Ch. 8: All I Needed

As Carrie and the Wattersons followed the receptionist to Gumball and Darwin's room, the tension and anticipation grew as they neared the room.

"Room 211… This is it." The receptionist said as she opened the door and then left for her post. They all walked in and stopped dead when they got their newest look at the boys' conditions. They saw the boys wrapped up in bandages and asleep but they were ecstatic that they were okay.

"Who would do this to them?" Nicole said weakly as she looked at the boys.

"Nmmmmg…" They were all startled as Gumball began to stir and open his eyes… "What…? Oh… Hey guys…" Gumball said trying to sit up in his bed before the pain forced him back down.

"Gumball! What happened?!" Gumball thought it over for a moment.

"I don't even know how to describe what happened…" Gumball finally said weakly.

"What do you mean?" Carrie asked.

"Well…"

*Flashback 2 hours ago*

Gumball and Darwin were walking down the street to go home. Anais would be riding the bus home as her school was across town. The two were arguing over them missing the bus.

"I can't believe you made us miss the bus!" Gumball exclaimed to his brother.

"It's not my fault that the closet locked itself!" Darwin shouted back.

"Not your fault?! How'd you get into a locked closet to begin with?!"

"I don't know!"

*Pwoof*

Gumball and Darwin's arguing came to a halt at the sound and looked in its direction. There they say a man dressed in all black with a hood up to prevent them from seeing his face.

"Can we help you?" Gumball asked. The man didn't respond with words. He instead raised his hand and pointed his finger at Darwin, causing him to flinch and his eyes to widen. Soon he began to tremble.

"Darwin…?" Suddenly, Darwin began to radiate a fiery red aura as did the hooded man's hand. Gumball moved in front of his brother to look into his eyes… only to be smacked in the face by the back of Darwin's fin. "What was that for?!" Gumball turned around to see the man had disappeared.

"Where'd he go?!" Gumball looked back only to see Darwin swing an orange translucent sword fly right by his head, leaving a small cut on his cheek. "OW!" Gumball jumped back from his brother who had fully lost his mind.

"Bro… Calm down… Put the sword d-"Gumball didn't even finish before Darwin started unleashing a flurry of attacks on Gumball. Gumball wasn't the best at dodging the attacks as the most he could do was limit the damage that Darwin actually did.

"I've got to stop this!" Gumball took off for his house with Darwin in hot pursuit. Gumball arrived at his house and looked around desperately for something to fight back with. He finally saw something metallic and picked it up. Darwin finally caught up with him and attacked but Gumball turned around blocked it in time.

"Sorry bro…" Gumball tilted the pipe and slid the blade off of it and followed it up…

*Thunk*

…With a swift blow across Darwin's head, causing him to stagger. Gumball couldn't look at his brother when he dealt the strike but when he looked back the sword that Darwin was holding shattered and knocked both of them back, causing cuts to form on Darwin as well as knocking out Gumball. Both of them laid there on the lawn till Anais finally came home.

*End Flashback*

As Gumball finished his story, everyone in the room was understandably shocked but also in disbelief. Though the disbelief was minor as their numerous misadventures have proven things like this can happen, especially to them.

"What kind of person would do this to you guys?!" Anais asked wide-eyed at the story. Gumball shrugs until it suddenly hits him:

"A man by the name of Textegear who wants to ensure for his bosses that a prophecy is not fulfilled… A prophecy… involving you."

Gumball finally put the pieces together to figure out who that man was… It was Textegear!

Gumball remained silent for the longest time before finally speaking,

"I don't know… no one I know could do what I saw happen…" Gumball had to lie… he could risk his family getting into this. The guilt and loss would eat him away. Everyone didn't exactly believe he was telling the truth (except Richard who would believe anything) but decided to let it go for another time. Gumball and Darwin were okay and they can figure out whom to beat the crap out of later.

They all look to Darwin who was covered in less bandages then Gumball was. Apparently, Darwin's condition was better and more stable than Gumball's was when they came in.

Suddenly Darwin began to stir and open his eyes, much to everyone's relief.

"Ngggh… what happened...?" Darwin asked, looking around to see he was in a hospital.

"You don't remember?" Nicole asked.

"Nope… I was walking with Gumball and we were arguing about us missing the bus… and then nothing." Nicole explained what happened after that, much to Darwin's shock.

"I DID WHAT?!" Darwin practically screamed after hearing the story. "No… that couldn't have happened!"

"That's what Gumball said happened." Richard explained, having finally caught up with all the events. Darwin looked at Gumball hoping he was joking. He never looked more serious in his life.

"I don't believe it…" As Darwin laid back down, everyone sat in silence for the longest time. After a while, Darwin fell asleep and Nicole noticed the time and decided that it was time that they left. She went to a nurse and found out the boys couldn't leave till tomorrow. She came back and looked at everyone.

"Time to go everyone. Do you want a ride home, Carrie?" Nicole asked.

"No thank you, Mrs. Watterson. I think I'll stay a little longer." Carrie said, coolly sitting back in her chair. The Wattersons left soon afterward, leaving Carrie alone with Gumball and Darwin… but mostly Gumball.

Her smile faded as she got out of her chair and moved it to the side of Gumball's bed.

"Okay, Gumball… Tell me the truth right now." Gumball was caught and he knew it. "Tobias attacked me with some sort of gun and I know he couldn't have gotten it without some sort of help." Gumball eyes widened as he heard what happened. "I'm smart enough to put the pieces together. You know what's going on and I'm not leaving until I hear the truth!"

Gumball knew she was serious but he still hesitated in telling the full truth. Finally he realizes that Carrie deserves the truth and decides to tell her everything he knows.

"Alright… but if you don't believe me, that's your problem…" He tells her about the dream he had a few days ago and explains everything that he was told by Clockwerek... all the way down to what Tobias was going to do, not to trust Penny, the homecoming, the end of the world, Textegear, Carrie's silhouette everything! As Gumball explained the story, Carrie's expression never changed as she listened to the near impossible story. Once the story finished, Carrie sat back in her chair and sighs before starting to laugh quietly.

"I have to say Gumball… I've heard of some far-fetched stories in my afterlife and my new life. But yours… it's the only one where the logic actually adds up to an extent that I can believe you…" Gumball was shocked… he didn't think she would be convinced this easily. "I still think the story is almost impossible for anyone to believe… but that's to people who don't live the life you have. But I don't think some omnipotent controller of time appeared in your dreams and told YOU of all people to be the last hope of our world and then selected me to help you through it all!" Carrie was almost laughing

"Well when you put it like that…" Gumball felt a little saddened that Carrie didn't believe him as much as he would have liked. But then Gumball had a question of his own, "You said that Tobias attacked you… what happened exactly?" Carrie explained what happened but then came the difficult part…

"But there's one thing you should probably know…" Gumball tilted his head a little, "While I was watching them… Tobias and Penny… kissed." Gumball's heart sank like lead. He didn't want to believe it… but then it was Clockwerek again who made Gumball come to another revelation,

"One last thing. Don't trust anything Penny tells you from this point on. It will be a lie and will bring your doom before the homecoming even gets here."

Gumball knew Carrie was telling the truth… that Clockwerek was real and so was what he said… but that made it feel just that much worse.

"No…No…" Tears began to form in Gumball's eyes as he began to break down. He punched the bed in frustration as he finally broke. Carrie could only watch as she had never seen Gumball cry before. She sat and watched for a good minute before she finally decided to do something… and that something was to give Gumball a hug.

She threw an arm around him and just held him. The suddenness of the hug caused Gumball to stop crying. He didn't look up at Carrie right away as he… enjoyed the hug as it was kind of what he needed at the time. Just someone to hold him. When he finally stopped crying, Carrie let go of him and sat back in her chair, sort of embarrassed she just did that.

"T-thanks but… why did you just hug me?"

"I had to get you to stop crying somehow? Would you have preferred a punch in the shoulder or slap across the face?" Carrie said shrugging with a warm smile, which was something Carrie did more often since she got her body. Gumball couldn't help but laugh at the alternatives.

"No thanks, I'd rather have the hug!" Carrie herself began to laugh.

*Knock Knock*

The two looked towards the door to see the nurse walk in.

"Excuse me, Miss. I'm afraid that visiting hours are over and I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The nurse said with a slightly sad face.

"Okay, give me a minute." Carrie said sitting up. The nurse left and waited outside the room to escort Carrie out.

"Be careful getting home, Carrie…"

"I think you're the one who needs to be careful. But don't worry about me… Just focus on what we're going to need to fix later. See ya tomorrow!" Carrie said with a wave goodbye.

"See ya!" Gumball said with a wave of his own, leaving him alone. He looked at the clock and decided he might as well get some sleep.

As Carrie walked home, she had a bright smile stuck on her face… and rightfully so…

Because Gumball could be hers…

A/N UKS: Making stories up as he goes along since July 2012!

Another chapter down… and we're still so far from the end…

This won't be the longest story I've written but it will be a while before we actually get to the end… and I mean the final end.

Random question: If you were to pick a song to be this story's theme, what would you pick? Just asking.

Also to those who use the guest review: Apparently if you sign into the mobile version of this site, it will turn off guest reviews if you moderate your reviews like I do. So to anyone who couldn't get a review out, I'm super sorry because I didn't realize that could happen.

Anyway: Till next time, Sal out! (ya I'm done saying the middle part)