Chapter 16: Life over death

Wick and Ivy got out of Rocky's car. The whole gang wouldn't have been able to fit in one car, so the two had to wait near the little daisy cafe to hear the news. For some reason, the others had taken another route home but they hadn't questioned it until the two had waited for quite some time.

"I still don't get why we had to ride home in Rocky's car. What do you think is taking them?" Wick muttered, stretching his aching back, and trying to forget the mysterious creepy cactus friend in the backseat.

"Aw, don't worry. Rocky can have it back. A-after he returns of course." She said, not answering Wick's question due to thinking about Rocky.

Wick slouched from not being answered, but straightened up when he spotted a car gradually coming up the road.

"Ah, that must be them."

The car pulled in, and it came to a stop in front of them. Vector, Mizzi, Zib, and Freckle slowly got out. There was a dead silence.

"Um, *aheam*. Where's Rocky?" Wick asked, breaking the silence. He didn't like it. It was like something went wrong.

They all gave themselves uneasy glances, before Freckle went back into the backseat…and pulled out Rocky.

"Wait…he's dead?! What happened?!" Wick asked, growing a little pale.

Mizzi told him the whole story. "He is not dead yet, but his pulse is growing faint. I-I-" She stopped and sighed. "It looks like we were too late on this one, Wick."

"What?! No! We need a doctor! I-I'll help out as much as I can! I'll do anything! A-anything!" He said, desperately.

"I already called one." Mizzi said. "I…I just don't know if…"

"No, no, no. no!"

Wick had always despised Rocky, mostly because he was way too creepy for his liking, but he never wanted anything like this to happen!

"No. Rocky can't die. He still has a long life ahead of him!"

But wishing it didn't happen wasn't going to change a single thing. Rocky was doomed to death. And there was nothing, nothing, Wick could do in the world to fix it.***

(2 weeks later) "Uughhhh…"

Rocky felt woozy. He opened his eyes. Freckle and Ivy were standing there, looking sad.

"Why?" Thought Rocky.

He looked around and saw a bunch of IV's, wires, blood donations, and computer screens. This scared him a little.

"Was I hurt that bad?"

He tried to remember what he saw last.

"Maniac died…I got my happiness back, but started hurting inside at the same time. I-I passed out."

He felt a sinking feeling of dread. "A-am I dead?!"

Rocky didn't see his own body-that was something major that stood out to him. So instead of crying like a baby, Rocky struggled to make Ivy and Freckle notice him.

"F-Freckle…Ivy…"

Man, Rocky wasn't sure they heard him at all! He would need to do something about his throat later. He coughed.

The two looked up suddenly with hope in their eyes.

"Rocky…?"

Rocky was sure he saw a tear side down his cousin's cheek.

"Rocky!" Ivy yelled and along with Freckle, dove to give him a hug.

"Don't ever, ever, do that again!" Freckle said to Rocky, both laughing and crying.

Ivy was crying too-with the biggest smile on her face Rocky had ever seen her show.

This hugging was ok and all, but sorry-it had to stop. Rocky still might die in a suffocating embrace! So he coughed and wheezed 'till they got the idea and let go. He felt like he had to cough anyway.

"So…uh…what happened?" He weakly asked them.

"We were going to ask you that." Freckle said.

"Well I asked first." Rocky said, not laughing, but his smile did it for him.

"Fine." Freckle smiled too. He missed his cousin's voice.

"You passed out at the Marigold's house and didn't wake up until now-which I probably should tell you-you did so for two whole weeks. We thought you had died. I'm not even sure how you're alive now."

"TWO WHOLE WEEKS?!" Rocky screeched, then coughed. Freckle winced.

"Yeah. Now you tell us what happened with you and Maniac, and also what made you get into this mess in the first place."

Rocky told them how terrible he felt when he realized what Mizzi's speech truly was about, and how he thought he could fix it by winning her smile again with getting more bottles and becoming more daring, how he got caught, how broken he felt and how even more drained he felt when Maniac was brought out of him. He finished by explaining Maniac's "death" to them.

"Maniac's wounds were all real, and the only way he could survive was to give himself back to me. Combining the severity of his wounds with my perfect health still got me in between the line of life and death…and I guess my life won in the end."

As soon as Rocky finished speaking, Ivy burst into tears and ran from the room. He and Freckle shared the same confused expressions.

"I wonder what happened. Can you tell everyone else I'm not dead after you talk to her?" Rocky said, guessing correctly what Freckle was going to do.

"Sure." Freckle said, and ran after Ivy.