TAWOG: Instinct

The Sacrifice

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.