It's been a while, but finally here is chapter 5. Enjoy!

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It had been several weeks since the incident.

Gumball had not left the cell since then either. His smile was rare to see now, as he was in a constant state of regret, sadness, anger, and fear. It was often normal to see him break down in tears. To him it felt as if the fire was like a curse, uncontrollable and stuck to him no matter how hard he tried to separate from it.

However, not all hope was lost.

"Watterson, you have a visitor." An officer sipped his coffee, standing outside the cell. He didn't look like he cared much about this, practically looking at him like if he were scum. It was understandable why.

Gumball didn't move, hugging his knees in the corner. Not a word was spoken out of him.

"It's your mother."

The cat's ears perked up, as he heard another pair of slow footsteps walk towards the door.

He was afraid to see what she looked like, not turning his head to the front. If anything, he feared even seeing if she had a horrible permanent injury.

"Gumball?.."

The younger cat did not utter a single word, staring at the floor.

"I'm okay now sweetheart, you don't have to worry about any um.. Scary imagery.."

Reluctant, Gumball finally glanced up at her, taking in the damages. Worry could be seen in his eyes.

Thankfully, she was right. Nicole was lightly standing, a pair of crutches supporting her. Bandages were seen all over her, a few scars on her face. She didn't look that much in pain to him, but even then, her state was haunting.

"Gumball, I just want to talk, alright?.." She was granted access by the police to step inside the confinement, as she got closer.

Gumball however only scooted back, keeping his distance from her. It was hard to do so now, as he was scrunched up heavily into a cell corner. His eyes read that of fear, and begged her to stop.

"It's okay, you don't have to be scared anymore.. We'll figure all this ou-"

"You already did."

Nicole was startled by his sudden response, but counted it as progress. "..What?.."

Gumball stared back down at the floor, chains rattling as he wiped the few tears from his face. "They already figured it out.. It's all my fault.."

"It's not your fault, it was just everything going on I-"

"Stop trying to defend me!" The younger cat stood up, facing her with an almost angry scowl. "I was in that thing! And now I'm stuck in here for what I did!"

"Gumball can you please listen?.." Nicole hobbled forward, but that seemed to be a bad choice.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Nicole fell over, wincing in pain as the flames shot out from the cell, almost smacking her in the head. The policemen quickly helped her back up, quietly moving her back out.

Anger had changed into fear, as Gumball backed away, realizing what he had done. "..I-I'm so sorry.. I didn't-"

"Quiet down!" The first cop shouted, which immediately made Gumball fall silent. The man then looked at Nicole. "We need to talk."

She nodded in understanding, as she and the men left for the time being.

In the next room, the men sat her down, a serious look on their faces. "That kid is too powerful and destructive for us to handle anymore. We can barely even control him now. So, we're going to let you know about this ahead of time." The first man kept his stern face, but was generally worried about Nicole's reaction.

"He can be cared for properly and not be a bother anymore, to lightly put it."

"WHAT?! YOU'RE KILLING MY SON?!"

"Calm down, we can plan this all out-"

Nicole stood up, at least to her best ability, a furious expression on her face. "NO! I'm not letting this happen! I can try and help him control it, it wasn't his fault in the first place!"

"That child is dangerous! Take a look at what he's done to you and the rest of those children!"

"I've been through worse, this is MY KID we're talking about here!" She slammed her fist against the table, not wincing in the slightest.

"You could DIE this time around!" The man slammed his fist onto the table as well, now angry.

"I'M NOT LETTING YOU KILL HIM!" Nicole took shaky breaths, as tears could be seen rolling down her cheeks.

"...Five minutes. You can have five minutes to speak with him, alright?.." The first officer's tone grew softer, regretting his words.

Nicole was silent, as she made her way back. She could feel her heart break, seeing Gumball crying in the cell, now sitting back on the floor.

He soon noticed her, looking up in tears. "...I'm sorry…."

"..It's.. It's okay.." Nicole came closer like last time, however Gumball did not freak out. He did his best to try and hug her through the bars, his sobbing getting worse.

"...I don't want to make anything too… Overwhelming.. But…" Nicole struggled to finish. "..They want to… Try and handle things their way…"

"..I know.. I could hear the screaming and yelling from here…"

"You heard all that?..." Her eyes widened with worry, as she tried to comfort him. "I'm so sorry… I tried so hard to get them to change their minds… They just.. Wouldn't listen…"

"It's not your fault…"

"But it's not yours either, you have to understand-"

"What's there to understand?! They want me dead! I mean what, you think I'm not scared by that?!"

"No of course not, but-" Nicole was cut off again, as she noticed flames beginning to show up. The older cat slightly hobbled back. She felt afraid, but did her best not to show it.

"..I don't wanna die…" Gumball only stood there in heavy tears, as the fire flickered from around him. His chains now were tinted a red color from all the fire.

"...Sweetheart, you're not going to, I promise-"

"Mrs. Watterson." A voice called from down the hall.

Nicole let out a sigh. "..I'll be back in a minute, alright?.."

"N-No wait don't leave me here! They're gonna hurt me!" Gumball tried desperately to reach out to her, tears falling down his face.

"I won't let them, believe me.. I'm going to go convince them not to." Nicole limped back into the room she was in prior, glancing back in melancholy at her son, who stood there watching her with sorrow. She then stepped back into the room to confront the officers, determined to fix this.

Gumball couldn't help but cry, as he fell back down on his knees. Everything had gone to utter garbage and all he could do was just.. Hope. Pray that he would be okay. That.. He wouldn't die. He wouldn't.. His mom was going to save him.. Right?

A few minutes later however, he hears footsteps coming back, but several pairs. The blue cat stood up in panic, as he noticed policemen coming, with stern looks on their faces. Nicole was nowhere to be seen.

An utter look of betrayal appeared on his face.

He tugged on the chains, screaming as he tried to break out, but to no success. Fire began to spread, wrapping around his legs as he continued pulling the metal out of desperation.

Suddenly however, a tranquilizer dart hits him in the arm, as his vision faded, Gumball dropping to the floor with a thud.