Hello again! Not much to say here, I've typed this about 7 times now. More notes and replies to previous comments at the end of the chapter.

I don't own and I'm not affiliated w/ TAWoG

Some small things pulled from the wiki, to help fuel this story: "In general, Gumball is very protective of his loved ones. On multiple occasions, he's quick to go into a sort of "over-protective" mode whenever anybody tries to hurt his siblings, Darwin and Anais, as seen in "The Parasite," in which he tried to nearly poison Jodie when she thought she was hurting Anais, or in "The Rerun," in which he aimlessly tried to attack Rob out of rage when Darwin died." and [not related to the previous quote] "Such a side may also suggest Gumball is smarter than he lets on, as hinted by his expansive vocabulary, cooking skills, and ukulele skills as well."

"Are you sure this will be ok?" Gumball said, sounding nervous. Before him was a large expanse of blue green water, a sand bank about 150 feet out and boats drifting along, far past it. The smell of salt in the air was thick and choking for the young cat, who's nose was quite keen. His best friend and adopted brother, Darwin, was standing next to him, looking eagerly into the blue tom-kitten's eyes. Behind them, was a snort.

"Gumball, you'll be fine! Go swim with your brother. It's just the ocean; it's too shallow here for anything to be dangerous." The two boys turned to look at Nicole, who was sitting on a towel next to her husband, Richard, and her daughter, Anais. Gumball just narrowed his eyes, grumbled, and turned back around. Eyes still narrowed, he reached a hind paw forward and tapped it on the surface of the water. It felt lukewarm. With a relieved sigh, he put his paw all the way in to the shallow water, the other following with a step forward. He heard Darwin shout behind him, and when he turned to look, there was joy in his bother's eyes. It brought a smile to Gumball. How could anyone resist the adorable face the young fish had? Darwin jumped in beside him, and together, they splashed a little deeper into the water.

I'm not gonna have fun getting clean later.. Gumball thought to himself, already imagining the salt and sand stuck in his claws and crusting on his fur. He shrugged and waded after his brother, who was swimming out to the sand bar. Gumball followed him, and when he could feel the bottom no more, his legs kicked up behind him and he propelled himself after the fish. Darwin reached it and turned to watch as Gumball came up to it behind him. Gumball smiled and looked over the water as they stood, half-submerged. The water was up a little over Gumball's waist, and it tugged and pushed against his swim trunks as the tide went. The two looked at each other, both wondering to themselves what to do next. Gumball tuned, and noticed as the sand bank traveled, it got further from the shore. Darwin followed his gaze, and once he noticed it too, they grinned. Darwin turned towards the shore, where the rest of the family and other people were sitting, enjoying themselves.

"Mrs. Mom! We're going to go explore along the sand bank!" He called, and she looked up.

"Alright! Just be careful! And do NOT cause anyone trouble. It's hard enough having to watch over your father, making sure he doesn't get us kicked out. I don't need to worry about you two, too, do I?"

"No! We'll be good!" Darwin flashed her a smile, and the friends took off along the bank. They waded and followed it as it got further from the shore. 200, 250, now 300 feet from it. They had been walking along it for a good 10 minutes, just chatting and joking and elbowing each other's sides. They stopped suddenly, confused looks on their faces.

"What changed?" Darwin said, looking towards the shore, confused. His eyes widened, and Gumball looked that way. What he saw was confusing, and off-putting. The people on the shore were screaming and pointing at them, something like fear etched on their faces. Feeling the fur on his back bristle, he flicked his ears and listened. He caught one thing, said by a person screaming at them and pointing.

"Behind you! Watch out! Get out!"

Gumball looked down, realizing that the water was down to his knees, when it had been half way up his stomach. He whipped towards the open ocean. The only noise he could make was a terrified squeak, as the fur on his whole body stood on end. He took Darwin's head, trembling, and turned him towards the wave barreling down on them. They could hear the people behind them on the beach, screaming and fleeing the scene. As the high wave came closer, all Gumball was able to say, was,

"Why does the world hate us?"

Darwin swallowed visibly next to him, and grabbed ahold of his brother's paw. The wave crashed over their heads. Gumball let out a muffled, choking scream as he swallowed some water. There was a high rock wall behind where the people had been, standing and screaming at them, and the wave propelled them at it with such force. Darwin's fin still gripped tightly on Gumball's paw as he slammed into the wall. Darwin came right behind him, and when he hit Gumball, it drove the last bit of air out of his lungs. Already the edges of Gumball's vision was becoming dark and blurred, and he was struggling against the water less. The wave rolled back and carried them with it, and Darwin was able to gain enough control and pull them up to the surface of the water for a short time. Using his head, he pushed his half-conscious older brother to air, where he immediately started choking and coughing up water. Darwin held him there, able to draw oxygen, as he could breathe underwater. Gumball let out a tiny, exhausted whimper, and rested his head against the top of his brother's head, a little above and to the side of his brother's right eye. He closed his eyes as Darwin moved towards a chair that was floating on the water. Gumball climbed onto it with one last push, eyes half open as Darwin climbed up.

"G-gumball!" spoke Darwin, voice laden with worry and fear. He pulled Gumball up near his face. Gumball groaned and blinked at him. "Are y-you okay?! Gumball?" Gumball pulled his legs the rest of the way under him and rubbed an eye.

"Ye-ea, I think so. I think.. I'll be fine." His voice was hoarse and scratchy, and it hurt to talk. He just closed his eyes again and leaned against Darwin. Darwin let out a small whine and pulled himself out from under Gumball.

"I'm going to try to steer the chair somewhere safer.." He trailed off and Gumball just nodded, curling up into a ball and drifting off

Gumball woke to darkness all around him. He opened his muzzle to breathe but found his mouth was only filled with horrible, murky blue saltwater. Is this a dream? He wondered, beginning to panic. Something came up from under him, pushing hum towards the surface of the water. As his head came out, he saw he was still in the middle of the ocean. Before he could ask himself where his brother was, the presence under him vanished and he had to tread water. He was sore, but he had enough energy to swim. For now. Darwin popped up next to him.

"Gumball! Are you okay?"

"Yea.." Gumball looked around, "but what happened? To the chair?"

Darwin looked down at the water, "it fell apart as I pushed it. But look! We're back to the beach!" Gumball turned carefully to follow Darwin's vision, and sure enough, there was the beach. It was a higher section of the beach, but it was covered in trash and boulders and the cliffs behind the sand looked as if they were about to fall apart. Still our best shot, Gumball thought to himself, and without a word, they swam towards the beach.

Finally reaching it, Gumball and Darwin pulled themselves out of the water. Gumball, standing on all fours after having to doggy-paddle over, shook himself out. His fur was fluffed up and clumped into spikes. Darwin grumbled a little as he was sprayed with water, but he didn't say anything. Gumball looked over at Darwin, who was now looking back over the ocean, as he himself stood up.

"Sorry. I'm gonna take forever to dry, I wanted to get some of the water off." Gumball stepped over some plastic bags and water bottles to stand next to his brother. He looked up at the sun, which was about halfway down the west side of the sky. Which meant, the way they needed to go, was to their left. Gumball nudged Darwin, and, taking the younger brother's fin, led him along the beach to the south. As they travelled, it became increasingly more difficult to walk, to the point where they had to climb over whole boulders and avoid getting their legs stuck in cracks. As they walked, the beach grew wider, and was now covered in mud and rocks. Following it still, they came to a cliff wall. There was a gap wide enough for maybe Gumball to get through, but Darwin would not. Seeing it, Darwin walked over to the water and waded in. He looked back at Gumball, who had not followed. Darwin's features softened at the sight of his wary brother.

"You don't have to come with me to the other side. You've squeezed into tight spaces before, you can probably get through that gap. I won't be able to. Before you go in, though, let me go check the other side, real quick. Just to see what's there?"

Gumball, looking relieved, nodded and sat down. He watched as Darin waded further into the water, then began swimming. He disappeared around the corner, and a couple minutes later, came back looking upset.

"Nothing. There's nothing!" He flung his hands in the air and slumped next to Gumball, who put an arm around the orange fish and patted his back.

"It'll be ok. We're still going the right way; I know where the sun was when the wave came, and I think the wave and the currents pushed us north. So we'll just have to keep heading south. We're bound to come across someone eventually, right?" Getting no answer, he pulled up Darwin's chin and looking directly into his brother's eyes. His voice was soft and reassuring as he spoke again.

"Right?"

Darwin sniffed, and nodded, looking better.

"Right. Do you want me to stay back here or go around to wait for you at the end of the crevice?"

Looking over at it, Gumball narrowed his eyes. "Wait for me here, and when I get close to the other end, or you can't see me any more, start heading around to the other side. That sound okay?" Darwin nodded, and they got up and walked over to the crack. Gumball carefully squeezed himself in. He walked along it. Above him, a ceiling became evident as he walked. It came closer and closer to his head, until his ears were bushing it. Turning and looking back at Darwin, he nodded and the fish disappeared, to head for the side. Walking a little further, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Night vision is helpful, he thought, and as he looked down, he saw the passage had become a small tunnel. He'd have to get on all fours. Grumbling, he crouched down and began padding through. His whiskers guided him, and he saw the exit coming near. But right before it, the tunnel got terribly thin, before widening out and growing larger again. He looked at it. He'd have to squeeze through, and it'd be a tight fit.

"Hey, Darwin? Are you over there? Can you look in and see me?" his calls were answered by the orange fish's face popping into view about 10 feet ahead, at the end of the small tunnel. "Do you think I could fit through this?" he inquired, peering through at Darwin.

"Maybe..." Darwin looked thoughtful, "but it'd be hard, and you'd have to be careful to not get stuck. But, I say, give it a try. It's going to be dark soon." Darwin turned and gestured at the sky behind him, which Gumball could barely see. Gumball looked back at the gap, and sighing, went for it. As careful as he could, he squeezed forward. His head managed to get through, and he followed with his shoulders. His confidence grew, until suddenly, he could go no further. He yelped as something jabbed at soft flesh. Twisting, he looked back. To his surprise, it was his hips that were having a hard time getting through. Huh, that's weird, he thought, usually that isn't a problem... he looked up at the sound of his friend's voice.

"Gumball? Are you ok? I know I said be careful, but I didn't mean take ten years!" Gumball snorted, resting on his elbows. It was getting uncomfortable.

"I'm stuck! I still might be able to get through, but I think I gotta go back a bit and try a different angle. My hips are too wide." Gumball grumbled some more, then slowly backed up until he was out. Looking at the hole again, he had an idea. "Do you think it'd work better if I went in sideways?" Darwin blinked.

"Maybe, but be careful," was all he said. The goldfish backed up a bit and sat on the ground, watching Gumball once more. Gumball tried again, this time turning sideways as he went through. It was hard at first, but he was able to shuffle and kick and finally drag his whole body through. Pulling himself up on to all fours again, he trotted the rest of the way out. Darwin and him stood, and Gumball stretched.

"You're right.. it is getting late. Guess we better move." They followed the shore once more. There were far less boulders on this side, and even a bit of graffiti on the rock walls. The two smiled at each other, taking this as a good sign. Eventually, the ground beneath them faded from dirt and sharp little rocks to soft sand. The sun was setting over the water, the sky darkening, but it seemed they were almost back. Exhaustion forgotten, they began to sprint over the sand. Gumball let out a little gasp and they skidded to a stop. Before them, was about 500 feet of water. Gumball shuddered.

"This must be where we were when the wave came. I hope Mom, Dad, and Anais got outta the way in time!" Darwin just nodded and waded in a little. They could see, in the distance, far past where the sand began, dots moving around. It had to be people. They started yelling.

"Hello! Hey! Can you hear us! Hello?"

"We're over here! Come get us, please! We-" Darwin's shout was cut off at a growl behind them. They whipped around, and behind them, was a wolf. It wasn't quite the biggest wolf ever, but it was still a wolf. Gumball's fur stood on end, his claws unsheathing. A small growl rumbled in his chest and out of his throat, and he nudged Darwin towards the water.

"Gumball?" whined Darwin. He sounded scared.

"Go get help. You saw those people. You'll get there faster. Swim across, and get help. I'll be fine, go!" Gumball turned and shoved Darwin this time, and the wolf gave a loud, angry Grrr, and began toward them. Darwin, needing no more encouragement, turned and began to swim as fast as he could. Gumball looked the wolf over. It was quite a bit bigger than him. I need to get around it, he thought, and started to edge to the side. But the wolf saw it, and moved with him. Gumball laid his ears flat and let his fur rise off his body, making himself look bigger. The wolf stopped for a moment, then just growled again and kept coming. Gumball's claws were fully visible now, sharp and glinting in the sunset. He lowered himself, poised and ready to bolt or fight, if he really had to. Before he had a chance to consider either, it became a fight. With a loud, terrible bark, the wolf sprang at him. He ducked forward, underneath the wolf's stomach as it landed. He slashed at it, and it yelped angrily. It fell limp on top of him, suffocating him. It grabbed his tail and bit down with a crunch. Gumball yowled, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He struggled free, tail yanking out of the wolf's jaws in the process. Before any more could happen, a boat was speeding over the water. They looked up at the same time, and the wolf's eyes widened. It turned and ran. Gumball sat back, rubbing an eye and parting the fur to look at his tail. It was bent at an angle, broken and bleeding. He gently drew his tongue over it a couple of times, wincing. The boat pulled up and his mother and brother, along with a couple of others, jumped out and rushed over to him. Nicole grabbed him and hugged him.

"Gumball! Oh, Gummy! Are you ok? Oh my god, your tail! What happened? It's broken!" His face was buried and he pulled himself away from her, taking a deep breath.

"Mom, mom! I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't broken anything before! It's just my tail. It'll be fine." Nicole just pulled him into his lap and sat her head on his, purring. He grumbled, but after their long dad, couldn't bring himself to care. Darwin sat down next to them, helping to hold his tail up as it was wrapped.

"Gumball, what happened? Did that wolf do this?" When Gumball nodded, he went on, "Are you going to be ok? Is it going to heal?" Gumball just snorted.

"Darwin, I break bones all the time. When have they not healed?" Darwin just blinked.

"Well, I'm glad you're ok."

"I'm glad everyone's ok. Now, let's go home?" Nicole pushed Gumball off and stood, brushing sand off of her skirt. She helped the two boys up, and they headed for the boat.

Hello! Sorry, I would have had this out earlier, but I was dragged around a bit. But! Still the weekend, still got it out. The next chapter will be out by next weekend, at the latest. Tell me what you want to see! I want to make this a longer story, but I may need some help from you guys. Thanks! Also, admit it, boi's hips are a bit wide. Don't complain, please. Once I manage to finish the cover art, you'll be able to see him in my style, and maybe understand this chapter better. Replies to comments below:

Villicus: Thanks! I hope it turns out ok! I'm trying my best, so at least I'm putting that in, heh.

Guest: Thanks!