"Ow.....my...head"

For a moment, all that could be seen was a black void.

When his eyelids slowly opened, Gumball could not see pretty well at first.

But when his sight adjusted, he found himself lying on his stomach on the asphalt pavement.

Looking forward, a large brown stone building towered a few blocks down the road, the American flag waving close by. Then, he searched through he jeans to find the envelope labeled "Stream-It is guilty evidence" in sharpie.

"I can still make it". Remembering the reason he was out here in the first place, Gumball made an attempt to get up and make a beeline for the courthouse. But the moment he stood in his two feet, he felt a sharp jolt of pain, his legs beginning to wobble. Guessing it was the stress of getting up after a coma, he lifted his right foot and placed it forward. When he did the same with his left foot, he grabbed it and his face winced in pain as he suddenly fell over again.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed upon hitting the road. He then noticed noticed that his left ankle was in pain and hurt very badly. It wasn't dislocated, but it certainly was sprained and not fit for walking at all.

When he saw one of the plastic bullets lying next to him, he knew how he ended up in his current predicament. "No big deal. I'll just walk it off" he softly said to himself. Getting up again, he made another attempt to walk.

"Ow!"

That exclamation came when the pain in his foot caused him to trip over again.

"Foolish-child" spoke Elmore Stream-It through the TV channels, switching to any channel that was playing a scene of evil laughter.

"No! I won't give in!" snapped Gumball, trying a few more attempts to walk. "No!" he shouted every fall he suffered. He couldn't believe it. He was stopped in his tracks by a small simple injury inflicted from a toy.

"No!". Another attempt to stand up left him falling over. The senses around his foot erupted into so much pain every time he tried to stand on it. "No!". He was beginning to wish his mother was right there to tend to his ankle.

He tried getting up, face-plant.

"No!"

Another attempt to stand, face-plant.

"No!"

He got up only to face-plant.

"NO!"

Screaming in frustration, Gumball made one more attempt to stand up, the pain in his foot only sending his body crash-landing on the pavement once again.

He had lost. He had failed. Elmore's social media was doomed.

Lifting his face off the ground, Gumball's big eyes shimmered in pain and sadness, his lips starting to tremble. A tear left left his eye as he began to whimper. He didn't know how his crying was going to start; the pain in his ankle which hurt so badly, or the very situation before him ending up hopeless.

Hopeless.

That very word or any related to it was what triggered some wise words to echo into his mind.

"It's your perception that the situation is hopeless" echoed a familiar voice inside his head. "If you feel like your legs can't carry you anymore, it's never too late to get up again".

"Smith?" asked Gumball.

"No. I'm just a motivational voice who sounds like him" replied Smith's voice, before it switched to a feminine sounding voice. "I gotta go now. Some driver stuck in a traffic jam in Denver needs me. Just stay strong and save Elmore". And with the sound of shutting the door behind it, the motivational voice left to support someone else.

Gumball thought about those words for a moment.

"If you feel like your legs can't carry you anymore, it's never too late to get up again" he repeated to himself.

Then, he placed a hand on the ground for support.

Next, he placed another.

With both front paws on the ground, he pushed himself up and stood on his right foot.

Next, he stood on another.

"Ow! It hurts!" he winced in pain. But was that going to stop him? "No".

Finally, he pushed himself up from the ground with his legs to support him, his left ankle still in deep agonising pain. But he still didn't care.

"What?" said the TV set, speaking for Elmore Stream-It, who somehow heard his response.

"No". The 12-year old blue cat reiterated. Even if Stream-It was to triumph, he definitely was not gonna stand for it.

"I will never yield!" declared Gumball.

With that, Gumball put his left foot in front of his right one. "OW!". But the pain was not going to stop him. He put his right one in front, beginning to move forward.

"HANG ON, ELMORE! I'M COMING!" he screamed in determination.

While it hurt real bad, Gumball kept going. Groaning and wincing in pain each time his left foot touched the ground, he continued for the courthouse, slowly step-by-step.

His ears perked at the sound of tiny propellers whirring and electronic afterburners burning. Knowing he was about to be under attack from more of Stream-It and Hackner's hijacked weaponry, Gumball prepared to be hit by a car or attacked by a streak of more plastic bullets.

He wasn't going to stop.

Not here.

Not now.

Inside the courthouse...

"So, has the jury reached the verdict?" boomed the judge.

"Yes, your honour" replied a member of the jury. "It appears that the accusations made by the Stream-It community are misunderstood about the guidelines of FOTOL, as they're unwilling to accept the laws that dominate over them. Therefore, we find the defendant not guilty of any charges".

"No!" gasped Richard.

"This has got to be mistake!" objected Nicole, who had woken up calmed down during the break. "You don't understand!".

"Silence!" shouted the Judge. "Anyway, the court is officially in favour of Mike Stanwell". Everyone looked on as he lifted the gavel ready to dismiss the case; the DAO agents with a look of satisfaction and triumph, and the Elmore Stream-It community and parents of Elmore with a lot of shock and disbelief, void of speech. It would seem the case would end with no justice served when...

[BANG]

Every eye in the room widened at the sound of the doors bursting open. When they turned around, they saw a 12-year old blue cat between the double doors.

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO-Ouch!" screamed Gumball, his "no" in a low-pithed slow voice before breaking out of it when his left foot touched the floor, his face cringing in agonising pain.

"Gosh darn it, you stupid ankle! You ruined my slow-motion effect!" screamed Gumball, grabbing his left foot and hoping on his right one to stay upright. "I'd strangle you, but that would hurt me as much!". He looked around and saw everyone staring at him blankly. "I have something to say about this whole ordeal" he announced calmly, pointing his paw upwards.

"Listen kid..." began Stanwell. "...this case doesn't need any interference from childish games!".

"Hold it!" boomed the Judge, holding his hand up in that 'halt' indication. "Let the kid speak".

"Thank you, your honour" Gumball smiled thankfully. He let go of his aching foot and continued limping to the other end of the room, making soft high-pitched groans in pain several times. "I have (Ow!) some evi- (Ow! That hurts!) evidence that Elmore Str-(Ow!) Elmore Stream-It is the mastermind behind (Ouch!) these vague changes and must be (Ow! Ow! Ow!) brought to justice".

"Gumball?" asked Smith as the young blue cat limped to the front seats, his voice cracking as he groaned in agony. He finally made it to the front row and immediately sat down for relief, though he still had tears in his eyes.

"Gumball, what happened?" asked Nicole, noticing Gumball almost crying from pain as he clutched his foot.

"I got attacked by model planes, and they tripped me over and sprained my ankle" replied Gumball, his eyes big and tear-filled and his voice cracking on the verge of crying again.

"Oh my gosh. My poor baby" said Nicole as she scooped up Gumball for a comforting hug. "There there, sweetie. Mommy's here. It's okay" she said in her soothing motherly voice while she gently patted Gumball on the back to soothe his pain.

"Who did this?" asked Smith.

"Elmore Stream-It" answered Gumball softly.

For a moment, no one in the room merely breathed at what Gumball had just said. Some gasped, some chuckled. You can easily guess that was a correct indication of a divided crowd.

"And what evidence you present of this claim?" asked the Judge, breaking the silence. His question was out of a mix of curiosity or skepticism.

"I have not proof of that..." began Gumball. "...but of why". He held up the envelope containing the mentioned evidence. "These are screenshots from a private chat with Stream-It. They wanted to prevent me from spilling the beans and tried to attack me".

Mike Stanwell walked over to him. "Give me that" he requested. Not needing to speak to say yes, Gumball opened up the envelope and handed several pieces of printed paper to Stanwell, whose face went into a mixture of confusion, disbelief, skepticism, and shock.

"Let me take a look" said Smith, being handed the screenshots. "They look too real to be Shotofoped" he said in response to the images.

Upon hearing that, Nicole and Richard got up and took their peek at the papers in Smith's hand.

It looked all too real to Nicole and Richard. It was just too real to be edited or fabricated in anyway. Instantly believing it all to be true, Nicole's eyebrows lowered to show her rising anger. "They dared to harm my Gummypuss!? THOSE SICK-MINDED PIECES OF...". She was cut off from blowing up again when she suddenly bent down and rested her head on the side of Smith, purring as her big happy eyes stared up at the robot, who's hands were laying between her ears. Gumball just stared awestruck.

"I'll tell you about it later" said Smith, noticing Gumball's confusion.

"Anyway, these screenshots could be edited" said Mike Stanwell with skepticism. "Do you have any reason why we should believe what you're saying?"

"As a matter of fact, I do" responded Gumball. He got up and landed on his feet, only to fall over once more. "Dad, can you please lift me up in front of everyone so I can make my point? "

"Sure, son" replied Richard. He picked up Gumball, walked in front of the entire crowd and raised him high so everyone could see the young feline perfectly.

"Do you think I would limp here on one foot if it wasn't that desperate?" he began. "In fact, that wasn't the only struggle I had trying to get here! My little sister had to fight HacknerJ35.0 on the computer, we had to use a rocket made from cheap tools and soda bottles, we crash landed, I almost lost my brother whose still laying on the street with an injury that smells like strawberry ice cream, and I took a thousand toy bullets, which sprained my ankle as you can see! I know you still won't believe me, as I'm only a kid! But if I didn't endure all that, I wouldn't be here would I? It was because I wanted to protect, not only myself, but also those I care about from the stupidity of Elmore Stream-It! My school pals, my parents, my little sister, and my best friend!"

His audience pondered, conflicted on wether to believe the Kitty or not.

"Well, he wouldn't have made it on one foot if it wasn't real" said one in the crowd.

"I will agree on that" agreed another.

"And further more..." continued Gumball. "Their need for my action has sent me on a journey that, along with the wise words of someone I recently met, has told me a valuable lesson".

"And what would that be?" asked the Judge.

"That if you feel like your legs can't carry you anymore, it's never too late to get up again" he finished.

Smith's mechanical rotating mouth let off a smile.

"That's my boy" said Nicole, finishing her purring as she fully calmed down.

Everyone paused to process Gumball's monologue.

"I'd say that was cheesy but well-meaning" they whispered amongst themselves.

"The tone in his voice sounded legit"

"He wouldn't have gotten here on one foot if it was fake. I'd agree in that"

"Very fine speech for a....." said the Judge, breaking the silence before pausing.

"I'm twelve" corrected Gumball.

"For a twelve year old" finished the Judge.

"Your honour..." spoke Mike Stanwell. "...while I still see some signs of fabrication in these screenshots, this kid's words and genuine pain in his emotions have led us to believe that we were wrong to trust Elmore Stream-It without our supervision. Their lack of care, combined with conspiring with a dangerous hacker to harm a minor, is truly unacceptable. We will see to it that they pay for their crimes".

"Indeed" responded the Judge. "Has the jury reached the verdict?"

"Yes, your honour" said a member of the jury. "While there is doubt about the evidence, it would sound very likely that this child must've been through a lot if this is indeed the truth, leaving Elmore Steam-It guilty, regardless if they're not here to accept their defeat".

"Very well" boomed the Judge. "Case dismissed". And, with one hammer of the gavel, the case was surely dismissed at last.

Cheering out of victory was heard from both sides of the room.

A few moments later, outside the entrance of the building.

"Hello, sir, we need to talk" spoke Mike Stanwell into the cellphone. "Yes. I'm standing right in front of the damage you and HacknerJ35.0 inflicted on this city. Even worse, you intentionally put the life of a child in danger. Just to protect your interests? You acted like he was committing government espionage when he was only a minor aiming to expose your lack of attention to FOTOL, which you said you'd comply with to ensure child safety. I can't believe you. Not only did you use bots take charge of security, but you attempted to lay harm on a twelve-year old. I will not have this. Tomorrow, I will be right at your headquarters and you'd better prepare to take a $50,000,000 hit. Perhaps that'll get you to think about your crimes and deceit". A loud dramatic no was heard from the phone before Stanwell hang up. Then he turned to Smith and the Wattersons. "They'll get what's coming to them".

"Thanks" Nicole said. "I'm truly sorry about that threat I gave you earlier".

"It's alright" replied Mike. "I don't even know why we still hired that guy anyway if he's gonna take everything too seriously".

Everyone shared a laugh before Smith said "This doesn't alter my view of FOTOL, but I guess I owe you an apology".

Mike just gave a look that read "Thanks and apology accepted", and he turned away for his car.

Back at the Wattersons' house...

"Just rest it here" said Nicole as Gumball put his left foot on the couch, with an ice pack on it. "It should be fit for walking in an hour, but try to avoid running for the rest of the day".

"Thanks. mom" said Gumball.

"You're welcome, sweetie" replied Nicole, gently stroking Gumball on the head. "But I don't think you should trust Elmore Stream-It anymore".

"Yeah, you're right" said Gumball. "In fact, I'm gonna announce my departure from it to stick it in their sorry faces".

"Sorry faces?" joked Darwin. "I thought their heart was too full of $10 million to feel remorse".

Gumball and Darwin chuckled before the former added "Maybe they do feel something; greed". They laughed some more as Gumball read his Elmore Plus announcement while trying it. "I will officially be leaving Elmore Stream-It for their deception and attempt to end my life. If they don't like my decision, they can go screw themselves".

Once he posted it, a notification popped up. It was a reply from Elmore Stream-It.

It read:

We strongly recommend you change your mind about your decision to terminate your account. Having already lost $50 million out of our $10 billion budget, we cannot loose any more of what we have. We'll give you and your family a free subscription of our VOD steaming-service, Stream-It Platinum, if you're able to accept our deepest apologies and continue to rely on our services. Thank you.

After the Wattersons gave it some thought, a reply was given to Elmore Stream-It, with Gumball reading it aloud. "Alright. But it better be worth it".

Another reply:

Thank you for accepting our apology and forgiving us for our crimes. We surely hope you continue to enjoy using our website and it's services. And you won't regret Platinum.

"Are you sure we'll need ad-free videos and offline downloads?" asked Nicole, unsure if they should still be trusting Stream-It.

"Could be better than their music service" said Richard.

Kyle walked into the room with a bag packed of his belongings, ready to leave with Smith. "After all that I've seen today, I will not doubt or question anything again" he declared, referring to everything that's happened from the FOTOL incident to a little girl being able to use a computer and combat a hacker.

"So, did you have fun babysitting the kids?" asked Richard.

"It didn't start off in my taste, but it was kinda fun in the end" answered Kyle. He has to admit he enjoyed helping the kids in their mission to combat Stream-It.

"So will you come back when we need you again?" Gumball and Darwin asked in unison, once again going over the top with their cute sparkly-eyed faces.

"No..............Well, I'll think about it" replied Kyle as he walked out the door.

"He'll be back" smiled Smith.

"Thanks for helping us fight back by the way" thanked Nicole.

"I'll always be grateful for your wise and helpful speech yesterday" added Gumball.

"Don't mention it" replied Smith. "Always happy to help any family out of a jam".

"So, fist-bump?". Gumball reached his fist out.

"Uh-uh". Smith abruptly stopped him before he tied a small cushion on his hand. "Don't wanna burn your paw again".

Gumball smiled. And at that, they shared a fist-bump for goodbye.

"See ya around, kid" waved Smith as he and Kyle made their way to his vehicle.

"Bye" waved the Wattersons in unison.

The Wattersons watched the car as it left the street bound for a destination beyond them.

This whole ordeal was finally over.

Later in the evening...

"What's with this Platinum original stuff?" complained Richard, childishly unsatisfied with the original movies and TV programming on Stream-It Platinum. "Eh, it's still better than their music service".

"Richard, can you please stop complaining? They're just not very high-budget" said Nicole, annoyed that her husband wasn't very grateful for their free subscription.

Richard, childishly fearing that his annoying complaining would set off Nicole's anger, tried his version of Smith's martial arts move. "Focus" he thought to himself as he pulled his arm back, then pushed it forward to the back of his wife's head. And upon impact...

"OW! Richard..." groaned Nicole, feeling the back of her head, which felt like it was just hit very hard by an out of control hand.

Knowing he still needs to practice 'the Nighty-Night Kitty', Richard looked the the right and pretended to whistle, acting as if he was minding his own business. "It was a wasp?" he said.

Nicole sighed at her husband's excuse.

Up in the kids' room...

"And done" announced Gumball, pleased that his edit of Tobias' video was finally on Stream-It.

"We still need to mark it" said Darwin.

"I got it" piped in Anais, standing up on the chair to mark the video. "Yep. Not for kids".

"YAY" cheered Gumball and Darwin before the latter asked "Wait, how did you know how to mark it?"

"Observing the content in the video and looking at the DAO's latest clarification made following the recent legal case, I was able to distinguish this as a video appropriately not made for kids" answered Anais.

"Oh" said Gumball.

[ding]

"Oh, notification" gasped Gumball, opening up to a post on Elmore Plus.

The name of the user owning it? Elmore Stream-It Official.

"What the what?" he exclaimed.

This isn't over, kid. I will have my vengeance. Make the most of this week. Because you won't like what's coming next.

Anais typed a reply instantly. "Next time, check to make sure your message is private".

Sure enough, people started making repetitive replies to Stream-It's threat like "WTF?", "Threatening children as usual I see?", "You really haven't changed at all have you?", and "Wow. The DAO would love to hear about this" among others.

Stream-It was quick to reply with "I'm afraid you got our message all wrong. It was actually a reference to a lost trend of video memes. Whoever reuploads it first gets a Golden Clickpoint".

Everyone, being the idiots they are, replied with messages like "I'm getting that clip up first", "That prize is mine", and "Can't wait to see what that video looked like".

Anais smirked with triumph once again.

"That was so awesome how we defeated him and HacknerJ35.0" said Darwin.

"And it was all because of my heroism" added Gumball. Anais, noticing how her big brother clearly forgot about her, just stamped her little left foot on Gumball's right one.

"OW!" shouted Gumball, holding his foot in pain. "Anais, that was my one good foot!"

"Whoops. Clumsy me" she smirked sarcastically, crossing her arms. Gumball made a threatening feline hiss at her, his pupils constricted and cat-like, but Anais wasn't intimidated.

Then, a confused Darwin asked "What's a Golden Clickpoint?", unsure if it's even a thing.

The end.