3 and a half years ago...

It was the night of November 5th and that of course meant that the night sky was filled with the sound of fireworks, celebrating Bonfire Night.

Most people were enjoying it, including the Watterson brothers who sat on the back porch and watched the fireworks together in awe.

Suddenly their mother came out, a slight look of concern on her face. "Hey boys, have you seen your sister anywhere? We can't find her anywhere."

"She was upstairs the last I saw." Darwin responded.

"Well, your father has looked upstairs and said that he didn't see her anywhere..." She said, her ears lowering as the concern continued to grow.

The town noticed how worried she was, and Gumball stood up, holding her paw. "Hey, it's okay, I'm sure she's fine. Want us to go up and look? You know how Dad is, he probably just peaked into each room and left it at that."

She smiled weakly and let out a sigh. "Oh, you're probably right...yes, could you go and double-check for me whilst I continue searching down here? It'd be a great help."

"Sure thing Mrs. Mom!" Darwin nodded. She hugged them. "Oh, thank you! Please, let me know if you find her."

"We will, we promise." Gumball promised, and the two headed inside and upstairs to begin their search.

"Anais!?" Darwin called out as they searched the playroom on the other side of the hall. They searched the room thoroughly but there was no sign of her anywhere.

"Ani!? Where are you?!" Gumball called out, beginning to get a little worried himself.

His ears pricked up and he suddenly heard a quiet sob from the other end of the hall.

His head snapped to Darwin. "Did you hear that!?" He asked.

"Hear what?" Darwin responded, raising his eyebrow in confusion.

"That sob!"

"Sob? Dude, you're hearing things."

"No, I definitely heard it!"

"You sure?" Darwin replied not really believing him.

Gumball pointed to his ears. "Dude, trust the cat."

"Okay, okay, we'll go look." Darwin rolled his eyes.

The two went down the other side of the hall and entered their bedroom.

"Anais? Are you here?" Darwin called out.

They initially received no response, but then another firework went off outside, and they heard a yelp coming from the desk.

"Huh? Anais?" Gumball asked confused.

The two walked over to the desk and crouched down, and sure enough, there was their half-year-old sister, huddled up under the desk with her knees against her chest, shaking heavily, tears streaming down her face as she clutched her stuffed bear tightly, absolutely terrified.

"Oh, Ani, there you are! We were all really worried about you!" Gumball informed her as he spoke softly.

She didn't respond, only looking between the two and sniffing, as more tears fell.

Darwin noticed how scared she was and held her paw. "Hey, hey, Anais, what's wrong?"

"Th-the-the...the loud...the loud noises are really scary!" She managed to squeak outside, only barely audible.

He looked confused. "Loud noises?" Just then yet another firework went off and she jumped in fright, more tears falling as she let out another sob.

"Oh, of course, the fireworks! You've never heard them before!" The realization was apparent on his face.

Gumball's face fell as he looked at her with pity. "Oh, Ani..."

"F-F-Fireworks? W-w-what are they!?" She asked with a sniff

Gumball thought for a moment, and a mischievous grin formed on his face as he had an idea. He knew it was pretty mean, but the opportunity to get a little revenge for what she had previously put him and Darwin through was just too tempting, He just couldn't resist scaring her, just a little bit...

He leaned forward with a grin, showing his teeth for extra effect as he spoke in a wicked voice. "They're the footsteps of a giant monster coming to gobble you up!"

"W-w-what?" Her eyes widened with horror as she began to panic. She suddenly ran forwards and clutched Gumball desperately as she let out a sob. "N-No, p-please! I-I-I don't wanna be eaten!"

As Darwin glared at him disapprovingly he continued to scare her a little more. He knew it was really mean, and part of him felt bad about it, but his mischievous older brother side just couldn't resist. "It's too late! He's coming to get you and there's nothing we can do! You're gonna be gobbled up like a turkey!"

She began to break down and sob harder as she hugged Gumball tightly. "No, please, I don't wanna be eaten! I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, please!"

His face and ears fell as he realized how worked up he had made her, and that he had taken it a little too far. He began to feel really bad as Darwin turned and looked at him annoyed. "Dude, what is wrong with you!? How could you scare her like that!? She was already terrified as it is!"

He began to rub his arm as he looked down. "I'm sorry, I just got a little carried away...I didn't mean to genuinely upset her..."

Darwin crossed his arms. "I'm not the one you need to apologize to!" He nodded down towards Anais who was sobbing into Gumball's t-shirt.

She looked up at him with wide, teary eyes as she sniffed back more tears. "Gummy, a-a-after he eats me, w-w-will he eat y-you and D-Darwin too? a-a-and Mommy and Daddy? I don't...I don't want him to eat you all! I l-love you s-so m-much a-a-and I don't want you to get hurt!"

"Awww, Ani..." His heart broke at seeing that even though she was terrified, she was still worried about her brothers and parents just as much as herself.

He picked her up and hugged her tightly as he began to stroke the back of her head, speaking softly, "It's okay, it's alright, there is no monster, he doesn't exist."

She looked up with a sniff, confused. "W-What!? T-There isn't!? B-But why did you say there was then?!"

He smiled weakly. "I was only joking, I was just being silly and scaring you a little, that's all! You have nothing to worry about. No one is gonna hurt you."

"W-What? You were joking? Why!? Th-that was...that was really mean!" She looked at him upset and annoyed as the tears continued to trickle down her face.

His face fell as he realized she was genuinely hurt and upset by what he had done "Aww, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to upset you, honestly, I didn't...I was just having a little fun, I didn't know you would get so scared, honestly...I never would've done it if I had known!"

She crossed her arms and looked away upset, refusing to say anything.

"Ani?" He called her name softly but she was too mad at him to look at him.

He began to feel really guilty, as a pit opened in his stomach. "Oh, Anais...I-I-I'm really sorry. I swear, I really didn't mean to frighten you so badly, honestly! I was just having a little fun a-a-and just went a little too far with it, that's all!"

She looked turned and looked at him, and noticed he was tearing up slightly, as his ears were flat against his head.

"I swear, I won't ever, ever scare you like that again. I p-promise..." He looked down and sniffed as a few tears fell from his eyes.

She hesitated, deep in thought, before leaning forwards and wrapping her arms around him in a loving hug. "It's okay...I forgive you..."

He looked up."You do?!"

She looked up, and he jumped back and screamed in fright and he saw she had her demonic face, back from when she hated them.

Her face returned to normal and she burst into a fit of giggles. "Heeheeheeheehee, got you back Gummy! I scared you!"

Darwin began to laugh too as Gumball blushed. As the two laughed he couldn't help but begin to join in.

The three laughed for what seemed like forever before they all finally regained their composure.

"I guess that was a yes then..." Darwin giggled.

Gumball rolled his eyes and rubbed her head affectionately. "I'm just glad you aren't mad at me...and hey, you aren't paying any attention to the fireworks anymore, so it all worked out well for you in the end, right?"

She realized that he was right. The fireworks had still been going on the entire time and she hadn't paid any attention to them at all.

She nodded and then looked at him with a confused expression. "But what are they really?"

Darwin smiled. "They're just some fancy lights we explode in the sky when we want to celebrate stuff, that's all. Nothing to be frightened of."

"So...what are they celebrating now?" She asked.

"Many many years ago some guy and his friends wanted to kill some guy they didn't like. That guy was someone very important and powerful. They tried to blow up the building he was in, but they found the guy and his friends and stopped them, and now every year on the 5th of November we celebrate that." Gumball informed her.

She looked at him with a puzzled look as she processed this information, then shrugged. "Okay!"

Darwin thought for a moment. "Hey, since you dared t scared anymore, do you wanna come outside and watch them with us? They're really pretty!"

She nodded excitedly. "Ooh, yeah! I wanna see them!" She clapped excitedly.

"Alright then, come on you..."

They climbed through the window and sat down on the roof, Anais sitting in Gumball's lap as he wrapped his arms around her to make sure she didn't fall. They watched the fireworks in awe, Anais giggling and clapping as they appeared, Gumball and Darwin watching her with a smile, glad to have cheered her up.