Hey folks! Uh.. Certainly, can't guarantee anything yet, I guess just keep on reading and you'll see how it goes. Enjoy! ^^

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"Hnng...Huh?"

Gumball sleepily opened his eyes, glancing around at the wet muddy surroundings. He had been laying against a tree. What time was it? How long had he been sleeping?

The morning sun could be seen up in the sky, smiling and cheery as ever. Rather ironic.

He did his best to stand up, cautious as to not lean onto his nonfunctional leg, and stretched out his back, feeling several cracks. It probably wasn't the best idea to fall asleep over a tree. His clothes seemed slightly damp from last night. Just as he thought about it, the horrid memories came flooding back. Guilt riddled him.

What had he been thinking? Was it just his childish ego trying desperately to make people like him again to continue shenanigans? It soon occurred to him how regressed he was compared to everyone else. He was still twelve. At least in his heart. It never hit him how much he felt like a scared, unwanted, lonely child, trapped in an age that didn't feel like his.

Frustrated, he made effort to punch himself in the face. However before he could even reach it, he screamed, dropping it immediately. Fire.

His fist was covered with the flames, almost shaped into a fist itself, flickering slightly. Panicked, he waved his arm as fast as he could. Thankfully it burnt out. It didn't calm his fears.

The fire was back. It shouldn't be back. It was a curse, wasn't it? It was going to follow him. He would never get to fix it. Fix any of this.

No. It needs to be fixed.

Gumball exhaled, trembling with dread. It was okay. All was okay. The secret's safe with him, forever. Nobody's going to know, right? It'll be as if nothing ever happened. It has to be kept away. The thought of tampering with the safety of his loved ones, even himself, scared him. Last thing he needed was to make the town angrier, and seem correct about his lack of change.

He can control it.

...Maybe.

Nicole sat on the couch of the living room, nervously glancing at the window every so often. She could hardly find herself focusing on the television in front of her, displaying usual news reports. She looked over once more, worry only as bad as ever when nothing was seen.

"Honey?" Richard turned the older feline's attention over to him, as his expression showed concern, but more or less for both. "Are you okay? You're doing that glancing thingy.."

"I'm sorry I'm just.. I'm really worried.." She replied, letting out a miserable sigh. "He hasn't come home at all since last night.. What if something horrible happened?.. Or if he ran away or something I.."

The large rabbit took her hands, trying to comfort her. "Nicole, he'll be fine.. I'm not great at thinking.. But I know that.. He's okay. Just give him time to kinda.. Relax. Okay?"

She dropped her shoulders, gently squeezing his hold. "You're right... I shouldn't worry.."

The sound of the door slowly creaking open interrupted the moment.

Nicole stood up, as did Richard, and the two went over to it, worry returning to the cat's face. To their relief, Gumball hovelled inside, crutches squeaking faintly. "Oh thank gosh we were so worried! Where did you go?.."

"I.. Um.." He stared at the carpet, afraid to meet their gaze. "..I'm sorry for.. Running out like that... I.."

"What? Go on, speak up."

Startled, the three all looked over to the stairs, seeing Anais coming down, with Darwin nervously following behind her.

"You ran off to go cry a river, because what? Oh right. Nobody likes you." She gave the younger feline a steady glare, crossing her arms. "Did you really think trying to apologize to the victims which mind you, had people they loved that YOU killed, would make them want to be near you again?"

"Anais please-" Nicole was cut off.

Gumball had been watching the young bunny with a look of utter sorrow, eyes wide in alarm. "I-I didn't know-"

"Right, you didn't know. You're right about one thing. Look Gumball, I knew it was a bad idea for you to be released early the minute I heard about it." Anais began to get rather miffed, as if the cat had stomped on something she cherished. "You clearly have not realized the consequences of your actions, you know that?! I think I'd rather be beaten with a shovel then be standing in front of my so-called brother that nearly murdered me!"

"Can't you listen-"

"You haven't even changed! You're just as terrible as you were when you were twelve!"

That sentence had struck a chord. The younger feline desperately tried to keep himself calm, but found himself unable to. "I'm trying to change don't you get it?! I tried so hard but nobody gives two darns! Even if I lost these stupid fire powers they would still find reasons to hate me! They STILL WOULD hate me!"

The rest of the family widened their eyes, slightly backing away as they noticed sparks appearing in the cat's paws.

Anais only stood there, stern, but raising one eyebrow, noticing his increasing anger. "You're getting angry. I knew it."

"You know what Anais? Why don't you just shut up for once in your stupid pathetic little life okay?!" Gumball came closer, much to the young bunny's surprise. "I AM twelve actually! I've BEEN twelve for the past seven years because all my life I've been putting up with all this crud like what you're giving me right now! But nooo! Gumball's just the dumb loser that everyone can just treat like trash! Why don't we make his life MISERABLE to the point of ruining it and scarring him?! Maybe you should be more considerate and just SHOVE IT!"

The fire engulfed onto his hand the moment he smacked her.

Anais fell to the floor with a thud, anger washed away as all she could feel was terror, a burn seen across her forehead.

He immediately froze, sharing the same emotions. The flames didn't burn out from his hands, which trembled in their place, as he was unable to form any coherent sentences. All his mind thought of was fear. Hurt. Anger. Yelling. Hurting. The thoughts alone frightened him. He messed up. He messed up so much. Before he knew it, he bolted for the front door, leg trailing behind him, as the others had moved aside quickly to avoid the fire.

"Gumball wait!"

The cat ignored his mother's cries, out the door. His crutches however missed the first step of the bit of stairs, and he was sent falling down them, face planting onto the pavement. Painfully, he lifts himself up, only to scream and scoot back, seeing the flames that covered his legs, almost like the beast's. Terrified, he reached for his crutches, but it suddenly hit him. Wait. His legs felt fine.

He quickly got onto his feet, and ran as fast as they could take him, abandoning the crutches completely. His balance did seem a little off, likely from not using both legs for so long. However, there was no time to waste with the family beginning to follow him.

Unfortunately, his running was stopped short, as onlookers angrily confronted him, practically knocking him to the ground.

"Hey there he is! That's the freak that killed that one kid!"

"You sent him down that cliff didn't you?!"

"N-No i-it wasn't me!" The cat could feel utter stress and terror throughout him, as he scooted away from the angry citizens. However, his current fire covered legs sent a trail of flames as he moved. "It was an accident I-I didn't do it!"

He got up, trying to flee, though the constant sprouts of fire growing throughout his way appeared everywhere he went. Burn marks were seen on the street, and it eventually caught onto cars, even people.

Their screams of both agony and horror rang through his ears, which he desperately attempted to block out, to no avail. It pierced through him like sharp knives, filled with so much dread, so much utter fear. All he could feel was fear.

A sudden thwack interrupted his thoughts. The feline stumbled a bit, before cautiously turning to see what had hit him. Almost slowly, he pulled out a tranquilizer dart, a bright green color. For a brief moment, he only stood there, looking at it, expecting to drop suddenly like all the times before. Nothing. Why couldn't he feel anything?

It wasn't working.

Panic grew, as he noticed officers approaching. Of course, it was them that threw it. They were trying to stop him, weren't they? They couldn't stop him..

His eyes widened, while he took steps back, dropping the dart from his grasp. Fear. Nothing but fear. The flames suddenly spread onto his arms. It didn't help the situation, not even close. Why was this happening? Why couldn't he get it to stop?

"Gumball!"

The feline's attention turned to Darwin, who had somehow caught up to him. Naturally, he was still very afraid, backing away. However this did not discourage the other.

"Gumball, it's okay.." Darwin stepped closer, fins raised to a calming gesture. "I know you're really, really scared right now.. Everything's gonna be fine.. You just gotta try to calm down for a minute, okay?.."

"S-Stop.." The cat clutched his head, feeling a throbbing pain. He only gave an expression of utter fear, trying to get away but being unable, as the other kept coming closer. "G-Get back! Please! I-I don't wanna hurt you!"

"Gu-"

"GET BACK!" As he cried out, flames shot out and smacked Darwin right in the face, practically knocking him over. Trembling, the feline couldn't help but get away, running off before the others could get near him. The previous memories of hurting him all those years ago haunted his thoughts.

"Darwin! Are you alright?" Nicole stopped to help her younger son up off the ground, startled as she noticed a burn mark at his eye.

The fish was in tears, trying desperately to explain what had happened, as it was a misunderstanding, however the family only picked him up and took him with them as they ran. He had no choice but to follow.

Meanwhile, Gumball was trying his absolute hardest to outrun them, but alas, it was fruitless. He found himself in the woods, nearly out of breath, as he struggled to continue farther. The option soon grew impossible now, as he became surrounded by the officers and his family.

By now the fire had been slowly wrapping around him at this point, almost keeping himself from the others' view. He couldn't help but freak out, as sudden horrid pain striked his chest, hunching over. His eyes were now like the fire beast, red and flame filled, as he tried to escape. The pain however kept him from being able to get up, as the flames surrounded him.

"Gumball-" Nicole came forward, though stopped talking, noticing his clear distress as all sorts of voices were coming his way, from yelling to normal speech, it all terrified him. "Honey I need you to focus on my voice, okay? Just focus on me."

She was now nearby the flames, but back just enough that he could still hear her. The younger cat then looked at her, prompting her to continue. "Take deep breaths, just focus on me.."

He listened, beginning to calm, however the flames did not shrink. Instead, they only sat there, threatening to grow. The feline sat there, still gripping onto himself, only looking straight at her. His voice began to break with his current shaking. "...I-It hurts so bad... I-I can't stop thinking about it.. A-About them..."

Nicole understood what he meant, her concern showing as she noticed that the only thing not covered in flames was his head. "It's going to be okay, we'll fix everything.."

This sentence striked something within him. Tears pricked at his eyes, as his fear now shared rage. "..Why do you keep saying that?.."

She only gave him a look of confusion, as everyone else had stopped talking, watching the situation play out. "It's the truth, it doesn't have to be like this anymore.."

"Stop lying to me.. It's been nothing but stupid lies! You're just trying to keep me happy so you don't have to deal with me anymore aren't you?!" He couldn't hide his emotions, now only looking at her with anger. "You said they wouldn't kill me in that cell but you weren't there when they came in ready to freaking knock me out!"

"It's nothing like that! We really are trying to fix this! You believe that.. Right?.."

Gumball suddenly slammed a flame-covered fist into the tree next to him. The bark burned to a pure charred black, crumbling apart. "No, I can't! No matter how hard I try to fix anything it just stays broken! Do you know how many people I had to visit yesterday just to hear-"

He pitched his voice to the sentences, from a high, to a deep, to a middle. "'Why are you still here?', 'I thought they killed you already!', 'You're better off rotting and dying alone than me speaking to you!', 'IT'S YOU THAT LET HIM DIE EVEN IF YOU TRIED DESPERATELY TALKING HIM OUT OF FALLING DOWN THAT CLIFF ONLY TO WATCH HIM FALL DOWN TO THOSE ROCKS!'"

The cat cried on his knees, as the fire only rose higher. He felt trapped, with the trees and everyone around him like they were all closing in on him. "DO YOU?!"

Faint laughter rang through his ears, as he could see glimpses of the old flame creatures, making their return at a horrible time. The fire now covered him completely, making him look like how the beast was all those years ago. His size, but very much fiery. Tears mixed into his flame-filled eyes.

"Gumball it's not like that!" Nicole shared an expression of utter worry and sorrow. It hurt her to see him like this. "We can help you!"

"YOU MADE IT WORSE!" He yelled, the pain bearable enough that he could stand up. Flames ended up shooting out, striking a few trees, which utterly destroyed them into smithereens, causing the others to have to stand back farther for the sake of their safety. He could care less at the moment. "I THREW MY LIFE AWAY THE MINUTE TOBIAS BROKE ME! AND FOR WHAT?! SIX RESTRAINING ORDERS AND BEING LOCKED AWAY FOR SEVEN YEARS?! THEY HATE ME! THEY ALL HATE ME FOR WHAT I DID!"

"We don't hate you.." She was trying so hard, but her reassurances felt hollow, even to her. They weren't getting through to him.

Gumball smiled, as tears streamed down his face. "Oh, you don't hate me.."

The flames surrounding him finally grew farther, as an angry fire beast emerged from them with a horrid screech. Like the cat, it too had grown the past years, it's form nearly reaching the height of the trees. "YOU'RE AFRAID OF ME!"

It roared with an utter rage, some fire seen spewing from its mouth. Before anyone could respond, the beast turned and ran deeper into the woods, burning up the trees and anything within its path.