Guru Gakuto

[101 Dalmatian Street]

On a side-note, I'm thinking of revising most bits of the first season of GG, since I know feel that some things aren't done as right and some parts among the characters need to be improved. Forest of Illusions obviously doesn't need to treated from that though, but I think I'll continue this story once I go over it again and make some modifications, but it won't be as big as Z-Storm...

 

 

15. Gakuto Moon

 

The 7 kids, minus Theo, were still struggling through the strong winter and trying to stay as warm as possible.

 

“Michigan can’t be this cold along the way to the next lake,” said Mason, with feebleness in his tone, “Kaan isn’t technically like the rest of us, but he’s lucky he can fly a jet! I bet he’s cold…waiting for us…”

 

“But wait…aren’t we passing through Lake Superior?” Jason pointed out. “We might as well be somewhere else at this rate. I’ll be ready for Horacio if he comes the next time…”

 

“I guess that’s why it’s so cold,” said Jonah. “I want to be someplace else!”

 

“I think we might be in Canada now…” said David and looks over to a sign nearby. “What do you know? It looks like we’re now in Lake Nipigon…”

 

“It’s quite a small place here,” said Sierra, “We better leave where it’s not as cold, but without Kaan, we don’t have as many places to go at this point.”

 

“Bah, this is extremely worthless!” Rick exclaimed. “Of course Gakuto wouldn’t be around here! Where else are we going to expect ourselves to find him!?”

 

“Just wait, Kaan will be here soon,” said Sierra, “I can only hope, but I know he remembers that he’s in-charge of bringing back Theo.”

 

Meanwhile for Kaan, he was being tailed by most of the Scribble Seven with Doodle Painter, Doodle Melody, and Doodle Shock being farther ahead of seizing him.

 

“There’s no way the kids of Gakuto would ever be recruited with a foreign hunk with a jet plane,” said Doodle Shock.

 

“There’s no way he would be able to escape like that either,” Doodle Wizard adds.

 

“Five is better than just the three of us, but we might as well attempt to thwart Gakuto’s team,” said Doodle Swordsman, “Until I hear from how well you three are doing, Doodle Wizard and I better locate those kids.”

 

Doodle Wizard uses its magic creates a glow around him and Doodle Swordsman, conducting their way into transporting to where the 7 kids and David were.

 

“Good for them…” said Doodle Shock.

 

The 7 kids, alongside David were currently still wondering around in Lake Nipigon.

 

“What is Kaan doing right now?” Vivian asked. “It’s like he’s testing my patience.”

 

“We better find some vacancy around these parts so that we don’t have to suffer from this weather,” said Sierra.

 

Looking over from a distance, Doodle Swordsman and Doodle Wizard can be seen from the kids’ perspectives. They were both just standing there in the snow.

 

“Hey, I think I can see those two doodles over there,” Mason said, pointing over to the horizon.

 

“They’re waiting for us to make some kind of move, I bet,” Rick rushes his way to the two doodles with temper, “You just can’t stay away from us and now I’m going to tackle you two down!” He exclaims.

 

“They beat us a few times already, should we be surprised if they take us down?” Doodle Swordsman asked the wizard.

 

“Just watch and see yourself,” Doodle Wizard asserts, “This will show as an improvement from our last encounters….”

 

As Rick was about to give the Wizard a punch-out, the doodle vanished and reappeared in front of the other 6 of Gakuto’s team. Rick faces back and rushes over to the Wizard again.

 

“I can see why you’ve been blessed with wrath,” said Doodle Wizard. “May I consider attacking the doodle with the sword?”

 

“Shut up!” Rick shouts out.

 

Rick continues trying to hit Doodle Wizard, but only to keep giving him empty attacks for he kept disappearing and reappearing in other places.

 

“Are you trying to fool around with me?” Rick asked.

 

Doodle Swordsman eventually draws out his sword and focuses his eyes on the other 7 and leaving Rick out of his aim.

 

“I don’t see why we can’t fight, so we might as well try to fend him off too,” said Jason.

 

“This should be so simple, now have a hand at this here sword!” Doodle Swordsman said.

 

Doodle Swordsman dashes over to try and slice through the rest of Gakuto’s team while the team, on the other hand, attempts to start counterattacking in their best ways possible.

 

Suddenly, before Doodle Swordsman would give them an inflicting blow, a mysterious being appears in front and counterattacked through a swift palm block and kicks him about 20 yards off the spot he stood. This even causes the Doodle Wizard to stop at his tracks and furthermore, get a beating from Rick.

 

“You dare to interrupt?” Doodle Swordsman asked the extraterrestrial creature before him.

 

“I am a fighter,” the mysterious being said, “and it looks like I found my opportunity to do that.”

 

“We’re not frightened by you,” Doodle Swordsman replied, “You’re blocking my attack force on this battlefield!”

 

“Then I commence that this battle is done,” he responded and kicks the swordsman again, but for him to be cushioned on Doodle Wizard.

 

Rick retreats with his team as they all stared at the alien being, jumping in out of nowhere.

 

“That was surely scarce for a person like you to save us in the middle of danger,” said Rick.

 

“That was also rare for a situation between a group like you and a couple of weird drawings.” The mysterious being responded, “Besides, what are you all doing out in the cold?”

 

“We’re all wondering why you’re here too,” said Jonah.

 

“It’s better if we go inside the cottage I’ve rented out here, if you’re looking for some vacancy,” the unnamed alien continued.

 

To escape the cold weather, David, the 6 sins, and the unnamed alien being came inside the cottage aroused in a heated environment, much to everyone else’s delight.

 

“Anyways, I am referred to as Titan,” he introduced. “I’m out here in this place, just looking for someone…”

 

“Oh, so who is he…or her?” Sierra asked eagerly.

 

“She is usually and literally down to earth and for a while,” Titan answered, “….she went missing and I can’t find her as of yet. To explain more about myself, I came from Pisces Planet, and years ago, I have been recruited with a bunch of other friends of mine, such as Spongebob. It’s a strange and long story to go through…”

 

“Wait a minute, you know him!?” Jonah said with shock, “We have been assigned from Spongebob when Gakuto was gone. If it’s a certain girl you want, then it’s usually him that we want back!”

 

“So perhaps you all are here looking for your father?” Titan guessed. “I have no idea about someone named Gakuto, but I’ve known Spongebob ever since I’ve gotten myself special abilities called Moon Powers…”

 

“You had Moon Powers?” Mason asked. “I feel so jealous right now…”

 

“What are you names, anyways? We’re all having a nice conversation here.”

 

“I’m Sierra,” she greeted, “The rest of my friends are Rick, Jonah, Mason, Vivian, Jason, and David. We have another member named Theo who is seemingly dead and missing…I still give him the best of luck. By the way, we’re technically not entirely siblings, from what Gakuto has told us. Is that right, Rick?”

 

Sierra gives Rick a reassuring feel, making Rick rather uncomfortable. Titan was looking “weirded out.”

 

“If you think I need to be warmer, that’s fine by you…” said Rick.

 

Out in the cold winter now shows Umbriel, who now looked older since the years after she obtained Moon Powers. She wasn’t in her alleged attire, but walking around in the moonlight, pondering about somebody.

 

Wherever you are Titan, Umbriel thought, you just remember I’m out there looking for you…

 

“This isn’t the first time I’ve lost him,” Umbriel said to herself and looks directly at the moon above. “It isn’t helping that this is reminding me very much about Titan. I ought to stay strong. Worrying about him would only make me feel pathetic.”

 

Doodle Swordsman and Doodle Wizard appeared nearby, but unnoticed.

 

“This girl is a strange one,” said Doodle Swordsman. “We should be focusing on exterminating the rest of Gakuto’s kids.”

 

“That can wait for a little while,” Doodle Wizard responded, “It sounds like she’s lost something, let’s negotiate with her.”

 

“What do you mean?” The swordsman whispered.

 

“Who’s there?” Umbriel asked, having heard the voices around her.

 

Umbriel pans around from her surroundings until she was confronted by Doodle Wizard out of surprise.

 

“What are you!?” Umbriel asked again, looking panicked and puzzled at the same time.

 

“Do not fret, for I am merely a drawing…which came to life,” said Doodle Wizard. “Say, I heard you’re lost or something…”

 

“I am definitely not lost!” Umbriel responded. “But I’m here looking for someone. He came from another planet. After all these years, he was really close to me, until around this year where he was gone somehow.”

 

So that must’ve been the weird creature that pummeled me and the swordsman, the wizard thought. “I would be asking how you got separated from him, but I think I caught a glimpse of the one you’re looking for.”

 

“Are you sure?” Umbriel asked.

“Just trust us…” said Doodle Swordsman grimly once he has appeared.

 

Going back to Titan and co., he was about to head out the door.

 

“It’s nice having a bunch of guests here,” said Titan. “You all stay safe inside while I continue trying to look for “her,” or more specifically….Umbriel.”

 

Titan closed the door and walked out into the snow. The snowstorm blurred most of the distant horizons as Titan was beginning to see something unfamiliar and saw the two doodles from before as he came closer. Most importantly, Umbriel was with them.

 

“Hmmm, so that was rather easy,” said Doodle Swordsman.

 

“Umbriel, I can’t believe it’s really you!” Titan said and look over to the doodles, “Now what do you two think you’re doing with her!?”

 

“Absolutely nothing, dear alien,” Doodle Wizard responded.

 

“They’re giving me the creeps, Titan,” Umbriel said softly. “Should we fight them off?”

 

While still in the cottage, Jason sees Titan fighting against Doodle Wizard and Doodle Swordsman outside, while they were holding on to Umbriel.

 

“Guys, there’s a problem just outside and Titan’s there!” Jason announced to the other members of the group.

 

Titan was giving the two doodles a good round of hard-hitting kicks and whacks, but the two doodles don’t seem to be taking as much damage and being able to avoid most of them, usually due to Doodle Swordsman holding on to Umbriel. While Titan was still looking tired out and still fighting, the 6 kids and David stepped in and retaliated the same way Titan tries to.

 

“Don’t worry Titan, we can do this!” Mason said.

 

“Hold on, you can’t attack-“Titan was saying.

 

“Who’s this girl? Is she one of them!?” Rick asked, referring to Umbriel.

 

“Let’s crush these maggots!” Doodle Swordsman bellowed.

 

Afterwards, there was a noise going on around the battlefield, with some clashing amongst the doodles and the 6 kids. Titan just couldn’t help but sit around. The fight was going on for a short time once as Umbriel breaks away from the clutches and gives off a red glow, which resembles her aura…

 

“ENOUGH!” Umbriel exclaimed. “I can pummel you all like so if you leave me be! You two strange drawings piss off and leave me here with Titan or else I can just rip you to bits!”

 

Everybody just paused while Umbriel was all fierce.

 

“That wouldn’t be possible, but our work here is done….and to think we were actually trying to help you two,” Doodle Wizard said and uses his magic to teleport away from the cold with Doodle Swordsman.

 

“Is she Umbriel?” Sierra questioned.

 

“She probably reminds me of you when you had a falling out against Savannah,” Rick said to Sierra.

 

“And as for you kids, get out of here!” Umbriel shouted out. “I don’t care who you all are, I don’t want any more affairs between us!”

 

With that said Gakuto’s team walked away from Umbriel and Titan, only for Umbriel to lose her anger and then tell them:

 

“For the record, I am Umbriel, and I wish you all luck on whatever journey you’re going through.”

 

Outside of Lake Nipigon, the two doodles were picking up a communication with their other cooperatives.

 

“So, have you three made any progress while we stowed away?” Doodle Wizard asked.

 

Along the way, they still make some fine feathered friends, but even with a couple of henchman in the way, things get hard for them, especially when they try to continue their quest and to seek another faithful friend’s return…

 

To be continued…

---------------------------

NOTES/TRIVIA:

 

Featured location(s): Lake Nipigon, Canada

Crossover with Pisces Moon, with Titan and Umbriel making an appearance.

[101 Dalmatian Street]

Hey yo, a new episode of this spin-off is finally here:

 

16. Imagine and Invigorate

 

 

“Go on, spit it out!” Doodle Wizard says towards Doodle Shock, Doodle Melody, and Doodle Painter.

 

“We lost [Theo and Kaan],” said Doodle Painter, “I believe that Kaan guy is searching for a new resurrection hold.”

 

“Then go searching for those two again! You got all that you have in your power to destroy the Turkish one, but now you let him escape!” Doodle Wizard replied.

 

“The Sin Circle is the only restoration place we know of, so he could be anywhere now,” said Doodle Melody.

 

“Is that so?” Horacio said as he suddenly appeared behind the three doodles. “There is one place I know of, and Kaan must’ve known about this too from Spongebob and Sandy.” He held the communication device the doodles were using to speak with the wizard and the swordsman. “I’m making a new plan. One of these doodles will keep an eye on DoodleBob at the Sin Circle while I lead the two others to -- The Cave of Raised Hearts.”

 

“Then I’ll stay put,” Doodle Shock declares.

 

Back at the Sin Circle, DoodleBob stood several feet apart from Spongebob. The doodle glanced at him as he took out something that was the shape of a pencil.

 

“One use of this, and I’ll become a person like you,” said DoodleBob and took out a crystal with his other hand. “It’ll take one jab, one crystal, and a magic formula to make this possible!”

 

DoodleBob walks closer and closer before he was about to use the jab but he gets thrown into the ground by Sandy and her karate moves. DoodleBob, while trying to defend, notices Doodle Shock coming near and orders her to fend off Sandy. Doodle Shock then immediately seizes the squirrel.

 

“I feel surprised that no one has done anything to stop me from all these uprisings Horatio and I have caused,” said DoodleBob. “Horatio was a great fellow, he introduced to the power that I could use to create the Scribble Seven, this chaos, just about anything I want.” He then shows Spongebob and Sandy a pencil at his size, it had a black texture. “One day he discovered this, and when he met me, we both had ideas of how to harness this pencil’s power. Anyways, story’s over! It was nice doing business with you, my original creator….”

 

DoodleBob then uses his pencil-shaped jab on Spongebob’s arm to transfer his DNA to it. When that job was done, DoodleBob stood at the center of the Sin Circle, aiming the DNA-induced, prickly tool at the palm of his hand and a pebble on the other.

 

“Do you have that tablet, Doodle Shock?”

 

DoodleBob’s companion responses by multitasking with holding onto Sandy and tossing him the tablet DoodleBob carved out beforehand.

 

“To the magic that surrounds this circle, it is I, DoodleBob!” He called out. “And I wish for life to be brought upon me!”

 

Before the moment arrives, DoodleBob injects himself with the DNA extracted from Spongebob. He then began to see the magic from the area appearing right before his eyes. A sonic boom formed up and what Spongebob and Sandy saw then was not the exact same DoodleBob they’ve known. His flat body was expanded to resemble Spongebob’s body shape. His scrawny arms and legs were also different. He was also given color, having the same color of skin and clothes as Spongebob. The look of his eyes, nose, and having no holes are some features that make his appearance less alike from Spongebob.

 

DoodleBob took a good look at his new appearance and grinned with delight.

 

“It worked, I’m real!” DoodleBob exclaimed. “Oh and before I go, my former creator, I believe you have knowledge of another restoration place? That friend that was carrying Theo around….he must be going somewhere.”

 

“We don’t you or anybody else that’s part of your group hurting anyone!” Spongebob said.

 

“That’s too bad…I can still use this magic pencil to erase or try and kill you both!” DoodleBob continued.

 

As DoodleBob drew himself near Spongebob and Sandy, he heard the sound of a helicopter flying by. He turned around to notice Horatio piloting and the two other doodle henchmen lounging inside.

 

“You got a helicopter? Never mind that, I’m glad you wouldn’t leave me hanging!” DoodleBob said towards Horatio. “Let’s go, Doodle Shock. We got some unfinished business to take care of.”

 

Horatio flies off with DoodleBob and co. as Kaan and Theo are now shown to have entered The Cave of Raised Hearts.

 

“This is the place….” Kaan says to himself.

 

Kaan lays the unconscious Theo, with the pebble around his neck, in the center of the restoration chamber.

 

“Now how should this process work? There’s something else to it. It’s at the tip of my tongue…” said Kaan.

 

Looking around, Kaan sees an empty, dusty tablet lying around. On the other side, he sees a piece of paper attached to it.

 

The note reads: “Use this ancient tablet to summon the name of a deceased being back to life and use it with caution. Shout that person’s name and then say to bring life to that being. Place this tablet somewhere that holds the shape of it first.”

 

As directed, Kaan finds a statue with a rectangular piece that looked to be taken apart. He places the tablet on that shape and goes next to Theo at the center of the cave. (There is an opening, as the sky is viewed from above)

 

“Theodore, I give you life!” Kaan cried out.

 

A sonic boom forms around the cave as Kaan waits to see if the process worked once it cleared up. From what he’s now seeing, Theo began to take a stand, but he was limping. Kaan hurries to pick him back up and escort him out of the cave.

 

Then, DoodleBob, Horatio, and three of the doodle henchmen blocked the path.

 

“Let go of that kid, that’s all we need for you to do,” said DoodleBob.

 

“You knew where I was heading?” Kaan asked.

 

“If your other two friends try to obtain any other information on Gakuto as much as possible, we do the same,” says Horatio.

 

“Where am I?” Theo groaned.

 

“Run for your life, Theo!” Kaan exclaimed.

 

Hearing these words, Theo runs through DoodleBob and co. to try and exit the cave.

“Well…now to take care of you,” DoodleBob said as he pointed the pencil near Kaan. “You’re also apparently a friend of those 7 kids, but since you set out on their journey to take care of Theo, I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t know where they are.”

 

“Of course I don’t, but if you want to fight me, I will fight you!”

 

DoodleBob then lowers his pencil and then says, “Whoa, I don’t think I could really take you down myself….Shock, Melody, Painter, seize him!”

 

The three doodle henchman then gang up on Kaan. Kaan tries to fight his way out the doodles’ assault, but ends up getting latched by them.

 

“You’ve meddled with those kids and you’ve tried to meddle against our affairs!” DoodleBob said. “It’s time we erase you from existence!”

 

The three doodle henchmen then prepare to sock Kaan and assault him with their respective weapons. Doodle Melody’s sour notes brought down Kaan’s guard, Doodle Painter whacks him a few times with his oversized brush, and lastly, Doodle Shock’s intense shocks electrocute him. They each stopped when Kaan was no longer conscious.

 

We’ll get rid of these 7 kids one way or another, but there should be no more time to ponder around!” DoodleBob declared before he and his army hopped back on the helicopter. “We’re going to pay David a visit next, but after that, our main goal is to seek Gakuto before [the seven kids] do!”

 

In the meantime, Sierra and co. were still roaming around in the cold, and they haven’t come towards the next possible landmark.  Again, it was time to seek shelter.

 

“We’re lost….if only we didn’t have to be freezing out here!” Mason said.

 

“Still no sign of Kaan, this is pathetic,” Vivian remarked.

 

“Our one hope now is to get directions from someone else,” said Sierra. She looks around the place for cottages and pointed her finger to one that looked vacant. “Let’s try that one over there!”

 

When Sierra and co. approached the house, Sierra gives the door a knock to insure if anyone is actually inside there. Judging the windows, they could tell that the lights weren’t on. To their surprise, the door opened up with a person next to it.

 

“Do you mind if we stay inside your home?” Sierra asked.

 

“I wouldn’t call this “home,” but I’m a nice enough person to let you all in,” the person said as he revealed himself. Upon realization, his appearance looked familiar to Sierra and co. as if he were one of DoodleBob and Horatio’s creations.

 

“Sorry for asking, but do you know DoodleBob?” Jason asked.

 

“David….what are you doing here?” The person asked. “Anyways, if you want to know my history with DoodleBob, I’ll tell you about it while you make yourselves comfortable…”

 

Sierra and co. stepped inside and took a seat on a dinner table. At that time, the housekeeper turned on the lights and was fixing some food, namely a batch of bread rolls. When it was ready, the housekeeper set the rolls on the table.

 

“I want one! Can I eat them now?” Jonah questioned.

 

“Eat as much, as long as you save enough for the rest,” the doodle said.

“I’ll be the first to say that I do know this doodle,” said David. “I can’t explain this myself, but call him the “original David.””

 

“So there are two Davids? I haven’t even had the chance to meet another person with my name!” Mason remarked.

 

“Calm down, Mason,” said Sierra. “Allow us to introduce ourselves since we haven’t yet. I’m Sierra, and these are the other members of our family: Rick, Vivian, Jonah, Mason, Jason…..and there’s someone else. His name is Theo and he’s been missing for a long time now.”

 

“It’s nice to meet to all, and I am, of course, the first David,” he replied. “I’m a creation of DoodleBob’s that is part of the Scribble Seven….at least I used to be.”

 

“The Scribble Seven, you say?” Sierra questioned.

 

“DoodleBob and his friend Horatio made five other doodles to lead in part of the chaos they were creating. I was one of them and I opposed of their acts when I realized they were causing harm to people who were living in their parts. Before they abandoned me here, they created a new, younger version of me, and now you know the story,” the Original David explained.

 

“Now it’s my turn since I have to explain why I decided to stick around with you guys,” David was saying. “I’m not apparently doodle-like, because I have resurrected myself to look real. DoodleBob and Horatio don’t know why I’m like this. I just wanted to live a normal life and try to live without fear or anything. So, am I cool with you guys?”

 

“We can tell you’re against those guys, so it’s all alright!” Sierra said.

 

“The only thing I could fear right now is if DoodleBob and Horatio were here at this moment,” said David.

 

“We also want to know if there’s any means of transportation around here, so I could be able to lead ourselves out of this place,” Jason added.

 

“You sure look to be determined, Jason,” Sierra commented. “We usually have someone to give us a lift, but like Theo, we don’t know where is right now.”

 

“As a matter of fact, I do know where you can get out of this place by train,” says the Original David.

 

All of a sudden, Sierra and co. noticed the sound of a helicopter outside.

 

“Is that Kaan? That better be Kaan,” said Vivian.

 

Sierra and co., along with the Original David stepped outside to see the helicopter, not containing Kaan, but DoodleBob and his army. It’s also revealed that Doodle Wizard and Doodle Swordsman have hitched a ride.

 

“It’s them! Let’s finish them once and for all!” Rick exclaimed.

 

“Are you people going somewhere?” DoodleBob said as he shows Sierra and co. his new body. “Not when I’m around!”

 

DoodleBob lowers the chopper and hops down to grip on David.

 

“Let me go!” David cried out.

 

“Did I scare you? Now I’m just like you! Now get inside!” DoodleBob responded as he then tossed David inside the copter.

 

“As for you kids, I have another surprise….Shock, Melody, Painter, Wizard, Swordsman, I need you all to keep them company,” DoodleBob ordered as the doodle henchmen stepped out and cornered Sierra and co.

 

“Where’s Kaan? Did you do anything to him!?” Sierra asked.

 

“Kaan is dead,” said Horatio. “Like always, you can blame us for that!”

 

DoodleBob then raises the copter as up above from Sierra and co. as possible.

 

“I have no time to give specific directions, but take this map, and get out as quickly as you all could!” The Original David said, tossing it over to Jason.

 

“We’re going to save you David, just hang in there!” Sierra called out.

“I wish you luck on those Scribble Seven guys, but this might be the end for me!” David yelled back.

 

“Seven against five, we’ll tear you all into shreds!” Rick exclaimed before Sierra and co. spread out together, trying to escape from the doodle henchmen.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Steel Sponge

[101 Dalmatian Street]

17. Permanent Pen

 

Once as Rick got into a battle formation of some kind, Sierra took him by the hands to snap him out of his quick-tempered gall.

“We can’t fight them! Your life means so much to us, especially to me,” said Sierra.

 

“It doesn’t matter. I’m still going to fend them off for you all!” Rick responded.

 

“I usually don’t waste my time with fighting, but I will avenge Kaan,” Vivian added.

 

“We need to catch a train, we can’t do anything to provoke those doodles,” Sierra replied. “They’ll continue to follow us anyway, but we need time to look at the map. We also need to look for Kaan and David…I mean, we got lots to do, but let’s just focus on that.”

 

And so, the six young teens made a run from the doodles and started heading for a railway station nearby.

“So where do we have to go now?” Jonah asked.

Sierra looks up to see a travel guide and she then says, “Well, what’s the best place around these parts to look for Gakuto? There’s the Mediterranean Sea, there’s the Iceland Basin, Cape Verde, you know, some places like those. These are just a few of these places we can go to with these train tickets.”

 

“Should we at least start searching for Kaan?” Vivian suggested.

 

“Then again, we also need to rescue David, wherever he is….” Sierra mused.

 

“We might as well rescue him, for the second time. But why should we?” Rick was saying. “We still don’t even know what kind of person he is.”

 

“He said he resurrected himself somehow, he probably wanted to be with us because we’re pretty much the same in that way,” said Sierra.

 

“Whatever, but I must also point out that we haven’t been making as much progress, and all that we’ve been doing is trying to hide and escape from people like DoodleBob and Horatio who are trying to kill us!” Rick continued.

 

“Huh, that doesn’t sound like your own violent self, Rick,” Sierra replied.

 

“Of course, because there’s nobody around here for me to fight against, and we can’t even fight to protect ourselves! On the inside, it makes me want to destroy something!”

 

“Nevermind then, but even though we haven’t made as much progress, we’re still trying and fighting our way to find Gakuto. For now, we’ll have to look for Theo, because alongside Kaan, he’s missing too and he should be somewhere with him, wherever he died.”

 

Just then, the group heard the sound of a train rushing by. As it arrived at the station, the door slides open revealing Theo feeling faint. Also appearing was Trent, as Theo was wrapped around his backside.

 

“Everyone look, it’s Theo!” Mason called out.

 

Upon seeing Theo once more, the group of six ran up to him to see if he could open up his eyes. They, including Rick, showed a smile once they saw Theo waking up.

 

“Is this one of yours?” Trent asked.

“He’s part of our family, are you the one who brought him back to life, whoever you are?” Sierra asked back.

 

“The name is Trent. I was assisted by Horacio to receive information on you all, but since I have some knowledge about resurrection areas, I decided to track down someone who was apart of your group,” Trent explained.

 

“Well, this is some huge thanks, even for someone who works with the guy who’s trying to kill us,” Sierra replied.

 

“Don’t mention it, but let me assure you that I wasn’t tracking you all down for Horacio to know, since Horacio’s army was already good enough at doing just that.”

 

Afterwards, Trent stepped off the train and prepared to leave, handing Theo over to the six young teens.

 

“Wait! Where did you find Theo?” Sierra called out, showing the assistant the map. “A lone doodle gave us a map. Do you know anyplace on this map of where you found him? And did you find Kaan? Why didn’t you bring him to us?”

 

“I found Theo near a resurrection hold, which is labeled right over here on this map,” Trent answered, pointing his fingers over to a certain area crafted on the map. “I couldn’t rescue Kaan’s body since he was inside that chamber, and I couldn’t risk getting surrounded by the rest of Horacio and DoodleBob’s reinforcements, whether or not they were guarding the place. I wanted to make sure first thing that Theo would be able to return to you.”

 

“Well, we’re going to find him once we get to that resurrection place,” Sierra responded. “Certainly, Vivian wants to see his face again….”

 

“Well then….be wary of the doodle army if they ever show up…” Trent finished before leaving the station.

“We’re not afraid of them! They may take us down in a fight, but we’ll keep our heads up!”

 

Once as Trent departed from the train station, Sierra showed the train tickets and she and the rest of the group stepped inside the train, departing to Canary Island, leading to the Cave of Raised Hearts.

 

While inside the train, Theo was now completely awake.

 

“Theo….we’re glad to see you’re still alive!” Sierra said to Theo.

 

“Theo…is that my name?” Theo questioned.

“What else would it be? Are you hungry?” Sierra asked as she brought out some food and water from her and co.’s pack. “Seems like you really need something to eat or drink.”

 

Theo wasn’t completely sure what to think about Sierra’s patronage, but he helped himself with the some of the food and water she offered to him.

Half an hour has now passed inside the train as Theo appeared to be completely satisfied, but still confused.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want any more to eat?” Sierra asked. “You’re usually hungry so very often.”

 

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” Theo responded. “I also find it weird of how much you know me, because I don’t know you….and I probably don’t even know myself.”

 

Hearing what Theo had said, Sierra was left speechless.

 

“Guys, Theo is not acting like his usual self,” she has said. “He even doesn’t seem to recognize me.”

 

Mason stepped up and then said, “Well, you recognize your friend and brother Mason, right?”

 

“No….” Theo muttered.

 

“I just don’t understand this,” said Jason. “How did he come back and lose all those memories he had of us?”

 

“I’m afraid so,” Sierra murmured. “Theo….do you know the last thing that you’ve remembered or the last thing that you saw?”

 

“I was running out of some cave, because someone told me to….I saw a sea sponge and his guards, and the guards looked like they were drawn in pencil…” Theo was explaining.

 

“So you were with Kaan, but do remember what that cave looked like?” Sierra asked.

“Well, why are you asking me so many questions?” Theo asked back. “I don’t know who any of you are and what you’re all talking about!”

 

“We’ll try and explain a little bit of everything about you that we know from when you recognized us. You were not only one of us, but you were a part of our family, and that’s what matters most about you. Do you understand?”

 

Theo thought for a good moment before simply saying, “I understand.”

 

“Hey Sierra, excuse me for telling you this, but I’ve heard what that strange man said about DoodleBob’s army,” said Jonah. “I just want to let you know….that I don’t want to die. I want to live!”

 

“We all don’t want to die,” Sierra responded. “As strange as that Trent person was, I had to reassure him that I’m not afraid to face death. After all, we have our Pebbles of Life, so I believe those doodles won’t be able to destroy us, or our pebbles.”

 

As the train kept moving towards the group’s destination, David was shown staring and hanging around inside the lair of DoodleBob, in his own office. He waited until someone arrived to meet with him. It was Horacio.

 

“Hello again, my cousin,” said Horacio. “If you’re wondering why you’re so important to us now is because I want to talk to you about something – because I just remembered, you’re hiding something that you don’t want me or DoodleBob to know.”

 

“Yeah, but I won’t allow you to keep me imprisoned in here.” David retorted.

 

“Hey, if you won’t talk, I’ll be more than willing to erase you from existence and from the Scribble Seven,” Horacio argued. “DoodleBob would likely be more impatient with you, but I’m here since he’s busy right now. So tell me David, how did you make yourself so different from the other doodles?”

 

“My real name is not even David Scribblemont…” David replied. “As my cousin, you should remember my real name.”

 

“You’re right David….I mean, Giacomo. I know, it was a shame that I had to abandon my prototype who was none other than David Scribblemont and put that name onto you. So, Giacomo, can you explain me how you were able to make yourself half-fish, but also half a doodle on the inside?”

 

The now-named Giacomo refused to speak.

 

“Okay, you want me to do this the hard way and threaten your life with this eraser?” Horacio questioned.

 

“I’d like to see you try and erase me,” David/Giacomo taunted.

 

Upon those words, Horacio swung away with his pencil. With aim, he slams it unto his left arm, with no effect.

“What’s this? Is this a part of your secret!?” Horacio questioned.

“What do you think?” Giacomo responded.

 

Horacio attempted to try and erase Giacomo, but still to no avail.

 

“Why can’t I wipe you from existence!?” Horacio exclaimed.

 

“That’s something you have to find out yourself,” Giacomo retorted.

 

Striking Giacomo another time with the eraser tip, he slams on his left arm hard enough to reveal blurry, black pen ink spreading out of his wound. As it happened, Giacomo let out a yelp from pain.

 

“Okay….I’ll tell you how I became like this,” Giacomo was saying. “I was near-death when I discovered a resurrection chamber, but after I realized what is has done to me, I realized it was a special kind of magic like no other place like it had. It made me very immune. It was a moment after I was playing outside with some of my friends. I was too late to find a safe place and so I got swept away by a whirlpool. I then found myself in this circle. I was desperate to figure out the practice of resurrecting myself, and I was able to do that once I drew blood on a tablet. After that, I lost consciousness, but I regained it a moment later. As I have discovered later on, my bloodstream has been enchanted with a substance known as….permanent pen ink. From that day on, I realized that I was a lot less vulnerable.”

“Now I know why I was completely astonished once I did a test scan of you,” said Horacio. “Now….tell me where the resurrection circle is, or else, I’ll definitely erase you – and I won’t be using an eraser.”

 

“If I’m going to keep myself alive, then I’ll lead you to that chamber. No tricks, no lies, I’ll really show it to you.”

 

“Good, now stay put. In the meantime, DoodleBob and I should hear from our reinforcements on how they’ve been tracking down those brats….”

 

Eventually, the seven young teens arrived to their destination and hopped off the train. Based on what Theo saw of the Cave of Raised Hearts, he was able to lead the rest of the group to the precise location. Sierra and co. spotted Kaan lying unconscious on the ground once they entered inside the cave.

 

Sierra and co. took a moment to grieve Kaan’s loss, especially Vivian.

 

“I can’t believe he’s gone….” Vivian says. “Whoever did this to him will pay….”

 

“Looks like you all finally showed up…” a voice echoed.

 

Two shadows appeared inside the cave, later revealing Doodle Shock and Doodle Melody.

“We were two of three of the Scribble Seven that pummeled this man,” said Doodle Shock. “Since we thought you all were going to look for him, we decided to come back here and wait for our opportunity to fight you.”

 

“Well, I’ve been waiting for my opportunity as well!” Rick retorted and got in front of the two doodles before Sierra tugged him away from them.

 

“Don’t you remember what I said? We don’t have anything to defend ourselves against the doodles,” Sierra said towards Rick.

 

“They make me angry! Why won’t you let me take my anger out on them?” Rick replied.

 

“So, what do you say?” Doodle Melody said. “Are you just going to give up?”

 

“I’ll fight you both.....” Sierra uttered. “I’ll do it to defend myself and everyone else around me, and if Kaan were still here, I would do the same for him as well.”

 

“I’ll start things from here,” Doodle Shock said to Doodle Melody. “Once she gets weak, you can join in to crush her into bits.”

“As long as we have our Pebbles of Life, we won’t die at the hands of you,” said Sierra, before Doodle Melody showed off a familiar looking rifle.

 

“Yeah, go and get ‘em, Sierra!” Jonah remarked.

 

“This is the same type of weapon Horacio used to shoot through Theo’s pebble, and we came equipped with one when DoodleBob assigned us to track then kill you each,” Doodle Melody explained. “It happens to be that you’re our most likely target.”

 

At the sight of the gun, fear spread across Sierra’s body, as well as for the rest of the group.

 

“Before we do that, you will perish!” Doodle Shock said as he commenced the fight between him and Sierra.

 

Of course, Sierra was not able to do anything other than punch and kick with her best shot. By the start, Sierra was trying to dodge Doodle Shock’s attacks until the doodle got a hold of her and damaged her with an electrifying shock wave. Sierra continued to try and defend her own self and avoid while she could, as Doodle Shock eventually lands another hit, sending out another electrifying shock against her. After awhile, Sierra was starting to look faint, prompting for Doodle Melody to join in the fight with Doodle Shock. Sierra continued to stand on her feet, but that was until she was getting pummeled by Doodle Shock’s discharges and by Doodle Melody’s array of harmful musical notes. At that point, Sierra tried to continue standing, but she could now barely move from the pain that has been inflicted upon her by the two doodles. Doodle Shock then brought out the pebble-shattering gun and waited to aim and hear the sound of Sierra’s voice calling for defeat.

 

Are you done yet? You’ve made quite a fool of yourself,” said Doodle Shock.

 

“No….I’ll….still fight….” Sierra groaned.

 

The two doodles were cornering Sierra. At that moment, Sierra moved and bumped into a stone carving, of the circle formation. Next to the stone, there stood a pencil with an eraser tip. Sierra struggled to stand up now and then threatened to use the pencil against Doodle Melody, as a small streak of her body blurred before it regenerated.

 

“So you found a weakness of ours. I don’t know how it got here, but it looks like you’re ready for another round!” Doodle Shock said.

 

The fight resumes as Sierra now clashes with Doodle Shock and Doodle Melody with her eraser, striking away as particles of their bodies give off a non-visible texture before growing back. The two doodles tried to deal damage to Sierra, but she was able to avoid their attacks. After doing as she could to fight off the two doodles, Sierra pointed the eraser near Doodle Shock and had him pinned to a wall.

 

“You’re a lot fiercer than I imagined,” said Doodle Shock. “But you will not kill-“

Before Doodle Shock could say anymore, Sierra jabbed away with the eraser as swiftly as she could until he was reduced to nothing. Doodle Melody was now one doodle left behind, seeing how not one part of Shock’s body was remaining or coming back. She now stood facing the power of Sierra and co.

 

“So this is the end for me too, huh? I can still fight too!” Doodle Melody exclaimed.

Before the lone doodle could send some sour notes, Vivian jumped into action and pinned her down.

 

“Sierra, I need you to give me that pencil,” Vivian commanded. Sierra does exactly so as Vivian pointed the eraser tip near Doodle Melody.

“This is a surprise. My peers told me that you wouldn’t tend to do anything…” said Doodle Melody.

 

“That has changed since you killed Kaan, and since I realized how very important these guys are to me,” Vivian argued.

 

“Don’t take it all out on me, me and my other cooperatives had to finish off your precious friend through DoodleBob’s will,” Doodle Melody replied.

 

Vivian then pressed the eraser onto Melody, starting with the head and erasing her away until she was completely gone.

After it was all over, Sierra and co. exited the Cave of Raised Hearts.

 

“I didn’t know you had it in you,” Rick said to Sierra. “But if another one of the Scribble Seven shows up, you better save the fight for me, alright?”

 

“Yeah, that was a bit of a freak show,” Sierra responded. “Now that we have this pencil, it’s important that no one steals this, or that we end up losing it.”

 

And so, Sierra and co., not including Vivian, was heading back to the train station. The group saw Vivian as she was still standing outside of the cave.

 

“Hey Vivian, aren’t you coming?” Sierra asked.

“I feel like I need some more time with Kaan…” Vivian responded.

“Don’t worry, we will wait for you at the train station,” said Jason.

 

“Yeah, and we’ll make sure if you’re okay if you’re gone for more than an hour,” Sierra added.

 

With Sierra and co.’s approval, Vivian reentered the resurrection cave and sat next to Kaan’s lifeless body.

 

“You know…you may be dead, but if you were still alive, I wish I could tell you how much you’ve meant to me,” said Vivian. “You made me feel more like I needed to just go and do something for not only myself, but for everyone around me. After you died, I realized I’ve made myself change by how more involved I’ve become with trying to find the person who helped make me live again…”

 

As Vivian was grieving for a bit, while in tears, she eventually turned around to see the image of Kaan coming close to her.

 

“Kaan…! Wait, I thought you were lying down here, why are you standing here?” Vivian questioned.

 

“What can I say? I may be gone, but my spirit lives on,” says Kaan (?). “There’s no need to be so sad, you’ve really made yourself proud.”

 

“I know….I just really appreciated how you decided to be with us, trying to care for us and all.” Vivian replied.

 

“If it would really make you happy, you can go into the heavens with me, because that would make me happier.” Kaan (?) replied.

 

“I don’t know, I got myself a family that supports me and I need to keep supporting them. I don’t think I’m ready to face death just yet…”

 

“I see….then maybe I can show you the world of spirits like me.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

The image of Kaan then suddenly turned into the image of him holding out the same gun Shock and Melody were carrying before until the image dissolved into the view of Doodle Wizard and Horacio. Like so, Vivian was knocked out by the gunshot, as the bullet went through her Pebble of Life. As it turned out, Doodle Wizard created an illusion of Kaan’s image. As Vivian dropped down next to Kaan, Horacio then subsequently held her body with his hands, before jumping back into his copter.

 

“Looks like she really fell into our trap,” said Doodle Wizard. “Unfortunately we lost contact with Doodle Shock and Doodle Melody though. It makes me wonder if those kids are actually carrying some sort of power under their sleeves. So what should we do with the girl?”

 

“She’s going to stay hidden with us for now...” Horacio concluded as he and Doodle Wizard flew off from the cave.

 

To be continued….

[101 Dalmatian Street]

18. Doodle Madness

 

The six kids were seen waiting around the railway station for Vivian to return.

“I understand how important Kaan is to her, but it’s been half an hour and she hasn’t come back yet,” said Rick.

“Then we better head back to that cave and see what she’s up to,” Sierra suggested as the group started heading their way back to the resurrection chamber.

However, once they returned, they noticed something peculiar.

 

“Vivian, Vivian!” Sierra hollered from the outside.

 

Sierra and co. continued to try and call out her name, but they didn’t receive an answer. This led to the group going inside the cave to then see the place deserted.

“Unbelievable….Vivian is gone!” Sierra said.

 

“Yeah, and I don’t see Kaan’s body lying around either,” Jason pointed out. “We got a mystery on our hands.”

 

“Or….” Sierra was saying, “She was abducted by Horacio, DoodleBob, and their army!”

 

“Are you sure?” Mason asked.

 

“Well this is just great, now we have Vivian to worry about,” Rick complained. “We got so many different issues to deal with and I won’t STAND IT ANYMORE with DoodleBob and Horacio slowing us down!”

“Take it easy, Rick!” Sierra cautioned. “This is a bad time, but we’ll still have to focus on our task to search for Gakuto! Now let’s all head back to the train station.”

 

“Or you could confront Horacio and DoodleBob to get Vivian and your friend back,” Rick suggested, “or are you afraid?”

 

“I’m not afraid! Those two have so much power, that it’s just not safe for us to go after them,” Sierra replied.

“I don’t care,” Rick grumbled, “So far, we haven’t got close to reaching our goals. Besides, you have a magic pencil of your own now, so why can’t you use it as a threat against those jerk-offs!?”

 

“Having this pencil is a huge responsibility…and I suggest we find some help first.”

 

“Fine, do whatever you want. I should’ve realized that when I noticed that I’m not the leader here.”

 

“Yeah, why does she get to be the leader?” Mason uttered. “I’ve always wanted to be a leader…”

 

“We can continue bickering once we head back to the train station,” said Sierra.

 

As directed by Sierra, the group came back to the train station.

 

“Now hold on just a minute, where else do we have to go?” Rick questioned. “All we can really do now is infiltrating Horacio and DoodleBob’s lair, wherever it is.”

 

“Yeah, I want to show those two jerks what we’re made of!” Jonah exclaimed.

“Look, I know there’s too much to worry about at the moment, but let’s find some help,” said Sierra. “Take a look at this map….”

 

Sierra and co. gazed upon the map and glued their attention to the set of markings that formed a star shape.

 

“According to this map, we should be right here,” Sierra continued. “Judging by these markings, it should give us a clue that these are landmarks, just like that cave. So I’m suggesting that we should head for our next landmark, does that sound good?”

 

Everyone simply nodded in response, except for Rick.

“Alright, now let’s go!”

 

Back inside the lair, David/Giacomo was waiting around in his prison room, silently. His mind then became aroused, turning his head around to notice someone opening up the door. It was revealed to be Horacio carrying the lifeless bodies of Vivian and Kaan on his shoulders, before he planted them in a corner, alone with Giacomo. Giacomo saw the crack in Vivian’s Pebble of Life, feeling skittish.

“What did you do?” Giacomo questioned.

 

“I’m sorry, she was your friend?” Horacio asked, referring to Vivian. “I pity you.”

 

“No you don’t…” Giacomo argued, “You know, sometimes…I just wonder why I’m a part of your family! What does your side of the family even think of you!?”

 

“I wonder as well, and I’d like to assure you that my family loved me, for as long as they lived to see me,” Horacio deadpanned. “Well, DoodleBob and I are off to Bikini Bottom. You stay put here, because if I realize that you escaped after I make the big announcement, then I will hunt you down…and maybe even kill you….”

 

Giacomo did nothing else but look at his cousin in fear, waiting for him to leave the room.

“But you know, I might be getting ahead of myself,” said Horacio. “DoodleBob wouldn’t like it if I got rid of you. Anyways, I’ll talk with you later…”

 

Horacio left Giacomo alone in his cell before coming inside DoodleBob’s office.

 

“Do you have anything to report?” DoodleBob asked.

 

“You bet I have, and I even caught the moment to get rid of one of Gakuto’s kids,” Horacio responded, “The lazy one is dead, but from the looks of it, Doodle Shock and Doodle Melody have been wiped out since I’ve lost contact with them.”

 

“That’s a real shame. So, how did those kids destroy two of my doodles?” DoodleBob continued.

“I don’t know how, but if they really did destroy them, then we need to keep an eye on them. Other than that, David gave me away his secret of staying alive, and it has to do with one of the resurrection holds.”

 

“Ha, I knew David was useful for something.”

“It’s hard trying to keep him among the Scribble Seven. He’s such a kid, refusing to do what I tell him to do.”

 

“We may have two less doodles on our side, but I need you to assign Doodle Painter and Doodle Swordsman to track down Gakuto’s kids.”

 

“Right away, after the initiation of your biggest plan.”

 

“Indeed, and we’ll be departing soon to Bikini Bottom…”

 

Momentarily, Horacio and DoodleBob took off by helicopter to fly over to Bikini Bottom, near Mayor SpongeBob’s office. Once as Horacio and DoodleBob landed on Bikini Bottom soil, they both exited out of the aircraft. DoodleBob hopped out with a bullhorn.

 

“Everyone, may I have your attention?” DoodleBob was saying.

 

SpongeBob and Sandy fervently exited the mayoral office to see the fuss that the doodle was getting on about. By then, the rest of the Bikini Bottomites gathered around to see DoodleBob and Horacio.

“I have appeared to spread a message through this town that you’ve all been warned,” DoodleBob announced. “I have finished my project for a nuclear weapon, and I have set a day for a test strike, which will happen sooner than later. I’d also like to confirm that Horacio has discovered a way of making me invulnerable, as will we also begin our search for the supposed resurrection circle. After the testing of the weapon is completed, this place will face its darkest hour, and soon you will all be erased! And there is no force in this ocean that will stop me, or Horacio. Not even Gakuto’s kids will save you now – because, guess what? My fellow associate Horacio has already taken one down! Now that I have taken the time to deliver this emergency message, I bid you all farewell…”

 

Immediately after delivering the memo, DoodleBob and Horacio went back inside their aircraft and flew off. The Bikini Bottomites’ faces were all express with complete fear and terror.

“Well….it has come to my attention that my old doodle is going to launch an attack on Bikini Bottom,” said SpongeBob. “I know how deeply concerned you folks feel, but we can’t give up on hope. The rest of Gakuto’s kids are still alive and kicking, and they shall represent hope for the doodle’s reign of terror to come to an end.”

 

“What about Gakuto?” One of the citizens uttered.

 

“Leave it all up to those kids,” SpongeBob responded. “If they don’t survive, then that doesn’t mean we won’t fight! Are you with me?” The crowd cheered in response. “In time, I will have a plan that will surely protect Bikini Bottom, and possibly protect everyone all across the ocean.”

 

Meanwhile, Sierra and co. reached the next stop after hitching a ride on the train. They found themselves in a town that looked deserted.

 

“This is spooky,” Jonah remarked.

“Yeah, but hopefully we’ll be safe from the doodles here, and find some help as well,” said Sierra.

 

After wandering around all over the town, not one person seemed to be in sight. However, some houses had light filtering the rooms, but the doors were locked. While Sierra and co. were still looking around, the group heard a door creaking open. The individual’s face was shadowed, before being illuminated, revealing….

 

“Hey, aren’t you….?” Rick was saying.

 

“You all remember me, Kaiden, don’t you?” He said. “Make yourselves useful inside, seriously.”

 

As directed, Sierra and co. stepped inside Kaiden’s estate.

 

“I’m surprised that you’re giving us some hospitality,” said Sierra. “In fact, I’m even surprised that you recognized us.”

 

“Yeah, after conjuring a few mistakes and trying to take you guys out, consider me a changed man,” said Kaiden, offering Sierra and co. mugs of hot chocolate. “You see, I oppose Horacio and DoodleBob, just like you kids.”

 

“I understand, but you went out of your head by setting up a war camp and force people into soldiers…” said Jason.

 

“Yes, I’ve realized that, but since that you’re all here with me…” Kaiden responded before he noticed another certain someone coming downstairs.

 

“Hey, what are they doing here!?” Jordan exclaimed.

 

“You know these people?” Kaiden questioned. “From what I’ve heard, these are the children of the legend Gakuto.”

 

“I don’t care, they’ve given me some hell lately,” said Jordan.

“As I should’ve mentioned, this is my little brother Jordan,” Kaiden pointed out.

 

“So now we have to spend the day with him? He’s an ass,” Rick remarked.

“I’m going to make you eat those words,” Jordan retorted. “It was your fault for making Savannah put me out of the picture, and I hardly even knew you then!”

“You know, I just remembered the last time I saw you, and you were trying to kill me!” Rick argued. “You want another fight? We can do it right here, right now!”

 

“Now that’s enough!” Kaiden cried out. “There isn’t going to be any drama as long as I’m here. Besides, Jordan and I are going to be leaving tomorrow next morning, so I hope you’re all fine with watching this house for me.”

 

“Huh, where are you going?” Sierra asked.

 

“Jordan and I are going to go out to hunt for some doodles,” Kaiden answered.

 

“So it looks like your brother is in it with us too?” Sierra replied.

 

“I guess you can say that. Things haven’t been the same since our parents got killed by Horacio, outside of this very house,” Kaiden explained. “It happened about half a year ago.”

 

“Yeah, if there’s something you should know about doodles, they are drawn without hearts,” Jordan added.

 

“But then you got Horacio, who isn’t really a doodle…” Sierra pointed out.

 

“That is true, but still, he’s sided with the doodles and we can’t suffer this war any longer,” said Kaiden. “Say, aren’t you missing a person?”

 

“We’re missing Vivian. Just a day ago, she disappeared without a trace,” Sierra responded.

 

“Hmmm….I’m amusing Horacio and the doodles have caught up to her and killed her, but what do I know? Well, goodnight to you all.”

 

The next morning, Kaiden and Jordan got up earlier than Sierra and co. to prepare for the hunt, before leaving the house to Gakuto’s kids. Eventually, Jason got up, before the rest of the group did.

 

“Sierra, I feel like talking to you about something I’ve had in mind,” said Jason.

 

“Really…what is it?” Sierra asked.

“For a long while, I’ve been thinking about my self-being and purpose after being alive again,” Jason explained. “I think I would be able to fulfill that purpose if I go against Horacio and his goons sooner than later.”

“So, what are you talking about?” Sierra replied.

“I haven’t done as much fighting, but I have this feeling that I would be able to take down Horacio, DoodleBob, and their army by myself,” Jason replied. “I’m proud enough for that.”

 

Sierra was looking very shocked and confused at the same time. “Are you joshing with me?”

 

“I’m being serious, Sierra. I want to tackle those guys by myself!”

 

“We’ve lost Vivian, we can’t lose you too!”

 

“I won’t die…this I promise. In fact, I’m going to join the hunt for Horacio and those doodles right now!”

 

Like so, Jason immediately headed out the home, running off to find his enemies.

 

“There goes Jason…” says Mason.

 

“Whatever happens, we’re coming for him. It’s dangerous for him out there alone,” said Sierra.

 

“It’s just not fair though! He gets to be alone, but I don’t?” Mason uttered. “I don’t want to be the last to defeat Horacio!”

 

“Yeah, I want to defeat him and the doodles too!” Jonah added.

 

With that, the other two kids promptly left the house, the same as Jason.

 

“Ugh, this is a disaster!” Sierra exclaimed. “I don’t know where they’re heading, but we need to catch up with them, now.”

 

Afterwards, Sierra escorted Rick and Theo out of the home to search for Jason, Mason, and Jonah. Eventually, Jason found himself face to face with Doodle Swordsman and Doodle Painter.

“Heh, look who’s all alone now,” said Doodle Painter.

 

“No matter, I can take you both on!” Jason said.

 

“I’ll slice you up good.” Doodle Swordsman tormented.

 

The battle between the two doodles initiated immediately as Jason leaped in front of Doodle Painter. He gets easily kicked out of the curb when Swordsman swings his blade across the field. Thereafter, Painter creates a live painting of a cannonball, firing iron balls at Jason. As Jason already looked seriously injured, he managed to keep his stance.

“What was your plan, child?” Doodle Painter asked.

 

“I’m going to fulfill my pride in defeating you, nothing personal!” Jason commented.

 

And so, Jason kept trying to attack the two doodles, but in the moments, he kept getting injured through Swordsman’s slashing and dashing and Doodle Painter unleashing more creations that included a tidal wave, a twister, a stampede, and a sword of his own. Jason still kept moving forward, as he faced the Swordsman and the Painter trying to slash through his body. Jason was able to dodge a few times, but in the end, he was still outmatched by the doodles.

 

“You’re worthless. It’s time to end you for good!” Doodle Swordsman said.

Before Swordsman was going to put out his final blow on Jason, Jonah and Mason arrived at the battle.

“We’re here to challenge you!” Mason cried out.

 

“Yeah, a fight you want is a fight I want!” Jonah exclaimed.

 

Room for two more….this will be fun,” Doodle Painter muttered.

 

The battle continues as Jonah and Mason join the fray. However, they pick up the same strategy as Jason’s as they try to provoke with their bare hands and feet. Doodle Swordsman was able to tackle against them with a few rounds of hacking and slashing, as does Doodle Painter, who conjures a live painting of a wrecking ball. Painter also creates a ring of fire around him and the Swordsman.

 

“You call this a fight, huh?” Doodle Swordsman said, now pointing his sword close to Jason’s Pebble of Life.

 

“Would you say that you have fulfilled your purpose?” Doodle Painter questioned.

“Never, I can still....keep going….” Jason groaned. He tried to stand up, but dropped himself down to the dust, unable to move any more.

 

“Jason, hang in there!” Jonah cried out.

 

“I need…pride!” Jason grunted, before Doodle Swordsman pieced his blade through his Pebble and Life, as well as going through his neck.

Jonah and Mason saw their family member going out in flames in sheer horror. After seeing Jason demolished, Doodle Painter pointed his weapon near Mason.

 

“And as for you….” Doodle Painter spoke. “Don’t you have a final request?”

 

“I would be lucky enough to still be able to live…” said Mason. “I envy the both of you, since you’re such excellent fighters.”

 

“Would it make you feel better if you would be able to join forces with us?” Doodle Painter replied. “We promise that we’ll spare your life, that way.”

 

“Mason, what are you doing?” Jonah asked.

 

“I’m not going to fight you. I want to be a better fighter!” Mason responded. “As long as you don’t hurt Jonah, please…”

 

“I see….but if you could only see through my ruse!” Doodle Painter exclaimed before he uses his brush to create a drill to slice through Mason’s neck and his pebble, demolishing him as well.

 

Having to see the horror, Jonah, who was on her knees, got up and quickly ran off from the battlefield in tears. A minute then passes as Sierra, Rick, and Theo confronted the two doodles. The next thing each of them noticed was Jason and Mason lying on the ground, unconscious.

 

“Jason….Mason…” Sierra muttered. Tears started to build-up on her eyes. “We’re too late…”

 

“What did you do to them?” Rick said towards the doodles. “ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!”

 

“We had to do what we are assigned to do,” said Doodle Painter. “We didn’t even need to use the pebble-shattering gun.”

 

“Where’s Jonah?” Sierra asked in tears.

 

“She ran away from us, but that’s the least of our worries now,” said Doodle Swordsman.

 

“And that means Vivian didn’t disappear, and that Horacio or DoodleBob killed her….” Rick continued.

 

“It’s true,” Doodle Painter proclaimed.

 

Rick then promptly snagged the magic pencil from Sierra’s hands, before he shouted out: “I’ll make weep in pain. YOU SHALL BOTH DIE!”

 

With the force of the magic pencil and Rick’s enraged fury, he passes through Painter’s safeguard and strikes away with the pencil, dodging the attacks from the two doodles every chance that he could get before he manages to completely erase Swordsman and Painter out of existence.

 

Rick bent down to his knees and took a series of breaths after his fight was over. From what he and Sierra have just realized, their lives are in more danger than they imagined.

 

To be continued….

[101 Dalmatian Street]

19. Nuclear Paperback

 

After the fight was over, Jordan and Kaiden rushed over to find Sierra and Rick, alongside Mason and Jason dead on the ground.

“What happened? Did DoodleBob’s goons show up?” Kaiden asked.

 

“Yes, but it’s a little worse than that,” Sierra said, showing the two unconscious bodies of Mason and Jason. “One of them said that Jonah ran off, so now we need to find her.”

 

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Rick said. “We can’t let anyone lay their hands on Jonah, because if someone does, I will finish him!”

 

Jonah was running along a path that was leading her into a certain kelp forest. She was crying out of sheer terror and kept moving until she brought herself down to her knees. She left herself all alone to mourn. She was alone until Doodle Wizard spotted her and sneaked close to her.

 

“You dear fellow, why are you so sad?” Doodle Wizard questioned.

“Mason and Jason…” Jonah sniffed. “They’re gone, and they were my friends and family! I don’t want to die next…”

 

“I understand that you feel this way, but remember you have been like that before you had this Pebble of Life harnessed around your neck,” Doodle Wizard replied. “It’s not your fault…”

“But you’re just one of those doodles who want me dead....” Jonah replied.

 

“Yes, and sadly I have to do what I am assigned to do,” said Doodle Wizard. He then fetched out his revolver that he used against Vivian. “If it’s fine by you, I’ll take out your life in the name of mercy.”

 

Jonah, still covered in tears, now felt hassled by the Wizard’s offer to take out her life easy. The Wizard was about to put her Pebble of Life at gunpoint before Sierra, Rick, Theo, Jordan, and Kaiden showed up at the knick of time to find Jonah near one of the Scribble Seven.

 

“Hey, back off!” Rick said towards Doodle Wizard, swiftly kicking the gun off his hands. “Keep your hands off her…”

 

“Oh, but I can’t,” Doodle Wizard replied, “You see, Jonah has already made up her mind about her own life.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Sierra inquired.

“How about you answer my question first? You took out two of my other cooperatives with that pencil, didn’t you?” Doodle Wizard asked, referring to the pencil in Rick’s hands.

 

“That wasn’t my doing, but Rick freaked out and just erased them,” Sierra responded.

 

“I see, but from what I realized, they have taken out two of your other friends. I’m addressing that because DoodleBob and Horacio have originally been planning to use a nuclear weapon that could kill you one by one when it makes contact in your area,” Doodle Wizard explained. “They grew impatient, attempted to get of Theo, and they assigned Painter and Swordsman to off Jason and Mason. Then you got me, as I helped kill Vivian.”

 

Upon the doodle’s words, Sierra and co.’s faces expressed absolute fear and shock.

 

“So here’s my warning to you that they’re going to be coming for you. The impact from the weapon will erase anything within its radius. All you can do now is run…”

 

“I’m not running without a fight!” Rick exclaimed.

 

“Fair enough, I’ve said too much already,” said Doodle Wizard.

 

Meanwhile, DoodleBob, Horacio, and David/Giacomo arrived at the site of the sin circle, which was enchanted by the power of permanent pen.

 

“Are you sure that this is the exact place?” DoodleBob asked Giacomo.

 

“It’s the honest truth, Horacio already told me I can’t play any tricks,” Giacomo answered.

 

“So how does this work?” DoodleBob questioned.

 

“The most important thing you’ll always need to perform any sort of resurrection technique: your blood,” said Giacomo. “Do you really believe replacing your vital fluid with permanent pen will make you live forever?”

 

“A magic pencil has more than the capable to create and rid away live drawings,” DoodleBob replied. “Thanks to your little secret, having this power will make me invulnerable, for sure!”

 

DoodleBob steps on the platform of the resurrection chamber and started to draw his own blood and paint a rune.

 

“Do you know the spell?” DoodleBob asked, once again towards Giacomo.

 

“Honestly, I don’t seem to remember.” Giacomo responded. “I guess we’ll have to forget about it…”

 

“Well luckily, I brought a book on everything I need to know about resurrection spells,” said Horacio, holding out the precise book. “Just say the words “Permanent pen, bring me to life!” and you’re all set.”

 

Giacomo went totally pale. He had to think about something else to do to stop the enchantment.

 

“Wait!” He uttered, before DoodleBob could continue the process. “What if this doesn’t work? DoodleBob pretty much has the same blood DNA as SpongeBob, so there might be an issue there.”

 

“The spell should work if it has worked for you,” said Horacio, before giving Giacomo a stern look. “Don’t tell me you’re lying….”

 

“No…” Giacomo muttered. “So what use do I have now?”

“You’re free to do what all your other members of the Scribble Seven family are assigned to do and hunt down those seven kids,” Horacio replied.

 

“Except they’re my friends,” Giacomo replied. “You never even tried to make me a killer, compared to the other doodles.”

 

“You’re right. Hell, you were dead to me since you came back to me and I found out about your doodle blood. Besides, I shouldn’t even worry about having to capture and kill the rest of Gakuto’s kids when I have a nuclear weapon on my side.”

 

Giacomo was stunned, but of course, Horacio was still acting bitter as he did for some time.

 

“So, what are you saying…?”

 

“Just leave, David! Leave.” Horacio continued. “I have no use for you anymore. I don’t want you in my sight.”

 

Giacomo just didn’t say anything in response. He headed out of the resurrection area and headed for the woods.

“Now can I do this whole ritual?” DoodleBob asked Horacio.

“David is such a handful. At least I don’t have to worry about him anymore,” Horacio responded. “I suppose I have to kill you in order for this process to work. The process we’ve done to make you a body worked because you were merely a drawing….”

 

“The suspense is killing me, just let me say the words, and I’ll have the power of permanent pen!” DoodleBob exclaimed.

“Sure, but I’ll still have to kill you in the process.”

 

Horacio then retrieved his gun and pointed it at DoodleBob before shooting him. Blood was being spread across the chamber.

 

“I hope you have time to recite the spell before you’re left off to die,” said Horacio.

 

“Why did you do this?” DoodleBob groaned.

 

“But this is what needs to be done if you want permanent pen in your system. Also, the truth is….I didn’t want to keep helping you. I have a different plan in mind.”

 

DoodleBob tried to speak, but his mouth started to drench with blood.
 

“I do encourage you to work the spell, so just say the words. From here on now, my plan is focused on destroying every resurrection circle all across the ocean,” Horacio continued, “and I won’t let you get in the way.”

 

“Perma-permanent….pen: bring me…life!” DoodleBob muttered, before he began to lose consciousness.

 

A few minutes passed and DoodleBob was still lying dead in the circle, as the spell didn’t seem to take effect.

 

“So that’s it, then…” Horacio said before he returned to his helicopter.

 

He returned to his hideout, dragging around the nuclear weapon, constructing it onto the helicopter. Afterwards, he dragged Vivian’s body behind him and put her behind the seats. Horacio then turned on his radar, to see if any of the seven kids were near the device’s trajectory. Horacio flew around until the radar indicated that he was near sight of Sierra and co. He appeared above ground of the town that Sierra and co. have last made a stop at. The kelp jungle, which the young teens had run off to, was also near Horacio’s sight. Horacio took another look at the view and at his radar, which now determined for him that the rest of Gakuto’s kids are in the jungle. Citizens of the town saw the helicopter, carrying the nuclear weapon, overhead, and they all stepped outside to hear about all the fuss that Horacio had to share.

 

“Attention everyone, in an hour or so, this bomb will be dropped,” Horacio announced. “It has the power to erase any object on impact, so I’d advise you all to find a place below ground to avoid exposure from the bomb’s blast. I am doing this action in the name of mercy. It is only my intention for now to get rid of the kids of Gakuto and all the resurrection chambers all around the ocean. Farewell.”

 

Prior to Horacio leaving the resurrection circle, Rick had started his fight with Doodle Wizard. Rick’s main strategy was to simply catch Doodle Wizard to erase him, but of course, he has gotten himself worn out from Wizard’s teleportation, plasma blast, and energy wall spells.

 

“Are you still trying to put up a fight with me?” Doodle Wizard questioned.

 

“Shut up….I just wanted to take Jonah back from you!” Rick moaned.

 

“I guess I’ll have to move on from here…” said Jordan.

 

“You just don’t understand. Do you even know how it feels to lose the hope to live?” Doodle Wizard asked.

 

Rick continued to gasp for breath before he then lowered down the magic pencil.

 

“What?”

 

“Jonah expresses utter fear and she is incapable of picking a side. Even though, she feels safe from someone who can make her feel safe,” Doodle Wizard explained. “She said that if she would die, she wouldn’t mind dying out of mercy.”

“It’s true…” Jonah murmured.

 

“Just come over to us, Jonah! We won’t let anything hurt you!” Sierra said.

 

“Yeah, come on! You can’t just listen to that doodle!” Rick exclaimed.

 

Jonah walked closer to Sierra and co.’s side, but Doodle Wizard blocked her with a magic shield.

 

“Hey, whatever I want is what I get!” Jonah said towards Doodle Wizard.

 

“But you made a decision,” said Doodle Wizard. “Now, I’ll let you guys in about some things: whichever situation Jonah will face, she will end up being hurt, whether it be a mercy kill or if I just let her go in the face of the destruction of DoodleBob’s bomb, I don’t think I can afford to have her killed, even if I’m only ever assigned to hunt down the seven children enchanted by the seven deadly sins.”

 

“The seven sins…?” Sierra asked.

 

“You haven’t crossed your minds with that little detail? Look, what I am saying is that that contrary to what DoodleBob has made of the Scribble Seven, even doodles can have hearts too.”

 

“Stop talking! We lost, okay!? I’m not going to let go until you let Jonah go!” Rick exclaimed.

 

“But the fight against Horacio and DoodleBob isn’t over,” Doodle Wizard continued. “I also happen to be a part of that fight, but I’m willing accept the fact that I lost. If you haven’t got it now, DoodleBob practically forced me to be a fighting machine! I never wanted to be trained to kill, especially for a group of people as petty as Gakuto’s children! And this is nothing but the truth!”

 

Sierra and co. stood in silence upon Wizard’s sincere tone in his voice. Rick was still acting tense, however.

 

“Well, I don’t care! You’re going to be erased as soon as you’re willing to keep fighting!” Rick said.

 

“Then go ahead and erase me! I am going to be erased anyways, if you couldn’t already tell,” Doodle Wizard replied and then pointed over to Horacio’s helicopter in the distance. “That’s him over there, with the weapon. Any object touched upon its impact will be erased. It’s not too late for you all to run away from the incoming blast.”

 

“You tried to kill us a few times, so why I should I even trust you that you actually don’t want to kill us?” Rick replied.

 

“Just take a look at who else I found in this forest, I ensured to keep her alive.”

 

The Doodle Wizard scooted back to revealed a familiar face. It was Savannah.

 

“Savannah!” Rick and Jordan exclaimed.

 

“Jordan, Rick, Sierra…you’re all here?” Savannah questioned.

 

“Savannah, I’m sorry for getting you into this kind of trouble!” Jordan said. “Also, the way I’ve acted towards Rick and almost killed him….yeah, I’ve really changed since.”

 

“No, I was the dumb one. I acted like a jerk in front of Sierra and her friends…” Savannah replied. “By the way, I ended up here because I needed some peace of mind. It’s just nice to see you two guys again.”

 

“You still love me, right?” Rick asked.

 

“I’ve gotten myself into a hassle enough times to just stop forming new relationships, but you and Jordan are both great guys. It’s better for me that way.”

 

“Well, you should get back to your own home. Your parents must be really worried about you!” Jordan said.

 

“If you don’t mind if I could spare a moment, Savannah, I also apologize for my actions,” said Sierra.

 

Sierra turned her head to see Sierra. She nodded in agreement saying, “It’s fine. Some people can be pretty jealous sometimes.”

 

“Yeah, and I think I just realized something…” Rick said before pointing the magic pencil near Sierra. “This was your fault! Because of your jealousy, Savannah had to suffer!”

 

“What the heck are you doing!?” Sierra exclaimed.

 

“These days I feel like you shouldn’t be leader of our group, because our little adventures not only got us into trouble, but it made things harder for everyone else: Savannah, Kaan, and even Jonah!” Rick argued. “And besides, I’m also starting to realize that you had a thing for me, and we were like family!”

 

“Heh, I didn’t think that I’d turn this into an endearing and hostile moment,” Doodle Wizard added.

 

“Hey, you want to continue to fight me, or what?” Rick inquired towards the wizard.

 

“I’m not your problem anymore, so you technically win this fight,” Doodle Wizard replied.

 

“Well, whoever’s going down next, it should be Sierra! This is for Savannah’s own sake…” Rick continued, holding the magic pencil a little closer to Sierra.

“Calm down, I said I wasn’t mad at her anymore!” Sierra retorted. “At least sometimes, I think about how Savannah must’ve been feeling since that fall out.”

 

“She’s right, it’s not her fault!” Savannah uttered. “I was hostile towards her, so I’m to blame. There’s no use trying to erase Sierra from existence!”

 

“I’ll even admit it that I’m to blame for exposing Savannah as an infidel and all,” Jordan added.

Momentarily, Rick let go of the magic pencil.

 

“See what happens when you act on impulse based on your own sin?” Doodle Wizard said towards Rick, making him a little agitated.

 

Suddenly, everyone felt a tremor on the ground below their feet. It was a warning sign of Horacio’s nuclear attack. Instantly, Doodle Wizard turned off the shield before Jonah ran up to Sierra and co.

“The bomb….it’s coming,” said Doodle Wizard. “Hey, take my advice and run out of this forest. Just run before you get caught in the blast! My magic won’t do well against this, but I’ll try!”

 

Following Doodle Wizard’s advice, Sierra and co. made a run from the incoming nuke while Doodle Wizard stayed behind. In a matter of two minutes, Jordan, Kaiden, and Savannah were struggling to catch up.

 

“Hey, if I don’t make it alive, you can take care of Savannah for me,” Rick said to Jordan.

 

“I’ll try and protect her, but what if neither of us survives?” Jordan asked.

 

Rick quickly ran up to Savannah and he then said to her, “Thanks for everything, and thanks for making me feel more in-control of my own personality!”

 

“I got a hold on you Savannah, don’t worry!” Jordan said.

“Right back at you, little brother,” Kaiden added.

 

As Rick ran back to Sierra and the remains of her group, he could see the blast of the bomb starting to impact the forestry. The chaos has since begun.

 

Doodle Wizard waited until he could embrace the danger. Along with the all the kelp trees and the unconscious bodies of Jason and Mason, Doodle Wizard faded away. Earlier, back in town, some civilians without shelter were affected by the blast, including Vivian’s lifeless body. Objects such as houses could be seen disappearing, leaving the earth and sky intact. Sierra and co. were still running, but Rick began to slow down when he saw not only Jordan and Kaiden being affected by the blast, but also Savannah. Just like that, they were gone.

 

Sierra noticed that Rick was losing speed, as she tried to get Rick back at his pace, but it was too late. The blast continued to travel through and Sierra knew that she had quickly get away and let Rick decide to let himself go – but most specifically, to where Savannah was.

 

Left behind were Sierra, Jonah, and Theo, as they were still trying to run as fast as they could, away from the bomb’s blast. Unfortunately, within time, Theo and Jonah were tiring out while Sierra kept on going. Sierra watched as the two tried to regain their pace, but the bomb’s blast eventually got to them. Sierra continued to run until she lost her balance. The blast was ten feet close to Sierra, before it eventually stopped.

 

Minutes have passed and Sierra was in a dreadful state. Everything behind her was now gone. Her friends, her blood brothers and sisters, it was all gone. Out of exhaustion, her vision and hearing were fuzzing up, before she let out a scream that she couldn’t hear herself make. She eventually planted herself on the ground, too frightened to regain mobility.

 

Back at SpongeBob’s office, he was looking half-asleep on his desk while watching the news about Horacio and DoodleBob’s nuclear attack.

 

“Why has the world come to this, Mr. Squarepants,” SpongeBob spoke to his own self, “Someday, somehow, Gakuto’s kids will save us. All I can do now is just hope…”

 

After a while, SpongeBob began to notice something unusual beginning to form on his body. He took a good look at his skin, and right on his arm shows a small flare of pen ink. Eventually, it was starting to look more like lead, similar to when DoodleBob was just a doodle. SpongeBob stared at the blotch on his arm, but he panicked when the mix of ink and lead started to spread through the rest of his body. He rushed over to a mirror in the bathroom to see that part of his body has become doodle-like.

 

“WHAtTtT’s GOiiinnninning WIWIWITH MeeeeEEEEEEEeEeEeE?” SpongeBob yelped.

 

After seeing what’s happening to him, SpongeBob rushed over to Sandy.

 

“SA&Aaaa&aAAndYYYY, HEllllll///p M—Ee-E-ee—e-ee-Eeee…”

 

To be continued….

Edited November 28, 2016 by Steel Zano

[101 Dalmatian Street]

20. Wisdom, Justice, and Love

 

Sierra was still looming around, motionless and devastated. She was reminiscing about the last few moments she had with Rick, Vivian, Mason, Theo, Jonah, and Jason. Sierra’s mind was set on them. Now they were dead. Even some of her allies were dead. Still exhausted from the escaping the nuke, she dozed off.

 

When Sierra’s perked up, she appeared in front of David’s cabin – and that David was none other than the doodle. He even happened to be right beside him.

 

“It’s a good thing that I found you,” said David. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t find your other friends.”

 

“That’s because they’re dead!” Sierra shouted out.

 

Sierra looked around the room to see that she was in the home of the “original David,” then she focused her eyes right back to David.

“How did you find me and why did you bring me here?” Sierra asked.

“Your friend, David, found me first,” David answered. “He told me about Horacio and DoodleBob firing a bomb, targeted towards you and your friends. We had to search for you to see if you were okay, until we found you near the source.”

 

“Where is David? I want to talk to him.”

 

“I’m right here,” David/Giacomo said, entering the room. “I know you have a lot of questions right now, so I’ll give you some answers.”

 

“Please, David, that’s all I want right now!” Sierra responded. “Where’s Gakuto? How will I bring back my friends and family to life? Why were Horacio and DoodleBob coming after me and the rest of my folks!?”

 

“First, my real name is Giacomo,” he replied. “Second of all, Horacio might have quite a lot to say about Gakuto, but I don’t, even though I’m his cousin.”

 

“Well, I want to face Horacio and take a stand against him, right now!” Sierra declared. “My kindred…they’re all gone.”

 

“I suppose you lost the others from the nuclear bomb. Do you think you can tell us what happened?” David asked.

 

Sierra felt uneasy about telling her story about what she had witnessed at a time like this, but she does trust Giacomo and David fully. After a couple of hours, Sierra told them everything that she knows that happened.

 

“I see, Horacio and DoodleBob did succeed in punching through those barriers from the Pebbles of Life,” said Giacomo. “It’s a good thing you survived, right?”

 

“I feel awful right now…” Sierra muttered.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, if you want to revive your friends, I would find Gakuto or Horacio, and see what either one has to say,” Giacomo replied.

“Horacio and DoodleBob, they must be stopped,” Sierra said, still showing a grave tone in her voice.

 

“I know. DoodleBob’s very much the biggest threat right now,” Giacomo replied. “For all that I know, DoodleBob hated non-doodles, and that’s crazy because he wanted to make himself a part of mankind, but that’s ever since he got fascinated by Horacio’s knowledge of reincarnation. I haven’t told you this, but Horacio and DoodleBob became part of my property because I knew about a resurrection spell that they don’t, and it was the process of renewing your bloodstream with substance known as pen ink. It had something to do with immunity from a magic pencil.”

 

“So now DoodleBob has done all that?”

 

“I don’t know. I ditched those two bastards before I could see if the permanent pen spell would be a success for DoodleBob.”

 

“He’s just one sinister doodle, and I believe no other doodle is like that or should be like that,” David remarked.

 

“DoodleBob may not be a drawing anymore, but in a sense, he’s heartless,” Giacomo added. “No being should have as much power. So….are you sure you’re ready to stand up to Horacio?”

 

Sierra simply nodded in response.

 

“I’ll be ready to erase him from existence,” Sierra said, revealing her magic pencil.

 

“You have a magic pencil too?” Giacomo questioned. “Anyways, since you’re ready, I’ll show you the way to Horacio’s headquarters by tomorrow.”

 

The very next day and within several hours, Giacomo led Sierra to Horacio’s keep. Sierra opened up the door to the entrance, waiting for Horacio to come over. As soon as Horacio notices that there was a visitor, he went over to the opened up entrance to see Sierra waiting around.

 

“You’re one of Gakuto’s kids. I wasn’t expecting you to be here…” said Horacio.

“I want you to tell me what you know about Gakuto,” said Sierra.

 

“Are you sure?” Horacio questioned. “How about I ask you how you escaped from my nuclear attack?”

 

“Where’s DoodleBob? I want to talk to him too!” Sierra seethed.

 

“If you wanted to see DoodleBob, then I’ll show you to him right now.”

 

Horacio then left for a moment to grab DoodleBob’s unconscious body, with a hole in his Pebble of Life. Horacio tossed DoodleBob’s body near Sierra. Sierra looked at it in despair.

 

“I had to kill him, did that upset you?” Horacio continued. “If you want to get me to talk, you’ll have to show me how worthy you are to go up against me.”

 

Horacio reached over for his magic pencil, while Sierra did the same.

“Interesting to see how you managed to find such a weapon too,” Horatio commented. “If you’re thinking about erasing me, then I hope you thought about doing that after I allow myself to talk. However, I’m not after your Pebble of Life for now, because I would rely on the atomic weapon that I use to break through it.”

 

Sierra went out against Horacio head-on, but she got blocked by Horacio’s weapon. The clashing went on for a good couple minutes until Horacio stopped to speak:

“Hey! Did you listen?” Horacio said. “So tell me, where did you get that pencil?”

 

“I won’t tell you,” said Sierra. “Besides, you won’t tell me anything about why you wanted to bring a doodle uprising, and why you wanted me and my loved ones dead!”

 

“That’s because I don’t!” Horacio exclaimed, while annoyed that Sierra was just as hesitant to talk. “But I guess I did want for Gakuto’s kids to be gone, but for my own reasons. I’ve longed to get rid of Gakuto, but he has since hid from everyone including you.”

 

“I don’t know a lot about Gakuto, but I want answers. So I decided to confront you, because you’ve had some history with him.”

 

“Well….since you survived long enough to stand up to me, the last thing I should do with you is let you in on a little history with the guy. And I’m going to do that but showing you that history!” In the next moment, Horacio uses some magic from his pencil to knock out Sierra.

 

Later, Sierra awoke in the middle of the Sin Circle with Horacio.

 

Sierra noticed Horacio next to her, glimpsing at the chamber. She got up and hopped over to him.

 

“I can already tell, you want to know why I decided to show you a little something from Gakuto right here,” said Horacio. “You know this place, right? This was where you were reborn.”

 

“I see that, but what about Gakuto?” Sierra questioned.

 

“Since this hasn’t crossed your mind, your adoptive guardian, Gakuto, is a guru of reanimation,” Gakuto explained. “Once he’s made a discovery on the first successful process of bringing back the dead, he’s been called a legend all across the sea. His first step into that success was when he discovered that drawings have come to life from an old, capsized submarine. When he found the source, he also found a pencil and pen. He experimented with them by creating a few drawings from the magic pencil and pen. He realized that he had no way of getting rid of life from a permanent pen before realizing he can use paper to imprison them. Does that make enough sense for you? Well, while Gakuto scavenged inside and outside the source, he found the dead body of a captain as one of the remains. Gakuto was interested in the possibility of life restoration and he wanted to bring the man back to life, so he got to work. While doing research from the source, he found about the man’s name, Trent, and then built up a circle chamber with a set of stone tablets, provided to try and bring him back to life. Of course, it can’t be without an enchantment of some kind, and created a spell influenced on pen ink. He had the idea of revitalizing Trent’s bloodstream with ‘permanent’ pen ink, but that wasn’t before he carved up a charm around his neck with substances of pen ink – a charm that looks just like yours.”

 

Sierra looked down on her charm, and then said, “You know, I think I met a man that was like him….”

 

“You have?” Horacio asked.

“I noticed that he had a Pebble of Life around his neck when I came across him at the train station,” Sierra continued, “and he even gave me a map that shows some of the circles you were talking about.”

 

“So that’s why two of the doodles that you erased found you in the Cave of Raised Hearts,” Horacio mused. “I guess that’s also where you got that magic pencil.”

 

“It’s true. It just fell from above.”

 

“Now I want you to look at these here…” Horacio then revealed to Sierra a jar of debris. The scattered pieces of mineral looked to be like the remains of the pebbles from Sierra’s beloved ones. “I rummaged across the affected area to see how much damage that the bomb has caused. This led for me to jump to the conclusion that Gakuto has used the pen-type of substance for the Pebbles of Life, as some these crumbled pieces remained. I didn’t even figure out about this kind of enchantment until David revealed that he was reborn with pen ink in his bloodstream. Gakuto himself never even told me about it. He must’ve stopped influencing spells based on the substance from when I learned about restoration.”

 

“I think it’s good that he found a way to bring people back from the dead, but why are you acting like it’s a bad thing?” Sierra asked.

 

“That’s not even half of everything that I know about Gakuto.” Horacio replied. “Come with me….”

 

It was several minutes until Horacio led Sierra to a cave nearby. It was the place used to acquire crystals to create a Pebble of Life.

“Gakuto made a successful resurrection, that turned out to be something big, I’ll admit it,” said Horacio. “It was a matter of time until I decided to learn his ways when I convened with him. I learned everything I needed to know about the practice of reanimation, but at some point in time, I’ve realized that everything didn’t come out as perfect. There were failed experiments. Lo and behold!”

 

Horacio then used his magic pencil to sketch out a hammer to break through a boulder in sight. Smashing the rock into bits, it revealed a group of disfigured, doodle-like creatures.

 

“What’s all this!?” Sierra asked.

 

“It’s like I said, these were beings subject to unsuccessful resurrection processes,” Horacio explained. “This is a good enough reason as to why Gakuto decided to become hidden from you and your folks, and from everyone else. They shouldn’t live like this. I wasn’t sure how I can erase them for the sake of mercy, but I thought that it might do the trick if I got rid of all the resurrection chambers, and that’s what I’m going to do before Gakuto gets in my way! You understand now?”

 

“I understand,” Sierra muttered, “…but maybe Gakuto didn’t want for all this to happen.”

“That’s only what you think,” Horacio argued.

 

Suddenly, a noise started to tremor inside the cave. This prompted for Horacio and Sierra to escort their own selves out of the cave.

 

“I’m guessing that you were trying to trap me,” Sierra said towards Horacio.

“Why would I? I no longer have interest in killing you,” Horacio responded. “It turns out that you’ve become a lot more valuable.”

 

“What do you mean?” Sierra asked.

 

“You were resurrected with the enchantment of Lust, one of seven of the deadly sins. You seemed to have controlled yourself from your impulses while the rest of your loved ones perished through their impulses.”

 

“That’s not true…they lost their lives because of you, and they risked their lives trying to stop your reign of terror!”

 

“By my reign of terror, you mean DoodleBob’s reign of terror! DoodleBob was the one who assigned the Scribble Seven to kill you and the other resurrected kids, but I assigned them to keep watch of you and them. I was a loyal ally to DoodleBob, but most of the time, I had to get on his good side. I’ve been willing to hunt down Gakuto, but he put his uprising first. I had to wait until he could outlive his purpose and then finish him, so that I could get closer to my actual goal. And how did I kill him? When David gave away the location to the Ink Circle, DoodleBob desired to use the replace his blood with permanent pen. I blasted through his charm in the middle of the act.”

 

“I’ve also been wondering how DoodleBob turned himself into more of a living being,” Sierra adds.

 

“Through Gakuto, I learned about reanimation by restarting the internal functions, including blood functions. It’s safe to say that this was the kind of process Gakuto used to revive you and the rest of your beloved. The process of making DoodleBob a non-doodle worked by infusing a sample of Mayor SquarePants’ blood,” Horacio continued. “That should be all that I needed to express. Tell me how you feel and how much you’ve understood.”

 

“I still don’t doubt Gakuto, I could use some answers from his point of view, but now I want to know how I can get my loved ones back!” Sierra replied.

 

“I don’t think there’s a spell I know of that can do something like that. Although, there is something that I’ve just figured out…”

 

“Huh?”

 

Suddenly, a large object was seen overhead, coming closer towards Sierra and Horacio’s line of sight. As it seems, the source of the trembling came from what appeared to a giant SpongeBob with DoodleBob’s sketchy form overtaking and overlapping across particles of SpongeBob’s body.

 

“Looks like DoodleBob is not dead…” said Horacio. “Since he had the same blood DNA as Mayor SquarePants, his body has been transferred to that sponge.”

 

“And I suppose that this is your own fault,” Sierra remarked.

 

“How was I supposed to know that cancelling the blood revitalization process by killing DoodleBob was going to lead up to this!?” Horacio exclaimed. “Since this is my own mistake, what I can do know is erase it. You stay out of this.”

 

“Oh man, I have to find a way to get stop all this…” Sierra spoke to herself.

 

“By the way, accept my offer of destroying all the revival chambers that Gakuto created, all across the map,” Horacio called out to Sierra.

 

Sierra didn’t answer, but she ran away from the monstrous DoodleBob, as well as grabbing Horacio’s jar of rubble and his book of spells. As she turned back, she saw the giant DoodleBob/SpongeBob giant gripping on Horacio before it squeezes him to his death. She kept running in terror, before she bumps into someone. Making a background check, she recognizes Giacomo close to her.

 

“It’s you! You have to help me!” Sierra said to Giacomo. “Horacio told me all these things about Gakuto, but then DoodleBob came back, took over SpongeBob’s body, expanded in size…and I just don’t know what to do.”

 

“Me neither, but I’m glad I managed to catch up with you,” Giacomo responded. “There are a couple of people who would like to see you…”

 

David stepped back to the left and revealed two unusual faces behind him.

 

It was Gakuto and Trent. Sierra loomed over and fixed her eyes on the two beings and focused on one who was the most familiar to her: Gakuto. Immediately so, she embraced him as Gakuto looked down at her.

 

“Sierra, is it really you?” Gakuto asked.

 

“Please help me…” Sierra sobbed. “I finally found you. I want to know, why did you leave without a trace?”

 

“Where are the other kids?” Gakuto questioned and looked around to see DoodleBob/SpongeBob in the distance. “I had to hide so that I could find a way to create a new spell. It was a spell that could erase some of the messes I’ve made long ago.”

 

“So, those things I saw in that cave, they really were just some mistakes…” Sierra muttered.

 

“Yes, even Gakuto has been prone to them,” Trent remarked. “It’s nice to meet you to, if you havent known by now, I’m Trent.”

 

“You see, once as David and I were left alone, Trent found me,” Giacomo explained. “At the moment, Trent told me that he’s found Gakuto. Eventually we had to take David back home, but otherwise, now we’re all here.”

 

“I need to bring everyone back: Rick, Jonah, Theo, Mason, Vivian, Jason….” Sierra continued, showing off the jar of remains from each of their pebbles.

 

“I see, it looks like their lives have been dismantled,” said Gakuto.

 

“And that’s not all, DoodleBob has been combined with Mayor SpongeBob’s body, it’s going to destroy everything in sight, and it just crushed Horacio,” Sierra explained.

 

Giacomo got shook up a bit from the last thing that Sierra said.

 

“So you got to know Horacio,” said Gakuto. “When he knew about some of my misfortunes, he went insane. He wouldn’t even believe me when I said that I wanted to erase those mistakes.”

 

“Not too long ago, he disowned me as his cousin, but honestly, I feel he’s still a part of my family,” Giacomo added. “Whatever happened to DoodleBob now, it must be Horacio’s doing.”

 

“Yeah,” Sierra continued. “He told me that he killed DoodleBob in the middle of a resurrection process, and he got transferred to SpongeBob because they had the same blood DNA.”

 

“I see…” said Gakuto. “And where were Horacio and DoodleBob before that happened?”

 

“The Ink Circle,” Sierra answered.

 

“If we’re going to stop this, I’ll have to enact a spell that I’ve learned to erase objects enchanted by permanent pen,” Gakuto replied.

 

“And I also want my friends back to life,” Sierra replied and then showed Gakuto the jar that contained the small remains of the Pebble of Life from each of the six. “They all got erased when Horacio used his nuclear weapon. He gathered these and told me that this was what remained of my six friends.”

 

“One more thing, do you have the spell book?”

 

Sierra then held out the spell book that she retrieved from Horacio and simply handed it over to Gakuto.

 

“Since this will be a new spell, I won’t need the book, but I express thanks for keeping it safe, because this will be needed when I make this sacrifice,” said Gakuto.

“What about this sacrifice?” Sierra questioned.

 

“If I were to bring these children back to life, I will have to release six souls influenced by the permanent pen spell,” Gakuto explained. “That means I will have to release the souls from DoodleBob, Giacomo, Trent, and my own self to cast the magic to arise the six children from the ashes.”

“But that makes four, who else is there?” Giacomo said.

 

“There are also those misfortunes I’ve made, that should be enough to revive six,” Gakuto added.

 

“So you’ll sacrifice your own lives?” Sierra asked. “Wait a minute, how were you influenced by the pen ink spell, Gakuto?”

 

“It was what I had to do to keep myself alive while performing these spells, and to make the charms around their necks stronger. See those runes I inscribed over there? It was with my new pen ink enchanted blood. Of course, the Seven Deadly Sins enchant proved to be as much of a strong force in the revival process, so that’s why I had to enchant you and the rest of the children with the spell. But I also had to plans to try and control those impulses...”

 

“Horacio also said to me that I overcame my “impulses,” and told me that I was valuable,” Sierra added.

 

“You and the other children are all valuable. The Pebble of Life contains a strong hold on one’s own memories and soul.”

 

Sierra saw the doodle giant coming closer to the Sin Circle. Sierra left herself into her own thoughts, before continuing on to say:

 

“I think I know what I can do, but I’m going to need that book first.”

 

On one of the empty pages, Sierra started to inscribe a message with her magic pencil.

 

“What are you doing?” Giacomo questioned.

 

“I need to let my loved ones know that I’ve gotten the chance to be with Gakuto before I make my own sacrifice,” said Sierra.

 

“So now you’re going to join our suicide pact?” Trent asked.

“I wouldn’t call it that, Sierra continued. “I won’t be able to be there for my six friends, but in some way, I’ll still live on.”

 

Gakuto then emptied out the jar into the middle of the Sin Circle while Sierra stood there and detached her Pebble of Life before Gakuto inscribed a rune with his blood.

 

“This is how I’m going to do it…” said Sierra. “What words do I have to say?”

 

“Just focus your mind on the six children and then shout: Clean away the powers of permanent pen, and turn it into life!” Gakuto proclaimed before Sierra hugged the man one last time.

 

Once as Sierra uttered the exact words, her charm gave off a strong gleam. Around her, she could see Gakuto, Giacomo, and Trent feeling faint, as well as the giant doodle’s power weakening and spreading out. All the gathered magic of the permanent pen spell was spreading close to Sierra’s Pebble of Life. Before the process would be complete, Sierra spoke her final words:

 

“Rick, Jonah, Theo, Mason, Vivian, Jason….take care. I love you….”

 

The glow got stronger, blinding the area with light, before shrinking away. Once all the magic has been contained, the pebble then started to glow again. The power was strong enough to make the ground below the Sin Circle vibrate. In a flash, the bodies of the six children were starting to come back. However, as for Sierra, Gakuto, Trent, and Giacomo, they all vanished.

 

Inside the cave, filled with the “failed experiments,” they all started to fade in nothingness.

 

Lastly, the giant doodle, containing SpongeBob’s body, collapsed and started to turn into smoke before the ink completely disappeared. Of course, this released SpongeBob from the doodle’s control as he reappeared on the ground, comatose.

 

All six of the revived young teens were wide awake and looked around to see that they were in the Sin Circle. After pondering around, SpongeBob ran over to where the young teens stood.

 

“Are you guys alright?” SpongeBob asked.

 

“The last place I remember being in was when I saw Kaan in that cave,” said Vivian. “What happened?”

 

“Yeah and where’s Sierra?” Jonah questioned.

 

“I’m so glad to see that you guys are okay, even after Horacio’s nuclear strike,” SpongeBob responded.

 

“Oh man, we can’t possibly lose Sierra to that bomb,” Rick said. “I never even thought I’d say that myself.”

 

“It’s weird, not only do I feel hungry, but I remember when I didn’t even feel like eating…” Theo commented.

 

“I think we’re all feeling pretty famished. I think I haven’t eaten in long,” said Jason.

 

“It’s still too bad Sierra is not with us right now,” Mason remarked. “She must’ve seen better luck up in the clouds right now…”

 

After trying to remember what just happened, the six young teens then came across Horacio’s spell book and found Sierra’s message.

 

“You know, I think I actually remember what happened to Sierra, and I don’t even remember myself being there,” Jonah pointed out.

 

“Yeah, I could picture a giant DoodleBob distant from Sierra destroying things in sight,” said Jason. “If only I was there to try and take it down myself…”

 

“I can also remember seeing Gakuto here,” Rick added. “I guess Sierra really did transfer her own memories to us. I can’t imagine that being possible….”

 

“It looks like Sierra really is gone…” Jonah murmured before she started to tear up.

 

While Jonah was in tears, everyone else joined in the grieving. Rick, however, felt frustrated.

 

“I’m sorry to see that you all feel upset. This really saddens me too,” said SpongeBob. “Let’s go, we need to get you guys in a safe place.”

 

As time has passed on, and after calling for help, SpongeBob and the six kids were escorted back to Bikini Bottom. After DoodleBob’s demise, the nasty, doodle-like taste in the air has since returned to its normal state. Everyone was feeling safe and happy again. After SpongeBob returned to his normal self, he was given a warm embrace by his assistant Sandy.

 

With the transfer of Sierra’s memories, the rest of Gakuto’s kids were able to recount all the moments Sierra have had before her sacrifice. SpongeBob had to provide as their guardians until they were able to make a living of their own. Within time, the six young teens have been practicing to grow a personality more than just their enchantments.

Jumping to the conclusion that destroying the Sin Circle would destroy the lives of the six young teens, SpongeBob enacted for Gakuto’s revival chambers to remain in their place, eventually making them into monuments. While Sierra may be gone, the six young teens will never forget the memento she had written:

 

….

 

This will be the last you’ll hear from me. It has been a long hard journey, but I have found Gakuto and while he wanted to meet you guys, I just wanted to say that he does care about all of us. Gakuto and I have to sacrifice our own lives to bring an end to DoodleBob’s reign. If you remember everything that I have remembered before I wrote this message, then that means I have transferred my memories to you all. In the heart and mind, I’ll still live on. In the darkest days of outrageous conflict that cannot be cleansed by wisdom, justice, and love, that kind of influence would be powerful enough to keep you all alive. So, this is goodbye…

 

-Sierra

 

The End.