The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 56-The Possession
Night has arrived at Carrie's house, as Brian, along with Mike and the Watterson brothers were cleaning up the remains of ectoplasm left around by Carrie's dog in the backyard, due to Gumball scaring him as part of a prank.
"Oh man, this is sick and wrong." Gumball shivered in disgust, as he wiped off the ectoplasm with a mop. "I can't believe ghost dogs are even capable of making such a mess."
"That's what you get for pulling that prank." Brian berated the blue feline.
"Otherwise, we would have been home by now." Darwin agreed with the purple fox.
"So quit complaining and let's get back to cleaning up this mess." Mike insisted. "The sooner we get this backyard back in shape, the better."
So the boys continued on with their tasks, using the mop to wipe off the ectoplasm and put most of it in a bucket. But halfway into their task, a certain young ghost unexpectedly popped up out of nowhere, startling the boys in the process.
"Don't do that, Carrie!" Gumball scolded the ghost. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry about that Gumball." Carrie apologized to the blue feline. "I just dropped by to let everyone know that Poltergeist is back in his dog house."
"As long as your dog didn't curse us or anything, then it's all good." Mike jokingly said to Carrie, as she chuckled in response.
"Don't worry about it Mike, your good. Besides, despite his size, Poltergeist is still a puppy by ghost standards."
Carrie's statement left the four dumbfounded; astonished that Poltergeist isn't even a full grown dog yet and it was about the same size as the four of them. Just then, Darwin noticed a shooting star in the sky, much to his excitement.
"Guys, look!" Darwin pointed up and everyone else looked to where he was pointing. Above them was a shooting star as it flew on by. "Hey guys, let's make a wish on it and see if it comes true."
Agreeing with the two-legged fish, everyone closed their eyes and put their hands together, silently making a wish of their own. But for a certain blue feline, however, he decided to express his own wish out loud.
"I wish-"
"That whatever Gumball wishes for doesn't happen." Mike suddenly spoke, cutting off the blue feline, much to his displeasure.
"You sure know how to ruin someone's fun."
"Yes, yes I do." Mike proudly said.
"At least we know our wishes won't get us into trouble." said Darwin, before he turned his attention to Brian. "So, what did you wish for?"
"Nothing really special but I think I'll keep it to myself. What kind of wish did you made Carrie?" asked Brian.
Carrie hesitated for a moment, not responding to her friends' question right away. After about a minute or so, the young ghost finally gave them her answer.
"I wish to be scarier than usual, that's all."
Carrie's answer was enough to satisfy the boys' questions, but for Mike, he picked up on the young ghost's hesitation and couldn't help smirk in amusement. However, he decided to not ask Carrie for the moment, as he and his friends resumed cleaning up the backyard.
Thirty minutes later…
It took the five much longer than they expected, but the backyard was looking almost good. By now, though, the moon had finally rose up and before they could clean any further, Annie and Gordon had arrived in one of their vehicles.
"Hello kids." Annie greeted the five.
"Hi mom and dad, we're almost done cleaning the backyard." Brian informed.
"That's good to hear, Brian." Gordon said to his son. "Say, do you want me to drop your friends off when you're done?"
Before the purple fox could answer the wolf's question, Mike suddenly answered himself.
"Actually, you guys can go ahead. I'll just stay behind to clean the rest of the ectoplasm. There's not that much left, but I think I'll handle the rest from here."
Out of respect for the maroon badger, Gumball, Darwin and Brian got into the vehicle, before Gordon drove off, as Mike continued to clean the backyard. Five minutes would eventually pass and the backyard looked clean once more, as the maroon badger put the supplies back into the storage closet. But as he exited the backyard, Mike heard the voice of certain young ghost, much to his curiosity.
'What's Carrie doing here at a time like this?' Mike thought, as he poked his head and looked at Carrie looking on the ground rather gloomily.
"I wish I was alive for one day." a depressed Carrie muttered under her breath. "At least then, I can experience what it's like to be alive."
Mike couldn't help but feel pity for the young ghost. Although he suspected that it was always Carrie's real wish, he still was a bit stunned to hear this. Then, an idea popped into his mind.
'I wonder…' Mike thought, before promptly announcing his presence. "Am I interrupting anything, Carrie?"
The moment the maroon badger made his presence known, the young ghost yelped back, startled to see Mike standing right behind her, as he laughed his head off from seeing Carrie's reaction.
"Wow I'm so talented, I can scare ghosts."
"Ha ha, very funny." Carrie sarcastically replied. "Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you went home."
"Actually I was just about to do that, but I figured since there was so little left to clean I thought I might as well finish up while I'm here." Mike replied.
Mike's response, however, didn't convince the young ghost one bit and continued to stare at her friend wearily.
"...You overheard what I just said now, didn't you?" Carrie nonchalantly asked the maroon badger.
"Oh you have no idea." Mike said with a smile.
"Well…" Carrie couldn't believe she was going to ask this. "Can you help me?" She asked the maroon badger.
Mike pondered for a moment, as he leaned on the house, lost in his thoughts. After what felt like forever, the maroon badger finally found an answer for the young ghost.
"It may not be perfect…" Mike began. "But I think I have an idea…"
The next day at Elmore Junior High, Gumball, Darwin and Brian were having their usual conversation, as the trio went to their assigned lockers. None of them had seen Mike this morning, though they concluded that he simply overslept. As the boys got their materials for today, they stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed what they thought was Mike. Even though he wore the same outfit, the badger's fur was white, much to the trio's curiosity.
"Who the heck is that kid?" asked Gumball.
"I don't know, Gumball. I've never seen him before." Darwin replied.
"Whoever he is, let's welcome him here." Brian advised his friends, before he and the Watterson brothers approached him. But the white badger turned around to face them, revealing three black stripes and what happened next took them by complete surprise.
"Hey guys." the badger spoke with a voice that sounded like a combination of Mike and a certain young ghost, startling the trio.
"Carrie, is that you?" Brian asked incredulous.
"DUH! Of course it's me, Brian. I may have a new look, but I'm still the same person on the inside."
"But Carrie, why do you look like that?" asked a surprised Darwin. "When you ended up possessing Gumball, he looked like a total train-wreck."
"Please, don't remind me." Gumball insisted, having not gotten over the time that Carrie made him go to a crazy junk food spree.
"That's because Mike allowed me to possess, on the condition that I don't take full control over his body." Carrie explained to her friends.
"Why would Mike allow you to do that to begin with?" Brian asked the white badger.
"Don't worry Brian; Mike knows what he's doing. Besides, it's just going to be one whole-" before Carrie could finish her words, she felt a strange urge in Mike's body. "What was that just now?"
"I think you need to use the bathroom." Gumball informed his friend.
Before the trio knew what happened next, Carrie immediately passed by them, only to realize where she's taking Mike's body to.
"Carrie, don't bring Mike's body into the girl's-"
But it was too late, as the young ghost went inside and the next thing the trio knew, they could hear several girls screaming in horror, prompting Brian to facepalm in the process.
The afternoon arrived at school, as everyone gathered in the cafeteria to eat or to chat with each other. After Carrie got her meal from Rocky, she felt a certain maroon badger talking to her, clearly upset by what she had did this morning. Mike had to ask her to leave his body for a minute so he could use the bathroom to avoid things getting any more awkward.
'Carrie, you need to be careful next time! I really don't want something like that to ever happen again!'
"Sorry about that, Mike. I just forgot I inhabited a boy's body." Carrie apologized to Mike, rubbing her head sheepishly.
'It's alright Carrie, I know it wasn't on purpose, but next time, we need to work together.'
Carrie nodded her head in agreement, as she sat right at Mike's usual spot with Gumball, Darwin and Brian, who were busy eating their meals. The moment the young ghost laid eyes on her food, she felt the urge to devour them right way. Or that was the plan, until…
'Carrie…' Mike began. 'I know what you're thinking. Don't binge on your food like a wild animal. Just eat slowly and savor the meal.'
The young ghost nodded her head, complying with Mike's demand and began to eat her meal in a slow pace, much to the trio's relief.
"I have to say Carrie; you're doing a good job restraining yourself." Gumball praised his friend.
"At least you're not going on another crazy junk food spree." Darwin commented.
"Good job, Carrie." Brian congratulated the white badger.
"I appreciate the praises you guys, but it's Mike that needs to be thanked." said Carrie.
"In that case, tell Mike that we said 'thank you'." Brian suggested.
"…Mike wants to tell you guys 'you're welcome'." Carrie spoke after a minute of silence.
"Hey Mike, what's it like in there?" Brian asked, as he was curious where Mike was exactly.
"He says 'It's like an all-black room with a giant screen that looks like he's watching the world through binoculars'." Carrie said after waiting for Mike to respond.
"Wow, really? Sounds boring." Gumball admitted.
"He said 'If he wasn't watching the world he'd be bored to tears'." Carrie said with a smile as she returned to her food. She felt a warm feeling in her chest as she was eating but didn't know what it was. She assumed it was just the food but whatever it really was it was an amazing feeling.
"Why is Carrie smiling like that?" Gumball whispered to his friends.
"She's probably just enjoying the food." Brian commented.
"But she's never this happy for anything. She's creeping me out." Darwin whispered back.
As the trio tried to comprehend what they were seeing, the newly white badger suddenly spoke out of the blue.
"Why you three are looking at me funny?" Carrie questioned the boys, startling them in the process, before they looked at their friend with confusion.
"It's just that you seem really happy which is very strange for you. None of us have ever seen you this happy." Brian pointed out to his friend, who simply shook her head in response.
"I don't know what you're talking about. In fact, I didn't even realize I was even smiling just now." Carrie insisted, still trying to figure what she had done just now.
The four decided to shrug off what happened just now and decided to make their way to the schoolyard, hoping that some fresh air would clear their heads. Then, the boys decided to take their friend to the basketball court instead, hoping if she would be interested in playing with them.
"Why are we here?" asked a confused and curious Carrie.
"Isn't it obvious, Carrie? Gumball, Darwin and I wanted you to have some fun. Also, we were wondering if you would be interested in playing some basketball."
Carrie hesitated for a moment, uncertain what to do next. She had never played any sports before, let alone basketball but at the same time, she didn't want to turn down her friend's request either. It was then that she decided to talk to the only person who can help her out.
"Mike, what should I do? I never played basketball before and I don't think it might end well."
'Don't worry about it, Carrie. Just trust them and have fun. Besides, Gumball can't make a basket anyway.'
As soon as the maroon badger made that comment, Carrie heard Gumball cursing to himself, unable to successfully perform a simple lay-up after what appeared to be the tenth time as the ball hit the rim and bounced back into his face. The white badger couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's futile attempt.
"Good point." said Carrie, now with more confidence, as she made her way to the basketball court and picked the basketball up off the ground, before Mike spoke to her once again.
'Alright Carrie, just concentrate on your target. All you have to do is flick your wrist and you should be able to make your mark.'
Carrie nodded her head, having understood the maroon badger's instruction and concentrated on the hoop as hard as she could, before she flicked her wrist, sending the basketball upwards, as it hit its mark and eventually made its way through the hoop, much to her joy.
"Alright! I can't believe I did it! This is awesome! Guys, did you see…what…I…did?" Carrie trailed off when she saw Gumball, Darwin and Brian looking at her with a look of shock and surprise. Likewise, Mike, who witnessed this in his head, was just as surprised as they were. "What's wrong?"
"Carrie…you're cheering." Gumball finally replied.
"So?" asked Carrie.
"That's just it, you've never cheered before." Brian pointed out.
"Are you sure you're alright, Carrie?" asked Darwin.
The young ghost continued to look at them, still dumbfounded by their concern. Slowly, but surely, the information the boys gave to her slowly sunk in for Carrie to understand what's going on.
"I have to admit, I have been acting strange lately, but it feels new to me."
"What you've experience just now is happiness, Carrie. Come to think of it, I think you're experiencing emotions for the first time."
"But I had emotions before I possessed Mike."
The moment the blue feline brought that up, Mike then realized what was really happening to Carrie.
'Carrie, I think what Gumball said makes absolutely sense… as strange as that sounds. When you were a ghost, you couldn't feel the effects of your emotions and also couldn't use all of them, but ever since you possessed me, you must have gain the ability to fully express and feel the effects of them.'
"But that still doesn't explain why I'm behaving like that every now and then." Carrie responded.
Before Mike could say anything to his confused friend, Brian finally spoke; cutting off the maroon badger in the process, as he and his friends approached his friend with concern.
"Carrie, sorry if I cut your conversation off with Mike, but I'm starting to think that your newfound emotions might overwhelm you."
"I'm going to have to agree with Brian on this one…" Gumball began. "We have no idea how it might turn out."
"Until we can figure out what's wrong with you, you need to be careful." Darwin suggested.
'Darwin's right, Carrie.' Mike agreed with the two-legged fish. 'We need to make sure that your emotions are under control. The last thing we want is something unpredictable to happen.'
"Alright Mike, I understand." said Carrie, before she turned to the boys. "So, do any of you have ideas yet?" Mike had an idea, but couldn't figure out how to say it right.
After school was finished for the day, the boys decided to take Carrie to the Badgero residence, wanting to keep a close eye on their friend. They were just thankful that Mike's parents were at work today; otherwise, the situation would have become rather awkward.
After two uneventful hours, however, the trio noticed that Carrie was exhibiting mood swings, literally changing from one emotion after another. Whether she became happy or mad, Carrie's emotions had spiked up to the point that she suddenly became very much alive, something that worried them very dearly.
"Carrie, are you alright?" Darwin asked with concern.
"I am Darwin. It's just that, I never felt so happy before." the white badger replied, before she shed a single tear, to the boys' astonishment.
"Oh my gosh, you're…crying." Gumball blurted the last word out.
"This doesn't look good." Brian commented.
"Are you sure you're fine, Carrie?" asked Darwin.
As the trio waited for their friend to answer them, it was then that Mike realized exactly what's going through Carrie's mind.
'You don't want to leave, do you?'
"…Yes Mike, I don't want to leave." Carrie admitted, leaving the maroon badger worried. Likewise, Brian and the Watterson brothers were also worried after her answer, especially for their friend's safety. There was only one thing they can do at this point.
"Carrie, I think it's time you leave Mike's body right now." Brian suggested, as he and his friends cautiously approached her, much to Carrie's shock.
"We're just saying that so Mike can have his own body back and you can be yourself once again." Gumball tried to explain to the white badger.
"If we don't, something bad could happen to you and Mike." Darwin insisted.
"I don't think so!" Carrie suddenly shouted, as the trio recoil in shock. "Mike and I agreed that I can have this body until he needs to go home! Since he doesn't have to be home 'til ten, I can do whatever I want to do 'til then!" Carrie's emotions were suddenly overwhelming her rational thought, inciting the boys' worst fear.
Before the trio knew what happened next, Carrie shoved them out of her path and made her way to the front door, running off and taking Mike's body with her. The boys, now certain that Mike's life was now in danger, immediately rushed outside, determined to track down Carrie at all costs.
Catching up to Carrie proved to be quite the challenge, but they eventually spotted the white badger making a quick turn around the corner, but the real problem was trying to convince her to get out of Mike's body.
"Carrie, you have to stop this right now!" Brian pleaded with the young ghost, as he, Gumball and Darwin ran with all of their might.
"If you don't, something bad will happen to you and Mike." Gumball stated out loud.
"Please Carrie; we're just concerned for your well-being." Darwin insisted.
But their pleas fell on deaf ears, however, as Carrie continued to run even faster than usual, forcing the boys to do the same thing. Mike, who continued to watch the whole scene from his head, couldn't believe what Carrie was doing.
'Carrie, with all due respect, please listen to them.' Mike peacefully insisted, not wanting to get into a fight with the young ghost.
"No Mike, I've waited to be alive for far too long and I'm not losing this chance!" Carrie rejected the maroon badger's pleas, before she quickly made her way around another corner, successfully losing the other three.
"Where did she go?" asked Gumball.
"I don't know, Gumball, but she couldn't have gone that far." Darwin suggested.
"Wherever she is, we need to find her before it's too late." Brian insisted.
Agreeing with the purple fox, the boys continued on with their search, unaware that Carrie, watching the trio underneath some bushes, walked in the opposite direction, intending to go back to her house, as well as have a chat with Mike.
Once Carrie arrived to her destination, she made her way up to her bedroom as quietly as she could, before she closed the door behind her. Although Carrie could use the time to relax, Mike talked to her once more, much to her dismay.
'Carrie, what were you thinking back there?! We agreed to work with each other! How could you go back on our promise?!'
"If I recall, the deal was that I can have this body until you need to go home." Carrie darkly reminded the maroon badger.
'That was before you took off from my house!' Mike shouted. 'You're better than that!'
"If that is that how you feel, then so be it."
Before Mike knew what happened next, the maroon badger felt a surge of pain in his body. It didn't take him too long to realize what Carrie is planning.
'I don't think so Carrie! There's no way I'm letting you assume complete control over me!' Mike vowed, before he concentrated very hard, resisting the ghost's attempt as best as he could. Unfortunately for him, Carrie sensed what he was doing the moment he began resisting.
"I don't think so!" she snarled, prompting her to repeatedly bang Mike's head on the wall, before he began to spaz out and return to his normal self.
"You're going to have to do better than that." Mike said to Carrie,
On cue, one of Mike's paws suddenly grabbed him by the face and pulled him down to the ground. Undaunted, Mike got up and immediately grabbed his paw to prevent another attack. But the attempt was futile, however, as Carrie used his foot to kick him in the face, knocking him down to the ground. Soon, both the maroon badger and the young ghost began to struggle for control over his body, tumbling across the floor, slapping and pummeling each other in the process all over the bedroom.
"Carrie, this has to stop right now. Please reconsider what you're doing." Mike pleaded once again, before Carrie took over.
"I'll be the judge of that!" the young ghost retorted, before the two resumed their fight once more.
For the next several minutes, both Mike and Carrie were at each other's throats, reverting back and forth to one form after another. Finally, after what felt like an eternity for Mike, the maroon badger promptly made his way to a mirror, facing Carrie in his reflection with a serious look.
"Why are you behaving like this?! I'm your friend, Carrie and I need to know what's going on with you!"
Carrie continued to look at the maroon badger with seething anger and for a while, it appeared that she wasn't willing to give Mike an explanation. But then, the anger on her face slowly disappeared and soon, the young ghost burst into tears, finally ready to give the maroon badger her answer.
"Being a ghost is terrible, Mike! I can't eat, touch or even smell. But worst of all, most of the people will grow old and move on to the next life and I can't do anything about it! I can't even see those people again! Who would want to live such an awful life?!"
As Carrie continued to sob in her despair, Mike listened on, saddened that the young ghost had to go through such a tough ordeal. Never in his life that he met someone who had been in so much pain.
"Carrie, I have no idea you were that unhappy. I wish I would have known sooner." said Mike, before he suddenly got serious. "But knowing the pain of that, do you really want to reduce my life to something like a prison." Carrie's sobbing stopped as she looked up to face Mike. "If you took my body forever, I would be forced to watch someone else live my life while I basically had my chance of existing ripped away from me. In the end Carrie, this fight would have ended with both of us losing something: your new chance at life…and mine." Carrie gasped quietly as she realized what he meant. Mike's body looked like he just got beaten up and he must have been in a lot of pain. He was right; it could have ended extremely badly, all because she wouldn't leave. The young ghost exited out of his body and faced the maroon badger with a look of guilt and regret on her face.
"I'm so sorry for my selfishness, Mike. I was just so afraid that I didn't listen to reason. The last thing I wanted to happen is to lose both you and your friendship."
"It's alright, Carrie. Apology accepted." the maroon badger assured the young ghost with a warm smile, just happy that he and Carrie could work things out before something tragic took place. "But even if you're still a ghost, you did manage to prove to me, Gumball, Darwin and Brian that you're still capable of having emotions. A few days ago, I would never have guessed that and I'm glad that I could learn this. It makes me happy that we're friends."
Carrie couldn't help but smile, touched that Mike offered such kind words. They would be enough to warm her heart if she had one. But before she could say anything, a certain purple fox burst through the bedroom door and along with his friends, gave the maroon badger a serious look.
"You're not getting away from us that easily!" Brian shouted, before he, Gumball and Darwin tackled him to the ground, muffling Mike's attempt to explain, as the purple fox and the blue feline pummeled him to no end, while the two-legged fish repeatedly chanted "Carrie be gone!", while smacking the maroon badger's head.
Carrie, for her part, couldn't help but giggle, amused at the trio's silliness, before deciding to let them know what's up.
"Guys, I'm over here! Mike and I worked things out."
The moment the young ghost spoke, the boys stopped what they were doing and looked at Carrie, before looking right back at Mike and vice versa. By the time they realized their mistake, Mike was completely knocked out, with his head covered in lumps, and he had a black eye to boot.
"Oh man, this isn't going to be good." Brian fearfully commented.
"Knowing Mike, there's no telling what he'll do to us when he wakes up." said a panicked Gumball.
"I don't want to stick around and find out." Darwin fearfully stated.
"Then I suggest you guys better run as fast as you can." Carrie suggested.
Nodding their heads in agreement, the boys immediately left her bedroom and out of her house, leaving only the young ghost and the injured maroon badger, as the former kissed the latter on the cheek as a sign of gratitude.
'I should just wait right next to him when he wakes up.' Carrie thought, just happy that Mike was able to help her out. 'He's the first one to make me feel alive again… literally and metaphorically.'
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 57-The Clones: Part 1
When Brian makes one too many promises, including plans to hang out with Rhonda, the purple fox convinces Hector and his mom to create some clones.
Tidbits
-It wasn't as long as I imagined, but I'm glad I was able to get through to this chapter in one piece.
-I wanted to thank Sal for his help on this chapter, including suggesting it as well.
Hope everyone enjoyed The Possession and I'll be seeing ya next chapter!