A/N~ Finally, I've arrived!

While the Gumball fandom is slightly active, I hope people catch on with this

If anyone has followed me before, then you might have stumbled upon a little story called Shades of the Galaxy, a fusion between RWBY and Star Wars. If you're wondering what's been taking so long to update, I'll let you know that I am still writing as I speak. However, I've been very, VERY busy right now, so I haven't been able to touch on the story in a while.

I have made updates to my schedule to make as much time I have as possible on Shades and all the other stories I have written, so hopefully, there's an improvement.

So, if anyone's wondering, NO, Shades of the Galaxy is NOT dead and it's still undergoing some major developments! I am not giving up on my other RWBY crossover with Power Rangers (Ninjas and Huntresses) either, but that story has seen some changes over the past year or so.

About this story; truth be told, I'm actually quite new to Gumball. I've managed to binge watch the first season and am almost done with the second. I've also managed to catch glimpses of the rest of the seasons, but I've gotten a good idea where the story shall take place in. That is also why I'm partially using a lot of new OC's in this story while I continue to get familiar with the show. I'm also open to using the old characters from time to time, so keep your eyes peeled.

I was mainly a Disney Channel kind of guy and didn't really find the CN or Nick shows all that interesting (with the exceptions of Ben 10 and The Last Airbender). Only now, as an adult, however, I've grown to like the style of humour these shows brought, so I'm catching up with the Cartoon Network shows that I haven't been able to watch back in the day. I really, REALLY regret not watching these cartoons as a kid T.T

By the way, some of the character designs of this story are inspired by a brilliant artist from DeviantArt who has drawn his own take on a future Gumball story. I can't link his profile, so just go to DeviantArt and look up BlehMaster7. The characters he's drawn are really adorable, and I highly recommend checking him out.

Well, with that out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy this new story! And please do let me know if I missed anything from the show that could have been in this; I am still catching up with Gumball as we speak, so I'll get everything in check.

UPDATE (16/02/2020) - I changed Sunbeam's age from fourteen to twelve, because I believe fourteen-year-olds would usually be in middle school. I'm not very aware of how the educational system works in the US at this point, so do lecture if you folks happen to know how the system works :)

The Troublemaker

"Okay. Let's get to work. Fireworks?"

"Check."

"Awesome 'Happy Birthday' banner?"

"Double-checked."

"Extra assurance that Miss Simian isn't around to ruin our fun."

"Probably busy flirting with the principal right now."

"Then, let's get 'er movin'!"

Two mischievous students began work on setting up a special occasion for a special person. Within the dimness of their classroom, they began to shift their classmates' desks around to make room for the large setup for the ultimate celebration.

The plan was set. Days of procrastinated planning had led to this day. All that homework skipped and chores left half-done had to be worth the while to focus on preparing for this day at school. This was to be the biggest surprise for Elmore Junior High, and what better way to celebrate someone's birthday than to throw a fancy surprise party!

Who cared if Miss Simian, the cruellest teacher in the world, put them in detention? They were set on going out with a huge bang!

The cat-kid fluttered his pair of wings that came out of the back of his shirt before he flew to one corner of the room. He hoisted a banner that read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PEARL" painted in bright colours, hanging it up at the back of the room. A slight giggle escaped his mouth, highly anticipating the time to make use of this whole event.

Meanwhile, his cohort, a fox girl set up two machines with a tube protruding upwards from each one, placed on each side of the classroom door. Electric wires were connected to the socket underneath the blackboard, completely tangled into a messy cluster. With the flick of the switch, the fox girl grinned, satisfied over the explosive performance that would happen sooner or later. The loud booms that would echo through the hallways outside, the brilliant flashes of colourful explosions sparking up around the room.

The two began to continue on, setting up a lone table at the very centre of the room as the stage to reveal the genius (well, the one who contributed both the idea and the effort onto the idea) of the surprise.

The winged cat rubbed his hands together, his heart racing with excitement. The birthday girl who was coming in at any moment was almost here and he wanted this surprise gesture to be the best he had ever given her. All those days spent failing and thus embarrassing himself for her affections. Those would finally be put to rest today in the most special of days!

The fox girl looked out the door, peering just enough to peek at the left side of the hallway. There, she saw three figures coming her way. Three girls were chatting gleefully, walking with their books and stationery caressed in their arms. In the middle of the trio, a black cat girl with gleaming green eyes was giggling through the conversation, unaware of the scheming fox who was watching her from afar.

"They're coming!" whispered the fox, alerting the winged cat kid of their target's arrival.

"Showtime." the boy declared. Now, the two kids quickly ran behind two desks that had been laid down on their sides. Jumping behind cover, they waited for the right time to spring their trap. The boy couldn't wait any longer. A moment later, he would finally pour his heart into giving the girl of his dreams the perfect birthday wish!

He waited, keeping his hands onto the edges of the table and maintaining his calm not to get too overwhelmed. Perhaps he should worry about the possibility of Miss Simian coming right in instead of the girls. The thought of having that ancient fossil walking into the room was enough to send shivers down his spine. Maybe he should give it a break and recall everything.

Oh, who was he kidding?! Everything had been set up and there was no way that the laws of cartoon power to clean up almost everything in less than three seconds was ever going to work.

This was going to be perfect!

Sunbeam Watterson was not about to let this day go wrong for him!

The doorknob clicked, twisted and turned. At any moment, Sunbeam's guests would arrive and, with his friend, Dawn's help, she would trigger the machines to fire the small firecrackers that would shoot upwards, right behind the girls. Then, he would jump up onto the centre table and give her the biggest birthday wish any girl would ever love!

The door opened up. The three girls entered the classroom, still conversing. One of them, who was actually a walking, talking cup, walked over to the switch to put on the lights. But just as she was about to walk, the trap was sprung.

Suddenly, the girls were frightened when a barrage of explosions cracked behind them, causing them to scream and jump in fright. When the mini fireworks went off, the room flashed in a series of colourful blooms, producing a constant crackling noise that kept them frightened through the whole ordeal.

Then, when all was said and done, the girls were then attracted to a pair of lights that went on at the back, revealing the hastily drawn banner that revealed it all. The black cat girl, the birthday girl herself, stared in a mixture of awe and panic, still rocked by the fireworks display.

Her emerald eyes then shifted towards the lone table in the middle. At once, the lights went on and out came the energetic feline boy. With his arms out, the kid shouted out with all of his might, expressing his full happiness in the event.

"Happy Birthday, Pearl!"

The black cat remained silent, cheeks flushing red after suddenly being the focus of this whole surprise. The other two girls reeled in cringing annoyance, groaning that this was another one of Sunbeam's lousy antics to wow everyone in school, and being close friends to the one with the most attention, they couldn't help but feel dismayed that they had to attend the same class as him.

But Pearl, seemingly the centre of attention, did not falter…

It was hard not to fall in love with this beautiful black cat. Her silky, black fur was as gleaming as marble. Her face was like a teddy bear's; with a cute little kitty nose and emerald eyes that glowed like two moons in the night, enamouring the boys in school with only a glimpse of her gracious appearance.

But what caught Sunbeam's attention was how brilliant she was as a person. Good grades, head of the school's cheerleading squad and with no bad records. She was the ace in the hole for Elmore Junior High and no doubt, Sunbeam was smitten by her.

Her voice, soft and sweet, was shaking with mixed shock and flattery. Her cheeks continued to grow red as her heart beat faster than normal, putting her in a state of indecision on how to react. It seemed that the boy's attempt to woo her heart had succeeded, though it still looked as if her emotions were reserved from being too obvious.

Either way, Sunbeam stood firm and anticipating, awaiting Pearl's response. She had to say yes! All this work he put in making this happen couldn't go to waste. He poured his whole heart into winning Pearl's; any setback to his plan would be a disaster.

Finally, Pearl's mouth opened. Sunbeam couldn't make it out, but for a moment, her lips formed a small smile; a small sign of progress, but one that he took as significant. His plan was working after all! Pearl was about to thank him! Maybe?!

"Sunbeam! I-!" the girl stuttered shyly, Sunbeam waiting for her to speak. "This is-"

SLAM!

"What in the world is happening here?!" Everyone panicked, almost as if a beast had been freed from its chains. A ravenous monster who crashed right in to seek its meal. The kids reeled in utter fear as the hairy monster stared them all down, gritting its sharp teeth while its diamond-shaped eyes glared daggers at them. It entered the room, body bent forward with the intent to kill, inching closer with its hunger for not meat. No, not the taste of blood or flesh…

A taste for discipline and the hunt for the lack thereof.

It breathed powerful breaths of steam, adding to both the stench and temperature of the already heated moment. Hairs of black and grey stood out like fields of spiky grass, almost rotten to the core.

As it stared Sunbeam down with its venomous yellow eyes, the stench from her hair was enough to make the boy shiver with disgust. Its rage was so strong, it emitted a heating aura that could burn his fur. The angry face of the beast loomed over him like a giant titan over a walled city, frightening all particles of matter within his body.

The infamous beast of Elmore Junior High, who terrorized its students since time immemorial.

That beast was Miss Simian!

"Uh oh." the little squeak escaped Sunbeam's mouth.

"I demand to know what the heck is going on, Watterson!" yelled the ancient teacher, with the raspiest voice to rival all other elders in the town. Her eyes continued to pin the Watterson kid down, sweat beading down his face like raindrops on a stormy day.

"I... uh..." stuttered Sunbeam, frightened to the bone. The umpteenth time he was caught today. And of all days, this was the worst time to be sent to detention. Right there, in front of a trio of girls, two of them giggling. Sunbeam's eyes were on Pearl, who remained quiet, looking down in apparent embarrassment. Seeing her head down brought a pain in his heart, knowing that he had once again screwed up another great chance at getting closer to her.

Disappointment seeped in, but it was quickly replaced by fear of retaliation by the teacher before him. Before he could speak up a half-hearted excuse, Dawn Luna, the fox girl behind them all, yelled to save the day.

"Escape plan!" she cried out. She knew there would be a dead end, so she had a backup plan. There was only one problem;

"What?!" Sunbeam yelped. There was no escape plan mentioned in the grand scheme of things! Why the heck did she even bother to come up with an escape plan without bringing it up to him in the first place?!

But it was too late. Dawn ran as fast as she could before Miss Simian could catch her, racing to the front where the firework machine was. She spun the machine around and punched the back of it, letting out a firework that zoomed its way towards a pipe overhead of the classroom. The projectile blew up on the pipe, punching a hole that immediately unleashed a torrent of water that speared right onto the floor. The resulting blast caused a powerful wave of water that flooded the entire class, sweeping all within its wake.

Sunbeam found himself submerged in the raging wave, unable to swim through the violent currents. He desperately held his breath to brave the storm, but he flailed his arms and legs around so much that energy was being wasted and his lungs were getting weaker from holding his breath.

Then, he had an idea; there was only one thing he needed to do. Concentrating his body and mind, he began to convulse all over. The skin beneath his fur tensed up and the insides of his body became numb. Like a vortex, he found himself spinning around as his body was acting rather abnormally.

Soon, the changes were there. The boy had transformed from the humanoid feline kid into something completely different.

From out of the raging waters, Sunbeam emerged, finally regaining control of his swimming. When he jumped out, he began to streamline his way through the current. His body was now in the form of a cute, little otter, with bright yellow fur. The sleeker shape of his body allowed the boy to swim flawlessly, grooving along the wave.

While relieved that he had shapeshifted in time, Sunbeam could not shake off the feeling that he was still riding a dangerous wave that threatened to catch anyone who was in its way. True to its intent, the torrent surged towards a crowd of unsuspecting students who were caught unaware by the tidal wave that was about to swallow them whole.

Sunbeam screamed, unable to stop the bodies of students from being sucked into the wave, threatening to hit the otter head on. He kept his position steady, dodging each student or school property that came his way. Big, metal lockers, trash cans and more swung his way, making it more difficult for the kid to avoid.

Nevertheless, he swam forth, keeping his course intact. Passing one student caught in the flood after the next, Sunbeam zoomed like an athlete in the Olympics, torpedoing through the rough current while swiftly slipping past obstacle after obstacle.

Sunbeam rose from underneath the waves, popping out to catch his breath, but still a victim to the powerful force of the wave. Then, right behind him, his friend, Dawn, was seen riding atop what looked like a door from a locker, surfing on the wave, clearly having the time of her life.

"KAWABUNGA!" Soon, Sunbeam too couldn't feel frightened any longer. Even as his attempt failed earlier, at least he could go out with another bang.

"WOOOHHOOO!" He and his friend rode on, letting themselves ride the waves until it stopped. They ended up at the main hall as the wave died down. They slid onto the now wet floor, still laughing from the adrenaline rush they had taken. Sunbeam reverted back to his old form, chuckling along despite being soaking wet from the swimming. If their plan was going to end up in flames, at least they could cool off with a little water ride across the school hall.

Just one of many crazy adventures the two had made in their dysfunctional home of Elmore.

However, their mischief, as always, landed them in hot water. As Sunbeam looked up at the ceiling, with the shining light of the lamp blinding him, he then spotted a silhouette blocking out the light in an instant. After a closer look, he reeled in horror and guilt as the face of Miss Simian, also dripping with water, sneered dangerously at him.

"MR. WATTERSON AND MISS LUNA! DETENTION! NOW!" she screamed. The fur on Sunbeam's skin shot up like any cat would in the face of fear. In fact, probably anyone, hair or no hair, would reel in pain too if they were in trouble from the teacher. Alas, the sentence was delivered and the two troublemakers were to be taken to the classroom for almost destroying the school.

In shame, Sunbeam walked with Dawn down the hall, still dripping wet. Miss Simian stomped behind them, keeping her watchful eye on them. They passed through the carnage that had happened, with students choking out water and squishing up their clothes. The boy couldn't look at their faces for he could already feel the venom and fright coming from them, knowing that he was the one who caused this mess to begin with.

Further down the hall, the two kids walked past three more students, the girls from the classroom. The trio was also begrudgingly drying off their hair, two of them mumbling under their breath. Pearl, meanwhile, stayed calm. Flabbergasted, sure, but nevertheless calm.

The two menaces came by, earning venomous glares from the other two girls. Pearl's emerald eyes locked onto the guilt-ridden black ones of Sunbeam. After a second's glance, the boy retreated his gaze from her, too humiliated to look at the girl he adored, feeling like such a failure to her.

"Hmph! He so deserved that!" scoffed the first girl.

"That Sunbeam is such a freak!" hissed the other. "Come on, Pearl."

The words stung the boy to the core, feeling that they were right. Not only did he look like a freak, he was a freak, and Pearl probably agreed with them. He had nearly drowned them all and probably would have prevented it if he didn't stop Dawn from initiating her backup plan. Speaking of said girl, the young fox was caught sneaking a satisfied grin, not at Sunbeam's misery, of course, but to the sole fact that she had caused all of this trouble.

That was what you get for having a member of the Luna family as your best friend. But more to the point, Sunbeam himself was not as innocent as he wished to believe. No matter how noble or intentionally naughty his schemes could be, they always ended up getting him and others around him in trouble.

Trouble…

That was always the norm for Sunbeam Watterson.

"What am I ever going to do with those two?"

How could any principal be so unlucky to have such mischievous students for this long? Especially since one such student happened to be the prodigy of another known rabble-rouser.

That was what Principal Brown thought as he gave his coat of long, greyed fur (I mean, literally, the guy is a walking stack of hair) a complete drying with a blow-dryer. He then put his glasses on and sat himself back at his desk, groaning in frustration over another destructive day for Elmore Junior High. While he was unfortunate to have been outside his office at the time of the flooding, his office was sealed shut and protected by the new disaster-prevention system he installed for his door on the day he heard that Sunbeam Watterson and Dawn Luna were attending the school. And for good reason, too, because the Wattersons and the Lunas were already trouble way before the two were even born, and every precaution had to be taken.

There was already enough stress to deal with for paperwork, now there were damages to pay for and parents of the victims to appease. It's a good thing Miss Simian was backing up the front with watching over the children as they were being tended to in detention.

But a worry remained inside of him. Elmore Junior High wasn't the first school to face the consequences of their antics, and, dare he say it, it wouldn't be the last.

He had to put a stop to the madness before more schools, colleges or even potential workplaces could suffer under the wrath of their collective chaos.

No point calling Sunbeam's mother; she had enough trips to his office as it was. The Lunas? Forget it! They were already a lost cause. If he had to discipline the lone child of the Lunas, he had to do it some other hard way.

Principal Brown stared shakenly at his red phone, sweat already beading down from the tough decision to make. Without any other option, Principal Brown was forced to result to the one person who could have the time to be notified of the boy's antics.

The only problem was; that person was just as troublesome as Sunbeam was, if not, a whole lot worse. Someone who had his own notorious reputation with the school and all of Elmore on more than one occasion.

Yep, the man was none other than the boy's own father…

Gumball Watterson.

"Time to bring that old troublemaker back here."

Clinging and clanging… Smoke filling the air… The sounds of screams and rants all around… Everything you need for an emergency situation.

Just another day at work at the Rainbow Factory. Not that it hadn't seen better days, but this was definitely the worst of times, and it involved a certain worker who, in a series of misunderstandings and a careless attitude, had somehow ruptured an entire assembly line meant for the next rainbow production.

The worker had himself backing off from the foreman's office, sweating and shivering with fear. From out of the door came the foreman himself, an oversized purple jelly bean, who shot daggers out from his eyes at the punk who blast that disgusting coat of purple gunk all over the initially red-skinned bean.

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Pearson!" stuttered the worker, the grown blue cat named Gumball Watterson. "I'm sure the machine can be repaired, just fine!"

"Forget the machine! Look what you did to me!" roared the foreman, emphasising the scale of his rage by referring to himself instead of the rest of the damage done to the factory. "I'm supposed to be a raspberry-flavoured bean! NOT A GRAPE-FLAVOURED BEAN!"

"Oh, cheer up!" Gumball tried to be more enthusiastic in a completely desperate attempt to brighten his boss' mood. "Grapes are great this season!" Nothing worked, of course. Mr. Pearson stared his angry eyes at Gumball, intent on dealing absolute punishment to the clumsy worker, if only it weren't for one simple fact that kept the klutz safe from retaliation.

"You're just lucky your mother is the CEO of this company, Mr. Watterson!"

"Uhhh… I wouldn't say 'lucky'…" stuttered Gumball. His mother being his boss was not always such a good thing, considering she's the woman who's been something of the family dictator as far as he could remember.

"Exactly!" shouted Mr. Pearson. "You better have a good excuse for her about the damage you've done!" In an instant, the raging bean zipped into his office and, a second later, burst out with a piece of paper in hand. "Here!" Gumball took the paper, reading up the peculiarly shabbily and rashly-written sentences on it.

"You are required to write an apology letter to Mrs. Watterson regarding the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the dim-witted nature of her incompetent thirty-year-old employee of a son. No less than thirty-thousand words and a bank note for the damages done."

Gumball blinked before he shot his nervous gaze back at the foreman. "Uh, can we just settle for a cup of coffee instead?"

"NO! Have this done by tomorrow and that's final!" the man yelled before he shut the door and ended the rather tumultuous conversation.

Gumball could only sigh, having to struggle to write a complete essay of his wrongdoings and to show it all to his mother. It was quite an embarrassing way to show your appreciation to her for putting up with your shenanigans for the past five years as the new overlord of the factory.

And what stroke of luck it was to have your mother overtake the company from the lowly worker she once was. That was... well, partially Gumball's fault as well. Something about a donut and some pepper that resulted in a complete onslaught of sneezes, and given the previous boss was a sentient cloud, the literal storm of lightning bolts and downpour had left the firm no choice but to temporarily retire him. So, for the moment, Gumball's mother assumed the position of CEO until Mr. Yoshida could return... which was way overdue after a suspicious series of vacations the man had been taking since the accident, almost like he was happy to finally be away from work.

Whatever the case, Nicole's run as CEO was absolute, to the point where even Mrs. Yoshida herself was amicable to her friend's ascension in the ranks. This was the moment when she should have had all the power and money in the world to cover up that blunder about inheriting a family star by his father.

And then, Gumball needed a job and, out of pure familial care, Nicole agreed to hire him. What followed was the predicted outcome of work-related disasters and climbing damage payments.

True to his word, the CEO was not very happy with her son's slip-ups. Minutes after the altercation between him and Mr. Pearson, Gumball had to make the right choice and tell Nicole Watterson of the disaster that happened, which ended up being the worst thing anyone could do, especially since it involved the primal scream of all bosses.

"Yes, Mum!" argued Gumball. "I get it! How was I supposed to know the violet stuff goes into the violet container?" That was; before he turned back to a stupefied look on his face. "Wait, when I put like that, it kinda sounded stupid, huh?"

"Listen, Gumball." sighed Nicole from the other end of his phone. "You're thirty, now. You need to be smarter than this."

"This coming from the woman who called the men of the house 'halfwits'." mused Gumball. From the phone, he could hear another faint sigh from his mother.

"Please, just be more careful. I can't keep letting you off the hook like this just because you're my son. It's just not fair for the other workers." Gumball took his turn to sigh, finally accepting the reality of the situation. If growing into a man had taught him anything, trying to fix things his way was never going to cut it, not in the way he would try and solve his problems.

"I know, Mum." admitted Gumball. "You don't have to do that. Just... boot me off if the next incident happens. That's all."

"Next time, please be more responsible." told nicole. "You're not the same boy who caused all those shenanigans back then. You're a full-grown man, with a loving family and a good job. Please don't lose all of that."

"Mum. There's nothing that I want more than to make my family happy." laughed Gumball, reminded of the prime source of motivation he did have for working. He had a family to work for and he was devoted to taking care of this loving family.

"So glad to hear you say that. I got to go. I have to start counting up the damages you did today. That goes off your monthly salary."

"Fine." Gumball shrugged his shoulders, sighing in defeat.

"And don't forget to take your son home." reminded Nicole, earning a chuckle from the young father.

"I wouldn't miss the little tyke for the world. Love you." Gumball ended the call, putting his phone back into his pocket. Deciding to let the incident slide, he looked to the bright side of things, hopeful for a better tomorrow. No matter the accidents, the screw-ups and the blunders, he would tackle them all the way, and vowed to make sure to avoid as few of them as possible.

"Well, this day can't get any worse."

Just then, his handphone rang again. Gumball picked up the device and answered the call.

"Hello?" At the other end of the call, he recognized the low, kind voice of an old acquaintance. "Oh! Hey, Principal Brown! It's been a while." After some muffled grumbling from his old principal, Gumball heard the exact thing he didn't want to hear after his great accident at the factory.

"HE DID WHAT?!"

Principal Brown's eyes teetered back and forth between the door and his clock; driven by fear of the mayhem he might have ensued by inviting the former worst student in the school into his office. His fingers tapped along on top of his desk, sweat dripping down as he prayed for nothing terrible to happen. Every minute that passed felt like an hour, every hour going into a day.

The memories of his previous crackdowns on Gumball Watterson served to remind him of the worst of days when the boy caused much more than what his son would eventually be capable of. Reminiscing about those awful times made him on edge for the worst possible outcome, almost a little too much when he noticed the claw marks he had made at the edge of the table. He looked at his cup, trying to see if a drink of water could calm his nerves, only to realize that his drink was already finished, twice. Had he been that nervous over one man? This troublemaker who could have grown to lose his immature habits and could easily become a swell young man and would do good to discipline his son over his own habits. He was sure Gumball Watterson finally stopped being a kid at this point.

Then, a few knocks on the door, startling the man enough to pull all his hair out. From behind the door, the man of the hour entered the room. The man was out of his work attire, dressed in his signature brown jacket and beige khakis, jumping right in to address his old principal. Awkward after not seeing the man after so long, Gumball sheepishly chuckled, unsure how to make a good impression.

"Heya, Principal Brown!" laughed Gumball. "Or should I call 'ya, Principal Grey? You know, because you're… hehe. Old?" But nothing was working. The greying old man before him breathed out with uneasy frustration, now remembering why he should have never been so frightened of the trouble magnet in the first place.

"Sit." ordered Brown. The father did so and proceeded to seat himself down on one of the two wooden chairs in front of the desk. The Watterson kid fiddled with his thumbs, still awkward, of what to say next for the next minute. He was bent on answering for what his son did at school today. But staring at Principal Brown after all this time made him a little uneasy. After all, the visits to school were all done by the mother of the family while he was at work. What was he to say and what was he to do after the talk was done?

"So... uh... What's the issue?" he began.

"Mr. Watterson." called Principal Brown as he pushed his spectacles up.

"Uhhh, Principal Brown. We've known each other for ages. Do you have to be so formal?" asked Gumball.

"Sorry… Gumball, but being the head of a school requires etiquette of the highest calibre. Now, onto the subject of your son."

As the talk began, Gumball couldn't help but wonder what the heck was Sunbeam thinking about flooding the entire school earlier today. What could be the spark that caused this madness to happen? A bully who needed to be taught a lesson? A boring day to quash with excitement? The father remembered the times he used to cause so much havoc in school back then, and he could imagine what his own son would be thinking about that would fit his old style.

"Your son and his accomplice just flooded the entire school, nearly drowned almost half the student body and caused an insurmountable amount of damage to our property. And all of this for what? To impress a girl! And not just any girl, but one of our most excellent students!" Mr. Brown explained while Gumball sat at attention, doing his best not to feel too defensive towards his son. Yeah, he did wrong to flood the school, but could he blame him for chasing his woman's heart?

Okay, maybe he would. It was still a stupid thing to start a flood for whatever reason, except maybe for a desperate attempt to put out a fire.

Mr. Brown went on about the costs, blabbering about how he feared Sunbeam could be a negative influence to the student body, and the more he complained, the more uneasy he felt about the walking pile of hair talking badly about the boy. His fatherly instincts drove him to argue back, but he did his best to behave, remembering how much worse things could get if he tried to say anything against Mr. Brown.

"Your son is just like you, Gumball." Brown finally ended his report, hands put together. "He gets into too much trouble around here."

"Come on, Mr. Brown." laughed Gumball. "He can't be that bad."

"He's your son." cleared Mr. Brown.

"And Penny's!" defended Gumball.

"It's clear that you're the bigger influence."

"So?! What the heck does that make him the troublemaker you say he is?!" Just to prove his point, Mr. Brown pulled out an inventory list of the damages done by the Watterson kid alone. Considering the length of the list, Gumball gulped, fearful that there was more to pay than his own faults at work. The principal cleared throat before he listed down the big money denominators.

"Damaged lockers." said Principal Brown as the list went on. "Vandalism of school property. Engagement with the wrong crowd. Insulting his school teachers. Attempting to hijack school cafeteria supplies.

"And the list goes on…"

"Eh. I used to do all of those stuff all the time. That never seemed to bother me." Gumball dismissed with a shrug.

"I'm sure they never bothered you, but they were a bother to us. And now, we're living the repeat of it through your son." argued Principal Brown.

"Okay, okay!" shouted Gumball, tired of being continuously bombarded by complaints. "I get your point."

"Not only that, but he has made an accomplice out of Dawn Luna." added Brown. This time, Gumball remained neutral, unsurprised by the fact that Sunbeam's own friend was a known culprit.

"And you're surprised... Why? The Luna's are always out for trouble." The Lunas. Ever since they moved into town several years ago, they have equalled the Wattersons in mischief-making and chaos. But unlike the Wattersons, they revelled in the chaos they caused! They were intentioned troublemakers! So, was it any surprise that the only daughter of the family would join in whatever mischievous scheme his son concocted?

Well, at first, it was. But after years of bonding and friendship, Gumball had grown to accept the fox girl as his son's closest companion; both feeding off of each other's pension for trouble and ending up fixing their mistakes as they went. Unfortunately, not everyone was satisfied at the end.

"You know I can't have the school suffer another major malfunction." added Brown, being more argumentative than before. "The Ministry of Education has been notifying me of high costs and terrible reception from parents."

"Sir, we've always had terrible reception." sighed Gumball.

"And you think we deserve it?" exclaimed the principal. "Years of complaints and reports are only going to make our school even more dangerous than it needed to be! Can't you, for once in your life, care about how we run things around here?!"

All at once, the room fell silent. Principal breathed in deeply before letting out in an exasperated sigh, relieving himself of the stress of beating it all into the father's head.

Gumball was actually at a loss of words. It's not the first time Principal Brown showed such devotion for the show, but more often than not, he was always at the receiving end of the school's punishments and reprimanding, so he couldn't do anything but blame everyone else for his troubles. Now, as a full-grown adult, there was a new sense of understanding to Principal Brown. Without being part of the trouble, Gumball had begun to feel for the aging man as he dedicated his heart and soul in building this school's character.

"Look, Gumball. I'm not going to stress this out any further to you." admitted Principal Brown, now with warmth in his voice. "You have grown up so much when you moved on to high school. Even Miss Simian was impressed."

"Really?"

"Impressed… as in, she bowled in defeat that you had successfully completed junior high. I haven't seen her so defeated since she lost her electric baton on her first day here." Gumball chuckled. He remembered the look of loss on Miss Simian's face when he finally graduated from high school. To him, of all the students to excel from school, no one, especially his teachers, would have ever guessed that he would rise from education when he was nothing more than a master of mischief. "But my point is; you matured over the years and it seems you have done good having a family." But then, Principal Brown's voice returned to one of concern.

"That is why I expected your son to not repeat your mischief." he added. His fingers came together in a formal manner, hard pressed to tell Gumball the bad news. "If he does not prove himself to be of good behaviour tomorrow, I'm afraid I must expel him."

"No!" shouted Gumball with all the surprise in his voice. "That is so not cool!"

"I'm sorry, Gumball, but that is how things must be. I cannot afford to have the both of them cause so much trouble like this, especially since the next semester's tests are coming up. We cannot go on with repairs if they bring more harm to our students." Despite his anger and surprise, Gumball could not argue. One too many times, he was forced to hear the complaints that his son had caused so much trouble that schools were almost at the point of giving up. He couldn't understand why these people were at their wit's end, even after he himself, as a kid, had given them all the pain and stress. Now, here they were, about to throw in the towel and call it quits with his son.

But at the same time, he knew what was at stake now. The school was about to end another semester. If Sunbeam caused another ruckus, it was going to be a blow to everyone's academic performance. He understood that there was no time for error and Sunbeam had to focus on what's more important.

As of late, his grades had not been properly improving either. Having so much time on finding fun and excitement in his school life, the boy had not been maintaining a standing amongst the others, much to Penny's disappointment.

Gumball knew there was no going back from this. If Sunbeam was to stay at this school, if the family was to stay at Elmore, the kid had to be at his best. No more antics. As much as the father wanted to accept that his son was, just like him, a magnet for trouble, there had to be a stop to the madness before it'd end.

Gumball held in his frustration. Sunbeam was not always the troublemaker everyone made him out to be. He was just doing things for the fun of others, even if his schemes didn't always land on solid ground. There could be some taming to the process, but overall, the kid did not intend to hurt anyone. The young man vowed to make sure that his son would not be hunted down like some nuisance, and he promised to help him adjust to the school's norms.

Without the mayhem, however, Sunbeam could actually be a well-behaved young man himself. He just needed a reason to listen and abide by the rules. He was made to behave in certain circumstances by his mother, so perhaps Gumball could do some good too.

After all, it's only until the semester ends, which should be about a week later. Until then, Sunbeam just had to lessen his efforts on fun and pay closer attention to the academic side of things. It would definitely make his mother happy, and if the school would appreciate the effort, then Sunbeam could not be expelled. He would be safely secure here in Elmore and the family would not have to move.

"You're right, sir." Gumball finally gave in. "I'll make sure Sunbeam behaves himself until the semester's end."

"And how do you propose he'd do that?" asked Principal Brown, sceptically.

"I dunno. Be an honest man about it and tell him straight?" Gumball groaned with sarcasm, as he was not eager to carry on with the interrogative conversation for long. "I'll think of something."

"I certainly hope you will set things straight with him, Gumball." sighed Principal Brown. "I have high hopes for your son, but right now, he needs to become a better student for the school."

Gumball nodded, already accepting the terms given to him and his son. After their discussion about Sunbeam, the adults continued to go over the costs of damage. There was a notable gulp down Gumball's throat, already anticipating another salary cut and another major meltdown by his mother once she was informed of the situation. After all was said and done, the young father rose from his seat, finished with the talk, but still with a heavy heart.

"If we're done talking here, then I'll just leave." addressed Gumball. He walked out the door, but before he could leave, he did have some last words to say to the principal.

"But just so you know; my son is not a nuisance. He's a fun-loving kid who needs excitement in his life, so I can't promise you he'll stay like this for long. He'll behave enough just until the exam is over. After that, you can't expect him to be the way you want him for long."

"I understand, Gumball." agreed Principal Brown. Truth be told; he wasn't entirely set on expelling Sunbeam Watterson. He'd given the boy the same chance every single student in school got, no matter how destructive they could be. That, however, also meant that he was also vulnerable to any repercussion thrown at him. "Though I won't stop disciplining him in the future. One of these days, he will have to become a proper gentleman."

"I'll make sure he does good in this school, Mr. Brown." vowed Gumball, inching closer to the exit to shut the door. "Don't you worry about it." He shut the door behind him, head held up high with optimism.

Though the day was about to end with two hard hits to his morale, the father of two was committed to help his son get through the rather thin red line. Forget the salary cuts and the damage costs! The most important thing was that Sunbeam was going to need his help, whatever that help may had been.

After collecting himself, Gumball made his way to the classroom, where he was told that his son was waiting for him after a lengthy detention.

Sunbeam and Dawn sat quietly in another classroom that was, fortunately, not struck by their massive tidal wave. A pencil in the boy's hand, he silently scribbled some random pattern on the piece of paper that was meant for a thousand-word essay about the mess he made and how he was going to correct his errors.

His morale was completely blown, shaken by the fact that he nearly drowned the entire student body in a single blow. His eyes drooped sadly onto his desk with a few sighs coming out of his mouth. His heart pumped with hurt, especially because he had embarrassed himself in front of his crush; the girl who was also victimized by the wave. He was sure that she was never going to speak to him ever again.

After all, the other girls called him a freak, and rightfully so. He had never stopped getting into trouble with everything and his problems almost always landed others in hot water.

At the front, Miss Simian kept her sore eyes on them like a hawk after its prey, watching the kids without a single blink. Her gaze was as angry as ever, clearly overwhelmed with spite for the disaster upon her. Of course, she would be there, Sunbeam thought. She would do anything to witness the suffering of her students; his father told him just as much.

Just then, some melody was being sung behind him. The boy looked behind him to see where the humming came from. Not surprised, he saw Dawn scribbling on her own sheet of paper, with a smile on her face. Judging by the way she was calmly drawing, it seemed she had a much more pleasant time with the trouble she caused today.

Seriously? Of all times to be happy about spreading chaos, this had to be one of those days? He always wondered how could he be best friends with the fox girl, let alone questioning her obsession with disorder.

"NO SINGING!" Sunbeam could have sworn his bones became brittle after the nasty screeching voice of Miss Simian silenced the fox, a bead of sweat barely making its way down his head. Dawn sighed, putting away her pencil and placing her chin on top of her balled fist.

The two remained quiet for the next hour. Sunbeam eagerly waited for the whole ordeal to end, so he could go home and just be done with it. He couldn't avoid the inevitability that his parents would want to talk about it, but he had no time or energy to care. He had suffered the biggest failure he had taken in a long while and it hurt so much, that all other problems were null compared to the heartbreak he was going through.

Sarah Salem was the most beautiful girl he ever laid his eyes on. Ever since she came to Elmore, he was smitten by her beauty. Of course, he wasn't the only one; all the other boys started to fall for her too, causing a tense competition behind the scenes. That's what prompted the birthday bash in the first place. It was Sunbeam's chance to one-up the competition and finally win her heart.

Sadly, the only thing he gained was a trip to detention, a grand slam of shame from the girl he loved. He had lost his chance to score a hit on her and now, sitting idly by in a classroom under the demonizing eyes of Miss Simian, he was out of luck.

Then, an hour into detention, the door began to be knocked from the outside. Rolling her eyes in a scowl, Miss Simian called the person in with a disgruntled growl.

"Come in." she groaned. The door clicked open and the man came in, causing Sunbeam to retreat below his seat and shapeshifted into a tiny little mouse, hiding underneath the desk compartment. In came in Gumball, with a stern look on his face, suggesting that he was focusing his disappointment onto his son. Instead, however, his dismay was rather on the teacher sitting at the front of the school; the teacher who, apparently, wailed at his success. Usually, in his youth, Gumball wouldn't really let the spite she had for him get to him; she was going to keep hating him regardless of what he did. Now, he was free from the tyranny, old enough to feel nothing but mutual distaste for her teaching methods.

"Watterson…" Simian growled.

"Miss Simian…" muttered Gumball. All the while, Sunbeam peeked from underneath his desk, still shaking with fright. He watched the minute-long staring showdown between the two adults, relieved that his dad wasn't prioritizing his disappointment on him, adding a bit of hope that he was being left off the hook from the chaos he and Dawn caused today. However, that still didn't shake the feeling that his father was saving it for later, when they would have to go home and explain everything. Oh, he could tell how long he was going to get grounded this time…

After a minute of a tense staring contest, Gumball sniffed out frustratingly, having had enough of looking at the ancient dinosaur before him.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm here to take my son home." he urged, ignoring the deadly gaze shot at him and walked straight towards his son. He saw the tiny mouse form his son had transformed into, hiding underneath the desk. His hands were on his hips as he stared disapprovingly at his kid, reigniting the fears Sunbeam had when it came to his father.

Was he about to say something? Sunbeam couldn't hold in his anxiety at seeing his father giving him that look. If Gumball could see him clearly, he would notice his son's tiny body shivering with doubt. A sigh left his mouth, knowing how afraid Sunbeam was of any disciplinary action.

"Come on, you two." Gumball gestured the two kids to follow him. Returning to his normal form, the green-furred feline left his seat and joined Gumball and Dawn out the classroom. Before they could leave, however, Miss Simian chortled, her raspy voice made their skins crawl.

"Oh sure!" laughed Miss Simian. "And be sure to take him out for good this time! We shall see how you'll do once you're gone." All at once, the Wattersons had a series of emotions running through them. Sunbeam felt like a dagger had pierced through his heart, stung by the harsh words that only added to the pain he had been keeping.

Gumball, on the other hand, wanted to turn around and yell back at the monkey of a teacher. The memories of his rather unpleasant encounters with Miss Simian in the past had painted a very bad image of the teacher in his head. Now, after seeing that she hadn't change and when she had the decency to mock his son, there was pent up anger ready to be burst open. But he refused to make another scene. He and his son had caused enough trouble in this school as it was. With all the patience in the world that he could muster, he ignored the teacher, not looking back and led the kids out from the school and leaving Miss Simian to cackle in her glee.

When the three went outside, Gumball took his keys out and unlocked the doors to his red sedan, parked outside on an empty lane. The sun was already setting and it was close to dinner time. So, it was off to home for the trio.

Sunbeam fell silent the whole way. He couldn't find the words to say for he felt that he was in big trouble. All he did was twiddle his fingers nervously while avoiding any eye contact with Gumball. The older man, conversely, didn't really feel any bit disappointed in his son; he just couldn't. Just like his father, Richard, before him, Gumball was not the type to be too angry at his son, apart from a few special cases. When it came to Sunbeam making mischief and getting himself in all situations, Gumball wasn't one to make a big fuss about it. Unsure of what to say to each other, Gumball and Sunbeam just walked to the exit, not saying anything until then.

Dawn, meanwhile, kept herself quiet behind them with her hands behind her head, as she nonchalantly praising herself of the mess earlier.

As they stepped down the stairs, Sunbeam finally broke it to his dad with a sad undertone. If he was going to be in trouble, he figured he had to explain himself. The sooner, the better, he thought...

"Dad! It's not what you think. We were just…"

"It's cool, son." Gumball dismissed the need of the explanation. Sunbeam hoped he would let it all go without any consequences of his actions, but he knew the calm was not to last. "Let's go home so you can tell me and your mother all about of it." The boy sighed, expecting the worse was about to happen later on. While Gumball walked to his car, Sunbeam looked to Dawn, who was texting gleefully on her phone to her parents about the glorious day she had. When Sunbeam faced her, she decided not to make her joy too obvious, so her friend wouldn't be too hurt by the damage he did. Instead, she gave her best friend a soft smile, patting him at the shoulder.

"Well, I'm so grounded for the next month." groaned Sunbeam in defeat. "I'll see you soon?"

"You bet, Sunbeam." assured Dawn. Sunbeam took his turn to smile. The fox girl may had been a serial troublemaker, but when he needed her to be the friend to comfort him, she knew how to deliver, putting aside her obsession with chaos to tend to her partner-in-crime.

As the Sun with a face began to yawn and set down to the horizon, the Wattersons entered their sedan, leaving Dawn behind.

"Sure you don't want a ride home, Dawn?" asked Gumball.

"No thanks, Mr. Watterson. I can walk." answered Dawn.

"Alright. Do be careful." laughed Gumball before entering the driver seat. "And don't cause another car accident on the way back."

"Sure thing." With a hand out and a blatant promise, the fox girl walked off, allowing the car to take off and head back home.

The town of Elmore.

Population; a count of 20,000 that oddly fluctuates up and down every month. A lovely-looking suburban town in the United States. Lovely, if it wasn't inhabited by a weird and wacky menagerie of people who called it home.

You can never find a town filled with more oddities than anywhere else in the world. All kinds of beings here live normal (or at least they tried to be normal) lives. Inanimate objects gain sentience, animals and plants grow feet and legs and walk around like normal people. You just won't know what to expect from these citizens.

For the Wattersons, living in such a bizarre environment came with the territory, being among the odd families out there in Elmore. Just imagine an anthropomorphic blue cat and a yellow fairy with antlers starting a family with kids that adopted body features of both sides. That was an example of the wild variety of odd beings in the town.

While the feel of Elmore was truly bizarre, the residents still had real problems, and one kid was going through a swirling whirlpool of emotions.

The car ride was, just like the minutes before, silent. Father and son did not budge and said anything. Now that Sunbeam knew his father wasn't in any mood to discipline him, he only had to worry about his mother later on. For now, there was more room to seep in the embarrassment he had taken from his failures.

Gumball couldn't find the right words to say, somewhat feeling lost without his fatherly instincts to guide him this time. If it wasn't the fact he had his hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road, it was definitely the loss of motivational support he had for his son. The stresses of work had taken up most of his time that he hadn't found enough of it to cheer his son up.

He occasionally shifted his gaze onto his son, who rested his head against the window with a depressed face. The sight of Sunbeam riddled with sadness was enough to snap Gumball out of his quiet state. He cleared his throat, finally ready to speak, even without the answers to exactly solve the problem.

"Hey. That was a great effort you made today." he said. Unfortunately, Sunbeam didn't say anything, still moping at the window. Pressured, Gumball continued to try and make his son happy. "Reminds me of the time your Uncle Darwin and I completely destroyed the cafeteria when I was your age.

"The Great Meat Coup of 2012! When they cut off our precious supplies of meatloaf and burgers to be replaced by…!"

"Broccoli."

As intriguing as the story would have been, Sunbeam didn't show any interest. Now that Gumball wasn't so disappointed, it gave Sunbeam a little more room to breathe. He was free from the worries that he'd upset his father for making more trouble, except maybe for the little bit left for when he would face his mother. No longer feeling the need to fear, all that was left was the humiliation he had suffered earlier, and it was more than he could take.

"Ah, cheer up, Sunbeam. I'm sure your little birthday wish was fine. It ain't every day you get a birthday surprise like that."

"It would have been fine, Dad, if I didn't bother coming up with the whole celebration thing." groaned Sunbeam.

"Nonsense! I'm sure the school would have accepted it." assured Gumball. "You just… need to ask for permission the next time you try and celebrate like that." A minute later, the two were quiet again until Sunbeam uttered about the consequences of his stunt.

"Principal Brown isn't very pleased with me, is he?"

"I wouldn't say that… Maybe a little… grumpy?" Gumball stuttered, sheepishly scratching the back of his head with a hand off the wheel. "Okay, that wasn't the word to use…" He took one more look at Sunbeam, seeing the same saddened face. Nothing was working for them, so instead of joking around, he dropped the whole act and decided to be sincere.

"Don't worry. You just need to lay low for a little while and focus on your exams." said Gumball. "Then, once you're done, you can have all the fun during the next break!"

Just then, a very cold thought entered Sunbeam's head. Frustration had taken over when he thought about the other things that could happen after the flooding. What would his friends think? How could Pearl ever talk to him after being called out as a freak right in front of her? And just how could he handle all of this while given practically one last chance to survive school until the semester ends? The thoughts raged inside his head as Sunbeam's mood swung to full anger and sadness.

"Yeah, but what's the point of having fun if no one else wants to have it with me?" cried Sunbeam, filled with grief of his fallen reputation. "Everyone must hate me for what happened today!"

"Come on! You come up with the greatest ideas." Once again, in his hurried need to cheer his son up, Gumball spoke up again. And again, "They're just, you know… They just need a little more work."

At that point, Sunbeam didn't want to hear it. His father wasn't really doing a good job making him feel any better and he couldn't let him try any longer. Perhaps, it was best to just leave things the way they were and unwind for a bit. Unless a miracle was to happen the next day, Sunbeam was not really enthusiastic about what the future held for him.

"Let's just go home. Okay, Dad?" whimpered Sunbeam, finally finished listening. The defeated tone of his son's voice was enough to prove to Gumball that there was nothing more he could do to make Sunbeam feel better. It hit a heavy chord in his heart to face such a hard moment like this. Somewhere inside of Gumball, he wanted to continue, never wanting to give up until the end, just as he always did as a kid. But he was a father now, a much wiser man than the relentless, reckless moron he was before. He couldn't keep pressuring people into enjoying everything he did or it would end up biting back at him; a lesson he learnt as he matured.

His face sunk lower in sadness, closing his eyes for a brief moment before he faced the road again, driving back home.

"Okay, son." he sighed. The rest of the drive was an uninterrupted period of silence until they reached home. Only then could the burden be lifted, Gumball hoped…

Night began to take its course as the moon with a face loomed over, yawning to take its shift. Gumball's sedan had just stopped in front of a single house in between two more; the old residence of the Watterson family in which he inherited from his parents.

The house had barely changed since Gumball's family had moved out.

His parents were living in a slightly more prestigious house closer to the Rainbow Factory, where his mother would be sure to manage things closer to home. His dad hadn't found much luck finding a job, as always, but Nicole was more than content to keeping him at home with her.

Darwin, the most awesome little brother and best friend Gumball could ever have, had stayed with the Wattersons until he was also ready to venture out in college. Soon after, he had married his old (or should I say, very old) ghostly girlfriend, Carrie, and the two moved to a small house further away from Elmore. The two had tried their best to contact each other, but the reception at Darwin's place wasn't so swell. It also didn't help that the couple had taken the chance to travel the world to explore the realms of the undead and possibly some dark corners of history. With the unique ability to teleport anywhere you want, what need was there for air travel? So, the two were barely at home, unable to keep in touch with everyone else. But Gumball supposed it was fine. If anything, Carrie would be able to save themselves when the situation demanded it.

Then again, Gumball could call Carrie's name five times and then she would appear right in front of him, possibly holding Darwin's hand long enough to have him there too. Alas, he couldn't really come between them and decided to let them travel the underworld undisturbed.

Meanwhile, Anais, Gumball's little sister, had also left the house when she was just sixteen and off to college. It took her a while, but having to deal with her bigger brothers' antics forced her to delay her academic rise to prominence. Instead of raising a family, however, she was still dead set on becoming the most intelligent mind of the world. Surely enough, her academic records and extracurricular achievements had been so impressive that by the time she was twelve, she was already attending a major league college. And now, she was accepted into a research facility outside the country! Contact between her and her family was sparser than they anticipated, but she made an effort to call home every now and then.

For now, Gumball and his family were set on living a normal life. But as far as anyone knew them, normal was just not a thing.

Gumball shut the engine to his car before giving his son one last look. His posture had not changed since leaving the school grounds, still dazing out along the way. The two got off the vehicle, still not talking to each other as they traversed through the pathway leading to the front door.

BANG!

Just when they were about to settle into their humble abode, a fiery projectile crashed its way out the door, spiralling towards the two Wattersons, causing them to duck in panic. The burning object zoomed towards the sky before it exploded.

Saved by their instinctive response to danger, Gumball and Sunbeam looked up to see the explosion die down in the dimming sky. From out of the forming smoke cloud, something came down and crashed to the grassy lawn, revealing itself to be the dented, smoking wreck of a cooking pot. Black, crispy bits were found within the burnt inside, giving Gumball a good idea what happened. The father then turned to the front door and yelled to the culprit he knew would cause such a disaster.

"What the what?!" shouted Gumball. "Penny! Did you add rocket fuel in that thing?!"

Penny Watterson.

The woman Gumball found love with had jumped out of the front door to see the blast of smoke that shot out of the sky. The yellow fairy (and former peanut), with an apron wrapped around her, fluttered over with her wings in a hurry, to see the two on the ground. Her hands covered her mouth as she gasped, ripe with panic.

"I'm sorry, dear!" she cried. "I was cooking up another recipe your Mom showed me the other day and, well, I may have put in a little too much chilli."

"It's fine, Penny." sighed Gumball before he moved over to give his wife a peck on the cheek. "We'll just settle for some Chinese." After a brief moment of happiness looking at each other, Penny turned her attention to the boy behind Gumball. Her hands landed on her hips and her face turned into a serious one.

"And you, young man?" she spoke with authority. "What do you have to say for yourself?" At this point, Sunbeam would grovel in fear at the power of his mother. This time, there was the same reaction he gave his father; nothing but unspoken sadness. When he would whimper or cry in desperation, there was only the voice of defeat.

"I'll go get dressed." Sunbeam muttered, body slanted forward as he walked back into the house. Penny was surprised by this unforeseen series of emotions. Usually, when Sunbeam was being called out for causing trouble, he would be running back in, screaming in dread over any form of retaliation. This time, there was nothing; just an empty, soulless-like boy. It was more than enough to make all of Penny's disappointment at the boy vanish into thin air.

"Bad day?" she asked Gumball, noticing that he was also feeling blue, not literally, of course.

"You have no idea."

After a rather quiet period of time before dinner, the entire family gathered at the table. By the time their last-minute dinner had arrived, night time had already engulfed the area. The dining room was especially lit with a suspended lamp above the table as the four members of the Watterson family ate in silence.

Gumball was quite famished after his rough day at work, slurping up his noodles after rolling up the strands with a fork. The rest were just as content to use the chopsticks provided to them with the delivery; Gumball was never one to be fully committed to learning new cultures. At least that was one thing that hadn't changed from the blue cat.

Penny watched her husband scoffing up his food like some barbarian, disgusted by his lack of table manners. She chose to say nothing, however. He was just too stubborn to change everything about his lifestyle, no matter how much he had grown. Still, she couldn't complain much. After all, there wasn't anyone else she would choose for a husband.

The marriage was widely celebrated… save for a few exceptions…

Once they went off on their own, the couple had begun to shape their lives together, making new adventures and finally settling in with a family to raise and care for. And that was how Sunbeam and his little sister came to be…

Speaking of whom, the green cub hadn't even taken a single nibble on his food, only swirling the full box of noodles in his hand. He still moped about the terrible day he had, which perplexed his parents. There was a really good amount of such bad days, but usually they ended with Sunbeam making some desperate plea or apology before he hurriedly vowed never to mess up again.

Like father, like son, Penny would muse to herself.

The resemblance was quite obvious. One quick look at the family, and you'd spot the details Sunbeam adopted from his parents. From Gumball, it was definitely his whole look, being the humanoid cat form, with the ears, the whiskers and the tail to match. But from Penny, he had those wings behind his back, plus the ability to shapeshift into some creatures. The colour of his fur grew green, mixed from his father's blue fur and his mother's yellow skin.

Hard to imagine that the boy was actually once a peanut; his shell cracked at an early age to reveal the true cat form underneath.

In contrast, the little girl next to Penny, little Raven Watterson, was happily learning how to use the chopsticks, having the curiosity to try and eat as courteously as her mother. Almost seven years old, she was the little bundle of joy in the family… except with a few special conditions…

Unlike Sunbeam, she was still in her shell, having only holes for eyes and a mouth, but with strands of eyelashes escaping them. Her ears, unlike Penny before her, were also taken from Gumball's cat ones. They suspected she'd look just like Sunbeam if she would come out of her shell. However, that was a risk not worth taking yet.

Even when Penny and Sunbeam managed to break out of their own shells, the process of breaking one's shell was still new. It was once discouraged to break out according to Penny's old family; a tradition that lasted for generations. The mother of two was the first in such a really long time to break that tradition, so any further possibilities to break Raven open was too new to take chances.

In Penny's defence, her own shell was broken when she was at the right age of twelve. Sunbeam's breaking happened due to a stunt he pulled at eight years old. Either way, there was no risking Raven's safety yet, at least, until she was about the safest age to try.

For now, the family was content with what they had... for now...

It was back to that soulless dinner; no one even trying to bring up any discussion. So, Penny's solution? Talk about school.

"So…" she started. "What happened in school today, Sunbeam?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Mom." muttered Sunbeam, still sour.

"Oh, come on, honey. It can't be any worse that what your father did at the factory today." laughed Penny, though her gaze towards Gumball suggested a different feeling.

"Really, Penny?" groaned Gumball. "You want to push this further than it needed to be?" Penny just rolled her eyes at her husband's rebuttal. Then, another groan escaped from Sunbeam's mouth. The boy didn't feel like there was any point keeping the chaos to himself, so he might as well spill the beans while there was time to repent.

"Okay. You want to know the story? Fine."

After a rather gloomy retelling of the events today, from the enthusiastic planning to the moment things went south, Sunbeam recounted his tale with pure disdain.

"That was how my dreams of being the life of the party and my plans of finally getting Pearl's attention all went down the drain… And how the whole school suffered the worst flooding since 2011."

"2011?" said Penny, puzzled. "Oh, I remember that incident very well. Wasn't that your fault, Gumball?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously at Gumball, remembering the day Sunbeam's own father caused a very similar disaster at the same school sixteen years ago.

"What?! You gotta admit; that pool party plan was the bomb." defended Gumball, proud of the party he and his brother had planned for months.

"It got you and Darwin forty-eight hours of detention. Forty-eight hours without being allowed to go home! How could any kid cause that much trouble?"

"The kid that you ended up marrying."

At this point, Penny could have opened her mouth and argued. Having to do much of the housework, any sneaky joke that escaped Gumball's mouth would have triggered a chaotic reaction from the stressed housewife, potentially causing her body to literally transform into a hideous red demon with venomous snakes for hair! Or worse, she could be a fire-breathing dragon and burn the whole house down!

This time, however, she just sighed, giving her husband a deadpanned stare with no transformations. She loved him too much to start a heavy argument, and given that he made his move with a cheesy but romantic comeback, her heart forced her to cool down.

Such was the price to pay for being in a relationship since they were twelve.

"Touché." Penny grumbled before she continued to take another bite out of her noodles. After chewing, she turned to her daughter, who was trying to twist up a strand with only one chopstick and barely catching the noodle into her mouth.

"Raven, sweetie." cheered Penny, attempting to brighten up the mood. "Why don't you tell Daddy what you did in school today?" After eating up the noodle, Raven's face lit up and she jumped off her chair. She ran to the living room to pick up a drawing from the coffee table and went back to show her dad what she made.

"Look!" cheered Raven with the brightest of voices. Upon showing, the bundle of joy showed a picture that she drew in art class, excited to show her dad. When Gumball looked at it, he faced a totally different feeling.

"Uh, Raven." Gumball stuttered, unsure of what to make of the drawing. "That's a drawing of a cherry being mauled to death by a swarm of bats." He would expect Penny to stare disapprovingly of his comment, but he didn't need to. When Raven moved her face towards him, she flashed a rather dark and angry glare, with a force of darkness that felt like something was crushing Gumball by the heart. It wasn't a violently aggressive stare. Something more like the slow, evil look Penny gave him during her late pregnancy stages. A blood-curdling aura would threaten to choke the life out of Gumball at times when Raven gave him that stare and it would make him tremble in a cold sweat.

"It's my masterpiece, Dad…" growled Raven, her voice still high-pitched, but growling with anger. Gumball simply gave in under the pressure and chuckled sheepishly, sweat still drippling down his face and teeth still chattering together.

"Ehehe." chuckled Gumball. "That's beautiful, sweetheart."

There was no doubt where Raven got that 'special' power from. Gumball and Penny refused to answer for reasons well beyond their children's comprehension. In the meantime, the mother of two sighed at the predicament. There was nothing they could do to solve this habitual phase when Raven would face her father.

However, back to the dinner, Penny wanted to cheer her son up. She was still not very pleased about what he did, but this was over a matter that she felt was a whole new story altogether. She could always talk about the bad stuff later and focus on making her son feel better before delivering the list of punishments. That was what separated her from her mother-in-law. Yes, Penny was prone to heating up her attitude when discipline was needed, but when push came to shove, she felt there was more need for compassion before anything else. That was the Penny everyone knew and loved.

"Don't worry, honey. I'm sure you'll get the chance to talk to Pearl again soon enough. I hear she's a lovely little girl." assured Penny with the warmest of smiles.

Unfortunately, that compassionate talk was about to be jeopardized when Gumball tried to intervene.

"Yeah. You just have to try a little harder to get her attention. Next time, maybe you can try something even wilder! Something extravagant!"

"No, Gumball. We are not going to put him in another wild good chase." grumbled Penny, annoyed of his needless talk.

"But that doesn't mean it shouldn't work for him. I mean, he just has to be a little more careful with the school and everything should be fine." defended Gumball.

"Honey. We all know you're terrible at giving romantic advices." added Penny, getting more riled up. The two soon locked each other in an uncomfortable showdown of parental opinions; one that Sunbeam did not have the time and space to deal with.

"What? You don't think I can help him achieve his dreams?" argued Gumball.

"Of course, you can."

"He can achieve whatever he wants to do, just without your meddling!"

As much as he wanted to drown out the noise, Sunbeam couldn't ignore the words they would say to each other in these spats. The words exchanged kept reminding him of the failures he suffered today.

The desire to achieve something…

The failure to accomplish that desire…

The argument was not helping him in this case, but when it began to come to a climax, he wouldn't take it anymore.

"At least I'm helping him do something!" shouted Gumball.

"You're not helping!" Penny fought back with equal ferocity. "You're only making it worse!"

"STOP!"

The whole family, including Raven, stopped. A single cry echoed through the room, almost loud enough to frighten a whole flock of vultures. Everyone looked to the kid who was unable to take the pressure from his arguing parents. This whole debacle had been nothing but the needless repeat of what he had to endure today. The fact that his parents were fighting because of his troubles… The inability to make things right for the people around him…

The thought of making things worse… That was the tipping point that made him scream.

Sunbeam huffed, his fingers running through his temple. With one jump and an angry push of his chair underneath the table, he turned off and stormed up the stairs.

"I'm going upstairs." he growled, irritated to the core. As he disappeared up the steps, the whole family remained quiet for the next minute, unable to shake off what had happened. After the moment was over, Penny stared at Gumball again, resuming her stance against him.

"Great. Now look what you've done." uttered Penny.

"Me?" continued Gumball. "You're the one who bashed me in front of him."

"Well, I-!" But as Penny was about to shout again, she suddenly stopped, sitting back and rubbing her forehead. She took a few seconds to cool off before telling her husband to cease the whole thing. "Gumball, let's just stop."

The father could not agree more. Seating himself back to finish his meal, he had finally agreed to ending the argument.

"Fine."

Once their quiet dinner came to an end, Penny left the table and led Raven back to her room, hoping to defuse whatever curiosity or negative emotions she was going through. They left Gumball behind, who was sure that Raven was casting him another deadly glare that he felt all too well.

Ignoring the pain, the family man slumped onto the table, feeling the depression sink in, just as much as it did his son. He veered sadly behind him. The couch that laid there for him to relax, the TV that was waiting to be switched on… Those were not going to help him this time. This was a situation that was too worrisome to ignore; that whatever chance to make things better for him and his son had finally snapped off.

Never before in his fatherly days had he been faced with such a hopeless situation. There was the malfunction he caused in the factory, forcing his mother to pay off expensive repairs. His son was at risk of finally being expelled from Elmore Junior High after suffering a humiliating failure. And now, with all of this combined, the family was completely overwhelmed by doubt and insecurity.

Gumball took his time to sit alone, contemplating on where it had all gone wrong and desperately prayed for a way to fix things.

After a while, Gumball finally left the table and proceeded upstairs to check on the family, still guilty of being at the centre of the family's frustrations. He wanted to check on Penny and Raven first, but he figured they needed some space. So, he resorted to standing out the door of his son's room.

And there he stood, waiting. Waiting and desperately hoping for a chance to talk things down. The quiet of the night lingered; the only thing he heard was the sounds of crickets outside and the muffled sound of Penny's voice as she talked to Raven in the other room. He leaned against the wall for a good amount of time, still unable to move in and talk to his son.

He knew Sunbeam didn't want to be disturbed for the night and, instinctively, he just couldn't pick up the courage to talk, fearing that his usual misfortunes would make things worse.

That was the curse Gumball had to go through when he was at his lowest. He couldn't help but feel that he had hurt hundreds of people of Elmore by doing the most unimaginable things to them and only now, as an adult, did he feel the guilt.

That guilt had caused him to hesitate at times. He didn't want to risk getting himself and those around him in trouble, especially when they were at their lowest point. As such, he was forced to rethink his options and help at a much more limited level than he originally had as a kid. His mom always told him to forget about his past deeds and move on. Honestly, though, he couldn't brush it off as the weight of his wrongdoings was too much for him to handle in one go.

It was even more painful tonight, considering that he was unable to cheer his own son up. Gumball was always the loving person to go to when Sunbeam was at his saddest, always relying on the optimistic charm and cheery love that kept him through the day. Here, it failed to work, and the thought of not being able to make his son happy was eating away at Gumball's heart.

He thought of sitting down, overcome by tiredness and stress, but his determination kept him standing. He was eager to show Sunbeam that he truly cared, that he would wait out the night if he had to. Alas, his eyes were shutting down, slowly putting him a dire, drowsy state that was sure to knock him out in a few more minutes.

That was, until a sweet, tender melody called out to him…

"Honey." Gumball nearly jumped. As he turned to where Raven's room was, he saw Penny emerging from the door. She spotted the man slowly falling asleep, wondering why he was standing outside. The sad look on his face told her what she needed to know. Her husband was still overcome by Sunbeam's own sadness and the argument they had only helped to further that emotional wreck.

And to be frank, Penny was feeling just the same.

The two met up. Gumball would have come up with some stupid excuse when had to apologize to someone. Not this time; Penny was just too endearing of a loved one to be foolish with.

"Penny, I-" Gumball uttered. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." Penny returned the apology, bringing her arms around her husband as they embraced. "I know you've had it hard at the factory today, and Sunbeam was really upset. Mothers can't help it sometimes. You know what I mean?"

Gumball nodded. Yes, he understood. After all, he couldn't recall how many times he made his mother miserable in his usual antics, but he knew there were too many to even count. Finally realizing the pain only made him feel more regret and he vowed to never inflict such misery to his new family.

It was such a shame, then, that his promise could not be fully fulfilled.

"And I, as the man of the house, should have been more attentive."

Not only did he upset his son with his constant foolishness, but he also got himself in another verbal brawl with the woman he vowed to love forever. Not that it was his first argument with her; it was just that he was so naïve of their relationship as kids that he'd easily give up and conceded to Penny because he couldn't think about breaking the relationship apart. Now, things were not as simple; he did have his reasons to argue back.

And yet, it still hurt to shout and fight; both for him and Penny.

There were those days when the husband and wife came to blows over how they raised their children. Penny preferred the old motherly approach, tending to their kids with optimism while also encouraging them to make their own decisions, as she once did after breaking from her shell. Gumball, however, wanted to give his kids the best he could, offering to help them overcome their problems and let them feel the joy of their success, in which Penny argued was undermining their sense of independence.

Regardless of how they chose to care for their kids, the couple could never ever find a reason to doubt their relationship. They owed each other for so much that it was practically impossible to separate them, as if even the thought of divorce had not once crawled in their mind the slightest.

Besides, they relied on each other's strengths to provide a balanced flow of duty in the family and in most cases, it's worked out well for them. As the kids got older, however, it got a little more complicated. Nevertheless, they were still committed to taking the challenge of raising their pre-teen son and younger daughter.

Gumball had grown out of the fear of an immediate ending to the relationship once they were married. However, there was still the habitual sense of worry that would strike his heart when they do start arguing. But rest assured; Penny was always there, still willing to cling on to him to the end.

"Forget me. I think Sunbeam's the one who's hit the hardest today." sighed Gumball, returning his sad gaze at his son's room.

"Is he okay?" asked Penny, also worried.

"He hasn't left the room yet, not even for a toilet break." answered Gumball. "Poor kid. Bummed out because he tried to do something meaningful for the woman he loves."

"You really think throwing a surprise party in the middle of class was a good idea?" muttered Penny. "I mean; forget the fireworks and the flooding hazards. Doing this stuff without the school's permission, let alone ours, was probably cutting it a bit too far."

"Okay. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea." chuckled Gumball, rubbing the back of his head. His thoughts then lingered on the warning he had received from the school, bringing him back to his hopeless state.

"Principal Brown has given him one last warning. If he flunks this test, he's out of there. I don't know what other school would accept him if his records go out there." Finally, his tired body could take no more. Gumball sank down to the floor, leaning his back against the wall and holding his legs to his chest. "I just want to help him any way I can. I'm just not sure how right now."

These past few months were the busiest he had ever had, often taking his time off from his family to help his mom at work. As such, he had lost touch of his trademark 'fatherly love skills', not having enough time to speak with him or play the usual games with him. Things began to feel a little down between the two afterwards, but Gumball had to choose work over family at the moment; it was a great chance to get more money for the family. Once he was done, maybe he could finally relax and spend a few days off to have fun with them.

But Penny refused to give up on him. If there was one thing Gumball was a master at, he was capable of talking things out, even after the dangers and the situations he had were over. Not all of his talks were meaningful or successful enough to walk off unscathed, but the attempt was there and it did end up making him more honest than he refused to admit.

And this was Sunbeam they were talking about. The undying love between father and son could not be broken after just one bad day, so there was still a good chance that Gumball could manage to make things right with his son. All he needed was some assurance of the fact.

Penny brought herself down to Gumball's level. She then caressed her hand onto his chin and raised his head to face her. Giving him the warmest of smiles, she told him what she would have him do.

"Go talk to him." she quietly said.

"I dunno." cried Gumball. "Usually, I light up his world like no one else. Well, except you, of course. Like, figuratively and literally. Today, it didn't work."

"You've been very busy as of late, Gumball." told Penny. "He just feels sad that he can't see you every day. Spend some time with him. Now that you're home, make the most of it with him."

"But how?"

Wanting to shake her husband out of his shell, sort to speak, Penny moved her head closer to his, planting her lips onto his in a brief but loving kiss, which Gumball quickly returned after getting the shock and thrill from it. All at once, the depression seemed to have been dispelled, almost enough for the man to turn his focus on Penny. It was the medicine she needed to cure her husband of his condition.

"You're Gumball." she told him with sincerity. "You think of a way. Just don't suggest things that would cost us millions."

The love Penny showed him reminded Gumball of his own love for his son. He was there to fill any void that Sunbeam was going through. No matter how old he got or how bad the days were, Gumball was always the one to bring him back to his full self. If anyone was to talk to Sunbeam on his pre-teen problems, then he was the one to do it.

Suddenly, the confidence swam right back to his heart. The spark had fired up and fuelled newfound hope that was lost earlier that day. His legs rose back up and soon, Gumball was given a renewed sense of fatherly power that could cheer his son up again.

Taking a look at the door, Gumball's face beamed with that old, grinning face that spelt pure determination. Clenching his fists, his heart soared and it felt like being given an extra life in this video game of parenthood.

"You're right!" he cheered. "I'll talk to him!" His revived enthusiasm earned him a giggle from Penny, who held both of his hands together with hers.

"That's the Gumball I love." she lovingly said.

"Did I ever tell you how grateful I am to have you as my wife?" asked Gumball.

"About a billion times. Actually, a billion and one, counting twelve hours ago."

"And I'll keep on saying it until we get buried up at Carrie's front yard, which is kind of morbid when you think about it…"

Once the two finally resolved their problems together, it was time for Gumball to get to work on talking with Sunbeam. That meant Penny could finally give herself some time off and let him end the night on a hopeful note.

"I'll prepare something small in the kitchen. Holler if you need me." she offered.

"Sure, dear." said Gumball before he turned around and prepared to enter his son's room.

As she watched Gumball enter the room, Penny mustered up a warm smile. For all of his huge faults and mistakes, he still proved to an excellent husband and a more excellent father to their two kids. There was no one else who could make her life this happier than he could. She knew exactly what she got into from becoming part of the Watterson family, a family most infamous for being the magnets of Elmore's worst troubles. And it was all worth it…

Gumball Watterson wasn't the perfect husband, but he was much more than that. He was the right husband.

Sunbeam's room was dark, only illuminated by the combination of a mere table lamp on his desk and the low dimming flashes of his lit fur. The green lighting from his fur wasn't common, only happening in low-light environments; something like glowing in the dark. Another by-product of his parents' genes, he supposed.

The bleak and slow strobing of his fur's lights also seemed to signify emotional stress. Usually, at his happiest moments, his fur would shine the brightest, often as bright as his mother's gelatine-like skin. Tonight, he clearly wasn't feeling any of it.

Sitting on his lone bed, the twelve-year-old sat quietly, unable to rest his head on his pillow. Lines of dried up fluid were stuck to his face after shedding a few tears. He cuddled himself to an upright position, wrapping himself up with his blanket as he moped.

In his head, he had all of these negative thoughts running in his head, added with the recent squabbling his parents were giving each other earlier. He couldn't even get up and head to the bathroom without triggering eye contact with his parents after his outburst at the table during dinner. All he wanted was uninterrupted sleep before he would have to deal with them the next morning, left alone to weep his regrets away in anguish.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Sunbeam's lone moment of isolation was put to an end when two gentle knocks on the door sounded off. Even the soft taps ticked him off, threatening his space and privacy. Irritated, Sunbeam threw the blanket over himself and refused to budge.

"Come on, Sunbeam. Open the door." The muffled voice of his dad from behind the door was left ignored.

"No." urged Sunbeam.

"Sunbeam. This isn't funny." warned Gumball. "You know your mother doesn't like it when you lock yourself in your room."

"Too bad." Sunbeam continued to defy his father's requests to enter. However, what followed was a brief moment of silence. Just a minute of no contact. You might think this meant that Gumball got the message, but Sunbeam knew his dad was not a quitter. If anything, the quietness meant that he had other ideas to get in the room and when it came to Gumball, he had plenty.

"I don't know, kid." mused the father with a snarky tone. "It'd be a disaster if I called your mom up here and have her bust the door open." All at once, the threat was made clear as the strands of Sunbeam's fur shot up in repulse, lighting back up in absolute alarm with a brilliant green glow. The tone of his father's voice told him that he was true to his word. With one loud scream, Gumball shouted out to his wife downstairs.

"Penny!"

"OKAY! OKAY!" Finally, Sunbeam gave up. He conceded his stubborn hold with sweat dropping down like a rainstorm. Though bitter about the trick, he knew better than to have his mother come up and discipline him again.

From the other side, Gumball smirked victoriously. Truth be told; he was glad Sunbeam gave in, not because he wanted him to do so, but mainly because he, too, wished to avoid an angry spat from his wife about the rules in the house.

"Yes, dear?!" called Penny. Gumball turned around to respond to her call from below.

"Nothing, honey! Just checking!" Afterwards, the door opened up with an audible creak. As Gumball peered in, he spotted his son, still sporting that bitter look on his face. Closing the door behind him, the father-son conversation could begin.

However, it didn't start well as Sunbeam spun away from his father's face.

"What do you want, Dad?" uttered Sunbeam rudely, unable to speak without looking at Gumball directly in the face.

"Now, son." sighed Gumball. "That's no way to talk to your father."

"I really don't want to talk about it, Dad." defended Sunbeam. Gumball remained quiet, unsure if he should keep going or just leave his son be.

"Come on, Sunbeam. Don't you want to have a little talk with your-?"

"No!" exclaimed Sunbeam, fed up with continuing. "I don't want to! My day has been bad enough!" Then, after a small burst of frustration, Sunbeam paused, regretting his rise in volume. Fearing that he may have upset his father, the boy groaned, lowering his time. "Please, Dad. You're just wasting your time."

Gumball wanted to oblige, not wanting to bother Sunbeam any longer. His hand was about to reach the doorknob so he could move out. But then, his heart began to tell him otherwise.

No, he thought. Keep going. You're never going to fix the problem if you're going to run. You're his father, so you be there for him!

The father in him kicked in, remembering the words of wisdom his own dad gave him when Sunbeam was about to be born to this wacky world, which was crazy given the fact Richard wasn't really the brightest man out there. But the advice stayed true to his heart, now about to be put to use for his pre-teen son.

"Son." he called with all of his fatherly love. "You're never going to solve your problems if you keep turning away from the people who want to help. Your Mom and I don't want to see you like this. We really love you, Sunbeam. We always have your back." He reached for the side of the bed, crouching down to Sunbeam's level. "So, please, tell me. Tell me only what you need to say."

The fury in Sunbeam grew until there was nothing more he could hold. The point of hiding his feelings from Gumball was meaningless to him, so he might as well get it all out of his chest.

"I messed up." growled Sunbeam, finally opening up and faced his father with an angered tone. "I screwed up the whole school, lost the chance to be Pearl's friend and am now in trouble with the Principal! I made myself the biggest screwball in all of Elmore and will very well be one in the next town we move to!

"Is that what you wanted me to say?!" With a mighty yell that could have alerted the whole household, Sunbeam made his father jump in sudden shock.

One look at Gumball's stunned face forced Sunbeam to retreat back away from him. Regret began shooting back into him as he felt a heavy sense of guilt for raising his voice. Worse still, he may have alerted his mother downstairs and woken up Raven in the other room. The whole family could very well have another uncomfortable night.

Honestly, however, Sunbeam couldn't care; too much crap was already shoved into him, so there was no point being resilient. Finally, the emotional breakpoint had snapped his heart, causing his eyes to tear up as he sobbed painfully. Silently, he sobbed underneath from behind his arms.

"I just wanted to be a good friend. I don't want people calling me a freak." whispered Sunbeam, remembering the harsh words the girls gave him at school.

Gumball's saddened look lingered while his son's back was faced towards him. The feeling of understanding taking its place as he felt Sunbeam's pain. As far as he had gone through, the former harbinger of chaos was no stranger to crude insults either. What his old friends used to call him when he was Sunbeam's age weren't exactly mild to begin with, let alone hurtful.

But there was one thing he could say about Sunbeam. He took in his breath and let it out, telling his son the truth.

"Yes." said Gumball. "You are a freak."

Sunbeam's heart sank deeper. Could his father really think he was some weird-looking fool who was nothing but a nuisance to him, just as his classmates thought so? It definitely must have been payback for being so rude to him, which made him feel guiltier than before.

But then, Gumball continued on, his tone lighter and cheerier.

And you know who else is a freak?" he continued. His fingers then wriggled with glee, his face forming a grin that spelled trouble for Sunbeam. When the boy looked at his father for a quick peek, it was too late to back out as Gumball threw his hands out to grab him. "Your old man!"

Sunbeam couldn't fly out in time as Gumball snatched him into his arms and the father began to tickle him at the stomach. Sunbeam couldn't break free from the tight grip his dad had, feeling the continuous tickling on his body and unable to stop laughing. Gumball chuckled on and continued his attack, making the boy laugh even more.

The tickling assault lasted for about a minute, with Sunbeam trying to resist to no avail. Gumball was not about to let him go until the boy outright declared his surrender. After a minute, the tickling came to an end.

"Okay! Stop!" begged Sunbeam amidst the laughing. Hearing his surrender, Gumball stopped the tickling, letting the boy reel and relax his body. After the funny feeling was gone, Sunbeam looked up at his father, both now exchanging warm smiles after such a hectic day. All feeling of guilt and shame were gone, vanished into thin air. Now, there was only warmth and love, just as everything should be.

Gumball placed his son back down to the bed, both now sitting side by side. He wanted to put the boy on his lap, but with Sunbeam at the age of twelve, he figured he wouldn't be too comfortable being treated like a toddler.

"Look at me, son." Gumball said sweetly. "Do you really think everyone is normal? Our next-door neighbour's a fidget spinner."

"And what about your Mom? Sure, she's beautiful. But it's not every day you see a fairy like her and a clumsy old runt like me being the parents of two special kids." He then nudged Sunbeam gently on the shoulder, causing the boy to chuckle. "And then, who else? Two twin skunks, a walking, talking Wi-Fi router, triplet peas in a pod, and..."

"A cat with green glowing fur and two wings?" continued Sunbeam, fluttering his wings.

"Yep! The most special one." Gumball agreed, giving the boy a soft, loving hug and the reminder that the very town they lived in was full of extraordinary beings. "See? We're all different. No one's perfect. In this town, normal isn't even in our dictionary." With a soothing palm on Sunbram's shoulder, the father of two continued to assure him of the qualities of life.

"You just need time to see the good side of yourself and show everyone how awesome you can be by being yourself."

"But… how can I do that without messing up?"

"Sunbeam. We're Wattersons. Trouble just finds us, no matter how hard we try." said Gumball. If the years of never-ending mayhem didn't stop him then, it wouldn't stop Sunbeam either. It was the family way of dealing with their problems by taking in the danger and riding the storm, no matter how often it happened. All that was important was to never give up, even when people are against them.

"And more importantly, we all make mistakes." he added. "Don't you know how much of a rascal I was when I was your age? Heck, your Uncle Darwin and I were the worst! Never a day without us messing with people.

"And yet, here I am. A proud father of two little munchkins." Mischief kicking in again, Gumball gave his son a noogie on the head, rubbing his fist gently onto his forehead.

"Dad…" laughed Sunbeam.

"All you have to do is embrace the trouble and make it yours!" the man cheered. But then, Sunbeam's face dropped again, gloomed by what a certain girl in school might have thought about him now. The downed look didn't go unnoticed by Gumball.

"You really like this Pearl girl, do 'ya?" asked Gumball. Sunbeam nodded sadly. "Then, it's not too late to try and try again." "As your Uncle Darwin once said;

"When the fish swims up the waterfall, you just kick your gills in and flush your tail out to brave the waves!"

"Or was it 'Kick your tail and flush your gills'…?" Gumball shrugged his shoulders, dismissing whether his brother's advices were even solid to begin with, despite being the happiest fish known to man. "Heh, the stuff he says never really bodes well."

"But... she probably won't even talk to me." sighed Sunbeam.

"Well, was she the one to call you a freak?" asked Gumball again. This time, Sunbeam shook his head from side to side. From his son's response, Gumball mustered an encouraging smile. "Then, chances are; she might not think so."

"Really?" beamed Sunbeam (pun not intended).

"You won't know unless you try." answered Gumball. It didn't really give Sunbeam the best of hope. Then again, he expected things weren't going to be the way he wanted. It's a start, he supposed.

"All I'm saying is; don't give up on your goals." explained Gumball again, using all the experience he had with his own pursuit of his one true love. "You know how many times I had to embarrass myself before I finally went out with your Mom? A couple hundred times! But it never stopped me from trying again and again, until we finally tied the knot." After reminiscing for a little while, Gumball then put his hand on the son he had raised from that love.

"Do your best and make the most of your situation. Sooner or later, the world will know what Sunbeam Watterson can do."

Sunbeam's eyes began to water again, but out of undying gratitude and assuring love for his father. To know how much faith his parents had for him, it touched him to the core and replenished his hopes, filling back the motivation he so longed for.

"Thanks, Dad." said Sunbeam. "I'm sorry about today."

"It's alright, son. You just needed time to unwind; that's all." assured Gumball. Now that the crisis had been resolved, it was time to settle other businesses. The fact remained that Sunbeam was still in hot water with the school, let alone his classmates.

"But for now, you need to get those grades up." reminded Gumball. "Just because I'm letting you off today, that doesn't mean you're out of it tomorrow." Sunbeam's confidence began to waver again. He still felt elated that things were fixed between him and his family, but there was still a lot more fixing he had to do. Who knew how much more could he take to mend the wrongs of the day?

"Promise your mother and me that you'll slow down and be more focused on your homework, okay?"

Reminded of the courage he had been given by his father, Sunbeam built up some of that Watterson pride, eager to make proper use of it to make things right.

"I'll try." said Sunbeam, unsure whether he would manage to make it through, but still devoted to give it a shot.

"That's my boy!" cheered Gumball. With the talk finally coming to an end, the man could let loose the father of all yawns. The amount of energy poured into his conversation really did a lot of damage to his state of mind.

"Now, get some sleep. You have a big day, tomorrow." told Gumball as he left for the door. Before he closed it and left his son to sleep, he gave Sunbeam one last look of faith, wishing him all the best. "Ace that test, and maybe, you'll have another shot at making people smile."

Sunbeam gave him a nod, tired just as much as his dad was. Throwing the blanket on top of him, the boy rested his head on the pillow, ready to drift off to whatever zany dream world he would end up in next.

"Goodnight, Dad." whispered Sunbeam.

"Night, son." wished Gumball as he closed the door and left Sunbeam to his slumber.

Once he was out, Gumball let out a huge breath of air, feeling a mixture of victory and extreme drowsiness, all at the same time. Then, from downstairs, Penny came up to find the man completely tired. She had heard the small eruptions of volume coming from Sunbeam's room, almost prompting her to spur into action. Alas, she held back, leaving it all up to Gumball to make his son feel much better.

After one good look at her husband, she could see a grin on his face, even as it was weakened by the need to sleep.

"How's he doing?" she asked. Gumball took a moment to yawn before answering her.

"He's good now, but he's still got a lot of weight on his shoulders." he told her. "I'll know he can make a difference by this week." Happy to hear the father-son dynamic had saved the night, Penny moved over to give Gumball a peck on the cheek.

"That's all I need to hear." she cheered quietly. "See? I said you could do it."

"I do what I do best." gloated Gumball.

"What? Make a fool of yourself?" teased Penny as they both made their way to their room for a good night's sleep.

"Hahaha... Very funny."

As the night reached its peak, Sunbeam was tucked in nicely in his blanket, closing his eyes to get the sleep he so needed. His heart was still heavy, worries abound about what would happen next in school.

Could he make a straight face and take the heat of his actions? Would there be a chance to apologize to those he had hurt? Could he survive long enough to make a comeback at his grades?

Would Pearl ever talk to him again?

He wasn't sure how he could take all of these things head on. However, knowing that he had a loving family and a loyal friend in Dawn Luna by his side, he was hopeful that things would turn out just fine.

His eyes shut and his mind emptied for the trip to dreamland, Sunbeam uttered a few words to himself to signify a change. A change to succeed beyond his imagination. If trouble ever came by, he would face it to the end. That would all start by keeping his head high and his heart in the right place.

"Tomorrow… things will be better."

TO BE CONTINUED