Here we go again with another interesting chapter. Where one of our guppies will have to fight against an internal demon that has been tormenting him. What am I talking about? Well, read it and find out. Enjoy it!

Bubble Guppies Fanfic

Bubble Guppies Adult Years: Zero Chapter

Chapter 0.3: Facing my Fears

"DAD! DAD! WAKE UP! THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE!"

"I know, son. I'm trapped. Debris blocks the door. And I can't get out the window. The flames are out there. My son! Get out of here now! I command you as your father!"

"You're crazy, old man! I'm not leaving you here. We'll get out of here together!"

"Goby, if you stay here, we will die together. Better get out of here and call the fire department immediately. Please leave me here. You will help me more outside than inside. Please….I´ll be okay"

"My father is still there!"

"DAD! DAAADDD!"

"NOO!" A dark blue-haired, dark-skinned, blue-tailed guppy woke up suddenly from an unpleasant dream. He was breathing heavily and I noticed that he was sweating. He just began to breathe calmly to recover and began to look around. He noticed that he was in his room. Or rather, he was in his room in his college apartment.

"(sigh) Wow, it was just a dream...or rather a memory...(sigh) It's not easy to forget that night...I almost lost my father. I guess it's the same thing that happened to Molly, always remembering a traumatic event. Alright, it's a new day... and it's time to get down to business" It was Goby talking with himself.

To recall, Goby had been admitted to GrayStone University of Technology. He began his career in Architecture, as it was something he had longed for for a long time. Although he was an average student, with good and even remarkable grades, there was something that had been worrying him for a long time. Goby had developed a fear of fire since his house burned down. In addition to suffering constant nightmares of that event. Well, that day, he was close to death and he was about to lose his father. Worst of all was the realization that the fire was caused by an assassination attempt. Although he knew it was part of Jane Cadaverini's nefarious plans, he was never able to prove it. However, what really mattered was that he simply couldn't forget that night. And that has caused nightmares and fears. And the worst thing is that Goby can't see the fire without flinching. Everything indicated that he developed a slight case of pyrophobia.

Obviously, the boy decided to continue with his routine. Well, he had to attend classes. He simply prepared to arrive early. After bathing, changing clothes and eating something, he arrived at the main building of the Faculty of Architecture. He arrived at the class without problems and in good time. The class was nothing out of this world. However, Goby would be in for a pleasant surprise.

"...To finish this course, you must complete a Creativity Project. Finally you will be able to design a model that you like. The plans and a small model are due by the end of next month. I will give them the opportunity to carry out the project alone or in pairs..." The teacher said. The students began to talk among themselves to choose teammates. Goby was loved by his colleagues, so it would not be difficult to choose a partner. However, one girl was the lucky one.

"Hi, Goby! Would you like us to work together on this project?" She asked with a smile.

"Huh?...Wilma?" Goby asked surprisedly. She was a mulatto skinned guppy with beautiful shiny black dreadlock hair and her tail was one piece patterned with red, yellow and green colors. And her eyes were brown. What was impressive about her was not only her striking appearance, but also her ability. Because she was the prodigy of the class, her abilities were great.

"And yeah? Would you like it?" Wilma asked with a kind smile.

"Of course!" He accepted without a doubt. Both decided to meet minutes later in one of their breaks to better talk about the project in progress.

"I'm so glad you agreed to be my partner. I had a feeling that you would be an ideal partner. Well, I've heard very good things about you. But I never got a chance to speak to you directly" Wilma said with a big smile.

"I understand. It must be pretty busy keeping up those high grades of yours. You really are one of the best in the class" Goby commented.

"Hehehe thanks, But let's talk about what matters to us: Do you have an idea for the project?" The girl asked him.

"Hmmmm good question. I have an idea, but I don't know if you will like it" The boy had an idea in mind.

"Try me" She replied funnily.

"I was thinking of designing something unique and unusual. What do you think if we design... a planetarium!" Goby proposed with a smile.

"A planetarium?...Hmmmm…That´s a great idea! I bet nobody's going to think of something like that. It is something impressive. Besides Architecture, I love astronomy!" Wilma said excitedly.

"Me too! So….I think we have a lot to do" The boy said.

"What do you think if we make the model with recyclable material?" She proposed.

"Excellent idea!" Goby replied with a smile.

And from that day on, they both began to see each other more often to work together on the great project they had in mind. Both of them worked hard on the plans, which was not an easy task due to strict and meticulous calculations and measurements. Both also began to create the model of the planetarium with recyclable material. The beauty of that experience is that not only did they spend time together as project colleagues, but they began to develop a healthy little friendship. Both had common interests such as astronomy, architecture, music, among other things.

Things would go well until the day came when both of them were going to have an unpleasant experience. Everything indicated that it would be a quiet afternoon. It was dark, but everything looked like it would be a good day. Goby and Wilma decided to work more on their model, since there was already a week left before the delivery date. They were working in one of the laboratories of the faculty. Well, they requested permission to access the laboratory for a couple of hours. And thanks to the academic record of both, they had no problem.

"We are doing a good job. It doesn't take long to finish it" Wilma admitted with a big smile.

"Yup! I am glad to know that this is the last pending work of the semester. It will be good to take a break after so many projects and exams" Goby commented.

"Agree" She replied. At that moment, a loud noise was heard.

BRUUUUUMMMMM!

"Whoah! What was that?" Goby asked surprisedly. He flinched a bit.

"No worries. It was just thunder. It seems that I did not pay attention to today's weather forecast. I better finish the observatory soon" Wilma commented. She tried to ignore the lightning. Goby did not answer anything and continued working. However, they did not know that they were making a mistake. That lightning was not as harmless as it seemed. The lightning struck near the lab facility to the rear. And since the two of them were elsewhere, they didn't notice the big problem. The lightning strike damaged certain electrical installations, which caused many sparks that fell on trees and generators that began to cause a fire that began to spread rapidly. At that time, the fire alarms could not be activated due to the damage to the electrical installations and the flames began to consume the building very quickly. That smell reached Goby's nose. And he began to be in shock and began to shake "Huh!? Huuhh?!"

"Goby….something is wrong? You look…." Wilma was a bit worried

"Wilma...can you...smell that?" Goby asked while he was shaking. She sniffed a bit.

"Snif snif….It's….something is burning" Wilma tried to identify the smell until….the fire appeared!

"FIRE!" Goby shouted scaredly.

"We must get out of here now" The girl ordered. She ran to the door and tried to open it. The door was stuck, so she had to force the door open. After much difficulty she made it "Nice! Goby, come here! Goby!"

"..." Our protagonist could not react. He was terrified when he saw the flames of the fire. The trauma of him had returned. He tried to move, but his body couldn't move from fear. His mind returned to that night where he almost lost his life. The same night his father could have died "(I…I…I can't move?!)" He thought.

"GOBY!" Wilma called out to him loudly once more. Seeing that the boy did not react, she decided to run to where her colleague was to take him away. However, as she got closer to hers, a piece of debris fell from the ceiling, nearly crushing her. She was able to dodge it...but not completely "AAAGHH!" The debris crushed the girl's tail, causing her to fall to the ground. She began to try to brush the debris off of her. But the pain from her tail was draining her energy.

"..." Goby was in a state of shock unable to react. The flames were filling him with terror.

"Goby, please help! HELP! GOBY!" Wilma called him desperately.

"(I….I…I can´t….I´m…afraid….)" The boy couldn't react, not even the heat of the flames made him move. His mind was so blocked that he didn't allow him to react. Maybe that would be the end for him and his colleague. The fire would soon consume them. However, something happened in Goby's mind.

"GOBY!"

The boy saw his friend on the ground and for a second, he saw his own father in her. He imagined that she was his father. He remembered that he couldn't help him that night. However, he can save his friend. Goby was fighting with his cowardly impulses in order to do something.

"Grr…N…N…No….NO THIS TIME!" Goby clenched his fists and decided to quickly run to his partner and used all his strength to remove the rubble that was hurting his partner's tail.

"Thanks, Goby...I don't know why you couldn't do it before?" Wilma asked weakly.

"Can you get up and move?" Goby asked her for her tail.

"I…I think so…" She tried to get up. but she was very weak. Her tail was injured.

"Come here. We´ll get out of here" The boy used his arm to take her from her shoulder and both of them started to move.

"Look out!" Wilma advised him. Goby stopped because another rubble tried to smash them. But they avoided it.

"Let´s go!"

They both began to escape from the burning building. Goby used all of her strength to help her injured friend and to move together. However, he had to make a great mental effort to avoid panicking from the flames. His mind wanted to betray him, because he felt fear and chills when he saw the intense flames. But he decided never to stop. If he allowed himself to be intimidated for a single second, he and Wilma could die. Goby used his strength and his survival instincts to make his way through the flames. They managed to evade flames and debris. After a few intense minutes, they managed to get out of the building covered in ashes and dust. Luckily for them, firefighters and paramedics were on the scene to greet them. Other firefighters were already at work putting out the flames.

"I thought everyone was evacuated" One of the paramedics asked.

"It seems that they are the last. Quick, take them to the ambulance now!" Another one said. Goby was exhausted. He used his strength to lay Wilma down on one of the paramedics' stretchers.

"Goby….you…Th..Thanks…" Wilma asked tiredly

"It was…It was…nothi…" Goby said that before he fell back unconsciously.

"Goby! GOBY!"

Evidently, both were taken to the hospital immediately. Fortunately, both were stable and neither was at risk of death. It was reported that the fire was caused by an accident related to lightning. Wilma was stable, she only has to wear a cast on her tail for a few days. And Goby was fine. The fainting was only due to exhaustion and from breathing a lot of ash. They only spent a few days in the hospital. Finally, they left the medical institute without much trouble.

"Wow...So that's why you didn't react before...Sorry, I didn't know that experience left you very traumatized" Wilma said with a sad tone. Goby told her about his previous incident.

"Don't worry about that. The important thing is that we are fine and I was able to face my fear for once in my life" Goby said with a smile.

"(sigh) I was a fool! I should have saved our project! We lost everything in that fire! We can't deliver another one on time" Wilma was worried. She felt guilty. Goby decided to take her by the shoulder to comfort her.

"Wilma, no good grade is worth it if anything happens to you or any of my partners. It matters more to me that I saved you than that I saved our project" Goby comforted her. Wilma was surprised and she blushed a bit.

"You flatter me...but...what about our project?" The girl asked worriedly.

"We can ask the teacher to give us one more week. I guess it will be a fair time. Besides, that won't be a challenge for the top of the class, right?" Goby smiled at her.

"Hehehe…you´re right" Wilma said very happily.

A short time later, they made the request to ask the teacher if it was possible to deliver the project a week later due to the incident. The teacher was fair and accepted their request. Luckily, the plans were stored in Goby's apartment. So they just had to work on the planetarium model. It was an intense week, but they were finally able to do it. Maybe it was inferior to the previous model, but it was a very good model despite everything. Finally, they both left there with their approved project. And therefore, both passed the course with the best grades.

"We did it. We have approved and with merits" Goby said with a smile.

"Of course! I see that choosing you as a partner was an excellent decision. I'm glad to know we'll be partners for a long time" Wilma admitted.

"I agree. There is still a bit left to finish the university degree. And then I can come home to BubbleTucky" Goby said.

"So…it´s true. You lived there. Wow! Interesting. I'd like to go there with you" She shared with him her thoughts.

"Oh really? It would be great! I would introduce you to my family, friends and my girlfriend. They would appreciate your presence. By the way...is there a special reason why you would like to go to BubbleTucky?" The boy asked kindly. She was silent for a few seconds.

"Well…..If there is a reason to go there... but I don't know if I should tell you…"

"If you want…I'm here to listen to you" He said innocently.

"I….I…I want to meet my older sister" Wilma said quietly.

"Wow! Do you have a sister? Who's she? Maybe I know her…" Goby said.

"...Her name is….Robynn….Robynn Stone…." She said it. That´s true! Her full name is Wilma Stone, Robynn´s little sister! Goby had to contain his astonishment. He knew the sister! She was a member of the dangerous Sinister Guppies. He didn't want to tell her that she was in prison for being an accessory to one of BubbleTucky's biggest crimes. From that day on, things would not be the same. But... maybe hiding the truth from her friend will be a big mistake.

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I bet no one expected such an outcome, huh? These stories leave surprise after surprise. Many of these things will have a big impact on the main story.

Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Well, there were many things to prepare in the last weeks of the year. For which I hope that all of you have had a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. And I'm glad to publish the first chapter of 2023.

Leave your reviews to see your opinions and I'll just be reading them. In fact, it's time to read the reviews of the last chapter

PrimroseRaspberry: Hi there! Glad to hear from you again! I know, a surprise Nate's return. And I know more surprises will come. It was great to see Gil improving his skills to such a point that he defeated that bully. It is possible to see Axel, Todd and Darcy on BGAY. Well, I admit that they make a good team with our turbocharged guppy. It looks like Gil will have a bigger challenge with Nate. Well, you're right, they will have a rivalry similar to that of Sully and Randall from Monster Inc. I can only say that you are prepared for what comes

JayBird06: Hello dude! Nice to see you! I'm glad you're liking the return of this character. And you know? Some might be back on BGAY soon. The chapter was really great. Watching Gil develop into a great police officer is quite satisfying. The scene with Molly was touching and it is possible to see more of Gil's colleagues on BGAY. Oh and I'm glad you like the return of the review responses. I usually only do it with the main BGTY stories, but that can change hehehe. I love responding to your reviews. I can only say that I hope you liked this chapter, because the next one will be good.

mermaid: Hiya, my friend! We can say without a doubt that Gil will be an excellent policeman. And very soon we will see him in that great role.

It's all of my part. I am ReaderandWriter9000 and here I say goodbye with this entertaining chapter. See you very soon in the next chapter of Zero Chapter. Place your bets on the next protagonist. See you very soon! AND HAPPY 2023!