The Vanishings

Chapter Eight

~By Gina-chan~

 

“Oh Vegeta-chan…Silly Vegeta-chan…I’m not dead,” Rapyd said, smiling at him.

       “But your body…and your pulse…” he trailed off.

       “I’m just frozen. I can still think, hear, and feel. I just can’t move my body,” Rapyd explained. She moved closer to him and put her arms around him and looked up into his eyes.

       “But if you don’t get the ingredients…” Rapyd warned.

       “I’ll get them,” he assured her, kissing her lips. Rapyd kissed him back, and then drew away, tears in her eyes.

       “Please find the ingredients! If you don’t…I’ll…I’ll only be able to kiss you in your dreams,” Rapyd said sadly. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him again. Suddenly, Rapyd started fading away from him. She let go of him and disappeared completely.

       “Rapyd! No!” Vegeta-chan exclaimed.

       “Remember. Gather all of the ingredients…” Rapyd’s voice faded away.

 

Vegeta-chan quickly sat up, holding his hand to his face, breathing heavily. He looked quickly over at Rapyd who was still there. Sunlight peeked through the window, reminding Vegeta-chan of the day that awaited him. He sighed, and stood up. He grabbed Rapyd and walked out of the room and into the main hallway, where Cojiro and Ryver were already waiting.

       “Ready, Vegeta-chan?” Ryver asked.

       “Yea, sure. Ready as I’ll ever be,” Vegeta-chan replied. Cojiro and Ryver picked up two bags sitting by the door.

       “Hey, don’t I get to carry one too?” Vegeta-chan asked.

       “You’re carrying Rapyd, remember?” Ryver said, opening the door.

       “Oh,” Vegeta-chan said. The trio walked outside, and onwards towards the upcoming journey.

 

       “My legs hurt,” Vegeta-chan complained as they walked uphill. They had long left Cojiro’s village behind.

       “Quit complaining. You want to get the ingredients to save Rapyd, don’t you?” Ryver said. That shut him up. He was carrying Rapyd on his back, and her arms were draped over his shoulders.

       “If she wasn’t frozen I’d actually be enjoying this,” Vegeta-chan thought.

       “Just over this hill,” Cojiro said. “Will be the Fairy Forest. It’s the only place people have seen more than one Fairy.” They trudged onward. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they made it to the top.

       “Wow,” Ryver whispered, looking down the side of the hill. At the foot of the hill, lay the Fairy Forest. Hundreds of fairies lit up the forest, looking like Christmas lights on the trees.

       “Come on you guys!” Vegeta-chan said, running down the hill. Cojiro and Ryver ran after him. As soon as the three of them ran to the bottom and into the forest, the light disappeared as the fairies disappeared.

       “Huh?” Vegeta-chan wondered. “Where’d they go?” Cojiro sighed.

       “This is the reason few people have actually seen fairies and why the elder said that we shouldn’t even go looking for the ingredients. Fairies are terrified at the sight of humans,” Cojiro explained sadly.

       “Oh come on! Maybe they’ll come out for me!” Ryver exclaimed. “Hey! WUZ UP FAIRIES?! COME OUT AND TALK TO US!” Ryver yelled loudly. Cojiro quickly covered her mouth.

       “Shh! That’ll just make ‘em more scared!” Cojiro hissed. Ryver hung her head down.

       “Come on. We can camp out on the edge of the forest,” Cojiro said, walking to the edge of the forest. Vegeta-chan set Rapyd on the ground and Cojiro and Ryver set their bags on the ground. Ryver started looking through her bag.

       “Tents…Tents…I know I put them in here somewhere…” Ryver muttered to herself.

       “Aha! Here they are!” Ryver exclaimed, pulling out three tents.

       “I don’t need one,” Vegeta-chan said.

       “You sure? How ‘bout a blanket?” Ryver asked, holding up a blanket she pulled out. Vegeta-chan shook his head.

       “Okay…here,” Ryver said, tossing him a can of food and a bottle.

       “Thanks,” Vegeta-chan replied, sitting down.

       “That’s dinner,” Ryver reminded him. She handed some food to Cojiro, and sat down to eat her own dinner.

       “We have to figure out a way to get a fairy wing,” Ryver said after they had all finished dinner.

       “Let’s do it in the morning, ‘kay?” Cojiro yawned. Ryver rolled her eyes.

       “Okay,” she reluctantly agreed. Cojiro and Ryver crawled into the tents they had set up, while Vegeta-chan still sat next to Rapyd’s body. He sighed, and closed eyes.

       “Please find the ingredients! If you don’t…I’ll…I’ll only be able to kiss you in your dreams,”  Vegeta-chan remembered. He abruptly opened his eyes again and stood up. He picked up Rapyd’s body and walked into the forest. The forest was still dark, for the fairies were afraid of the humans camping near their forest. Vegeta-chan stopped and looked around. He set Rapyd’s body down.

       “Fairies! I know you’re there! Come out and talk to me!” Vegeta-chan demanded. The forest remained dark.

       “Please come out! I need your help with something!” Vegeta-chan said, a little quieter. He hung his head down and looked at Rapyd. He knelt down to her and put his fingers on her cheek.

       “Please…” Vegeta-chan repeated. “I need your help…to save her…” A single fairy popped out, and then hundreds more. The whole forest lit up.

       “Thank you,” Vegeta-chan whispered, standing up. A fairy flew up to him.

       “We have seen your love for this girl and have agreed to help you,” the fairy said. Vegeta-chan breathed a sigh of relief.

       “What is it you seek?” asked the fairy.

       “I need a fairy wing,” Vegeta-chan said. “For something I need to cure her,” he quickly added.

       “I understand. But for a fairy to lose its wings…It is a fate worse than death, for they lose their ability to fly,” the fairy explained. Vegeta-chan nodded slowly.

            “Give us the night to think about it. I’ll give you our answer in the morning,” said the fairy. Vegeta-chan nodded again and picked Rapyd up. The forest went dark again as Vegeta-chan walked back to camp.