A/N: Here's an Elliot chapter for you all XD
Reala seethed as he looked over the Dream Fountain, the Goodles he could understand but Clawz AND Bella, how could they be defeated by humans!? Sure, they had mostly NIGHTS power to thank for that but Reala had given them new power and had made them stronger and yet each one had failed.
"Curse you NIGHTS!" Reala growled as he clenched the ball of fear in his hand, he would get NIGHTS for all of his crimes! He would get that portly old Owl for humiliating him with those Blue Chips! And he would get those meddling little visitors for getting in his way! Just thinking about them made him seethe with rage, he didn't even notice the orb in his hand glow a dark red until it flew out of his hand and flew around the Dream Gate until it at last stopped into the air and with a burst of light out came another old foe!
Reala looked on in shock and then annoyance…
"Jackle! What are you doing here you?! In fact, HOW are you here?" Reala asked, his voice oozing with pure annoyance!
"Come on Reala, is that really any way to greet your dear little brother after all this time?" Jackle grinned as he casually shuffled his deck.
Reala snorted Jackle had always acted like he was the youngest of Wizemens creations with his juvenile pranks, silly jokes and childish mannerisms. "I repeat, how are you here?"
"I saw that you weren't doing well and thought I'd come to give you a hand. "I don't need your help to come back!" Jackle grinned as he began flipping cards from the tips of his fingers into a hat he had poofed out of nowhere.
"Master Wizemen created you to be unpredictable, so it's hardly a surprise that you have such abilities" Reala grumbled as he took back the orb. "But I highly doubt that you of all Nightmaren' could help me" He scoffed.
"Then you probably don't want to hear that your strategy sucks as bad as your attitude" Jackle smirked. In a flurry of red and white Reala seized Jackle by one of the horns of his hat and dragged him into the air!
"What did you say!" He snarled, his eyes burning with anger. "Watch yourself Jackle! Master Wizemen isn't here to protect you!"
"I'm just sayin' that sendin' one Nightmaren at a time without a plan won't get the job done, you need a plan" Jackle grinned his toothy grin.
Reala stared at Jackle for a moment before dropping him nonchalantly to the ground. "What would you suggest?" He asked.
"Simple, find a weakness and exploit it!" Jackle' grin grew darker and more malicious.
Back in the Waking World there were some more pressing issues to be attended to like a day at the pool to unwind.
"Couldn't we have just played Basketball instead?" Elliot asked in a board sounding tone as he stood by the pool in his green army camo trunks.
"Quite whining" Claris muttered as she stood next to him in her yellow one piece swimsuit with dark orange trimmings. "It's a lot of fun and its good exercise!"
"Claris is right!" Helen smiled as she tied back her hair into a bun, she wore a pink swim shirt with a blossom pattern around stound the neck and shoulders and waist and aqua blue bottoms. "You don't hear Will complaining" and as if on cue the dirty blonde boy who was wearing a pair of black trunks with a fire pattern on the thighs jumped straight in, causing a wave that soaked his three companions on the side.
"That's because he's a five-year-old in a twelve-year-olds body!" Elliot grumbled as his blue hair fell over his eyes.
"My dad always said "Don't be in a hurry to grow up so fast"" Helen giggled as she leaped into the water right next to Will.
"So stop sulking that you didn't get your butt in there!" Claris grinned as she nudged Elliot in the ribs before jumping into the pool.
"Ugh fine!" Elliot groaned as he dragged his feet to the side and looked at the bobbing blue water and wrinkled his nose at the smell of chloroform. "Well here goes nothing" The blue haired boy took in a deep breath, pinched his nose and jumped into the water, he tensed up at feel of the freezing cold water and immediately started flailing his arms and legs but that only seemed to make him sink faster! 'Idiot! Why would you jump in when you know you can't swim!' He mentally chided himself as he felt the air began to leave his lungs in bubbles! Elliot began to feel light headed, he released even more air as he felt something bulky wrap around his waist and quickly drag him back to the surface where he let out a loud gasp to get the air back inside of him as he was carried over to the side and hauled up by his legs.
Elliot laid still until his breathing evened out and he could at last make out who had saved him and for the first time since he met him he was glad to see Todd.
"You okay their chum?" He asked, slicking back his wet hair.
Elliot managed to sit up and held his head "I'm fine" He said and some of the students who had gathered gave a collective sigh of relief before returning to whatever they were doing.
"What happened?" Claris asked, concern evident in her voice, she was crouched next to Elliot and had a supportive hand on his back.
"Well you see I…" Elliot looked at the expectant faces and thought for a second, he then gave them a dismissive shrug. "I got a stomach cramp from eating too much at breakfast!" He grinned.
"Then you shouldn't have gone into the pool" Everyone turned their head too look at none other than the "Ice Queen" herself, even when dressed to swim Catherine still maintained her stern pose and gaze. "You should always wait one hour before going into the water, what you did was reckless and infantile!" She lectured.
Elliot growled and opened his mouth to say something but before he even had a chance he felt Todd's giant hand on his head.
"Oh come on Cathy don't be so harsh" Todd said, giving her his trademark nice guy smile.
"Don't. Call. Me. Cathy!" Catherine growled, if words were spears then they would have gone right through Todd who strangely enough seemed unfazed by her coldness.
"Aww don't be that way" Todd grinned as he left Elliot's side and nudged Catherine's.
"Honestly it's this buddy-buddy relationship that puts ideas into their-OH!" Catherine shrieked as she was suddenly knocked into the pool of course the first thing she reached out to grab was Todd who she dragged in with her.
"That cool you off?" Todd grinned when the both came back up.
"Ugh! You pinheaded, overbearing…!" Whatever the black-haired girl said after that was lost of deaf ears as the pool residents burst out into a fit of hysterical laughter so loud that no one even noticed Elliot sneak back into the locker rooms except for one person…
Elliot sighed as he got into one of the shower blocks and turned on the hot water, leaning his head against the pipe.
"You okay?"
Elliot's head shot up and turned to the direction of the voice and Saw will leaning over the stall next to his.
"I'm fine" Elliot lied, turning his attention back to the piece of metal in front of him.
"You know there's nothing wrong with it" Will said after a moments silence.
"Wrong with what?" Elliot asked, starting to sound irritated.
"Not knowing how to swim?" Will pointed out matter-of-factly.
Elliot's eyes widened and he quickly shot his gaze back to Will where another moment of silence passed before he groaned. "Was it really that obvious?"
"Pretty much" Will shrugged. "But don't worry I won't tell anyone, in fact I can help you?"
"Oh really?" Elliot asked sceptically, raising a brow and crossing his arms across his chest.
"Yes really, I can teach you how to swim" Will said with a sincere smile.
"Great, not only can I not swim but I'm getting lesson offers from somebody two years younger than me!" Elliot scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Fine, just trying to help" Will sighed, rolling his eyes before disappearing back behind his stall and starting up his shower.
Elliot stood under the running water for a few more minutes before suppressing a growl. "When do we start?" and for a moment he could swore he could hear Will giggle on the other side of the wall.
Since Elliot was too proud to admit to anyone else that he couldn't swim he had Will sworn to secrecy and they did their lessons during their free periods, there was only one issue…
"No. Freaking. Way!" Elliot growled as Will held out two water wings. "I'm gonna let you teach me how to swim but THOSE are where I draw the line!"
"Come on Elliot, if we're gonna go into the deep end then you're gonna have to keep a float" Will sighed, his arm still outstretched, he couldn't remember himself being this stubborn when he was being taught by his father.
"Ngh!" Elliot groaned in annoyance and took them. "Fine! But one word of this to anyone about this then you'll be sleeping in the hallway!" He snapped as he slid on the wings and began to blow them up.
"Come on, let's get in" Will smiled as he waded into the water with Elliot close behind him.
For the most part everything went well and Elliot was willing to listen to Will's instructions.
"Will…" Will paused to look at Elliot who was doing the doggy paddle. "…Thanks" He smiled.
"No problem mate, we're friends after all" Will smiled warmly.
Both boys exchanged a brief smile before they were suddenly knocked off their feet by a wave…A wave? In a pool?! Will quickly managed to regain his balance but Elliot was now completely submerged, not even his water wings could keep him a float in this unexpected tsunami.
"Elliot!" Will cried as he tried to swim to Elliot's aid but he the new waves wouldn't even let him get close and every second that past made the two more panicked and frantic!
Elliot once again felt the suffocating coldness of drowning, only this time there was no one coming to rescue him! He could feel his consciousness slipping away and didn't even notice the water around him settle or the thin figure shoot into the water like an arrow and quickly scoop him up back to fresh air.
Unknown to the two that the skirmish had been caused by the Nightmaren Gulpo who had been sent to capture them but Reala was not pleased with the outcome.
"You fool! You had them in your grasp and then you just ran!" Reala roared, glaring into the fountains waters at Gulpo, who released some bubbles from his mouth each one echoing a word as they popped.
"But Reala, NIGHTS was…" Reala drummed his fingers on the side before popping the last bubble himself. "…coming!"
"I will not accept excuses!" Reala roared, red arches of lightning erupted from his body and crackled into the sky where they lit it up in a red rage! "They'll now be on guard thanks to your cowardice!" Reala' voice became a growl "Now get back there and finish the job before I show you what visitors do to fish!" and with that Gulpo took off to finish his work.
Elliot groaned as he opened his eyes and shielded them from the bright rays of the sun, slowly he sat himself up to see the worried faces of Will, NIGHTS and Owl.
"Are you okay?" NIGHTS asked.
"Am I okay?" Elliot repeated in a raspy voice. "AM I OKAY!?" He shrieked, making the three recoil in shock. "DO I LOOK LIKE I'M OKAY!? I ALMOST DROWNED!" He screeched, his eyes burning with anger and distress!
Owl and NIGHTS looked at each other for a second, both looked like they were having a hard time finding the right words to say…
Elliot panted after his little rant before staring at his friends in shock before pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head there. "I'm sorry" His voice broke and then came the sound of soft sobbing. "I just can't do it"
Will pursed his lips and stared at the groaned for a moment and then slid himself across the floor to sit next to Elliot. "Elliot…I'm starting to get the feeling there's more to this then your letting on, I want to help but you have to let me in first" Will stretched out his arm and put it around Elliot's shoulders, he could feel the older boy tense up for a moment and then relax. Elliot raised his head and despite it being socked Will could see the tears.
"It happened when I was little, me and my family were on a picnic and while my parent set everything up I went to play by the river" Will could feel Elliot tense again. "I tripped and fell in the river, I remember how scared I was thinking that I was gonna drown, luckily my dad noticed and quickly pulled me out but ever since then I can't stand being near large bodies of water" Elliot relaxed again it made him cringe to remember what had happened that day but it also felt good to tell someone other than his parents.
"Elliot, thanks for telling me, I know that mustn't have been easy for you" Will smiled and without warning he brought his other arm around to hug Elliot which took the blue haired basketballer by surprise, sure he had been hugged before but never under these circumstances. He smiled as he slowly put his arms around will and blinked when the boy suddenly flinched… Elliot took his arms away from Will and put them back only for Will to flinch again.
"Hmmm…" Elliot looked at Will suspiciously and flexed his fingers against his sides a little which made the boy giggle. "Ahhh I see" Elliot grinned devilishly and started to spider his finger up and down Will's sides forcing the soccer player to burst into a fit of laughter and giggles. "So you're ticklish willy boy?!" Elliot grinned as he managed to hold Will in place and begin to tickle him with his free hand.
"Stoooooohooop!" Will laughed as he began kicking his legs in a desperate attempt for freedom.
NIGHTS smiled as Owl let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh and thanks for saving me NIGHTS" Elliot smiled once he was done with Will's tickle torture and let the younger male have a breather over his outstretched legs. "How did you know we were trouble in anyway"
"Oh!" NIGHTS eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Me and Owl sensed that there was a Nightmaren here so we quickly rushed over!" NIGHTS turned to the pool and glared. "Come on out of there and fight!" NIGHTS demanded.
Will and Elliot got to their feet and watched as the water bubble and out from the surface came Gulpo!
"I should have known that this was YOUR handy work!" NIGHTS snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the fish.
Gulpo opened his mouth to release more bubbles "Shut up NIGHTS! This would have been whole lot easier if you hadn't had butted in again!" His voice echoed as Owl set up the dream field. "Take this!" He this he yelled as the remaining bubbles shot at NIGHTS who dodged them with relative ease.
"Come on Will let's fry this fish!" NIGHTS grinned holding out his hand.
"Hold up a second NIGHTS, I've got a score to settle with this guy!" Elliot grinned.
"But Elliot…" Will looked concerned and winced as Elliot ruffled his hair.
"Don't worry Willy-boy! I've got this one!" Elliot smirked as he pressed his hand against NIGHTS and took control.
Gulpo let out a predatorial roar as he rose more balls off water out of the pool and flung them at Elliot. The blue haired boy smirked as he dodged two and batted the last one away with back of his hand.
"Cocky brat!" Gulpo growled as he jumped into the air and with another roar the pool water followed him, encasing him in an aqua dome! "Trying getting past this! I saw how you squirmed around earlier! You can't swim to save your life!" He taunted.
"You're right" Elliot shrugged as he rose into the air. "But I'm not gonna let it stop me from kicking your tail!" He grinned as he shot off through the air and into the large dome, slugging Gulpo straight in in the side, knocking him out of his own safe zone but the oversized codfish wasn't done yet, he righted himself on the ground and began breathing in the large body of water until he resembled more of a pufferfish then anything. "Do you really think that blowing yourself to the size of a balloon is going to scare me? Face it Gulpo! I'm ten times braver then you'll ever be!" Elliot smirked.
"Why you little!" Gulpo blew out the water like a canon which slammed into Elliot with such force that it sent him into a wall!
"Elliot! Are you alright?!" NIGHTS asked as he had felt the impact of that attack even with the white Ideya shield!
"Never better!" NIGHTS looked at Elliot with shock as the boy was grinning from ear to ear. "Time to finish this up!" with a flash of yellow light he was holding a green basketball patterned with yellow stars.
"Well then…" NIGHTS grinned. "…let's give him a good send-off shall we?"
Elliot nodded as he began to bounce it on the floor releasing nature green waves with each bounce making Gulpo wobble from the tremors and waves, Elliot placed both hands on the ball and slammed it on the ground, sending Gulpo bolting into the air! Elliot ran to the pools edge took a large jump into the air and brought slam dunked himself straight into Gulpo' mouth! The force sending him into the pool where his body exploded in a large eruption of water that rained down on Will, NIGHTS and Owl.
"And I just had this coat washed too" Owl groaned as he put down the Dream Field and Helen and Claris came running in. (Having been called earlier by Owl)
"What… happened… here…?" Helen asked between pants.
"Elliot just knocked a giant fish into next week!" Will said with a twinge of admiration in his voice.
All eyes were on the pool as NIGHTS shot out of the water followed by Elliot who began to tread water towards the side.
"Elliot! You're swimming!" Will exclaimed as he knelt down to offer his hand.
"Looks like those lessons you gave me are starting to pay off!" Elliot grinned, though he was still wearing his water wings.
Will took Elliot's hand and was about to pull him back onto the side when he caught something out of the side of his eyes.
"Umm…Elliot, you might not want to get out just yet" Will gulped.
"Why?" Elliot asked, raising a brow.
Will pointed into the water, everyone followed his finger and in the water, they saw a familiar pain of green trunks! Helen and Claris covered their eyes as Elliot's face lit up like a Christmas tree! He held onto the sides tightly as Will dived in to go and get his swimwear back.
Next time: Reala revives Bomamba the witch to deal with the Visitors, can they overcome her evil magic or will they be under her spell forever?