Tootles' Nightmare

Tootles hated being the smallest Lost Boy. He thought this as he glared at his friends from a corner of the hideout lounge.
Being small meant that he was worth fussing over about.

Just last week, the Losts were playing around a mermaid-less lagoon with a waterfall and Tootles had been pushed into the water while trying to participate in the boys' horseplay. Peter rescued him in time and the next thing Tootles knew, he was sitting on the couch with every Lost Girl at his aid, holding up bowls of soup and towels. Morgan had even told him a story about how she recovered after a nasty leg injury that cost her first place in a tennis tournament. It was excruciating to listen.

And it wasn't just the Lost Girls he was loathing at the moment.

Oh yes, the Lost Boys were also capable of being overprotective. Tootles was lucky enough to be able to take part in the Battle of Hunfrid. Usually he would be excluded from fights due to him being the youngest of the group of forever children.

Tootles thought he could adjust to the attention…until dinnertime earlier that night. He learned that being little also made him easy to take advantage of, a lesson taught by Taylor and Kyle. Both newbies swiped all of the Fairy Berries, Tootles' favorite. When Tootles confronted them about the theft, they merely lied and told him 'Fruits are bad for you. Why do you think they say 'bad apple' or 'sour grape'?".

When Fairy Berries are involved, Tootles was not one to easily forgive. He had it with the other Losts and was currently planning payback. He would need some assistance from friends to put his plan into action. By tomorrow, the Lost Kids would think twice before underestimating Tootles.

The next day, Tootles had managed to get the Pit, the underground headquarters where Peter and the others would communicate with allies in distant parts of the Realm (the entrance being the metallic crocodile mouth in front of the hideout), to himself. Staring at the vast amount of button, he scratched his head in confusion. And after 45 minutes of spinning in the computer chair, pressing random buttons, and maybe accidentally ordered a pizza, Tootles finally gained control over one of the thirty computers on the monitor wall.

On the screen, Naomi's face came into view with her Hogwarts dormitory as the background. She looked stressed, but her whole demeanor changed in an instant once she noticed who messaged her.

"Tootles? How did you-"

"Can you come to Neverland tonight?" Tootles was straight to the subject. Naomi sat up straighter and stared at him in puzzlement, "Is someone in danger?" The witch/pixie wondered what the reason for this video chat was. Judging by the way the young boy sat leisurely in the computer seat with his hands rubbing together as if he were to manically laugh and state his evil villain monologue,

"No but there will be. I need you to get three friends, ones that my brothers and sisters are sure to recognize," The other Losts probably didn't know that Tootles considers them to be older siblings and all of the Lost Kids as a dysfunctional family, "And be ready to what I'm going to say because it's very important,"

"Could I bring Estelle?"

"Estelle? No, no, no, no," Tootles shook his head, "She's too nice to be in the prank,"

"A prank?" Naomi grinned a Cheshire grin, "Now that's something I'm all too familiar with. Count me in."

Later that night, Tootles lay in his bed, trying his best to ignore Nibs' snores and sleep-singing. The singing never happened at the old hideout before. Usually, Tootles would have covered his head in his blanket but he was waiting, anticipating for the precise and opportune time to begin his prank. He didn't have to wait too long though. His excitement took over and he gave a loud wail.

'3,2,1' Then one by one, each of his 'brothers and sisters' drowsily enter his room in exhausted alarm, just how he planned it.

Yawning, Peter, who was in front of the group of Losts surrounding Tootles bed, asked him what happened. There were some instances, and Tootles knew this for a fact, Peter would sleep. And in even rarer cases, he would actually enjoy the thought of resting his body in an eight hour slumber, especially after a rough day. Tootles had made sure Peter had the most tiring day of his life by including him in every game of hide and seek and follow the leader.

With this information, Tootles began the waterworks. Sniffling, he told the Losts about the 'nightmare' he just had,

"I-It was so dark and I could see only one person-Ombra in his black cloak,"

"Wait, wouldn't the cloak blend with the darkness?" Slightly asked and was immediately hushed by the others.

"It was so cold and he walks over to me. He said that I'm next and he had already gotten the others. It felt so real,"

Peter turned a shade of ghostly white. The other Losts just shared looks and theories. Dreams were taken seriously in the Realm since it might come true anytime soon.

BOOM

They all looked out of Nibs and Tootles' bedroom window. The loud rumble came from dark clouds that had begun forming in the night sky. Raindrops rapidly descended. There was only one person whose emotions determine Neverland's weather. All heads turned to Peter, "Are you-"

"Scared?" Peter declared a bit too loudly, "No, I could take Ombra any day. The weather must be malfunctioning," Peter was just as concerned as everybody else but not afraid. He had never lost control of the weather before. The rain and thunder symbolized fear and despair even though he was fearless. He had to admit the Ombra nightmare had him worked up, but it wasn't enough to create a storm. Peter needed to find the cause of this or else the other Losts would continue to think their leader was afraid.

He called for a group huddle in the center of the room, "We have to check out the island." Peter ordered.

"Right now?" They all started to protest.

"That nightmare could mean Ombra is on this very island. We need to have quick sweep around the island just to make sure. It's probably nothing,"

"Okay, I just need to make sure Tootles is alright," Morgan scanned the circle and realized said boy was nowhere to be found, "Guys, where's Tootles?"

Everybody hastily disbanded and searched the bedroom and then the 2nd floor which eventually turned into a hideout search.

Tootles was gone.

They all met up in the lounge moments later to discuss search parties and sites to look for Tootles when the lights started to flicker. They dimmed before turning pitch black. Again, they all panicked, with the storm and the power outage, it was enough to turn a warming home into a haunted house.

"And the masked murder should be coming through the door any minute now," Kyle joked to relieve the tension but most of them took his joke to heart and crowded against each other.

Peter glared at the jokester and tried to straighten things out, "Kyle, quit it. This island is protected. There is no reason to be- wait! I think I hear footsteps." The unmistakable sound of shoes clacking against the hardwood floor could be heard by everybody. Peter stood in front of the huddled group of kids, even

Taylor and Is were frightened which made the rest of them even more terrified than before.
Fists bang on the door, trying to let themselves inside. The door flew open. At first nobody was at the entrance, but then four silhouettes appeared. Lightning and thunder teamed up to create a scary scenario as the four strangers crept inside the lounge. Curly summoned enough courage to snag a flashlight from the fireplace mantle and shined a light on the situation. The light revealed the intruders as their own friends: Naomi, Billy, Ronny, and Alice.
The Lost Kids' worries should have been eased due to the sight of their good friends. Wrong, their appearances were anything but friendly.

All of their clothes were torn to reveal some gashes and wounds. Their hair was in a disheveled manner and they have blank expressions on their faces. They were a close resemblance to a zombie.

"What happened to you guys?" Slightly couldn't be any more shaken, seeing his dear friend Alice in such a state.

They didn't answer but instead parted from the middle of their formation to reveal a fifth member of their zombie party: Tootles.

"What is going on?" Peter asked definitely spooked.

At first, he didn't say anything but when his mouth opened to speak, a familiar voice sent a chill up everybody's spine. A voice they would hear again for nightmares to come.

"Finally, you will all be under my control. Your friends didn't have a chance. What makes you think you do?" Tootles turned to the other zombies, "Attack!"

Billy and Ronny drew out their swords and advanced while Naomi and Alice left the room with Tootles/Ombra. Kyle picked up a fire poker and engaged in a fight with the two Shadow Soldiers. He hadn't received any formal training but was pretty decent. The Lost Boys crawled away from the three but the Lost Girls just ducked out of the way and attempt to break up the fight.

"Kyle, go with the guys. We'll handle these goons," Chance shouted and then Kicked at Billy's feet. He dropped to the floor and tried to slash at her. She nearly missed it but called in Is, Lex, and Jive to handle Ronny while Taylor, Morgan, and Trixi took care of Billy. Major just hid under the sofa for she didn't know how to defend herself. Kyle obeyed Chance's order and rallied up the Lost Boys. Nibs smashed opened the window and they all leaped from it.

The boys scurried off into the deep jungle until they reached the famous Coconutter palm tree. They devised a plan, but were interrupted when a whoosh arose and the Lost Boys were forced to search the cloudy sky for the source. Soon, the Nimbus 2001 hovered over with its owner and Alice perched on it. Alice held an object but with the altitude, not even Kyle's glasses were able to identify it. That was until she released it.

A blue cube landed at their feet. Peter went to examine it and figure out its purpose. The cube rolled out of reach and orbited the area before coming to a stop at its landing place. The broom drooped to ground level, its rider dismounting it. Naomi brought out her wand and began volleying spell after spell at the boys. Some of them ducked in time to not know what its effects were, Slightly being one of the lucky ones. He saw the misfired spells had made ripples in the air as if the area was covered in a bubble, the cube must have created a barricade.

He trudged through the mud to get to Alice. He might drive some sense into her mind, "Alice! It's me, Slightly," Her dagger nearly sliced his head off but he knew she was bit shaky with her form, as if she was worried about making damages. Was she not fully in the trance?

"You're Alice Kingsley, my best friend! You wear nothing but blue and that's okay with me since it's my favorite color. Lemon cake is your favorite food and you deeply dislike the moon when it's halfway shown since it reminds you of that calzone incident. So come on and snap out of that spell!"

Alice ignored the plea and came at Slightly with such combat skill that it made him wonder where she learned it. He was on defensive mode because he didn't want to hurt Alice and he had nothing to defend himself with except for a coconut, which she had already split in the midst of their fight. After a while it had come to the point where she got him and the rest of the boys cornered at the wall the cube created.

Trixi, Taylor, and Morgan were able to disarm Billy and threw in a few kicks and punches.

"Just like old times," Morgan said before she and her two friends sent a powerful blow to their opponent's chest, sending him flying across the room. It was a short lived victory when Billy unfortunately pulled out a blaster, similar to one used by the Men in Black. The three girls knew that their swords and slingshots were obsolete compared the blaster's firepower.

Is, Chance, Lex, and Jive surrendered since Ronny pulled out his own blaster. The Lost Girls backed away from the boys, inching towards the fragmented window. The boys' fingers were itching to pull the trigger but somewhere in their subconscious, they shouldn't. Instead, they had a different idea.

"Boo!" The soldiers barked and the girls, so startled, tumbled through the window. Once, knowing they had dropped, Ronny and Billy packed their blasters back into their jacket pockets. They held each other's gazes and laughed in amusement, breaking character. And after a congratulatory high-five, the two best friends resumed their roles as mind-controlled slaves and bounded out of the hideout.

The Lost Girls could see the Lost Boys cornered by the Coconutter tree. They knew they would soon join them, telling by how Ronny and Billy emerged from the hideout so suddenly. No choice but to run to the boys and become the Shadow Zombie captives.
Tootles emerged from nowhere and had an axe.

It was the end, or so the Losts thought.

As he raised the tool meant for trees, the Lost Kid couldn't carry the axe and fell over. Tootles squealed in glee and stood up. Soon the other zombies were chuckling along, Ronny held his stomach because it was all too much for him. The Lost Kids were confused, had the spell been broken?

"Gotcha!" The zombies said together.

"You've all fallen for my trap!" Tootles said jumping up and down, "I planned this entire thing."

The secret was out, it was all a prank. The former Pranksters mentally saluted Tootles for coming up with the prank and staying in character. The Lost Kids were either impressed or planning to punish Tootles. But in the end, they were very forgiving.

"Why did you do this?" Major echoed the question on the prank victims' mind.

"You all had treated me like a baby and even take advantage of me. This simply shows you how you should never downsize me, especially when I could prank you stealing my Fairy Berries again,"

"I knew you wouldn't turn against us," Slightly said, looking at Alice in particular. The said girl laughed and pulled the Lost Boy into a hug. Naomi and Billy held hands in a way all couples should, and Ronny let out a victorious whoop.

"Tootles, you're in so much trouble," Peter said sternly. Trixi nudged his shoulder and said, "Come on Pumpkin Head, tell him what you really think." His father-like façade disappeared and a tiny proud smile worked its way to his face, not a smirk but an actual smile.

"Tootles… great job. You little conniving, scheme-plotting, wild freak. You're a true Lost Kid," The Losts crowed with that last statement.

Curly stepped in and joined into the conversation, "And the reason we've been treating like a baby is because we don't want you to get hurt. I mean, you won't survive a day in the Underworld if you died."

"And also, we stole your Fairy Berries because we liked them, not because we're taking advantage of you. We were trying to cover up our tracks. Sorry about that," Kyle apologized. Tootles nodded in a forgiving manner. Everything was good.

Peter clapped his hands, "Now, how about we all go on a Berry Hunt tomorrow to stock up on our berry supply?" The question was aimed towards Tootles' accomplices as well. They nodded enthusiastically.

Then an unsettling wind blew over the friends.

"Come on Naomi, the prank is over. You could stop messing with the weather now," Billy said to his girlfriend. The witch knew she was innocent, she waved her wand in front of his face, "I'm not doing this,"

"Oh, and I'm sure that shadowy figure over there isn't your fault too," Everyone saw there was a cloaked stranger barely hidden between trees. It started towards them eerily but never had the chance to exchange a few words since the kids had caught on.

"Run!" They all hurried out of the area and took cover at the hideout. Once inside, Tootles peeked through the curtains to see if the stranger had moved but it wasn't there. 'Could it be him?'

Estelle sneezed from under her black cloak. She was not up to par at the moment, considering the sudden storm that nearly blew her pizza delivery off course. But that didn't damper her spirits. She had been substituting for her friend when she received the call from Tootles. The Lost Kid had forgotten to hang up before transmitting a call to Naomi, the conversation that included the plan and the claim that she was too nice to partake in the prank.

The dragon trainer laughed as her friends scrambled inside to hide from 'Ombra',

"You shouldn't underestimate people either, Tootles," she whispered into the wind before climbing onto her dragon's back. Kicking her heals at the dragon's sides, Estelle took off but not without dropping off a large pepperoni pizza onto the hideout roof.

I had this written in July. Days went by and I was working on the sequel too much as well as my Power Rangers story. short stories are sure to come after this chapter, I'll make sure of it. Well, at least this is up before Halloween. I know I needed to post this because I'm going to be gone for a few days and won't have my laptop with me to update.
*~Bluefire510~*