TAWOG: Instinct

The Criteria

The Criteria

“Man! That stuff really packs a punch,” said Gumball, rubbing his head as he sat in Tina's “nest”.

He had awoken some time ago and found, much to his relief, that he was still lying in Tina's metal bedding. It would seem Penny's plan had worked. He'd slept through his regression and hadn't woken up until he'd changed back. But although it was gratifying to know that there was a method around his nighttime ventures as the abyssalis cat available now it did come with its drawbacks. Namely the fact that Gumball had woken up groggy and nauseous. Still, if it means he'd no longer have to worry about hurting anyone, eating wild animals or searching for a non-existent pride it was a small price to pay.

Gumball wondered what time it was. He didn't have his phone or a watch and hadn't dared go outside, so had no means to keep track of time. Which means he had no idea how long it would be before Penny got through with school and would be coming to visit, hopefully with his family. The wait was long and strenuous, and so far the only upside about being stuck here was that Tina, despite her impoverished lifestyle, at least had a working bathroom in her house. He didn't even wanna know how she uses it though.

Eventually, there came the sound of the metal sliding doors opening and when Gumball looked up he found, to his delight, Penny had returned, and she'd brought his family along too. It was quite the emotional affair for all, with joyful tears, hugs of relief and declarations of love, especially from Darwin, who proceeded to hug Gumball the hardest.

“Dude, you have no idea how worried I've been!” he said as he and Gumball continued to share in a brotherly hug.

“I've missed you too, buddy,” said Gumball, tears streaming down his face. “And again, sorry about trying to eat you.”

“Yeah, hey, what was that all about, anyway?” asked Darwin, finally letting Gumball go and slightly glaring at him, crossing his arms. “Why did you turn into that thing?

“I believe we would all like to know that,” said Nicole, looking at her son with just as much relief as before, but also with a slight bit of concern.

Gumball turned to Penny and gave her a confused look. “Did you tell them yet?”

Penny shook her head, which surprised Gumball slightly. He'd figured Penny would fill them in on the way over. Their house and the wrecking yard were a fair distance from each other, it'd be the perfect time to tell them.

“We had…other things to discuss on the way here, Gumball,” said Penny.

“Huh? What kinda stuff?” Gumball asked. What else was there to talk about?

“I decided to fill everyone in on the truth about that thing, Gumball,” Nicole admitted with a resigned smile. “On the way over I explained to Richard , Anais and Darwin my side of the family's connection to the abyssalis cat.”

Gumball's ears folding back in slight depression. “I'm so sorry, mom. I didn't mean for the secret to come out.”

“Hey, it's okay, Gumball,” said Nicole, kneeling down to give her son a hug. “The circumstances now are far different than the reasons why we've kept the secret all this time.”

“And truthfully, I don't understand what the big deal was,” said Richard, shrugging his shoulders. “If I'm being honest, I'm kinda relieved to learn why Nicole can be so brutal and violent at times.”

Nicole huffed and glared at her husband.

“You might wanna shush, dad,” advised Anais. “Unless you want to push mom into abyssalis cat mode here and now.”