A/N: Greetings everyone. I just wanted to warn you that the story might be a little slow starting out, but I'd like to say it should get better as it goes (especially from chapter 4-on.) I hope you will like it as much as I am pumped to write and tell it. On a side note, not gonna be a "destination" deal like "The Feral" (or really any others more than likely; just that one). My inspiration for wanting to write this come from a variety of insightful and uprising, talentful writers: Heart of Writing, StoneColdStoryx, Shiv740, the show itself (duh), and all those Darwin haters out there (yes, their exist such people, and it burned so much. If only they knew...). Enjoy! :)

Update: Yes, I watched "The Roots" and I never knew about this when first starting my story (I think the publication date here shows that vs. other sources if you choose not to believe me anyway), nor am I adding anything from it for the future. Like Supersinger9000 & her "The Goldfish", I am (or was) aware of this new episode (coming), but I still hope you enjoy my story.
- After watching it there were some things I liked, but also disliked about it. An episode like it has honestly been a long time coming/overdue. I liked how "The Roots" did showed Nicole's love (again, long time coming after almost 150 episodes; got to thank Heart of Writing for showing that little piece of truth) and Richard saying he was "a Waterson", hence a member of the family after Darwin didn't want to live in a pond like normal fish, or in his case, a pet. However, summing it up w/o going into details and boring you to death, I still think it doesn't change how he's treated. It was nice to finally get around to it, but there needs to be more conflict and drama, and more opening up on Darwin's behalf, which is where I'm trying to come in! Anyway, I'll shut up now; just wanted to put my thoughts down about the episode. Enjoy!

The start of the day looked to be like any other as Gumball and Darwin were both seen walking down the halls of Elmore Jr. High. Where they were going was unknown, though class looked to be out of the question with neither one had any supplies or books on them. Darwin engaged in conversation with his brother about a game he recently played. He looked super happy and really got into the unveiling of what happened. All the meanwhile, Gumball stared straight down the halls smiling like he was not listening or caring. His smile was slightly different too. It was neither cute or authentic, but more detached, not that Darwin seemed to notice.

"I thought for sure the monster was gonna crush me. He had to be at least twenty feet tall and all I had was my golden sword. Then, I realized that I had an enchantment that could be added to it just before battle. It made my sword catch on fire and caused double damage to the ogre, allowing me to finally beat the game after three months of trying. Pretty awesome, aye?" Darwin had his fins held out in front of him as he faced Gumball, but Gumball wasn't moving a muscle on his head. It was like he was refusing to acknowledge Darwin's comment. Darwin began to get a little upset. "Dude, are you even listening to me?"

As soon as Darwin finished, around his lower waist magically spawned a belt. It was just a typical brown leather one, but it wasn't secured. It was so long that it not only wrapped around Darwin, but Gumball held the end without the loop. It threw Darwin for one at the sudden appearance. "What the-?" Before Darwin could finish, he suddenly heard laughter coming up on him and Gumball. A short distance away, he found all his classmates standing in front of them, blocking the entire walkway of the hall. Leslie, Bobbert, Teri, Clayton, Tina, Jamie, Ocho, and every other character the stars knew; they all just laughed, some not even realizing the two were coming up until they stopped dead in front of them all. Darwin's face was explicit in how weird he saw their 's face on the other hand hadn't changed the slightest. Stepping out of the crowd as one of the most fore fronted members, Tobias the rainbow colored "jock", spoke up and effectively killed the laughter for good.

"Hey, Gumball," he said in a distasteful and somewhat stern way. "I see you brought Darwin along with you to school again, as per usual." Darwin looked a little shocked and confused from what he just heard, but before he had a chance to say anything, Gumball took hold of the discussion.

"Well I think we can all agree he can't be left alone, at home or school-am I right?" There were a few seconds of laughter, with everyone doing it except Darwin. He couldn't speak at the moment, but Tobias did. From behind him, he pulled out an unlabeled can and shook it into his other free palm.

"Aww, your such a good boy, Darwin," Tobias teased on. "Here, you want some fish flakes?" He held out his hand and showed the colorful crumbles in front of Darwin. The young fish was not the least bit interested in them. His mouth hung open, struck by the display.

All he could do was ask in an almost whiny manner "what the? Why?" From behind the group of students, the rich cloud girl Masami floated overhead many of her peers.

She floated herself up beside Tobias, eyeing him and saying "hang on a sec. He probably prefers being fed in water now, doesn't he?"

"Oh yeah," Tobias answered her. He turned his focus back on Darwin and narrowed his eyelids. "Good point." Darwin was starting to question what was going on, but before he could deduct anything, the ground suddenly disappeared from underneath him. The setting had completely changed from the school's halls to the diving pool. Darwin floated in mid air for a second, but fell straight down and splashed into the water. He pulled his head out with the not-yet complete belt still around him. The other end was still held by Gumball, who stood up on the main floor with everyone else. The students were between the doors to the room and the pool itself, with Gumball on Darwin's left standing about five feet away from them. The belt had to be at least an abnormal fifteen feet long to reach the fish. Tobias bent himself down and threw the flakes into the pool all around Darwin. "That's much better now, isn't it?" Darwin looked at Tobias feeling confused as ever, both by what just happened and what was going on now. "Go ahead, Darwin. Eat up… like the good boy you should be." Darwin finally came forward, but felt like he couldn't escape the water.

"Guys," he whined out to them. "Why are you treating me like this?" From behind the group, Gumball's girlfriend Penny came forward. The yellow-and-red fairy stepped forward towards the blue cat and wrapped her right arm around and over his shoulder. She kept her other arm hanging down and held Gumball's left paw in her hand. Her head was slightly bent and pressed on his shoulder.

"My goodness," she spoke out to him. "Do you always let him talk like he has a mind of his own?" Gumball still had that smile on his face as he answered her.

"Ehh, its fun to let him think he's like us. He's incapable of doing anything without me." The whole room started to laugh, with Gumball and Penny joining in. Darwin couldn't believe he just heard Gumball say that. He could feel a deep, sinking feeling happening in him, like all his care was just evaporated away. He was hurting and speechless, but the insults weren't stopping. From out of the group, the emo ghost girl, Carrie, floated fast over everyone, hanging near the edge of the pool at Darwin. She was smiling, but almost playfully.

"To think that this piece of nothing actually kissed me!" She bent down like Tobias and got closer to his face; his sullen, devastated, and crushed face. "I swear, if I didn't pity you, I would sooo make. You. Sssufferrr…" She opened her smile and presented her razor sharp teeth at the young fish like she was gonna eat him. It sent shivers down Darwin's spine, shaking him so much that he lost all control of holding back his tears. She pulled herself up to normal height and turned to face her peers. "Come on everyone. Let's just say it already!"

The second Carrie turned around, all the students started to fan out from the entrance. Everyone was spreading around the rectangular pool, chanting the word "Piiity… Piiity… Piiity" over and over again. The creepy chant echoed all around the lone fish as they all closed in around the body. Darwin began to go from upset to terrified. He couldn't stop circling himself in the water to try and desperately face everyone. The longer it went, the more scared, alone, and destroyed he became inside. He didn't know what could possibly be happening to him, and the only answer that came to his mind in the entire chorus was to turn to Gumball for help. When he found him still in place, and still having Penny around him, they were not chanting with the rest of the group. There was a small glimmer of hope that made Darwin feel ever so slightly better, right up until the rest of the Waterson family spawned from behind Gumball. They were all smiling as they faced the fish from the upper corner of the pool. From their direction facing him, Richard was to the back left, Nicole-back right, with the children all in front of their genetic identical. Through the chanting, Richard eyed his wife and rose his hands up to the sides in question.

"Don't you think we should help hi-" Before he could finish his sentence, Nicole reached across to his mouth and zipped it shut, literally with an actual zipper. He continued to mumble with little success, but Nicole was more than happy to wouldn't let him through.

"He's not our son, Richard. Why do you treat him like he is?" She bent herself down and hugged her arms around Gumball's head. Anais twisted her body to the side and hugged her mom's leg while still facing Darwin.

"Once a pet, always a pet," she said mockingly.

"He'll never have this kind of love," Gumball commented. Darwin was entirely speechless by their accusations. His heart felt destroyed and left in shambles. His tears came quicker and faster than before, but from out of nowhere, another person appeared beside the family. It was a character that one could say was ironic for the town to know, but funny to many others. Someone Darwin didn't actually recognize or know why he was here. It was the contradictory, anthropomorphic pest control roach. He stood alongside the family, wielding his tranquilizer gun he used twice before: once on Nicole, and once on Darwin. Holding the gun by its pump, he cocked it with one arm (or leg?) and positioned it back into both. He aimed the gun at Darwin, awaiting a command.

"Just say the word kid, and he's down for the count." The family remained silent, but Gumball spoke up after a brief pause, like he had analyzed the fear in the fish.

"He'll know when the time comes," Gumball pronounced with a disgusting sense of superiority. "I wonder if he even does know. That I'm all that's standing between him and a life." In the grand scheme of everything: The roach, the Watersons, the students, and the 'pity' chant, Darwin couldn't take it anymore. He didn't care what would happen to him, but he had to get away; away from everything around him. He tried to unhook the belt from his body, throwing himself every which way in the water to get it off, with the barrel of a gun pointed right at him. It wasn't until after a few attempts more that he realized the belt was a part of him. Somehow, it was molded into his scales. He tried desperately to swim in the opposite direction, but Gumball wasn't letting go. IN the moment he turned away, he came to notice that the pool was getting smaller in size. It slowly shrunk around him as every student stepped closer. The chant grew louder and louder the with every foot moving forward. When Darwin turned back to face his foster family, they were all laughing like the students before, Penny and Gumball included. Darwin had finally had enough and covered his auditory canals, closing his eyes while the tears ran down his face. He could still hear them chanting the words, and he wished it would just end already.

"Stop it," Darwin said whining, but at a normal tone. "I said stop right now." His voice elevated higher and higher with every pleading demand. "Stop, please." Unknown to the suffering fish, Gumball stopped his laughter above ground level and stared him down. He was still smiling, but said something that pierced through the chants and vibrated itself against Darwin.

"Hey Darwiiiiiin?"

"Stop this instant."

"Darwin, wake uh-huuup."

"I want this to end now!" Gumball's face immediately became serious. His smug smile had dropped to a concerned and worried look; not that Darwin knew.

"Hey Darwin, wake up." His demand only became louder and louder like Darwin's pleading.

"Stop it!"

"Wake up."

"Shut. Up!"

"Wake up, dude."

"Stop now!"

"Wake up!"

"PLE-HE-HEAAASE!" By now, the rectangular body of water was closing in. He could feel the stone ends of the pool constraining itself around his body and legs. The more time went on, the more crushed he became, but now the students were louder than ever. They were so close that everyone was looking down upon him, practically shouting "Piiity" over his bald head.

"Wake up now, man!"

"Sto-ha-hooooop!"

"Wake UP!" The last cry was simultaneous, with Darwin leading the screaming and Gumball's trailing right after.

"STOP IIIIIIIII-"

"WAKE UUUUUUU-" The setting around the fish flashed for the final time. Darwin, with his eyes closed as tight as possible and screaming at the top of his lungs, was found squished in his fish bowl still crying out with mercy from what was happening. Gumball was seen holding Darwin's fishbowl with him in it, continuing to scream at the creature. Both of them were still shouting at each other, only Darwin didn't stop until a few seconds before opening his eyes, lowering his voice when he saw a closer, more panicking Gumball.

"IIIIIIIIIIIII-iiitttt" Gumball lagged on for a couple seconds himself after Darwin finally came to.

"UUUUUUUUUUUUPPP" When their shouting had finally ended, Darwin and Gumball awkwardly stared at each other through the glass dome encasing Darwin. The weird silence kept them both from speaking up, but eventually, Gumball was the first one to end it. "Dude, are you alright?"

Without even seeing it coming, Darwin screamed once more and immediately propelled himself out of his fish bowl, sending it straight to the floor. It shattered into a hundred little pieces as Darwin landed behind Gumball, immediately shooting himself on the side of the wall parallel to the nightstand in their room. He was gasping for air, holding his fins over the front of his body and looking straight at the shattered bowl on the floor. By his expression, he looked mortified more than anything. His pupils dilated to little black dots from the shock as he kept on panting. The pieces he made were spread out all around Gumball, who looked at Darwin with quite a bit of shock of his own from the behavior he witnessed. At the time, Gumball was wearing his white and red lazy tee and dark shorts while Darwin was missing his shoes.

"Woah, dude!" He put his paws up in a stop position, elbows bent slightly downward. "What's wrong with you?" Before Darwin could answer, or even catch his breath from the experience, there was knocking on their door.

"*knock-knock-knock* Gumball, Darwin, are you okay?" It was their mother Nicole, but they didn't have time to answer her when she swung the door open without their consent. "I thought I heard you both screaming." She instantly took notice of the glass shards spread all over the floor around her offspring. She went from worried to irritated in almost a heartbeat. "Oh, Darwin. You broke your bowl again." She swung the door open all the way and entered the room. She grabbed hold of Gumball and lifted him up off the floor, setting him down right under the archway of the bedroom. "I swear, this has to be at least the third time you've done this." She knew better than to just pick up the glass though. "Guess I have to get the dust pan and broom now. Just wait here you two, and DON'T touch the glass!" Her displeasing voice had no effect on Gumball, yet unknown to him, Darwin felt ashamed inside. In less than a minute since waking up, he's felt terrified and guilty.

Not a great way to start the day, he shamefully thought to himself. He figured she was scorning him downstairs. He almost felt like actually crying if Gumball wasn't there with him.

"Darwin, are you… feeling okay? You were shouting pretty loudly back there. Did you have a bad dream?" Darwin looked at Gumball from across the room. He rose his right fin up and held his mouth open, about to say something. Unfortunatly, no words came to. He wanted more than anything to tell Gumball what happened, but there was a part of him that also didn't want to. Darwin couldn't explain it, but he felt like telling Gumball wouldn't actually help. He just couldn't shake the feeling strange he had for the blue cat. While he disagreed with wanting to hold back, after collecting his wind, he finally spoke up.

"I...I'm, uh... fine, Gumball," he said nervously. "I guess I kind of… panicked was all." Nicole came back up the stairs and into the children's room with the cleaning supplies. She did not look happy at having to clean Darwin's fishbowl up off the floor. While she swept up the glass, Gumball and Darwin continued to talk.

"Are you sure you're alright? Because it didn't seem like it." Just as Nicole swept up the last of the pieces, she turned to face Darwin. From his perspective, her eyes seemed hollow and cold, like they were trying to hide all her anger underneath.

"Darwin, if there's something bothering you, just tell someone. I'm sure you'll feel better once you do." She walked away and out of the room with the glass and stones in the pan. She didn't really sound all too sincere, but Gumball decided to just push past it, expecting Darwin to do the same.

"Well, if you do change your mind and want to tell me, you know I'll listen." Darwin couldn't tell if Gumball was either being gracious or obligatory. The tone of his voice was almost too passive and vague to make out any real kind of emotion. It felt like a bland statement to him; like an apology without meaning."Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the bathroom. I was about to brush my teeth when I heard you screaming like a lunatic." He turned himself around and began walking out the doorway. "You should throw on your shoes and get ready for school as well."

Darwin snapped and shouted at the cat. "Hey! Don't tell me what to do, alright!" He instantly shot his fins over his mouth and gawked his eyes back in shock. He didn't understand why he shouted the way he had. Gumball turned and faced Darwin from across the hall, quite taken by the sudden theatrics. "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I-I-I jus-"

"Hey-hey, it's okay man. No sweat." Gumball gave Darwin a smile to show he truly didn't mind. Darwin was a little surprised himself that Gumball was so chill, until what Gumball said next made perfect sense. "I mean, given that I tried to strangle you that time I dreamt you kissed Penny, I guess we're even now, so you're all good." Darwin almost couldn't believe him.

Seriously, he thought to himself. You think shouting and strangling are so close together that we're EV-EN? He wanted to say something about the incident, but figured it was just best to drop it. The more I talk about this, the more he'll ask about my dream.

"Well, I'm gonna go get ready for school. See you downstairs." He walked away and into the bathroom to get himself ready. Darwin stood by the door of his room and began talking to himself.

"Why would I just snap at Gumball like that? I rarely ever raise my voice at him. Was it that nightmare I had?" Darwin didn't want to think about it. He figured the best thing to do would be to try and forget about it as he looked for his green kicks and fitted them on. If only it were that simple, however.