Starting New: Returning Home

Chapter 3: A Plan

"B-Bobert?..."

Gumball felt in shock.

"Bobert...is that...really you?"

"The one and only..." He said in return.

Gumball couldn't believe it...standing before them, was his old friend; someone who he hadn't expected to see again...

He reached out his hand towards him and smiled.

"Bobert...I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Gumball was rocked with a pain like no other. He retracted his arm and screamed. It felt like his bones were shifting and breaking inside him. His skin felt like it was on fire as he gazed down at his arm through teary eyes.

His arm...was growing longer. BOTH his arms were getting longer. He soon heard Nicole scream next to him too. As he looked down at her, he saw the skin and fur on her face start to droop unnaturally. This was horrifying to him. ALL of this was horrifying to him, and painful; oh so VERY painful...

Bobert, witnessing his best friend and mother scream in pure agony as their bodies contorted, he quickly rushed over towards a small fridge and retrieved 2 syringes from within it. With haste, he rushed back other to them and held Gumball's arm firmly with a strong metal grip. He then injected a yellowish liquid into him before pulling it out. Almost instantly, Gumball stopped his screaming before passing out. As Bobert injected Nicole with the same manner as her son, she also stopped screaming and passed out.

Bobert stepped back as he saw their bodies slowly contract and contort back to their original forms. Although he wasn't technically alive, he still felt an eerie feeling within his circuits. Perhaps this was fear, or maybe it was an error inside him; either way, it unsettled him seeing all that.

He let out a large sigh of relief, well, as best as a robot could.

"Crisis avoided..."

He set the syringes on a nearby table as he made his way over to a locker in the back corner and retrieved several thermal blankets and bottles of water. He knew when those two woke up...there would be ALOT of explaining to do...

———

Nicole was dreaming. She was in a meadow. It was a nice sunny day. She walked through the long flowing grass, feeling it tickle her fingers as she moved along. It felt so calming; so tranquil...she didn't want it to end.

Gumball.

She stopped.

Gumball...

"Gumball...where is he?" She asked herself.

Gumball...

Nicole felt the grass below her feet start to sink. She started to run, but no matter how hard or far she ran, the grass below her continued to sink. Suddenly, she got stuck. She couldn't move. She was being pulled under. She tried to grab the grass above, but it was no use.

"No...no! Stop this...please..." She cried out.

The next thing she knew, she was falling. Falling into an endless abyss. Darkness surrounded her.

"GUMBALL!" She yelled.

Gumball...

Gumball...

Gumball...

———

"Gumball!" Nicole shouted, sitting up.

She was panting and dripping with sweat. She felt...cold...so cold. Looking down at herself, she saw she on a tile floor with a very thin foam bedding and was...naked? The only thing barely covering her was some tinfoil-like blanket. She drew it up her body a bit more, covering her chest at least. Looking off to her side, she saw Gumball. It looked like he was in the same situation as she was.