Part I: Taking Responsibility

To say he was concerned was an understatement.

It had almost been a week and still, he had seen no sign of him anywhere. It wasn't uncommon for him to go extended periods without seeing the cyclops, but given the events that had occurred with Banana Barbara, he had good reason to be worried. They had erased him from existence, after all. Even if Barbara had painted him back into existence, until he actually laid eyes on him again, he could no longer be convinced that his nemesis was walking this earth.

Convinced he'd never be able to fall asleep, Gumball shifted to his side, his gaze settling on the fish bowl where his brother currently resided. He hesitated to wake him, but he knew he wouldn't be able to let it rest.

"Hey…Darwin?"

The fish's eyes popped open and he stuck his head out of the bowl, his face fixed with a frown. "What's up? Not tired?"

Gumball's gaze dropped to the floor, his ears flattening. "Um…well, I was just wondering…When you've been hanging out with Carrie…did you at any time see Rob anywhere?"

His brother's expression made the pit in his stomach deepen, and he knew there was no denying that something was definitely wrong.

"No," Darwin replied softly, appearing equally troubled. "You mean you haven't seen him since…that?"

Gumball looked away, pulling his knees to his chest. "No." He could feel his heart thumping against his chest, and breathing seemed a lot more difficult now. "Darwin…what if he's…?"

"He's gotta be out there somewhere," Darwin cut him off, a bit more sharply than he intended. "Banana Barbara painted him back into existence, right? He's…he's probably just scheming! You know, trying to come up with some other plan to destroy you or whatever." Gumball could tell he was in denial, but he couldn't bring himself to call him on it.

"Maybe…But still…I think we should go to Banana Joe's after school tomorrow and talk to his mom. If she still has that painting, I want to look at it again."

"What good's that going to do?"

Gumball whipped his head around to glare at the goldfish, who flinched slightly. "I don't know, Darwin, but something isn't right and I need to try to figure it out! Maybe there's something in that painting that'll give me a clue!"

Darwin held up his hands in a defensive manner. "Okay, man, calm down."

The cat sighed, placing a paw against his forehead. "It's just that…he seemed really freaked out about something. I think he was trying to tell us something, and we…" He sighed again, his fingers grasping at clumps of fur in frustration.

Darwin's tone was softer now. "Look, we'll get to the bottom of this. Just try to get some sleep."

Gumball didn't respond this time, allowing his body to sink back into the sunken mattress and rewrapping himself in the tousled sheets. He lay facing the wall, opening and closing his eyes repeatedly as he tried to will himself into slumber, but Rob's face would not leave his mind. It was a haunting image, Rob's face contorted with fear and desperation as he cried out for them to stop, only for said cries to be silenced as he was wiped from existence. He clung desperately to the hope that Rob was out there, keeping a low profile as he plotted his next act of vengeance, but there would be no rest for him until he found out for himself. He had to find him, or he would never forgive himself for as long as he lived.

0oooooo0

"So…you guys just wanna talk to my mom?"

The disappointment in the little banana's tone was clear, and both Gumball and Darwin couldn't help but feel guilty as they revealed their true intentions. Banana Joe had been so excited when they had approached him after getting on the bus and asked to come to his house, clearly thinking they had wanted to hang out.

"I'm sorry, man, it's just…I kind of wanted to ask your mom if she still had that painting of Rob."

Banana Joe raised a brow. "Oh…uhh…okay?"

The cat sighed, shoulders slumping. "Look, it's just really important, okay? I just really need to ask her about it."

The banana shrugged his shoulders, his disappointment still mildly noticeable. "Okay…if you want."

Both Darwin and Gumball sat down in the seat adjacent to Banana Joe's, glancing at one another with apprehensive gazes. They sat in silence for most of the bus ride, oblivious to the loud chatter of their classmates all around them. A few paper wads bounced off their heads, which they barely acknowledged. Any other time, they would have happily returned fire at whoever had launched them their way, but they couldn't bring themselves to engage in their usual shenanigans.

"You know…what does it say about us?"

Darwin jumped slightly when he heard his brother finally speak up after such a long silence. He turned to him with a quirked brow, as he was clueless to what the context of his words was. "What does what say?"

"Well, I mean…we just erased him, Darwin. 'Oh hey, this guy's being a bother! Let's just erase him from existence! It's not like he matters anyway! No one cares 'cause he's a nobody!' You get what I mean? What does it say about someone who does that? Okay, yeah, he's my nemesis, but…I don't exactly feel like the good guy here."

"But that's not how it was, man! I wasn't thinking that way, and I know you weren't thinking it, either! We didn't think at all, Gumball. It was a split-second decision that we didn't have time to think about." Darwin placed a hand on his brother's shoulder as he watched him hide his face in his hands, heaving a frustrated sigh. Another paper wad bounced off the cat's head and this time he grabbed it with an aggravated growl before rotating around to peer over the top of the seat. His eyes immediately locked on Tobias when he caught him snickering.

"I'M NOT IN THE MOOD, YOU JERK!" he shouted as he flung the paper wad back at the preteen, hitting him square in the face.

"Okay, geez…" the boy mumbled dejectedly.

His outburst forced a brief silence within the bus and earned a few concerned glances from his classmates. He caught Darwin staring at him out of the corner of his eye and he uttered a quick apology under his breath as he settled back into his seat. "This whole thing's got me rattled, okay?" he reasoned, to which Darwin nodded in understanding.

The bus finally came to a stop in front of their classmate's house. His usual cheerfulness seemingly restored, Banana Joe bounced to the front of the bus and quickly gestured for Gumball and Darwin to follow. "C'mon, guys!" he called to them as he hopped down the steps. Darwin and Gumball followed after him in silence, both boys very much aware of the other's anxiety. Banana Joe was as upbeat as ever, holding the door open for his classmates and gesturing for them to enter. Even if they weren't necessarily there to hang out, he was always thrilled to have company.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home! Gumball and Darwin are here!"

Banana Bob was situated on the sofa. He briefly glanced away from his newspaper to offer the boys a quick greeting, while Banana Barbara exited the kitchen as soon as she heard her son announce their arrival. She happily extended her arms as Joe skipped over to her to give her a hug. "Hey, Mom, Gumball and Darwin wanted to talk to you," he said as he pulled out of his mother's arms and gestured to his friends. Gumball took the cue and stepped forward.

"Hey, Barbara, I um…wanted to ask you about that painting? You know…the one of Rob I asked you to paint after we erased him?" he asked nervously.

Barbara smiled and nodded in understanding.

"You wouldn't happen to have it with you, would you? It's kind of important."

"Of course!" she said happily and waved for the boys to follow.

They both followed the maddeningly upbeat banana out to the garage, which she had made her own personal art gallery. Both their jaws hit the floor when she flipped the light switch to reveal the massive collection of paintings that lined the brick wall. It was still an unsettling feeling to see themselves in her paintings, past events that they had experienced right there before their eyes, playing out in bold, colorful brushstrokes.

"This still weirds me out, man," Gumball whispered to his brother, who nodded in agreement. They turned back to Barbara, who they saw was hobbling over to the painting of their interest. She plucked it off the wall and brought it over to them, still all smiles. Gumball reached out with shaky hands to take the painting, his brows furrowing in concentration as his eyes scanned every inch of the canvas for an explanation. When he found nothing of interest, he slowly glanced back up at her. "B-Barbara…the reason we wanted to see this…umm…we haven't seen Rob anywhere since you painted this. Shouldn't he have come back by now? I mean…you paint the future, right? Well…it's the future now, so shouldn't he be here?"

The smile never left the banana's face as she happily replied, "There is no future." The way she spoke those words made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

The two boys both shot each other concerned glances.

"Um…I'm sorry?"

A soft gasp came from Gumball's right side, and he quickly turned to his brother, noticing his attention was on something else entirely.

"Gumball…"

Darwin took a few tentative steps towards the vast collection of paintings, his gaze sternly fixed on one in particular. He slowly glanced back at his brother, who made his way over to see what had grabbed the fish's attention. "What…What is this?" Darwin whispered as he looked back at the painting. In this particular piece, they could see themselves, along with the rest of their family, all huddled together in some sort of strange location that they had never seen before, clearly terrified of their situation. It didn't look like anything of this world. "Gumball, what is this?"

"I…I don't know, man," the feline whimpered. He threw a nervous glance at Banana Barbara, the urge to question her about the painting strong, but he was quick to extinguish it. It was unclear if she even had the answer herself, but he didn't want to know it if she did. Sometimes ignorance was bliss. "I…We need to go," he said hastily as he placed the painting of Rob back on the wall and turned to grab his now heavily confused brother by the arm.

Banana Barbara simply waved happily as they scurried out of the garage and back into the house. She then glanced at her little easel where a blank canvas rested, ready to receive the strokes of her brush. She crossed her arms and lightly tapped her face in thought. She grinned as she was hit with a bolt of inspiration, and she quickly went to grab her paintbrush.

0oooooo0

Gumball dragged his brother out of the garage and rushed for the front door, much to Banana Joe's confusion. "Uh…bye, guys?" he said to their retreating backs as he slowly waved.

"Gumball, wait, what are you-" Darwin nearly stumbled and fell as his brother continued yanking him along, dashing out the front door and practically throwing themselves off the porch. It wasn't until they rounded the corner at the end of the street before he finally stopped to release him. "Dude, what the heck?!"

Gumball placed his hands on his knees as he hunched over to catch his breath. "I'm sorry…I'm just…I'm just freaking the freak out a little right now, Darwin."

"What's going on? What was up with that painting? And where's Rob?!"

"I…I don't know," the cat replied meekly, feeling tears prick his eyes. "I thought he…" He grit his teeth in an attempt to keep himself from breaking down.

"What…What does this mean, Gumball? What's she talking about? Does Rob not exist anymore?!"

"I don't know, Darwin! I…" The cat glanced down at his feet, suddenly feeling light-headed. His breathing became shallow as he clutched his head in a panic. "What've I done? How could I just…? How could we…? He's gone! We erased him! We might as well be murderers, Darwin!"

Darwin recoiled slightly. "Dude, he was trying to hurt us. We just…reacted. I told you, we didn't really have time to think about it," he reasoned gently, though his own guilt was very easily detectable in the way his words shook as he spoke. "He can't be gone. He has to be around somewhere."

Gumball only shook his head in response as he began walking again, no destination in mind. He tightly folded his arms over his chest, staring at his feet as he walked.

"Was there anything in Rob's painting that you could see?" Darwin asked as he quickly skipped after his brother.

"No, there was nothing. It was like…static. It was just nothingness." The two boys shot each other unnerved glances as they continued on in uneasy silence. Every now and again, Gumball would scan the surroundings for any signs of the cyclops, still holding out hope that he might be lurking out there somewhere. "Man…I'd give anything to walk into one of Rob's traps right about now," he said longingly. "He could jump out and strangle me for all I care, just as long as I know he still exists."

"What does this mean for us, Gumball? That place in Barbara's painting…is that where Rob is? Are we going to end up there, too?"

Gumball lifted a paw to his head. "I-I don't know, Darwin. I don't even know what that place was! I don't-AH!" Gumball felt his foot catch on something, causing him to hit the sidewalk rather hard. "What the what did I just trip on?" Pushing himself up, Gumball glanced over his shoulder, noticing Darwin looking down at the ground with a perplexed gaze. The feline scrambled to his feet and looked down to see for himself, equally confused when he saw what looked to be a perfectly straight ridge running along the ground. "What the…?" The boy crouched down to get a better look, running a finger along the ridge. "It almost looks like a crease."

The two boys walked on either side of the crease, following it until they felt themselves bump into something solid. They both gaped, completely at a loss as they took a step back.

"I don't…What is this?!" Gumball shouted. He felt something brush past his cheek, disappearing into the crease before he could even determine what it had been. The two boys glanced at their feet as they noticed fallen leaves and other small light-weight debris slipping through the crease. As they both stepped closer, they could feel the slight pull from the other side of whatever it was they were looking at. Swallowing nervously, Gumball slipped a shaky paw through the crease, looking back at his brother with wide, terrified eyes. "Should I?"

Darwin nodded slowly, taking a cautious step back.

Inhaling deeply, Gumball began pulling. In an instant, both boys were overcome with the rush of powerful winds as what looked to be some sort of strange dimension was revealed to them. As the winds whipped past them, they both peered inside the opening, their hearts simultaneously dropping into their stomachs. Overwhelmed, they only managed to look a few moments before quickly shutting the opening and jumping away in shock, both of them falling back on their rears.

"What…What was that?!" Darwin shouted as he got to his feet again.

After a few silent moments of processing what he had just seen, Gumball clenched his fists in determination. "I think we might have just figured out where Rob is." After dusting off his pants, he turned on his heel and started walking away with quick, determined strides.

"Wait, where're you going?" Darwin inquired as he trotted after him.

"To go buy rope."

The fish raised a brow in confusion. "Rope? Why would you need…?" Darwin stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in realization. "Woah, wait! Gumball, hold on!"

0oooooo0

After swirling her paintbrush around in the cup of murky water, Banana Barbara selected her next color and brought it to the canvas as she hummed a tune. She made a few final touches to Gumball's likeness before switching over to Rob's, giving a light nod of approval once finished. She then dabbed her brush in the messy dollop of blue paint and began her work on the third figure in the image, her gaze hardening in concentration. Once she felt she had captured everything her inspiration had presented to her, she took a few steps back to get a better look. She sighed contently before going to pluck the now completed piece from the easel.

Barbara managed to find an empty space on the wall and quickly hung the canvas there, stepping back to once again give it another once over. She looked over every detail of the piece: the grayscale tones of the static background, the rocky platforms and corrupted objects that floated within it, and of course the three subjects of the painting, who all sat huddled together on one of those stone platforms.

The banana smiled, happy with her work.

0oooooo0

There had been many attempts from Darwin to talk him out of his self-appointed task, but he had finally tuned him out after a while. He knew what he was doing could very well be suicide, but living with the guilt of what he had done was far worse by comparison.

"You know this is crazy, right?"

Gumball had absolutely no reason to disagree with such a question.

"Yep."

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Nope."

Gumball dropped the rope onto the ground with an exhausted grunt, doubtful that it would be long enough to get very far within the strange dimension, which had been his original plan. Now he figured the best course of action was to go in alone and have Darwin toss him the rope to help pull him in once he returned. He knew there was no way he could guarantee a safe return, of course. He had to accept the possibility that he might not make it back, a potential price for taking responsibility for his actions.

"How do we even know Rob is in there?"

Gumball sighed. "We don't, Darwin, but how else are we gonna know? If he's there…we can't just walk away. It's our fault he's in there. We have to try."

The fish wrung his hands nervously. "Dude…I'm scared. I don't know if I want to go in there. What if…What if we can't get back?"

Gumball looked at the boy seriously, his expression quickly becoming soft with understanding. "I'm not going to ask you to go in, bro. Actually, I had planned on going in alone, anyway." He nudged the pile of rope with his foot. "I'll go in and look for Rob…and when I come back, just toss me the rope and help pull me in, okay?" Seeing his brother's apprehension, he quickly added, "I have to do this, Darwin. I'll never be able to live with myself if I don't."

His brother only nodded, his bottom lip trembling a bit.

"Come on…help me open this."

The two boys took their places on either side of the crease, both of them mentally counting to three before prying it open, feeling the winds whipping past their cheeks once again. "Are you sure about this?!" Darwin shouted to his brother as he noticed him moving towards the edge, preparing to jump.

Gumball's terrified eyes scanned the seemingly never-ending world of static before slowly looking back at his brother with a nervous smile. "No. Wish me luck, man," he said before stepping off the edge and leaving their world.

Author's Note: Part 2 doesn't have much further to go, but it's likely I won't actually post the next chapter until I've actually started working on Part 3, a chapter I'm somewhat nervous about as there is quite a lot that's going to go down in that chapter and I'm going to be agonizing over every detail. I would have had this chapter out a little sooner, but there was a lot of last minute details I kept going back and adding.