The Sacrifice

More and more of Green's form stretched out as more of his body was drawn into the portal, his palms, the thickest portions of his wings membranes, and the start of his coils now elongating like stretched rubber bands and flowing into the now haphazardly fluctuating portal. They all watched this phenomenon as it took place, but only Penny wasn't wearing a look of awe and success. Her expression was that of a sour frown. The dark being being swallowed up by his own darkness had caused her an unfathomable heartache and stress, so now it was time for comeuppance.

And, to make matters worse, she wasn't even remotely the only one who suffered, nor had she suffered the greatest. That honor belonged to her loving boyfriend, Gumball. Looking over, Penny observed him in his abyssalis cat form, an affliction inflicted upon him by Green. And not just that, he also supported three excruciating looking gashes on his side, actual physical wounds that had also been inflicted on him by Green. They looked really painful.

Penny only hoped being drawn into that portal felt as horrible as it looked for Green.

But back to the subject of Gumball.

"I thought if we defeated Green his magic would be broken and Gumball would return to normal?" Penny inquired, Carrie and Molly looking up at the imposing form of the abyssalis cat, who was watching Green vanish little by little with a curved lip and an angry growl.

Penny recalled that, according to the book detailing Green and his ability, if Green's dimension was separated from theirs everything he had done would be undone, so Gumball should have returned to normal, but the abyssalis cat still stood before them, as "not Gumball" as could be. Speaking of the abyssalis cat, he seemed to finally notice Molly, Penny and Carrie observing him, turning to them with a threatening, as well as hungry, growl. Penny, Carrie and Molly backpedaled somewhat in response, Penny and Carrie remembering that this creature had none of Gumball's usual affection for them; apart from Penny…somewhat, though that was just a lingering primal sensation at best.

And, from the looks of things, she just might need to try to reach that part of him yet again using the same old tactic in order to insure herself and her friends' safety. But it appears as if that won't be necessary, for suddenly, as Green's stretching forearms were drawn into the undulating portal, the abyssalis cat's snarl vanished from his face, his expression going somewhat limp, his eyes drooping. At first, Penny thought he was going to keel over again, but the abyssalis cat gave that portion of his change back amiss, being draped in a cloud of black smoke, which shrank in size until only a little pocket of smoke only three feet tall remained.

But that soon dissipated, leaving a very familiar thirteen year old cat boy standing in the streets.

"GUMBALL!" Molly, Carrie and Penny declared in surprise, concern and joy, running away from where the spell circle once was and in his direction.

—

For the first time in several weeks, Gumball looked upon the night sky above without being in the perpetual not-him state that was the abyssalis cat. For a moment, he marveled at the expanse of stars above him, admiring them, realizing how much he took them for granted in the past. That is, until an overwhelming mind shattering pain suddenly shot forth from his side. He let out a sharp gasp, in too much pain to even scream, collapsing to his knees and cradling his side. He'd once been totally incapacitated by a mere sprained ankle, but that pain was nothing compared to what he was experiencing now.

"GUMBALL!"

The sudden trio of familiar voices calling his name managed to draw his attention past the excruciating agony he was currently experiencing, Gumball looking up to see Molly, Carrie and Penny scrambling towards him, worried expressions on all their faces. They reach him in mere moments, looking him over concernedly.

"Gumball, are you okay?!" asked Molly in front of him.

"What's wrong?" asked Carrie, hovering above him, watching him cradling his side.

Penny had thrown herself to her knees behind him, looking him over as she put her hands on his shoulders. She noticed that he was cradling his side, gritting his teeth in pain and…a red stain was growing under his hands, staining his sweater. The sweater was unblemished, Gumball temporarily losing his clothes when he regresses. Penny gasped in horror, remembering the grevious wounds Green had inflicted on Gumball's side with his tail-blades.

"Quick, we have to get him to a hospital?!" she declared with great concern, trying to help Gumball to his feet.

"Why, what happened to him?" Carrie asked as Molly began to assist in assisting Gumball to his feet as well.

"Green wounded Gumball before you showed up!" explained Penny, her and Molly on either side of a now upright Gumball, supporting him, though he still squinted in pain. "Wounded him really badly!"

It was here that Carrie saw the spreading redness on Gumball's side and instantly understood, growing just as concerned as Molly and Penny. As stated earlier, not much can scare Carrie, but seeing such a close friend so badly hurt would instill fear and worry even in the most unshakable of individuals. However, before they could even begin to seek out medical aid for Gumball, a cacophony of loud, angry voices could be heard approaching. Then, from every direction, the practically citizen of Elmore arrived at their location. And this obviously wasn't a social visit, for they all carried torches and pitchforks and wore sharp scowls.

Penny could hear multiple voices declaring that the cat monster that had been rampaging through and destroying Elmore.had to be hunted down and destroyed once and for all. It was a concerning situation, overwhelmingly so, to say the least, but at first Penny thought that it would be a simple matter of just staying out of the way. After all, no one knows that Gumball is the abyssalis cat, right?

"THERE HE IS! HE'S OVER THERE! shouted Gaylord Robinson from within the mob, pointing with his own pitchfork, his expression way more grumpy than usual.

Penny could only stare in unparalleled horror as the mobs turned in their direction and started towards them, coalescing into one, the gleam of the torches reflected in Penny's fearful eyes.

"They…they know?" she inquired from Gumball's right, her voice only a terrified whisper. "How did they find out?"

Molly looked at her from Gumball's left, gritting her teeth nervously. "The mayor was hosting a seminar today. Gumball changed there."

Penny gasped in horror and realization. Not only did the mayor like as large a crowd as possible at his seminars, they often drew a lot of media attention. If Gumball actually changed during one, in front of a camera, it was safe to assume that all of Elmore knew that Gumball is the abyssalis cat now, and with how much damage that had just been inflicted on the city it was understandable that people were ticked off now. Angry mobs have come after the Watterson's in the past multiple times in fact. And this time it seems they were out for blood.

However, Gumball was already bleeding so Penny wasn't about to let him get hurt any more than he already was.

"STOP!" she declared, leaving Gumball to Molly, who gently assisted him to the ground to steady himself on his knees again as he clutched his side. "ALL OF YOU BACK OFF!"

"Step away, little girl!" said the Donut Cop, him and his food-based lieutenants amongst the mob. "He's dangerous! He's caused a lot of destruction to the city tonight, as well as hurt a lot of people!"

"BUT THIS WASN'T HIS FAULT! cried Penny tears of worry budding in her eyes.

"BAGUETTE!" said a familiar voice, Miss Lucy Simian stepping out of the crowd, the ancient baboon in a pink dress also brandishing a pitchfork and torch. "We all saw him change on TV. It was bad enough seeing an abyssalis cat again after so many years; it was a real pain chasing them off my lawn back in the day, but to find out the thing was a Watterson, and Gumball at that? Such an abominable combination, no, I won't stand for it. We won't stand for it!" Miss Lucy Simian thrusts up her pitchfork, the rest of the crowd doing the same with angry shouting.

Penny, seeing so many people out to hurt Gumball, quickly changed demeanor from fearful to enraged, swiftly assuming her dragon form and roaring at the angry mob, who instantly backpedaled in fear, those in the front row quickly finding their torches extinguished by the shockwave of Penny's roar. She stared down practically the entire population of Elmore with narrowed eyes, daring anyone to try to get even a little bit closer to her boyfriend.

"STOP!" shouted Carrie at the top of her voice as she appeared in front of Penny and faced the crowd of angry people. "PENNY'S RIGHT! THIS WASN'T GUMBALL'S FAULT." She pointed out into the distance. "HE'S THE ONE BEHIND THIS! HE'S THE REASON GUMBALL HAS BEEN TURNING INTO THE ABYSSALIS CAT."

Following Carrie's gesture, everyone's attention was brought to Green, the entirety of his wings, the start of his shoulders and the bottom of his chest, starting at his single eye located there, now being drawn into the portal. First it was anger at all the destruction Gumball had caused as the abyssalis cat, then it was fear at the sight of Dragon-Penny roaring in their faces, now the entirety of the crowd were astonished, seeing a multi-headed serpentine monster being drawn into a fluctuating vortex of blackness.

"IT WAS ALL HIS DOING!" explained Carrie further. "HE'S THE ONE WHO MADE GUMBALL TURN INTO THAT THING AND ATTACK ELMORE! BUT HIS SCHEMES ARE AT AN END! NOW HE'S BEING DRAWN BACK FROM WHENCE HE CAME, AND GUMBALL WILL RETURN TO NORMAL!"

The crowd exchanged looks. Carrie's brief description of what was happening sounded fantastical and they had no reason to believe Gumball wasn't just acting out like a Watterson, but having just upped the ante, but the green glowing monstrosity was right there, clear as day, indicated as being the true perpetrator of the shenanigans that have surrounded Gumball as of late.

"IT'S TRUE!" shouted Carrie. "HE'S THE TRUE INSTIGATOR, WHO'S BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED IN ELMORE. AND NOW THAT HE'S BEATEN THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT ANY…"

Suddenly Green's glow, which had been dimming like a candle that had burned down to the base of its wax, flared up like a bonfire, drawing everyone's attention. His head, which had been dangling limply from the end of his serpentine neck as the hole in the back of his head closed; which it had at last, suddenly bolted up, his lips twisting into a snarl. Light built up in his mouth and he fired a single short pillar of green destructive energy from his jaws…

…Which sailed straight for Penny.

Penny reacted by screeching in terror, reverting back to her primary fairy form and covering her head protectively. The sudden shift in her height meant that Green's attack sailed over, not only hers, but Carrie, Molly and Gumball's head's as well, impacting the building behind them, which began to teater as half of its midsection was bisected in a blink. Then it fell forward, right towards the crowd. The mob was far enough away to be out of range of the falling building in time, but Gumball and the others were too close to get out of the way. And they knew it. Screaming in terror, Molly Penny, and even Carrie; despite being an intangible ghost and had nothing to fear if a building were to fall on her, covered their heads in a futile attempt to protect themselves.

Gumball, however, despite currently being in excruciating amounts of pain radiating from the wounds in his side, looked up at the looming, teetering doom falling towards them, eyes widening in fear. He didn't cover his head pointlessly like the others, instead, in one millisecond, he cast worried sidelong glances at his girlfriend and friends, and in another millisecond, he looked at the falling building and wished he could protect them from it somehow .

Practically reflexively, Gumball released his throbbing side and threw his arms out, as if to catch the falling building…

…which he did, but not as Gumball.

Upon hearing a loud thud Penny, Molly and Carrie flinched in anticipation, having expected the noise to be the result of the building finally landing upon them, but nothing followed afterwards. Looking up, they were met with an astonishing, yet terrifying sight. The abyssalis cat now stood over them, braced on his hindlegs, his forepaws having caught the falling building and halted it in place. For a second, everyone just stared on in shock and astonishment, Carrie, Molly, Penny, everyone in the crowd and even the abyssalis cat himself. He wore not a savage snarl like usual, but a look of bafflement as he observed himself holding half of a building, which, while heavy, was manageable.

Then he saw some bricks fall loose and almost hit Penny, Carrie and Molly, who again covered their heads. Deciding he'd best put this somewhere where no one will get hurt, he hefted the building and hurled it into the distance, where it shattered into bricks and other such building materials upon the road. For a moment everyone was just stared in awe, before Carrie, Molly and Penny looked upon the abyssalis cat with a fair degree of worry and confusion. Though the beast didn't stay long. In a brief cloud of black smoke Gumball reappeared again, standing in the spot where the abyssalis cat had been. He squinted in pain again, his side ever reddening, but rather than cradle his wounds, now he looked down at his fingers, soaked in his own blood, in incompression.

"Gumball?" Penny mumbled as she cautiously approached him, expression just as anxious as before. "Did…did you just change… at will?"

Gumball, still squinting in pain, managed to say, "I…I think so… A…and…I was myself…I…was myself when I lifted the building. I remembered myself as the abyssalis cat. I…didn't forget who I was when I changed!"

They looked into each other's eyes in horror.

"I…I don't understand!" said Carrie, flipping through the book again. "Green's dark spells should have been broken when we cast the spell using the Moonbeam Ink!"

" Hee hee hee … Haa haa haa … Haa haa haa … HAA HAA HAA HAA !" The mad cackling brought all their attention back to Green, who's head, neck and tendrils were the only parts of him visible now, the rest of him having been drawn into the portal. Indeed , little ghost child , my magic has come to an end , but Gumball ' s regression is biological , not mystical . I altered his DNA scientifically ."

Carrie, Molly, Penny and Gumball had looks of unbridled horror as they gazed at Green, slowly absorbing his words. If Gumball didn't change through magical means, that means...

" The only magic I used was to force the changes when night fell and to suppress Gumball ' s consciousness while he was in his abyssalis cat form . And now , as my time in this world comes to a close , so do those enchantments ." Green grew a wicked smile. " Which means that the ability to change into the abyssalis cat at will is now available to him ! He can become that beast whenever he desires !" Next he turned to the mob and shouted, " YOU HEAR THAT , PEOPLE OF ELMORE ?! GUMBALL WATTERSON NOW HAS THE ABILITY TO BECOME THAT MONSTER WHENEVER HE SO CHOOSES !"

It only took those last few words from a malicious entity to whip them up into a frenzy again, who began honing in on Gumball and his friends once more. Wattersons were barely tolerated on a good day, then they learned that Gumball was behind the attacks, though appeared unwillingly, but now he could change whenever he wants. They all knew Gumball had his own annoying tendencies, same as the rest of his family, now they were coupled with the ability to change into that thing?

No one liked the sound of that, and everyone in the mob felt something drastic needed to be done.

"NO!" cried Carrie, glaring up at Green as he continued to vanish from their world. "YOU MONSTER! REVERSE THIS NOW!"

" Hahahaha , not even if I wanted to , child ," sneered Green. " The process cannot be reversed . The abyssalis cat is now a part of Gumball , integrated into his very DNA . Do you see now how pointless it was to defy me ? Even though you have forced me back into my bottle , the monster that I created will remain , and as long as it exists , there will be those who will either seek its destruction or its survival and conflict will break out . Whether I ' m here to see it or not , I have won !"

Green began cackling madly after he said this, and as he did so the mob closed in around Gumball, Penny, Molly and Carrie. As they did though, the gears in Gumball's pain and fear stricken mind began turning as he contemplated Green's words. They had defeated Green, but the conflict he desires would still come to pass. All centered around him. Gumball was the catalyst. As long as he was around, there was going to be conflict concerning his well being…

…But what if he wasn't?

…What if he wasn't around anymore?

Then no one would have any reason to fight. Those who would want to hurt him and those who want to keep him safe, the last category being his friends, his family…his girlfriend, whom he loves so much, wouldn't have a reason to hate each other. But where would he go? If he just tried to leave, both the aforementioned group would just come after him. He'd already been lost once during this whole ordeal and Penny had found him and brought him home. Where could he go where that wouldn't happen again? His eyes fell on the pulsating portal that Green was being drawn into…and he knew where he could go where no one could retrieve him for any reason. But…if he did this, not only would he never see his loved ones again, he most likely won't survive. If he did this, he was surely going to die.

Could he do that? Could he, Gumball Watterson, make the ultimate sacrifice for those whom he loves? Every fiber of his being told him not to do this, told him he needs to live. The desire for survival, it was a natural reaction when faced with a decision that could determine whether or not you live or die. He was about to decide in favor of his own well-being…

…until he looked upon Penny again.

He saw her eyes darting back and forth between him and the angry mob, her expression growing ever more frantic and worried. Worried for his well-being. He imagined this being her life from now on, constantly worrying for his safety and gearing up to fight on his behalf against those who would want to hurt him. And possibly getting hurt herself. All sense of self-preservation evaporated from Gumball's desires at the thought of Penny getting hurt. No. He would never allow that. Gumball knew what he had to do. There was no other option. The puppeteer was vanishing, but intended to leave behind the puppet in order to continue the show, but if both puppet and puppeteer were to disappear…?

For a moment, Gumball allowed himself a brief moment of irony. In the recent past he'd begun doubting his worth of being Penny's boyfriend, however, if he were to do this, who could ever question his love and devotion then?

Still, his mind now set, his decision made, Gumball prepared himself for what came next, what he intended to do.

But first…

"Penny…?" he mumbled, his voice choked.

"Don't worry, Gumball! I won't let them harm you!" said Penny, pounding her first into her palm with a scowl as she glared at the mob, mistaking Gumball's tone for worry over his own well-being.

"I love you…"

"I love you too Gumball! I promise I will…" Penny was cut off when Gumball suddenly grabbed her cheeks and drew her in for a kiss. Her eyes momentarily widened in shock, but she couldn't help but return the kiss, the familiar passion blossoming in her chest at the contract of their lips. Carrie and Molly blushed, but were more concerned about the mob.

The kiss lasted but a moment and Gumball broke it soon, leaning back as he looked Penny in the face, gazing into her eyes. Penny was about to scold him, remind him that this was neither the time nor place to share a kiss, but noticed the expression on his face. She couldn't identify it, but for some reason she knew she didn't like it.

Especially since Gumball had a single tear trickling down the left side of his face.

"Goodbye…"

Before that finally word could even register in Penny's ears Gumball let go of her face, leaving bloody handprints on her cheeks, morphed into the abyssalis cat, towering over Penny and the others briefly, but immediately vanished in a puff of black smoke soon after. But before Penny could even comprehend where he might have gone, she heard Green's maniacal laughter falter, her, Molly and looking on and seeing something that made them freeze in place.

—

Green's laugh was interrupted as he suddenly felt something cling to the back of his lengthy neck and turned to see what it was, only to come face to face with Gumball, as the abyssalis cat, his grin vanished to be replaced by a look of confusion.

" W … what are you doing ?" Green asked, trying to throw Gumball off by wiggling his neck, only for him to dig his claws in deeper. Green snarled in frustration as his attempts to dislodge Gumball failed, then his mouth fell open in dismay as Gumball's hindquarters began to be drawn into the portal. " Let go , you fool ! You ' ll be pulled in with me !"

The look in Gumball's eyes, as well as a brief snarl, that's all it took for Green to grasp Gumball's intentions. He produced his own snarl in response.

" Curse you …"

—

Penny watched, dumbstruck as Gumball reappeared on the back of Green's neck, right as his neck was being drawn into the portal.

"GUMBALL!" she screamed and made to run towards him with the intent of pulling him to safety.

"PENNY, NO!" cried Carrie. "MOLLY, STOP HER!"

The sauropod obeyed, suddenly appearing behind Penny and grabbing her under the arms, halting her in place.

"MOLLY, LET ME GO!" Penny practically pleaded, watching as more and more of Gumball slipped into the ever unstabilizing portal, her eyes full of despair.

"Penny, stop!" said Carrie as she floated over in front of Penny. "if you get close you could get pulled in!"

"IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING GUMBALL "WILL" GET PULLED IN!" Penny rebutted hysterically.

"I…" Carrie paused to wipe away a ghostly tear. "I think he knows that."

Penny stopped wiggling in Molly's arms and just stared at Carrie. "What…what do you mean?"

"I…I think I know why he's doing this," said Carrie, unable to suppress more tears. "He's the catalyst of Green's scheme, the reason everyone will be at each other's throats, so if…if he's not around, there will be no need for conflict." She gave Penny a pitiful, but sympathetic look. "There will be no need for you to defend him and possibly get hurt."

At that point Penny got the message. Gumball was going to sacrifice himself. For her. No. She couldn't let it happen. She couldn't live with herself if this is how it all ends.

"GUMBALL!" she cried pitifully up at the abyssalis cat slowly slipping further into the portal. "GUMBALL! PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO ME! COME BACK! I LOVE YOU! I CAN'T LOSE YOU! NOT LIKE THIS! PLEASE! I'LL FIGHT FOR YOU! I'LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP YOU SAFE. PLEASE! COME BACK!"

But Gumball, while hearing her pleas; each pain filled word from his girlfriend like a wrench to his heart, didn't heed her, just stared definitely at Green.

" Curse you , you miserable martyr ! CURSE YOU ! screamed Green as the abyssalis cat fully vanished into the depths of the portal, Green's head following suit.

"GUMBALL, NO!" screamed Penny as she stared at the portal forlornly, Green's gnashing tendrils the only thing still protruding, but they too vanished before too long.

Then the portal began to crack, like a fractured window, white light billowing out between the cracks. The cracks continued to spread, until the portal shattered with the sound of breaking glass. A shockwave blasted throughout the area, knocking away the mob, who had been frozen in place at the unexpected turn of events involving Gumball suddenly throwing himself in the path of the portal, but three individuals remained.

Penny, Molly and Carrie stood rooted to the spot, eyes trained on the last place they'd seen their friend before he'd made the ultimate sacrifice. They all had tears running down their faces. It was even worse for Penny. Gumball had just done the hardest thing anyone could ever do, all for the sake of those he loves. For her sake. Especially hers. She knew that for a fact. He'd given his life for them. Thrown himself into a realm that was going to be separated from theirs with no hope of returning.

For her.

Penny collapsed to her knees and wailed into her hand in complete heartbreak and loss, her tears smearing the bloody handprints Gumball had left when he drew her in for their final kiss.

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