The sound of rubber colliding with flesh rang through the air, and everyone on the sidelines winced at the sight. The ball had whizzed right towards Tug, and the blonde was a sitting duck. That was until Baxter threw himself in front of the older boy, taking a hit right to the face. He'd fallen back with a grunt of pain.
Tug caught the younger boy and saw blood leaking from his nose. "Oh crap, he's bleeding!" Tug said worriedly. "Time out, we got a man down over here!" Though calling a time out hardly seemed necessary. Everyone had stopped when they saw Baxter get hit. It didn't take a doctor to see that Baxter was hurt. He got hit hard enough to get knocked off his feet.
Scrappy called a time out and the boys began crowding around Baxter. Jake quickly made his way over. This was definitely not how he wanted to start off this game. Miguel lifted Baxter's head upwards. "Keep your head up hermano." He instructed. "I'll run back and get the first aid kit."
"No, I'm fine. I can keep playing." Baxter said.
Jake rolled his eyes. "Dude, you got sniped just now. You're lucky you just got off with a nose bleed. You're not going back in anytime soon. Besides, you're out. Unless someone catches the ball we can afford to have you sit out." He said.
"Captain Jester, I'll run inside and get the first aid kit." Ms. Grimwood said.
Jake was about to thank her, but then felt Tug place a hand on his shoulder. He looked towards the blonde who shook his head. A look of realization passed over his face. Knowing the ghoul school their first aid kit would be some rusty scissors and used bandages. "On second thought, maybe we should use out own first aid kid. Its military grade, you know?"
He hoped he had not offended her. She really was a nice and caring women, albeit a bit creepy at times. The woman simply offered sympathetic smile and nodded. "I'll go and fetch it. You stay here with the boys. I suppose the game can continue while we tend to Cadet Baxter's injuries." Colonel Calloway said.
The ghoul girls also looked concerned. While they had a rivalry with the boys, they had never actually wanted to see them get hurt. And of all the Calloway Cadets, Baxter was the one who they seemed to dislike the least. "Is he okay?" Tanis asked worriedly.
"He'll be fine." Ms. Grimwood assured.
Elsa looked guilty. She knew she was stronger than your average monster, but even when she used her full strength she had never injured the boys before. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
Jake looked over towards her. "Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. It's not like you aimed for his face. You were in the moment, you saw a shot, and you took it. Besides, he'll be fine. Right kid." He said nudging the young boy who still had his head back.
"Uh-huh." Baxter said giving them a thumbs up.
Elsa still looked a bit guilty, but nodded. Calloway walked off and went to go get the first aid kit, while Jake took Baxter off to the sidelines. Scrappy cleared his throat. "Okay then, are you all ready to proceed?" He asked.
Tug and Sibella both nodded. They both kept the balls they had on their side and prepared to pick up where they left off. Tug looked towards the others. "Alright boys, they took down one of our own. Now we avenge him."
"They're going to be playing harder." Sibella said. "Keep your guard up and watch out for anything suspicious. They may not have the physical strength to keep up with most of us, but their sneaky. Keep both eyes open and watch closely."
Scrappy blew the whistle, and the two teams were at it again. The boys, who held three of the balls, were tossing them back and forth with one another. "Fast feet, quick hands!" Tug said.
Sibella raised her hand. "Their trying to confuse us, stay focus, look for an opening." Miguel who was about to catch a ball suddenly slipped. Elsa and Phantasma who were both holding balls took this as the opening and moved in. "No! Hold on!" Sibella yelled.
It was too late. They'd both thrown the balls towards Miguel who suddenly grew a smirk on his face. He quickly rolled out of the way and the balls merely bounced off the ground. Grunt quickly picked them both up and Jamal tossed one of his balls to Miguel. The four of them and brought their arms back and prepared to hurl the balls at them. "Tanis!" Tug shouted.
The little mummy girl froze. There was no way she could dodge all five balls if they were thrown at her. She wasn't nearly as fast as Winnie or Sibella, and even they might not have been able to pull it off. "Winnie! Phantasma!" Sibella shouted.
The werewolf and ghost both headed over towards Tanis, prepared to grab her out of the way or at least grab as many balls as they could to even the odds. It ended up being pointless however, because when the boys fired, all five balls headed right towards Sibella. "Crap! It's a trap!" Winnie yelled.
Sibella whipped her head back around and grew wide eyed. She quickly ducked, dodging the first ball, and managed to side stepped the second. The third however nailed her arm. "Sorry Sibella, but you're out." Scrappy said.
"Nice!" Jake said looking proud.
Tug wore a smirk on his face. Not only was a fake out a smart strategy, but taking out the girl's leader was icing on the cake. He knew that if they'd all pretended to go for Tanis, the girls would react without thinking. They were always protective of their youngest member, and he knew he'd be able to take advantage of that.
The ghouls couldn't believe it. How had they fallen for such a basic trick? As soon as Tanis was called as a target, they seemed to instinctively move to protect the girl. Sibella walked to the sideline with a scowl on her face. She wasn't sure if she was mad that they had pulled something like that, or mad that she hadn't thought of it first. "Winnie." Sieblla called as she made her way to the bench.
The werewolf nodded. She and the rest of the girls all knew that after Sibella, Winnie was the next one in charge. "Don't fall for that tactic twice. No matter what name they call, everyone be on their toes. And Tanis, don't freeze up this time. Be ready."
Tanis nodded feeling a bit guilty. Had she been able to dodge before, Sibella would probably still be in. But she shook it off. She couldn't let herself be distracted now. She had to make up for her mistake.
The second Sibella stepped foot off the field, the match continued. The girls this time had all the balls, and decided to take full advantage of it. "Let's give them a taste of their own medicine." Winnie said smirking. They all nodded and too aim towards Tug.
"Watch it, their copying our play!" Tug warned.
They girls all pulled their arms back and launched the balls towards Grunt. The large boy merely grew a smirk on his face. He grabbed the first two balls, but got hit by the others. "Phantasma and Elsa are out!" Scrappy said.
Sibella gritted her teeth, and Phantasma and Elsa both looked disappointed. They had thought for sure that they'd take Grunt out. They'd never expected him to actually catch any of them. Grunt was smiling to himself. They knew that they'd copy their strategy, and since he was the biggest guy, he was an obvious target.
But being big was also an advantage for him. Even if there were five balls flying towards him, if he could just managed to get a hold of one or two, he could take someone out with him. "Grunt is also out, but since he caught two before getting hit, that means Baxter gets to join back in." Scrappy said turning towards the younger boy.
Baxter was still sitting on the bench leaning his head back. "He's still got a nose bleed, so he's not going to be able to join yet. You may as well just let Grunt stay in since he's going back anyway." Jake said with a confident smile.
Scrappy sighed. While he was rooting for the girls, he couldn't be an unfair referee. And Jake had a point. "Fine. Grunt stays in." He said disappointingly.
Grunt smirked and pumped his fist as Phantasma and Elsa made their way to the sidelines. "Sorry Sibella." Elsa said looking saddened.
"They tricked us good." Phantasma said still smiling, though not a chuckle escaped her lips. "It looks like it's all up to Winnie and Tanis now."
Sibella simply narrowed her eyes. "It's fine." She said trying to hide her concern. It definitely didn't look good for them this round. She hated to admit it, but they were probably going to lose. Tanis wasn't bad, but she was nothing to brag about. And Winnie was the most athletic of the group, but even she couldn't take on these numbers.
Tug smiled and they picked up the other dodge balls. "Take out Winnie, she's the one we need to worry about. After her Tanis will be easy pickings." He instructed. Winnie prepared to move. She wasn't sure if they were really aiming for her, or just faking her out and going for Tanis. It was nerve wrecking.
Miguel threw first, aiming for Winnie. She jumped to the side, but Tug threw another where she was headed. Winnie rolled on the ground barely avoiding it, and glanced up just in time to see two more heading right for her. She braced herself just before she got hit. "Winnie is out!" Scrappy said. Winnie growled and walked off the field, kicking the dirt in anger.
Tanis now stood alone against the four boys. She looked terrified. "Tanis, just do your best! I know you can pull this off!" Shaggy called. He then turned towards Scooby. "Like, I think she's done for pal. These are some hard odds to play against." Scooby nodded reluctantly.
"Darn it…" Sibella said balling her fist up.
Jake raised his fist. "Nice job guys! Just one more left! Wait her out and be cautious!" He advised. He looked over at Tanis who nervously picked up one of the balls. Jake sighed. He knew Tanis was technically the enemy, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl.
Tanis threw one of the balls at them, but Tug easily knocked them away with the ball he was holding. "Give it up Tanis." Tug said sternly. He didn't find any fun in picking on the girl, but he wasn't about to let her cost them the win.
"N-no! I won't give up!" She shouted she threw another ball but Miguel easily dodged. Tanis picked up the last ball on her side. She couldn't just give up. The others were counting on her. She threw it at Grunt as hard as she could, and the larger boy almost looked like he'd been caught off guards. But Jamal knocked it away with his own.
Tanis looked down disappointed. If she had been able to take one of them out she might have stood a chance. The four boys took aim towards her. It was lack a pack of lions closing in on a wounded gazelle. "She gave it her best shot." Winnie said sighing.
"We'll come back in the second round." Sibella said sternly.
The boys all threw at her, and Tanis braced herself. "Tanis! Bandages!" Phantasma shouted at the top of her lungs. Tanis suddenly opened her eyes and shot her bandages out. She grabbed two of the balls from the air, and suddenly spun around. As she spun the two other balls just barely missed her.
When she finished turning she released the ball she caught with her bandages. They whizzed across the field and slammed into Grunt and Jamal. Everyone was quiet for a second. "What just… what just happened?" Jake asked looking totally confused. He had SEEN what happened of course, but he couldn't believe it.
"Wha… the Ghoul School wins round one." Scrappy said in disbelief himself. "Tanis caught the ball thrown by Tug and Miguel, so they were out, and she hit Grunt and Jamal, so their also out. So Tanis has taken round one." He explained.
The girls ran out to the field as Tanis fell back onto her butt. She couldn't believe it, she had actually won. She'd heard Phantasma yell 'bandages', and it was just like instinct to her. Elsa suddenly hoisted the girl up into the air. "You did it! You did it! You won Tanis!"
"Way to go small fry!" Winnie said before howling.
Phantasma floated up and patted her head. "Knew you could do it." She said giggling. She and Tanis had been practicing that move for days now.
Sibella smiled. "Good job Tanis. You've won us the first round. But we can't get relaxed yet. There are still two more to go." She said.
The boys walked back to their bench with blank faces. Jake simply sat there with his arms crossed and a scowl. The colonel suddenly approached carrying a first aid kit. "Okay, I'm back with the… what the? What happened? Is the first round over? Who won?" He asked.
None of them answered. Jake stood up and looked over the boys with a glare. "Would anyone like to share what you did wrong just now?" He asked. "And I don't want to hear that they got lucky, or that you didn't expect it. I want to know what YOU did wrong just now."
They all looked up at him with serious faces. Tug was the one to answer. "We got careless." He said bluntly. "We let out guard down and gave away the game. It's our fault." Colonel Calloway looked surprised. Usually when they lost the game they'd come up with some excuse for why. But this time they just… admitted it. "It won't happen again." He said sternly.
Colonel Calloway looked at the boys. They all had looks of determination in their eyes. Baxter stood up from the bench and snorted. "I don't need the first aid, the bleeding stopped and I'm ready to get back in." He said trying to look as tough as possible.
"You sure runt? I'm sure they'd give you a few minutes if you still needed it?" Jake asked.
He shook his head. "I'll be fine." He said. He needed to get back out there and get them back in the game. If he hadn't of gotten out last game Tanis tactic wouldn't have worked. He needed to redeem himself. "Let's do this guys." They turned back around and headed for the field.
Jake turned towards Colonel Calloway. "Did you want to say anything to them sir?" He asked.
"No, you have it under control." Calloway said.
Scrappy looked towards both teams as Scooby set the balls back onto the field. "Are both teams ready for round two?" Scrappy asked.
"Ready." Sibella said smiling.
"Ready." Tug said cracking his knuckles.
"Alright, then, go!"
Both teams once again charged towards the middle of the field. The girls grabbed three of the balls, while the boys grabbed the others. Winnie smiled and prepared to throw the one she had managed to grab. "Winnie!" Miguel shouted before clapping as loudly as he could. Winnie flinched slightly dropping the ball which rolled over to their side. "Thanks." He said smirking.
Winnie looked stunned for a few moments before growling. As tough as she was, she was still a canine, and there were certain things ingrained into her DNA. Flinching at loud noises like sudden claps or lightening were one of them. "Why you little- Whoa?!"
Baxter threw his ball at her. It sailed through the air with surprising speed, and though she tried to move, it grazed her arm. "Winnie is out!" Scrappy said. He'd almost missed what had happened since both he and Scooby had jumped at the loud noise. Even Duncan had lowered his head slightly afraid, though calmed down as Jake scratched him behind the ears.
Sibella scowled. "Hey! That's not fair! He did that on purpose! To distract her!" She argued.
"Is clapping suddenly against the rules senorita?" Miguel asked smirking. "Because last time I checked, there was nothing in the rule books against it. We can make as much noise as we want."
"He's right. If I banned clapping I'd have to band talking, snapping, or any type of noise making. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. Winnie is still out." Scrappy said. Winnie sighed and began making her way the sidelines.
Sibella hissed towards the boys who didn't even bother cheering over their small victory. They were totally focusing on winning the this round. Tug eyed the rest of the girls carefully. They may have been at a physical disadvantage since they were monsters, but just about every monster had a weakness. And they could exploit them. He glanced towards Jamal, who nodded.
"Hey Phantasma." The ghost girl looked towards Jamal who was now standing in the middle of the field with his pants pulled up to his stomach, and making the dumbest possible face he could muster. Phantasma stared at him for about five seconds, then a wide smile broke out onto her face. She covered her mouth to try and keep from laughing.
Winnie growled from the sidelines. "Phanty! Focus!" She shouted.
Phantasma nodded and looked back up, but once again had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Even Tanis had to choke down a chuckle. "Their using little tricks to throw us off our game! Take him out now!" Sibella shouted angrily as she hurled her ball at Jamal.
Elsa took aim and threw hers as well. Jamal jumped off to the side, making a silly whooping noise as he did. Phantasma could no longer contain her laughter. She grabbed her sides and kneeled over, howling in laughter. "HAHAHAHAHA! L-Look at his face! He looks so ridiculous!" She said as tears began forming in her eyes.
"Phanty! Knock it off! We need to-" Sibella gasped and leaned back as Baxter threw another ball at her. It sailed over her head just barely missing her.
The ball that Grunt through however didn't miss, passing right through Phantasma who was still laughing hysterically. "Phantasma is out!" Scrappy said. The ghost girl floated off to the sidelines, seemingly unaware of the annoyed and angry glares her teammates were sending her. Sibella pinched the bridge of her nose.
At least they had all of the balls now. "Elsa, Tanis, we need to take out Baxter first. He's the most dangerous." She said. The other two nodded.
The boys still didn't break their serious faces. In fact, they broke into glares. And they were glaring right at Tanis. "W-why are they all staring at me?" She asked nervously.
Sibella just kept her eyes trained on them. They may have been staring down Tanis, but they were clearly ready to move at any moment. And with their smaller number, they couldn't just randomly throw at them. "Ignore it Tanis." She said. "It's just another trick."
Tanis tried, but she could feel their stares boring into her. She glanced between them. The scariest looking one was definitely Grunt. But the one who was bothering her the most was Baxter. She kept looking down at her feet, but reminded herself that she needed to keep an eye on them. Whenever she looked up however, she kept meeting his eyes.
Baxter seemed just as nervous. His stare wasn't as stern and serious as the others. In fact he was struggling to keep eye contact, and his cheeks were burning red. Why had Tug had to come up with this plan? Sure they all knew Tanis was the shy one of the group, and she would shrink under their collective gaze, but this wasn't any easier for him than it was for her.
"Get him!" Sibella shouted.
Both of the youngest members, snapped out of their gaze. Sibella had thrown her ball, and Elsa had thrown two, both aiming at Baxter. Tanis who had reacted late threw hers. "Now!" Tug shouted. Jamal rushed forward tackling Baxter out of the way. The ball Elsa and Sibella threw missed them. Miguel then slid forward and caught the one Tanis threw.
"Tanis is out!" Scrappy said.
The mummy girl looked down in dread. "No…" She muttered under her breath. She turned to Sibella. "I-I'm sorry." She said looking guilty.
Sibella gave her a genuine smile and patted her on the head. She couldn't be mad at Tanis. "It's okay. We'll get them back." She said before glaring back towards the boys.
Baxter watched as Tanis walked off the field. He wondered if she was going to be mad at him for that later. It's not like he did it on purpose. But he was all too aware of how fickle girls could be with their emotions. "Next one is easy pickings." Tug said before pointing towards Elsa, who narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Barrage!"
The boys all threw their balls towards her. She used the last one she had to knock two away, and tried to catch one, but she dropped it. The last one winged her shoulder. "Elsa is out!" Elsa balled her fists up as she stormed off the field.
A smile finally broke onto Tug's face. "Looks like it's just you."
Sibella picked up two balls. "I hope you don't expect me to go down quietly." She said keeping an eye on Baxter, who had their last ball. "Or at all for that manner."
"There wouldn't be any fun in that." Tug said signaling for her to attack.
Sibella went for the largest target, Grunt. The boy just barely jumped out of the way, and Tug quickly slid over and picked up the ball. She took aim at him and threw, but he managed to throw his as well. They both hit one another. "Sibella and Tug are out, but since the girls no longer have any members in, the Calloway Cadets take round two!"
The boys cheered happily. "Way to take one for the team Tug!" Grunt said patting the blonde on the back, and nearly knocking him off his feet.
"Talk about a Kamikaze!" Baxter said pumping his fist.
"We're un-freaking stoppable!" Jamal said.
Tug couldn't help but smirk, but he held his hand up. "Don't celebrate just yet boys. We still have to put these girls down in the next round." He said. Jake smiled at the sight. He'd taught them well. Colonel Calloway nodded with approval. What he'd just seen was the definition of teamwork, and the way Tug kept them focused on their goal was true leadership.
It seemed spending time with Jake had taught these boys lessons he'd spent years trying to drill into them. He'd have to find out what the captain was doing and apply it himself.
Sibella walked over to the rest of the girls. They all looked down guilty. How could they have been tricked by the boys so easily? "Hey, wipe those looks off your faces. We can't afford to sit here and sulk. Use the loss in this round to fuel you for the next." She said. "This is far from over. We're just getting warmed up. We are ghouls after all." That seemed to perk them up.
"Yeah, we'll just have to use some tricks of our own." Winnie said smiling devilishly.
"If they think their crafty, just wait until they see what we got planned." Phanty said giggling.
Sibella nodded. "That's right. We're about to show those boys what a real trick play is." She said before turning towards the boys. If Roper and his boys wanted a war, they would get one.
A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait! I have school, work, other fics, now I have to worry about taking care of my new pets(parakeets in case anyone was wondering) Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. The next one will be the final round. It'll wrap up the game, the bet, and set up the next part of the story.