Nicole emerged from the trees and shrubbery holding the watch. It had ceased its faint glow now, much to Nicole's joy. She wasn't sure what caused it to glow, or what exactly it was doing here...but she had to figure it out. somehow...

"Nicole!" Gumball shouted towards her, causing her to snap out of her train of thoughts.

As she made her way over to Gumball, he cautiously approached her.

"What...did you find?" He asked, wiping his brow.

"I found this...watch." She said, holding it out in her hands for Gumball to see.

His eyes soon went wide.

"That watch...it...seems familiar."

"How so?" She asked quizzically.

"I'm...not sure. It could be a case of deja vu or something, but it's hard to tell..."

He rubbed his temples.

"Ugh, maybe I do remember something about it, or that thing did something to my brain to make me think that. Or fried it. One of those two..."

Nicole decided to look closer at it. She saw the counting numbers and decided to read them out loud.

"4, 304, 11, 48, 32. What does this mean Gumball?"

He looked closer himself and saw the numbers near the end continue to count, while the other numbers on the other side remained the same.

"It's a counter! It's counting the time." He said, pointing towards the small, nearly invisible barriers between the numbers.

After attempting to figure out the actual time it displayed, Nicole cracked the code.

"I think it says, based off the number placing; 4 years, 304 days, 11 hours, 48 minutes and 32 seconds? Is that right?"

Gumball looked up towards the sun and saw it almost above them, meaning it must be close to noon.

"That could be right. At least the time of day checks out..."

Nicole still felt confused.

"But what does this all mean?"

Gumball shrugged.

"Maybe it's counting how long it has been lost?"

"Maybe..." she responded, looking more closely at it.

Gumball wiped his forehead again.

"Let's head back home. We both need a shower. After we do that, we can investigate this 'watch' more throughly."

Nicole wanted to protest, but feeling her body covered in sweat and grass, along with being mentally and physically fatigued, she agreed with Gumball.

"Alright. But we are NOT leaving that watch inside the house until we understand it better. I don't want it hurting us like that again."

Gumball nodded, before taking the watch from Nicole's hands.

" I'll put it on the porch of the house across from ours. That should be a safe distance from us until we return to it."

"That will work. Let's go."

With that, the pair made their way back home from the park.

——————————

Gumball felt so good under the warm water again. Feeling the sweat and grime leave his skin and hair was amazing. Their fun playing was something he had wanted to do with her for quite a while. He didn't care how old he was now. Playing was something that he would always like; no matter what age.

As he emerged from the shower and dried his body with a towel, he wrapping it around himself. As he was about to brush his teeth, he heard a knock on the door.

"Are you done yet sweetie? I don't want to stain the flooring out here."

Gumball held his toothbrush for a second, before replying.

"I'm out of the shower and about to brush my teeth. You can come in now."

Gumball heard the door open, and out of the corner of his eye he could see her come in with only a towel on. This caused him to stop.

"N-Nicole? Why do you have a towel on? Where's your clothes?"

She gave him rolled eyes before hopping behind the shower curtain.

"I couldn't just stand in my clothes inside the house and risk making a mess, so I took them off and put them in the closet to get cleaned, before using a towel to dry off some of my sweat. How else would I get like this?"

Gumball seemed to understand now.

"Fair enough..." he said, continuing his brushing.

Nicole removed her towel and dropped it just outside the tub and turned on the warm water. As it cascaded down on her, she couldn't help but let out a relaxed sigh.

"Feels nice, doesn't it?" He spoke towards her.

"Very~" she replied, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

As Gumball finished brushing his teeth, he couldn't help but glance towards her. Although the curtain before him was not clear, it didn't stop the light from the overhead shower light from casting a light silhouette of her form through it. For some reason, this made him feel a bit warmer. He gulped.

'Why am I acting like this?' He thought as he turned back to the mirror to comb his hair.

"I really think you're improving, ya know..." he heard her say suddenly.

Gumball turned back to face the shower.

"Improving on what?"

He then saw her poke her head out from the curtain and look at him.

"Improving on your breathing techniques, your mental strength, physical strength..."

She then saw his cheeks start to become red.

"And perhaps...it seems your self control is improving as well~" she said with a smug grin, before pulling her head back into the shower.

Gumball was caught off guard with that one.

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" He asked defensively.

"I MEANT your ability to not immediately flee when I was close to catching you.

"O-oh..." he said, rubbing his arm.

"What did you think I meant?" She asked, giggling softly.

"I...I uh...never mind."

Hearing Gumball stutter like that caused Nicole to smile a bigger grin and flick her tail happily. She knew what she was doing; and it looked like Gumball fell for it.

'I should tease him like that more often...' she thought, finishing the final touches of her cleaning.

Then she got another idea. Nicole loved games; especially ones with Gumball. Perhaps one final "mind game" for now with him wouldn't hurt...

"Gumball, could you grab me a fresh towel please?"

Gumball turned around and picked out a fresh clean towel for her and handed it through the opening. As she wrapped it around herself, she took extra effort to lower the towel on her chest; just a little.

'Oh he's gonna fluster like a tomato!' She thought.

As she emerged from the shower, she casually walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. Gumball turned around and almost immediately widened his eyes and averted his gaze.

"Gumball, could you find us some food from the fridge? I'll be down in a few minutes to prepare us some before we go out again. I'm hungry~"

Her emphasis on the word "Hungry" seemed to send chills down his spine and make him fidget slightly. It all was too much. Seeing her in a low wrapped towel, her asking for food so...strangely, it all was so overwhelming.

"S-sure. I can do that." He said, before turning away and half darting out of the bathroom.

Nicole gently closed the door behind him and, as quietly as she could, snickered to herself.

"Hook, line and sinker..." she whispered out loud, adjusting her towel.

Gumball changed into his clothes with VERY red cheeks.

'Calm down Gumball, she probably didn't mean to dress like that. But the way she spoke...why did it seem so strange?'

Then it hit him.

'Wait! Was she...talking seductively? Was she flirting with me like that? If so...dang that's hot! Maybe that would explain the towel...'

Gumball shook his head. Perhaps it was best NOT overthinking this...just in case. With that, he finished putting on his simple clothes and headed downstairs to pull a few things out of the fridge.

——————————

After getting a bite to eat, The two of them eventually made their way over towards the watch next door. Gumball was the first to reach and pick it up.

"Alright. So, we aren't sure how long this 'watch' has been here, or if these numbers are actually correct or not. We don't know who made it, why it's here, or where it came from."

Nicole nodded and decided to give it a closer look herself this time.

"I'm surprised." She uttered, looking closely underneath it. "I don't see any company name or logo of any sort. I'm guessing it must have been crafted from scratch."

Maybe you're right..." Gumball replied, pondering his own theories.

"If it was here for so long, why haven't we found it sooner? We've been in that area of the park several times before; yet we never found it previously or even felt its presence until just today."

"That makes sense. I've never even seen something like this before. It's so...strange." She said, tapping the top of it.

"Let's keep thinking" Gumball said, leaning back against the porch pillar.

-An Hour Later-

"Ugh, I'm out of ideas..." he said, letting out a sigh.

Nicole looked up towards him.

"Come on now, surely there must be something else to this..."

"Well it's something I can't think of right now..." he muttered in frustration, looking down at the watch.

"I mean...*Tap Tap* you can't just expect it to just-"

Gumball stopped. As he looked down, he realized something. Him tapping the bottom of the watch had made a very tiny slip of folded up paper fall out from a small slit. Quickly, he picked it up.

"What's that?" She asked, sitting right next to him as he opened it.

"Im not sure. Let me read it."

Gumball and Nicole Watterson: Am fixing the machine. Time function broke. Counter tells length of time you have been in pocket dimension. Time different from ours. A world apart. If you found this, there is hope. Keep strong. Stay together.

-Bobert

Gumball was shocked.

'Bobert? Bobert is involved in this?' He thought.

Bobert. The robotic school mate of Gumball and Darwin. A robot who Gumball truly considered worthy of being called his friend. Now, at that very moment; he considered him his enemy.

With a mighty clenched fist, he swung and slammed his fist on the metal pillar, causing it to dent severely. His rage was beyond his control.

"Gumball!" Nicole shouted, standing up and restraining him.

"Bobert! Bobert! He did this...that BASTARD did this to us. He trapped us here...he...trapped us here..."

Gumball felt his rage turn into tears, and his strength turn to putty as he collapsed in Nicole's embrace. He half choked them out as she gently rubbed his back and held him close.

"Shhh, it's alright Gummypuss. It's all right. I'm here..."

This lasted several minutes, but to Gumball, it felt like an eternity. He felt so...broken. So betrayed. One of his best friends, someone who he could trust; had doomed him and Nicole to a desolate world, inhabited only by themselves. An isolation that he wouldn't have wished on his worst enemy.

After gathering himself enough, Nicole finally let him go. As she did, she reached for the note and read it herself. As she read the final words, she quickly glanced up towards him.

"Gumball, I know you're angry at him, but he said in this that there is hope! We mustn't give up on him. He can still save us."

"There isn't hope. He probably doesn't even know we are alive or not! He just is sending us false hope!"

He clenched his fist again, before breathing out loudly through his nostrils. This made him loosen his fist, but the anger still was plentiful within him.

"We must still believe, even if he fails. He still cares about us."

"Not anymore..." he said solemnly, lowering his head and falling to the floor. He tucked his legs in to hide his face, but Nicole knew what emotion it displayed. She breathed a deep breath before sitting next to him. She gently pulled him close to her. She kissed his cheek before moving his head to her shoulder.

sigh* 'what now?' She thought, holding and looking at the counter in her other hand. The only sound that remained between the two was the gentle incoming wind of a storm, and the sound of the watch; it's counting continuing to climb.

Tick

Tick

Tick