Things are dare I say, HEATING UP around here. :)

Sorry I couldn't resist, anyways here's chapter 10, enjoy!

WARNING! This chapter contains graphic material. If you are sensitive to that, feel free to not read this chapter. If you want to stay, take caution.

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It would seem like any old day if you were out in the woods at first. Camping, hiking, swimming, the usual. People happy, laughing, enjoying themselves as they relaxed. All peace, and quiet.

Then came the fire beast that barreled through.

It roared, spitting flames onto all in its wake. Campers screamed as their tents went ablaze, hikers screamed as fire shaped into a tail swished into their direction. All was chaos. Trees being charred into black, footsteps burned into the path of the beast as it dashed along. The people however weren't aware of the furious, emotionally broken young adult inside.

All Gumball could think of was anger. Fire. Destruction. He could hardly care about the people below in peril. Would they even give any darns about him? Nobody else seemed to. They only wanted him to keep quiet, to pretend everything was okay.

It wasn't.

As the beast crashed through sections of the woods, screeching and roaring as it did, animals and strange creatures were desperately avoiding the blaze, scattering out of harm's way quickly as bushes were scorched and grass covered in ashes.

Unfortunately a cliff stopped it from going any farther. Just as the beast was about to climb down, an all too familiar voice rang out.

"Gumball!"

The cat scowled, as the flame beast faced the source immediately. He watched, as Richard came running into the area, waving his arms in a desperate panic. "What do you want?"

"Son please!" The large bunny came closer, glancing up at the tall creature, practically pleading. "This has to stop! I don't really understand why everyone's so distant from each other! Can't we just talk this out over a pizza?"

"CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!" The beast screeched, slashing Richard aside with one clawed hand, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground with a heavy blow. "YOU CAN'T JUST FIX THIS DAD!"

The bunny did not move.

Gumball paused, furrowing his brow as he looked down at the lump laying on the grass. Something wasn't right. It didn't hit that hard did it?

"RICHARD!" Nicole dashed over to her husband, followed by her other kids, who all surrounded him. She desperately checked him over, to no avail. Tears in her eyes, she held him close, as Darwin and Anais silently cried with her.

The younger feline had been watching, eyes widening, as his anger turned into heavy remorse and terror. Melted flesh and bones decorated his father, who only gave his last expression. Horror and shock.

Images flashed before his eyes, as tears began to pour down his face heavily. Happy memories, only to be burned up by the flames. "N-No.. No I-I didn't mean to I'm sorry.. I-I'm sorry.."

He was now very much sobbing, the beast reaching for the body. His father couldn't be dead yet, right? This could still be fixed. It had to be.

Nicole noticed, hugging Richard harder. She couldn't control her temper, all of it was too much to bear. "STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU FREAK!"

The younger cat froze, as did the beast. All he could feel was utter shock, eyes wide as the words practically tore into him. From the distance, he saw his younger siblings backing away, almost as if afraid of the same fate. This only hurt him worse. Terrified, Gumball, or rather the beast, stepped back, denial heavy in his mind. "N-No.. I-It's not like that.. I-It's not like that..."

Emotions were only getting the best of his mother, who turned angrily to the nearest officer. "Get him down. Now."

Ropes suddenly snagged around his wrists and back, catching him off-guard immediately, as he struggled to get free from it. He couldn't control his crying, as he tried desperately to yank free, to no avail. Sudden images of the dark, cold, empty cell with the chains appeared in his mind, only freaking him out worse. "W-WAIT DON'T SEND ME BACK THERE I DON'T WANNA GET LOCKED AWAY I'M SORRY!"

The beast roared, as the material snapped apart almost pathetically. It swiped at a nearby officer, knocking them off their feet as several others prepared to fight. However, they couldn't do much against literal fire that couldn't be doused. Officers interfering only ended up injured on the grass, unable to get up. The others grew angry by that.

As the fight continued on, Gumball inside was at utmost fear and panic, as well as anguish. The sight of his father's body, the sight of his other family in terror, the sight of the injured officers, the sight of the angry ones yelling to take the beast down, it was too much. He couldn't bear hearing it. Tears streamed down his face, as he sobbed horribly.

"S-STOP PLEASE! PLEASE STOP I-I'M SORRY! P-PLEASE STOP!" He screamed as loud as he could for them to hear, for the beast to hear. He didn't know how to pull the beast back. He didn't know how to even get out of it. "S-STOP! S-STOP!"

A sudden boom shook the environment. The cat's eyes widened in horror, terrifying memories flooding back to him as he watched bullets fire towards him, more at the beast per say. However, he knew well that the bullets would explode if they touched it. His cries only got louder, as he desperately ducked and protected himself from the impending weapons. Why couldn't anyone listen? Why couldn't anyone care?

Something poked his face, almost painfully so. He paused. He wasn't holding anything that could cause that. The cat glanced down at his paws, his fear increasing ten-fold. Charred red material covered the blue fur, his fingers now sharp and jagged. It didn't stop. He cried out in pain, as his eyes turned to that of glowing flames, as the charred bits spread over his fur. Seeing it coming to his face now, he screamed, but it was too late, as the material covered his muzzle, forming a jagged pointy mouth, cutting him off, as it turned to loud screeching instead.

He could hear the flame creatures around him taunt and laugh at his pain. The cat very much felt the situation setting in now, as he only looked at his new form with horror. He couldn't stop the beast or any of his fire related abilities. He couldn't stop the onslaught of fear and hatred the citizens felt. He couldn't bring back anyone he had killed. He couldn't get the love and support he had anymore. Nobody wants him. All he is to them is a monster, bent on destruction and chaos, hurting those around him.

Everyone was afraid. Everyone was going to kill him.

Meanwhile, the family had not moved from where they were. They had been watching the scene play out before them, with a silent dread that hung over. It was then that they noticed the beast's expression of rage had for a split moment turned to a deep fear. It had been roaring, and what sounded like a horrific screeching noise was inside it.

The beast began backing away, trying to retreat, though that was not possible as the officers drew near. Gumball was sobbing, desperately trying to claw off the charred material, as he cried for help. It was no use, his voice was lost in the sea of screeches that were stuck in his throat. The beast was close to the edge now.

Anais soon realized what was about to happen, her eyes widening in terror, as she screamed as loud as she could. "GUMBALL WATCH OUT! THE CLIFF!"

Darwin began screaming with her, as the two siblings waved their arms frantically. Nicole was still holding Richard beside her, as she looked up, the words she had said beginning to ring in her mind, as horror filled her. What had she done?

The cries were no use, as the beast slipped, beginning to fall into the bottom, Gumball sent down right with it. Tears stung the cat's eyes, as the fire surrounded him, the creatures haunting him with their cries and the negative thoughts clouding his head. All he could do was accept what was going on. This was how it was meant to be. The fire beast turned and landed onto its feet almost gracefully, as it began to run off into the woods once more, its roaring now silent.

Hours began to go by, the beast's pace beginning to slow. As the night began to settle, it stopped in front of a large cave, walking on all fours as it entered, curling up beside a cave wall. It let out a huff, slight smoke coming out of its mouth.

Gumball was still very much inside, tired as well. He curled up slightly in his place, as he had moved closer to the sides of the creature. The warmness of the beast was rather welcoming, as he felt grateful he could feel it. However, it couldn't keep away the horrors he had witnessed today.

He couldn't help but sob once more at the thought. What was he to do now? He was forever stuck in this hideous form, unable to speak to anyone. Everyone hated him. He was sure of it. Was he trapped to be in these woods forever, like some kind of monstrous thing lurking in the darkness?

The cat paused. He could hear whining coming from above him, and as he looked up, his eyes widened. The beast had been trying to hold him close, even if he was inside it. It whined sorrowfully, though stopped when it heard the crying cease.

Gumball soon came to the realization. This monster wasn't mindless. He knew he couldn't speak to him at this moment, but something in his gut told him that it could understand him somehow, almost looking out for him in a way. Thinking back on it, it actually made a bit of sense the few times the beast had appeared. It had been summoned to protect him.

His emotions were still very much all scrambled at the moment however, as tears sizzled into the flames underneath him. It was difficult to find sleep, with all of these horrid thoughts in his mind. He grew startled for a moment, feeling the beast slightly shift its position. Before he knew it, he began to hear a deep purring sound surround him. It felt comforting.

Feeling a tad safer, Gumball felt his eyelids droop, as he peacefully went into slumber.

The woods were dark and quiet. Too quiet.

Darwin and Anais had cautiously returned to a previous clearing, sorrow and regret on their faces. They knew however their guilt was no match for what their mother was going through.

Nicole soon arrived, trudging to the area with no energy in sight. She sat herself down, and placed her face into her paws, letting out a quiet sob.

The two siblings looked at each other, each sharing the same thoughts, as the sobbing continued.

Their mother looked up from her tear stricken gaze. She almost hesitated to speak. "..It's not your fault.. You two didn't cause this to happen.."

"..M-Mrs. Mom.. It's.. It's okay you don't have to-" Darwin was cut off right away.

Anais stood angrily, tears pricking in her eyes. "LIAR! You're trying to blame yourself so we can feel better! It's not working! You're not going to make everything okay mom!"

"Anais please.."

"NO! JUST NO! It's my fault this happened!" She began to cry, shaking in her place. "I was the one that yelled at him! I just couldn't keep my mouth shut and it made everyone get hurt! I'm the one that's caused my older brother to be shot at and alone somewhere it's my fault!"

She froze, feeling her mother's hand on her shoulder.

"Anais, please.." Nicole's grip trembled as she spoke. "You're a child.. What excuse do I have?.. I yelled at my own son that he was a freak.. And I let him be shot at! I let them try to kill him and I'm never ever going to get over that, do you understand?.."

The siblings said not a word, only looking at her with tearful expressions.

She wiped the tears from her daughter's eyes, feeling her own only pour harder. "..We all made mistakes that lead up to this.. There.. There isn't much we can do right now.. And.."

Nicole broke down, dropping to the ground as she screamed, pouring all she had out of her. She had been wrong. She couldn't easily fix everything like she thought. She knew she couldn't. Her son had been hurting, and all she did was deliver false promises, and make things worse for him in the long run. Now look where she was, crying in the dark woods in front of her children, with a dead husband back in town awaiting a funeral.

"..M-Mrs. Mom?.."

She looked up, seeing Darwin in front of her. "..Yes sweetie?.."

"..We all messed up really bad.. Not just you.." He wiped the tears from her eyes, as he looked at her with a heartbreaking sadness. "..We can't easily repair it.. But.. The best we can do is try to be better.. Mr. Dad would want us to come home.. And.. try to take things easy.. I know it's hard.. But.. We gotta take a rest.. Give.. Him rest.."

Nicole hugged the two siblings, who each hugged back, as she let out a pained sigh. "..You're right.. We.. We need to give him space.."

As she quietly took them back out of the forest, she couldn't help but stay trapped in her thoughts. She had done this. She had driven him away. She had hurt him.

Her eldest son had been right.

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This is just your friendly reminder that this is not the end just yet! Sometimes when I end chapters like this some readers assume it's over, so this is my clarification! Trust me the end is approaching soon, just not yet. ^^