The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 51-The Baseball: Part 2
Four days later...
The next several days proved to be an intense one for Brian and the rest of his friends, as Chuck continued to help them improve on their throwing and batting, as well as running through the bases, sliding and cut offs, while they had no doubt that the team back at Elmore Academy were doing the same thing. Chuck had also managed to squeeze in enough time for some baseball terms like "in the air, go two" means if you catch it, throw to second and "on the ground, go three" means if it hits the ground before you get the ball, throw to third.
It was during that time that a few problems were uncovered: Darwin could throw the ball all the way from the back fence to the mound which Mike found out the hard way, Banana Joe and Penny were having problems sliding and Tobias and Jamie had difficulty with cut offs as they weren't exactly fond of the idea. At the same time, there were a few developments that were made, mainly with Gumball being able to catch the ball without even looking and Brian had the best time reaction time when the ball was hit his way. Mike showed he was capable of pitching pretty well from practicing so much when he played little league.
Regardless of these factors, the team was able to make improvements over time and before long, the big day had finally arrived, as everyone arrived at the baseball field, wearing a green baseball uniform with the school's mascot on it, looking prepared and ready to go.
"I can't believe we're actually going up against Elmore Academy." Brian commented.
"I just hope that we can survive the game." Gumball said to his friend.
"Forget about the game, you guys. Why do we have to wear this?" Darwin demanded. "These uniforms are making me feel uncomfortable, especially the pants."
"You'll get used to it, Darwin..." Mike began. "Well let's get out there before they start without us."
Once the maroon badger made that statement, everyone agreed with Mike and made their way to the game.
Brian, along with his friends and their coach, made their way onto the Academy's baseball field and as expected, their families and friends were on the bleachers, cheering them on as loud as they could. At the opposite of the bleacher was the Academy side and the purple fox had no doubt that their rival's families and friends were cheering for their own team to win as well.
'Wow, they really want to see one of us win.' Brian thought, as everyone sat on the bench, as Chuck turned around and saw Big Mac right in front him, somewhat surprised to see him.
"Hello Big Mac, it's good to see you again." the older badger casually greeted the toad.
"Chuck, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you for quite some time."
"I've been around, just not that much." Chuck replied. "Anyway, how are things back at the academy?"
"Well, if you must know..."
As the older badger and the muscle bound toad chatted with one another, Brian, along with Mike and the Watterson brothers, heard some murmurings from the other side, prompting the four to turn around and see some of the students from Elmore Academy whispering to each other, no doubt talking about them, something Penny noticed right away.
"Why are they behaving like that?" Penny asked Gumball.
"It's a long and complicated story." the blue feline nervously replied.
"I just wish they had forgotten about us." Darwin commented.
"I don't know about you guys, but I think that rose in that bleacher looks kind of cute." Leslie suddenly talked.
The students continued to murmur with each other until they spotted Mike and soon, the murmuring got much louder.
"Obviously they remember me." The badger said to anyone who would listen.
"That's understandable, considering where you're from." Brian responded, before he continued to look around, before the purple fox spotted a certain red bear and his gang sitting on the bench, as they and the other players were wearing black baseball uniforms.
'Of course Ivan and his goons would participate.' Brian thought in dismay. 'They just want to take the opportunity to humiliate me in front of everyone.'
In the midst of his thoughts, the purple fox failed to notice the presence of a certain yellow mouse, as she suddenly spoke out of the blue.
"Brian, are you alright?" asked Rhonda, prompting the purple fox to turn around and see his girlfriend out by their dugout and out of sight.
"Hey Rhonda, it's good to see you." Brian happily greeted her. "What brings you over here?"
"I just wanted to drop by to let you know that I won't be able to cheer on for you, due to being on the opposite side..." Rhonda explained to her boyfriend. "But I just want to let you know that I'll be there, no matter what."
"Thank you, Rhonda." Brian happily accepted the mouse's words. "Seeing you here is good enough for me."
Brian's words prompted Rhonda to blush, flustered to hear the fox's words.
"Thank you so much. Anyway, I have to get going now. I'll talk to you after the game."
With that, the mouse went back to her seat, just as Chuck made his way back to his players, ready to instruct the team.
"Okay everyone, here's the batting order..." He began, reading off from a piece of paper. "Gumball: catcher batting first. Jamie: first base batting second. Tobias: third base batting third. Mike: pitcher batting fourth. Brian: shortstop batting fifth. Penny: left field batting sixth. Darwin: center field batting seventh. Joe: right field batting eight. Leslie: second base batting ninth."
After reading off all the names he put his hand out which all the kids stacked over his.
"Team on three..."
"ONE, TWO, THREE...TEAM!"
With those words spoken out loud, Brian and his friends made it on to the baseball field, ready to give it all they got. Likewise, Ivan and the rest of his friends also made it to the baseball field, with the red bear getting on the mound, while Gumball got up to the batter box, ready to make his at-bat, as his family cheered him on.
"Alright Gumball, go for it!" Richard shouted.
"Show them who's boss!" Nicole yelled.
"Um...what they said." Anais simply stated.
Gumball couldn't help but smile, as the blue feline got in position, preparing him for the throw. But when the umpire gave the signal, Ivan threw the ball as hard as he could, hitting Gumball on the leg. As the blue feline winced on the ground in pain, Brian, his friends and the Wattersons were outraged by the bear's throw, especially Nicole.
"Dead ball!" The umpire shouted. "Take your base." Ivan smirked as although he didn't intend to hit him, Gumball's misery was his pleasure. Nicole was able to see the smirk and immediately got angry.
"Sir, you need to penalize him this instant!" the older, blue feline demanded. "That was intentional!" The umpire didn't take note of Nicole's complaint and Gumball made his way to the base.
Gumball nodded and made his way to his base, all the while determined to keep his guard up on his next at-bat, as Jamie was up next, as the hybrid made her way to the batter box.
"Hey Neanderthal, show some sportsmanship for a change!" Jamie insulted the red bear.
Irritated by the hybrid's insult, Ivan threw the ball right at her, prompting Jamie to hit it as hard as she could, sending the ball to left field, allowing Gumball to run for second base, while the hybrid made her way to first base.
"So the girl got a lucky hit." Ivan commented with displeasure, careful to make sure the first base umpire behind him didn't hear.
"Luck had nothing to do with it." Jamie remarked, as Tobias made his way to the batter box.
'You can't be serious. How could she hear me?' Ivan thought, before he swung the ball right towards the jock, as Tobias made the hit. Unfortunately for the jock, he popped the ball up, and it was soon caught shortly afterwards by a third base man.
"Don't just stand there, you guys! Run back to the bags!" Mike shouted, prompting both Gumball and Jamie to run as fast as they could, with Gumball barely making it just in time.
"I can't believe I made that." said Gumball, as the blue feline tried to catch his breath. Jamie whistled at how close Gumball was to getting out.
For his part, Mike could only clap, before the maroon badger made his way to the batter box, garnering him attention from Ivan and the rest of his fellow players.
"Are you ready to face humiliation, stripes?" Ivan taunted Mike.
"Hope you got some tissues on you." Joey mockingly suggested.
"You're going to need it." Ray insisted.
"...What they said." Lloyd commented.
Mike, however, ignored their taunts altogether, as the maroon badger focused, ready to swing, as Ivan threw a curve ball at Mike. The badger, however, managed to make the hit, getting it over the fence to score three runs, as the crowd roared on with excitement.
"Thanks for the curve ball." Mike spoke with amusement, irking Ivan in the process, before the maroon badger went back to the bench, as Brian made his way to the batter box with a look of confidence on his face.
'It looks like we're in the lead. Maybe we can beat them after all.' the purple fox thought, before Ivan threw the ball right at him. Brian made the hit, but unfortunately for him, the ball went foul and out of the field before hitting a truck's windshield, shattering it in the process.
"Foul ball!" the umpire shouted, as a dismayed Brian looked on.
Nevertheless, the purple fox shrugged off his disbelief and focused on the task at hand, as Ivan threw another ball at him. Brian managed to hit it, but unfortunately for him, the ball ended up getting caught by the apple player, forcing him out.
'Great.' Brian gloomily thought, before he made his way back to the bench, as Penny got up and prepared for the swing.
'Keep yourself calm Penny. You can do this.'
Once the antlered peanut calmed herself down, Ivan threw the ball at her. Penny swings, but gets a called strike, as she swung too early. Despite the setback, Penny tried once more, as the red bear made another throw, but again she was unable to hit the ball on time. Undaunted, the antlered peanut makes one final attempt, as Ivan threw the ball at her, but unfortunately she swung the bat too late, unable to make contact with the ball.
"You're out!" the umpire shouted, as Penny went back to the bench, her head hung in shame that she wasn't able to hit the ball, ending the top of the first inning.
"This isn't how I imagine our first game to turn out." a depressed Brian commented.
"I know what you mean..." Penny gloomily began. "I couldn't even hit the ball on my first try."
"Don't worry about it, you two." Chuck spoke to the two kids. "Keep your heads up because the defense that folds first will almost always lose. Besides, we're still in the lead, so don't hold back."
Both Penny and Brian felt comforted by the older badger's words, though the purple fox seemed to be troubled about something.
"What about our rivals? They might be plotting a new strategy."
"You heard what my dad said: don't worry about it." Mike replied. "As long we make the necessary plays, we'll win. Plus, I'll be pitching. "
"...Thanks for the kind words, Mike." Brian said to the maroon badger, feeling much comfortable.
"That's all I wanted to hear..." Mike began, before he turned to his friends. "If the situation changes, I'll do my best to help out if the ball comes to one of you. Also, if anyone has a question, call time out. It's quite helpful since we're on defense, we get unlimited timeouts."
Once Mike was done with his explanation, everyone agreed with the maroon badger, before Chuck spoke once more.
"It looks like we're all set. Now team on three..."
"ONE, TWO, THREE...TEAM!" everyone shouted, before they made their way to the baseball field in their positions. Likewise, their rivals did the same thing, as Ivan got up to the batter box, preparing himself, while Mike turned to his friends once more.
"Infield; go first if the ball hits the ground. Outfield; throw the ball to the second. Are we clear on it?"
The team nodded their heads in agreement, understanding Mike's instruction, as the maroon badger got on the mound, before throwing a curve ball towards Ivan, as the red bear made the first swing.
But Ivan's first attempt didn't go as planned, as the ball narrowly missed the bat, avoiding making contact in the process. Annoyed by this, Ivan prepared himself once more, as the maroon badger performed a slider and despite the red bear's attempt; he missed his mark by a long shot. Frustrated, Ivan makes one final attempt, as Mike performed a cutter, causing the red bear to lose focus as the ball flew towards him. He tried to get out of the way but the ball instead curved back into the strike zone.
"You're out!" the umpire shouted, causing Ivan to angrily walk away back to the bench, knowing he can't argue with the umpire, much to Mike's amusement. He chuckled in response, as Lloyd made his way to the batter box, much to his surprise.
'Either they're desperate or they're feeling sorry for him.' the maroon badger thought, before he swung the ball right at the mole.
Unsurprisingly, Lloyd missed on his first try, most likely not paying any attention, before the mole prepped himself for the next swing, as Mike threw another ball right at him. Astonishingly, the mole actually managed to make contact with it, creating a solid line, before Lloyd made an effort for first base, while Penny ran towards the ball, barely making it on time, just as she saw the mole inching towards the base.
'Alright, it's now or never.' Penny thought to herself, as she quickly threw the ball towards Brian, just in the nick of time, as the crowd cheered on.
"Way to get there, Penny!" Gumball called out to the antlered peanut.
"You'll catch the next one hit to you!" Mike praised her as well.
"Thank you so much you guys." said Penny, happily accepting their compliments while blushing.
Happy to hear this, Mike gave the signal to the umpire for a time out, as the maroon badger focused his attention to Brian and Leslie.
"You guys know what to do if the ball comes to either of you, right?" Mike asked the two, prompting them to nod their heads in agreement, before focusing his attentions to Darwin and Banana Joe. "If it's hit to you on the ground, go for third."
In response, both the two-legged fish and the banana gave a thumbs up, assuring the maroon badger they understood everything, before Mike went back to the mound, as Ray made his way to the batter box, ready to make his swing.
'This is going to be tricky.' Mike thought, prompting to ponder for just a few seconds. Eventually, the maroon badger knew what to do and proceeded to perform a slider, causing the ball to drop just over the plate, preventing Ray from even hitting the ball. But when Mike looked back at him, the bat wasn't bothered by the slightest.
'This one's a calm one.' the maroon badger thought, before he shrugged it off and performed a palm ball, narrowly avoiding Ray's swing, who remained calm and collected about this. Unwilling to drop his guard, Mike threw a curve ball right towards the bat. This time, though Ray succeeded in hitting its mark, before the bat started to run, as the ball headed right towards Brian.
"I've got this." Brian stated, as the purple fox dived towards, missing it by inches, as the ball made its way to Penny, prompting her to field the ball towards it right back at Brian who went out to be the cut so Penny didn't need to throw it too far.
"Heads up, Leslie!" Brian called out, sending the ball directly towards the plant. Leslie caught it and tried to tag the base but didn't quite get the ball in time. Leslie threw the ball back to Mike for the game to continue.
"Alright, good job guys!" Mike congratulated his teammates. "We'll get the next one!"
Mike's words made the purple fox feel better and formed a smile on his face, before the maroon badger turned his attention to his friends once more.
"In field, go third on the ground, in the air, throw to second. Outfield, on the ground, go home or in the air go to third."
Everyone nodded their heads, understanding Mike's instruction, as they returned to their positions, just as Joey made it to the batter box, looking quite eager.
'Time to pull a trick up my sleeve.' the maroon badger thought, before he made the throw at Joey. Before the broccoli knew what happened, the ball was ricocheting all around the place, forcing Joey to wildly swing his bat around, clipping the ball straight up and into Gumball's glove.
"You're out!" the umpire shouted
"What?!" Joey angrily exclaimed. "How am I out already?!"
"He caught the foul ball." The umpire said as he pointed to Gumball looking at his glove.
"Nice catch, Gumball!" Mike exclaimed as he chuckled at the scene. "Okay, throw it here." Gumball obliged and threw the ball back to Mike.
Joey blinked his eyes, dumbfounded to hear such an explanation. But as much as he wanted to argue, he was only going to waste more time, so Joey went back to the bench with disappointment, while Ivan looked on with disbelief as the first inning ended.
'Oh man, this is starting to become intense.' Brian thought, as he and his friends head back to the bench for preparation. 'Regardless, we have to do our best, no matter what.'
One and 2/3 innings later...
"This is crazy! Those knuckleheads are making fools out of us!"
"Don't worry about it Ivan..." the cow spoke with a deep voice."I'll put an end to their streak."
Before the red bear could say anything, the cow got up and made his way to the batter box, the bat held tightly in his hand, while Mike looked at the batter with curiosity.
"I don't recall seeing him before." Mike said to himself. "Well let's see what you can do."
The maroon badger then wound up his arm and threw a curve ball at him. Unexpectedly, the cow managed to hit it on the first try, sending the ball over the left fielder's head, resulting in two runs batted in, before Banana Joe finally managed to grab the ball. But it was already too late by then, as the cow was able to score two runs for his team, much to their satisfaction.
"Time out?" Mike called out to the umpire.
"Time!" The umpire shouted before Mike and his friends gathered around in a circle.
"Wow, it looks like they're becoming serious this time around." Darwin commented.
"Okay so they got a good hit. Let's shake it off and get back in this!" Mike commented, before turning to Banana Joe. "You did the best you can. Just be prepared for the next one."
"Don't worry, I won't let you down." Banana Joe assured the maroon badger.
"Good to hear." said Mike. "Anyway, to the infielders, go to first while outfielders throw it to me as I'll be there with my arms up for the ball. Penny if you think you can make three, go for it." The peanut nodded her head at the direction.
Agreeing with the maroon badger on his instructions, everyone got back to their positions, just as a crow showed up at the batter box, ready to make the swing.
"Here goes nothing." said Mike, before he threw the ball right at him, as the crow managed to hit its mark, sending the ball to the right field. Unfortunately for him, Banana Joe was ready this time and promptly caught it, ending the second inning in the process.
Four innings later...
It had been a very long afternoon, as both teams from Elmore Junior High and Elmore Academy were starting to become worn out and exhausted, as each inning was starting to become increasingly challenging for them.
During the last few innings, the team from Elmore Junior High was able to amaze the crowd with their unusual talents, including Gumball catching the ball with his eyes closed and Darwin making a few successful bunts. Even Brian's ability to hit the baseball dead on was astounding, despite knocking out three people, four windshields and a window.
Unfortunately for them, the team from Elmore Academy was able to catch up with their rivals, as Ivan actually made a few successful swings and his friends, such as Joey, proved to be a good pitcher. Even their fellow players ended up being more a challenge to them, mowing them down with their own sets of skills.
The score was currently 10-7 in favor of Elmore Academy, and for Brian and his friends, they needed to make a big comeback as soon as possible, as Tobias was up with two outs.
"Tobias, Jamie, I need you two to get to base." Mike informed the two.
The jock and the hybrid nodded their heads, understanding what the maroon badger was talking about, before Mike turned to Brian, much to his curiosity.
"Brian, I need you to aim for the truck over the back fence."
"Why there?" Brian asked his friend.
"Considering the way you've managed to hit something or someone every time you're up to bat, I think that if you're given a target for a home run, it might help us here.
Brian continued to look at the maroon badger with skepticism, before reluctantly nodding his head in agreement and for the next few minutes, Mike, Tobias and Jamie, in their respective turns, each made a hit of their own and got on base one after another, before it was the purple fox's turn to take up the bat. As Brian made his way to the batter box, he was not surprised to see that Ivan was on the mound, looking at his rival with a smirk.
'As much as I want to knock you out cold, there's no way I'm letting wimpy over there get a run because of my contempt.' Ivan thought, before he made the first throw.
Brian attempted to hit it, but missed his mark. Shrugging off his first mistake, the purple fox waited patiently for Ivan to throw once again, before he made another attempt, but swung the bat too soon, missing once again. For his part, the red bear was rather amused by his rival's actions.
'This will be over in a cinch.' Ivan happily thought, before he made his final throw. But this time, however, Brian successfully hit the ball on time, sending it far away from the field and over the back fence, right towards the truck's windshield.
'I can't believe it really worked.' an astonished Brian thought, before he jogged around the base paths, allowing his friends to make it home, as the crowd on their side cheered on like mad, impressed by the purple fox's grand slam, as the score was now 11-10.
While Brian and his team were rejoicing among themselves for their comeback, Ivan and his fellow teammates, for their part, looked on with astonishment, displeased that their rival was a point ahead of them.
"Don't get your hopes up, you knuckleheads..." Ivan began, as him, his teammates and their rivals swapped positions. "This game isn't over yet."
Shortly afterwards, the cow was up at the batter box, preparing to swing his bat, as Mike made his pitch, before the cow managed to hit it on his first try. However, Darwin was able to field the ball and throw it to second base where Brian was at, just in time to tag the cow, resulting in an out.
The next player to show up was a gecko, looking at Mike with a serious look on his face, as if he wanted to take him down so badly. Dismissing his intimidating tactics, the maroon badger proceeded to throw sidearm at the gecko, who promptly hit it right away. Fortunately for Mike, Tobias was able to field it and quickly threw the ball to first base, resulting in another out.
As the gecko went back to the bench, irritated by this outcome, Ivan made his way to the batter box, prompting Mike to turn to Brian.
"Brian, I need you and Penny to switch places for this one."
Both Brian and Penny nodded their heads and complied with the maroon badger's demand, swapping their positions, before Mike turned to face Ivan once more.
'I just hope this works.' the maroon badger thought to himself, before he threw a curve ball right at the red bear.
Amazingly, Ivan somehow managed to nail it, hitting it as hard as he could, as everyone from the bleachers looked on, uncertain how this last inning would end. In the midst of the anticipation, however, Brian ran with all of his might, ignoring the pain from his body, before reaching the back fence and with one mighty leap, the purple fox grabbed the ball, before landing down on the ground, to the astonishment of everyone.
For a while, there was a long silence in the baseball field, with not one person making a single sound. Finally, the umpire got up, ready to shout out for the last time.
"The winner is Elmore Junior High!" he shouted, causing the entire crowd to cheer on with excitement, while the opposing side looked on with disappointment.
As Brian finally regained his composure, the purple fox soon found himself surrounded by his teammates, all excited that he was able to pull off such a miracle for them.
"Wow that was amazing!"
"Good job out there!"
"That was fantastic!"
"You were incredible!"
While Brian thanked each and every one for their kind words, the purple fox spotted Ivan and his team, disappointed that they lost to them. Brian couldn't help but feel pity for them and decided there was one thing to do.
"Hang on for just a second, I got to do something real quick." the purple fox informed his friends, as he made his way out of the baseball field and towards Ivan, surprising the red bear with his presence.
"What do you want?"
"I know what you're thinking, but I'm not here to mock you." Brian started to explain. "I just wanted to say that you and your teammates put up a valiant effort. I know it's not much, but what I'm trying to say is that you guys did your best out there."
"...Thank you. I didn't expect to hear that, but honestly, I'm glad that I did." Ivan said to the purple fox, feeling somewhat comfortable. "But don't take it the wrong way. I'm still treating you like I always have."
"I guess that's the closest to a thanks that I'll get," Brian spoke with amusement, before returning to his team, where he had a question for Mike. "Mike, how did you know that the ball was going to be hit to left field?" Everyone else agreed with the question.
"I didn't." Mike simply responded. "I knew he was going to try and hit a home run so I thought since you had the best reaction time and Ivan was right handed, having you there might give us a better chance of the ball not going over the fence. Turns out I was right." Mike smiled as everyone was dumbfounded by the explanation. "Guys I've been playing baseball since I was seven. I think I know what I'm talking about."
Everyone shrugged before Brian spotted Principal Brown facing Principal Pauline on the baseball field.
"I have to admit, you and your team really pulled it off." Pauline informed the furry slug. "You really took us by surprise."
"That's good to hear from you..." Principal Brown. "But before I could go any further, I just wanted to say…IN YOUR FACE!"
As Brian watched to see his principal gloating towards to the indifferent shark humanoid, a certain yellow mouse soon made her way towards the purple fox,.
"That was a good game out there, wasn't it?" asked Rhonda, prompting Brian to face the mouse.
"It really is, Rhonda. I'm just surprised that I actually caught the ball."
"You still did amazing back there."
"Thanks, Rhonda." said Brian warmly, as he and Rhonda smiled.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 52-The Phantom
Carrie needs someone to help with a project for school. Brian, Mike, and the Watterson siblings agree to help her out, but regret the decision when the project goes south fast.
Tidbits
-This chapter proved to be quite tricky and challenging. Nevertheless, I did the best that I can with it.
-I just wanted to thank Sal for suggesting this chapter once again.
I hope everyone enjoyed the second part of this chapter and I'll see ya next time!
