Yeesh, trust me, this chapter is gonna really kick Gumball in the angst. Enjoy!

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The school bell rang loudly, but it felt more a blessing than a curse.

Gumball sighed to himself happily, as he carelessly packs his stuff into his backpack, slinging it over one shoulder. Nowadays he cherished after school even more than he did before. For worse reason, unfortunately. On the plus side, he was able to finally sit home and relax, and let the worries and fears of today all melt away.

"Hey, psycho. The weather is nice outside today, why don't you walk home today?"

Why do you want me to walk home?.. Is there something going on?..

"You realize you can just talk to me instead of communicating in thoughts, right? I hate speaking in your head."

"Look Voice, I don't really wanna talk to you when I'm out trying to be a normal decent person, okay?" The cat whispered, glancing around to make sure nobody was hearing him.

"Whatever. Just walk home today, alright? It's a good day. You look like you need some sun anyway."

Why was the voice being so considerate of him today?

Gumball cautiously followed the Voice's suggestion, catching up to Darwin who was boarding the bus. "Hey dude, can you tell Rocky I'm just gonna walk home today?"

"..Gumball are you o-"

"Yeah I'm okay, don't worry." He reassured him, the fish slightly relaxing. "I just need some fresh air after what happened today and all.. And I can't really handle Rocky looking all paranoid whenever I'm near him anyway."

"Alright, see you at home Gumball!" Darwin climbed up into the bus, seen talking with the driver.

The cat continued on his way now, beginning to enjoy the sunshine casting down onto the sidewalk. Voice appeared right, this was a good idea for once. After all that stress he had gone through today he really needed some time to himself and a nice relaxing walk.

"Psst, check your bag."

His good mood stops.

"..Why do I need to check my bag?.." Gumball was now rather worried, slowly unzipping pockets to see what it was talking about. "What did you do to my backpack-"

His costume sat in it, waiting his arrival. A sharp knife had been tucked into it, to prevent the weapon from stabbing into the pack directly.

"..You..." The feline couldn't get himself to speak properly, his face reading of utter horror, processing the mere thing in his paws. He was nearly trembling. "..You got my costume..."

"Come on, get in that alleyway. You really didn't think I'd let you just sit home and RELAX, did you?" It pushed Gumball into the dark crevasse, as it quietly waited for him to get changed. "Get moving. We're burning daylight."

The cat only grumbled angrily, quickly changing to his attire. However, as he stepped out into the sidewalk, knife hidden with him, leaving his backpack in a hidden corner, he paused. His thoughts were all jumbled around, all but one. "..Why should I be listening to you?"

He turned to the voice, his anger brewing. "All you've done so far is ruin my life. Why should I bother doing anything you say?"

"Oh don't give me this crud." Its eyebrows lowered, sharing the same expression. "Just go hide in the alley you'll be-"

"No! I'm not going to follow your stupid orders!" Gumball only stood there, crossing his arms. He didn't care if people were watching. He needed to stop this. "I can't take it anymore! Killing more people isn't going to help anyone distrust me any less! You just want people to die for your own sick pleasure!"

"So that's how it is huh?"

Gumball's eyes widened, as suddenly copies of the voice circled him, laughing. "W-What are you doing?.."

"You're so pathetic!" It only laughed, ignoring his questions. "Emotional little crybaby, that's what you are!"

"Stop it I-I'm not!" The cat could feel himself tear up, as the voices only repeated their harsh words, louder and louder, practically ringing through his ears. He could feel his rage rising, desperately trying to keep it down. No. Not here. He can't lose it now. He can still save himself. He has to.

A shadow figure suddenly appeared behind him, sharing the same mocking expression, getting closer.

"N-No stop! I'm not pathetic!" He raised the knife out, feeling himself nearly on the verge of crying. Everything felt blurry now, surroundings spinning so fast he couldn't even see. Stop. Stop this. "I'M NOT!"

He raised the weapon and stabbed the figure in the side. It let out a piercing cry, almost.. A too familiar cry..

Oh no.

The hallucination stopped. Gumball's face morphed into fear, as his eyes laid fixed onto Penny, whom was on the sidewalk crying in agony. A deep gash was in her side, blood pouring from it. "P-Penny no... I-I didn't mean to..."

His mask band snapped, quickly falling into his trembling hands. "I-I didn't mean to..."

Penny looked up, her eyes widening as tears poured harder. She didn't say a word, but he knew what she was thinking.

"I-I'm so sorry.. L-Let me explain.. Please.." Gumball was about to approach, but gazed up, realizing someone else was watching him. His fear grew, as a fuming Mr. Fitzgerald was in the distance, face terrifying. Almost like... The dream. "L-Let me explain.."

The older man didn't even register his words, as he began running at him full force.

"I-I'm so sorry Penny I'm so sorry!" The feline cried, as he ran off as fast as his legs could take him, trying to keep the mask held up to his face. He knew it was useless now, but he was too scared to even care.

Unfortunately, his outfit was beginning to fall apart. He lost his boots as he lept across obstacles, and he couldn't keep the mask on any longer as it blocked his view, only holding it in his hands as he ran. His panic grew worse as he felt all sorts of eyes falling on him, some screams heard as well.

They know I did it.. They're gonna hurt me..

He can sense the looks of horror. Fear. Anger. It was all present, and it scared him. They knew now. He couldn't live normal again. He couldn't go back to his regular happy life again. It was utterly ruined.

Gumball was soon briefly stopped in his tracks, as his dark clothing caught onto a fence, some seams slightly tearing from the movement. He was quick to wiggle out of them as best as he could, only leaving him in his normal apparel now.

There was only so much time he had left before people start to chase him. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if his family saw any of-

His family.

The cat's eyes widened in horror, as his running got faster, as he nearly bolted for his house in the distance. Of course he forgot about them! He can't let the other timeline happen again. He can't.

As Gumball nearly knocked the door in, he froze in his tracks, trembling with dread. If his panic was bad before, it was going off the charts now.

His family sat on the couch, eyes glued onto the television. Video footage of what had happened was airing, as a news anchor spoke, who seemed to be peering closer at his script.

"A couple videos were recorded from those who had their phones, showcasing this incident, and reveal the infamous murderer's identity as... A child? Am I reading this right?"

Gumball quickly turned around, only to remember that Mr. Fitzgerald was still chasing him, the latter nearly ready to strangle him from the distance. Fear growing worse, he slammed the door, backing away from it as if it was going to yell at him too.

He soon turns back to the couch, seeing the family looking right at him. Their eyes were wide with shock, terror even. Breath ragged, the feline bolted up the stairs, nearly slipping onto the carpet as he reached the bedroom door. He could hear them following suit, his mother sounding to be in front, her pounding getting louder and louder.

Gumball quickly ran inside the room with a swift slam of the door, back leaning against it as he clutched the fur on his head, trying to calm himself down. Though nothing was helping the matter of course.

Heavy knocking was heard outside, loud and full of anger. "GUMBALL TRISTOPHER WATTERSON YOU GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

The feline could only feel utter terror, his breathing getting worse now. He desperately fought his mind not to get angry, gripping onto his fur worse, crying out in pain. It felt as if everything he had done to keep it together was falling apart.

Suddenly, familiar darkness enveloped the room.