Chapter 3: Toon Force Panic

The day in Elmore had started like any other: sunny skies, the familiar bustle of chaotic nonsense, and Gumball Watterson loudly arguing with his adoptive brother Darwin about food choices.

"Smoothies are basically glorified juice! Milkshakes have ice cream, dude!" Gumball proclaimed, waving his arms dramatically as they walked down the sidewalk, oblivious to the ominous shift in the world around them.

"You just like sugar!" Darwin countered, his face scrunched up in disbelief. "Besides, you can have healthier options with smoothies, like-"

Darwin's words trailed off as a strange pressure dropped over them like a blanket. The vibrant colors of Elmore dulled, the usual energetic streets felt… stifled. An unnatural chill made the brothers stop in their tracks.

"Uh, Darwin?" Gumball said, his voice low and cautious now. "You feel that?"

Darwin nodded, his eyes wide with fear. "Yeah, I definitely feel that… What's going on?"

The sky above them seemed to ripple, like the surface of water disturbed by a stone. And then, without warning, it split open.

From the tear in reality stepped a being, Sage Blank, gliding forward with unnerving grace. His body wasn't human, but an ethereal figure, sharp yet smooth, his surface catching the faint light of the warped surroundings. His face was blank save for a single glowing question mark, which pulsed like an unsolved riddle.

Gumball's fur stood on end. "Who… who is that?" he whispered, his voice shaking.

Darwin, always the more cautious one, stepped back. "I don't know, but I don't think he's here to sell us cookies."

Sage Blank's voice echoed through the street, devoid of any warmth or emotion. "Gumball Watterson. Darwin Watterson. Your presence bends the very fabric of reality. This will no longer be tolerated."

A moment of pure, cold fear washed over the brothers, their instincts kicking in. Without thinking, Gumball grabbed Darwin's hand and screamed, "RUN!"

In true cartoon fashion, the two brothers bolted, their legs spinning in exaggerated circles as they fled down the street.

Their bodies, unknowingly fueled by the chaotic power of Toon Force, stretched and twisted in impossible ways, their arms and legs distorting into rubbery streaks as they dashed past the distorted homes and shops of Elmore.

Behind them, Sage Blank floated effortlessly, not chasing but closing the distance simply by warping the space around him. Every time Gumball and Darwin thought they were pulling ahead, they'd look back and see him still there, always the same distance behind, his presence folding the very reality they tried to escape.

"This isn't working!" Darwin panted, his lungs burning despite the impossibility of it. "We're going in circles!"

Gumball's heart raced as he realized Darwin was right. The streets they were sprinting through kept looping, stretching out impossibly before twisting back on themselves. Everything around them was bending, warping, no longer following the normal rules of their already strange world.

Sage Blank appeared in front of them suddenly, blinking into existence as the street itself folded in his favor. Gumball and Darwin skidded to a stop, their feet making loud screeching sounds as they crashed into each other in their panic.

Gumball clutched at his brother. "What do we do?! This guy's got us cornered!"

Darwin, his voice high-pitched with fear, looked around wildly. "I-I don't know! We've gotta fight him, I guess!"

"Fight him?! Are you crazy?!" Gumball squealed, backing away. "He's bending reality like it's made of Play-Doh!"

"We don't have a choice!" Darwin's voice cracked. "It's either that or we get turned into pancakes!"

Gumball clenched his fists, adrenaline pumping through his body. "Alright… fine! Let's do this!"

But as they readied themselves, something strange happened. Their fear and panic activated something deep within them, something they never quite understood. Toon Force, the absurd and unpredictable power that governed their very existence, began to manifest. Their bodies, subconsciously fueled by this force, shifted and warped in ways neither could comprehend.

Without thinking, Gumball raised his hands to his face, shielding his eyes in a desperate attempt to focus. When he lowered his hands, his two eyes now gleamed with an otherworldly intensity, The Six Eyes. His vision sharpened to an unimaginable degree, and though he still had only two eyes, the clarity of perception was beyond anything he had ever experienced.

"Whoa… this is new," Gumball muttered, glancing around. The world looked different, the layers of reality itself peeling back like an onion. 

Darwin, standing beside him, found his own body changing as well. Strange black markings began to snake up his arms and face, forming intricate patterns much like the cursed marks of Sukuna. His body twisted into exaggerated, dramatic poses, his limbs moving in ways that didn't make sense but somehow felt right.

"Uh, Gumball? What's happening to us?" Darwin asked, his voice trembling. "I don't even know what these marks are supposed to do!"

Gumball, his eyes darting wildly as he adjusted to his newfound clarity, shook his head. "I have no idea! I can see everything, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do with it!"

Sage Blank hovered silently, watching their frantic transformation with cold indifference. To him, this was just another display of desperate antics. Yet, the absurdity of it all kept his attention.

Gumball, with his Six Eyes pulsing, stood beside Darwin, whose cursed marks flickered with energy they couldn't control.

"Do we… look strong?" Darwin asked, striking another awkward pose, his body leaning in strange, exaggerated angles.

Gumball blinked, still trying to figure out how his new sight worked. "I mean, we look different, but I don't know if it's helping."

Sage Blank, unmoving, continued to observe, his quill poised like a judge's gavel, ready to deliver his final verdict. Yet, he remained silent, giving the brothers a moment longer, perhaps out of curiosity for how far their chaotic power would go.

In their frantic state, Gumball and Darwin continued trying to make sense of their newfound "abilities," mimicking gestures they'd seen in mangas, hoping they'd unlock some kind of secret strength.

"Is this how you do it?!" Gumball shouted, awkwardly holding his hands in front of his eyes as if trying to channel some hidden technique.

Darwin, now fully in the moment, made wild hand seals and roared, "I'm supposed to be super strong with these marks, right? RIGHT?!"

But for all their dramatic gestures, for all the ridiculous stances and poses, it was clear, they were still just Gumball and Darwin. Toon characters who, despite their boundless creativity and nonsense, were out of their depth.

Sage Blank's silent observation continued, unmoved by their antics. He knew what was coming next, but for now, he watched with cold fascination.

As Gumball and Darwin stood there, panting and panicked, unsure of what to do next, the weight of their situation began to sink in.

"This isn't over!" Gumball shouted, though the doubt in his voice betrayed his confidence. "We just… we just need to figure this out!"

Darwin, his body still twitching with strange, cursed energy, nodded rapidly. "Yeah! Maybe if we just keep trying, we'll unlock something… epic?"

They both stood ready, eyes wide with panic but still determined to fight back. But deep down, they knew that no matter how many dramatic poses they struck, or how intense Gumball's vision became, they were facing a power far beyond their world.