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For most people, it was a Friday afternoon like any other. Anais Watterson wasn't most people.
"Okay, I'm off to the library. See you later.", she called over to the couch without looking, where only Gumball was sitting.
"Alone again!? I mean, uhh...you need someone to walk you over there? Keep you some company?", he asked, trying and failing to act casual.
"Isn't Penny coming over any minute now?", Anais wondered.
"Oh yeah, but uhh, I can tell her to come later. Or that she should just wait until I'm back if she's already on her way.", Gumball suggested.
"*Sigh* Gumball, I'm just quickly taking the bus over to school and back in a few hours. I'm capable of taking care of myself.", Anais tried to convince him.
"You're also four.", her brother countered.
"Gumball-"
"I know, I know. You hate being treated like a little kid, sorry.", the blue cat held his open hands in front of him to show he meant no offense.
"Even though you technically are one.", he added under his breath.
"Come on, it will be fine. I've been doing this for weeks now and there was never any trouble."
"But what if there will be this time?", Gumball asked.
"It won't. Just have some faith in me.", Anais played her trump card.
"I do! It's just...I'm sorry. I can't help but worry about you.", he rubbed his arm.
"I know. That's what makes you a great brother.", she smiled, which he reciprocated.
"But considering I often rather have to take care of you instead of the other way around, nothing should happen. If you are able to survive outside on your own, even though just barely sometimes, then I should be completely safe out there.", she smirked.
"Oh, shut up! Just go already and be safe, nerd.", he tried to act annoyed, but still had to laugh.
"You too, dummy.", she responded before leaving already.
While school already ended at 1 pm, their library was open until many hours later and gave students the chance to spend time learning or doing their homework there.
In the last few weeks, Anais has taken the opportunity to make use of that whenever she felt like it, arguing that with all of the chaos going on inside the house, she often couldn't concentrate and required a calmer place to focus on her studies.
It was something the rest of the family really couldn't argue with, considering they've been the cause of said chaos pretty much every time and they knew how much Anais cared about her grades, so she went there a few times a week now.
Or so they thought.
Most of the time they were also correct about that. Since Anais didn't want it to be a complete lie that could be exposed if they looked into it only a bit, she actually went there since it really was very useful for studying in peace.
But it was also a cover story for what she was doing on days like this one.
Being far away from the house and having made sure that nobody was following her, Anais took a turn into the direction of the mall parking lot.
She didn't like lying to Gumball or anyone in her family really. The fact that his protests about her going alone came from a place of genuine worry and that he would be really unhappy if he found out she wasn't honest with him about where she was actually going only made it harder.
Fortunately, Anais was a good liar. She knew exactly what to say to people and how to act to get away with it. With how much she got used to it lately, that on the other hand made things easier.
Although thinking about it, none of these points really put her in a good light and was something to be proud of. But it's not like the world left her much of a choice. For all of their well-being, it was necessary.
Stopping inside the mall parking lot and having arrived exactly at her destination, she knocked at the door of the van in front of her.
It opened.
A figure in a shadowy black cloak, whose large single eye was the only visible part of him stepped in front of her.
"On time as always."
...
It was a few weeks ago that Anais was starting to have an existential crisis. She thought she wouldn't have to worry about those things until much later in life, but constantly having to take care of her family probably did the part of the aging that she physically couldn't achieve.
Which was one of the things that kicked it off in the first place. People always told her "Oh, you'll get older" or "bigger" whenever she was confronted with things that her youth and shortened size put her at a disadvantage with.
Then why did it feel like she wasn't growing older or bigger at all and was just stuck the way she currently was for ages? Like she was in the same grade in school for years already? She remembered a time where it didn't feel like that and she clearly grew, but at some point that just... stopped.
She could barely remember what it was like before she turned 4 even though that realistically was less than a year ago...right? And she didn't even realize this stagnation, not just she, but seemingly everyone was going through, until actually putting a conscious effort in thinking about it.
But that wasn't the only thing. The more she thought about it, the less sense their entire world in general made to her.
Why was the universe starting to fall apart when her dad got a job, only to magically fix itself again the moment he got fired? He wasn't made for work, but that was just ridiculous.
Why was her mom capable of beating up a T-Rex five times her size alongside other crazy feats of strength and athleticism that should be impossible for her to perform with the body she had?
How was Gumball's love for Darwin apparently enough for him to grow lungs, legs and grow to the same size as his brother? As closely bound as they were, this was not how evolution worked. At least not the way she learned it.
Anais wasn't a religious person. What she believed in was science, logic and facts that can be proven. So why wasn't she able to explain many of the things surrounding her with those? Was she wrong all along?
No, that couldn't be it. Some higher deity also wouldn't be able to explain the randomness of all the strange events that fell out of the norm. Those have been apparent all along and Anais just accepted them as a part of life so why, despite her intelligence, did she never question how they made absolutely no sense until recently?
Whatever the true answer to how exactly the world was working was, there had to be something beyond the laws of physics that was controlling things. Anais was sure there was some third option that she just hasn't discovered yet.
After thinking about it some more, Anais realized that the source of a surprising amount of reality-bending events that she and her family had been going through in the past was one specific place: The Awesome Store.
It was where Richard got that console for Gumball, which was somehow able to suck the entire world into its game. It was also where he got his fridge, which was actually a storage for memories and emotions. It was even where he got Darwin from who, as she concluded earlier, had some kind of evolutional ability that transcended the norm.
If that van sold so much stuff which broke reality in one way or another, Anais figured if there was one person that was more familiar with the nature of whatever was going on in their world, it might be the shopkeeper working there, since he obviously had to get that stuff somewhere.
One day, she went into the mall parking lot where the Awesome Store always seemed to be and knocked on the side door of the van.
It took a few seconds before someone opened it, but it wasn't the usual shopkeeper Anais saw before. She couldn't exactly tell who it was though since the figure was wearing a black cloak that hid almost everything about him, except for his one big eye.
He surprisingly sprung back a step after seeing that it was her who knocked on the door for some reason.
"You uhh...I mean, how can I be of service?", he tried to regain his composure and got back into a professional tone quickly.
"I just wanted to speak with the shopkeeper and ask him some questions.", Anais said.
"Well, you're talking to him.", the figure responded.
"You aren't the shopkeeper. I know what he looks like and he has two eyes.", Anais raised her eyebrows.
"The old shopkeeper retired. I'm the new guy. If you want to buy anything, I'm the guy you're talking to.", was the answer.
"Oh...well, not what I had planned, but I guess you have to be aware of everything then as well.", Anais figured.
"Aware?", the figure wondered.
"I mostly wanted to talk to you about the nature of the stuff that you sell. You do realize how supernatural all of it is for sure.
Where exactly do you get your items?
How are you allowed to sell this stuff?
What do you know about the nature of the world we are living in?"
With every sentence, the shopkeeper started getting more nervous about what his next move was going to be, seeming as if he was hiding something.
"I...sorry, store policy. I'm not allowed to talk about these things with anyone who isn't working here!", he tried to get out of the conversation.
"Well, considering my dad is your best customer and the items he got from this van have caused him and us a lot of trouble more often than not, I think I deserve some answers.", Anais crossed her arms.
"I'm...not allowed to give out information to minors either!", he backtracked.
"But you're allowed to sell minors your cursed items?", she wondered.
"...I have to leave now. Gotta get to an inspection out of town."
"Wait-"
"Alright, cya!", he didn't let her answer before closing the doors and quickly taking the steering wheel.
Wanting to get away from her, he activated the van and quickly drove off, hitting multiple walls and other cars in the process that made it seem to Anais like whoever was behind the wheel didn't actually have a lot of experience driving this van. Or any vehicle in general.
Anais sighed. Clearly this man was hiding something he didn't want her to find out. But she had no idea how to get him to spill the beans. Maybe she should keep looking if there wasn't someone else who could help her find an answer to her questions.
...
Against her better judgement, she decided to pay Mr. Small a visit after school to get a second opinion.
While he wasn't the most reliable when it came to living in reality, he was still a school counselor and she almost hoped that he could psychoanalyze how she was just overthinking everything and could provide her with his own fairy tale that was able to provide an explanation for all her questions if she was ready to suspend some disbelief.
Which only made it more frustrating when instead of doing that, he confirmed that he actually came to the same conclusions she did and was happy that someone was finally understanding him. He already went a bit further in that thought process than her with one of his solutions being that the world they were living in wasn't even real, but entirely fictional.
After that he went into some nonsense about how there's a conspiracy and something keeps erasing stuff, including people's memory that stuff was erased in the first place, but that's where it went too crazy for her and she decided to leave his office.
As much as Anais would have liked to treat his ramblings as just the hallucinations of a madman and arguably could do that to some degree, his theory about their world being fictional unfortunately made a lot more sense with everything completely inexplicable going on than she would've liked to admit.
Everyone has heard of these concepts before. The world they were living in was just an illusion or computer-generated simulation like in that one movie, that got more sequels than it should have.
Before, it seemed like utter nonsense to her and Mr. Small wasn't exactly a great source of reliability, but on the other hand, isn't that how all revolutionary minds were seen at first?
Visionary thinkers whose ideas changed the status quo of everything they knew forever usually got dismissed or ridiculed as insane in their time since the world just wasn't ready for them yet and it wasn't until much later when them being right all along became common knowledge, that they would be seen as the era-transcending geniuses they were.
Another day while walking the streets, Anais felt more at loss than ever and desperately touched everything she came across as a way to convince herself that what was surrounding her was real and not some illusion.
It all seemed normal at first but that stopped when she touched a wall and it didn't feel as solid as it should. More like some flat piece of cardboard.
Walking around it, Anais noticed that the wall didn't even seem three-dimensional like it was supposed to be, which only made things weirder.
Once she stepped in front of it again, the little bunny felt the wind getting stronger with each passing moment and it seemed to be directed right towards the wall.
Then she suddenly noticed a hole inside the wall that kept getting bigger for some reason until she could see that there was something grey inside it.
It wasn't long until the wind got so strong that it almost sent her flying towards the hole. That was when she noticed that it didn't come from behind her but from inside the hole and tried to suck her in.
The hole was now bigger than her and she could see nothing but grey static inside it as Anais had to hold on with her hands to the ground to not get sent flying inside it.
"ARRGH, HELP! WHAT IS GOING ON!?", she panicked.
She lost her grip and it seemed like she wouldn't be able to hold on.
Just when all hope seemed lost though, a van suddenly raced through the street and stopped not far from her. She would have recognized the shape and the red color of it everywhere.
Out of the back of the van, the dark-cloaked figure she met before opened the door and threw a metal claw at Anais.
It got a hold of her instantly and pulled her out of the zone of danger inside the van.
Once she fell through the back door, the shopkeeper closed it again and went back on the wheel, driving away before anything else could happen.
Anais needed a minute to take her breath to recover from the shock and what might just as well have been a near-death experience. Then she turned to the driver in front of her.
"What...WHAT WAS THAT!?"
"Uhh, that was me saving you from a fate worse than death. You're welcome. Don't worry about that static hole. It will close by itself soon. I've been through a similar experience before.", the figure answered casually.
"Oh no, no. You're not getting off the hook that easily this time! Pun not intended. You owe me some answers as to what is going on here!", Anais demanded.
"*Sigh*, I guess I do, since this is sort of my fault. I saw how close you were getting to the truth when you visited me a few days ago. I should've known that something like this would happen. And it will again if you aren't cooperating with what it wants.", the person sadly revealed.
"What are you talking about? Stop being so cryptic! Tell me what that was!", Anais answered, only more confused now after that reply.
And so he did.
...
First he revealed who he was under that cloak and explained his connection to her brothers, especially Gumball, to her.
Anais was already aware of that part since, while she never met him herself, at least as far as she could remember, Gumball never held back on sharing the interactions he had with his nemesis with her.
Those ranged from amusing to genuinely frightening over oddly affectionate to the point that it was really hard to tell on which terms they exactly were, but the middle point seemed to be the most frequent in their interactions.
That combined with the nemesis scheme made Anais unsure if she should run away from him the moment she got the chance, attack him or give him the benefit of the doubt.
But the fact that he just saved her, despite his earlier refusal to answer her questions, made her willing to hear him out.
After hearing his story on how he was trapped alone and helpless in the Void, all emergency thoughts Anais had about double-crossing him disappeared and she only felt bad for him.
Especially once she found out that was also the reason for his glitchy appearance which the Void permanently scarred him with, in combination with which she remembered someone with a shape similar to his but different colors having been in school with them quite a while ago, which Rob confirmed was him.
Once his identity and backstory were out of the way, the really difficult part came along in which Rob revealed to her how they were all just pieces in a TV show that is always hanging on a ledge and which part the Void played in all of it.
It wasn't that hard to convince Anais since she already mostly figured herself that something was really wrong with the world they were living in. While a TV show didn't cross her mind, the existence of the Void, its static appearance, what it did to Rob and how it tried to suck her in after she was starting to get behind it all added up to the unfortunate truth she couldn't deny.
If that was only the worst part of it all. Just that knowledge alone was enough to mess with her mind until long after the discovery, but the fact that not only couldn't she talk with anyone about it, but actively had to avoid them figuring it out was just the cherry on top of it all.
After she got home that day, she wanted nothing more than to confide in her brothers what an awful day she had, to let them hear about it and console her that they are real and so is their love for each other.
Gumball and Darwin were always better than her at mentally handling all the weirdness they were surrounded by. She assumed it was because they got involved with it on such a frequent basis that it was pretty much second nature to them at this point.
But of course, they were also the exact two people who were under no circumstances allowed to find out anything about the true nature of their world, or else said world would be doomed.
It really was the cruellest irony imaginable. Anais would have laughed about it if it wasn't so sad.
So she had to pretend everything was fine and this revelation wasn't completely breaking her mentally in front of them.
Keeping up a facade that she was barely able to hold together in front of the two people who were better than anyone at reading when she wasn't feeling well, would have been willing to help her through it more than anyone and that she wanted nothing more to know about it so she wouldn't be facing this alone.
But she couldn't.
Anais never hated being smart more than she did at that point. The usual issues she had to face thanks to that such as the pressure of high expectations in her or being unable to relate to other people and form friendships was a joke compared to this.
If only she wasn't so smart and wouldn't have been able to realize that something was wrong. If only she could continue to live in blissful ignorance like everyone else.
But it was too late for that now.
More than once after that day she woke up from a terrible nightmare in which the Void sucked her in before Rob could have saved her or Gumball and Darwin found out the truth and got put there themselves, blaming her as a result.
She didn't know which was worse. The times where her brothers woke up as a result or the ones where they didn't.
In the latter case, she had to pretend nothing happened to not have them question her, so the only thing she could do then was lie in the darkness of their room while those awful thoughts were still going through her head and desperately try to sleep in again.
In the former case, she had to make up a story on what the nightmare was about and betray their genuine care and worry about her by lying in their faces.
And despite her intelligence and maturity, she was still a 4 year-old and emotionally vulnerable, which made the burden of carrying this knowledge all by herself on top of all the other things she had on her plate even harder than it was already.
The only saving grace of it all was when Rob offered her that if she ever needed someone to talk to if it became too much, he would be there for her. Comfort wasn't something he was used to giving, but he could tell and understand how much it was all weighing down on her.
Ever since then, they made a plan where they would meet in the afternoon at least once a week, talk about how everything was proceeding for either of them, share stories of their day-to-day life and discuss whatever was on their mind regarding the show or the Void.
It actually helped having another person around to openly talk these things through with instead of keeping it all in the entire time. It certainly helped Anais getting through the rest of the week where she wasn't able to do that with anyone else.
Rob surprisingly enjoyed it too. Ever since Shady Man decided to leave, he has been rather lonely just handling everything by himself, so having Anais around at times was a nice change.
With neither of them having a lot of friends, it felt good to bond over such things with someone like-minded and they both got the chance to have a conversation partner who was more eloquent than most other folks in town, who usually couldn't be reasoned with too well for their taste.
Today, it was one of those days again where they had their afternoon meeting, which as always took place in the van so nobody would disturb them or find out about it.
...
"You know, I still have trouble wrapping my head around it all.", Anais smiled faintly while they were sitting together in the van.
"That doesn't surprise me. I've known for years at this point and I still get a headache when thinking about it too much.", Rob pointed out.
"Actually, I didn't mean that. It's just...back when you were just a normal guy in school with us you seemed so...inconspicuous.", Anais explained, trying to say it in a way that wouldn't sound too insulting.
"I remember my brothers couldn't even get your name correct, despite how easy it was."
"Ugh, don't remind me.", Rob frowned, glad that at least that aspect of his life was behind him now.
"It's just crazy that someone so seemingly insignificant back then now plays a major role in the maintenance of our entire reality and its secrets. Our world is small compared to yours.", Anais finished.
"Wow, you found out that we are all just living in a TV show, but the most unbelievable part about it is that someone like me could actually play an important part in all of it. I feel insulted.", Rob remarked, although he meant it more as friendly banter instead of having taken genuine offense.
They were familiar enough with each other at this point that they could joke around with each other like that and know when the other was doing it, so Anais snickered at his comment.
"Just makes me think. Who knows who else out there seems unimportant at first glance but is actually much more complex than that? I guess everyone out there could potentially lead a life far beyond my imagination.", Anais concluded.
"At least unlike your brother, you didn't need an entire episode focused on you exploring their lives before coming to that conclusion.", Rob smirked.
Anais raised an eyebrow, but didn't further push what he meant. She was used at this point to him dropping random hints at former plot points that she was unaware of, some of which just confused her.
"So...do you have like, parents around here? You're just 13 you said, so surely you shouldn't be living on your own, right?", Anais suddenly asked.
"I...haven't seen my biological parents for quite a while. There was someone else who was like a father to me, but he's not really around anymore either. But don't worry about me. I've been through things a lot worse than having to take care of myself as a minor, so this is nothing I can't easily handle at this point.", Rob tried to shrug it off.
"Alright, if you say so.", Anais answered, but Rob could tell that she was still not entirely convinced by his reassurance, so he decided to change the topic to something else.
"So, how have your brothers been doing? I haven't seen them in quite a while."
"They're okay. Just leading their usual chaotic lives. Although speaking of, they do seem to feel rather bad on how their last confrontation with you went.", Anais replied.
"They do?", Rob asked in surprise since they didn't do anything wrong back there and he was the one who attacked and tried to erase them, at least as far as they should be aware.
"Not at first, but after some time passed and the realization of what they think your fate is now hit them, they did feel somewhat guilty about it, Gumball especially.", Anais responded.
"*Sigh* I do kinda wish I could explain things to them and make sure they know I'm fine, but that is rather difficult without also bringing up the elephant in the room so...yeah.", Rob sadly looked down.
"I would like to tell them that I saw you around and that you're fine but well...I'm afraid that's going to end in a similar problem.", Anais agreed.
"I'm sure one day we are going to encounter each other again, but we can't rush that. With the nature of our world as it is, we have to let these things happen naturally.", Rob figured.
"Speaking of that, how comes the Void wanted to get rid of me once I was starting to catch on what was going on, but it seems to be okay with Mr. Small possessing a similar kind of knowledge?", Anais wondered.
"Mr. Small is generally considered a nutcase. You think anyone else would believe him if he started spreading his ideas? He is not a threat to it. You on the other hand have a reputation as a genius, so you might actually be able to convince people of the truth. At least that would be my guess.", Rob theorized.
"Makes sense. So...am I safe now? I still have the knowledge and should therefore be a threat to the Void.", Anais asked, being visibly uncomfortable at the idea that the Void could come back for her anytime.
"I think the issue is less you knowing, but more what you are doing with that knowledge. It tried to suck me in too when I was about to tell people about it and work against the general nature of how this world is working. But now I am doing the opposite and pretty much doing my best to follow its wishes and make sure everything is stable.
Since you are doing that too now by making sure your brothers don't find out instead of investigating it further, I guess the Void doesn't consider you a threat to its plans anymore and therefore left you alone ever since.", Rob concluded.
"I hope you're right.", Anais wanted to believe, but it was still worrying, along with another thought.
"But if I found out, who says that others can't too? And that they won't be as lucky as me since I had you to rescue me from it and only since I let you unintentionally know that I was catching on beforehand?"
"I doubt that for two reasons. First, you are a lot smarter and more observant than almost anyone else in this town. And second, you only started realizing it because your family is always in the center of the supernatural when anything of that sort happens.
With nobody else I can think of having these two factors meeting up perfectly for them, I don't think we have to worry about anyone else coming close to the truth anytime soon.", Rob tried to reassure her.
"Yeah, that sounds about right.", Anais concurred, feeling a little better about those fears now.
"They are all way too busy focusing on their own little lives. On their homework, their taxes, who to ask on a date, all that stuff which distracts them from thinking too much about anything which goes beyond that.", Rob continued.
"Ugh, tell me about it. I still remember how completely clueless Gumball was in terms of living in reality back when he wasn't with Penny yet and desperately tried to get her attention.", Anais remembered.
"Ha, he really is a hopeless romantic, isn't he?", Rob joined in.
"Eh, he's not all bad at it. More like a hopeless suitor. He even had a phase where he was talking about you in a manner reminding me of his earlier attempts with Penny in that regard.", Anais laughed.
"Yeah, I think I know what you're talking about. Gosh, that was weird. Actually made me find an appreciation for our nemesis dynamic I didn't have before when I saw how that was the alternative.", Rob thought back.
"Regarding that, can I tell you something crazy?", Anais asked.
"Oh, what is it?", Rob raised his eyebrow.
"I know I'm only four and people would probably say it's still too early for me to fully grasp it or I will get it when I'm older but...to be honest, even in the future, I can't see myself ever in a relationship with anyone that way. Romance...it just doesn't seem very appealing to me, you know? Hehe sorry, you probably think I'm weird for that-",
"I know you're weird, but not because of that.", Rob stopped her.
"I never really told anyone, but I actually feel the same way about it."
"Really?", Anais asked in surprise.
"Yeah, the concept of it just never really piqued my interest. I wouldn't mind going the rest of my life without it and don't think that's a bad thing, actually. After all, it also gives one the opportunity to pursue other things and put a bigger focus on them, which is definitely something I appreciate in my current position.
Although that doesn't mean I'm against getting close with people altogether. Having some friends and meaningful bonds with them would be nice.", Rob explained.
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I don't have many of those either. But with the two of us being able to relate to each other so well, I would say we could actually make for some decent friends.", Anais offered, surprised herself that she was able to voice that thought so confidently instead of acting awkward, like she often did when trying to befriend someone.
"Huh...yeah, I guess we do.", Rob smiled back at her.
"Besides, I really spend enough of my life playing the role of the enemy to people. Maybe it's time to go the opposite direction."
"I can't believe I never got to meet you back during your nemesis days with my brothers. Sure, those stories they've told me about sounded pretty intense, but also sort of fun.", Anais thought back.
"Would've surely been interesting if you had been a part of it too back then. But probably also a lot more difficult for me in a lot of my schemes if I had to deal with you too in all of them.", Rob entertained the idea.
"Dang right! I would've made your villain days a nightmare much more than Gumball did.", Anais laughed.
"Hehe, I'm not sure about that much, but sure.", Rob laughed along.
"Oh well, I think I should go. I've already been here for a few hours and don't want Gumball to worry any more than he does already.", Anais checked the clock, seeming sad that she had to leave.
"Good idea. We're going to see each other next week then. Nice to had you coming by. I had fun with you today.", Rob tried lifting her up and it seemed to work.
"Wow, thanks. I had fun with you too. Until next week.", she waved him goodbye after he let her out of the van and they smiled at each other once more before turning away.
Living with the knowledge of what their world really was, how dangerous it was and that it had to be kept from everyone else sure was a chore, but as long as there was someone they both could share that burden with, it wasn't all bad.