A/N: I got into this show just this last week, and am only about ten episodes in. I'm sure the connection between Clovis and the Chaos will be explained soon enough, but I'm impatient and went with what I know so far.
Takes place just after The Voice of the Chaos.
"Any portals nearby, Cece?" Zak asked. "The Sea of Aeria is starting to get old."
Cece lowered her sextant. "None near here. We will have pass by a storm to get there."
"Grand," Clovis said, suddenly popping out from the floor between the pair. "Can you not break the Chaos this time?"
"Hey, I don't know why you're blaming me," Zak said defensively.
The screen beside the helm blinked to life, showing Caramba in the engine room. "Hm, maybe because you did fly the Chaos in a tornado last time and the Chaos was damaged?"
"We escaped, didn't we?" Zak sniffed. "Besides, even if it happened again, we know how to get to the turbine room and fix him, right?"
Caramba shuddered. "I'd rather not. It's too scary down there!"
"Hey, we know how to take care of those squid-things," Zak insisted. "We'd be fine!"
"Oh, oh, you should take me next time!" Clovis said. "I'm really good at playing dead!"
The face on Caramba's suit showed a question mark. "Uh, aren't you already dead?"
"No!" Clovis huffed. "How many times do I have to tell you, I've just misplaced my body."
Zak smiled and shook his head. Maybe someday, the crew could figure out what Clovis meant by that.
"Argh, a real pirate would face the enemy, not play dead!" Calabrass said.
Zak laughed and glanced back at the sword. "You're just grumpy because you got eaten."
"The digestive tract of even mechanical beasts is no sail in the sun, I assure you!" Calabrass said.
"Let us not test our luck again today, Zak Storm," Cece said.
"Okay, okay," Zak conceded. "We'll just go around the storms, okay? Hey, Crogar!"
The Viking teen looked up from his spot on the deck, where he had been eating since the incident in the tornado field. "Yeah?"
"I'll need you to hold the helm if we get too close to the tornados, okay?"
"Crogar can do that… after Crogar finishing eating."
A bit later, the Chaos was in sight of the portal. Only problem was, there was a tornado between the Chaos and the portal.
"Get ready, everyone!" Zak called. "Crogar, come to the helm. Cece and Clovis, get below. Caramba, hold on."
"Oh, dear," Caramba muttered, wrapped his suit's arms around a sturdy pole.
Crogar took Zak's position at the helm, while Zak braced himself against the console. Cece took one last glance at the storm, then hurried below. Clovis pouted at being out of the action, but vanished through the floor.
"Okay, Cro', aim for the left of the tornado, and hold the Chaos as straight as you can. Ready?"
"Crogar ready. No storm will stop the Chaos!" Crogar said confidently.
Zak was confident in Crogar's ability to keep the Chaos steady. He simply pointed out the direction for Crogar to head when he spotted a smoother patch of sea.
Soon, they were right alongside the tornado and Zak could barely stand in the wind. The Chaos began to drift sideways, pulled toward the tornado.
"Oh, no, no! Chaos, more power!" Zak pleaded.
The ship groaned, and the thrusters fired up stronger. The Chaos was still drifting, but at least he kept going forward.
The force of the tornado began to suck out objects still on the deck. Several barrels were pulled away, and Crogar had to duck a flying chair.
"Zak, the engines are close to overheating!" Caramba exclaimed, an exclamation point showing up on the face of his suit.
"We're almost past it!" Zak said. He dodged cutlery that came flying out of nowhere. "Woah!"
Clovis abruptly popped out from the middle of the deck. "What's going on?! I can help."
"Clovis, get below!" Zak yelled, ducking briefly below the console to avoid half a barrel. "It's too dangerous!"
"Nonsense, I'm perfectly-"
Wham!
Clovis' statement was cut off when a barrel was ripped from the deck. It slammed into the ghost boy, knocking him to the deck, then the barrel was blown away.
"Clovis! Calabrass, give me the eye of Aeria!"
Calabrass quickly transformed Zak, allowing him to run against the wind to Clovis' side. The ghost boy's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. Zak gave a yell of anger and raised the Calabrass-shield. Instantly, the wind stopped around the two boys.
Chaos gave a mighty shudder, making Zak look up in alarm. But the Chaos' engines didn't look damaged. They roared even stronger, shooting the ship clear of the tornado and through the portal.
The ship splashed down in the calm sea of Beru, throwing Zak to the deck and causing him to detransform. The Chaos slowed in the gentle sea.
Zak scrambled to his knees and crawled to Clovis. "Clovis? Clovis, can you hear me?"
Cece and Caramba rushed onto the deck, and Crogar left the helm. They joined Zak beside Clovis.
"What happened?" Cece asked. "We were below, but when you yelled, he flew outside."
"A barrel hit him," Zak said.
"Is he okay? He looks pale," Caramba worried.
"Clovis always pale," Crogar pointed out.
"Discuss it later, guys," Zak said, worried that Clovis still wasn't waking up. "Crogar, can you take him below?"
Crogar nodded and leaned down to pick up Clovis, when the smaller boy groaned.
"Clovis!" Zak sighed in relief. "You had me worried there for a second? Can you hear me? Are you okay?"
Clovis' eyes blinked open. He stared at Zak for a second, then yelled.
"Intruders!"
The rest of the crew spun around, expecting to see the Demonic. There was only open sea, though, and the skies were clear of pteros. Confused, they turned back to see that Clovis was gone!
"Uh, Clovis?" Zak turned in a full circle. "Did anyone else get that?" The others shrugged. "He must have been confused after getting hit. Spread out and find him!"
Up on the crow's nest, Clovis crouched and watched the four C's start to search. His eyes narrowed.
"How did they get aboard, Chaos? This is my ship. Well, sort of. When you let me steer. Anyway, they shouldn't be here!" Clovis grinned. "I'll just have to 'encourage' them to go!"
Cece had taken to the water, in case Clovis had gone underwater or was floating beside the Chaos for some reason.
She swam around the edge of the ship, but to no luck. She was about to head up onto the deck by climbing the anchor chain, when a splash caught her attention.
Cece turned in time to see a small splash caused by something hitting the water. She quickly dived down and spotted the object drifting down. She grabbed it.
It was a marble. More specifically, one of Clovis' marbles that he was always playing with. Cece rolled her eyes and swam back to the surface.
"Clovis, I know you are there. Stop playing games, the captain is worried."
Clovis didn't respond or appear, making Cece frown. She scanned the water again, then began to swim toward the anchor chain.
Halfway there, she froze as a sound began to come from the Chaos. It sounded like… humming?
"Clovis?" Cece asked, treading water.
The humming continued. Cece pressed her ear to the wood. The Chaos was humming!
"That is not right," Cece muttered.
She quickly began to swim toward the chain again. Just before she could reach it, the anchor quickly began to rise. Cece lunged for the chain, then the anchor whipped out of the water and stopped high out of reach.
"What? Hey, I am still down here!" Cece yelled as the Chaos began to drift. "Hey!"
The humming turned into a wild cackle. Cece flinched, then ducked under the water.
After a moment, the laughter stopped and Clovis' head poked out of the wood. He grinned.
"One down, three to go!"
"Clovis here?" Crogar picked up a barrel. He shook his head and set it down. "No. Here?"
Something tapped Crogar's shoulder. He turned, but there was no one else in the hold. He shrugged and turned to continue searching, then felt another tap. This went on for several minutes before Crogar decided to ignore it.
He continued to move barrels around, with no sight of Clovis. As he reached for another barrel, it wriggled away from him. Crogar stared at it, then stepped closer. The barrel moved again. Crogar turned away as if to grab another barrel, then lunged for the barrel. It quickly moved away, causing Crogar to fall to the ground.
"Crogar not like moving barrel," Crogar growled, standing.
The barrel made a sound like a raspberry, furthering Crogar's anger. He leaped at the barrel, which didn't move this time. He smashed into the barrel, breaking it into splinters and throwing fish everywhere.
"Hm, Clovis not in here," Crogar said, then proceeded to eat the spilled fish.
While Crogar was eating, Clovis' head popped out of another barrel. He scowled at Crogar, then ducked back down.
The pile of spilled fish began to glow green. Crogar paused from eating and peered closer. All of the sudden, the fish exploded outward with a loud yell.
Crogar fell over backward, and was showered with fish. He immediately stood and backed away from the fish. When a glow appeared from one of the smaller piles, Crogar turned and ran.
Clovis' head popped out of floor under the fish. He giggled and ducked back down.
"Clovis? Clovis, if you're down here, you had better say something," Caramba said, peeking under the engines. "You know you can't be down here."
Caramba straightened and gave one last glance around, then shrugged. Clovis wasn't allowed in the engine room since he had a tendency to break stuff, but Caramba had wanted to search there anyway. Clovis had been acting so oddly since the tornado field, there was no telling what he might do.
Caramba headed for the door, then jumped when it slammed shut. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths.
"It's okay. The Chaos' swaying probably just made it close," Caramba told himself. "It wouldn't be the first time."
A rattling made Caramba peek his eyes open. The hatch handle was rattling. While Caramba started to shake, the door slowly creaked open. No one was there.
"It's okay, it's okay, it just… didn't latch!"
Before Caramba's attempts to calm himself could work, the lights flickered and went off. Caramba gave up on calm. He screamed and bolted from the room, tripping over the steps as he bolted for the top deck.
Clovis grinned as he stepped out of the wall. "That was too easy. Now for the finishing touch!"
Zak was checking the top deck for Clovis, when he heard crashes and screams. He turned to see Crogar stomping up the stair and flinging fish off of his armor. Caramba was close behind him, screaming loudly.
"What in the Seven Seas?" Calabrass demanded.
Cece suddenly came flying up and over the railing of the Chaos. She landed on her feet with her ray gun at the ready.
"Woah, guys, stop!" Zak yelled.
Crogar froze. Caramba crashed into him and fell backward, his suit falling into its defensive ball mode. Cece lowered her gun slightly.
"What happened?" Zak asked.
The front of Caramba's suit opened, and the small alien yelled, "The ship is haunted!"
Zak laughed. "Of course it is. Clovis!"
The rest of the crew looked at each other, then back to Zak, obviously ashamed of their panic. Caramba's suit reactivated, and Cece put away her gun.
"If it was Clovis making the Chaos hum, I fail to see the humor. Also, he pulled the anchor?" Cece asked.
"No one," Zak said. He walked to the edge of the deck and looked over. "Huh? Well, it wasn't me."
"Not Crogar."
"I was below the whole time," Caramba said.
"It must have been Clovis, then," Zak decided. "But why?"
"A prank?" Caramba suggested, deciding to not mention what had happened in the engine room.
"Now? I think that is a bit much, even for Clovis," Zak mused. "Especially after he got hit like that."
"That could be why Clovis is acting strange," Caramba realized.
Zak looked at him. "Really? How?"
A rattling from the helm stopped Caramba from answering. Despite knowing what the source probably was, Caramba stepped closer to Crogar.
Zak sighed and walked toward the helm, with the others following. He stopped in front of the helm and leaned closer. It sounded like rattling chains were under it.
Clovis suddenly shot out of the floor, making a strange face and yelling, "Begone!"
Caramba and Crogar jumped backwards and fell down the stairs. Cece and Zak flinched, but remained where they were.
Clovis blinked at them, then raised his hands beside his head. He wriggled his fingers while making a ghostly whistling sound.
"Okay, Clovis, you got us," Zak said.
Clovis frowned. "Hey, how do you know my- I mean, my name isn't Clovis! It's… er, Chaos! Yes, it's Chaos!"
"Um, besides the fact that you obviously made that up, Chaos is the ship," Zak said. "What's the matter, Clovis?"
Clovis huffed and crossed his arms. "Alright, so you got me." He flew abruptly closer to Zak, getting into his personal space. "How do you know my name?"
"Clovis, we've been sailing together for weeks now," Zak said, confused.
"Nonsense! It's been me and Chaos alone for…" Clovis stared into space, then shook his head. "Not important. Now, why don't you and your buddies get off of my ship!"
"I think the blow to the head addled his pint-sized brains," Calabrass muttered.
"Clovis, he is our ship, too," Cece said.
"Says you." Clovis smirked. "Chaos?"
The Chaos' engines suddenly roared to life. The ship shot forward, throwing the four C's off their feet.
"Clovis? Chaos?!" Zak yelped. "What are you doing?!"
Clovis flew up into the mast. "Oh, Chaos, how about we drop anchor and ditch these pirates?"
"Oh, no," Cece whispered as the anchor began to fall. "Grab onto something!"
The anchor caught on something, jerking the Chaos to a halt. Crogar managed to stay upright by holding onto the mast, and he kept a firm grip on Caramba to keep the alien's suit from rolling away. Cece braced her feet against the helm and didn't budge. Zak went skidding across the floor and slammed into the railing.
"Ouch," Zak panted.
"Clovis, stop!" Cece demanded, standing.
Clovis laughed. "Try and stop me!"
Cece took a step toward the mast, then Clovis vanished in a puff of smoke. Cece scowled, then turned to the others getting to their feet.
"Why Clovis try to scare friends off?" Crogar asked, hurt that Clovis would try that.
"It's like he doesn't remember us," Zak said.
"Perhaps he doesn't," Caramba said. "You said a barrel hit him, right? Can't injuries like that sometimes cause memory loss in humans?"
"Yes, it's called amnesia, but Clovis is a ghost. How is that even possible?" Zak asked.
Caramba lifted his mechanical arms in a shrug. "How is anything in the Bermuda Triangle possible?"
"Is there a cure?" Cece asked.
"Most often, the memories will return on their own. With the help of a doctor, he could recover faster," Caramba said.
"In the movies, the person with amnesia always just gets hit over the head a second time," Zak said.
The face of Caramba's suit showed an unimpressed expression. "So you want to throw another barrel at Clovis?"
"Crogar can throw barrel, if barrel fix Clovis," Crogar offered.
"You know, that might not work as well as in the movies," Zak sheepishly said.
"Wouldn't hurt," Calabrass said.
"Let us go back to Marituga. There has to be a doctor there who can help Clovis," Cece said. "We are not far."
"Not sure how we're going to find a doctor for a ghost, but okay," Zak said. He went to the helm and grabbed on. "Chaos, set a course for Marituga!"
In response, the helm abruptly spun to the left. Zak was thrown to the ground.
"Oof! What? Chaos!"
Zak stood and tried to grab the helm, only for it to start spinning before he could. The anchor began to grind up. Cece, Crogar, and Caramba grabbed onto the railings, but Zak didn't have time to get to something solid before the engines fired up again. Zak was once again thrown to the floor. The Chaos came to another abrupt halt, and Zak rolled across the floor.
"You know what, I think I'll stay here," Zak said with a slight groan. "Seriously, what is up with the Chaos?"
"He is acting along with Clovis," Caramba said. "It's like when the Clovis was sick, when the Chaos had been damaged."
"So, Clovis and the Chaos are connected?" Cece asked. "Has the Chaos forgotten us as well?"
"I do not think so. But Clovis thinks we don't belong, and if I'm right, then the Chaos may be trying to get rid of us just because Clovis is."
"A ship can't make its own crew walk the plank!" Calabrass said. "Not even this tub!"
An ominous whirring sound started from above Zak. He tentatively lifted his head and saw the plank preparing to launch.
"Wanna bet, Calabrass?" Zak asked. "Everyone hit the deck!"
After a moment, though, the plank powered down. No one moved for a few minutes in case it started up again, then stood one by one.
"Okay, so the Chaos doesn't completely want us gone," Zak said. He tried the helm again, and found it stuck. "But he also won't help us. Any bright ideas?"
"Wait it out?" Caramba suggested.
A marble fell out of the sky and clanked against Caramba's armor. Everyone looked up and saw Clovis floating above them. He grinned and tossed a marble at Crogar.
"Clovis, listen," Zak said, drawing the ghost boy's attention. "We're your friends remember? I'm Zak, and this is Calabrass, Cece, Crogar, and Caramba. We're a team!"
"A… team?" Clovis repeated, floating closer.
Zak smiled. "Yeah. We're all going to work together to get out of the Bermuda Triangle, and keep Golden Bones from hurting people."
While Zak talked, Clovis floated down to stand in front of him. Zak held out his hand to Clovis, who looked at his hand blankly, then up at Zak. Clovis grinned mischievously.
"Stink bomb!" Clovis yelled.
Clovis vanished a cloud of bright green gas. Zak yelped and covered his nose, but too late. He gagged at the stench and staggered down the steps. Cece rushed after him, choking.
"I suddenly feel bad for Golden Bones' skeletons," Cece gasped out.
Clovis reappeared at the helm. "Take that! Still want to try and steal my ship?"
"We aren't stealing- ugh, never mind," Zak grumbled. "Let's get to my cabin."
"No, you aren't!" Clovis protested.
Clovis grabbed his ball and chain out of apparently nowhere, and began to swing it over his head. He threw it at the others, who had to dive out of the way.
"Zak Storm, what do we do?" Cece asked as she and Zak took refuge behind some tipped-over barrels. "We cannot attack our friend!"
"Friendship isn't stopping Clovis!" Caramba yelped.
"We couldn't hurt him if we wanted," Zak pointed out. "Remember when Bones' skeletons try to hurt Clovis? They go right through him."
"With the eye of Vapir, you could evade his attacks and be able to touch him, no matter the tricks he has up his ghostly sleeves," Calabrass said.
"Good idea! Calabrass, give me the eye of Vapir!"
Calabrass transformed Zak, and the boy rushed out of cover. Clovis swung at him, but Zak concentrated and the ball went right through him.
"Ha ha, not so easy when I can go ghosty, too, huh?" Zak taunted to keep Clovis' attention on him.
"Hey, not fair!" Clovis protested. Then he grinned. "Well, try to keep up!"
Clovis dropped through the floor. Zak groaned; doing the same would drain Calabrass' power too quickly. He'd have to search the old-fashioned way.
"You guys, stay together. Call if you see Clovis."
Zak walked through the hold with his sword at the ready. While he scanned the room, he tried to figure out how he could trap a ghost. Maybe at Marituga there was something, but Zak doubted there was anything like that on the Chaos.
"Clovis," Zak called softly. "Come out. I just want to talk."
"And I want you off my ship."
Zak jumped when he heard Clovis' voice just above him. He looked up to see Clovis on top of one of the boxes.
"Come on, Clovis, I'm your friend," Zak tried again.
"Uh, huh, right," Clovis said.
"I'm also captain of this ship," Zak said, tone more firm.
Clovis laughed. "Yeah, right! The Chaos has no captain! And if you somehow even were, the Chaos would have let you take the helm."
"I don't know why the Chaos is acting like he is, but I'm telling the truth!"
Clovis snorted and flew off. A second later, there was the clang of a closing hatch, followed shortly after by a second.
"Did I just get locked in the hold?" Zak asked.
"Ay, the brig for us!" Calabrass said.
"Well, we can't let Clovis get away!"
Zak ran for the door at the other end of the bridge. Without slowing, he closed his eyes and leaped at the door. A disconcerting tingle ran through Zak, then he crashed into something solid. He opened his eyes to find himself on the other side of the door, against the wall. He grinned, but knew he would only be able to do that one more time.
He had to hurry.
After checking that the others were still hidden, Zak went to the captain's cabin. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside, then walked in. Clovis was nowhere in sight, but the cabin was Zak's best guess in where to find him. He sat down in the chair in the middle of the room.
"Clovis, no one is leaving this ship," Zak said.
Clovis popped out of the wall. "Why do you insist on staying on the Chaos?"
"I already told you. It's our ship, too," Zak said.
Clovis gave a frustrated groan. "You have got to be joking! I think I would know if the Chaos suddenly had a new crew. That's it, I'm tired of you."
Clovis grabbed Zak's wrist and jerked him forward. Zak couldn't break free, and only had the time to brace himself before allowing himself to be pulled through the wall. Clovis let him go, and an untransformed Zak hit the deck.
"Last chance, everybody. Get off my ship, or else!"
Zak picked up the weakened Calabrass and returned him to his back. He glanced at Cece, Caramba, and Crogar, then faced Clovis.
"No way, Clovis. We won't leave you behind," Zac said.
Clovis floated over to the helm. "Alright, then. You've asked for it. Chaos!"
The four C's braced themselves, but the Chaos didn't move. Clovis blinked and looked at the helm.
"Chaos, are you really going to let these invaders take over?" Clovis asked, incredulous.
Slowly, the Chaos' anchor raised. The crew braced themselves, but the Chaos only floated slowly forward.
"We are headed for Marituga," Cece whispered. "I think the Chaos is back on our side."
"I sure hope so," Zak whispered back. "Without Calabrass, there's nothing we can do if Clovis attacked again."
Clovis grabbed the helm and tried to move it, but it didn't budge. He floated up and shoved against it, feet kicking open air.
"The Chaos is taking us someplace," Cece said. "What if you waited to see where he is headed, before you try to throw us overboard again?"
"You've done something to the Chaos!" Clovis accused. "Get off of my ship!"
Clovis dived down at them, forcing the team to scatter. He veered after Caramba and stuck his hands into the suit's back. The suit jerked to a halt, then started to spasm. Caramba opened the front and jumped out to hide under a table, while Clovis darted off again.
Crogar ran after Clovis and tried to grab him. The ghost boy simply passed through his arms, then taunted Crogar to go after him again. When Crogar charged, Clovis flew straight up and Crogar tripped down the stairs into the hold. Clovis floated down to slam the hatch shut, then vanished into the floor.
Zak and Cece were running toward the stern of the ship, when a handful of marbles rolled across their path. Cece quickly stopped, but Zak couldn't in time. His feet slipped out from under him, and he fell to the ground for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
"Really, dude?" Zak tipped his head back to see the grinning Clovis behind the barrels.
"You'll feel that one in the morning!" Clovis said with a giggle.
Clovis flew over and grabbed Zak's wrist. He started to pull Zak toward the railing.
"Hey, Clovis!" Zak yelled.
Zak got his feet under him, but Clovis simply lifted him off the ground and continued to head toward the water.
"Zak Storm!"
Cece ran and grabbed onto Zak's ankle, but Clovis continued to pull them both.
"Clovis is much stronger than anyone his size has any right to be," Cece huffed as her feet left the deck.
"Hey, was that a size joke?" Clovis asked, speeding up.
The hatch to the hold suddenly burst open. Crogar ran out. He held a barrel, which he threw at Clovis.
"Ragnarok!"
Clovis barely had time to flinch, then the barrel struck him. Zak's hand slipped free. Cece hit the deck and rolled to the side before Zak could fall on her. Zak landed hard on his back, then a limp Clovis landed on his stomach.
"Crogar!" Cece yelled.
"Barrel help Clovis?" Crogar asked, unaffected by the scolding tone.
Cece turned to Zak, who was moving Clovis to lay on the deck. "I guess we'll find out."
There was a splash as the Chaos' anchor fell. The ship rumbled to a halt. Caramba crawled out from under the table.
"I think the Chaos is mad at us again," Caramba said regretfully, despite having nothing to do with Clovis being knocked out.
"Well, hopefully this works like the movies," Zak said.
Zak held Clovis' head in his lap, waiting for the boy to wake up again. The others sat around him, silently watching Clovis.
After a few minutes, Clovis groaned and started to move.
"Clovis?" Zak said.
Clovis' hands came up to press against his head. "Ow, what hit me?"
"Two barrels," Caramba said.
Clovis opened his eyes. "Two barrels?"
"It's a long story," Zak said with a sigh. "Do you… remember us?"
Clovis gave him an odd look. "What do you mean?"
"You kind of forgot who we were for a bit there," Zak said. "Do you remember us now?"
"Of course I do!" Clovis sat up, then floated above them. "You're Zak, Calabrass, Cece, Caramba, and Crogar! I really forgot you?"
"Yes. You thought we were trying to steal the Chaos, and kept trying to scare us off," Cece said. "You almost threw Zak and I overboard."
Clovis' eyes got wide. "Oh… sorry."
"No problem. At least now we know how good you are at defending the Chaos," Zak said with a chuckle.
Clovis smiled. "I sure can! Just.. uh, one question."
"What is it?"
"What's 'the Chaos?'"
Everyone stared at Clovis. The boy stared blankly back, then a grin stole over his features.
"Kidding!"
A/N: If anyone remembers what Clovis calls himself when he doesn't want to be called a ghost, could you send me a message? I couldn't find the right scene.