So uh, hello. It's been... Oh geez nearly 2 years since I've updated this. Truely sorry for that. I was mostly trying to get the story's version over on Wattpad all updated and caught up before working on any future chapters. But alas, now that um... That's handled, we can finally get on with the story! So here we are.

Now quick disclaimer. I've gotten like... REALLY better at writing since I last left this story on hiatus, so you might notice the heavy contrast between this and previous chapters, at least on here. (Wattpad version is a different case, its chapters are updated versions of the ones here)

With that said, enjoy the chapter.

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The nightmares wouldn't stop.

Gumball had tried his best to sleep that night, but it seemed quite difficult, each nightmare horrible in their own ways. Death. Hatred. Betrayal. Murder. It was truly a hard night, and it made him sick of all this. Sick of all the pain and killings and the Voice constantly pestering him each day.

Unfortunately, it couldn't stop him from going back to school. As he trudged through the hallway, small bags under his eyes, the Voice decided to bother him.

"Goood morning to my lovely little murderer! Say, what's on the mind today?"

The feline sighed, not acknowledging the Voice. However, it was beginning to become harder, as it kept swirling around him.

"Hey! Are you listening?! I'm trying to talk to you-"

"Can you just shut up?! Leave me alone." Gumball continued on, starting to notice the other kids looking at him warily. He tried to wave greeting, but it seems to only worry them. Some students whispered to each other about the bathroom incident. With a sigh, the cat then ignored them, not bothering to try to do much.

As he turned the corner, he found Rocky mopping up the floor, internally sighing in relief. The puppet had bandages seen covering his torso, but seemed to be in a good mood, humming along to the mp3 player he had his headphones into.

"Oh hey Rocky," Gumball approached a little closer, awkward in his steps. Rocky soon noticed him, snapped out of his music trance as his smile turned into a horrified frown. The cat could feel guilt, as he quickly stopped walking. "Um.. I just wanted to apologize for uh.. That an' all-"

"Yeah, yeah that's nice... Look I gotta go fix something goodbye." The puppet abandoned his mop cart, fleeing the corridor with his music.

The guilt began to seep in worse. Gumball frowned, as he silently continued on.

As he walked down the hallway, he could hardly block out the horrible rumors the kids told one another. It felt like utter torture having to hear it.

"I heard he nearly took out his heart.." One whispered, audible enough to hear to the feline. "Well I heard the school considering suspending him for good. I could listen through the office door." Another said, voice low.

"A few people told me that his family hates him." A third said, voice heard loud enough through the hall. "I'd be scared too if I was stuck living with a weird psycho."

Gumball could feel fear strike him as he listened to the last one, tears threatening to form in his eyes. The students wouldn't stop talking, as if they didn't even acknowledge his presence. It was all too much to bare.

The cat began to gradually speed walk, trying desperately to get away. He could hear most of the hallway being nothing but talking about him, how horrible and sick he was. He tried to wipe away his falling tears.

He could see Voice smiling from behind him, nearly catching himself before he could say anything towards it. It knew he couldn't do anything. The conversations were practically getting louder to him. He couldn't take it anymore.

Gumball finally turned around, an utter feeling of rage. "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP STOP IT STOP TALKING!"

He glared at them, clenching his fists. The kids all became frightened, as they slowly backed away, their eyes wide in horror. He practically enjoyed the sight, as he watched them run away, however the situation hit him. His anger quietly ceased, as the cat realized his mistake. A horrible feeling appeared inside him, as he slowly turned towards the lockers. Gray insane eyes stared back at him through the shiny reflection through the metal.

Tears began to scroll heavily down his cheeks, as he fell onto his knees and broke down crying.

"Congrats," The voice appeared beside him, chuckling. "You stood your ground pretty well there."

"CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT UP?!" Gumball looked up angrily, glaring at the voice. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"

The feline flinched, as he heard footsteps approaching him. He turned around, his face reading that of heavy remorse and tears, as he saw Darwin and Penny behind him, watching him with worry. They step closer, bending down to the floor. The two immediately hugged him.

Gumball's voice was lost in his throat, as he couldn't help but sob in their arms.

He couldn't make it through the day. The event in the hallway haunted him, and many times he had broken down in class, crying uncontrollably as others watched him with alarm. They didn't even reach out to comfort him in any way. Just staring.

Gumball quietly walked out the front doors, seeing his mother's teal small car awaiting him. As he got into the car, he tried not to face her, choosing to stare out the window.

"..Gumball?" Nicole looked concerned, keeping the car in park, much to the young cat's disappointment. "Sweetheart, are you okay?.. They told me over the phone what was going on, I was really worried.."

The cat didn't look at her. "...It's nothing."

"Honey, come on." Nicole turned him around, growing slightly alarmed as she saw the heavy tears pouring down his face. "Gumball? What's wrong?"

He didn't answer, as he pulled her into a hug, sobbing into her shoulder. Nicole hugged back, as she tried to calm him down, patting him on the head as she spoke reassuring words. "It's okay sweetie, everything's okay.."

By now she was worried for his well-being. What was it he wasn't telling her?

She drove them home, and led the crying feline inside, unaware of what horrors haunted him.

The evening was cold and dark to Gumball. To be fair, it felt like his whole world was. He wasn't crying anymore thankfully, but he was still rather glum, as he sat beside his family on the couch, all of them watching television together. Perhaps mind-numbing material would cheer him up.

Unfortunately, the channel 6 news came on instead, showing footage a robbery.

"This just in on the news, a robbery had occurred at a local supermarket. The man was not identified, but he had carried a handgun and shot several citizens. 2 were wounded, and 4 were fatally killed."

Gumball suddenly laughed, to the confusion of his family. They looked at him with slight concern, facing away from the TV now. Horrified, the blue cat was quick to cover his mouth, fear lingering. "...I'm sorry." He mumbled, as he got off the couch and ran upstairs, afraid to face them.

Even TV wasn't safe.

The cat entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him as he tried to collect himself, scratching the fur of his head. However, he paused, noticing himself in the mirror. For a few minutes, he leaned onto the sink, studying his features. All he could feel was hurt... Hatred towards himself.

Horrific memories began to replay in his mind, Gumball beginning to frown, as tears fell down his face. He looked down at the sink now, fighting to control himself. Earlier was too much to forget. All of it was too much to forget. He hated it, hated him.

Almost out of frustration, he finally snapped, and punched the mirror in front of him, the glass shattering as pieces fell into the sink, clattering against the surface. The young feline winced, as he felt pieces stuck in his paws. But he didn't care. Angrily, he grabbed pieces from the sink, sticking them into his hands, deeper and deeper as blood began to leak out.

He looked back at the broken mirror, some pieces still there, as he stared at himself angrily through it, his gray eyes glaring hatred at him back, as tears were in his eyes from the pain. He deserved this. He deserved the pain he had given to everyone else.

A loud knock was heard at the door, startling Gumball as he snapped out of his anger filled trance. Fear began to sink in, as he realized what mess he had created in the sink, his paws gushing out blood as the glass in the sink was covered in it. He quickly tried to grab them, but the pain grew worse, as he accidently let out a cry.

"...Gumball?"

Darwin had come in without warning, the sense that something was wrong. He gasped in horror at the sight, seeing the fearful look in the cat's eyes. Cautiously, he approached, closing the door behind him with a light click. He placed his fins on the sides of Gumball's face, a worried expression on his face.

The gray eyes had not vanished yet, lingering a little while longer. Darwin studied them for a brief moment, how mysterious and intimidating they were to him. "...What happened?.."

Gumball's gaze fell to the floor, him in tears. A few red puddles were seen there. "...I.. I broke the mirror... I couldn't take... I couldn't take it... I couldn't take me..." He blinked, eyes returning to normal, as he looked up at him, afraid of the reaction. "..I'm a freak Darwin... Nobody wants me.. Everyone's afraid of me and I can't even do anything about it no matter how hard I try to fix it..."

"..It's not your fault.." Darwin said, holding one of his hands, as he examined the injuries with great care. "Those kids started those dumb rumors.. They're the jerks that wouldn't help you when you needed it most.."

"...But they're right.. I'm the one that hurt and killed people.. And now I have to suffer for all the horrible stuff I've done.." Gumball didn't move, allowing the goldfish to try and look at it. "Nothing's gonna be normal again.."

Darwin looked up at him with such a heart breaking look. "..Hurting yourself won't help anything.."

"WELL HIDING IT ALL IN WON'T HELP EITHER!" Gumball snapped, catching the other off guard. "THEY'RE DEAD! THEY'RE ALL DEAD AND I DO NOTHING BUT HURT PEOPLE AROUND ME AND MYSELF! I DESERVE TO DIE-"

The cat's eyes widened, as he was suddenly hugged tightly by the torso. He looked down to see Darwin crying, but looking somewhat angry.

"You don't! Don't you dare ever say such a thing!" The goldfish cried, hugging him tighter. "You're clearly trying, it's just really hard for you, I get it.."

Gumball felt himself crying, as he hugged back, careful of the glass shards. "I'm so sorry..."

The two shared the moment of sorrow for a moment, as their crying was the only sound made.

"..Please.. Just don't hurt yourself like this.." Darwin uttered, as he let him go, watching him somberly. "I can't bear to see you suffering like this... It hurts me so much.."

"..I won't do it again.. I promise.." The cat replied, feeling utterly horrible for his actions.

For the next few minutes, the two remained in the bathroom, as Gumball let the fish tend his wounds. A word wasn't said.