It was the end of the school day and Gumball and Darwin were chatting with each other as they went outside.
To their surprise, Anais was already outside waiting for them.
"Hey, sis!" Gumball greeted her and continued walking, expecting her to follow.
"Hey, guys. I just came to let you know that I'm staying behind to do some extra work on a group project."
"A group project?" Darwin asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry about waiting for me though, Jamie said she'll walk me home."
Gumball raised his eyebrow, a little suspicious as he knew she didn't get on well with her classmates.
Hmmm...I suppose Mr Corneille could have made her stay behind... Gumball thought to himself.
Gumball shrugged. "Well...alright then, we'll see you later. Have fun!"
Anais smiled back weakly. "I will, bye!"
They turned and waved as they walked away.
Once they were gone her face and ears fell and she let out a whimper. "If only any of that were true..."
She turned and reluctantly walked back inside.
A while later Gumball and Darwin were back at home and chatting on the sofa when they heard the front door open.
Anais slowly walked in wearing a pair of sunglasses and a long coat which was way too big for her, so completely covered her body.
"Hey." She said quietly.
"Uhhh... hey..." Gumball greeted her with confusion.
"Sorry I took so long, we had a lot to do."
"That's fine. So uh, why the coat?" Darwin asked confused.
"Oh, I was cold so I borrowed it from lost and found."
"And...the sunglasses?" Gumball asked.
"I err...have a headache and the light was making it worse."
The boys looked at each other, not believing what she was saying.
Gumball looked back. "Okay, do you want me to get you some painkillers?"
"Oh, uh, no thanks it's mostly gone now."
"Alright..."
Darwin smiled. "So, did the project go well?"
"Hmm? Oh, err, yeah it went great."
She began to shake, getting nervous that they weren't believing her.
"Are you okay?" He asked her, concerned about how weird she was acting.
She nodded. "Y-yeah, just a little cold still, plus I'm pretty worn out from the project so I'm gonna go take a nap."
"You sure? You know you can tell us if something is wrong."
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, h-honestly."
Neither of them believed her but they decided it was best to let her sleep and talk to her about it later on.
"Alright then. We'll come to wake you up for dinner."
"Thanks."
She began to walk upstairs and they noticed that she was limping as she did.
As she rounded the corner her coat got caught on the edge and lifted slightly revealing her leg, which was visibly bruised and banged up with cuts.
The boys looked at each other really concerned and changed their minds, deciding to quietly follow her up.
They quietly opened the bedroom door and watched as she took off the sunglasses and coat.
They held back a gasp as they saw she was covered in cuts and bruises like the ones on her leg, she had a black eye and her dress was ripped up.
She slowly sat down on the edge of Gumball's bed and began sobbing into her paws.
Gumball's ears fell flat as he and Darwin looked at each other horrified at the sight before them.
"Anais?" Gumball called softly as they came in
She gasped and quickly hid completely under the covers.
"G-Go away! I'm trying to sleep!"
Gumball sighed. "Anais, we already saw you, there's no point hiding."
She said nothing as she hugged the cover around her tighter as she began to shake again.
The two of them sat down on the bed on either side of her.
"Hey, it's okay, you don't need to be scared, you can come out." Darwin assured her.
She hesitated and left out a sniff. "N-No..."
"Anais, please. We promise we aren't mad. We aren't gonna shout at you or get angry. We just want to talk to you."
She hesitated again before finally relenting and climbing out, shaking heavily.
She sat between them, looking straight down at the floor.
"What happened to you?" Gumball asked her softly.
She didn't respond, only letting out a whimper.
"Anais?" Darwin asked.
He slowly lifted her head up by the chin and they saw her in tears, her face a complete mess as tears streamed down it, which made her black eye sting.
"I-I-I...I can't tell you."
"Why not?" He asked.
She hesitated, gulping. "Because...because they said I couldn't tell anyone about it...s-said that i-i-if I did they'd...t-they'd hurt me even more..."
"Who did? Who did this to you Ani?" Gumball asked concerned.
She began to shake even harder, genuinely terrified of saying any more.
"You're really scared of them aren't you..." He thought out loud, his ears lowering.
She nodded and began to cry even harder. Darwin let her rest against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her and began to rub her arm to comfort her.
Gumball took a hold of her paw and squeezed it.
"Shhh, it's okay. You don't need to be afraid. You don't need to worry about anyone hurting you. We'll look after you, we promise. We won't let them lay even a finger on you."
She looks into his eyes with her own big wet, tear-filled ones. "Y-You promise?"
"I promise you, cross my heart, that we will do everything we can to protect you, but we can't do that unless you tell us what happened and who did it to you."
She hesitated, looking at the two of them, who both smiled reassuringly.
"Please Anais, we promise, it'll be okay." Darwin encouraged her.
She sniffed and took a deep breath as she gathered herself.
"I-I-It was J-Julius and his g-gang...t-they made me come after school b-because-they were furious that I'd caused them to get detention after I-I called them out during a class presentation, J-Julius ended up missing a d-date with his girlfriend because of it, and she d-dumped him when she found out why, and he was absolutely f-fuming!"
She whimpered as more tears fall down her face.
Darwin hugged her and began to stroke her head to comfort her as she continues.
"They s-said I had to meet them on the playground after school s-so they could...so they could t-teach me a lesson, s-show me what happens to people who m-mess with them and get in their way."
"Why didn't you just tell one of us? We could have dealt with them for you!" Darwin asked her.
"or just, you know, not go. That's what I would've done." Gumball chimed in.
"I c-couldn't! T-They said that i-if I didn't come or if I told a-anyone they would make your and G-Gumball's lives a living nightmare, do everything they could do to h-hurt and upset you, and they s-said they'd make sure you knew it was m-my fault!"
The boys' faces fall and Gumball looked at her with a look that was a mix of sympathy and guilt.
"Wait, you...you let them do this to you to protect us?" He asked quietly
She nodded, tears pouring down her face.
His face turned to that of a smile, feeling incredibly touched."Oh, Ani..."
She couldn't hold it back anymore and began to sob.
Gumball opened up his arms for her, and she accepted his invitation, resting her head on his chest, shaking and crying into it as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
She shook heavily. "I'm s-so s-scared! What if they f-find out I told you?! What if they h-hurt me again?!"
He stroked her softly.
"It's alright, it's gonna be okay, we're gonna look after you, your gonna be fine, I promise."
He continued to stroke her as she sobbed into his shirt. As he listened to her sob he began to silently fill and shake with rage at what they did to her. How dare they hurt his sister so badly?? How dare they cause her to break down in front of them like this?!
Meanwhile, Darwin looked around and noticed that Daisy was missing. Anais had definitely taken her to school, just like she always did, he had seen her do so, but she didn't have her with her when she came back. Had something happened to her?
"Hey, where's Daisy?" He asked.
She looked up at him, holding back more tears as she struggled to speak. "T-They...they took her from me, s-said they were keeping her to make sure I stayed q-quiet and that if I s-said anything they would destroy h-her!"
More tears began to stream down her face as she began to worry about Daisy, having now been reminded about her. "Y-you have to get her back for more before they find out I told you, p-please! I n-need her, she's my b-best friend a-and I d-don't want her to get destro-o-oyed!"
Darwin hugged her. "Hey, it's okay, we'll get her back, I promise."
Gumball, having heard about Daisy too began to seeth with anger. They were blackmailing her too?! Threatening to destroy her most prized possession!? How dare they do that to her?!
His eyes narrowed as he began to see red and he began to breathe heavily.
"Gumball?" Darwin asks concerned.
His claws unsheathed and dragged across the bed cover, ripping it, as he began to growl.
"G-Gumball!?" Anais quietly asked, slightly scared by how he was acting.
He stood up and headed towards the door.
"Stay here." He said bluntly.
He went to leave the room.
"W-What...what are you doing!?" She asked confused and concerned.
"Showing them what happens when they hurt my sister!"
She gasped. "N-no! Y-y-you'll get hurt!"
He walked over and picked up a book from the dresser and held it in front of him. His eyes began to glow orange and suddenly, to Darwin and Anais' shock, the centre of the book melted away.
Darwin and Anais looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Just like Mom at the store...
He dropped the book on the floor and turned to them. "I think I'll be fine."
He turned away, opened the door and left the room, and after a couple of seconds, they heard him open the front door and slam it shut behind him.
Anais turned to Darwin worried. "I-Is he gonna be okay? I-I-I don't want him to get hurt!"
He placed his fin on her shoulder. "Of course he will, I mean you saw what he just did! It's them you should be worried about it! Who knows what he's gonna do to them?"
She managed to smile weakly at this comment.
"Knowing him, probably something stupid and elaborate that somehow works out in the end."
They both began to laugh but stopped when Anais winced in pain.
"Are you okay?" Darwin asked her concerned.
"Yeah, it's just my bruises hurting. I'll be fine."
He looked her over and sighed. "Let's get these cuts cleaned and treated hey? Come on, I'll help you."
She smiled. "Thanks."
They got off the bed and he helped her walk to the bathroom, where he helped her up on the side of the bath.
He got the first aid kit from the cupboard and began to clean and disinfect her cuts before putting bandaids on them.
After a couple of minutes of nothing except the sound of winces and gasps of pain from Anais as Darwin cleaned her cuts, he noticed her looking down and tearing up again.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"T-They're gonna find out I told you...they're gonna be so...so mad! What if...what if they hurt me even more, w-w-what if they destroy Daisy o-o-or worse, start h-hurting you o-o-or Gumball?!"
Darwin held her paw. "It's okay. As Gumball said, we'll do everything in our power to protect you. We won't let them hurt you, ever again, they won't even lay a finger on you, I promise. You're gonna be okay. As for us, you don't need to worry, we can look after ourselves, we'll be fine."
She sniffed, tears lightly falling down her face.
"This is all my fault! They're gonna start bullying and hurting you and it's all my fault!"
"No, no, of course it's not. None of this was your fault, you can't blame yourself. We don't and neither should you."
"You...you r-really don't b-blame me? Y-you aren't m-mad at me?"
"No, no, of course not. You haven't done anything wrong, not even slightly. I know how scared you must be, and I know how difficult it must have been for you to tell us all of that and I'm so, so proud of you for being so brave right now. We both are."
She teared up happily and hugged Darwin lovingly.
"Thank you so much, that r-really means a lot."
He smiled back and rubbed her head
"You're welcome."
A couple of minutes later he finished tending to her wounds and helped her down from the bath.
"There you go, just some bruises left now but they're mostly hidden by your fur."
"What about my black eye?"
"That should go down by itself after a little while."
She nodded.
"Now you go and get changed and then we can watch some cartoons together and wait for Gumball to back, hey?"
"Yeah, that sounds great."
She hugged him again, smiling.
"Thanks Darwin, you're the best!"
He smiled as she left, glad to see her happy again.
A while later the two of them were sat on the sofa watching cartoons together, Anais in a new dress and resting her head against Darwin's shoulder as he had his arm around her.
Suddenly the door opened and Gumball walked in with ripped clothes, a few cuts and bruises, and a black eye, holding his arms behind his back.
They both gasped and got up, running over to him.
"Oh my God, what happened?!" Darwin asked.
"I found Julius and we got into a pretty big fight and I was so angry I think I might've accidentally broken his arm, but I mean, he totally deserved it so I don't really feel guilty about it, but anyway I made him promise to stay away from you, though I don't expect him to actually keep that promise for long."
"Well, it gets him off my back for a while at least...and he got what he deserves!" She giggled thinking about it.
He nodded and then began to smile, leaning forward slightly. "I also managed to get him to give a certain somebody back... somebody who missed you very much..."
He made Daisy peek her head from behind his back and wave at her.
Her face lit up as she gasped delightedly.
"DAISY!"
He held Daisy out to her and she eagerly took her and pulled her into a tight, loving hug before placing her down and doing the same to Gumball as she cried lightly. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, you're the best brother ever!"
He hugged her back. "You're very welcome!"
Darwin frowned slightly and looked down feeling left out. Anais noticed and smiled letting out a chuckle.
"Awwww, you as well! Come here!"
He smiled and joined the hug.
"I love you both so much!"
"We love you too sis."
They continued to hug for a little bit before they let her let go, and she continued to smile happily.
Darwin sighed. "Well, it's gonna be fun explaining all of this to Mom..."
"Well, we don't have to worry about getting into trouble at least. We didn't do anything wrong. The only ones who should be scared are Julius and his thugs. They have no idea what's coming for them!"
Gumball smiled and placed his paw on her shoulder.
"and if they even do so much as lay a finger on you again they'll have me and Darwin to deal with, and I know someone who'd like to get to know them very well..."
As he said this he held his paws in front of his face and extended his claws, waving his fingers for effect.
Anais tried and failed to hold back laughter, beginning to giggle.
"I know you're trying to be threatening but I just can't take you seriously, you're too much of a softie!"
He let out a mock gasp of insult "I am not!" He crossed his arms and gave her an annoyed look which just escalated her giggles to full-on laughter.
He smiled and rolled his eyes before rubbing her head.
"Now, if you excuse me, I need a shower and some clean clothes. You two go back to enjoying your cartoons together and I'll come join you afterwards."
"Alright! Thanks again, I really appreciate it!" Anais called out as he went upstairs.
He gave a thumbs-up as he went around the corner.
She smiled as she and Darwin sat down on the sofa again, her resting her head against Darwin again, now also hugging Daisy.
She smiled to herself as she thought about her brothers. They may drive her around the bend a lot of the time, but they easily make up for that tenfold with everything they do for her and how loving and caring they are. They care about her immensely, and she knows very well that she can always rely on them, whether she needs their help, someone to talk to, someone to be dumb and mess around with or even if she just needs some company, a hug or even a cry, they're always there for her, no matter what, and that's why she loves them so much.
She looked up at Darwin smiling and he gave a smile back.
A while later and Anais had fallen asleep watching cartoons with Gumball and Darwin on the sofa.
Not wanting to disturb her, they carefully laid her head on a cushion and put a blanket on her and left her to rest whilst they went upstairs to go on the computer.
Half an hour later Gumball came back down to get a glass of juice and was about to go back upstairs when he heard her whimpering.
Confused, he walked over and saw Daisy on the floor and her holding her blanket tightly, jerking her head around as her face was tightly screwed up, tears streaming down it. His ears lowered at the sight.
He got closer and heard her whimpering and quietly moaning in her sleep.
"N-no, no..., l-leave me alone...l-leave me alone! Please, don't...no, please, don't h-hurt m-me!"
He realised that she was having a nightmare about what happened earlier.
"Oh, Ani...you must be terrified of them..."
Meanwhile, inside her dream, she was backed up against the wall in the gym with Julius and his thugs, cracking their knuckles, about to beat her up as she cowered and begged them not to.
Back in real life Gumball couched down and stroked her softly behind the ear, speaking to her softly.
"Hey, shhh, shhh, it's okay, It's alright, I'm here, you don't need to be scared."
Inside her dream, she faintly heard his voice.
She sniffed and looked around confused.
"G-Gumball?"
Her real self sniffed and stopped jerking her head, but continued to cry and whimper.
Gumball continued to stroke and reassure her, wiping her eyes.
"It's okay, Darwin and I won't let them hurt you ever again, I promise. You're safe with us, you have nothing to worry about. We'll always look after you, we'll always protect you, no matter what."
Meanwhile, inside her dream, just as they were about to beat her up, Gumball and Darwin suddenly ran in and beat up Julius and his gang, protecting her from them.
Her real self stopped crying and her face began to relax.
"There we go, there's nothing to be afraid of."
In her dream, they ran over and picked her up as she hugged them lovingly.
His real self continued to stroke her softly and smiled as he saw a smile form on her face.
He stopped and watched her for a little while to make sure she was okay before placing Daisy back in her arms and pulling her blanket back over her before smiling and saying softly.
"I love you so much Ani, and I always will. Never forget that."
He chuckled and rubbed her head before getting up and going upstairs to join Darwin again.
Meanwhile, Gumball in her dream said the same thing to her.
"I love you too...", her dream self replied.
At the same time, the real her mumbled the same thing out loud.
Her smile grew wide as she happily snuggled into Daisy and began to dream of various happy and comforting memories of her and her brothers, feeling completely safe in the knowledge that they would always be there to protect her.
The End