess it would TECHNICALLY still be science, but it would feel like SOMETHING is missing. Something that feels...risky!" Spongebob asks: "So, what kind of risk are we talking about?" Sandy says: "Well, I had the foresight to install a Danger-o-meter on my monitor. It will monitor the intelligence and the behavior of the sea monkeys, to see if they're capable of BEING a danger to US and the world at large!" Patrick asks: "What happens IF they become THAT smart?!" Sandy HONESTLY looks stumped, and she says: "I don't know, but THAT will never happen!" Sandy goes to her computer pushes some buttons, than goes to the BIG, red, start-up button, and she says: "Okay, THIS probably won't explode!" Spongebob shouts: "Wait, the WHAT?!!!" And Sandy PUSHES the Big Red Button, causing a BIG ray gun, to shoot a BURST of electricity into the sea monkeys aquarium, infusing them with the genetic code for intelligence and wisdom! When the ray gun is done firing, Sandy says: "It's a success! The sea monkeys LIVE! Let's see the results!" And when they peer at the monitor, they are amazed when one of the formerly WILD Sea Monkeys runs over to a burning branch, picks it up, and to the tune of "Also Sprach Zathrusa", holds it up triumphantly, runs back to his fellow sea monkeys, puts it on a circle of firewood, creating THEIR very first fire! Sandy says: "AMAZING! They've only been intelligent for fifteen seconds, and they've ALREADY discovered how to use FIRE! Usually, you have to pay EXTRA for that!" Patrick says: "Cool! What happens next?!" Sandy says: "Unfortunately, these kinds of experiments take TIME to fully determine what's going to happen."

Patrick asks: "So, how much time are we talking about?" Sandy says: "I don't know. Maybe, NINETEEN years, at the most!" Patrick is once AGAIN drinking Pepsi, and spit takes it onto Spongebob, who absorbs it again! Spongebob says: "AGAIN with the spit-take?!" Patrick doesn't even answer him, and Patrick asks: "NINETEEN years?! I'm not spending nineteen years living in a tree dome! It's no PLACE for a sea star!" Sandy groans, and says: "Fine. I only need ONE other person helping me out with this experiment anyways!" Spongebob waves his hand excitedly, and says: "Ooh, ooh! Can I be your one other person?! We can be MARRIED!" Patrick asks: "Aren't you ALREADY married?" Sandy says: "Are you talking about that play we did?" Patrick asks: "That was a play?" Spongebob says: "The minister said he didn't KNOW it was a play!" Sandy says: "We REALLY need to get some kind of clarity on that matter!" Patrick says: "Well, in any case, I'm out of here! Spongebob, when you're ready to do something fun, you know where to find me." Spongebob says: "But spending time with Sandy IS fun!" Patrick looks dumb-struck, and he says: "It's STARTING!!!! You THINK you KNOW a guy!" And he walks out of the tree dome! Sandy says: "Don't listen to THAT sour sea star! He's just acting petty and jealous! You'll have PLENTY of time to spend with him once the experiment is over! After all, nineteen YEARS isn't forever!" Spongebob says: "Exactly! It's the same amount of time a couple of animated, popular, sometimes controversial, sometimes cancelled shows have been on the air. Maybe even LONGER! In any case, I always like spending time with you, Sandy!" Sandy says: "I do to, Spongebob!" She yawns, and she says: "Well, it's getting pretty late. Why don't we hang up our Tesla coils for the night and call it a day?"

Spongebob says: "Sounds good to me, Sandy! We can have a sleepover! Only with more science! I've always wanted to HAVE a SCIENCE sleepover!" Sandy says: "You mean to tell me you've never HAD a science sleepover before? How do you even know if it's something that you've always wanted?" Spongebob says: "Well, I don't KNOW that I want it or not, but I won't know until I've HAD one, will I?!" Sandy looks speechless, and she says: "Well, I can't argue with you THERE! I guess even a broken clock is right at least TWICE a day, unless it's on military time, in which case it's only right once!" / The scene shifts to night time, Sandy is sleeping in her bed, while Spongebob is sleeping on a mattress outside in a swimming pool. At least, Spongebob sleeps until his stomach growls, and he wakes up. Spongebob asks: "How can I be hungry at a time like this, when Sandy is counting on me to be super-focused on her scientific experiment? I'll just go inside and check her fridge. I'll just write an I.O.U., in case I take anything." Spongebob puts on his water helmet, walks to the tree, than pauses to check the monitor of the aquarium containing the sea monkeys. Spongebob says: "I wonder how my little friends are doing? I'm sure Sandy would WANT me to check on them, to make sure that they're all right." Spongebob looks at the monitor, and sees a bunch of sea monkeys living in caves, wearing lion FISH skins, and it looks like they have chalk and chewed up berries for art materials, but they're just sitting around, not having any appropriate art inspirations! Spongebob says: "Oh, man! The sea monkeys are all BORED! I don't want my little friends to be bored! But if I can't see THEM without the monitor, how can they possibly hope to see ME?!"

Than Spongebob perks up and he says: "Of course! My magnifying glass! If it can make SMALL objects appear LARGER, maybe it can allow SMALL objects to see LARGE objects! I mean, it's worth a shot!" Spongebob tiptoes to the aquarium, and GENTLY puts the magnifying glass pointing outwards from the tank. Spongebob says: "Now, to provide some suitable artistic images for my tiny friends to be inspired by! Spongebob grabs his bubble wand, and blows images of manatees, sea lions, seals, and sea horses, AND himself! Spongebob says: "And with my super-duty, super-strong, super-tough, super-durable bubble soap, guaranteed to last ten times LONGER than ordinary bubble soap or DOUBLE your money back, they'll see my artwork AND know of the artist who CREATED them! I can't WAIT to see what they create!" And Spongebob rushes off into the tree for something to eat, unaware that the sea monkeys have FOUND the magnifying sea glass, and are SEEING the bubble creations from THEIR perspective... / The scene shifts to morning, as dawn breaks across the ocean, as well as the aquarium. Spongebob wakes up, puts on his water helmet, than a clam crows like a rooster, and Spongebob sees the crowing be LOUD enough to cause the bubbles to BURST! Spongebob says: "Oh, MAN! Now the sea monkeys will never see the--." Sandy says: "Spongebob! What's with the I.O.U. Note on my fridge?" Spongebob says: "Well, it was late last night and I was hungry and--." Sandy shouts: "And what in TARNATION have the sea monkeys been up to?!" Spongebob asks: "What do you mean?!" Sandy shouts: "Just take a look, on the monitor!"

Spongebob rushes over to the monitor, and he sees a bunch of cave paintings, that are drawn to RESEMBLE the bubbles he had blown! Spongebob says: "Ah, the sea monkeys DID see the bubbles I blew for them after all! That's good!" Sandy says: "Not THAT, silly! I mean, THIS!!!!" And Sandy SWITCHES the monitor view, to show a HUGE to the sea monkeys (but only knee height to Spongebob), PYRAMID, complete with a sphinx shaped like Spongebob, and a bunch of statues carved in Spongebob's image! Sandy says: "This is simply ASTOUNDING! How the HECK did this happen?!" Spongebob says: "Well, the sea monkeys were bored, so I thought I'd provide them some artistic inspiration. But, I never taught them HOW to make pyramids, or sphinxes shaped like me, or for them to carve statues in my image!" Sandy says: "How would they even KNOW what you LOOK like?! From their perspective, you should be too far AWAY to see properly!" Spongebob nervously says: "I, MAY have put a magnifying glass inside their aquarium, so they can see us, the way WE can see them! Is, there a problem with that?!" Sandy says: "Spongebob, you've given them THEIR equivalent of a TELESCOPE! You introduced a piece of technology that they SHOULDN'T have for...however long THEIR equivalent of thousands of years ends up being!" Spongebob says: "Is that a BAD thing?!" Sandy says: "Well, I'm not sure WHAT it means! All that I can conclude is that BECAUSE you provided the sea monkeys with art, they SEEM to have come to revere you as some kind of...GOD." Spongebob says: "But I can't be a GOD!!!! Remember that one time Neptune tried to make me a Fry Cook of the Gods?! That didn't pan out, remember?" Sandy says: "I'm not ASKING you to be a God!"

Spongebob asks: "But if they're treating me like a God, doesn't that give me some sort of supernatural responsibilities?" Sandy says: "Spongebob, for the sake of the scientific experiment, I forbid you from interfering in their evolutionary endeavors any further! Besides, the LAST thing you want is for those innocent sea creatures to think that they can depend on you like you're some sort of GOD! Trust me, you do NOT want that kind of attention! Nothing good can come of THAT, mark my words! It's all too easy to jump off the slippery slope of morality by doing that!" Spongebob says: "But I never INTENDED to jump off the slippery slope, nor do I WANT to do that! All I'm SAYING is, since I CAUSED this to happen, don't I bare some sort of obligation to make sure nothing BAD happens to them!" Sandy scoffs, and says: "Oh, PLEASE! What could POSSIBLY, happen?!" Spongebob asks: "WHAT could happen?!" Patrick yells: "GIANT SEA SPIDER!!!!" Spongebob POINTS at the ANGRY, giant red sea spider running towards Patrick AND the Tree Dome, and Spongebob says: "THAT could HAPPEN! And to THINK, usually it's Squidward, Plankton, or Mr. Krabs who TEMPTS fate in one of THESE scenarios!" Patrick rushes inside the tree dome, and quickly puts on a water helmet! Spongebob asks: "Patrick, what did you do THIS time?!" Patrick says: "I'm SORRY, Spongebob! Just make him stop!" Sandy says: "Don't worry! We're protected by the space-age technology of this ultra-duty plastic! NOTHING can get inside THIS Tree Dome!" And the giant red sea spider ANGRILY slams one of his strong legs into the Tree Dome, and creates a sickening CRACK in the Tree Dome, producing a serious leak! Sandy gulps, and says: "Well, ALMOST nothing!" Spongebob asks: "TWICE with the tempting fate?!"

And the giant red sea spider continues to RAM his strong legs into the Tree Dome, causing MORE cracks and leaks! Sandy gulps and says: "Not good!" She puts on her air helmet and space suit, and yells: "EVERYBODY abandon TREE DOME!!!!" They immediately do so, only for the Tree Dome to completely BREAK and fall apart once they exit! Sandy yells: "MY TREE DOME!!!! SEA SPIDER!!!! I hope you have INSURANCE, BUSTER!!!! NOBODY messes with the Tree Dome of a Texas SQUIRREL!!!! (Jumps off-screen for battle discretion shot) Hi-YAH!!!! KI-YAH!!! WASABI!!!! TAKE THAT!!!!" And Sandy walks back on-screen, slaps her hands together, and she says: "Next time you'll THINK before picking on someone SMALLER than yourselves! My POOR Tree Dome! It will take WEEKS to repair!" Spongebob says: "Forget about the Tree Dome! What about the sea monkeys?!" Sandy says: "Fortunately, it seems our monitor was undamaged by the attack! Maybe the sea monkeys survived somehow!" Patrick says: "Spongebob, if I EVER get the INSANE idea to listen to another one of Bubble Bass' CRAZY plans to make two nickels off of him, PLEASE hit me hard in the head!" Spongebob starts to raise his hand, and Patrick says: "Not NOW!!!! Any FUTURE occasions!" Sandy gulps, and she says: "Spongebob, we're looking at a total LOSS here!" Spongebob says: "What do you MEAN?! Total loss!" Sandy says: "You do NOT want to see the devastation that happened! Take my WORD for it! All their technology, their buildings, and all the sea monkeys are GONE! All 4,444 sea monkeys!" Spongebob just looks despondent, and he says: "Poor sea monkeys! All I wanted was to give them a chance to know knowledge. Now, we'll never know WHAT they were capable of."

Sandy sighs, and she says: "Well, maybe it's better this way. There's no telling WHAT might have happened if the sea monkeys survived long enough to imprint Patrick or ME as one of their Gods! THAT could have ended up TRAGICALLY for them! AND for us!" Patrick nervously says: "Spongebob, I just had a REALLY scary thought! If the sea monkeys could think of someone as big as YOU could be a God compared to THEM, what's to stop something bigger than US, acting like GODS compared to us?!" Sandy is drinking some Pepsi, and spit-takes it on Spongebob, who absorbs it! Spongebob asks: "Why does everyone keep spit-taking on me?!" Patrick says: "Because it's funny!" Spongebob says: "No, it's NOT! It's just STUPID! It's almost as DUMB as that time I spent almost an entire DAY naked because I gave away everything I own to purchase that Le Spatula 3000!" Sandy says: "Well, I spit-take because I find Patrick's entire proposal PREPOSTEROUS! I mean, SURELY WE would be smart enough to realize, that there WERE something bigger than ourselves, WATCHING us all the time! Right! RIGHT?!" Spongebob says: "Sandy, don't go tempting FATE again...!" / 

And the action ZOOMS out to live-action versions of Tom Kenny, Bill F., and Carolyn Lawrence, holding up clay-models of Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy! Carolyn says: "Okay, Spongebob, I won't go tempting fate on YOU anymore!" Tom says: "Oh, Sandy, you are SO romantic! Kiss me, my sweet! Kiss me!" Carolyn says: "Okay!" But instead of Tom and Carolyn kissing each other, the clay models of Spongebob and Sandy kiss each other! Carolyn says: "That was more fun than roping runaway boars on the Fourth of July in El Paso, Texas!" Bill F. says: "This is the WEIRDEST Halloween idea we've EVER come up with for Spongebob Squarepants!" / The screen switches to a swirling circle of black and white, and pans to feature Gary, who suddenly starts SPEAKING in the voice of the mysterious Narrator! Gary says: "What you have just witnessed was a particular scenario of weirdness and mystery that neither Spongebob or his friends could ever hope to comprehend. They have learned that the price for playing God is not something that should be taken lightly, and that they should always think about the consequences of their actions. Will they EVER become aware that they are the subjects of a highly successful animated show themselves? Watched, adored, and sometimes critiqued by millions of viewers and/or critics? Perhaps, perhaps not. But as The Beatles once sang, Tomorrow Never Knows. And maybe Spongebob and his friends will never know, that they have just experienced a journey in, The Tidal Zone!" /

Episode Notes: This special is a parody of a segment by "The Simpsons" called "The Genesis Tub", which in itself was a parody of an older segment featured on "The Twilight Zone!" Sarah Maclachlan guest stars as a fish version of herself, while Tom Kenny, Bill F., and Carolyn Lawrence all appear in real life footage, as well as voicing their respective characters. The song "Adia" is heard in this episode. Continuity references in this episode include "My Little Sea Horse; Bunny Hunt; A Pal for Gary; Appointment TV; Ink Lemonade; Krusty Cops; The Algae's Always Greener; Sandy's Rocket; Doodle Dimension; Big Pink Loser; Library Cards; Spongebob B.C.; Truth or Square; Not Normal; Neptune's Spatula; Feral Friends;" and "All That Glitters". Tropes utilized in this special include, "555; Other Darrin" -- in Universe in regards to Mermaid Man; "Take My Word for it" -- twice; "Out of Character Alert/OOC is Serious Business ; Department of Redundancy Department; Hidden Depths; Contrived Coincidence; Character Development; It's Pronounced 'Tro PAY'; Continuity Nod/Call-Back; For the Science!; Fauxshadowing; Medium Awareness/Leaning on the Fourth Wall; Strawman Has a Point; A God I Am Not; Jumping Off the Slippery Slope; Tempting Fate; Berserk Button; Battle Discretion Shot; Mind-Screw; Rule of Three" -- to both spit-takes, and tempting fate; "Self-Depreciation; Lampshade Hanging; Troperiffic"; and "The Narrator Was the Cat All Along".

Personal Notes: To date, I think this might actually be the FIRST episode in a LONG time that I have written that I am intending to put SPECIFICALLY within the continuity of "Spongebob Squarepants" itself, something I have not done since my early TV.com days, BEFORE I even wrote "Spongebob and Friends". When trying to come up with an idea for this Halloween Special, I had to think to myself; what could I do that was recognizable, yet distinct enough on it's own to stand up to any other story ideas? And than the idea came to me, to take a familiar episode of "The Twilight Zone" (which more people might recognize as being a segment of the "Treehouse of Horror" on "The Simpsons"), and adapt it to "Spongebob Squarepants" standards. Naturally, since "Spongebob Squarepants" is "Lighter and Softer" compared to "The Simpsons" and "The Twilight Zone", I decided to turn the conflict from being about "A God Am I"; to being "A God I Am Not". Also, Patrick WAS somewhat responsible for the ruination of the science project, just not directly. And he WAS sorry about it, making for "Character Development" for HIM as well! And I also wanted to do a great big twist ending that NO one would see coming, by showing the LIVE-action actors playing with the toys of the characters they VOICE, and the narration being voiced by GARY! I hope you enjoyed reading this Halloween special as much as I did writing it! Enough said, true believers!

[Aquatic Konquest]

I'm gonna go ahead and put this in a spoiler for precautionary reasons; it's not that I think this story is particularly scary, but I fear I may have gone for a bit more of a graphical approach in places. I don't know if that's alright, so I'm gonna go ahead and see what happens, and at the very least, I'm putting it in a spoiler just so it's not in the open.

(What I based this story on should probably be obvious if you're familiar with it. And even if you're not I highly doubt you'll be surprised if you know my latest obsession...)

Spoiler

Story Title: SnVzdCBTcG9uZ2VCb2I=

I want to resist, but my body compels me to move forward. My hand raises itself promptly and finds the doorknob, and my fingers lightly graze themselves over it, lingering ever so slightly, before I find myself unwillingly turning the knob and entering the room.

It’s dark, and despite the fact that my body does not feel around I can already tell there is no hope of a light source. But suddenly, a light of unknown origin flickers around the center of the room and a flash of images cloud my mind, rolling across my thoughts like a film reel. I can make out very little from each image, as they stained with a deep red. A hiss plays in my mind as the images continue to flash in a similar fashion to the light, and at once I shiver at the sensation.

The light stops flickering, its brightness now a similar shade of blood red akin to the memories…the memories…the memories of what, I do not know. But I can only confirm to myself that they are indeed memories, perhaps very distant ones if anything.

Under the light, I see an octopus taller than me standing perfectly still. But, upon further inspection – and the fact that I have seemingly moved closer to it – I notice that he is not standing, but rather, he is hanging in place. A bloodied noose hugs his neck tightly; so tight, in fact, that the knot covers his entire neck as if there never was one in the first place. Its oversized head is absent of color, but I have an instinct kicking in, telling me that he used to be a pale blue in appearance. An image flashes in my mind and lingers menacingly, and this time, I can make out what – or who – it is of…

S̶̨̩͙̪̤̙̱̰͇̱͋͜͜q̴̧̰̣͚͕̣̠̯̬̝̺̺̥̠̭͓̋̇̒̇͗͒̃̉͐ü̴̡̢̲̙̙̦͚̼͓̲̦̰͉̖̺̳̠̮̦̲͍͓͚̐̓͒̇̌̕ͅì̵̡̡̡̧̜̣̟̘͎̯̖̮̱̦̱͗͗̍̾͂̉̓̌̇́̌͗̄͛̆͌͆̂͗̄͜͝͝͝d̷̟̲̤̯̩̻̩͍͚̠̃̌͌̒̑̌͐͘w̷̖̔̓̓̽̂̈́̒͌́̃̚̚͠͝ạ̷̛̉̋͒́̆͑͂͌̃̔̀̕͠͠͝r̷̡̥̯̈́̋̅̿̑̇̀͋͒̽̀̏̑̐͋d̸̠̿̃͑̈͌̀̊̊̊̚ͅ.̷̞̪͙̥͍̞̻͈̣̳̺̳̮̺͔͍̻͓͙̭̪̱̖͇͗̔̎͒͗̿͆̉͗͋̑̓͑̋̿̕̚͝.̷̧̛̻͓͈͍̺̠͇̺̟̙̠͍͙͍͎͙̼̤̦̂̍̆̐͜ͅ.̶̨̧͇̠̖͔̤̯͚̩̣̙̥̯̪̮̦̞̫͕͚̞̫̂͑̽͋͋̍̚̕͝ͅ.̵̧͓͕̼̗̗͈͔̲̲̹̙̖͕̠̺̭̳̫̖͇̹̻̞͆̇̅̍̌̇̕͜ͅ

My heart wants to cry, but my body refuses to budge. All that comes from the internal conflict is a single tear, that rolls down my cheek as it falls to the ground. I feel weak on the inside, and yet my body holds itself up as if lifelessly. An image of him finds its way in my mind, and fades away as the light flickers once again.

My heart races, then ceases as the light flickers on again. This time, a greyish hue dominates my vision, and I have to squint in order to make out what it is trying to show me. A pale pink creature meets my gaze with lifeless eyes, and stands perfectly still in the distance. Its eyes feel closer to mine than they actually are, and it’s almost as if they’re piercing through me without much emotion conveyed through such action. Another set of images flicker through my mind again, each one dissolving violently before the next one shows itself to me.

P̶̹̩̞̜̎̅͒̒̆̓͛͋̾̀̈́̕͝a̶̱̥͕͉̾̀̉́̋̍̎͐̅̄̎̉͌͑͗̓̋̎͂͆̚͘͠͝t̵̛̩͈͈̙̮͔̮̰̹̟̃̉̒̇̈́̀̐̃́́̽̓̆̈́͘͘̕͝r̶̡̛̳͌͐͌̌̆̎̽͌̈́̇͊̿̉̕͝͠ị̷̢̢͙͈̜̲̫̙͚̖̥͕͙̥̰̖͖̑̾̓͜c̵̥͘ͅk̸̙̖͎̥̮̙̻̱͎̀͊͂͊͆̑͜ͅ.̴̢̼̰͈͍̭͙̲̝̞̬̹͐͛̃́̓̔̅̉̿̑̓͋̃̋̆̾͛̍͠.̸̧̧̧͇͈͓̜͇̟̟͉̪̜̮͓̗̰̚͘͜ͅ.̵̨̝͙̙̘̜̠̳̺͓͇͎̺̈̇̅͋͋̋̊̈́̔̐̀̀͂̍̆̄͌̐̉̚͠͠͠͠

After one last image, I notice the creature is staring at me not with his eyes, but rather, two black lights flicker violently in their place. Looking down from them, I see his mouth moving up and down in a cartoon fashion, but no words are uttered throughout. A few seconds later, they  few seconds later, the lips dissolve, and fall to the ground. The “eyes” also stop flickering, piercing my gaze effortlessly yet again.

SNAP!

His neck cracks mercilessly, leaving his face perpendicular to the rest of his physique. However, this does nothing to stop his gaze, and at once I feel him coming closer…and closer…and closer…

…and…even…

…closer…

I want to hold up my hands. I want to scream. Most of all, I want to run away. But my body refuses to budge. My mouth opens, but nothing comes out of it. It’s all happening quickly, my eyes not even blinking as I’m forced to watch this creature make his way towards me.

I brace myself for certain death, but as soon as he’s mere inches within my vicinity, the light flickers off once again, and I feel nothing on me. My heart beats with fear and dread; so much so, in fact, I fear it may even burst.

Another light flickers – this one, a bleak yet softened purple – as it reveals a third figure. I find myself being forced to look down to reveal a pale creature in a white suit sprawled across the floor without grace. A trail of dried up blood is found across the chest by a piercing in the suit, and as I follow the trail down onto the floor I take note of the bloodied knife left abandoned beside the body. Yet another group of images flash before my eyes as soon as I have the forbidden inclination to reach for the knife on the ground, and so much about her flashes through my eyes – things I didn’t even know before – I feel an internal resentment for myself building up. How did I not know she did this to herself…?

Oh…Ș̵̠̳͎͖̦͚̦̫̥̪̱̩̒̉̄̎̅̔́ͅǎ̸͎̝̥̣̦̯̜͇̯͙̯͍̹̱͙̩̱̖͕͉̜́̑̓͆͘ņ̵̡̢͚͎̗̘̦̜̝͎̜̫̪͔͖̱̤̳͕̤̲̟̭͙͓̏̓͆̏́̄̇̎̇̅̄̚͠d̶̢̢̢̼̜̹̹̞̥̙̤̪̄̾̔͐͌̇͋͂̃̀̈́̎̕͝y̶̢̢̢̛̬̹̥̝͕̜͖̼̫̩̣͔̮͈̬̖̹̗̣̱̑͊͂͒̽̊͐̋́̐̋̎̉̓̾̃͘͝͠͝.̶̡̨͇̖̥̱͍͎̘͍̹̭̦̜̼̼͈̲̳̉̀̒̈́̃̋̾̑̍̑̂̀̑̍̿̾͑̅͑͑̎͘͝͝.̴͔̰̯̫̘̥̤͕̺̜̰͇͎͔̖̬̹̥͈̹̟̗̫̐̔̒̽̿́̆̃́̐̕̕.̷̡̢̜̘̼̯̫̬̦̹̺̖̗͍̥͇͎̘̫̹̞̘̻̬̭̰̈́̒.̷̨̹̉̈͑̍̎̅̈͌̈́̋̽̇͋̒̎͘̕͜͝

I want to resist whatever force is taking controlling my body; to just break free and embrace her body one last time before it vanishes from my sight – and my memory – for eternity. And yet, I am denied of that wish; the light flickers off once more, before revealing to me the entire room.

Before me, I realize that I am in an empty sitting room, bare from any sort of furniture or lifeform. If not for the somewhat strange feeling of familiarity within, I probably would not have even known it was a sitting room to begin with.

Besides…I’m slowly feeling myself getting weaker…as if my mind is resigning whatever manpower it has left that’s just barely capable to speak for itself and against my body as it is. A voice hisses its way into my voice, and the room flashes in various shades of red, green and blue…I cannot focus anymore.

The last thing I can see…is a pair of yellow hands claiming my neck…triumphantly…a flash of…

…images

…last ones…

…is this the end…

…only one thing…on my mind…

J̸̡̛͈̖͕̳͎͖̭̦͔͕͚͓͚̘͕̯̤̥͍̝̙͈̝͓͓̬͖̣͆̑͛́̄̒̈́́̓̓̍̈́̌̀̇̋̓̒̍̔̓͗͒̽̐̃͂̃̀̌̿̽̆̌͌͐̀̓̾͋̍́̍̓͌̒̚͝͝͝ͅͅư̸̡̡̧̧̫̼̣̜̙̱̹̜̘̪̮̱͍̤̩̯̯̬̘̪̺̖̲̲̹̤̺͍̖͉̎͌̓̊͋̓̆͛̇̿͊̔̉̅̂̒̈̀̋̾͊̇́̚͘̚͘̚͠͠š̶̟̩̭̿t̸̢̨̡̛̗͔̙̝̹̹̘̣̻͉̪͓̹̝͍̼̻͔̫͐̑̅́͒̉́̈̇̀̓͒̈́̾̒̌̐̾͌̒̉̏͆͋̋̎̉̌́̅̀̏̚̕͜͠ͅ.̶̡̡̹͍̤̯̩͕̫̪̟̹̯̠̗̥̠̘̦͚͍͔͉̳̦̟̯̹̟̼̻̭̞̞̬̲͈̺̣̼̘͕̈́̓̆͑͊̈́̍̽͂̾̏̈́́̆̔̋̋͋́̈́̂̐̅͋̈̎͛̕͝.̴̧̨̨̹͚̝̲̪̣̳̞̞͕̼̲͙̥̦̤̘̘̟̜̦̝͔͚̝̊͐̓̋̃̏͋̑̈͋̒̅̅͆̆̓̚̚͘͠͝ͅ.̴̰̺̘̙͕̟͂̂̈̽͑Ş̸̼̫̜͎̥̩̬̝͎̝̯̫̦̗̮͕̺̮͓̝̙͐̄̋̋̑̏̎̔̄̄͝͝p̶̧̧̢̡̘͈͎̤̣͇̺̗͔͔͓̟̬̲̎̈́̎̂̄͌̑̈͒͂̾̅̋̀̂͒͒̍͆̈́̈̿͒̃̽̀̒̿̾̓̈̾̆̋̚͝͝͝ơ̷̡̧̡̰̺̳̙̮͎̫̘̞̩̳̝̭̭̠̜͎̖̘̪̖͍͉̹̣̜͎̤̫̮̤̝̤̲͓͈̫̞͎̙̝̥͛̌̿̆̀͒̽̊̉̈́̃̄̓̿̀̇̉́̅͂̌̈̽̅͌̅̀̀͆̈́̈́̉̅͐̄̾̔̎̾́͗͘̚͝͠͝ͅͅn̷̨̢̨̧̧͙̩̣͓͓̠̞̫̤̲͔̜͈͓̹̹͙͔̫̖̹̜̫̠̯̫̖͎̘̻̲̠̜̠̫̻̫̝͙̙̤̺̹̻͙͈̟͎̫̫͙̯̦͚̟̣̰͖̟̋̀͊̑͊̈́̽̐̊̉͗͘͘͜͜͠͠ͅg̵̘͎̣͓̬̥͙͍͎̝̱̰͒̈̈͆̑̐̿̂͗̉̈́̽̈́͝͝͠ȩ̴̛̛͎̖̲̹̼̻͖̭͔̯̬̯͊͛͒̿̎̇̆̌̋̿̃̄̃̒̄͋͋̊̇̏̐͋̋͗̈́̀̀̌̓̋̊̇̉̾́͋͋́̔̆̂̀̂̓̊̃͑̈͗́̈́̚̚̕̚͘̚͝͝B̸̨̢̢̡̨̨̢̹̝͎̻̫̟̳̭̬̬̘͈̦̪̹̺̫͈̯̦̘̰̱̩͚̟̠̤̣̩̙̤̩̣̤̥̰͈̦͉̫͎̱̭͔̗͎̤̯̫̦͊̃͌̅́̂͝ͅͅơ̴̧̢̨̨̡̨̨̢̪͓͚͓̤̩͔̼̥̭̟̹̞͍̦͕̝̬̟̰͚̰͇̮͖̮̘̲͈̺͕̲͕̞̤̯̫̝̖̮̭̣̠̼̗̮̻̞̿̅͒̒͂́̄̐͆̊̓͑́̅̾̅̃̂͗̈́̈́͗͛̇̿̌̊̇̄̇̃̇̂̃͘̚̕̚͜͝͝͝͠b̴̧̧̨̡̨̨̢̛̞̦̰̞͎͙̲̘̙͎̪̯͈̤̬͚̘̜̫͖̜͎̻̩͎̣͍̤̥̩͚̖̙̼̻̬̝̲̦̱̰̥̎̋͌͒̌͜ͅ.̷̢̧̛̫͇͉͍̦̖̟͔̲̱̮̳͍̟͉͕̘̮͇̱͚̖̲̺̲̼̹̣̈̽̀̄̓̈́̀͆̊̀̉̇́͐̿̈́͑̿̍̄̒̊̀͒̒̆̈́̇͌̎͆̃̉́̒̈͛̍͗̑̕͜͜͠͠͝͝.̸̧̛̞̘̠̘̘͈͚͙͍̆̋̒̈́͋̓̀̐̄͋̐̈́̆͊͂͗̄̉̾̈́̀̆͛́̆̃͊̊̈́̎̍͋͆̓͗̈́̈́́̉̌̓̂͛̋͆̇̕͘̕̕̕͠͝͠͝͠͝.̸̨̢̨̜̯̜̱̙̝̠̦͍̬̲̬̥͚͖̝̹́͐̍͌͑̄̌̅͆̊̓͐͋

10

 

[Minty Car]

Night Sponge

 

“The moon has awoken with the sleep of the Sun. The light has been broken; the spell has begun.” – Midgard Morning Star

 

Halloween 9:30 PM (Krusty Krab)

 

SpongeBob’s busy flippin Krabby Patties in the Kitchen as the Demonganza kicks into full gear.

 

“SpongeBob me boy keep them patties cookin!” Mr. Krabs command echoed through the Kitchen.

 

“You got it Mr. K!” SpongeBob yelled back. As he took a tray of eight patties out, he surveyed some of the guests: Patrick is dressed like a quail fish and talking to a visibly bored Squidward dressed as the Dutchman. Sandy and Larry, dressed as a lobster and squirrel ironically, are discussing their current workout routines. And Mr. Krabs is inspecting the restaurant like a hawk while Fred the Fish looks on in disgust. And this was only some of the turnout; over half the town seemed to be there! This made SpongeBob so excited.

 

Best party ever! What could possibly mess this up? He thought to himself.

__________________

Right across the street…

 

Sheldon Plankton usually spent his Halloweens seething in anger. Like Krabs, he hosted an annual Halloween party but it was only ever attended by two: Plankton himself and his computer wife Karen. Like every other Halloween, this was what was happening tonight.

 

“Another Halloween, another disappointment.” Karen said glumly. “Wanna start the movie?” Karen held up the box for “Swordfish Slashers” in her right robotic hand, but Plankton waves her off. “Oh no Karen, not this time.” Plankton pulled put a book with the words “Dark Spells of Bikini Bottom”

 

“Plankton, your delving into dark magic now?” Karen asked. “What for?”

 

“For the formula of course!” Plankton said. “No… far more then the formula. This is for everything throughout the years between me and Krabs!” Plankton slammed the book on the table and opened it up to a page with the words “Hash Slinging Slasher" written in it.

 

“I thought the Slasher was just a legend?” Karen asked. Plankton replied back with a maniacal laugh. “Karen honey, even legends can be brought to life with a little magic! Now help me bring in the body!” Plankton then walked into the other room and sounded visibly pained as he did so. 

 

“Coming…” Karen groaned. Rolling out with a scarecrow dummy dressed in a black cloak wearing a dark mask. After doing so, Plankton began chanting in an ancient language that bordered on downright gibberish at moments. But after over a minute of it, a swirl of darkness emerged from the book and encovered the dummy body and took form as it stood on it’s two legs and fell to the floor. It remained motionless.

 

“Dammit! This was going to be my ultimate revenge!” Plankton shouted in anger. “Oh well.” Karen shrugged. “It was a dumb plan anyhow.” But then just as soon as it seemed a failure, the creature stood tall and stared right at Plankton.

 

“YES!” Plankton shouted gleefully. “Revenge back on! Slasher, you follow my commands as I am the one who brought into the world and I can quite easily take you out of it!” The Slasher stiffly motioned over to Plankton before stopping right in front of him. “The…. Slasher obeys…” he then became motionless yet again.

 

“And yet again it fa-" Karen began.

 

“NONE!” the Slasher yelled as he stomped Plankton to death.

 

To be Continued

[RD Rockruff]

It was about midday, and Mr. Krabs’s car rolled down the hill, towards the kelp forest. Mr. Krabs, the proprietor of the Krusty Krab, had offered SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward a camping trip on a Sunday, the only day of the week that the Krusty Krab was closed. The entrance of the kelp forest appeared to look like a void from afar. The forest itself swallowed up light that entered it from above. The ultimate reason why Mr. Krabs chose this dark forest instead of a more well-traversed camping ground was likely to save money; most other camping areas would charge high rent due to having log cabins for sleeping. SpongeBob and Patrick could not hold their excitement together while in the car.
                “Yeah, road trip! This is so exciting!” SpongeBob yelled at the top of his lungs. “This is the first time I’ve gone camping in years! And this time, it won’t be just outside my house!”
                “I know, right?” Patrick replied back. The overweight starfish would shake the car several times throughout the trip to the forest with his hyperactivity, leaving Squidward heavily annoyed.
                “Why’d we bring the idiot along with us?” Squidward asked. His temper was about to boil over, evident with how tightly he gritted his teeth and leered towards the back of the car. “I mean, he doesn’t work at the Krusty Krab.”
                “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong,” Mr. Krabs replied. “From now until we get back to Bikini Bottom, Patrick is hired. He’ll only have to pay me half the cost of what I would have charged him if I didn’t hire him.”
                As they finished conversing, the car entered the dark forest. The thick entanglement of kelp blocked out all sunlight and left the four in nearly complete darkness, despite the time of day being just after noon.  The four exited the car and walked to the back of the car, opening the trunk and retrieving several items they would bring; a pack of matches, a rolled-up tent, a canteen of water, old Coral Bits for food, and a dusty old lantern. Squidward lit the lantern with gasoline, and Mr. Krabs led the group to a small clearing. This area of the forest did not appear to be much different from the rest of the dark, damp kelp forest, except for how it was more open than most of the rest of the area. Mr. Krabs and Squidward pulled pieces of kelp down to use for firewood and SpongeBob and Patrick set up the tent. After everything was set in place, the four sat around the campfire.
               “Ooh, is it scary story time?” SpongeBob asked. His excitement seemed to be increasing with each passing second. As he glanced towards the eastern side of the clearing though, SpongeBob noticed a long object extending from the forest. It seemed to be writhing out of pain or some other nervous reaction. “What is that thing over there,” he exclaimed, confusedly, “and why is it moving?”
                Mr. Krabs approached the object. “It’s a tentacle,” he yelled back over to SpongeBob and the rest of the group. After a few seconds, it stopped moving. Mr. Krabs walked along it, to find that it was not attached to anything. He picked up the now-motionless tentacle and brought it over to the campfire. SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward shuddered while looking at the still-slimy tentacle, which appeared to be a greenish color. When Mr. Krabs touched it with a stick, it burst open, leaking more slime everywhere. The slime nearly put out the campfire, but Mr. Krabs sat in the way of the slime before it could make contact with the fire. He walked away from the liquid and sat on a nearby log.
                “Mr. Krabs, do you know anything about that tentacle?” Patrick inquired. Mr. Krabs’s face grew serious, and he began talking.
                “They say, one day, many years ago, there was a kraken that would terrorize the deep,” Mr. Krabs began. “It would attack many people, leaving very few alive. Then, one day, a large lobster trap fell from the sky, and killed the kraken! However, where its body lay is still a mystery to this day. Some say it fell into a forest not unlike this one. Some say it fell into a trench. However, one thing these rumors have in common is that it is said, every 25 years, it rises from the dead as a zombie kraken, to unleash its spiritual, undead wrath upon the briny deep once again like it did all those years ago!” SpongeBob and Patrick were shaking, while Squidward sat there, unamused. “Who knows, maybe this is the forest its corpse fell into! And even worse, we don’t know if it has been 25 years since it last rose!”
                Squidward chimed in: “And you expect us to believe your fish stories while we’re on a camping trip, one of the few things I would have been looking forward to? Besides, those are just rumors! What do we know, that tentacle could have come from anything!”
                “But Squidward, that tentacle was so large!” SpongeBob replied, shaken from the story he was just told. “There’s no doubt about it; it was the Zombie Kraken!”
                “Big deal,” Squidward replied, “next thing you know the fire’s going to mysteriously go out.”
                Just then, a gust of wind blew out the fire. All four campers screamed and ran in different directions. SpongeBob ran to the northeast, Patrick to the southeast, Squidward north and Mr. Krabs west. After a few minutes, they yelled out to each other in the forest, but their calls were swallowed up in the dark entanglement of kelp. Lost, alone, afraid, all four of them knew they would have to fend for themselves in the overgrown brush. Unsteadily, they kept pressing on with their own ways, knowing they would have a low chance of seeing each other again while lost like this.
                SpongeBob, walking alone, knew he would have to find his way out somehow. The path seemed to get thicker the further he pressed on. Even though he could not see far past an arm’s length, SpongeBob was determined to get out alive. After walking for a while, he started to get tired. He sat down, before thinking to himself. He missed the people he had travelled into the dark kelp forest with, and fearing he would never see them again, he started to break into tears. Taking a second to calm himself down, SpongeBob decided to look around for them.
               “If I’m going to find them, then I’ll have to keep my eyes open,” he said as he walked into a thick part of the brush. “Gee, I wonder what time it is. If only I had brought my watch.” As he walked over to a tree, he saw a golden pocketwatch reflecting what little light there was. He grabbed the watch and looked at it, with the time reading as 3:00 PM. SpongeBob set the watch down next to where he found it. He set it onto a crushed-up pile of old bones.
                “Thank you, skeleton!” SpongeBob said to the crushed-looking skeleton. When he realized what he put the watch down onto, he yelled and leaped backwards, screaming: “A SKELETON?” He looked closer at the skeleton. Its arms were crushed, and its ribcage was also broken. Shards of bone were lying around where it sat. As he looked at the pocketwatch, he realized that this fallen fish had probably also gotten lost in the deep forest and had never escaped, at least before being crushed by an unknown body. SpongeBob started to panic, and started running in the opposite direction. As he ran, he tripped on a long, green object that appeared to be covered in a reflective film. As SpongeBob looked at it, he started to shake. He quickly bolted away from it, until he came across another one. He kept running, but kept encountering more tentacles. SpongeBob felt surrounded, as they appeared to be closing in. He feared for his life and started to run towards another part of the thick brush. Meanwhile, the others were not faring so well either…
                Patrick found himself near a deep lake. As he looked into the lake, the darkness of the kelp forest seemed to fill in the reflection of the lake. There were odd splashing sounds Patrick could hear coming from the center of the vast body of water that also resembled a body hitting water after a failed diving attempt. Patrick waded into the water, curious about what he was hearing, only to see a green tentacle rise from the lake. Fear filled his eyes as he saw it rise from right before him and stretch seemingly infinitely into the sky. Patrick ran from the tentacle, knowing he would not be able to survive if it grabbed his wet body. He dove beneath a large kelp leaf, hiding from the approaching tentacle. After several minutes, the splashing sound stopped, and Patrick stepped out from under the leaf. Deeply afraid, he decided to run off back towards the campsite, hoping he could set up another fire if he could find the matches at the clearing.
                Squidward, after getting lost, sat down beside a large tangle of kelp. It seemed slimier than most of the other “trees” within the forest, but Squidward did not mind at first. Considering what he would have to do to get home, Squidward thought about climbing up the “tree” in order to get a better view of the area. When he tried to do this, however, the surface was too slippery for him to get a grip, and he slid down.
                “Oh, if only there were a way I could get up there without falling down!” Squidward muttered to himself. “Even if it takes a little determination, I’m getting up there, no matter what!” He wrapped his tentacles around the “tree” and tried to climb, only to slide down yet again. “Well, I guess I’ll try a different tree this time,” Squidward said with some resignation, as he approached another large strand of kelp. As he grabbed onto this one, however, the one he attempted to climb beforehand started to lean over. It turned out to be another green tentacle, and it reached toward Squidward, who yelled before running away from it. While he was running, Squidward tripped over what appeared to be a large, yellow fungus at first. However, when he looked closer, Squidward realized that he had stumbled across SpongeBob. The yellow sponge looked up fearfully at Squidward, who was standing there, bewildered.
                “Squidward, I’ve been looking all over for you and everyone else!” SpongeBob exclaimed. He was cheered up by Squidward’s presence, even though the latter was already distressed from the rapidly-approaching tentacle.
                “No time,” Squidward replied, “we have to get out of here!”
                “But what about the others?”
                “We’ll deal with that when we save ourselves! Now move, there’s one chasing me right now!”
                SpongeBob ran along with Squidward once the large, green tentacle was pointed out to him. They managed to find a small cave that the tentacle could not fit into. They hid within the cavern, and the tentacle passed over it. The two were relieved, but they knew they would have to go out looking for the other two. SpongeBob and Squidward agreed to work together, even though Squidward knew he would lose his patience quickly. They exited the cave and headed out in search of Mr. Krabs.
                Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs had worked himself over to where SpongeBob originally found himself. It was getting late outside of the forest, and Mr. Krabs knew he would have to find his way out before too long. When he came across a shiny-looking object in a small puddle, Mr. Krabs could not resist reaching into the puddle to grab the object. However, when he grabbed it, the ground began to shake. What he had pinched was the end of a tentacle, and the ground broke apart when a large, green tentacle appeared from the puddle. Mr. Krabs screamed and ran away from the tentacle, as it started to tear apart more of the earth as it rapidly approached. Just then, he had bumped into Patrick, who was trying to figure out where the matches were. They reconciled, then ran before the tentacle would try to grab either of them.
               “Where have you been?” Patrick asked. “I was trying to light a match and get another fire going. This place is scary, I don’t want to be here anymore!”
                “I get that, but we have no time!” Mr. Krabs replied. “I too have been trying to get out of this dark forest, but I can’t find my car! We’ll have to keep being on the move if we want to get out alive!”
                They kept running, until they discovered the tree where SpongeBob had found the skeleton. Mr. Krabs noticed the golden pocketwatch on the crushed bones, and grabbed it. Just then, he heard discussion from afar. Listening closer, he realized it was SpongeBob who was talking.
                “…And I found an old tree with a dead guy under it!” SpongeBob said. He had a slightly fearful tone to his voice as he was describing the conditions to Squidward, who listened but was growing discontent. “And he had this pretty golden watch, but I didn’t want to take it, because he died wearing it.” SpongeBob saw Mr. Krabs grabbing the watch off of the skeleton’s neck. Mr. Krabs quickly shoved the pocketwatch out of SpongeBob’s sight. “Hey, look, it’s Mr. Krabs! And there’s Patrick!”
                “Ahoy there lad!” Mr. Krabs replied. “I just came across this here tree, and there’s this guy. But he looks dead.”
                “Mr. Krabs, where’s his watch?” SpongeBob replied, confusedly.
                “Er…. What watch?”
                “He had a golden watch. I put it near his neck.” SpongeBob gasped, then pointed at Mr. Krabs. “You didn’t steal it, did you?”
                “Me? Steal? From a dead guy? Why would I?”
                Just then, they heard a roar from deep within the forest. Patrick jumped into the tree, while Squidward gulped.
                “Guess we’d better get a move on then?” Squidward said.
                “Yep,” Mr. Krabs replied. “It sounded close.”
                Patrick sat in the tree, scared. He stayed up there until he felt a cold, slimy tap on his shoulder. A tentacle had begun to wrap around his arm, causing Patrick to yell and jump out of the tree. He joined SpongeBob, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs, who were already dashing away from the tree. As they approached the clearing where they had set up the campsite, they realized that the roar had come from the campsite. There stood a large squid-like organism. Its flesh was green and rotting, with pieces of organs sticking out. There was a lot of slime coming off of it, enough to fill the area around it. Its eyes were pitch-black, absorbing what little light was let into the forest. It let out another roar, sending the four into a panicked state. They made a break for it, running together towards the southeast corner of the clearing. Patrick grabbed the lantern as they ran past it. The Zombie Kraken rose into the air, and began to pursue the fleeing group. They entered the car, and Mr. Krabs grabbed the car keys from his wallet. As he tried to start the car, however, he realized it ran out of gas earlier due to the remaining gas being used for the lantern. The Zombie Kraken approached quickly, and Mr. Krabs was left standing there, out in the open. Without hesitation, he grabbed the pocketwatch he got from the skeletal fish and threw it towards the Kraken’s beak. It entered the Kraken, which started to choke on the golden jewelry piece. Using this as a distraction, Mr. Krabs extracted gasoline from the lantern and put it into the car’s tank. With enough gas to carry the car back to the Krusty Krab, he floored the pedal and sped back. Everyone was accounted for, but they had left the Zombie Kraken in the forest.
                Several weeks later, a news report crew had reported at the forest that a fire had started. Everything in the kelp forest had burnt down, and to this day, it is unknown how or why it happened, especially considering how fires cannot normally start underwater. However, the rumors were laid to rest and the whole ordeal was eventually forgotten by the group. However, an old trench was later discovered. What lay within it, may not be fully known for right now.

[Jjs Goodman]

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Edited October 31, 2018 by Grim