The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 43-The Chessmaster
It was another typical day at Elmore Junior High, as Gumball, Darwin, Brian and Mike were getting the materials needed for Miss Simian's class. But as the boys were about to make their way to their class, a certain antlered peanut appeared right in front of them.
"Hey guys." Penny greeted the four. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"Oh no, we've got plenty of time." Gumball happily replied.
"We actually have a few minutes before the first bell." Brian stated.
"But if it's important, we can hear you out." said Darwin.
"Anyway, what brings you over here?" Mike asked Penny.
"I was actually going to ask Gumball for a very big favor." Penny replied, before she pulled out a small box and showed it to the boys, much to their curiosity.
"What is it Penny?" asked Gumball.
"It's an heirloom that's been passed down through my family, but that's all I'm going to say." Penny explained. "That aside, I have cheerleading practice today and I can't find a way to return it home right now. Can you please hang on to it until I'm done practicing?"
"Don't worry Penny, you can count on me." The blue feline assured the antlered peanut.
"That's great, but before I go, you must promise me that you will NOT open it under any circumstances. Are we clear on that?"
"I assure you Penny; I promise I won't open it, no matter what." Gumball insisted, as she smiled in response, just as the first bell rang.
"That's a relief. Anyway, we have to get going to class now."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and with that, the five hurriedly made their way to their class as fast as they could.
Miss Simian's class went rather uneventfully for today, aside from yet another surprise pop quiz and more note taking. The class was almost ending when Miss Simian got out of her seat to make an announcement.
"Alright class, listen up…" the elderly teacher began. "I want everyone to be in groups of four before I explain more about the project."
Almost immediately, everyone complied with their teacher's demands and got into groups of four; unsurprisingly, Gumball, Darwin, Brian and Mike quickly got together, before Miss Simian resumed speaking.
"Now that everyone is in their groups, let me explain how this works. I'm going to choose a topic for each of you to work on. All you have to do is research that particular subject and write a report on it due next week."
Once Miss Simian finished speaking, she went to each group and handed each of them a card one after another, until she made her way to Gumball, Darwin, Brian and Mike, handing the purple fox a card, allowing him to see the subject that he and his friends will be working on.
"It looks like we're going to do a research about farming."
"Are you serious, Brian?!" Gumball exclaimed in dismay. "Farming is SO boring! All they do is work out on the fields all day long! Seriously, who does that kind of things?"
"There's more to farming than just hard work, Gumball. It might be a bit more complex than that." Darwin said to his brother.
"Besides, if you want to get this over with, we might as well start working on it." Mike stated.
"Fine, if you say so." Gumball reluctantly agreed, before turning to his teacher. "Just out of curiosity, Miss Simian, how long does our assignment have to be?"
"I'm glad you asked that…" Miss Simian began. "It has to be at least four pages and typed before Monday."
As soon as the cantankerous baboon said those words, everyone in the class groaned in dismay, irking their teacher in the process.
"Would you prefer if I made it eight?" Miss Simian asked with a threatening tone, prompting everyone to immediately disregard their previous actions, hoping that their teacher wouldn't go through with her threat.
The school bell rang for the last time, as everyone left school for the weekend. But for Brian, Mike and the Watterson brothers, today was an exception; agreeing that it was better to finish their project as quickly as possible, the four made their way to the library to begin their research. They were fortunate enough to seek Anais for help, who agreed to aid them on their report, as the boys were carrying a few books and making their way towards an empty table.
"Thanks for helping us on our project, Anais." Brian informed the child prodigy.
"It's times like these I'm glad you're a genius." Mike happily exclaimed.
"I'm glad to help, Mike." Anais assured the maroon badger.
"At least we know we'll finish our report in no time." Darwin noted.
"Look, can we just stop the chitchat and do our project? The last thing I want to do is stay here all day and bore myself to death." Gumball complained.
"Maybe if you stop whining about it, you guys can actually get it done." Anais replied, somewhat irritated by her older brother's complaints.
"…Fine, I promise I'll stay awake long enough to finish it." said the blue feline. "But I still won't be enjoying it."
With that, the five began to work on their project, trying to gather enough information needed to write up their report as best as they could.
One hour later…
The boys worked as hard as they could, thanks to Anais' assistance, before Gumball wasn't able to stay awake anymore and fell asleep on the table. After what felt like an eternity, the blue feline felt someone nudging him on his side, prompting Gumball to wake up and notice Darwin right next to him.
"Hey Gumball; sorry if I was bothering you, but we were able to finish our project."
"Well, it's about time!" Gumball happily exclaimed.
"But you slept through half of our research time!" Anais pointed out.
"Whoa there, this is no time for arguments." Brian stated. "What's important is that we're done and that's all that matters."
"I don't know about you guys, but if I have to read another book, I'm ripping it to shreds." said Mike.
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and made their way towards the school's entrance. But along the way, the five passed the gymnasium, prompting Gumball to realize something.
'Oh yeah, that's right! I needed to return Penny's heirloom to her.' Gumball thought, before the blue feline reached into his pocket to grab the small box, but much to his shock, it was empty.
"What's wrong Gumball?" asked Darwin, noticing the look of panic on his brother's face.
"I don't have Penny's heirloom with me!" the horrified blue feline responded. "What do I do?! If Penny finds out about it, she'll never forgive me!"
"Gumball, calm down…" Brian began; earning him the blue feline's attention. "You probably must have left it in the library after you toyed around with it so much."
"That's a relief…" Gumball began, feeling a bit embarrassed by his actions but relieved that he hadn't lost it for the moment. "Anyway, I can't leave school yet until I find Penny's heirloom and return it to her."
"Don't worry Gumball, we'll help you out." said Darwin, before the five turned around and made their way to the library once again.
Once the five entered the library, they immediately headed to the table where they were doing their research, only to find it completely empty. Surprised by this, Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings split up, searching for Penny's heirloom all over the place, checking one aisle after another. But after a few minutes of searching, the five regrouped, disappointed that they couldn't find the small box anywhere.
"Oh man, this can't be happening to me." Gumball fearfully told himself. "How am I going to explain this to Penny?"
"Don't give up yet, Gumball. I'm sure Penny's heirloom is still around here." said Anais, trying to calm her older brother down.
"Ahem." A voice spoke from behind them, prompting the five to turn around and see the Eggheads standing there. "Pardon the intrusion, but where you looking for something of value?"
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." asked Mike.
"What my friend means to say is yes we are. We're looking for a small box." Brian intruded.
"Oh, you mean this?" In response, one of the Eggheads showed the five a small box in his palm, much to Gumball's excitement.
"Thank you so much!" said Gumball, as he made his way to the twins. "I don't know what would happen if I-"
But before the blue feline could grab the small box, the glasses-wearing Egghead reeled it away from him, much to Gumball's confusion.
"Did you really think that I would hand this to you just like that? I think not."
As soon as the Egghead made his statement, Gumball found himself on his knees, horrified to hear what was said to him.
"Please, you don't understand! That box means so much to Penny and I promised I would return it to her this afternoon!" Gumball pleaded to the twins.
"You should have thought of that before I found it." The glasses-wearing Egghead coldly informed the blue feline.
Without warning, Brian immediately pinned the glasses-wearing Egghead down to the floor, annoyed by his indifference to Gumball's pleas.
"Alright, tell us why you won't just hand that box to our friend?!" Brian demanded, before the purple fox got off of the disheveled egg.
'That was rather rude of him.' The Egghead thought, as his brother helped him on his feet, before focusing his attention to the group.
"If you must know, we don't comply with those of weaker intelligence. But if you want it back so much…" the Egghead then turned to his brother, prompting him to pull out a chessboard and a clock and set it on the nearest table. "…Then beat me in a little game of blitz chess."
The five looked at one another, hoping that among them, someone would comply with the Eggheads' demands and retrieve Penny's heirloom back. Eventually, a certain maroon badger sighed and stepped forth, ready to give him his answer.
"I'll do it." said Mike, to the surprise of both his friends and the Eggheads, something that the maroon badger noticed right away. "My grandpa taught me how to play blitz chess a while back. Don't worry; I know exactly what I'm doing." The Egghead started to think.
"Why don't I play?" asked Anais.
"Because I need you to do something else for me and your cuteness is just what I need for it. Mike answered, leaving Anais confused.
"Very well; it will be a five minute game." said the Egghead, somewhat impressed by Mike's claims. "However, since I'm wagering this small box, I suggest you wager something in return if you want this box back."
Nodding his head in agreement, the maroon badger pulled out something from underneath his hoodie, revealing to everyone a necklace with a small yellow gem in the middle. It looked odd as it looked like a triangle with two of the sides curved in.
"I'll wager this necklace for that small box." Mike stated, as he put said necklace on the table, before his friends approached him in curiosity, just as the maroon badger and his opponent took their seats.
"Mike, where did you get that?" asked Gumball.
"I didn't even know it was on you before." Darwin noted.
"I don't think you've ever told us about that before." Brian commented.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Anais asked the maroon badger.
"Guys, I'll explain everything when this is over." Mike replied. "Right now, you, Darwin and Brian need to distract Penny before she finds out what's going on, while Gumball and I deal with him and his brother."
The four nodded their heads in agreement and before long, Brian, Darwin and Anais immediately rushed to the main entrance of the library.
"Don't just stand there, brother; stop them this instant!" the glasses-wearing Egghead commanded, prompting the other Egghead to make a mad dash towards the trio, something that Darwin noticed right away.
"You two go ahead…" the two-legged fish began. "I'll take care of him."
As much as Brian and Anais wanted to argue, the two reluctantly complied with Darwin's insistence, as the two-legged fish turned around and tackled the Egghead on to the ground, allowing his friends to leave the library just in time.
"You want to dance? Then let's dance." said Darwin, before both he and the Egghead proceeded to pummel one another, eventually taking their fight to another section of the library, much to Gumball's concern.
"I need to make sure that Darwin's alright." the blue feline informed the maroon badger, before he got up and began looking for his brother, leaving just Mike and the Egghead on their own.
Not wanting to delay this game any further, the glasses-wearing Egghead sighed and hit the clock, beginning the game of blitz chess between him and the maroon badger.
"You know, just because your smart doesn't mean you have the advantage." Mike informed his opponent, as he moved his white king's pawn to E4 on the chessboard, irking the Egghead across him in response.
"I would be careful what you're saying if I were you." the Egghead warned the maroon badger, as he moved his queen's black bishop pawn to C5 on the chessboard.
"The key to winning a game isn't intellect. In fact, it only takes a couple of pieces. In my case, I have four." said Mike, moving his queen's white bishop to C3, just as his opponent moved his queen's black bishop to C6, before looking at the maroon badger quizzically.
"You couldn't possibly be referring to those imbeciles back there?" the Egghead retorted.
Mike, however, didn't respond to his question, instead giving him the silent treatment, much to his displeasure.
"Well, that doesn't seem fair."
"Not only does it take a good strategy, but you also need good concentration if you want to achieve victory in anything in life, like stalling for time." Mike stated, moving his king's white knight to G3.
"Stalling, hmm? Tell me something…" the Egghead began, moving his king's black knight to G6. "Why are you willing to risk something so important like that necklace for someone with an average IQ?"
"I don't measure the value of an object in dollars, but what it's worth to me." Mike explained, moving his king's white bishop to G2. "As far as I'm concerned, my friends are more valuable than that necklace…at least now it is."
"But that doesn't make any sense. You were just wearing it." the Egghead pointed out, before he moved his king's black bishop to G7.
As the game continued on, Mike couldn't help but wonder what Brian and Anais were up to at the moment, just hoping they stalled Penny as long as they could.
Brian and Anais doesn't know how long they were running, but as far as the two were concerned, they needed to make sure that Penny didn't find out what had happened to her heirloom.
"There she is, Brian!" Anais shouted to the purple fox, as the duo spotted the antlered peanut coming out of the gym, no doubt having finished her practice.
"Don't worry, I have an idea." Brian informed the child prodigy, before turning his attention to Penny. "Hey Penny!"
"Hey Brian, what's-" was all Penny could say, before she suddenly found herself being dragged off by both the purple fox and the child prodigy, confusing her in the process.
"What are you two doing?" asked Penny, curious and astonished by her friends' actions.
"Long story short, Anais and I wanted to talk to you about something." Brian lied to the antlered peanut.
"Yeah, that's right. Don't worry; Gumball has your heirloom perfectly safe at the library." Anais stated, playing along with Brian's lies.
"But why are we going away from the library?" Penny pointed out.
"Believe me Penny, its best if we talk somewhere private." Brian hastily replied.
"I assure you, it won't take too long. We promise." said Anais.
"…Alright, I'll hear you two out." Penny complied, hoping that her friends weren't wasting their time, as she needed to get her heirloom back and return it home.
As Brian and Anais were distracting Penny, Mike meanwhile made his next move on the chessboard, moving his queen's white pawn to D3, while the Egghead moved his king's black pawn to E6, before giving the maroon badger a look of confidence.
"What's with that look? We haven't made it that far in the game." Mike stated, questioning his opponent.
"That's simple, dear boy. I have never lost playing blitz chess, no matter the odds." the egghead spoke with arrogance.
"There's a first time for everything." Mike retorted, before the maroon badger moved his queen's white bishop to E3, as the Egghead casually moved his queen's black pawn to D6.
Gumball was quite exhausted after searching around the library for both Darwin and the other Egghead for quite some time. The blue feline had searched half the library for them, checking one aisle after another, but they were nowhere to be found. The echoes in the library made it hard to determine where the sounds were coming from. Adding to Gumball's concern was Penny showing up at any moment and demanding him to return the small box that he had sworn to look after.
'Oh man! What do I do?!' Gumball fearfully thought. 'If Mike loses the game to that nerd, Penny will never forgive me and I'll lose my chance of being her boyfriend.'
As much as Gumball feared this possible outcome, the blue feline shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. This was neither the time nor place to think about such things.
"Pull yourself together." Gumball said to himself. "I have to believe that Mike can get that box back. Right now, I need to find Darwin."
With strong determination, the blue feline resumed his search, hoping that he can find Darwin before it was too late.
Mike and the Egghead continued to play their game of blitz chess, as the maroon badger moved his white queen to D2 while the egg moved his king's black knight to E7, with neither making scores for quite some time.
But when Mike began to move his queen's white bishop from E3 to H6, the Egghead seized the opportunity to make a move of his own, as the egg performed a castling, moving his black king towards his rook to F8 and in turn, moving it to the opposite side of his king to G8.
"Oh, aren't you fancy!" Mike sarcastically spoke, as the maroon badger moved his king's white rook to H4.
"It might as well be, because as of now, you'll need to keep your guard up." the Egghead retorted, moving his queen's black knight from C6 to D4.
So the game continued on, as Mike performed a castling, moving his white king to C1 and moved his rook to D1 and as the Egghead moved his queen's black knight to B5, he looked up and noticed that the maroon badger was smiling, much to his confusion.
Penny's day didn't turn out the way she had imagined, as Brian and Anais, for the strangest reasons, had dragged her far away from the library where Gumball was looking after her family's heirloom and before she knew it, they were talking about every random topic, from music, movies and books in the schoolyard. Needless to say, the antlered peanut was getting bored from hearing their conversation and decided to end it right then and there.
"Guys, I appreciate the company and all, but I have to get to the library and get that box from Gumball." said Penny.
But before the antlered peanut could have the chance to turn around, Anais immediately grabbed Penny by the ankle, much to her surprise and to Brian's relief.
"Wait a minute Penny, don't go just yet." the child prodigy begged the antlered peanut. "Can you at least read me this new Daisy the Donkey book?"
Anais then pulled out a book titled "The New Adventures of Daisy the Donkey" to Penny, before the antlered peanut turned to Brian, who was looking quite anxious and then to the child prodigy, pouting rather sadly. Unable to bear it much longer, Penny took a deep breath, ready to give Anais her answer.
"Alright, I'll do it for you."
Anais couldn't help but rejoice with happiness, while Brian looked on with relief, glad that he and the child prodigy were able to stall the antlered peanut for a little longer.
After Mike and the Egghead were done finishing their turn, the maroon badger stared at his piece with great intensity, hoping to come up with something. Eventually, an idea came to Mike, prompting to make a move of his own, moving his king's white rook to G6.
"Looks like we got ourselves a first victim…" the maroon badger began, as he took the black king's knights from the chessboard.
As the game between the two continued on, somewhere in the library, Darwin fought as hard as he could against the other Egghead, who was much stronger than he looked. Even though the two-legged fish made a few punches of his own, the Egghead made a few of his own, with one resulting in a black eye for Darwin.
"...And our first sacrifice." the Egghead added, taking the white pawn off the chessboard, while the two-legged fish fell on his back, rubbing his sore eye.
'Man, for a nerd, he can sure pack a punch.' Darwin thought.
As the two-legged fish continued to defend himself, Mike and the Egghead moved their own pieces, all the while striking up a conversation with one another.
"You know the game is still young." Mike said to his opponent.
"On the contrary, the game had just reached its adolescence." the Egghead countered the badger's claim.
Meanwhile, Gumball, after searching the library from top to bottom, finally managed to find Darwin, just as the other Egghead managed to knock his brother down to the ground.
"I do think you lost one of your most valuable pieces." the Egghead casually informed Mike, taking the king's white knight from the chessboard.
"But sacrifice is sometimes necessary to win." Mike insisted and moved the bishop to F3, taking the knight down and at the same time, Gumball quickly picked up a random book from the shelf and flung it at the other Egghead, leaving a big crack on his body in the process.
"I can't believe you just did that!" the Egghead fearfully exclaimed, slowly backing away from the blue feline. "Please don't hurt me!"
With that, the other Egghead turned around and fled for his life, as Gumball made his way to his injured brother, hoping that he was at least fine for the moment.
"Darwin, are you alright man?"
"Other than a bruised ego, I'm good. Thanks for saving me back there." the two-legged fish happily replied.
"Let's save the thanks for later. Right now, we have to get back to Mike and check up on him." Gumball informed his brother.
Agreeing with Gumball, the Watterson brothers decided to make their way back to the table, hoping that the maroon badger was doing fine and well.
The Egghead couldn't believe what had happened; somehow, Mike was able to take his queen's knight down with just one move and now his brother had just deserted him. It was the last thing he had ever expected from the maroon badger and his friends and right now, the egg was starting to feel rather anxious, his head starting to sweat like mad.
'Oh my goodness gracious; it looks like I have underestimated this fellow here! No, it was just a lucky move, that's all!' the Egghead thought, concerned that Mike might have actually beaten him.
But worrying about the maroon badger beating him is the least of his concerns. In the midst of their game, he realized that both he and Mike had just over a minute left before their game of blitz chess was done. Likewise, Mike also noticed the time as well and soon, both boys realized that this was now or never.
"Ready when you are." Mike said to his opponent.
"I'm always ready." the Egghead remarked.
With words exchanged, the two continued onward with their game, as both Mike and the Egghead moved their pawns, their eyes locking with fierce intent, with the clock ticking down to the end, as each made one move after another until finally, they were down on their final turn and not a moment too soon.
'Alright Mike, you can do this.' the maroon badger thought to himself. 'Just look for a strategy and take this nerd down.'
Mike pondered for a moment, looking at the chessboard, all the while coming up with a good strategy. It was after doing a double take on the chessboard that an idea came to the maroon badger.
'Alright, it's now or never.' Mike thought and without any further hesitation, the maroon badger moved his white queen to F7, snatching his opponent's rook, just in time for the game to end.
"Looks like its checkmate." Mike informed the Egghead, who was both shocked and outraged by this turn of events.
"This is preposterous! This has to be some kind of joke! There's no way I could lose to the likes of you!" He looked all over the board for a possible move to get his king away but couldn't find one.
"Well you just did." Mike retorted. "Anyway, I won the game fair and square, so I suggest you honor your end of the bargain."
"You're right, a promise is a promise." the Egghead said, calming down. "Here you go; the small box is all yours."
The Egghead handed the small box to Mike, still in good condition, just as Gumball and Darwin finally made their way towards their friend, exhausted from their running.
"Mike…did you…get the…box?" asked a worn out Gumball.
"Yes, yes I did." Mike happily replied, showing the small box in his palm, much to the blue feline's relief.
"Oh thank you so much Mike! I owe you big for this one!" Gumball expressed his gratitude to the maroon badger. "Now I know for certain that Penny's heirloom is safe and sound."
"Speaking of which, we should meet up with Penny and give it to her!" Darwin reminded his friends.
The boys nodded their heads in agreement and immediately rushed off to the library's main entrance, having already accomplished their goal.
Penny was becoming rather agitated by how the day was turning out for her. Brian and Anais have been spending the past hour preventing her from going anywhere. After she finished reading the book, the two attempted to talk to her once more, but the antlered peanut was in a bit of hurry and declined.
Now, much to her displeasure, both Brian and Anais grabbed her by the ankle, forcing Penny to drag herself all the way to the library, in spite of their strong grips.
"Penny, just hear us out." Brian pleaded.
"We just want to have a little moment of your time." Anais explained to the antlered peanut.
"Guys, while I don't mind company, I really need to get my family heirloom from Gumball right now." Penny insisted, continually dragging herself to the library.
But as the antlered peanut reached the library, the door suddenly swung wide open, showing Gumball, Darwin and Mike right in front of her, with the blue feline holding the small box like he had won it from a lottery prize, just as Brian and Anais finally let go of her ankle.
"Sorry if I made you wait too long Penny…" Gumball began, before he allowed Penny to get the small box. "I just got too preoccupied with the report that I forgot that I was supposed to give this back to you."
"It's all good Gumball." Penny assured the blue feline. "But before I go, I just want to ask you a few questions."
"What's that?"
"Can you explain to me why Brian and Anais were acting so strange today? Furthermore, why does Darwin have a black eye and why do you look exhausted?"
Gumball stood still, not expecting the antlered peanut to ask such questions in front of him. Realizing that he needed to come up with a quick excuse, the blue feline took a deep breath and was about to give Penny an answer when Mike suddenly spoke out.
"Brian and Anais just wanted to show you how much they appreciate their friendship with you, Darwin got a black eye from a discarded book from one of the bookshelves and Gumball was exhausted from studying too much for our project."
Everyone looked at Mike for a moment, once again coming to the rescue. At the same time, the antlered peanut shrugged her shoulders, deciding that it was the most logical answer for the moment.
"I guess that makes sense. Anyway, thank you so much for looking after my family heirloom Gumball."
Once Penny said those words, the antlered peanut gave the blue feline a big hug, causing Gumball's face to blush bright red, all the while feeling happy about how his day was turning out.
"Anyway, I have to get home. See you guys next week." said Penny, before she turned and headed for the school's entrance.
Once everyone waved their goodbyes to the antlered peanut, both Brian and the Watterson siblings turned to Mike, realizing something important had came up in their mind.
"So Mike, are you going to explain about that necklace?" Brian asked the maroon badger.
"Oh, that?" Mike began, as he put the necklace back on. "It was a gift."
"From who?" Gumball asked.
"No one you would know."
"Are you sure that's all there is to it?" Anais asked Mike.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." the maroon badger insisted.
"Alright then, if you say so." said Darwin.
"Anyway, let's head back home and relax." Brian said to his friends.
Everyone in the group agreed with the purple fox's statement and the five proceeded to make their way to the school's main entrance, while Mike remained behind, looking at the necklace that he just wagered just minutes ago.
"I guess this means things aren't over between me and you..." Mike began. "Not until you get this back."
Once he said those words, the maroon badger made his way to his friends, wanting to relax at home.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 44-The Calm
When Nicole's outburst threatens her job, Brian convinced her to seek Annie's help. But Annie's unusual methods could be too much for Nicole to handle.
Tidbits
-This chapter was quite difficult for me to write up, mainly because I wasn't too familiar with blitz chess. Nevertheless, I wanted to get through with this as best as I could.
-I wanted to thank Sal for helping me out on this chapter, as well as suggesting it.
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'll be seeing ya next time!