"Dad?"
Gumball turned to face his son Tristan, who was now cuddled into his father looking at the stars above them.
"Yes son?"
Gumball still having his arm wrapped around the small blue feline.
"How many stars are there up there?"
Gumball then smiled, as both cats stared back at the stars, its vast expanse painting the night sky in front of the two.
"Well kiddo, we really don't have a clear scope of just how many stars are up there, but let's just say the place value tables you guys do in school do not have enough zeroes to account for just how many occupy space."
Tristan's eyes expanded when he heard these remarks.
"That many?!"
"That many."
"Wow..."
"Wow indeed little man, wow indeed..."
Gumball then glanced towards his watch to check what the time was.
The watch read 9:00 P.M.
"Well it's still early in the night, and we don't have to worry about a proper sleep schedule, it's not like there's an overabundance of schools and offices here right?"
The small feline chuckled.
"Right Dad."
"So let's go see if the others are up for another fire outside. We still got some berries your Mother and I picked a few days ago, we could have more S'mores!"
"You mean the same berries that made us abruptly leave due to a certain momma bear you and Mom ticked off?"
Gumball raised a claw and caught himself before he spoke, then transitioned to a contemplative expression, which gave way to a realization of what the blue feline brought up.
"Precisely that, you hit it right on the..."
Gumball then took one of his claws and touched the bridge of the little feline's nose.
"Nose!"
This got a playful chuckle from Tristan.
"Alright then, let's get ourselves off of this rooftop sport!"
Gumball carefully guided his son down the shingles of the rooftop, but not before stopping in his tracks.
"Oh! Wait one second, hopefully they're still in the living room..."
Gumball moved over to the sunroof and peaked through the glass.
"Awesome, they're actually in a perfect position at the moment! Okay Tristan, want to see how your old man used to have fun?!"
Tristan eagerly trotted over to his father, careful not to trip on any of the shingles that were sticking out from the roof they were standing on.
"Yeah sure Dad! What are we doing?"
Gumball placed one claw up and used another to point to the chimney adjacent to both cats.
He then placed a paw on the back of the small feline to guide him towards the chimney.
"Okay, behind here..."
The small feline then came to the realization of what his father was alluding to, but once he saw the back of the chimney stack, it became crystal clear what he was about to do.
Behind the stack, were carefully placed water balloons.
"Dad...are you about to do what I think you're about to do?"
Gumball was eagerly rubbing his paws together in a mischievous fashion and dawned a wide grin.
"Oh yes my young apprentice, and you're going to be accompanying me along for this prank!"
Tristan tilted his head to the side with a confused expression.
"A prank? On who exactly?"
Gumball then realized he had left his son completely in the dark on the matter at hand, and then scratched the back of his neck.
"Oh right...perhaps I should elaborate further on this..."
The small feline then nodded his head.
"Right, okay so as you're aware, Carrie and Vlad have pranked me twice since this vacation started back at our house in Elmore. So, what better opportunity than to have you with me to drop water balloons on our unsuspecting victims?!"
Tristan then kept a confused expression.
"But Dad...they're ghosts, physical objects in reality do not affect them."
"And at any other time you would be 100% correct young man, but do you remember the potion that Carrie and Vlad used to play water polo with us?"
The small feline nodded once again to the question posed to him.
"Well, they've been using it this entire trip to be able to interact with us in the physical realm on a consistent basis, so now is the perfect opportunity for yours truly to get a little bit of innocent payback! What do you say kiddo?"
Tristan placed a claw on his chin, contemplating and weighing the fun of this situation in his mind.
"Alright Dad, let's do this!"
Gumball placed his paw in the air, in the gesture of a high five, in which Tristan gladly accepted.
"Alright, now we're going to have to play this quietly and discreetly or else we'll arouse too much suspicion and the prank is ruined, okay? Just follow my lead and this should be executed perfectly!"
The small feline nodded his head and smiled.
"Be sure to take half of the balloons with you, we're dropping a massive payload onto our unsuspecting targets!"
Both cats collected the water balloons that were stashed next to the chimney stack, and carefully made their way towards the sunroof.
The lamps and electrical appliances illuminated the entire room inside like the 4th of July, there was not going to be any concern about differentiating about who was who inside.
Inside, Nicole and some of the adults and elders were at the table having a discussion over coffee, with Nicole taking Gumball's mug to the kitchen, and placing it in the microwave to sit, preventing any further heat loss from the liquid.
Penny was watching a video with Penelope and Anastasia, which could be assumed to be a comedy by Gumball, due to their incessant laughter; which put a smile on both of the faces of the blue cats surveying the room.
There were some adults also watching another installment of an Elmore football game with Darwin, Frankie, and Richard being the main spectators.
Finally, the targets that both cats were looking for were in sight.
Carrie was reading another spooky story to Vlad, in which the small ghost loved. Carrie's low and smooth voice provided a sense and aura of tranquility to Vlad as he smiled and anticipated the next page of the story his mother was reading. Carrie flicked her hair back momentarily between passages to allow her to see the text on each page, her arm around Vlad as she used her free hand to turn and hold up the book to allow the young ghost to see the illustrations.
Tristan then turned to his father, who coincidentally was also looking at the small blue feline with an expression of guilt.
"Dad? Are you having second thoughts about this?"
Gumball then looked down to Carrie and Vlad through the sunroof.
"I-I guess I am little man, they're having such a great time together, and it does seem mean to interrupt their quality time with a prank...you know what? Let's scrap the idea and head back down to invite them for a fire!"
"That sounds awesome Dad!"
The two cats were about to pack away the water balloons until they heard a conversation down below.
"Hey Mom, I was thinking. How about we raise the stakes for the next prank on Uncle Gumball and include another person...like maybe...Tristan?"
Both cats ears perked up as they heard this, and turned back to look down at the sunroof.
"Okay now this changes the playing field, doesn't it little man?"
Tristan nodded.
"It certainly seems so Dad, it certainly seems so..."
"Right, scratch our previous intentions, we're dropping everything we got on these guys!"
Gumball was now donning a serious and playful tone.
"Corporal Tristan, we have sworn an oath to defend the dignity and reputation of our household from our enemies foreign and domestic, are you prepared to do what is right for the Watterson household?"
Tristan chuckled and gave a playful salute to play along.
"Yes Sergeant Dad, sir!"
Gumball then extended a paw for a handshake gesture, in which the small blue cat eagerly accepted.
"Your sacrifice will never be forgotten by your country, son! Okay, let's get them!"
Both felines grabbed all of the water balloons they could muster in their arms. Gumball slowly lifted the sunroof window to the living room below.
Silently, with a quiet countdown, he turned to Tristan.
"Okay"
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Now!"
A barrage of balloons were dropped directly above the two ghosts, plummeting ever closer to them.
*SPLASH!*
The two ghosts were drenched on the sofa they sat at. Carrie's hair and wool black sweater were soaked in water, Vlad being the same in his pajamas and bathrobe.
The room, which was shocked at first, soon broke out into muffled laughter and chuckles. Nicole immediately knew who committed the act, and instantly put her two paws up to her face to contain her laughter.
"What was that about including Tristan in being pranked with me, Vladdy boy?"
Gumball playfully gestured below with a paw to his ear.
Carrie and Vlad both looked to the source of Gumball's voice above them at the sunroof, where they saw two cats peaking over, with the moon behind them illuminating their darkened blue figures.
"Well played Gumball, I guess we kinda deserved that one... but did you really have to do it on the night I just fixed my hair?"
The female ghost crossed her arms with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Gumball gave a smile.
"Well to be fair, washing one's hair is a lot quicker than shaving a beard that looks like Ivan the Terrible without personal hygiene!"
Carrie and the others below laughed at the snarky joke the blue cat gave, reminding them of the image of how goofy he appeared.
"Fair enough Gumball Watterson, fair enough...by the way how long have you guys been up there?"
Tristan then piped up.
"About two hours since sunset, we were actually just about to come downstairs and propose another night fire with s'mores!"
Carrie then smiled at the innocence of the blue kitten.
"That sounds like an awesome idea Tristan! Oh and also, I don't blame you for that one, we'll put the blame on your father this one instance."
Gumball rolled his eyes.
"Yeah don't worry Carrie, I'm sure you'll find the perfect payback when the opportunity arises."
Carrie flicked her bang.
"Oh don't worry, you can count on that one for sure!"
Gumball chuckled.
"Alright we're coming down there, just give us a minute!"
Everyone in the room waved to them, and went back to what they were doing previously.
Gumball gently placed the open window back down, and both blue cats let loose a flurry of hearty laughs together, embracing in a hug.
"That was awesome Dad! They really didn't expect it!"
Gumball wiped away a tear from his laughter.
"I know! Initially I had planned it to be just me conducting the prank, but you seemed a bit gloomy sitting on the sofa downstairs, so I brought you along. The sunset and stargazing were the icing on an already wonderful cake!"
Tristan smiled.
"You really are the best Dad in the world..."
Gumball let on a blush filled smile.
"I try my best little man, I try my best...now watch your step going down here, it's more deceiving than it looks."
The larger feline guided his son, down the steep rooftop, and reached the edge towards the balcony; where they climbed to first access the roof in the beginning.
Gumball leapt down onto the wooden balcony gesturing back for Tristan to jump, extending his arms out.
"Don't worry, I'll catch you!"
Tristan was a bit hesitant.
"Uncle Darwin told me you were terrible at catching..."
Gumball chuckled.
"Don't worry, I've improved since then, trust me, my hand-eye coordination is in perfect shape!"
Tristan shrugged both of his shoulders.
"Okay, if you say so!"
Gumball had a sweat streak going down his forehead.
"Why did you just put unnecessary pressure on yourself dude? Now what will happen if you miss him? No! No! I WILL catch him! Just focus Gumball, FOCUS!"
"Okay ready Dad?"
Gumball nodded.
"Don't worry, you're in safe hands! I think..."
The small feline prepared a stance before he leapt off the roof, with Gumball digging his claws into the wooden balcony.
Without another moment's hesitation, the small blue feline had a leap of faith directly into the arms of his father.
Gumball winced with his eyes closed, slowly opening one eye to see an adorable kitten face staring back at him.
"I-I-I caught you? Ha, ha, ha! I CAUGHT YOU! I mean, of course I caught you, I just closed my eyes because I was SO confident that I wanted to show you that I could catch you even with my eyes closed..."
Tristan rolled his eyes.
"You were not sure how that was going to go, were you?"
Gumball gave a sigh.
"Yeah...sorry about that..."
Tristan then chuckled.
"It's alright Dad, I still trusted you, and even then, it was only a 8 foot drop anyway."
Gumball looked at the roof edge and noticed that it wasn't THAT high up that he had initially anticipated before his son dropped.
"Oh...right... Okay, let's go see what the others are up to and ask them if they are up for a fire outside. It's another perfect night for it and plus the berries are as ripe as they'll ever be!"
Gumball opened the door to the main hallway from the outside balcony, both cats stepping into the moonlit, dark lakehouse. Both made their way to the grand staircase.
"I might have to go into the cellar downstairs to get the berries from the freezer, you can go meet up with everyone okay?"
Gumball placed his paw on Tristan's shoulder as he motioned in front of him as they approached the top of the staircase.
Tristan rushed down the staircase passing Carrie and Vlad. Gumball gave a sympathetic smile despite being pranked himself by the two ghosts.
Carrie stopped to the side of the blue feline and grabbed his arm.
"We still hold the edge with a 2-1 score on overall pranks, remember that!"
She stated with a wink and smile, in which Gumball returned back a smirk himself.
"Don't worry Carrie, I remember, just try to keep the pranks somewhat tame okay?"
Carrie chuckled, with Vlad joining in with his ghost mother.
"I'll be sure to keep it in mind, oh and Gumball? One more thing..."
The female ghost now releasing her grasp of the feline's arm, fixing her bang that was covering her eye.
"We've all been discussing this and... well if no one else is willing to state this, then at least I will. We're all truly appreciative of the vacation we're all having. Everyone is happy and creating memories with one another, taking a well deserved breather from all of our hectic and disorganized lively routines back in Elmore. I guess what I'm trying to imply is, we all believe that this has been made possible with your personality and presence. Whether you realize it or not, this Vacation would not be half as fun without your ability to plan fun activities for the kids and the rest of us. Thank you, Gumball..."
These words were seldom ever spoken from the ghost with such sincerity, she usually remained reclusive and in a constant mundane state. But this hit an entirely new front with the blue feline and he was truly touched to hear that, not just her, but everyone else was appreciative of his efforts and creativity throughout the duration of this vacation. Despite having heard these sentiments be similarly expressed by his mother Nicole; and Penny.
"Carrie...thank you so much! I truly am touched by your words and knowing that the others are enjoying their time on this vacation. But please, it really was Penny and my Mother who organized this, without them, none of the momentous occasions we've had as a family would have ever occurred! So please, try to thank them as well!"
Carrie smiled, the friend she had in junior high, had become more humbled as he aged into a young man.
"Will do Gumball, now if you'll excuse us, we have to dry off from the daring; albeit successful prank you pulled on us."
Gumball smiled.
"I'll leave you two to it, oh and sorry Vlad! But you did nearly give me a heart attack back at the house in Elmore, so fair is fair! No hard feelings?"
Vlad smiled.
"No hard feelings Uncle Gumball! To be honest, I was expecting you to return the favor anyway!"
The three then smiled, and departed from their conversation.
Gumball opened the door to the basement cellar and flicked on the light.
"For a lake house, it surely is very spacious and full of depth! Now where is that refrigerator?"
Gumball moved to the back where the refrigerator was standing and opened up the freezer compartment.
He grasped the two zip-lock bags of raspberries and blueberries and closed the freezer compartment.
He traversed his way back to the stairs leading up to the living room.
Gumball shut the door behind him and made his way to the rest of the family.
"Oh, there you are Gummypuss! Tristan told me you were off to get the berries from the freezer downstairs, I assume we're having s'mores over an open fire?"
Gumball presented a happy expression.
"Wow, your intuition never fails to amaze me Mom! Yes, that's precisely the plan I had in mind!"
Nicole winked.
"How else was I able to sense trouble with you and your brother in the past?"
Gumball let on a nervous chuckle.
"Very good point...Anyway, is everyone up for a fire?"
Nicole motioned her paw in a sweeping fashion across the room.
"Ready, willing, and able I would assume!"
Gumball then nodded.
"Right, okay I'll prepare the logs and you guys can get ready alright?"
"Sounds like a plan sweetie!"
With that, Gumball made his way to the shed outside, where logs were stacked up against each other. He placed a few into a nearby bucket and carried them to the fire pit.
Nicole and Tristan grabbed the necessary supplies needed in preparation of s'more making.
"Alright everyone, Gumball is preparing a fire outside and you're welcome to join if you want to!"
Nicole announced to everyone present in the living room, with all in attendance getting prepared to join in on the fire.
Gumball finished placing the logs into the fire pit and took a matchbook out of his shorts pocket. He sparked a flame on a match and cast it into the firepit to create a beautiful, illuminating, and warm presence as the family gathered around it. Many had taken out lawn chairs from inside the lake house to place around the surrounding perimeter and vicinity of the fire pit.
"Alright everyone! Tristan and I have everything you need to create your s'mores. We are aware some members of the family have an allergy to blueberries, so we have taken the liberty of placing the various berries into separate bags. With that being out of the way, let's enjoy the night!"
Nicole set out the ingredients on a nearby picnic table for everyone to collect what they need.
Penelope adorably, offered up a proposition to Penny.
"Mom? Do you mind if I get our s'mores? I know we both are allergic to blueberries and I'd like to give you one to show how grateful I am for everything you have done on this trip..."
The small yellow fairy's soft spoken words, kindness, and generosity struck a chord with her Mother, who gave her a warm hug.
"Oh of course you can sweetie, you are so kind!"
Gumball and Tristan sat next to each other around the crackling of the fire pit. The warm embers shooting into the clear night sky above, as owls in the distance could be heard softly hooting.
"Dad? When did we find out that Penelope was allergic to blueberries?"
Gumball looked over to the small feline and expressed a short smile.
"When your sister was born, the emergency physician who entered the emergency room accidentally brought blueberry yogurt to your Mother to ease the discomfort of her labor. Luckily I was in the room with them, while you watched your sister from the observation window. I was starving when we rushed your mother to the hospital that morning, so I thought, why not? So I had the yogurt as your Mother rested. Foolishly, I went over to the observation room to see your sister and..."
Gumball hesitated for a moment.
"What happened Dad?"
"I accidentally flicked a portion of my yogurt on the spoon into your sister's mouth and she had an allergic reaction..."
Tristan put his paw on his Father's shoulder.
"It's okay Dad, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known that Penelope was allergic like Mom was, you were just happy to see your newborn daughter and an accident happened. Who knows? Perhaps if that never happened at the hospital, there could have been a more serious reaction and we wouldn't be there to save her!"
Gumball was touched by his son's words.
"Thanks Tristan, really. But luckily, there was an epi-pen station in the room for such an event. The doctors commended me for my quick thinking and daring assertiveness to the situation."
Tristan chuckled, as Penny looked over to her husband, as her and Penelope enjoyed their chocolate drizzled, raspberry s'mores.
"Unfortunately Tristan, your mother was also at the receiving end of your father causing an allergic reaction...something involving a peanut butter and blueberry sundae if I recall correctly..."
Gumball's ears drooped and his cheeks were blushing beet red.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that incident honey...you know I was only trying to show my affection for you, right?"
The yellow fairy chuckled.
"I know Gumball, I'm just messing with you! You really expressed your affection for me that day...although it would have been more bearable without being chased by wild animals and trekking through a barren desert..."
Tristan put on a confused expression.
"Huh?"
"Don't worry about it little man, I'll explain it all to you when you're older..."
In the back, Anastasia piped up.
"Hey Vlad, Tristan, and Penelope?! Want to play hide and seek in the woods?"
All three kids cheered as they approached the small fish.
Gumball got up from his chair.
"Kids! Try to stay within the lake house limits, okay? It's especially dark tonight, so it's super easy to get lost out there! Tristan seeing as you're the oldest, you're in charge of the group okay?"
Tristan gave a thumbs up gesture.
"Don't worry Dad, we'll be alright!"
Gumball crossed his arms and slowly talked to himself as the rest of the family surrounded him as the kids went off into the woods.
"They'll be fine...they'll be fine..."
As the four kids ran off down the dirt path to the congested and looming pine trees of Elmore National Park.
The four kids gleefully pranced through the wooded national park. Their tag game illuminated through the trees and provided an eerie, yet calm vibe to the activity. After being exhausted for so long, the children decided to make the trek back to the lake house.
"Wow that was an awesome game! We should try that at the park at home!"
Tristan expressed excitedly, as the four walked on the main path to the lake house.
"Absolutely! We just got to find out a time where all of us can join together after school!"
Vlad expressed with a high five to Tristan.
Penelope soon turned behind her as she had heard faint crack of a twig.
"What's wrong Penelope?"
Anastasia asked, as Tristan and Vlad's attention soon turned to the two girls.
"No-nothing, nothing. Just thought I heard something, that's all!"
The four kids now picked up their pace, as they were slightly unnerved by the fairy's tone.
Suddenly a dark apparition appeared in front of the four kids, just ahead on the trail.
It let out a low roar, as its eyes were fixated on them.
"Is that what I think it is?"
Remarked Tristan, as the figure moved into the moonlight, providing clarity as to just what it was.
"Oh my goodness! It's her again!"
Standing in front of the four kids was the mother bear that had chased them down the mountain side from before, her cub still accompanying her.
"RUN!"
Tristan screamed, as the four kids dodged the large bear, as they took a detour around her, sprinting with all of their might to get back to the lake house which was a short distance from where they were, but in this scenario; it felt like it was miles and miles away.
Back at the fire, Louis was continuing to play his Banjo, as the elders conversed with one another about various topics. Nicole and Richard had joined them, as the night became deafly quiet. Gumball sat with Darwin, Carrie, Penny, and Anais.
"Goodness it's been half an hour they should be back by now!"
Gumball remarked, as he was visibly worried about the status of the kids.
"Don't worry bro, I'm sure they'll be fine as long as they follow the trail. Besides, Anastasia hates being too far away from safety, and really dislikes being away from her Mother and Father for too long, she'll be asking to come back any minute now!"
Suddenly faint screaming could be heard approaching the lake house.
All of the Watterson family surrounding the fire, looked towards the source of the noise as it sent chills down their spines.
"Was that-"
Anais was soon cut off.
"The kids?"
Carrie finished the abrupt question that the bunny tried to pose.
Soon four kids emerged from the nearby tree line.
"SHE'S BACK!"
Penelope screamed at the top of her lungs, as the mother bear soon emerged from the tree line as well, quickly catching up to the four kids.
Tristan suddenly lost his balance and slipped onto the grass.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
Tristan cried tears of fear, as the mother bear was about to strike.
"TRISTAN!"
Paternal instincts kicking in, Gumball leapt in front of the strike, the claws of the bear just grazing his chest, but causing enough damage to let out a spurt of blood.
"BOYS!"
Penny let out a scream, as she transformed into her dragon form, unleashing a torrent of hot fire, shocking the bear and cub as they backed off and retreated back into the woods.
Gumball lay motionless next to Tristan, as the blue feline quickly got up to check on his Father, blood and the scratch of the bear visibly staining his blue fur and tearing open his shirt.
The rest of the family rushed over. Anais the taking the lead for decisive action, time was of the essence.
"We need to get him inside quickly! Carrie go fetch one of your healing potions!"
Nicole then stepped in.
"I'll retrieve a first aid kit and some blankets!"
With that the Watterson family knew, the blue cat's life was hanging in the balance and they had to equalize the scales to bring him back to health.
( If It's not Easy to be Me by Five for Fighting is compatible with your device, please press play now)
The Watterson family sat around the blue feline, as he lay with a bandage around his chest and waist, covered with a soft blanket.
Faces of concern were now enveloping the room, as one small feline was trying to hold back his tears. Nicole rushed over to comfort her Grandson, as Penny did with Penelope.
Tears now started to form in the small blue cat's eyes as he looked at his Father.
"Is he going to be alright Grandma Nicole?"
Nicole looked at her son, his breathing was coarse and rough each time he inhaled and exhaled.
"I'm sure he will be little man, but we'll keep our eyes on him if anything changes."
After an hour, most of the Watterson family went to bed, many still shaken and battered about what had happened. It was going to be a sleepless night for many at the Lake House.
Nicole sat in the recliner chair staring at her son. Suddenly moans could be heard emitting from him, as she quickly rushed over to see what was wrong.
Gumball slowly opened his eyes.
"Mom? Can-can I please have some water?"
Nicole retrieved a glass of water from the kitchen, and gently rose her son's head to allow him to take a sip.
"Th-thank you. I guess you're the nurse now hey? heh, heh, *Cough* Cough*"
Nicole gently planted a kiss on top of her son's forehead.
"Yes I am, but don't worry about that, just get some rest okay?"
Gumball slowly drifted to sleep, as Nicole wrapped herself in a blanket as she sat back in her recliner chair.
Before she completely dozed off, one last thought entered her mind.
"Please come back to us Gumball... we're not a family without you."
*END OF CHAPTER*