Penny heard a knock at her door, it was Valentine's Day and she was expecting Gumball to take her out somewhere nice this afternoon. She went to answer it and found the blue feline dressed up in a suit on the other side of the door, smiling warmly.
"Gumball! I was hoping you'd show!" She squealed. Gumball returned the greeting and reached into the bag he was carrying.
"Of course, Penny. I was hoping we could do something special today, it is Valentine's Day after all." His hand pulled out to reveal a heart shaped box of chocolates, painted a deep red and tied with a ribbon that completed the ensemble.
"Aw, Gumball, for me? That's so sweet of you! I'd love to go with you." She took the box from the boy and unraveled the cloth holding the container together. Flipping off the top, she took one of the little morsels and popped it into her mouth, admiring the flavor.
"These are good, really good! Where'd you get these?" She took another one and continued to eat it. Gumball kept his smile, looking accomplished.
"It was a recipe of my dad's he used to make these when he was younger." She examined one of the little chocolates before putting it back and selecting another.
"Whatever it is, your dad did it right!" She swallowed the last bit of candy in her mouth. So, where'd you like to go? I hear theres this new film showing at the theater right now, and it's a romance film." She added in, her pitch rising at the end along with her eyebrows for emphasis.
"Actually, I got the perfect place for us to go." Gumball said. Penny looked intrigued as she ate another chocolate.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot," She went back inside her house and returned a moment afterward with a card in hand. "I feel sort of bad not getting you something else." She said nervously.
"Oh no no, it's perfect." He said, accepting it graciously. "Just knowing you got me something makes me happy." Penny smiled, knowing he meant what he said.
"So, wheres this place you were thinking of?" She rubbed an eye and gave a yawn.
"It's a place where uh, we won't be disturbed." He chuckled slyly.
"Ohhh." She gave him a wink. "I think I know what you're getting at." She gave another yawn and blinked. "Geez, why am I so tired all of a sudden?" She gave another yawn and shook her head.
"I don't know, would you like to sit down?" Gumball suggested. Penny nodded as the two walked into her house where she plodded herself down onto her sofa. She gave another yawn and her head bobbed slightly.
"Man, the day must've taken more out of me than I thought. Don't worry Gumball, maybe if I get some soda or something that'll perk me right u-" Her sentence was cut off as her head fell forward and she fell into a slumber. Her breath slowed and her body rose and fell gently as she fell to her side on the sofa. Gumball looked at the girl then shook his head disappointingly.
"Wow, I was hoping to get you there before you passed out. Had to keep eating all of those, geez." He said aloud, picking up the chocolates and placing them back in his bag. "Alright alright, how to do this..." He turned back to the passed out peanut lying on the sofa, tapping his chin in thought. "Alright, guess I can improvise..."
...
Penny regained consciousness slowly, her mind woke her up, but her eyes didn't want to open. A light shined in her face that she could feel through her eye lids. Her mind swam as she tried to recall the last couple of hours. What just happened? Where am I? And why...are my arms chained up? She shook her head once more to push back the nausea and was able to squint one eye open to see her wrists chained up and her being hung a bit above the floor. There was only one light, and it shone only on her like a spotlight, creating a cone of light from the ceiling to her.
"Oh, so you're awake finally." A voice seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Gu-Gumball? Where are you? Please, where am I? What happened? Wha-?" She stopped talking as the feline entered the cone of light from the shadows surrounding her. "Gumball! What's going on?" He didn't answer at first, he simply gave her a look over as she still tried to regain full consciousness.
"What's going on? Why, this is our Valentine's Day."
"W-what? This, I mean...wha-? Why am I chained up like this? What happened back at my house? Where are we?"
"Wow, you sure like to ask questions." She was taken back by his response. The girl was hoping this was all just some kind of weird dream she was having.
"Gumball, what do you mean? What IS all this?" Her fear got caught in her throat as she began to sweat.
"I told you, Penny. This is our Valentine's Day! This is my gift; from me, to you!" He walked over and laid a paw on her fear-struck face. "Why so nervous? I was hoping we'd both enjoy this."
"Gumball please, this is scaring me. If this is about the card, then I'm sorry!" His calm attitude was only adding more stress to Penny's situation. The nausea was back as she shut her eyes to push the feeling away. Gumball paused for a second, only looking at the floor now.
"This is scaring you? You're sorry? No no no, Penny, I'm the one that should be sorry." The nut opened her eyes again to see the boy go back into the dark. In the distance, she heard a scraping sound, like wood scraping against rock. He appeared only a moment after, holding a wooden stool in his hand. He placed it in front of him and took a step back, confusing Penny even more.
"What, what are you doing? Gumball? Gumball!" The cat didn't respond to her cries, he went back to the stool and picked it back up, taking another step forward towards the girl.
"G-Gumball?" She quivered. Without warning, Gumball hoisted the wooden stool up high and brought it down onto the girl's head. A sharp cry pierced through the air as she felt something break. One of her antlers snapped off and fell to the floor with a thud. Gumball watched as she brought her legs up to her chest to try and protect herself.
"Gumball! What are yo-!" The boy again slammed the chair into the girl, pieces of shell and wood splintering off and falling as he continued to abuse the chained up girl.
"What am I doing?" Gumball flared, continuing to abuse the poor girl. "What does it look what I'm doing? This is me returning my love! All those advances, those love notes I send to you. All of this is to show my gratitude for you!" He laughed, obviously in a state of mental unrest. The girl cried out in pain again and again. "This is because I love you, Penny! I've always loved you!" He slammed the stool onto the girl one last time, shattering the stool so that only the legs in his hands remained.
The girl was no longer weeping, only breathing quiveringly. Her body now broken and beaten, cracks running all along her shell, a black eye, a concussion, and blood seeping out of her mouth and cuts that covered her body. Gumball, now seeing that he could no longer use the stool, dropped the legs and went back into the darkness, leaving Penny still chained there, whimpering softly.
"Mommy...Daddy...please, someone...help me!" She said softly, tears falling down her cheeks and splashing onto the cold floor underneath her. There was a loud noise that pierced the silence and rang through Penny's head like a train. She let out a yelp as the chains unlocked and she fell to the floor, not bothering to catch herself as she was in condition to. Her only instinct was to run, run as fast as she could. But in her current state, she wasn't even able to lift her head up, let alone stand. So she did the only thing she could do, scream.
"SOMEONE! ANYONE! PLEASE HELP ME! HELP ME! PLEASE!" She yelled with the remaining air she could muster in her beaten lungs. Her voice echoed all around her, never seeming to reach the outside world. It carried the same feeling as of that of a cornered animal. An animal about to be put down, it's fate now out of it's own hands, now in the hands of the one with a muzzle pointed at it's head. She knew no one was able to hear her cries and pleas, she lied her head back and cried with what little energy she had left, not knowing what will happen next. Gumball reappeared from the veil of darkness, holding his hands behind him, in a more calmed state.
"Penny, darling please. No one can hear you, we're miles away from where anyone could hear us. It's like I said, I don't want anyone disturbing us!" Penny stopped her crying momentarily to look back up to her once called friend, now she didn't even know what to think of him anymore. She just wanted to get away.
"N-n-no...no, go away..." She murmured, almost losing consciousness again. She lifted one arm in an attempt to drag herself away, but Gumball walked over and slammed his shoe onto it, causing the girl to cry out again. "P-please, just let me go...please Gumball." The boy seemed unaffected by her pleading. Instead, he knelt over top of her, his knees digging roughly into her chest.
"But Penny, I have another gift to give you, a personal one that I know you'll always treasure later on." He drew in a breath, pausing to look at the girl struggle for air. "You know what couples get when they want to remember their lover forever? A tattoo!" He exclaimed giddily. "You see? I already got one for you!" He lifted up his sleeve to reveal a inked signature of Penny's name running up his arm and stopping just short of his shoulder. It looked rather painful for such a small person. "Unfortunately, it's difficult to write in ink on a peanut, but not to worry! I thought ahead and came up with a solution to that problem!" He pulled his arms from behind his back and showed her what he was hiding: a carving knife.
"No, please don't..." She breathed, her mind beginning to abandon her body.
"But Penny, tattoos are FOREVER! And I want to make this the best Valentine's Day ever! It's just because I love you!" He held the knife over her eyes so she could get a glimpse of the sharp steel, reflecting lifelessness in her eyes back into her own. "Now, where would you like it? On your arm, back, or...?" He seemed to be lost in thought for a second. "I know!" He pointed the tip of the dagger right above her eyes. "Right here! That's where the most room is, so I'll be able to etch in something that everybody will be able to see!"
"No Gumball, don't!" The words were unable to leave her mouth now, she wasn't able to speak, either out of fear or loss of bodily control she was unable to tell. She was only able to watch as the boy she once cared for raise the blade high above his head, shining in the light above them. Unable to respond in any way, only able to wait. Wait for it to end.
"Now hold still, I don't want to make any mistakes!" He brought the blade down with all the strength he could muster in his arms right into her forehead, easily breaking through her shell and creating a trail of blood that ran down her face and down her jaw line where it dropped onto the floor. "Alright! Now to start with the details!"
Gumball say there, for over an hour, stabbing and piercing literally the shell of a girl. Carving into her either unaware or uncaring was anyone's guess, but he continued without any regards of signs of life. He just cut more and more into this once living being, as if he was carving a turkey. Once he was finally done, proud of his handiwork, only then did he get up and smile.
"And now, we're a couple forever, my darling." He knelt down and gave her a kiss where he cut the symbols "G&P 4EVER," surrounded by a heart that was bleeding actual blood, Penny's blood. He then took the dagger and positioned it in front of him, bringing his arms forward and puncturing himself through the chest. "We'll be together...forever..." He choked out. Unlike Penny's death, his was swift and not as painful, cutting directly into his heart as he fell onto his supposed beloved, bleeding out through his shirt and onto the girl.
"Together...forever..."