The Heritage

It was time for recess at Elmore Junior High and the students were mingling out in the schoolyard. Penny could be among her usual clique, her expression still dour. She still had Mr. Cuddles in her hands. She had been given permission to tote him around for the day, given the fact that his presence at school wasn't her fault, though she had been requested that she not remove him from the pickle jar.

"I can't believe him," she growled aggressively. "Trying to force me to choose between him or my precious Mr. Cuddles. And so publicly too."

"Yeah, the complete and utter nerve," said Carmen, the cactus crossing her arms. "If Alan ever tried anything of the sort I'd pop him multiple times on each of my quills at least once."

"And I would enjoy each pop, my love," said the sentient balloon in his high pitched voice as he floated by in the background behind her, Carmen's looking unamused.

"Ugh, men!" said Carrie, the ghost crossing her arms. "Always so insensitive and selfish."

"I agree," said Penny, looking at her beloved pet tarantula and giving a brief affectionate smile before her face morphed into a scowl again. "I thought Gumball was going to be different from other boys, but then he does something like this."

"Hey, if you'd like, I could give him a little "stormy weather" for you," Masami offered, turning darker and extruding a few brief lightning bolts.

Penny was really tempted to accept her friend's offer when Leslie spoke up. "Huh, guys, I'd really hate to be the one to detail this rage train, but aren't we being a little hard on Gumball?"

The others in the group looked at him like he had grown a second head (for lack of a better term. After all, Leslie, being a flower, could understandably grow a second head, possibly more).

"What do you mean "a little hard"?" inquired Carrie, the ghostly girl hovering directly into Leslie's face. "He wanted Penny to give up her pet just because he hates spiders."

The others likewise agreed.

"On that point I do agree," said Leslie, looking at the massive arachnid in the jar held by Penny. "But Gumball's arachnophobia aside, didn't Mr. Cuddles kinda give Gumball a personal reason to dislike him? I heard Gumball got bitten so badly by him that he actually lapsed into a coma."

Penny blinked and looked down at Mr. Cuddles in the jar. She had honestly forgotten about that debacle, where which they were hosting a funeral for Mr. Cuddles after her dad accidentally flushed him down the toilet. Gumball had found him, and was practically mauled by him to the point of winding up in the hospital.

"I…guess you have a point there, Leslie," Penny reluctantly admitted, her scowl dissipating for a look of uncertainty. "Gumball kinda does have a legitimate reason to hate Mr. Cuddles." Her scowl returned. "That doesn't mean I'm willing to get rid of him though."

"Not saying you should," said Leslie. "I'm just saying that maybe rather than lashing out, or having Masami electrocute him, you two should talk this out. Besides, hasn't he suffered enough in the physical aspect of things already?"

"You know, that actually is a pretty good point," said Carman. "I saw Gumball as he left school, Tina practically beat him to a pulp."

"What did he think was going to happen?" inquired Carrie. "That picture of Tina…it's a wonder his head is still attached to his shoulders."

"Can you believe she is a dyer?" asked Masami. "But with that true color of hers I can't really blame her. If she were to come to school looking like "that" it might really affect her tough girl image, if it hasn't already."

As her friends switched topics to Tina's color scandal Penny was debating internally. Sure, she was still pretty mad at Gumball for that little stunt, but again, she had to admit, Leslie had a point, Gumball did have a really good reason to hate Mr. Cuddles, apart from just his fear of spiders. Should she and Gumball just…talk about this? Try to reach an understanding.

As she debated this the shadow of a plane passed over the courtyard as it flew overhead, which was followed by a scream that generally grew louder, and as it grew louder Penny and her friends started to take notice.

"What's that?" asked Carrie, all of them looking around for the source of the screaming. The voice sounds…familiar…

That's when Gumball came dropping out of the sky, landed on Alan, which he proceeded to springboard off of with the sound of a deflating balloon; mainly because Gumball's impact had forced him to actually deflate, and sped towards Penny and her group. He didn't hit any of them, but clipped the jar in Penny's hands, yanking it from her grip and into his arms. The out of control Gumball brought the newly acquired jar up and looked at it, gazing at the familiar tarantula inside for a second before looking ahead to see where his current trajectory was taking him. On his present course…

The sound of snapping wood reverberated through the schoolyard as Gumball impacted the cluster of trees beyond the fence, snapping through several of their trunks and causing them to come crashing down on top of him.

"MR. CUDDLES," cried Penny worriedly, running for the fence, shifting into her jackalope form along the way, which increased her speed significantly.

Her friends could only stare in stunned silence.

Among the cluster of toppled trees Gumball emerged from between the broken trunks, slightly scraped up, but otherwise unharmed. Of course, he doubted that would be the case for long, what with what he currently held in his hands.

"Uh oh…" he whimpered as he looked at Mr. Cuddles.

He thinks he understands now why Green requested he say hi to his girlfriend for him.

"GUMBALL!" Looking up, Gumball was scared, yet unsurprised, to see that Penny was currently climbing the fence that separated the tees from the courtyard. She was in her jackalope form, but her face looked at him with the most resentful of gazes and her voice carried immense anger, despite being so much more higher pitched than usual. "Don't you dare hurt him!"

Gumball flinched and gasped in shock, his ears folding down against his head at the accusation in his girlfriend's voice.

"Penny…I would never…"

But when Penny reached the other side of the fence, she dropped to the ground, shifted to her minotaur form and proceeded to wretch the jar out of his hands. She didn't even spare him a word, just huffed angrily, turned on his heels…cloven hooves and walked away, tearing through the fence as she reentered the courtyard, not so much as sparing him a second glance.

Gumball just stared after her with a slack jawed, defeated look, his arms slumping to his sides limply. He knew that Penny was much more angrier than she had been that morning now, if her accusing him of being about to hurt Mr. Cuddles was any indication.

"Dude, you alright?!"

Gumball looked over to see Darwin had come up to a section of the fence that Penny hadn't torn through, a look of shock and concern on his round face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Gumball, though without conviction, struggling to extract himself from the collapsed lumber.

Darwin made to climb the fence to no doubt help his brother.

"Darwin, no, you remember what Miss Simian did to the last student that came to this side of the fence during recess," Gumball forewarned.

Darwin flinched, a bloodcurdling scream reverberating through his memory. The bell rang at that moment, signaling the end of recess. Darwin looked at Gumball remorsefully.

"You'd better get to class, dude," said Gumball, struggling with his still-stuck left foot. "I'll see you at home."

"Yeah, see you," said Darwin remorsefully, heading back inside with the rest of the kids.

Gumball waved off Darwin and watched the crowd as they flooded into the building, his eyes eventually finding Penny in the crowd, shifted back to her fairy form, but still scowling and holding the jar containing Mr. Cuddles. What he would give to be heading back inside with her at this moment, holding her hand, smiling and laughing, just like they used to, but thanks to circumstances beyond his control Penny was more infuriated with him than she ever had been in the past. Thinking about it, Gumball was almost glad for Rob's current predicament.

The thought made a fearful tremor course through Gumball's body. He remembered the happenings of the moments prior to winding up here and couldn't believe it. He had a new nemesis, one Rob paled in comparison to. A giant serpentine creature that dwells in some kind of dark realm, intentions still yet unknown, but if he was Gumball's nemesis, whatever Green had in store couldn't be good. Gumball debated telling someone, but thought better of it. He remembered Green's foreboding appearance and didn't want anyone he might go to for help to go head to head with such a monster.

Who could help him against such a monster anyway?

As Penny entered the school and out of sight, Gumball decided to finally head home, contemplating what he was going to do to fix his relationship with Penny. Rob was inaccessible now, under relentless torment by Green, and unable to admit he was responsible for the banner thing.

As Gumball walked he was unaware he was being watched, the image of him trotting sadly down the sidewalk reflected in a dark wispy orb, being observed by the hideous creature that calls itself Green.

"Look at him. So demure… So pitiful…the people of Elmore probably view him as worthless and weak… That will change once I'm through…" Green turned to the bound, limp figure of Rob. "You thought too small and were too narrow minded… If you didn't want to be the villain, destroying the protagonist wasn't the right way to go about it, that just makes you fit the role." He turned to the image of Gumball walking sadly again. "If you don't want the role, the solution is finding a replacement, and what makes a better villain than a good person gone bad? Sure, he's disgustingly innocent, probably couldn't hurt a fly, but everyone has the capacity to be either good or evil, and even the most innocent of souls can be pushed over the edge…"

Green peaked over his shoulder at Rob for a second, grinned and snapped his claws again, Rob once again lighting up in arc's of electricity and screaming in pain. Green waved his arm as Rob flashed and screamed in the background, the image in the orb shifting from Gumball to Penny, who was walking down the halls of Elmore Junior High, still wearing that scowl. Sure, he could exacerbate the situation caused by Rob and worsen Gumball's isolation from his girlfriend. That would surely weaken Gumball's resolve. But why would he work upon the sloppy seconds of his useless predecessor? Besides, why settle for corrupting one isolated soul when corrupting them while they still had companions could drag down so many more along with him.

"Enjoy your unwarranted wrath while you can, little Miss…" Green hissed sinisterly. "And may your future self pray that you don't cause any severe lingering damage to your relationship on your end, for once a certain package arrives, you're going to see how bad you have misjudged your boyfriend today…"

—

Nicole Watterson was pacing the living room of her family home worriedly. She'd received a call at her job at the Rainbow Factory some few hours ago, informing her of Gumball's suspension and had left work early to address the situation. By the time she got to Elmore Junior High she discovered he had already left the school on his own, so she had come home to wait for him to do the same. She was worried beyond belief, but knew her son would return home eventually. Hopefully.

The sound of the front door opening and closing brought her attention and she turned to see her son heading for the stairs, a sad expression on his face.

"Gumball!" she said with both relief and worry. Her sudden voice startling Gumball slightly, who turned just in time to see her kneel down before him and pull him into a soft hug.

"Mom? Why are you home so early?" he asked, returning the hug.

"When the school called I came home early," she said over his shoulder. "Oh honey, are you okay? You'd already left the school when I got there."

Gumball was slightly taken aback. Usually such a thing like suspension from school was enough to light his mother's short fuse, yet she didn't seem mad at all.

"I'm fine, mom," he said, stepping out of her embrace. "But why aren't you mad? I got suspended."

Nicole, still kneeling before her son, shook her head. "I know none of this is your fault, honey. That banner wasn't what you and Darwin made last night and that bully Tina started your scuffle that caused so much disruption."

Gumball was glad at least his mom believes he wasn't responsible for that, but was still confused about something.

"I still put up a banner over my school," he said meekly, shuffling his foot shyly. "I thought you would be mad about that at least."

"Oh Gumball, I was young and in love once too. I understand you were just trying to show your girlfriend how much you appreciate her," said Nicolewith an understanding look.

Though it was small, for the first time in hours Gumball smiled, "Thanks Mom." His smile fell though as he slumped sadly. "Don't know if I still have a girlfriend now though."

"Oh, my dear, was it that bad?" Nicole asked, standing up and walking next to Gumball up the stairs, escorting him to his and Darwin's room. She knew something had gone wrong but hadn't gotten much detail, mainly because she hadn't stuck around for anyone to explain once she learned Gumball wasn't at the school anymore.

Gumball explained how Rob had sabotaged his banner.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," said Nicoleas Gumball sat on his bed. "But I'm sure once she calms down Penny will realize you would never do such a thing to her."

Sometimes Nicolefound it hard to believe that her son had something like a nemesis. His life was hard enough without a vindictive jerk like Rob breathing down his neck.

"Yeah, maybe so," said Gumball, though internally he doubted it. "But that's not what is really bothering me."

"Wanna talk about it, dear?" asked Nichole, willing to lend an ear to her son's plight.

Normally, Gumball would say no, but he felt if he didn't tell someone these terrible feelings were going to drown him.

"I just feel so pathetic," admitted Gumball. "I'm weak, constantly being picked on, or causing trouble. This whole incident with the banner may not have been my fault this time, but I still cause trouble and am constantly needing help, especially from Penny . How can I be a good boyfriend to Penny when I can't even take care of myself most of the time?"

Nicole frowned as she looked at her son. She knew this day would come eventually, when Gumball realized that he wasn't the most dependable or self reliant person around. When he would come to feel he had nothing to be proud of in himself. With someone like Richard for a father she kinda expected it, ever since the day Gumball was born.

However, Nicole had been holding something back, a secret of their family that she felt might just be when Gumball needed to lift his spirits.

"Wait right here honey, there's something I need to show you," she said, walking out of her son's room.

Gumball watched her leave, curious as to what she intended to show him.

Nicole opened a small box she had taken out from under her and Richard's bed, a sizable book contained inside. Within this book was a family secret on her side that she knew she would have to share with Gumball someday, ever since she discovered he took mostly after her. Existential crisis or not, she was going to share this with him someday, and today might be the day he could use this revelation the most. It was a good thing Richard was away organizing his mother's birthday party this week and Darwin and Anais were still in school. They didn't need to know this secret, no one in their family that wasn't "feline" had ever known, per the family tradition, and it needed to stay that way.

She hoped Gumball would honor that tradition.

Upon his mom re-entering his room Gumball groaned at the sight of the book in her hand.

"A book, mom?" he inquired in annoyance. "If I'd wanted to read I would have pleaded my case against my suspension harder."

Nicole rolled her eyes and shook her head, kids today and reading.

"Believe me, Gumball, your going to want to see what is in this book," she said, taking a seat next to her son on his bed.

Gumball wasn't usually one for reading, but looked at the book in his mother's lap regardless.

Beast's Of The Ancient Past

That was the title of the book.

Gumball arched an eye at his mom, "A paleontology book?"

"Indeed," said Nicole, opening the book to a particular passage that had been marked by a large bookmark. "And take a look at this creature."

Gumball looked as Nicole slid the open book onto his lap, and his expression became one of astonishment as he saw what was on the presented page. At the top there was a large picture of a feline-like creature, but it was no domestic house cat. Its body looked lean and powerful, bulging, athletic muscles could be seen beneath its coat of navy blue fur which was streaked with red in a few sections. The claws were long and lethal looking, extending from the paws by a few impressive inches. The picture depicted it as if it was looking at the viewer, its whiskered face feral and snarling, displaying rows of sinister fangs.

But the eyes…they almost looked…malicious, seeming to almost glow with a menace orange and yellow.

"Cool," said Gumball, lifting the book into his arms and began to read:

The Abyssalis Felidae, or abyssalis cat, was an apex predator that lived around the Eocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene epochs, from 56 million to 11,700 years ago. They first appeared in the fossil record around 800,000 years ago and spread across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. During the eras they walked the earth they were unrivaled, a predator of such formidable capabilities that they had no equal.

Apart from their powerful jaws and formidable lethal claws, they also had the ability to generate massive volts of electricity, similar to electric eels. This ability, along with their teeth and claws, meant the abyssalis cat was a predator that could kill swiftly, quickly, and efficiently, capable of subduing prey several times its own size. Fossil evidence of prey also clue us in on the abyssalis cat's behavioral patterns too, with their skeletons showing signs of severe trauma, and larger bones, such as humerus and femurs, being splintered open in a clear sign of attempts to get to the marrow, indication this creature was incredibly savage, brutal and aggressive. Further fossil evidence tells us more. Remains of other apex predators that live at the same time as the abyssalis cat show similar damage, but these animals were capable of defending themselves more efficiently than prey animals, and a lot of the wounds indicate being inflicted by differing sets of teeth.

This indicates that they were territorial and aggressive, especially to other predators, as well as social, like modern lions, living in prides numbering in the hundreds. Though further evidence indicates that abyssalis cat's could also be hostile between prides, the remains of several specimens having been found in singular locations showed signs of battle damage. These were most likely casualties of a territorial dispute between rivaling prides. This also indicates that the abyssalis cat was one of the earliest creatures to ever engage in warfare. It is believed that the abyssalis cat went extinct almost 12,000 years ago…

Gumball paused in his reading. He couldn't deny that this was interesting, but failed to see how it relates to him. He inquired as much to his mom.

"Because, sweetie," said Nicole patiently, looking at the depiction of the abyssalis cat on the page herself. "That creature is our ancestor."

Gumball could almost feel his mom's words physically sinking into his mind. Had he heard that right?

"Wait, you said," he lifted up the book and pointed to the picture of the abyssalis cat, "this beast is our ancestor?"

Nicole nodded.

"But…the book says that they went extinct," he said.

"Yes, during a mass extinction period," said Nichole. "However, a small population of them survived the event, which one day evolved into our lineage."

"Truly?" asked Gumball, flabbergasted.

Nicole nodded. "It's the reason I am able to…do certain things whenever I get angry. It's also why I wasn't too affected when I was shot with that taser."

Gumball remembered the incidents she was referring to, in fact, the eyes of the creature in the picture even carried a stark resemblance to his mom's eyes when she had been pushed over the edge. And it did explain why she hadn't been too affected by the taser, after all, according to this book, abyssalis cat's could harness electricity to a degree themselves. It was an awesome thing to learn, that you are related to such a formidable creature.

But as quickly as it came, his newfound elation gave way to his earlier depression.

"It's cool to learn all this stuff mom, but it doesn't change the fact that I am still the same old useless Gumball."

"Oh, honey, you are not worthless," insisted Nicole.

"Am I?" Gumball asked, frowning. "Even if I am related to this fearsome creature, it doesn't change who I am. I can't even do all the things you can do."

"That's not you personally, Gumball," said Nicole, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I wasn't able to access what little abyssalis cat abilities that our lineage still possess until I was much older than you are now. Give it time, you'll grow into your birthright someday."

A small, but hopeful smile spread over Gumball's lips. "Really? I will be able to do all that stuff someday?"

"Most definitely," said Nicole cheerfully, though her expression became serious. "Though you must be cautious when that part of you awakens. It would not be wise to abuse these abilities. Also, it's probably best you not tell anyone else about this."

"Wait, why?" Gumball asked.

"It's a risk to tell something that you are related to such a formidable creature," said Nicole, looking down at the picture of the book again. "They might come to fear you, especially if they ever see you do things like what I can do. To learn that it comes from a creature like the abyssalis cat might be too much for some people to take."

"So I shouldn't tell anyone? Not even Penny?" Gumball asked.

"Or Darwin, or Anais, not even your father," clarified Nicole seriously.

"Wait, not even the rest of our family knows about this?" asked Gumball.

Nicole shook her head. "I never told your father or sister. In our family, we try to not disclose it to those who are not feline in physique. I know it sounds silly, maybe even a little unfair, but believe me, in the history of our family, whenever it was revealed to someone with less feline traits it never ended well."

Gumball listened to his mother's words wholeheartedly and decided to trust her judgment. If she says it's a bad idea to disclose this to the rest of the family he believes her and would keep the secret. Though truthfully, he was a little disappointed he couldn't share this with Penny. Not only would she find it awesome (hopefully) but it might amuse her to know that Gumball's family has a secret too, just like what was beneath the shell was a secret to the Fitzpatrick family. Though, given Penny's experience with wild beasts, it might just, like his mom said, cause her to fear him.

And that would be bad.

Almost worse than her being mad at him.

For a while, Gumball and Nicole went over more articles in the book pertaining to the abyssalis cat, only stopping when Anais and Darwin came home. Eventually, things settled into a sense of normalcy, and although Richard was absent; due to his own family related matters, the evening went by relatively smoothly, with Darwin being extra supportive of his adoptive brother, due to his hectic day. Eventually, it became time for bed, Gumball sleeping in his bed and Darwin in his fishbowl. He'd kept his word and not revealed to them about the family secret that his mom had shared. He didn't tell anyone about his new nemesis, through fear for their well-being should they try to confront him. And speaking of the new nemesis, another one of Green's dark portals opened up beneath Gumball's bed, swallowing the book he and his mother had been pouring over that day, where he had concealed it.

—

" Hahaha, interesting ," sneered Green, looking at the book; which was now a size appropriate for him, either because it had grown or he had shrunk. "Thank you, mommy dearest, you may have just given me the key to achieve what I desire. Though I will need a light to read by."

He snapped his fingers, and once again Rob lit up with electricity.