Care Bears III: The Search for Timid Heart
Prologue
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The castle stood stark against the billowing black storm clouds; the crashing thunder deafening. Lightning flashed, illuminating the threatening towers and all at once disappearing, showering the kingdom in blackness once again. Shadows moaned and sighed hauntingly inside the castle, drifting listlessly. At the furthest corner of the room, a cloaked figure stood, hands behind his back. He watched the storm defiantly, his eyes fiercely aglow. Occasionally, he would gaze impatiently at the palace entrance, as though he were expecting someone.
In fact, No Heart was indeed expecting someone. And they were late. He growled impatiently as he turned his attention back to the storm. Ah, the storm. There was something about the raw power of the storm that the dark sorcerer found cathartic. Relaxing. Beautiful. But today, he could hardly focus on the rolling black clouds, or the chaotic war between the thunder and lightning. Instead, the storm was merely a distraction. Something to keep his attention while he waited.
Finally, the waiting paid off. The massive door of the castle flew open with a loud bang, followed by an even louder, "UNCLE NOOOO HEEAARRRTTT, WE'RE BAAACK!"
No Heart turned and started toward his niece quickly. "Excellent, Shreeky! I trust you found it?"
"We sure did, No Heart!" Beastly shouted excitedly as he bounced into the castle, kicking the door closed behind him. He held up a large, rectangular object that was covered in a dusty cloth. "We found it at the bottom of an old well!"
Shreeky snatched the object from Beastly's hands.
"I'm the one who knew where to look! I'M the one who learned how to feel for its presence. I FOUND IT!" She finished with her trademark shriek.
Shreeky had indeed over the years learned some very powerful techniques from her uncle, and the 12 year old was turning into quite the little sorceress herself. She held the object out to No Heart, who eagerly took it in his hands.
"Well..." Beastly groaned. "...I'm the one who had to dive in the well after it."
No Heart ignored him. He kept his eyes locked on the shrouded item, sighing contently.
"After all these years...we're finally reunited." He removed the dusty cloth the reveal a large black book.
The cover was hard and rough to the touch, as though it were made from the skin of a reptile. It bore strange text, as well as a secure lock.
"How are you gonna open it, Uncle No Heart? There wasn't a key. And I tried to talk to it, but it wouldn't answer. It's very rude if you ask me!" Shreeky ended with a grunt, folding her arms angrily against her chest.
"She must have destroyed it." He answered, caressing the spine of the book.
Beastly and Shreeky exchanged confused glances. "She?" They wondered together.
"No matter." No Heart shrugged. "I'll just..."
He stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing to focus on the edges of the book. Ice crystals were forming.
"What's this?" No Heart growled, watching intently as ice crystals and frost began to lightly form all over the castle. The majority of it was creeping in from the entrance-way. In moments, the door was covered in icicles and frost.
"OH!" Shreeky suddenly yelped. "I almost forgot! Don't start anything yet, Uncle No Heart! Wait 'til we're all here first."
No Heart scowled. "What are you talking about? Wait until who's all here?"
Shreeky gave a smug grin. "Well, this is supposed to be a special occasion, so...I invited grandpa."
"YOU WHAT?!" No Heart roared.
The door burst open, bringing in an icy wind and a blast of snow that almost blew the book from No Heart's clutches. Standing in the doorway, an ancient, withered figure stood; his scarf floating gently in the freezing breeze. A spooky grin creased the corner of the old man's mouth.
"Is it me? Or is it a little ca-ca-ca-ca-cold in here?" He cackled wickedly.
"Oh, boy!" Beastly cheered. "It's Professor Cold Heart!"
"Grandpa!" Shreeky squealed in delight as she ran over to affectionately greet the old villain.
No Heart stood shaking with anger, the book tucked carelessly under his arm.
"Look, No Heart! It's your dad!" Beastly stupidly continued, despite No Heart's unforgiving glaring. "Gosh, it's been a while since you two have spoken huh? Must've been at least 10 years! Isn't this a fun surprise, No Heart? Isn't fun to see your estranged father after almost 10 yea..."
Beastly's sentence went unfinished as No Heart's fist collided with the creature's head, knocking him to the ground in a daze.
Cold Heart finally met No Heart's gaze. The old man grinned.
"Speechless with joy, I see." Cold Heart teased.
No Heart growled. "Why are you here?" He managed to say through gritted teeth.
"My grand daughter invited me, of course. She said you plan on getting absolute revenge on those furry little vermin. Thought I might want in on it." He leaned over Shreeky and playfully squeezed her cheeks. "Wasn't that thoughtful?" He joked smugly in baby-talk.
Another moment of glaring, and No Heart gave a defeated sigh. "Let's just get this over with..."
He took the book in his hands again, but before he could do anything, Cold Heart raised his finger to the sky.
"WAIT." He shouted, almost making No Heart drop the book. "Where's the boy?"
"Yeah, uncle No Heart!" Shreeky interrupted. "Where's my cousin? You know he should be in on this too." She hugged Cold Heart tighter. "This should be a family activity, right grandpa?"
"The girl is right, No Heart." Cold Heart said sternly. "Go fetch my grandson, then we can start."
No Heart stood, glaring at both of them for a few moments before finally setting the book down on a table. "Fine." He snarled. He begrudgingly walked to another end of the room, opened secret door and disappeared down a flight of stairs.
The stairway twisted down into the blackness, letting out in front of a dark, heavy, locked door. No Heart hesitated for a moment before whipping the door open with a wave of his hand. The room, much like everything else in the castle, was dark and filled with the eerie cries of No Heart's shadows. Only a small corner of the room glowed a dim but angry red. The glow flickered warmly, as though it were alive. Indeed, it was.
No Heart approached the glow, which was coming from a corked bottle. He stopped at the shelf where the glowing bottle sat, and stared at it angrily. "Such a disappointment." He grumbled, shaking his head.
He leaned forward, the glow of the bottle offering faint glimpses of No Heart's constantly shadowed face. "Wake up." He whispered. Nothing happened. No Heart lightly tapped the bottle with the back of his hand. "I said wake up." He commanded, a bit louder this time.
Still, nothing. With a weary eye roll, No Heart grabbed the neck of the bottle, yanked it off the shelf and proceeded to violently shake it up and down.
"WAKE UP YOU MISERABLE FREE LOADER!" He roared, slamming the bottle down on the shelf with such force, all the other items of the shelf were jostled to the floor.
There was a distant cry coming from within the bottle, followed by a thundering noise. The flickering glow suddenly seemed to take on a smokey shape, filling the bottle with a deep red essence. Then, two glowing slits appeared on the red cloud, slanted and angry looking.
"What is it?!" A deep and angry adolescent male voice questioned. "What do you want? Leave me be!"
"Watch how you talk to me, Dark Heart." No Heart warned. "Or the next body I put you in will be that of a tiny tree frog!"
"Great!" Dark Heart exclaimed sarcastically. "Then I can hop out of here and away from YOU."
"Well, part of your wish is coming true." No Heart groaned, grabbing the bottle and exiting the room. "We are in fact leaving."
"Where are we going?" Dark Heart asked suspiciously.
"We are going...to get revenge on those disgusting little Care Bears." No Heart hissed vehemently.
"The Bears?" Dark Heart thought to himself quietly for a moment. "Wait, you STILL haven't defeated them?"
"Shut up." No Heart mumbled.
"Oh my gosh! How long have I been grounded? And they're still out there doing their whole "caring" thing? HA!" Dark Heart's taunting devolved into laughter.
"I said SHUT UP!" No Heart went back to violently shaking the bottle and continued to do so the entire trip back up the stairs, leaving behind a trail of Dark Heart's cries of discomfort to linger in the dark.
Back in the room, everyone sat around the table while No Heart ran his hands over the cover of the book. Dark Heart's slanted glowing eyes floated in his smokey essence in a scowling shape. Cold Heart, Shreeky and Beastly watched No Heart intently. He gazed at his audience and began to fondle the amulet around his neck.
"I got this amulet; and most of my power; right here." He placed his hand on the book. "Gifts given to me...by the Spirit. Given, in exchange, for a face." He clasped the amulet in his hand and pulled it free of his neck. "Power for power. And now, I give some back. Awaken, Spirit." He placed the amulet against the lock. "Awaken and share with us your power, and your insight."
The crowd, minus Dark Heart, gasped in awe as the amulet began to glow. Then the book began to glow. Then, suddenly, a cackling laughter. Distant at first, but it grew in volume until it overshadowed even the mighty thunder. Even Shreeky had to cover her ears.
Suddenly, there came a massive blast of air from the book as it shot open. No Heart pulled away, covering his eyes from the blinding light that emanated from within the pages. Shreeky and Beastly also covered their eyes, but mostly in fear. Cold Heart narrowed his eyes but did not remove his gaze.
"Oh, hey, don't anybody shield me or anything. I enjoy having the headlight of a TRAIN shining directly in my eyes." Dark Heart complained. But his voice fell on deaf ears, as everyone now stared, unbelieving, at the golden face of a woman within the books' pages.
The handsome but feminine face smiled proudly as she focused exclusively on No Heart.
"Ahh...It feels so good to be back!" She exclaimed in a breathy but intimidating voice."Hello, No Heart." She said almost seductively. "It's been many years."
"I am humbled to be in your presence once again, Spirit." No Heart bowed. "We have searched for you for a long time."
"We?" The Spirit looked at the other faces around her. "Ah, yes. So many faces. So many stories. Yet we all have one thing in common." She looked at Cold Heart. "You there, old man. You've traveled very far to be here. You come from a dark, gray land. A Land Without Feelings."
"Well it WAS a Land Without Feelings!" Cold Heart snapped. "Before those cuddly little Care Bears came along and made everything bright and happy again! Ooh, I hate those blasted bears with all their caring! Bah!"
"Yes." The Spirit answered with her soothing voice. "They rescued all your little children slaves and brought love and happiness back into your land. Now you have nowhere to call home." She looked at Shreeky and Beastly. "And you two...your experiences with those little bears are just as sad. Many close calls, but no victories. How embarrassing...for your uncle."
Shreeky slammed her fists on the table with a shriek of rage while Beastly looked away in shame.
"And you..." The Spirit looked over at Dark Heart, whose slitty gaze remained unimpressed."You were the closest to defeating them. You had the power even to withstand their Stare. You almost had them. You ALMOST HAD THEM." She shouted at the end, her golden face turning green. "And then you let the heart of the human boy whose body you possessed get the better of you. You let the human heart care, and win. And so, your essence was driven out of the human's body, and here you are. A pathetic and bitter little entity trapped in a bottle. Your failure was the most embarrassing of all...because you should NOT have lost."
Dark Heart narrowed his eyes even more. "Ooh, good point. Now let's hear the story about how YOU defeated them. You did defeat them, right? Being so powerful and all-knowing, it must've been a piece of cake for someone as competent as you: a disembodied face in a book written in...what is that, Scandinavian? Yeah, you're really threatening, lady."
No Heart slammed his hand on the table and leaned over the book, eyeing Dark Heart.
"I promise, I am this close..." He gestured with his index finger and thumb. "...to throwing you out that window."
"There, there, No Heart." The Spirit soothed him. "No need to display your temper. The boy is right, after all. I was defeated. And it was humiliating. And that is why we have all come together. Don't you see? It was meant to be this way. It will make our victory all the sweeter. Separate, we were defeated. But together...together, we will have our revenge."
"Ooh, what're we gonna do to them, Miss Spirit? Are we gonna shave off all their hair and make them live in the North Pole?" Shreeky inquired excitedly.
"Ooh, ooh! Or maybe, we'll kick them out of their pretty little home in Care-A-Lot so that WE can slide on rainbows and sleep in big fluffy clouds, and..." Beastly stopped talking when he felt all the eyes of rage on him. "Umm...nevermind."
"The only thing we are going to do to them..." The Spirit said confidently. "Is accept their unconditional surrender." The Spirit ended her speech with a crazy cackle.
Excluding Dark Heart, the other villains exchanged arrogant smirks, confidence high with the knowledge that the Care Bears were going to finally meet their end.