Disclaimer: I don't own AWOG in any way, shape, or form.

Chapter 11: The Secret Begins

Carrie wore a silly grin on her face as she lay on her bed, reflecting on the events that were still fresh in her mind. One thing was for sure. She was very satisfied with how the day had gone.

Contrary to his animalistic side, Gumball was a very gentile lover when he was in his right mind. While it was true the sex had been great when they were both under the influence of their other halves; it had been a rough, desperate seeking of release the two had embodied during their mating. Carrie attributed that to she and Gumball having sat on their feelings too long and it had all gone in the direction it had because of that. She wasn't complaining though, not in the least. It had certainly been one hell of a mind blowing first time for them, that much she was sure of.

But afterward, once all the suppressed urges and lust had died off, they had left only the love of two people in place… the way Gumball had touched her, caressed her, the way he held her… God that had been something else.

While it hadn't been near as rushed, the second, and even third times after their first act of sex had been just as pleasing, but also far more fulfilling.

…now if only she could find a way to break the news to Tina.

'Ah, shit.' Carrie cursed to herself. She could not believe that she had forgotten about the one person who would be completely devastated to learn of Gumball being claimed.

Sitting up Carrie winced at the small bit of pain that raced through her lower half. She'd been sore as all hell when they'd finally left that janitor's closet, but Carrie had not really cared at the time. She'd been too high on the feeling of being Gumball's and of him being hers. But now the pain served as a reminder that she had betrayed her best friend and the closest thing she had to a sister.

"what am I going to do?" she whispered once this set in. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Carrie sat like that in complete silence for a while as she weighed her options and wrestled with the situation.

An idea came to her just as her phone lit up, showing the face of her mate.

Grinning slightly at her brilliant, but risky plan, Carrie reached for it and answered. She just wished it didn't have the possibility of backfiring on her.

"Hey…"

xXx

"Are you sure this is what you want, Wanda?" Jojo asked of the woman across from her.

It was late in the evening and the two sat at a table in a small coffee shop somewhere around Elmore's business district.

"It is." Wanda nodded sadly, gripping her coffee in both hands. "Terrence refuses to have anything to do with Tina, and I'm afraid he's going to do something to her."

Jojo nodded, going over everything she had learned that and of what she'd been asked. She loved Tina like another granddaughter, but to do what was being asked of her….to do something like this to one of Gumball's best friends?

"Please Josephine." Wanda pleaded. "Terrence in no longer the man he was when Tina was born. He's been coming home drunk more and more these last months and has turned his fists on me more than once. I've managed to hide the bruises from Tina, but he's getting worse, more violent. I don't want this to happen to Tina."

What 'this' was, was revealed when Wanda pulled the caller of her shirt down enough to reveal the edge of a large purple bruise.

Jojo's eyes darkened as she looked at it. Wanda had been a childhood friend of Richard and Nicole before their deaths and had since become one the few people Jojo could confide in when she needed to and vice versa. One of those happened to be what Gumball did for work. Luckily Wanda had known Jojo for years and knew she would not have gone along with such a thing lightly, if at all had things been different for the family. But the events that had scared the three of them, Gumball in particular, made Wanda understand, she didn't necessarily like it, but she stayed quiet about it. she'd lost both her best friends to that killer that day, and she would be damned if anyone else would to another.

For Jojo learning about and seeing the evidence of Wanda's abuse stole the elder's nerves. "Very well," she muttered, taking a sip of her coffee. "it'll be difficult to get him to go along with this, you know."

Wanda nodded. Gumball was a good kid at heart, and she was saddened she would have to do this to both him and Tina, but she knew it was for the best. Terrence hand changed from the man she used to love. He no longer looked at her with a gaze of care or even the hint of love that used to be there. He hadn't for months now, not since he'd gotten this new job. Wanda didn't know what it was per-say, but given the gun she'd found in their room when she'd been cleaning one day, as well as the large stack of hundred dollar bills, she felt it wasn't the legal kind. And definitely not the good illegal kind of work Gumball did.

"Speaking of whom, how is Gumball these days? He hasn't been over in a while." Wanda asked, hoping to divert the conversation to a better topic. "It's been a long time since I last saw him."

Jojo grinned over her coffee at her friend. "He's the same as always I suppose. Happy as can be, though the number of girls he has gunning for attention is unexpected." She shot Wanda a pointed look.

The younger woman giggled, "not my fault the kid's a lady killer, he gets it from his mother. Nicole always had a number of boys vying for her attention even though she only had eyes for Richard." She paused, "I'm not sure he likes my Tina the way she wants him to though. She hardly shuts up about him sometimes."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Wanda." Jojo smirked, mischievousness was playing in her eyes.

"spill, Bunny." Wanda demanded, grinning at the twitch in the older woman's long ears. Just like Anais Jojo hated being called 'Bunny'.

"I was going to," Jojo muttered shaking off the mild irritation as her smirk returned to her lips. "Gumball tries to hide it, but I can tell he feels every bit the same as Tina." She paused for a moment to let the news sink in for her friend. "There's been more than a few nights where I've had to get up for either the bathroom or water and I've heard him talking in his sleep. He even seems to have gained and returns the same for Carrie."

Jojo watched a variety of emotions appear on Wanda's face at the news; confusion, surprise, amusement and just a bit of unease. Ultimately Wanda settled on amusement. "Well, can't say I'm all that surprised really. From what Tina's told me she and Carrie are some of the best of friends. If they have the same feelings about Gumball I hope they can find a way to make it work, and if not then at least they stay friends."

Jojo nodded, while it wasn't exactly encouraged, polygamy was not unheard of in Elmore due to the majority of the population being…less than completely human. Most people's views of the subject matched Jojo's own 'it happens in nature all the time, it can happen here'. Those whose views didn't match simply ignored it, thinking that if they didn't see it, it didn't exist.

"I am beginning to worry though," Jojo muttered, her mood becoming somber. Wanda picked up on it, but didn't ask as the bunny eared elder continued, "A few months ago Gumball got into some trouble with the school during a dodge-ball game."

Wanda nodded. She knew of the event.

"I talked to Gumball about it and he tried to play it off by saying that it wouldn't happen again. But the way he described what happened…"

"Yeah?" Wanda prodded curiously.

"I think Gumball will be forced by his instincts to make his choice sooner than any one of us or them is ready for them to." Jojo muttered, unknowing that it had already happened.

xXx

"Thank you, please come again!" Lexy called to her latest customer as they walked out of her place of work. Mentally though she sighed. Why had her master advised to get a job again?

'Oh yeah,' she thought, moving to clean a table and find that she'd been left no tip. 'he thinks it'll help me blend in better with the locals if I have a 'paying' job.' No need to have the locals of Elmore wonder how it was that a seemingly normal teenage girl managed to pay her bills without any obvious source of income. That's what he had said anyway.

'Could have just gone with the old rich but busy parent approach,' she thought annoyed as she finished her table, "done it before." She muttered.

"What was that, Lex?" Lexy froze and turned when her "boss" spoke from behind her.

He was a large, stocky figured Dog man with a mean face covered in a thick mustache. His K-9s poked out from behind his lips and his nose was as sharp as her own.

"N-nothing Mr. Bone, Sir." She stuttered, smiling sheepishly at him. He was also the only person to actually scare her, besides her master that is.

"You sure? You haven't been quite yourself lately." He replied, staring down at her with a curious gaze.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, Sir." Lexy tried to wave of the man's concern. "still not used to the long hours after school."

"I see." Mr. Bone muttered, rubbing his chin as he continued to eye her.

The door chimed as another customer came in, "Tell ya what; take care of these ones and you can take the rest of the night off."

"Wow, really sir?" It was with genuine surprise that Lexy asked the question as Mr. Bone was usually a very temperamental man who hated when his employees slacked. Someone being sent home early without being fired was unheard of.

"Sure," Mr. Bone replied, waving his hand dismissively at her, "you've been working hard, Lex. I can see you're exhausted. You deserve some time to rest a bit."

"Thank you!" Lexy thanked him and hurried off to take care of her customers. Maybe now she could make good on her thoughts about Gumball from the previous night.

However, the girl was completely caught off guard when the person from her thoughts was standing at the counter with his arm around the shoulders of someone she knew to be his friend and counted as her own for the moment.

"Gumball? Carrie?" she asked, surprised at the arm Gumball had around the girl's shoulder. "Hey Lexy," Gumball grinned, waving his free hand. "When did you start working here?"

"About a month ago," Lexy answered, staring at them. The way Gumball held Carrie and how the girl showed no objection to it spoke of a comfortableness that had not been there the last time she had seen the two together. For a reason Lexy couldn't explain, she didn't like it.

She grinned at them despite this though and pushed the feeling into the back of her mind. "So what will it be?" she asked, "are you guys dating now?" she couldn't help asking the last one as a smirk came to her face at the chance to tease her friends.

"Just two cappuccinos, and yes actually." The grin Carrie had as she answered nearly split her face in two. She wrapped her arms around Gumball's waist. Gumball blushed at this, but his grin didn't leave his face, nor did he say anything to deny the girls statement.

"No way!" Lexy exclaimed in shock. The feeling from before came rushing back as her eyes widened at the conformation.

"Yes way!"

Lexy said nothing for several seconds as she allowed her head to process the new information. "Well…um…congrats. I can see you guys are very happy." She congratulated the two somewhat awkwardly as she made their order.

"Thanks, Lexy." Gumball said with a smile as he handed over the money to pay for the drinks. The two left shortly afterward.

Lexy was quick to follow after them after cleaning up and clocking out. She had to know more about this new development for her mission. Despite thinking this however, some part of Lexy told her she needed to know for herself.

xXx

"God damnit all to hell!"

'SMASH'

Anais seethed silently to herself as she pulled her hand out of the freshly made dent in her desk. For two whole days now she had worked tirelessly at finding leads to their crime lord's identity. She'd forgone sleep, school, and all but the smallest of meals during this time and the only things keeping her at this point was a migraine and the numerous energy drinks she had consumed during that time. The caffeine from which was certainly not helping her migraine any.

"What am I missing?" she muttered rubbing her sore hands and feeling her stiff fingers pop as she moved them in a fashion other than typing.

Other than those tattoos a few of the men her brother had killed in his jobs over the last few years, Anais had nothing to go on. She'd tried everything she could think of to get the information they needed. Even going as far as to hack into the cities governmental systems. And yet. Nothing.

She groaned as she got up from her chair. After working so long and coming up with so little Anais knew she needed a break and her stomach was speaking to her. A good meal was definitely in order, and maybe even a small nap.

However, as she made her way toward the kitchen Anais still pondered on the question. What was she missing? There was connection buried somewhere in the evidence she had; what was it though? "Okay, better question: what do I have so far?" she asked out loud. The house was empty of everybody besides her so it would go unheard by anyone else.

She dug a frozen pizza out of the freezer and popped it into the microwave. It wouldn't be the best of meals, but it would do. "I've got someone promising Gumball, Grandma, and myself certain death if we don't back off of the crime around here." She muttered quietly, pacing around the kitchen. "there's a mole somewhere sent by this guy who is apparently close to us and is just waiting for the order to kill us apparently. I've found minimal leads as to who this person is but none as to who this mole is that he/she sent. Those that I have are tattoos on the right arms of the thugs Gumball took out during that arms bust/protection job a few months ago. One being the symbol of Ra, another of Apophis, and the last Isis." As Anais mused over all of this she concentrated on the tattoos as those were the only connections she had to go on.

She knew gangs tended to take names of powerful figures, be they mythical or otherwise, to make themselves seem more dangerous and/or important. This however, did not feel like it was the case to Anais. To her it felt as if these tattoos were something deeper. More like brandings.

"Come on Ana, think!" she told herself. She rubbed at her temps as she racked her brain again and felt her migraine worsen more. "what do these tattoos have to do with the crime ring? Ra the sun, Apophis the serpent, and Isis the tiet. Ra, Apophis, Isis. …R.A.I. …"

The answer dawned on Anais as a curse escaped her lips. The R.A.I. syndicate? "Holy fucking shit!" the girl sprinted back to her computer as the microwave dinged, the pizza inside completely forgotten about. If she was right, they had stumbled into something they weren't ready for in the least.

xXx

For a normal person, overhearing a conversation from over a dozen yards away would be near impossible. For one Alexis Rose though, it was relatively easy. Not only had she been trained for such a cause but as part cat her hearing was already above that of a normal person or other hybrids by several degrees.

So as she trailed her targets/friends Lexy could hear their conversation, even with the low voices they were using and the distance between them.

"…secret from Tina?" she heard Gumball ask.

"For now." Was Carrie's reply, "I know this will hurt her when she finds out, but if it works out like I hope, all three of us will be happy."

This spiked Lexy's curiosity as she watched Gumball snake an arm around Carrie's waist and pull her close. She felt an odd feeling in her chest at the sight, but brushed it aside in favor of her mission. Still though, Lexy could not help but wonder, 'what are they talking about?'

"Speaking of which." Gumball said. "Are you sure that's the path you want to take this? I know it's not unheard of and I'm flattered, and you already know what my instincts say about it, but-"

Lexy's eyes widened when she watched Carrie turn in Gumball's grip and pull him down into a very obvious French kiss. It went on for several moment and she nearly lost track of whose face was who's before the two surfaced for air. Even from her distance from them, Lexy could see Gumball's face was a cherry red.

"I'm sure." Carrie responded; there was a seriousness in the ghost girl's voice that Lexy had not heard in the months she'd known her. "the only reason I don't want Tina to know right now it because I want sometime with you all to myself. I'm allowed to be a little selfish with my mate, okay?"

"Okay." Was the intelligent response from Gumball. Lexy could tell his mind was still reeling from the kiss, and she could see the dopy grin on his face as well.

Deciding she'd seen enough for one night, Lexy turned and walked back in the direction she'd come. She made sure not to resort to the rooftops until she knew she was well out of Gumball's range. One thing she would not register until she got back to her apartment however, were the tears streaming down her face. Nor would she be able to figure out why there was an ache in her chest that had not been there before.

xXx

Gumball could only grin as he kissed Carrie good-night outside her house. "see you tomorrow?" he asked, smirking down at her.

"You know it." Carrie giggled, quickly stealing another kiss from her mate before darting into her home.

Gumball chuckled after her and began making his way home. Carrie only lived a few blocks from his house so it would only take a few minutes for him to make it home by foot.

At least it would have been had he not felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and a presence make itself known to him. The cat hybrid relaxed though, this was a presence he was well acquainted with. He just couldn't figure out why it felt so angry to his senses.

'Odd,' he thought, 'what did I do now?'

He walked a few more blocks, allowing the presence to think he had not sensed her yet and lull herself into a false sense of security. A block away from his home however, Gumball's form quickly vanished from the presence's sight, letting her know she'd been had.

"Fuck!" she cursed, preparing to flee as she knew Gumball hated being followed. It was for naught though as the cold metal of a blade was pressed against her neck not a second later.

"Language," his voice was annoyed as it growled in her ear. The girl blushed despite herself at the shivers it sent down her spine. The blade was withdrawn. "now what do I owe the pleasure of being followed when I'm off duty to, Chaos?"

Chaos huffed as she turned and glared at the now hooded teen. "Can't a girl check on her friend?" the blank look and silence she got in response told her he wasn't buying the excuse. "Fine." She huffed again, "Granny wants you home, now." She said. "Ana's found something." And with that the girl jumped into the air as her wings unfolded and took off, her wings flapping furiously as she silently fumed to herself.

Gumball was off in a slit second when he heard the message. If Anais had found something about the crime lords he had to be quick. Contacting Chaos to find him while he was off duty was only done when it was of grave importance, and he'd decided to leave his cellphone at home to avoid any interruptions on his and Carrie's date.

He would wish later that he'd known just what she'd found and what it meant not only for him, but the future of several others if they did not prepare properly for it.

Cut!

I don't really have anything to say about the absence here. Just know that life is getting in the way far more than I want it to. But I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Can't say as to when the next will be out but i will do what i can to get it here.

(1) Yes, I know. Why the would I microwave a perfectly good Pizza and possibly ruin it? all I can say is don't dis it before you try it. It's surprisingly good.