Another story from the amazing guestsurprise, who owns Jocu, Vivo, their brothers, and Damus. Mythology belongs to its respective owners. I only own Rachel and Sasha and gave guestsurprise full permission to use them. :)
Letting Laughter Live
Jocu was up all night watching Rachel and Sasha. He had spent days defending them since the Nightmare King Damus was back and he was back with a vengeance.
Flashback started…
"I will bring you down and you will be my successor…just like my son," Damus whispered evilly.
"You had better watch your step, Damus," Jocu snarled.
"I am not afraid of you, young prince. You may be the mightiest of your brothers in many ways, but you will not stop me," Damus smirked.
"If I ever see you do anything to harm them you will personally answer to me," Jocu hissed.
"Jocu…let's face it. As long as they are connected with you and your family, I will ALWAYS have access to them," Damus laughed, now barely dodging an angry swipe from Jocu.
Flashback ended…
Jocu could feel his heart breaking but he knew he had no choice. If Rachel and Sasha continued to be connected with him, they would always be hunted by the Nitians and Damus himself!
"I can't let them get hurt…not again," he thought, now cuddling them both to his chest. He let one small tear escape his eye and he growled as it made a scar down his face. At that same moment, both girls slowly began to stir and he quickly wiped it away.
"Jocu?" Rachel asked sleepily.
"Morning, sunshine," he smiled, now hugging her a bit closer. Rachel could sense something was wrong, but he was pretending hard that it wasn't. "Today is a special day. I want you both to spend all day with me."
"Sounds great!" Sasha said.
"Are you alright, Jocu?" Rachel asked, still sensing something was wrong.
"Do not be concerned. All will be fine," he whispered with a smile. "Now come! We have a great day ahead!"
But something about Jocu's behavior made the girls feel like something was…different. He kept cuddling near them as much as possible and let them even play with his tail…which is something he did not do often since his tail was a very sensitive area!
They dined on the best of foods and he even took them for a fun swim. But as the day slowly came to an end, it began to rain. The rain was light and refreshing and Rachel gasped as she saw Jocu lift his head up and it was as if she saw something drip down his cheek.
"Jocu?" She asked.
"Yes?" He asked, now turning back to them. Sasha and Rachel could see a brief passing of sadness through his eyes. But it was gone in a flash. "Come! Walk with me."
As he began to walk a bit ahead, the girls hung back a bit so they could briefly talk.
"Sasha, do you feel that something is wrong?" Rachel whispered.
"Yes. But what?" Sasha asked.
"I don't know, but I feel it's something serious because Jocu won't tell us," Rachel whispered.
"But how do we get him to talk to us?" Sasha asked.
"Maybe later on." Rachel said, now seeing him turn and look at them.
"Come. The rain is just beginning to drop over the trees," he said, now gently taking their hands and leading them into the rain forest. But after a few hours the sun began to set and he turned and noticed the girls were getting cold. He then pulled them to his chest and hugged them tightly.
"Come. It is time to get you all home," he said, now teleporting them back. As he got them back to their room, he gently laid them on their beds.
"Jocu…will you spend the night?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, little one," Jocu responded.
"Jocu…is there anything wrong? Please talk to us!" Sasha added.
"Yes, we can tell you are acting different," Rachel said.
"Do not worry about it. All will be well," he whispered. Both girls looked at each other in concern, but felt him run a hand over their necks and massage them. "Sleep."
"J-Jocu…please…tell us," Rachel sleepily yawned.
"We…love you," Sasha yawned as well.
Jocu then watched as they slowly fell asleep. He ran a hand through their hair as he leaned down and placed his head on theirs. He gritted his teeth and began to chant a few words over them as they slept peacefully.
As time passes through the sea
And all is far and near
Forget all memory of me
You no longer have to fear
I will never be far from you
Deep down never apart
I will always be your Jocu
And I will always be in your heart
And with those words, the girls began to grimace in their sleep. And there was a reason why they were…Jocu was slowly erasing their memories of his family, his world, and him! Rachel felt like she was having a nightmare, but she couldn't wake up! Jocu's power was keeping her from waking up and stopping him.
In Rachel's dream…
"Jocu! What's going on?!" she gasped.
"Rachel? You shouldn't even be feeling this!" Jocu responded back.
"But I do feel it! What is happening?! Why do I feel like my memories of you and the others are disappearing!" Rachel said, now afraid.
"Rachel…you will be safer this way," Jocu responded for the last time.
"Wait! Jocu! Jocu, come back!" Rachel called. But soon her world began to swim and everything faded away into black!
End of Rachel's dream…
The next morning…
Rachel and Sasha woke up side by side. They looked at each other and both looked confused.
"Rachel, I had the weirdest dream. It was about a tickle monster creature," Sasha giggled.
"Me too!" Rachel said. Both sisters laughed it off, but deep down they felt like something was wrong. They felt like something was missing from their homes and family.
Meanwhile in the realm…
Jocu looked away as his brothers watched.
"Jocu…you did what you had to," Vivo said.
"I know. Now they will be safe and life moves on. The Jocklin sisters and all of the inhabitants of the mansion will not remember who we are or where we came from." Jocu commanded. The others nodded and then went to different parts of the castle.
Jocu glanced at his crystal one more time and noticed the girls laughing and smiling and more importantly…safe.
"I have done what I had to," he said lowly, now snapping his fingers and disappearing into another part of the world to visit Lilac.
guestsurprise's words: Oh dear! We have a problem on our hands!
To guestsurprise: Oh, no! Something tells me Damus will still find a way to hurt the girls. Can't imagine the hurt the brothers must be feeling now. Wonder what will happen next? Looking forward to more! :)
To everyone else: Please leave guestsurprise a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418