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."