The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 52-The Phantom
Normally for Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings, they would have been heading home after school. But today, the five found themselves at Carrie's place, after they were convinced to help her out on something very important.
As Gumball, Darwin, Anais and Brian waited patiently in the attic for the young ghost to show up, Mike decided to look around the attic, amazed to see that Carrie had managed to collect some of the most interesting and otherworldly artifacts.
"Carrie sure has such a cool collection." Mike said to himself, as he picked up a seemingly fragile antique to examine.
"Speaking of which, where is she?" asked Brian. "She's taking much longer than usual."
On cue, Carrie showed up out of nowhere in a blink of an eye, causing everyone to yelp, including Mike, as he almost dropped the antique he was holding. Thankfully for the maroon badger, he managed to hold on to it before putting it back in its place.
"Sorry for the wait." Carrie apologized to her friends. "I was busy gathering a few materials for the project."
"Speaking of which, what is this project about?" Anais questioned the young ghost.
"It's part of an assignment that is due next week, but I really need you guys' help on it in order to make it a success." Carrie explained.
"The one Mr. Small gave us?" Mike asked suspiciously, as the maroon badger still recalled the time that Mr. Small made them do a video they considered amazing. But everyone mostly blew it off, considering the assignment to be nothing but a joke. Regardless, Mike decided to keep it to himself and allow the young ghost to answer his question.
"The very same..." Carrie began. "The project is quite simple; if it works according to plan, we can end up temporarily altering people's vision of us into thinking that we're frightening monsters instead of kids."
The moment the young ghost finished her explanation piqued the interests of her friends, but Gumball and Darwin found the project to be rather fascinating.
"Wow, that's the coolest thing we've ever heard!" the Watterson brothers shouted with excitement.
"It does sound very interesting, but how do we know if it'll work?" asked Anais.
"Don't worry about it you guys, just follow my instructions and everything we'll be fine." Carrie assured her friends.
"Just to be safe, we should be prepared for the worst." Brian added.
"Yeah; immediate demise doesn't sound fun." Mike remarked.
For the next several minutes, Brian and his friends did as they were told, drawing five circles on the floor, while Carrie set one lit candle in the center of each circle. Once everything was in place, the five then took their place within the circle, holding on their own candle, before the young ghost made her way to the center, holding what appeared to be an ancient scroll in her hand.
"Alright, it looks we're all set. Now stay perfectly still while I read the words from the scroll."
With that, Carrie began to chant in an unusual language and before Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings knew what happened, the circle underneath gave an eerie glow. Soon, a small breeze of wind suddenly developed from the circle without warning, enveloping the five. But as the wind finally subsided, Gumball suddenly felt a tingling sensation in his nose.
'Oh man, why now?' Gumball thought to himself, trying to hold it off as much as he can. Despite his best effort, the blue feline eventually sneezed, blowing out the candle, as Carrie looked on with horror.
"Gumball, what did you do?!"
"I'm sorry Carrie, it was an-"
Before Gumball could finish his sentence, the wind from the circle suddenly became violent, becoming intense with each second as it encircled them, blowing out everyone's candle, while Brian and his friends did their best to maintain their composure.
"Guys, what's going on?!" a panicked Darwin asked.
"What's with the sudden twister?!" Mike yelled as he blocked the wind from his face.
"I don't know!" Brian quickly replied while trying to stay on his feet.
"I don't feel good all of a sudden." Anais stated.
Slowly but surely, their souls separated from their bodies and soon, Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings were caught in a raging tornado, just before it suddenly dispersed, sending the purple fox and his friends far away from the haunted mansion, while the maroon badger was sent through Carrie's closet, knocked out by an impenetrable force from behind. But Brian and the Wattersons were sent flying across town away from each other.
It felt almost like an eternity, but Mike slowly opened his eyes and noticed several piles of objects all over him, prompting the maroon badger to remove them before he regained his composure. For some reason, his head felt like it was hit by a sledge hammer.
'Ugh, what happened?' Mike thought, as he rubbed his sore head. But when the maroon badger's vision returned, he noticed something very wrong. When he looked at his paw, he noticed that not only was it transparent, but he can see through it. Furthermore, Mike realized that he was floating in mid-air, leaving him quite startled. Upon further inspection from a mirror, he realized, to his horror, that he now a ghost.
"What the flip is going on around here?"
"Are you alright?" asked a certain young ghost, as she phased through the closet door, startling the maroon badger much further, as she looked at her friend with shock.
"Oh no, this is just as I feared." said Carrie, as she and Mike phased out of the closet and back to her room, before inspecting his friends' lifeless husks, prompting the maroon badger to confront the stunned ghost.
"Carrie, do you know what's going on? Where are Gumball, Darwin, Anais and Brian?"
"The ritual was interrupted due to Gumball sneezing and as a result, everyone's souls got separated from their bodies in the process." Mike's jaw dropped and his head cocked to his right as Carrie continued her explanation. "As for everyone else, they're probably scattered all over town. Right now, we need to find them fast and get them back here before midnight."
Upon hearing this, Mike thought about it for a second before he looked at the clock that was barely hanging on the wall and much to his relief; it was only 6 pm, giving him and the young ghost enough time to look for their friends, before the maroon badger faced his friend once more.
"Alright Carrie, lead the way. I'll trust your judgment with this one."
"Just like that?" asked Carrie, surprised to hear Mike's words.
"To be honest, I'm having the most literal out of body experience ever. Plus, I wouldn't know what to do without your help. I don't know what's going on anymore and you're the only person I believe in for help."
Carrie couldn't help but smile, touched to hear the maroon badger's words. If Mike was willing to trust her on their situation, then the least thing she can do is help out as much as possible. With renewed confidence, the young ghost turned to face her friend, ready for her answer.
"Alright then, let's do this." said Carrie, before she and Mike phased out of the mansion, all the while praying that they would find their friends on time before it was too late.
Brian didn't know how long he was out, but eventually, the purple fox was regaining consciousness, as his vision started to clear up. But when he was able to see again, Brian noticed that not only was he outside, he was floating above the skyline, much to his confusion.
"What the-" was all Brian could say, before he saw, to his shock, that his paw was now transparent. Upon inspecting his body, it didn't take the purple fox too long to realize that he was now a ghost, just like Carrie, as well as the events that had transpired.
'It looks like Gumball's sneezing resulted in this.' Brian thought to himself. 'Carrie did seem shocked at the time, but she didn't mention anything about what happened if it fails. Maybe she just doesn't want us to freak out or something.'
As much as the purple fox wanted to ponder further about this, he decided to put that aside for a moment. Right now, he needed to find his friends. Hopefully they were safe and sound.
"Now, if I was Gumball, Darwin or Anais, where would I be?" Brian asked to himself, before he heard what appeared to be screams of horror and disbelief. Perplexed by this, the purple fox turned around and saw Gumball and Darwin a mile away from him, also ghosts, looking like they were about to suffer a panic attack.
"Don't worry guys, I'll be right there!" the purple fox called out, before he attempted to float his way to his friends. Unfortunately, Brian unexpectedly floated backwards, phasing through a tree in the process, much to his confusion.
'This looks harder than I thought. Let me try that again.' Brian thought to himself, as made another attempt. This time, he managed to go around in circle. Annoyed by this, the purple fox promptly propelled himself upwards. But this attempt proved to be his mistake, however, as he quickly descended right towards another tree, going face first through the tree, prompting Gumball and Darwin to find their dazed friend on a nearby branch.
"Brian, what are you doing here?" asked Gumball, before him and Darwin approached him.
"Yeah, this is no time to sleep." Darwin remarked.
"Look, I'm just glad to find you guys...or you found me." Brian replied. "Anyway, let's not waste any more time. We need to get back to Carrie right away."
Gumball and Darwin pondered for a moment, thinking about what the purple fox had just said to them. Eventually, after a long while, the duo turned to their friend, ready to give out their response, but the answers were not what Brian expected.
"That can wait for now, Brian. We have plenty of time to do whatever we want." said Gumball.
"Besides, we don't want miss this opportunity again." Darwin added.
"Wait, "again"? This has happened before?!" Brian asked his friends, prompting the duo to explain to the purple fox about the last time this happened during Halloween. Once they were done finishing their story, the purple fox looked at the brothers with amazement.
"Wow...that is some story you guys have there."
"I'm glad you understand and don't worry, just stick with us and everything will be fine." Gumball said to the purple fox.
"Think about Brian, you know you don't want to miss this one and we only have six hours." Darwin insisted.
"Darwin's right..." Gumball began. "Just have some fun for a change. What do you say to that?"
Brian pondered for a moment, thinking what his friends had just said to him. On one hand, this would go against his better judgment. On the other hand, he always wanted to pull a few pranks and get away with it for a change.
His mind made up, the purple fox turned his attention to his friends.
"Alright, I guess I could make an exception, just this once." he replied, much to Gumball and Darwin's joy. "Now, what should we do for today?"
Just then, the trio heard some murmurings just a few inches away, prompting them to look down and see Ivan, along with his gang, hiding behind some bushes. Right next to them appears to be a carton of eggs, much to their curiosity.
"Alright you guys, does anyone know the drill?" asked Ivan.
"Sure Ivan, we know what to do." Joey replied. "As soon as that moth shows up, we'll show him no mercy."
"I can't wait to see Mr. Dull's face when we egg him." Ray added.
"Maybe he can use them for scrambled eggs." Lloyd said, earning him a slap on the head from Ray.
While the four boys prepped themselves for the prank, Brian and the Watterson brothers continued to spy on them, the former grinning rather deviously.
"I always wanted to do this." Brian informed his friends, before the purple fox dashed right towards the red bear, possessing him from within.
"What was that just now?" asked Ivan, before his own paw punched him in the face, to his and his friend's surprise. Without warning, the red bear found himself being punched around several times, before heading right towards a tree and smacking it back and forth. Finally, Ivan ended up giving himself the most powerful wedgie ever, pulling his boxer over his head, before Brian exited Ivan's body, laughing his head off.
"Oh man, revenge never felt so good."
"Now that's what I'm talking about." Gumball excitedly said, before looking at Joey, Lloyd and Ray, still dumbfounded by their friend's 'behavior'. "Say, are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"
Both Darwin and Brian gave a big grin, understanding their friend's suggestion. Without any hesitation, Gumball possessed Joey, while Darwin and Brian possessed Lloyd and Ray respectively, just as Ivan got rid of the boxer over his head, before he noticed his friends aiming their eggs right at him.
"What are you-" was all Ivan could say, before his gang suddenly threw tons of eggs right at him, covering him from head to toe, until the last egg was thrown out, prompting Gumball, Darwin and Brian to exit out of their bodies to witness the confusion from the goons' faces.
"W-what happened?" a stunned Joey asked
"I don't know, but you guys are toast!" Ivan angrily shouted, before his gang turned around and fled, with the red bear chasing after them, while Brian and the Watterson brothers left the scene laughing hysterically.
Anais couldn't believe what had happened today. One minute, she was in the attic at Carrie's house and the next thing she knew, she woke up to find herself as a ghost once again. It didn't help that the child prodigy was going around in circles, much to her annoyance.
"This has got to stop." Anais muttered, before she halted herself, before she began to ponder in mid-air.
'How the fudge did this happen? And where is everyone?'
As if to answer her question, a certain purple, blue feline and two-legged fish suddenly showed up without warning.
"Hey sis, how's it going?" asked Gumball, startling Anais in the process.
"Don't scare me like that!" Anais exclaimed, causing the trio to snicker in response. "Anyway, where have you three been? We need to get back to Carrie right away."
"Don't be so overdramatic, Anais." Gumball calmly said to his sister. "Besides, it's not even close to midnight. If it'll make you feel better, why not join us for some fun?"
"…Since my life isn't in perilous danger this time, I guess I can relax for a moment." Anais replied, much to the trio's surprise. "Oh c'mon, even I want to pull a prank once a while."
The trio nodded their heads in agreement, not wanting to argue any further, before the four decided to fly around, despite Anais' attempt to catch up with the boys.
"Wait up for a second, I'm still trying to get used to this." the child prodigy called out, floating up and down all at once.
"Don't worry Anais, we're not going to leave you behind." Darwin assured his sister.
"Besides, we're floating in mid-air, so-" Brian, along with Darwin and Anais, suddenly stopped dead in their tracks when Gumball raised his paw, before the blue feline pointed to the ground. Upon complying with his demand, the trio saw Tina, Jamie and Anton minding their own business. Just a distance away from them, there was a makeup shop, giving Gumball an idea.
"Do you guys know what I have in mind?" he asked the trio, prompting them to nod their heads, before all four gave themselves a mischievous grin. With that, the four flew right towards to the Tina and her friends, with Gumball and Darwin possessing the carnivore, while Brian possessed Jamie and Anais possessed Anton.
"Hey, what's going on around here?" asked a startled Jamie.
"I don't know, but I can't control my own body." a panic Tina replied.
"Guys, I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but we're about to head to the makeup shop!" Anton alerted his friends, as the trio could do nothing but scream in horror, entering the building against their own will.
Mike and Carrie didn't know how many hours have passed, but the two couldn't care less at the moment. Both the maroon badger and the young ghost had to search for their friends, although for Carrie, she was becoming irate at Mike flying around like he had no idea what he was doing.
"Would you knock it off already?! This isn't the time for some silly games!"
"Sorry about that, Carrie..." Mike apologized. "I finally learned how to fly correctly! It doesn't help that this ghost has to use inverted controls!" Carrie calmed down as she remembered what happens when the spell fails.
"That's one of the down sides of the spell failing." She says calmly as she looks around for the rest of them. "Sorry for yelling."
"It's fine." Mike said sincerely. "I'm still learning and right now we're on the clock to find everyone before we're stuck like this forever. That's a lot of pressure to put on someone."
Before Carrie could respond, both she and the maroon badger stopped dead in their tracks, hearing laughter from a distance, prompting the duo to fly to the source. Upon arrival, they witness Gumball, Darwin, Anais and Brian floating away from the makeup shop, as Tina, Jamie and Anton quickly fled from the place with makeup on their faces, clearly embarrassed by their situation.
"That was a lot easier than I thought." Mike commented, before he and Carrie flew right towards them, startling the four in the process.
"Where were you guys?!" Carrie angrily shouted, "Have you guys forgotten what happened last time?! If you don't get back to your bodies by midnight, you'll remain as ghosts forever!"
Upon hearing those words, Gumball, Darwin and Anais rubbed their heads sheepishly, apologizing to the young ghost for their actions. Brian, on the other hand, was stunned, his eyes widened and mouth ajar, before he grabbed the blue feline by the shoulder and look straight at him in the eyes.
"Why didn't you and your siblings tell me there was a limit?!"
As Brian demanded an explanation from Gumball, Mike glimpsed at the clock from the makeup shop and much to his surprise, he realized that it was now 8 pm.
"Darn, it looks like we wasted two hours searching for you guys." Mike blurted out loud, causing everyone to look at the clock and respond with the same shocked expression.
"Come on then, there's no time to waste." Carrie informed her friends, prompting everyone to follow the young ghost back to her house.
None of them knew how many minutes had passed, but they could care less about time, as everyone finally arrived at the attic. But when Carrie turned around, she noticed two people missing from the group, much to her bewilderment.
"Guys, where are Gumball and Darwin?!"
Brian, Mike and Anais looked all over the attic, searching for the Watterson brothers as best as they could, before the maroon badger spoke, as if he found the answer to Carrie's question.
"It looks like Gumball and Darwin decided to have more time goofing around."
Carrie could only face palm in response, annoyed that the two would ditch everyone at the last minute. It was also then that she realized something.
"Brian, how many people did you, Gumball, Darwin and Anais possessed?"
"At least two today; why is that important?" asked Brian, perplexed by Carrie's question, causing her to gasp in horror, before she look at the clock; it was 9 pm already.
"I'll explain everything later, but right now you and Anais need to get back into your bodies. Mike, I need your help with this one."
The purple fox and the child prodigy obliged and went back into their respective bodies, while the maroon badger confronted the young ghost, curious as to what was going on.
"Carrie, mind filling the rest of us in?"
"Each time a ghost like you guys possess another individual, their chances of returning to their bodies becomes slimmer as they lose more and more time as a ghost. If we don't find them soon, they won't get back into their bodies and they'll remain as ghosts forever."
Brian, as well as his friends, looked at Carrie with shock and disbelief. If what the young ghost said is true, then Gumball and Darwin are in grave danger. Unwilling to waste any more time, Carrie and Mike phased out, while Brian and Anais carried their friends' lifeless husk with them.
Gumball and Darwin were having the time of their lives, as all over town, the brothers continued to possess one person after another, making fools of the individuals, before jumping into the next person.
First, the duo decided to possess both Tobias and Banana Joe, forcing the pair to do The Monkey. After they were satisfied with this, the brothers ended up possessing Marvin and the Lizard Woman, forcing them to perform a pathetic attempt of Tango. Just recently, the blue feline and the two-legged fish ended up possessing Larry and Sal Left Thumb, before they made the two perform the splits.
But while the Watterson brothers were enjoying their fun, blissfully unaware of their situation, Mike and Carrie were flying at the speed of light, while Brian and Anais ran as best as they can to catch up with their friends, carrying their friends' lifeless bodies on their shoulders. It was then that the two spotted the Doughnut Police Officer in their path, prompting them to stop, as the officer soon confronted them and noticed the lifeless husks on them.
"Kids, would you care to explain what you're carrying?" he asked with a suspicious tone.
"Oh, about that..." Brian began rather nervously. "It's not what you think. They're-"
"Costumes!" Anais blurted out. "Brian and I were just returning them to the costume shop, that's all."
"...Alright, that seems to make sense." said the Doughnut Police Officer, allowing the two to be on their merry way.
"Good save." Brian whispered
"Don't worry. I doubt that man would have ever figured it out." Anais remarked.
"Hey! Keep up, will ya?!" Mike called out to his friends, as he and Carrie floated right next to them.
"We just bumped into a minor problem, that's all." Brian replied.
"Fair enough." said Carrie. "Anyway, Mike and I just spotted Gumball and Darwin just around the corner. We need your help right away!"
Brian and Anais nodded their heads in agreement and quickly followed their friends to their destination, just to see Gumball and Darwin exiting out their latest victims, laughing their heads off from their latest pranks. Fortunately for them, they didn't noticed the four's presence right away.
"Don't worry you guys, I got this." the young ghost informed their friends, before Carrie teleported out of their sights. A few seconds later, she reappeared right in front of the brothers, much to their surprise.
"Carrie, what are you-" was all Darwin could say, before the maroon badger quickly tackled the fish and tosses the spirit by the tail towards Anais, allowing Anais to throw his body right towards the incoming two-legged fish, causing the now alive Darwin to fall on the ground on his back.
"Aw man, I was having fun." Darwin gloomily commented.
As the two-legged fish lamented on his situation, Gumball, who witnessed what had occurred, look back at Carrie and Mike with shock, before the panicked blue feline quickly fled in the opposite direction.
"After him, you guys!" Carrie shouted, as everyone chased right after Gumball, determined to bring back to his body at all cost.
Brian, along with his friends, didn't know how long they have been chasing Gumball, but time was not on their side, as the five continued to chase the desperate blue feline far from town and into a forest, desperately trying to talk to Gumball about his situation.
"Gumball, you need to get back into your body!" Carrie pleaded.
"Something bad is going to happen if you don't do it right now!" Mike attempted to explain.
"There's no way I'm falling for that trick!" Gumball shouted with defiance, going through several trees and rocks, before making a sharp turn. Undaunted by this, Mike made the same turn, keeping pace with Gumball.
"I'll handle this." Carrie insisted, before she teleported herself out of Mike's sight, just as she quickly reappeared in front of Gumball, causing the blue feline to stop dead in his tracks.
"Now Mike!" the young ghost called out, as the maroon badger went to tackle his friend down. Gumball, however, anticipated such a move and quickly went upwards, resulting in Mike tackling Carrie down instead.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry about that." Mike apologized.
"T-that's alright Mike, I know it was just an accident." Carrie bashfully apologized, flustered from the extreme close contact. "Anyway, let's try a different tactic."
The young ghost then whispered to the maroon badger what she had in mind. After about a minute or so, Mike nodded his head, understanding what to do.
"Oh man, that was easier than I thought." Gumball said to himself. "Now, all I have to do is go back to town and-"
Before the blue feline could finish his sentence, Carrie unexpectedly showed up right in front of him, causing to stop in his tracks once more. But before he has a chance to react, Gumball failed to notice a certain maroon badger heading right behind, as he grabbed the blue feline's tail as hard as he can.
"Hey let go of me!" Gumball demanded. "I don't want to go back!"
"Watch me care!" Mike retorted, just as Brian, as well as the Watterson siblings, showed up. "Heads up, Brian!"
The purple fox nodded his head and threw Gumball's body towards Mike with all of his might, while the maroon badger threw Gumball himself towards his own body. Upon making contact with one another, however, Gumball resisted as hard as he can, unwilling to return to his own body.
"This has got to stop." Carrie said to herself, before teleporting right next to the blue feline. "Gumball, you need to stop resisting. If you don't get back to your body in less than five minutes, you'll remain as a ghost forever."
"Don't try talking me out of this! There is no way I...what did you just say?" asked Gumball, stunned to hear the young ghost's claims.
In the midst of Gumball's distraction, Mike took the opportunity to grab the blue feline by the arm and forcefully push him into his body, making him whole once more.
"Aw man, I'm alive." Gumball complained, before he noticed that he was still in the air. "And I'm-"
Unable to finish his words, the blue feline could do nothing but scream in sheer terror, before plummeting into the lake face first, while Brian laid Mike's lifeless body on the ground, allowing the maroon badger to peacefully return to his body, as Carrie teleported right next to her friends.
"That was a close one." Brian commented.
"Tell me about it..." Anais began. "I thought for sure we weren't going to make it on time."
"After seeing what happened, I'm glad we're in our own bodies." Darwin commented.
As the trio continued to chat with one another, Carrie approached Mike, as the maroon badger managed to regain his composure.
"I'm sorry that today didn't turn out the way you had imagined." Carrie apologized.
"It's alright Carrie; it was a lot of fun." Mike said to the young ghost, as the two looked at one another with a smile. "Though next time, let's leave Gumball and Darwin out of it." When Mike said this, Carrie turned away to hide the blush on her face.
'Mike didn't just ask for what she though he asked for, did he?" Carrie thought to herself as she looked back to see Mike just lying on the grass relaxing. "Maybe not."
Just then, they heard some splashing noises from behind, prompting the five to turn and see Gumball swimming in the lake, as he dragged himself on the shore. Amused to see his predicament, Mike got up and decided to confront the irate blue feline.
"Well, what have we here?" Mike asked with a smirk. "It appears we've caught ourselves a troublemaker that nearly doomed himself to spending eternity as a ghost."
"But I was having fun!" Gumball justified his action, before Brian, along with the Watterson siblings and Carrie showed up.
"And what would have happened when it suddenly was no longer fun, Gumball?" Carrie spoke sternly, as the blue feline pondered for a moment, eventually coming to the grim conclusion.
"I...I'd be a ghost forever."
"And that's not exactly the kind of future anyone wants for you. You've still got a life to live and you can't just throw that away just for some fun." Anais spoke next.
"I'm sorry you guys, I just got carried away." Gumball apologized to everyone.
"Don't worry Gumball, apology accepted." Darwin, as well as everyone, assured the blue feline.
"I don't know about you guys, but we better head back home before our folks find out." Brian informed his friends.
"Then we better get a move on then." Mike stated.
With that, everyone bid farewell with one another, before they went their separate ways, heading back to their homes. Both Mike and Carrie were about to leave, before they suddenly stopped dead in their tracks as Carrie looked at Mike who for some reason just stopped. It was then that Carrie experienced an unfamiliar feeling.
'What's this feeling I'm having' Carrie thought to herself, her face slightly blushing. 'Is Mike causing this? Could it be that I'm-'
"Carrie, are you alright?" asked Mike, snapping the young ghost back to reality. Mike was looking straight at Carrie with a concerned look on his face.
"Oh, it was nothing at all Mike, really." Carrie bashfully insisted. "I was just glad that everything ended on a good note, that's all."
With that, Carrie immediately teleported out of Mike's sight, leaving the maroon badger completely dumbfounded.
'Huh, I wonder what that was all about?' Mike thought, before the maroon badger decided to get back to his home as quickly as he could.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 53-The Computer
Gordon decides to help Richard out by giving him a job, unaware that doing so could doom the entire world.
Tidbits
-This chapter didn't turn out as long as I had imagined, but it was still good.
-The idea was suggested by Sal and as such, I wanted to give him credit for it.
I hope everyone enjoyed The Phantom and I'll see ya next chapter!