Chapter 2
Vibracio was about to chase after Jocu and Vivo when he saw the princes come back with Ben! Ben was unconscious and Jocu had him in his arms.
"I'll turn those knights into tickle trees for this," Jocu growled, now keeping the hero warm against his chest. Vivo was weakly leaning against the trees as well.
"Young princes, please come back! We need you both to come and get some rejuvenation immediately," Vibracio said in horror, now walking over to them!
"Vibracio, just take Ben and put him where he can recover with Peter," Jocu said. "I need to go and take care of those Nitians!"
"Absolutely not! Get over here!" Vibracio said sternly, now gently grabbing both Jocu and Vivo by their arms. "You're coming over here right now and getting some rest!"
"V-Vibracio, let go!" Vivo said, trying to pull back.
"No! Now come here!" Vibracio cooed, now pulling the hero to him.
Soon, he had Ben placed down and the two brothers as well. He then climbed up on the wall and gently tugged on Peter's cocoon.
"Come out, young hero. It's alright…you're safe, I promise," Vibracio soothed.
"Are you sure?!" Peter asked from inside.
"Yes, now please come. I wish to see to your fever and care for you," Vibracio said, now gently tearing a hole in it and giving Peter a calm smile. "Please come."
"Alright, alright," Peter said, now gently pushing himself out. But as he did, he saw Ben lying unconscious and Jocu and Vivo weakly lying next to him, almost out cold themselves.
"J-Jocu?! Vivo?! Ben?! What's wrong with them?" Peter asked in horror, now almost tripping over his own feet as he tried to hurry to his friends. He sat next to them in a panic!
"Ben was ambushed by the Knights and Jocu and Vivo are weak from trying to rescue you all. They also have been fighting the Nitians," Vibracio said angrily. Peter hung his head and tried to stand, but Vibracio sat him back down.
"No, young hero. You are remaining here. You all are to sit here while I make some spice berry and pepper soup. I am told 'pepper' is a spice from Earth. It will help you all to sweat these fevers out," Vibracio said, now walking away.
Ben groaned, slowly stirring and seeing all three glance over at him. Jocu moved his hair from his face and let out a small sigh of relief.
"You're awake; thank goodness," Jocu said, now gently nuzzling him.
"W-What happened?" Ben groaned, now trying to get up.
"Not so fast, Ben; the Knights knocked you unconscious and you were out cold. I'm glad you're alright, but you've been brought here to recover along with Peter," Jocu replied, now gently grasping his arm.
"Peter? He's here," Ben asked, now looking over and seeing the other exhausted hero. Ben looked concerned and he gently crawled towards his friend as Jocu let his arm go. "Peter?"
"Ben…glad you're okay," Peter said, now gently hugging him. Ben hugged him back and got a solemn expression, knowing about what happened to his teammates.
"I'm sorry, Peter…about your team," Ben said lowly.
"Thanks," Peter said lowly.
"Hey…," Ben said, gently and touching his shoulder. "It's really gonna be alright."
"I know, but right now I'm miserable," Peter said, now ducking under the cover and covering himself.
"Hey now…," Jocu said, now tugging on the cover.
"Aww, c'mon…come out, Peter," Vivo coaxed, now crawling over.
"Let us help; we're your friends," Ben cooed, now gently pulling on the covers too! "C'mon out, buddy…,"
"No…I'm fine…," came the voice that sounded a lot like a sob was forming.
"Oh, Peter…," Ben said, now gently pulling the cover up and Peter had his face buried down in the pillow. Ben then gently hugged him and Jocu and Vivo hugged him as well. Soon, Peter's sobs were slowly heard and the trio slowly had tears forming too.
Soon, it slowly began to rain. The raindrops softly beat outside on the trees and leaves and it only took Vibracio a few minutes to come back with the soup.
"Come. You four need to eat this," he soothed, now gently wiping tears from Peter's eyes. "Everything will truly be alright."
"I don't know if it ever will again…," Peter said, hanging his head more.
"Peter, it may feel like that now, but that's not true. Things will improve if you just believe, my friend," Vibracio cooed calmly, now putting the bowls in front of them.
As the four sat up and began to drink, Peter slowly felt something behind him. As he turned, he felt Jocu sit behind him and be a support for him to lean against. Vivo did the same for Ben.
"We are here for you both," Vivo said.
"Just like we are here you for guys too," Ben said, now wrapping a cover around Vivo and Peter doing the same for Jocu.
But after a few moments, Ben began to cough and sweat. The soup was taking affect, but he was still very unwell. He still had wounds from the Knights that needed tending.
"I'm feeling cold out of nowhere," Ben said in slight surprise.
"You still have a fever, Ben; I know how to fix it," Vivo said, now making his fur even fluffier and hugging him. "I will help keep you warm."
"B-But Vivo, you need to be taking care of yourself too." Ben said weakly. Vibracio nodded and helped all four lay down once more.
"It will take you all a few days to recover. Until then, you need to rest here for tonight," Vibracio said, now crushing more berries and motioning for the feather boas to come forward.
"Oh, please…please, no tickling," Ben said weakly.
"No, Ben; they are not for tickling today. They are to massage you," Vibracio said as the feather boas began to gentle squeeze their muscles and help them to relax. "You all need to be relaxed and hydrated."
"But I'm not thirsty," Peter whined.
"Regardless Peter, you need it. You've been pale for a few days now. It is good Jocu brought you here," Vibracio said calmly.
The two young teens then looked over and saw Jocu and Vivo slowly losing consciousness! That alarmed them beyond belief!
"What's happening?!" Ben said weakly, now trying to wake up Jocu.
"The princes have used their energy to make you all feel somewhat better. The other half of their power was used to fight the Nitians," Vibracio said, now feeling concerned.
"Are they gonna get better?!" Ben panicked.
"Of course, Ben. They just need to be warm, like you two," Vibracio said, now placing a cool cloth on the princes' foreheads as they went into a deep sleep. Soon, Ben and Peter laid on their backs too and fell into a very deep sleep as Vibracio covered them with blankets.
A few hours later…
Jocu slowly woke up to the sound of gently beating rain. He looked over and saw that the other three were still asleep. He smiled warmly and gently tickled behind Peter and Ben's ears.
"Come, you two. Wake up. It's time for some medicine," he soothed.
"No, Jocu…no," Peter said, trying to turn over.
"No tickles," Ben chuckled, still eyes closed.
"Come, come…wake up, brothers," he soothed, now a bit more insistent with the gentle caresses behind their ears. The gentle, but insistent, tickles slowly made the two open their eyes. Ben then turned and gently wiggled a finger behind Vivo's ear and that woke him up too.
"W-What's going on?" Vivo asked sleepily.
"They said it's time for our medicine," Ben smiled, now gently patting Vivo on his head. Soon, Vibracio appeared with small four medicine cups of dark blue juice-like syrup.
"What is this?" Ben asked in shock.
"Berry syrup. It will help you to feel better," Vibracio said calmly. After a few minutes, the teens sat up and drank the syrup. It wasn't so bad, but it still had a bit of trouble going down.
"I'm glad that's over," Ben grimaced.
"Me too," Peter said. After a moment,Ben put an arm around Peter's shoulders.
"Are you gonna stay here for a while? It looks like you need it," Ben said.
"Yeah, I guess; I need the rest," Peter said calmly.
"You both do," Lauhin said, now appearing. Peter was somewhat startled, but calmer than before.
"This is our father, Peter. King Lauhin," Vivo explained.
"Nice to meet you, Your Highness. I'm sorry for earlier," Peter said, now seeing the king put a hand out to shake his. Once they parted, Lauhin nodded in understanding.
"Do not worry about it; you were very ill. You and Ben need to stay in this realm for a while until you are recovered," Lauhin said, now bringing out large and fluffy feather blankets. After a few moments, the teens were covered from head to toe and groaning in appreciation. Their muscles ached, but Lauhin cuddled them to his chest.
"Rest, young ones. You are safe here and will stay with Jocu and Vivo," Lauhin said.
"And I have plenty of soup, tea, and herbs to help them feel better," Vibracio added, now seeing the teens look at them. Peter and Ben would be just fine; they had the best friends ever to see them through.
"Peter?" Ben said gently. Peter glanced over at his friend.
"Yeah?" Came the soft response.
"It's gonna all be alright," he said calmly. As he said that, Jocu and Vivo hugged them around their shoulders and grinned. Lauhin only smiled at the cute scene.
"Yes it will be," Jocu soothed.
"We are gonna stay here and recuperate together." Vivo said.
"And we will help you guys heal both physically and mentally," Jocu said, now hugging them tightly.
And for the first time in a while, Peter smiled and turned and hugged the large titan tightly as Ben grinned and leaned into Vivo's hug. The fevers were breaking and their strength was being restored quickly. Why? Because family and true friendship can break through anything.
guestsurprise's words: Hope you all enjoyed it! There is nothing sweeter than the brothers taking care of ill heroes. Fluff! Sweet Fluff!
To guestsurprise: An awesome story, Amiga! :) Hey, could you do a story of Cassie meeting Phantasmo and Melodica for me? Like bullies have bothered Cassie again while she was in town and she goes to the mansion knowing that everyone is away, which she is relieved to know because she doesn't want to tell anyone what happened, but she runs into Phantasmo and Melodica, who can sense that something is bothering her, but Cassie runs away from them, not knowing who they are and also not really wanting to talk about it. Could it have lots of chasing and lots of tickles, please? :) Here are the descriptions of Phantasmo and Melodica:
Phantasmo: Ghostfreak's father. An Ectonurite with grayish-white skin, one purple eye, purple cuffs with slightly-rusted chains around his wrists, waist, and neck, and purple-and-black striped tentacles.
Melodica: Snare-Oh and Kuphulu's mother. A Thep Khufan with brown eyes and long light red hair. She wears an ankle-length light brown dress and a light brown headdress. She also wears a ruby necklace, which Phantasmo gave her as a sign of their engagement.
To everyone else: Please leave guestsurprise a review, but no flames!
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