Chapter 10 Fifth act / Undead Zebra part 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider or The Amazing World of Gumball.
Chapter 10 Fifth act / Undead Zebra part 1
[Night. Gumball's house.]
Anais watched as Gumball walked to the stairs and climbed them in heavy steps. She looked over and saw Darwin sighing; she looked suspiciously at the boy.
"Has something happened to him today? He's angrier than usual." Ricardo says a little confused.
"He must be quite a fan of that Blade. Yeah, he didn't seem to like that interview." Nicole says looking worried.
Anais gets off the sofa and walks over to Darwin, she sits down in front of the boy and looks at him frankly. Darwin swallows as he sees his sister's serious face.
"What... What?" Darwin asks hesitantly.
"You know something... Don't you?" Anais says, narrowing her eyes at the boy in front of her.
"I... I don't know anything..." Darwin looks away uncomfortably. He looks at Anais and sees her gaze tighten, he swallows again and quickly gets up from the table. "I'm going to bed!"
Darwin quickly runs up the stairs and without speaking to his mother and father. They both look at him in confusion.
"What's gotten into him?" Nicole gets up and walks to the stairs, climbing them to talk to her children.
"Is it hunger?" Ricardo puts his hand to his chin, trying to think.
"No... It's something else." Anais gets up from the dining table and walks to the stairs. "I'm going to bed too. Good night, Dad."
Ricardo watches Anais go upstairs, he looks around and realizes he's alone. Blinking a few times, he shrugs. "Well, I guess the TV's just mine!" Ricardo turns around and puts on a cooking program, but he still feels a strange sensation circling his mind. "There's something wrong."
[...]
Nicole walks down the corridors, she comes to the door of Gumball and Darwin's room and hears some noises. She walks over to the door and hears the boys talking.
"Honestly... I'm quitting this job." Gumball says in a tired voice.
"Come on, man!" Darwin says, trying to reassure his brother. "You can't just give up!"
"I don't care about this anymore!..." Gumball says, sounding very angry. "I try to help and I still get humiliated by people!" Gumball says, sounding very angry.
"But aren't you the only one who can do it? If you don't do it, who will?" Darwin says, still trying to reassure his brother.
"I don't care!" Gumball says even more angrily. A sound of sheets being shaken, a sound of the bed creaking is made and a small silence drowns out the room.
"Gumball... Hey, Gumball! Gumball, listen to me, please!" Darwin tries to speak, but Gumball ignores him. He lets out a long sigh, taking slow steps he walks to the door, opening it, he is surprised to see Nicole. "Mom?!"
"Oh, yeah, hi honey!" Nicole tries to wiggle out of it, but she realizes it's not much use. "Is Gumball all right?"
"He won't listen to me..." Darwin frowns. "Mom, try talking to him."
"Okay..." Nicole strokes Darwin's hair. "I'll talk to him. Now, go brush your teeth and go to sleep." Nicole tells her son, and he quickly goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth. She looks into the bedroom and sighs.
Walking inside she looks at the bunk bed, looking at the bottom bunk she sees the sheet all lined with a big bulge. She walks over to the bed and sits down on it, Nicole strokes the sheet.
"Gumball, do you want to talk to me about something?" Nicole speaks in a calm, soft tone of voice.
"No. I don't want to talk about anything." Gumball says, still under his sheet.
"Honey... Can you look at me?" Nicole speaks still in her calm tone, trying to persuade her son.
"No..." Gumball said, sounding a little sad.
"Gumball..." Nicole takes the sheet off her son's head, noticing that he is lying in a fetal position and covering his face. "Gumball... Look at me." Nicole strokes his ears.
Gumball lets out a murmur, quickly moving off the bed, he lays his head on his mother's lap, leaving Nicole surprised.
"Gumball, what are you-" Nicole says in surprise, but she feels her skirt getting damp. Noticing Gumball trembling, she sees that he is crying. "Gumball..." Nicole looks at her son with a melancholy gaze. She remains silent as she continues to stroke her son's head.
"Mom... Mom... I don't want to anymore... I don't want to anymore..." Gumball murmurs, hugging his mother's belly as he continues to cry. He hugs his mother even tighter.
"Calm down... I'm here for you..." Nicole continues to stroke Gumball's head, just calming him down.
[...]
"Gumball..." Darwin mutters, leaving the bathroom and starting to walk to his room, but Anais stops in front of him, preventing him from walking.
"You know something, tell me now!" Anais demands as he faces Darwin with extreme frankness.
"Anais, leave it for later..." Darwin brushes past Anais and walks to his room
"No! I know you know something, and I want you to tell me everything!" Anis follows Darwin, she keeps talking loudly and demanding to know the truth.
"I'm sorry, but Gumball isn't well, and I want to try and help him." Darwin says worriedly as he quickly walks to his bedroom door and opens it.
"Don't ignore me! I want to know now-" Anais enters the room, she is surprised to see the scene in front of her.
Nicole is asleep sitting up in bed, her head resting on the wall, while Gumball has his head in her lap. The two of them are sleeping peacefully, Nicole with a slight smile on her face, while Gumball has his head resting on Nicole's lap and a few tears streaming down his face.
(Next day.)
Elmore's school bus moves through the streets of the city, with the driver looking tired, he gives a slight yawn. Watching the street, he stops when the light turns red. He looks back and sees most of the students chatting.
"Honestly *snort* those old men don't know anything!" Banana Joe crosses his arms in annoyance.
"Sussie thinks so too!" Sussie speaks while eating something that looks like mashed potatoes. "Sussie likes Blade!"
"You like everything, Sussie." Banana Joe says looking sheepish. "Hey, Eight." Banana Joe stands up from his chair and looks back. "Did you see that news report last night?"
"About those idiots talking shit about Blade? Yeah, I saw it." Eight speaks while crossing his arms behind his head. "They're just a bunch of dumbasses."
"I have to agree." Tobias climbs over the chair where Eight was sitting and joins the conversation. "Even though he broke a few tents, he still saved those people."
"So... Some were injured and ended up in hospital, but he still saved them." Banana Joe scratches the back of his head a little absent-mindedly.
"They're a bunch of wimps!" Eight snuggles up looking quite annoyed. "It was just a fall, if it had been me, I'd have come out in one piece and done that interview better."
"Then why didn't you go?" Sussie asks casually as she eats her mashed potatoes.
"What are you implying?!" Eight asks sounding quite annoyed.
Next to that conversation between the four of them. Four girls then talk amongst themselves, they talk about the subject of Blade.
"Honestly, it's pretty creepy that he's an alien." Carrie says in a creepy way as she flies over to the two girls.
"Didn't you see that he said it was a lie?" Penny asks curiously.
"Still!" Sarah says excitedly as she clenches her fists. "I was already planning to create a manga of him, but I had no idea where he came from!"
"And now that he's told that lie, you're going to use it, aren't you?" Carmen asked with a slight laugh. "You've really taken a liking to this hero, haven't you?"
"Of course!" Sarah says excitedly. "I've wanted to create a great hero manga for a long time, and now I have the chance!"
"Look, still. Some people got hurt in that amusement park rescue." Penny says worriedly. "Could people have died if he hadn't been there?"
"Cut it out!" Carmen says relaxed. "He's probably not even a real hero."
"Yeah, so tell me. How did he stand up to that monster at school and suck him into a letter?" Carrie says debauchedly.
"Eh... I don't know!" Carmen tries to deflect. "He must be good at theater."
"Theater? What he did at school didn't look like theater." Penny says as she stares at her friend.
On the same bus, Gumball, Darwin and Clayton are sitting on the last seat of the bus. With Clayton trying to get Gumball's attention.
"Hey, Gumball. You look pretty down, did something happen?" Clayton asks worriedly.
"He's just going through some bad times." Darwin tries to deflect. "Don't worry, Clayton. He just needs to rest."
"Oh, I see." Clayton says, still sounding very worried.
Gumball is sitting next to the two of them, his head against the window just watching the streets go by. He closes his eyes, just thinking about recent events. He recalls his fights and his recent interview with the boy from the amusement park.
"I wonder..." Gumball thinks. He put his hand inside his sweater and took out his Driver, he watched it, giving a sigh he put it away again. "Should I... should I really go on?..."
(Later that day.)
(01:45pm.)
Gumball is sitting in his chair. With his head resting on the table, he is still deep in thought. He looks ahead and sees Miss Simian teaching, deciding to take a break, he closes his eyes.
"Gumball Watterson! What do you think you're doing?!" Miss Simian says loudly as she walks up to Gumball's desk. "Are you sleeping in my class?!" Miss Simian speaks sounding very annoyed, the classroom falls silent as Miss Simian faces Gumball.
"Hmm..." Gumball groans as he keeps his eyes closed.
"Gumball Watterson!" Miss Simian slaps the table lightly, hard enough to get everyone's attention. "If you want to stay asleep, you can sleep in Principal Brawn's office."
The students fall silent before starting to gossip about the situation.
"Look, Gumball's in trouble!"
"Is he going to get suspended?"
"He'll be in trouble!"
"Is he going to be okay?"
"Look, just. He's going to give the teacher an answer!"
Gumball opens his eyes and looks at Miss Simian's face. Letting out a sigh, he gets up from his desk, picking up his backpack and looking tired.
"Yes, ma'am." Gumball says as he rubs his eyes. He puts his backpack on his back and starts walking towards the exit door.
The whole class looks shocked at Gumball's unexpected action, with the whispers starting without hesitation.
"He just accepted it?"
"That's unexpected coming from him."
"Is he all right?"
"He didn't seem... downcast."
"Gumball..." Darwin looks at the door, wanting to go to his brother, but he can't because he's in class.
"Enough of that!" Miss Simian looks at Gumball. "What's happened to you?" Miss Simian looks at the door with concern on her face.
[...]
"Were you just lazy and slept in class?" Principal Brown asks as he looks at Gumball.
"A little..." Gumball rubs his eyes as he tries to stay awake. "I've just... I've just been going through some difficulties recently."
"I see." Director Brawn nods. "But I'll still have to contact your parents." Director Brawn speaks seriously to Gumball. Picking up his cell phone, he calls Gumball's mother. "Miss Nicole, I need to talk to you about your son... Yes, it's about Gumball. Don't worry, it's nothing too serious."
"Hmm..." Gumball mumbles, waiting for the outcome of the conversation between Principal Brawn and his mother.
"It's all right. Don't worry, he won't be suspended." Director Brawn reassures the boy. "His mother explained his situation to me. Since she won't be able to come here to pick him up, I could call your father."
"Actually..." Gumball looks up into Principal Brawn's face. "Can I walk home?"
"Are you sure? As far as I know, your house is a bit far away." Principal Brawn asks confused. "I suggest you stay here until the bus leaves."
"I just..." Gumball lowers his head. "I just want to walk around and think a bit..."
"Look, kid." Principal Brawn says, catching Gumball's eye. "You look pretty down. So, you really should talk to your parents about this recent fatigue of yours."
"I know... I just... I just want to walk around and think a bit." Gumball says, looking at Principal Brawn.
"Right..." Director Brawn said, accepting Gumball's answer. "I'll tell your parents."
[...]
(On the street.)
Gumball was walking down the street, watching people go about their lives. He looked at a nearby park and saw some children playing, and with a sigh he picked up his cell phone and dialed Carol's number.
"Hello... Miss Carol." Gumball says as he walks down the street.
"Hello, Gumball. Do you need anything? And... shouldn't you be at school right now?" Carol speaks into the phone while sounding very concerned about Gumball's tone of voice.
"Yes, but I've had some problems. So, I'm heading home." Gumball sighs. "Miss Carol, can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure, you can tell me what you need." Carol says, listening attentively to the boy.
"Look..." Gumball hesitates a little to speak, but he takes a deep breath and gathers his strength. "I don't think I want to be... anymore. I don't want to be Blade anymore..." Gumball says, sounding a little sad.
"... I see..." Carol says, understanding the situation. "If that's the case, I won't stop you. But are you sure?"
"Yes... I don't want to be Blade anymore..." Gumball sighs wearily.
"Right... I know that people don't trust you, and that you're exhausted from these fights, but if that's what you want, I'll accept your decision." Carol speaks in a condescending tone to the boy. "You just need to come by tomorrow to hand over Driver and give up your job..." Carol said a little wistfully. "I'm really sorry, Gumball..."
[...]
After some more time talking to Carol, Gumball says goodbye to her, seeing her house approaching. He walks towards it, but he doesn't notice some figures standing nearby watching him.
Two hooded beings and two Undeads, a Zebra and a Ladybird, were watching Gumball.
"So this is Blade? The one who can harness the powers of the Undead by trapping them in cards?" The hooded man said, amused. "He doesn't look that powerful."
"He's broken." The hooded woman says, approaching the man. "He's sad and devastated that people don't trust him."
"Only the older ones. Most teenagers think he's a cool hero." The man speaks, he turns and faces the two Undeads. "You two. Go to him and make him return that unshakeable strength he's supposed to have." He turns and faces Gumball's house. "I still want to face you. So don't give up yet, kid."
The two Undeads growl in agreement. Leaping quickly over the roofs of the houses, they approach the house.
"Are you sure this is going to work? He might be more devastated than before." The woman says to the man.
"The chance of him wanting to give up and die is very high, but if he really is what Master R said, then he'll get over it." The man speaks and turns to leave.
"If this works out, I want to face him too." The woman speaks as she follows the man.
[...]
Gumball enters his house, realizing that no one is there, he lets out a big sigh. Walking to the stairs, he begins to climb them.
"Hey, I want to talk to you." A female voice speaks, drawing Gumball's attention.
Gumball is startled for a few seconds, but he quickly calms down.
"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Gumball asks, approaching the sofa.
"That's beside the point!" Anais says angrily. "And I could ask you the same thing!"
"I had some problems at school... that's all." Gumball turns around and tries to climb the stairs again.
"Me, don't ignore me!" Anais jumps up from the sofa and runs over to Gumball, she holds his arm to stop him moving. "I want you to tell me what's wrong with you!"
"It's nothing..." Gumball shrugs and tries to get loose.
"It's nothing!" Anais pulls Gumball's arm tighter. "I want to know now! What's wrong with you?"
"Anais, it's no big deal!" Gumball says, already sounding annoyed. He tries to free himself from his sister's grip, but she manages to stop him. "Anais, let me go!"
"No!" Anais pulls Gumball tighter. "You've been acting strange for a long time, I don't know what you're doing, but you're not normal!"
"Anais, let me go!" Gumball says angrily. His cell phone rings, but he ignores the call. "Anais, I'm not in the mood to talk!"
"You have to tell me, just tell me!" Anais jumps on Gumball's back, she holds on tight as she continues to insist.
"Anais, get off me!" Gumball says angrily as he tries to get his sister off his back. His cell phone rings again. Already irritated, he answers the phone. "WHAT IS IT?!"
"GUMBALL AN UNDE-"
Before Carol can speak, a loud explosion comes from the window of the house. In one swift movement, he throws himself away from the window while covering his sister with his body to protect her.
Gumball turns around to try and see what has happened, he sees the window of his house destroyed and on fire. He looks worried and confused, but he quickly understands what has happened.
"Undead..." Gumball whispers frightened.
"Un...dead?..." Anais mutters, she looks up at the window and sees two silhouettes walking up to the house.
Slowly, two Undeads walk into the house. With one Undead shaped like a humanoid Zebra and the other looking like a humanoid Ladybug, they enter the house. They look around and spot Gumball and Anais in a corner of the wall, with Gumball covering Anais with his body to protect her.
The Undead Zebra snarls, the Ladybug points her cannon arm in Gumball's direction. He prepares to fire. In one swift movement, Gumball jumps out of the way of the shot, managing to avoid the fireball that ends up hitting the stairs.
"What's that!?" Anis asks with terror on his face.
"Shit!" Gumball mutters angrily, he looks at Anais and sees that she is tremendously frightened. He bites his lip in frustration and, seeing another fireball approaching, jumps. Managing to dodge it, he throws Anais into the kitchen.
She looks at Gumball and tries to run to him, but the boy holds out his hand to stop her.
"Stay there!" Gumball shouts at the girl. He stands up and picks up his Driver, placing the Change card in the Driver to make it form his belt and attaching the Driver to his waist. Gumball wastes no time and shouts. "Henshin!"
Turn-Up
The Zebra jumps towards Gumball, trying to attack him, but a huge blue card with the emblem of a beetle blocks the Undead's path. The Undead is thrown away, while Gumball jumps through the emblem, causing his Rider armor to form on his body.
"He..." Anis looks at the scene in shock. "So that was it!..." Anais mutters in surprise.
Blade quickly pulls out his Blay Rouzer, landing a slash on the Zebra's chest, he turns around and slashes the Ladybug's arm. The Ladybug moves away, raising its cannon arm, it tries to land a shot on Blade.
Blade quickly ducks and cuts off one of Ladybug's legs, but Zebra appears from behind and kicks Blade away. Blade rolls on the ground, quickly stands up and looks at the two Undeads.
"Shit..." Blade mutters, breathing heavily. "Two against one is going to be harder, and in an enclosed space!..." Blade looks around, trying to think of something he can do.
The Zebra faces Blade, giving a snort and a growl, it moves, splitting in two. Now all three face Blade.
"Shit." Blade mutters, seeing his chances of victory have just diminished.
The three jump on Blade, he manages to dodge a Zebra, but the Ladybug fires a fireball at him. Blade raises his arm to defend himself, but the other Zebra hits him in the back. Blade is hit by the ball, burning his arm and part of his helmet.
One of the Zebras kicks him in the chest, sending Blade backwards and smashing into a table, breaking it in the process. The other Zebra jumps up to stomp on Blade, but he rolls to the side, managing to avoid the stomp.
Ladybug takes aim at Blade, firing another fireball. But Blade manages to raise his Blay Rouzer to defend the fireball. He is pushed close to a wall, trying to avoid the Ladybug's next attack, he tries to get away from them, but one of the Zebras punches Blade in the head.
Blade gets a little dizzy when he feels the punch, and with a quick movement, the Zebra kicks Blade in the ribs, making him lose his balance a little. Moving quickly, the Zebra jumps on top of Blade, grabbing him and hanging Blade in a headlock, Blade tries to free himself, but receives a kick to the chest from the other Zebra.
"*Serious cough*... Shit..." Blade mutters, trying to get back on his feet. But he receives another kick from the Zebra.
The Zebra moves away, giving Ladybug room to fire a Fireball at point-blank range at Blade. Blade screams in agony as he feels the flames on his body.
"Gumball!..." Anais murmurs, seeing her brother in total danger. Frightened, she grabs a piece from a nearby chair. Running up to the Undead, she hits the Ladybug on the head.
Ladybug turns to Anais, seeing the girl trying to move away in fear, he approaches her.
"Ana...is..." Blade mumbles and tries to get up, but the free Zebra kicks him again. Blade feels dizzy as he tries to get up again.
The Zebra walks over to Anais, seeing the girl horrified with fear, he kicks the girl, sending her flying and crashing into a wall.
"Ouch!..." Anais mutters as she spits up blood from hitting the wall.
The Zebra approaches Anais, grabbing her by the neck. Anais holds onto the Zebra's arm, trying to free herself from its grip. The Zebra squeezes Anais' neck, causing her to start choking from lack of air.
"Ana...is..." Blade sees his sister's face turn blue. "Ana... ANAIS!" Blade quickly gets up, grabbing the arms of the Zebra that was holding him. Managing to free himself, he kicks the Zebra, sending it flying into the wall.
He runs over to Ladybug, punching Ladybug hard in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. Blade quickly turns to Zebra and punches him in the face. The Zebra drops Anais, and she quickly crawls across the floor to get away.
Blade grabs her neck and pins her to the wall. Without wasting any time, he begins to constantly punch the Zebra in the face. Punch after punch, after punch, after punch. He doesn't hesitate to beat Zebra up.
With the other two Undead watching Zebra being beaten, they quickly run out of the house. They quickly leave the house to get away.
Blade uses his two hands to lift the Undead into the air, he throws him to the ground with tremendous brutality, throwing himself on top of the Zebra, she clamps a knee on his chest and continues to beat the Undead.
Anais watched the scene with sheer terror on her face as Blade beat the Zebra with all his fury. Blade continued to throw punch after punch, without hesitation he raised both hands. Bringing them together, he shouts in all his fury and hits the Undead on the head, managing to crush it and make its green blood splatter all over the room.
Blade breathes heavily, gets up and looks at the Zebra, but it disappears because it was just a clone. Blade breathes heavily, looks in Anais' direction and reaches out to touch her.
Anais quickly moves away from Blade, as fear flashes across her face. Blade notices his sister's frightened face, and he looks down in disbelief. Placing his hand on his Driver, he pulls out the Change card. With his Rider armor gone, he looks at Anais again.
Gumball looks at Anais and gives a slight smile, smiling as his body becomes heavy, he slowly falls to the ground. Anais is surprised, and quickly runs over to Gumball.
"Gumball... HEY, GUMBALL!" Anais shouts worriedly as she runs to her brother. "GUMBALL WAKE UP!" Anais goes over to Gumball and pulls his body from side to side.
As Anais moved Gumball's body, only one thought crossed the boy's mind. "At least... you're all right..." Gumball gives a slight smile as he feels his eyes grow heavy and he slowly drifts off to sleep.
End of chapter.