The Hedgehunter: A TAWOG Fanfic

Chapter 1: Horror Show

Gumball squinted, putting a knuckle to his chin and scanning the shelves of assorted horror films at Elmore's video store. He had more than enough saved up to rent a good number of them, but deciding on exactly what to bring home with him was proving a challenge. Some films he had seen before, some he had only heard of, some entirely foreign to him. Varying degrees of quality and general fear factor throughout. From the register in the corner, Larry sat with his chin in his palm, waiting for the blue cat to finally make up his mind.

                "Hey Darwin, anything seem good enough to you?" Gumball inquired. "Anything jump out at you as being particularly scary?"

                "Huh?" Gumball's adopted fish brother Darwin uttered, prompting Gumball to turn around. Darwin wasn't even looking at the horror movies with him. Instead, he was chin-deep in the bargain bin rummaging through an assortment of old DVD cases and tapes.

                "Dude come on! You're not even looking!" Gumball chided.

                "Yeah I am!" Darwin pulled his head out of the bin and turned around, holding up a cheap DVD case for sale. "See? I found something scary." He spoke with a hopeful smile on his face.

                "That's a nature documentary about killer whales, Darwin."

                "Killer whales are scary!" Darwin defended. "They're apex predators! They hunt and coordinate in packs! They even have the word 'killer' in their name!"

                "Darwin, anything that performs tricks in front of crowds of people isn't scary. Except clowns." Gumball gave him a deadpan look and went back to browsing. Darwin, disappointedly, put the DVD back in the bin.

                "At least I settled on something." Darwin grumbled with his fins crossed.

                "You could try and help me out, you know." Gumball huffed. "I want this horror marathon to be a good one! I just can't decide what to choose."

                "You guys are doing a horror marathon?" Came a familiar voice from behind the two boys, prompting them to turn around. There she was, white hair parted over one eye, skull hairpin in place, incorporeal body floating in place like a jellyfish in the quiet ocean depths. Carrie Krueger, Darwin's ghostly girlfriend and accomplice the two Watterson's shenanigans every now and again.

                "Oh, hey Carrie." Darwin greeted with a wide smile. "What're you doing here?"

                "Oh, same as you. Bargain hunting." Carrie shrugged. "Overheard you guys looking for something scary to watch."

                "Yup! We saved up enough allowance money to rent a bunch of horror flicks!" Gumball proudly proclaimed. "Me and Darwin are gonna have the best horror movie binge anyone in Elmore has EVER had! We uh...just can't decide on what to get."

                "I decided!" Darwin announced with a wide smile.

                "Darwin. Killer whales are NOT scary." Gumball reprimanded him again.

                "Well if you'd like, I can give you a couple recommendations. I've watched every single horror movie in here at least once. You want a professional's opinion, ask and you shall receive." Carrie put her hands on her ghostly hips and raised her head in pride at her own horror proficiency before scanning the shelves herself to pick out a few favorites.

                Gumball, seeing no harm in it, took a random case off the shelf, showing a bunch of glaring red eyes and membrane wings. The title in bright red text read 'Cave of the Mutant Bat People.' "What about this one?" He asked.