2/2 MOVING ON
➪ғᴇᴀʀ ᴏғ ᴅʏɪɴɢ.
Mr. Krabs wiped his eyes with
a handkerchief, his voice
shaking. "I'm so sorry,
Karen," he said, his words
a mix of sadness and regret.
Karen nodded, not trusting
herself to speak. She felt a
hand on her shoulder, and
looked up to see Sponge Bob's
wet eyes. "We're all here for
you," he murmured, his voice
soothing despite the pain.
Plankton watched as the
world around him shifted,
his friends' sorrow a stark
contrast to his own confusion
but failing to penetrate their
grief.
He follows Karen back home.
"You can't ignore me for..."
He tries to argue, but she
doesn't flinch. He's invisible.
It's like he's not even there.
He follows her through the
desolate streets of Bikini
Bottom, his voice trailing
behind her like a forgotten
thought. "Karen, stop!" he cries,
but she doesn't hear him as she
goes into the Chum Bucket.
Spot, his amoeba puppy, barks
as they come in.
"Oh, Spot," Karen says
sadly, her voice heavy with
a grief Plankton can't fathom.
Spot looks around, sensing
his master, tail wagging.
"Spot, boy," Plankton calls out.
He goes to sniff his owner
right where he's standing.
The puppy's nose twitches.
"Spot, it's me," Plankton whispers,
his voice now a mere wisp. The
amoeba wags his tail.
But Spot doesn't jump up to
lick his face like he always
does.
Plankton watches as Karen
moves about the room without a glance.
He follows her, his spirit trailing
behind her. "Look," he says, his voice
bouncing off the glass beakers
and unused gadgets. But she
simply picks up a half-finished
experiment, her screen glazed
over with unshed tears.
Plankton's inventions are scattered
across the floor. "Karen, see this,"
he says, trying to show her
his latest gizmo. But she
just steps over them.
"Karen!" he yells, his voice
bouncing off the walls.
But she doesn't acknowledge
him, her screen
fixed on a photo of them
from their wedding.
"What's happening?"
he whispers, his voice
trembling. "Why can't she
see me?"
He watches her, his mind
racing with possibilities. "Karen,
sweetie," he says, his voice
desperate, "It's me, Plankton.
Your husband." But she just
keeps moving, her actions
a painful ballet of loss.
"Karen," he pleads,
his voice cracking.
"Look at me."
He waves his hands wildly
in front of her,
but she doesn't flinch.
It's like he's not even there.
"Karen, can you hear me?"
Plankton shouts, his voice
bouncing around the room,
but it's as if he's speaking
into a void.
He follows her into the
living room, where she
slumps onto the couch, her
body wracked with sobs.
"What's the matter?" he
asks, his voice now a mere
echo of his former self.
But Karen doesn't respond,
doesn't even look up. Plankton
paces the room, trying to
make sense of this. "Karen," he
says again.
But she turns her attention to
Spot.
"I don't know how to tell you,"
she whispers with tears.
Plankton stops in his tracks. "What do you
mean?" he asks, but she doesn't
hear him. He backs up, Spot
following him. "Spot," Karen calls.
The puppy wags his tail, looking
between Plankton and Karen. Plankton
feels a pang of hope. "Come
here, boy," he says, his voice
desperate.
But Spot just sits there,
staring at Karen, tail thumping
the floor. Plankton's voice
cracks. "Why won't anyone
listen to me?" he cries out.
"Spot," Karen repeats, her voice
broken. "I need to tell you
something. Your daddy... isn't
coming back. Plankton's
not coming home." "What
are you talking about?" he
chokes out, his voice echoing in
his own mind. "I'm right here!"
But Spot's eye remains, his tail wagging slightly,
his expression hopeful. Plankton
watches as she picks him up,
cradling him in her arms. "He's
always been there for us,"
she says, her voice cracking.
"But now, it's just you and me."
Plankton's spirit feels a
chill run through him. "What do
you mean?" he asks, his voice
now a faint whisper. He moves
to his chair, and Spot leapt out of
Karen's grasp as he follows Plankton.
Spot jumps onto the chair,
his tail wagging. Plankton
desperately tries to pet him,
but his hand goes right through.
"Spot," he says, his voice barely
audible. "Spot, I'm here."
The amoeba puppy tilts his head,
his eye searching. Plankton
can almost feel the warmth of his
body, but his touch is met with
only cold emptiness. "Spot, please,"
he whispers, his eye filling with tears
that won't fall in his new ethereal
form.
Karen looks at Spot. "You're
going to have to be strong,"
she says, her voice thick with
unshed tears. "Daddy's not coming
back."
Plankton's spirit recoils at
the words, his mind racing.
"What do you mean?" he asks again,
his voice now a desperate
whisper. "I'm right here!"
But Karen's gaze fixed on Spot.
Plankton's voice is lost in
the abyss of his own disbelief.
"Karen," he whispers, his voice
now a mere echo in the
silence of the room. "What
are you saying?" He sits down
in the chair, Spot watching him
intently. Karen looks confused
at Spot.
"It's ok, buddy," she says. "Daddy
loved us very much, but now he's
gone."
Plankton's mind reels. "What
do you mean 'gone'?" he asks,
his voice barely a whisper. "I'm
right here!"
Karen doesn't react to his
desperate pleas. She just sits
there, watching Spot.
Plankton tries again, his voice
now a mere echo of what it
once was. "Karen," he calls out,
his desperation palpable. "Can
you hear me?" But she's lost in
her own world of pain. At
least Spot recognizes him.
"Spot," Karen says. "What are you
staring at?"
Plankton's spirit feels like
it's going to shatter. "It's me!" he
shouts, his voice bouncing off
the walls without reaching her.
He waves his arms wildly, but she
doesn't flinch. It's as if he's
invisible, not even there.
He watches as she
moves through their home, her
actions muted by his inability
to interact. "Why
can't you see me?" he whimpers,
his voice lost in the void.
Plankton's spirit follows her, his
desperation growing with each
ignored plea.
"You ok, Karen?" he asks, his
voice unheard.
Karen doesn't respond, lost in thought.
"Karen," Plankton calls again,
his voice growing weaker. "I
can see you, why can't you see me?"
Karen's going through the
motions of a life without him.
The sound of her sobs
haunts him, echoing through
his invisible existence.
"Well, I guess I can watch some
soap operas since he's not
around to complain." She says
with forced laughter through
her tears.
Plankton watches her. She's moving on,
without even realizing he's
right beside her. She doesn't
even look up from the TV!
He stands in front of the TV
but she doesn't flinch. He's
getting mad now. "Forget the
TV!" He says, trying to cause
a ruckus by jumping onto it.
But Plankton's now in the TV
as it cuts to static.
He's trapped in the flickering
lights, his tiny frame
distorting on the screen.
"Karen!" He yells, his voice
now a part of the static.
"What's up with the TV?" Karen
says. "I can't get it to..."
But her words are lost to Plankton,
now in the static, his spirit
pushing against the unseen barrier.
"Hey!" he shouts, his voice
distorting with the fuzz of the
television, banging it audibly. Karen
hears the banging as the TV shakes.
"What's going on?" she asks, her
screen a mix of fear and confusion.
Plankton's spirit is desperate,
his voice now a part of the
static, his form a flickering
shadow on the TV screen.
"Karen!" he cries,
his words lost in the fuzzy
chaos.
Karen jumps at the sound of
her deceased husband's
distorted voice. "Was that...
PLANKTON?"
Plankton's spirit, still trapped
in the TV, nods vigorously.
"Yes, yes, it's me!" he cries,
his voice distorted through
the static.
Karen stares, her hand trembling
as it hovers over the remote.
"How?" she whispers with shock.
Plankton's spirit, still trapped,
keeps shouting, his words
a cacophony of static. "It's
me, Karen! I'm right here! I
followed you home from the
hospital and only Spot..."
"Plankton, you died in the
hospital.." "What?" he asks, his
confusion palpable. "That's
impossible; I'm right here!"
He waves his arms in front
of the flickering screen, his
body a distortion of colors.
Karen's eyes well up with
fresh tears. "Plankton," she
whispers, her hand shaking
as it clutches the remote. "You've
got to go. You've got to move on."
The static on the TV screen
swirls into a tornado of
colors as Plankton's spirit
fights against the invisible
barrier. "No," he
screams, his voice a muffled
cry in the cacophony of
electronic distortion. "I can't
leave you.."
Karen's screen filled with
tears as she looks at the flickering
shadow that is her husband.
"Spot and I will be okay," she says,
her voice shaking with emotion.
"But you can't stay here."
Plankton pauses,
his form rippling in the static.
"But what about the Krabby
Patty formula?" he asks, his
voice a distant echo.
Karen's smile is sad, her screen
wet with unshed tears. "It's just
a recipe, Plankton," she says
softly. "You've always been so
much more than that."
Plankton's spirit seems to
deflate, the static dimming.
"But I've spent my life
trying to get it," he says, his voice
barely audible. "What's the
point if I can't even..."
"The point," Karen says, her
voice firm despite the tears
streaming down her screen, "is that
you've touched more lives than
any Krabby Patty ever could.
You've got to go, Plankton.
Find peace."
Plankton's spirit flickers,
his eye searching hers. He nods,
his form growing transparent.
"Ok," he whispers, his voice
now a faint echo in the static.
"I'll go. But I'll always be with
you, Karen. And Spot. In spirit."
The TV screen fades to black,
the static dissipating as Plankton's
spirit is released. Karen
stares at the empty space, her
hands clutching the remote tightly.
"Thank you," she says. "Thank
you for everything."