Of the Same Coin

by Phoenix Audubon

He is their enemy, but looks like he could be their friend. What will happen when the truth is revealed? A fourpart miniseries. Complete!

1. Carbon Copy

…Of the Same Coin

Part I:  Carbon Copy

"The war was a mirror; it reflected man's every virtue and every vice, and if you looked closely, like an artist at his drawings, it showed up both with unusual clarity."

-- George Grosz

            From atop a bank of heavy, gloomy gray clouds stands one of the most ominous places anywhere on Earth…or above it, for that matter.  For this is the black castle of the terrible No Heart.  It is here that the wicked wizard would formulate and execute his plans to drain every ounce of caring and good cheer from every human and creature on the world below…

            …Or so he had been up until about two months ago.  After nearly succeeding in ridding himself of the Care Bear Family, a group of special animals whose mission was to protect the love and emotions of Earth's inhabitants from foes such as No Heart, the fiend was ultimately defeated by a newcomer to that group named Defender Bear.  Possessing magic not found in any other bear or cousin and rivaling that of the wizard, Defender undid all the harm No Heart had caused and cast the villain to parts unknown.

            And so, the cold black castle stood silent and empty.

            …Well, almost empty.  Actually, there was someone still in the castle:  No Heart's servant, Beastly.  Without his master around (and not being sufficiently shrewd, calculating, strategic, or even harmful enough to confront the entire Care Bear Family on his own), the small and scraggly imp was content to just continue the upkeep of the castle.  At first, he kept on washing dishes and scrubbing the floors out of fear of No Heart's return.  However, as the days turned to weeks with no sign of the wizard, Beastly decided to "claim" the castle as his own.  So, he would often run through the halls screaming at the top of his lungs, or toss a few books onto the floor of No Heart's study, all the while saying to himself, "No more 'Beastly, don't do that,' or 'Beastly, fetch me this!'  And, even better, no more lighting bolts to my behind!  Life is good…I mean, life is bad, or…oh, who cares!"

            Today, Beastly had just finished sweeping "his" throne room, and sat on the ornate ebony throne to admire his handiwork.  "Now I see why No Heart liked to sit here so much," he chortled aloud.  "What a great view from here, and this chair, hoo-hoo!  Something about it is so…so…"

            But just then, a strong, cold wind rushed through the window openings, and despite his pelt, made Beastly begin to shiver.  A moment later, and a large, black shapeless mass darted into the center of the throne room.  Once it all collected together, it began to twist and contort itself violently before it emitted a bright flash of purple light that made the surprised Beastly cower in "his" chair.  Once he regained his vision, Beastly peeked out to the room to see what had entered the castle.  And then, he saw him:  standing in the middle of the room, in his trademark dark purple robe and cowl, was No Heart himself.

            Beastly stifled a yelp.  He could hear his master breathing deeply and watched through almost-shut eyes as his shoulders rose up and down.  And though most of his face was shrouded inside the cowl, Beastly could see two narrowed red eyes topped by a pair of bushy eyebrows set in an angry angle.  For some time, that was all the wizard was doing.

            "BEASTLY!!!!!!"  Finally, No Heart broke the silence the best way he knew how.  The bellow resonated throughout the entire castle and caused his fur ball more quivering.  A few gasps for air (and confidence) later and Beastly was finally coherent enough to reply.

            "Buh…buh…N-N-N-No Heart!  Y-You're back!  I'm…I'm s-s-so happy to see you again!  I was so w-worried about you!  I k-kept the castle nice and neat, just for you!  Well, e-e-except for your study, but-but I can explain that!  You see…"

            "SILENCE!!!" roared the evil one again, sending his minion back into a huddle.  The next time he spoke however, was much softer, yet it still maintained a hint of contempt.

            "Beastly, how long have I been gone?"

            This change of tone threw off the little weird one.  Had he already overcome his anger, or merely storing up for another shouting salvo?  Beastly decided he'd better answer, regardless.

            "Uh…about two months, Boss?"

            "And, why was it that I left?"

            Beastly swallowed hard.  Was No Heart expecting the truth here?  He was sure he'd get some kind of punishment, no matter what he said. So, Beastly did what he often did—stall.  "Um, well Boss, it-it was so long ago…a-a-and I don't really, uh, I can't seem to…that is, I, um…"

            "Oh, you don't remember?" No Heart interrupted, sounding unusually concerned.  "Well, in that case, let me refresh your memory…I WAS BEATEN BY A CARE BEAR!!!"

            "Eeeeep!" Beastly was sure he'd done it now—the booming voice of his master sent him jumping off the throne and quickly hid behind it.

            "And, not just any Care Bear; a Care Bear with magic as powerful as my own!

I must know where that wretched creature obtained such power.  Even my Cloud of Uncaring couldn't stop him!  So, after I was thrown from my own castle, I spent all that time, thinking of nothing but one thing—revenge!  I have finally come up with a way to rid of me of that magic-wielding pest once and for all, with this!"  No Heart held his hand out in front of him, and something shiny appeared.  It was a small white sphere, with an almost fluid feature to it as it swirled about and bulged in and out all around.

            Beastly was curious enough to overcome his dread and peered around the throne.  "Gosh, No Heart, that's so…so…what is it?"

            "This, Beastly," answered No Heart with rare contentment, "is a small sample of the life force of that foolish, foolish Defender Bear.  Just as I was defeated, I managed to siphon this away from him before I was ejected.  And, I plan to use this to exact my revenge!

            "Beastly!!  Go to my study and bring me my spell book on life animation…NOW!"
            The subordinate instinctively scurried out of the throne room towards the study upstairs.  As he got closer though, Beastly began to slow down a bit.  He realized that it was still a mess in there, what with all the books he'd randomly thrown about.  "*gulp* How am I going to find that book?" moaned Beastly.  "If I don't bring it to No Heart fast, he'll have it in for me for sure…"  When he got to the room, by a stroke of luck, the book he needed was at the very top of the pile of volumes on the floor.  Exhaling a huge sigh of relief for his fortune, the furball grabbed the book and made his way back down to the chronically impatient No Heart.

            "Here you are, Boss!" Beastly gloated as he proudly handed over the tome.

            "Excellent, Beastly.  And now, leave before you try my patience any further!"  No more needed to be said; the little lackey dashed away once more to the study to try and clean up his mess before his master saw it.  No Heart instantly transported himself to his laboratory, where he opened his "life animation" spell book, and set to work on his new scheme.  Over a heated cauldron, the wizard mixed potions, powders, and other ingredients to make a bubbling, glowing green mixture.  When he seemed satisfied with its outcome, he took the life essence he'd taken from Defender Bear and held it in his hands above the green mixture.  As soon as the fumes made contact with the essence, it stretched and contracted itself violently for a few seconds before it changed color from white to black.  No Heart then dropped the sphere into the mixture.   Once it submerged, the concoction began to thicken, and it almost seemed like something was moving around inside the cauldron.  "Yes," said No Heart, "yes…arise!"

            Whatever was within the cauldron slowly lifted itself out of the green liquid…

            …A hand.  Once the ooze slid off it, it revealed not just any hand; it was a black bear's paw.  It grabbed the rim of the cauldron and began to pull itself upwards.  As the rest of the figure broke the surface of the bubbling brew, No Heart was pleased with the result—he had created his own bear, covered in black fur save for white fur on its' chest and muzzle.

            "Now, you listen to me, bear!" the wizard spoke to his handiwork.  "I am your master, No Heart, the most powerful wizard of all time!  You will obey me!  Is that understood?"

            "I understand, Master No Heart," replied the black bear with little emotion.

"Good.  I suppose I should name you…I think the name 'Shade Foyle' will work.  Now, for your first task…" His thin, bony hands started to glow, and the image of Defender Bear appeared in front of Shade.  "This is the Care Bear who has been quite a nuisance to me.  I want you to make him disappear for a very long time.   And, I want you to take his place at his home in Care-a-Lot.  Spread as much mayhem, confusion, and hate as you can in his name.  Do you understand?"

            Again, the black bear replied, "I understand, Master No Heart."

            "Good.  Then, go!"  With a firm wave of his arm, No Heart motioned to an open window.  Shade walked towards the window, jumped out, and started to fly off towards his target, all to the fiendish content of the uncaring wizard.

            "Let's see you try and protect your friends from yourself, foolish bear…"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

            Elsewhere, another person was doing some cleaning of his own.  From within his old mountaintop cave home, Defender Bear, a.k.a. Phoenix Audubon, was spending his morning giving the cave a good cleansing.  He had already wiped the polished rock wall that served as a mirror, gathered up stones into a neat pile, and strained out dead insects or other impurities from the pond within.  And now, the white Care Bear was just about finished sweeping the cavern floor.  With a few more swishes, he was finished, and he set the broom against the stone wall.  Defender wiped his brow with bottom corner of his red-and-blue cloak, and admired his accomplishment.

            "Whew…It looks so much better now!  Who says I shouldn't take care of this place?  After all, I spent two decades here, with the phoenix, my protector…"  Defender paused for a moment of silence, and then inhaled deeply.  "…But hey, this all helped me get me where I am now:  a family who cares about me, someone who loves me," he sighed contentedly.  "Well, I'd better get back home soon."

            Phoenix reached over to grab the broom to take with him, but his hand stopped before it got there.  Just then, he sensed something.  He wasn't sure what it was, but it was close, very close.  The bear quickly snatched the broomstick and assumed a defensive fighting stance, one foot a step behind the other, holding the broomstick in front of him as if it were his staff.

            "Wh…who's there?  I know someone's around here (though he wasn't actually certain of that), and I'm warning you—I'm not called 'Defender Bear' without a good reason."  He waited for any sign of movement or anything, but he didn't see any indication of an intruder.  Phoenix turned around to observe himself in the mirror.  "I'm not crazy, am I?  I could've sworn I sensed something…or someone…" That was when he noticed something in the reflection.  Off in the back of the cave he could see someone there.  He tried not to move his eyes as he was looking at what appeared to be a Care Bear with black fur.  Defender quickly spun around, but the stranger was not there.  He looked back to the mirror, and it was gone from the reflection as well.  "This is not good…I don't who or what that was, but I think I'd better warn the other Care Bears about this.  Now, I'm really regretting that I forgot to bring my Care Phone."

            Defender Bear turned around to leave, but he jumped at what he saw standing in front of him.  It was the same black bear he had seen earlier—and up close, Phoenix realized that this bear had the same triangular nose that he did. (All of the other bears and most of the cousins had a heart-shaped nose.)  Other than the black fur and the lack of clothes and a tummy symbol, the white bear could've sworn he was still facing the mirror wall.

            "Who are you!?!" Phoenix demanded of the black bear who, instead of replying, disappeared with a cloud of dark purple smoke.  Phoenix was still sorting what he'd just seen in his head when he was grabbed from behind by his neck and right wrist.

            "*Ack*…Wh…what are you doing?!"

            "What I was told to do," was the monotone reply.  As soon as he said that, the black bear sent a high charge of electricity coursing through Defender's body.  He screamed out and writhed in agony, until his body finally succumbed and his head slumped forward.

            Shade Foyle put his unconscious victim on the floor of the cave.  He also disrobed him and set the articles aside.  The black bear walked over to the pool of water, put his hand out, and muttered some magic words.  The water began to shine as if an underwater light had been turned on, and then dimmed back to normal.  Shade slowly stepped into the pond, and laid down supine and submerged underwater with his eyes closed, motionless, and without breathing for a minute or two.  When the black bear lifted himself out, as soon as his body broke the surface of the water, the black of his fur was washed away, so that when he stepped out completely, his pelt was as white as Defender's.  After shaking himself dry, Shade walked over to the comatose body of Defender Bear.  He put one hand on top of his chest over the shield tummy symbol, and chanted some more words of magic.  These caused the tummy symbol to illuminate with a bright and shiny white light.  Shade put his other hand over his chest, and the same area began to glow.  When both lights faded, the impostor bear now had a copy of Defender's tummy symbol on his own chest.  Shade put on Defender Bear's vest, shorts, cloak, and gloves to complete the disguise.

            Shade examined himself in the mirror.  However, as he was checking himself over, he suddenly had an uneasy feeling.  Something about seeing himself as his captive triggered some kind of reaction.

            What is this feeling, Shade thought to himself, a little anxious.  Who is this bear that I'm supposed to pretend to be?  I don't know who he is, and yet, when I see me as him, I feel like I do know him.

            This new sensation was giving the formerly black bear a severe headache.  He thought he had a simple mission, but if he really did know this other guy…Shade decided he'd just try not to think about his victim and just do what he was told to do, lest he incur the wrath of his master, No Heart.  Shade-as-Defender walked out of the mountain cave, spoke some more magic words, and lifted his hand at the entrance.  This first part complete, the impostor began to fly towards Care-a-Lot.  For an instant, Shade thought it was peculiar he not only knew so much magic, but also where he was going despite never having heard of it.  But these thoughts were cast aside with the others as he continued on his way.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

            At Care-a-Lot, Funshine Bear was making sure bears and cousins were arriving at and departing the runway in an orderly fashion.  She was directing Tenderheart Bear on his rainbow roller to land on one section, and then waved an orange flag at Swift Heart Rabbit and Champ Bear for them to proceed with takeoff.  They were the last for Funshine, and when she finally had a chance to wipe her brow, she noticed a lone bear coming towards the landing strip.  Since this bear was flying without a cloud car or rainbow roller, she instantly realized that it must be Defender Bear.  She waved her flag to have him land far on her right, but he ignored the signal.  Traveling at full speed, Funshine had to duck under the flying bear, who touched down to a slight skid and stop.

            The yellow bear quickly whirled around.  "Hey, Defender!  Didn't you see my signal?  You were supposed to land over there!  You almost—"

            "I don't have time for this," was the abrupt brush-off.  Defender still had his back towards Funshine, and he proceeded to walk away.  Funshine took a few steps to follow him, but she decided to pursue neither him nor the incident.  "What was that all about?" she said to herself.  "I wonder what happened while he was out.  That sure was a lot of steam he was venting.  At least, I hope that's what that was…"

            As Defender Bear (actually Shade Foyle in disguise) made his way through the cloud city, he was doing his best to maintain a stoic face while observing all there was to this unfamiliar place.  Or, was it unfamiliar?  It was almost like déjà vu—it felt like he'd been here before, except Shade hadn't been here before.  It felt similar to the sensation he felt at the cave…Were these some kind of memories?  But, Shade didn't have very many memories…and now that he thought about it, it seemed odd he couldn't remember his past.  "Ooohhh," groaned the bear.   All these conflicting ideas were giving him another headache.

            "Gosh, Defender, are you okay?"

            "Wha-?  Who's there?"  The imposter turned around, and saw two slightly younger bears, identical except for their fur colors and symbols on their chest, staring back at him with eyes so full of eagerness, it was rather unsettling for the intruder.

            One of these twin bears, with a light pink color, giggled.  "It's us, silly!  Hugs and Tugs, not easy to forgot."

            "Oh…right.  Well, what do you want?"

            This time, the other, light blue bear, spoke.  "We want you to show us some of your magic.  You keep saying you're too busy for us, but we're not leaving until you show us something!"

            "Yeah!" added the first one.  "You have that fire bird spirit in you, right, Defender?  Let's see something with fire!"

            A sly smile spread across the impostor's muzzle.  This was a perfect opportunity to terrorize these inhabitants.  "You want fire, do you?" he asked them impishly.  "Well, since you asked," He held out each one of his hands in front of both twins.  Small fires sprouted out of each palm.

            "Oooooo…" said both Hugs and Tugs, intently staring at the flames.  With a couple of slight finger motions, the flames began to stretch upward in a twisting column, until they formed identical fiery dragons, two feet tall, with tiny fiery wings flittering rapidly.  The twins gasped in delight at the demonstration.  That is, until the dragons both started spitting flames at Hugs and Tugs.  They both yelped and jumped out of the way, but the dragons started to pursue both of them, snapping at them and continuing to spit streams of fire at their heads.  They yelled to "Defender", "Make them stop!  Please, call them off!" But, the white bear only stood there, with that same mischievous smile, as Hugs and Tugs ran away with the fiery apparitions still in hot pursuit.

            Meanwhile, at the Hall of Hearts, Tenderheart Bear, Brave Heart Lion, Lotsa Heart Elephant, Champ Bear, Loyal Heart Dog, and Grumpy Bear have their hands full as they carry a large mirror inside.

            "Urf!  I'll be glad when we get this into the meeting room," griped Grumpy.  Once they got it past the doors, Cheer Bear and Wish Bear directed the six to make sure it was placed in the center of the wall.

"A little more to the left, you guys…that's perfect!" exalted Cheer, to which Grumpy and Bright Heart Raccoon started to secure it to the wall.  "I'm just glad we don't have to attach it off the ground," Grumpy continued with his complaints.

"Don't worry, it's an easy job from here on out," his friend replied.  "Hand me the drill, would you?"

"Sure.  Speaking of jobs, wasn't it Defender Bear's job to help carry this mirror in here?  Where has he been all this time?"

"Today was the day he went to his cave to do some housekeeping, so to speak," answered Wish.  "He left this morning, but I haven't seen him since then."
            "Did you try calling him on his caring phone?" asked Tenderheart.  Wish shook her head.  "He forgot to take it with him today.  I hadn't thought much of it; he's done it a couple of times before.  But, now that you mention it…I would've expected him back by now."

Just then, Share Bear ran into the meeting room, stopping right in front of Wish.  "Hey, uh, Wish, have you seen Defender Bear lately?" she asked between gasps.

"I just finished telling the guys here that I haven't seen him since he left this morning.  Why, Share?  Has he come back?"

"Oh, he's back, all right," said the lavender bear, "but if I were you, I wouldn't be happy to see him."

"What are you talking about?"
            "I saw Hugs and Tugs earlier, and they looked like they had just run a marathon.  When I asked them what happened, they said that Defender had unleashed two dragons made of fire after them.  It sounded crazy, even for me, but there was a patch of singed fur on Hugs's shoulder.  When I asked where the dragons were, Hugs and Tugs said they disappeared a while back, like they burned themselves out, or something.

"Now, I'd be lying if I said this wasn't something I wouldn't expect of Defender," Share Bear commented offhand, "but even if it was just his idea of a practical joke, he's gone too far!"

"But, that doesn't sound like Phoenix at all," said Wish Bear.  "He's said before that he doesn't want to hurt anybody.  And, he's never been much for practical jokes, either.  (Brave Heart lifted a finger in an attempt to interrupt, but decided the time Defender got the jump on him was excusable compared to this.)"

"Well, why don't you go see if you can't find out what Defender's got to say about all of this, Wish Bear," suggested Tenderheart.  "In the meantime, we'll get Take Care to look at Hugs and Tugs, and make sure they're all right."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The lamb was too easy to frighten; one electric bolt that misses her, and she ran off.  Now, the mute was more interesting.  He took quite a bit of punishment before I finally got a yell out of him.  He certainly won't be taking any more walks for quite some time… These "Care Bears" and "Cousins"…they don't realize how much damage I can bring to them.

The impostor Defender Bear was thinking to himself as he stared at the reflection in the mirror of Defender's house.  Both were so still, one could easily confuse the mirror image for the "real" bear.

And yet, they seem to trust this bear that I've replaced.  Who is this "Defender Bear" they keep calling me?  And, why do I feel like I know him?  How did I know that this house belongs to him?  Why!?  The confusion was starting to take its' toll on the bear's mind.  These distractions are becoming harder and harder to ignore.  I must continue to bring chaos to these people, or else…

"Phoenix?"

The voice wrenched "Defender" back into reality, and he snapped his head towards the source.  Standing at the edge of the doorway was a teal bear, with shooting stars on her chest.  Her face was slightly contorted, seemingly caught between worry and anger.  "We need to talk," she sternly declared.

"Humph."  The white bear simply turned away.

"Don't you try to disregard me, Phoenix Audubon.  There are some very heavy charges being brought against you, and I don't want to believe them."  Wish paused for a moment.

"But if you don't give me any explanation, anything to save your name, then I fear…well, I…"

There was no movement from the white bear.  However, if Wish could've seen her companion's face, it would've been one of shock. His eyes were wide open, and frantically darting from side to side.  His brow was furrowed from deep thought, his breathing shallow, and his pulse rapid.  The impostor didn't know who this bear was, but he was having some kind of reaction to her.

Who is this bear, he tried to ponder in his mind.  What is this feeling that's swelling inside of me?  Is she the cause of it?

"I…I wish I could explain to you…"

As soon as he realized he'd let those words slip, "Phoenix" slapped his hands over his mouth.  Did I just say that? I don't want to tell anybody the truth…or do I?

"You know you can tell me anything, dear," said Wish Bear soothingly.  "Please, trust in me, Phoenix…

"After all, you told me that you love me."

It was the word "love" that shattered the unsound emotional restraints of the impostor.  He veered wildly at the teal bear, and with his magic, seized her in a distant, invisible choking grip.  Her gasps only lasted for a second before she was hurled to the opposite wall with a "WHAM!", and slid to the floor below in a slump.  As "Defender" looked at the motionless body, the simultaneous waves of rage, sorrow, bewilderment, and guilt (all unbeknownst to the bear) continued to pound against his psyche.

"These bears, they cause me to feel these strange sensations!  Why do they cause me so much pain?  Actually, not all of them are painful…but there is no time to figure this out.  I must stop these sensations!  I mustn't fail Master No Heart, lest he harm me.   I must stop them, once and for all!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As one bear sought to snuff life, elsewhere, someone else's began to stir.

"Ooohhhhh…that must've been some party last night," he babbled.  When he opened his and saw light, the real Phoenix Audubon, Defender Bear, shook his head several times to clear his thoughts.

"Wait a second...there was no party.  No, I remember—the black bear!  Where did he go?" Defender looked down.  "And, where are my clothes?"  He turned over on the floor of his cave and managed to get to his knees.  The shock that had disabled him a while back still left his legs unsteady, so he had to crawl towards a wall and prop himself up against it.  Being able to think clearly once again, Defender began to sense something coming from the pond.  The bear approached it cautiously.

"What did this bear do while I was out cold?  I know there's been some magic used here, but I can't really discern its' nature.  And," Defender thought out loud, stroking his chin, "the magic…it feels like mine.  But, how could I use magic if I was subdued?  I fear all these stray puzzle pieces are going to make something unpleasant.  First things first; I'd better warn Care-a-Lot about this bogus bear."  He made to walk out of the mouth of the cave, until…

BONK!

"Ow!  Hey!  What the…?"  Instead of getting outside, Defender Bear felt like he'd walked straight smack into a wall.  However, after rubbing his just-smashed muzzle, he didn't see any wall.  He put his hands out, and indeed, there was an invisible barrier at the threshold of the cave.  He began to beat on with his fists, but failed to even dent it.  The bear took a few steps back, rubbed his hands, conjured two tennis ball-sized fireballs, and hurled them at the invisible wall.  They struck the wall, but did nothing to weaken it.

"Well, I'd say this guy didn't want me to leave," he quipped.  "Now I'm really starting to get worried.  I've got to find a way out of here!"  Just then, Phoenix remembered he'd brought something with him.  As he ran to the back of the cave, he only hoped that the intruder hadn't found it during his downtime.

Fortunately, Phoenix Audubon's book of spells was still under the pile of rocks, hidden in the same spot where he had discovered it for the first time months ago.  The bear dusted off the cover, and began to scour its pages, searching for any technique that could help him escape.  When Defender separated two stuck pages, he found something that seemed promising.

"Mirrorwalking," the bear read aloud, "A technique in which the caster uses a mirror, or any highly polished surface, to travel great distances with ease, or reach areas the caster couldn't access under the current conditions—yes, I'd say this counts as one of those 'conditions'.  Let's see here...to mirrorwalk, the caster must concentrate their magical energies on the target surface.  The caster will then pass through the surface, thus stepping into the reflection.

"As is the nature of reflections, what is being reflected is what the caster shall experience, though the caster must remember that it is only a likeness, and so not all may be as the real entity.

"I'm not sure what that last part means, but any way I can get out of here, I'm willing to try."  Tucking the large book under his arm, Phoenix walked up to the glossy section of the cave wall.  Since it wasn't an actual mirror, there was a gray overtone to the image, but otherwise looked just like the real thing.  "Well, here goes nothing," said the bear.  He put his right hand on the wall, closed his eyes, and started focusing his magic towards the wall.  A minute or so later, the solid wall began to have a softened, more gelatinous feel to it.  Defender Bear took one deep breath, and pushed himself into the reflection.

When he opened his eyes again, Phoenix was again standing in his cave, only everything was now reversed.  Whereas the opening leading outside was normally to the left of glossy wall, it was now to its right.

"Okay, now that I'm here, now what?" the bear asked aloud to himself.  Something struck him funny about his voice.  The walls of the cave were always acoustically conducive, but now, there wasn't much echo to his voice.  Does this have something to do with this just being the reflection of the cave? he thought.  Well, since a mirror only reflects sights and not sounds, I guess that would make some sense…I guess.  But, this gave the bear an idea.  He stepped towards the "relocated" exit.  He turned his head to try and see the barrier that was in place in the real cave, but he couldn't see anything here, either.  So, Phoenix put out his had and felt around for the invisible wall…but there was nothing there.  Indeed, he was able to reach out to the exterior of the mountainside.  "A-ha!" the bear gloated.  "It's just as I thought.  Since the wall was invisible, the mirror would only reflect what it could 'see'—nothing.  Logic like this would make Bright Heart excited with interest, I bet."  Defender was so happy at this triumph, but what he discovered outside of the cave stunned it all out of him.

Instead of the blue, sunny skies Defender Bear was used to, the gray of the reflection inside the cave continued outdoors.  But, even more astonishing was that, not far from the side of the mountain, everything seemed to disappear behind a foggy background.  "Where'd everything go?" said the bear in the same flat voice.  He pondered about the mirror once more.  The reflection didn't see outside, so does that mean that the magic couldn't fill in all the details?  But, there's still stuff out there, isn't there?  I think the logic is starting to surpass me.  But, there's one way to find out.

Phoenix turned to the front inside cover of the book, where he kept a picture of himself and his beloved Wish Bear.  He held the photograph to his forehead, and began to concentrate.

I am reaching out to a member of my family.  Show me the way.

Moments later, Phoenix began to feel an impulse coming from the south.  In the "real world", Care-a-Lot was usually north from his cave, so this seemed to make sense to the bear.  Phoenix took another deep breath, and flew into the gray fog.  Making his way through, there seemed to be nothing but fog until the bear started to see flat, shining squares floating here and there.  Defender flew up to one of them, and within it he could see what appeared to be a living room, and it was full with color (as opposed to all the gray surrounding Defender).  He put his finger up to the square, and pressed against the square (it having the same jellylike feel to it as the one from his cave), letting it almost pass through.  "These must be other mirrors," Phoenix concluded.  "These would be how I get back to the real world.  Now, I have to find the one to my house."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Is Secret going to be alright?" asked Gentle Heart Lamb worriedly.  All she could do was watch as Cheer Bear and Take Care Bear pulled the severely injured Secret Bear from the back of the cloud ambulance on a stretcher.  He had cuts and bruises all over his face and arms (the rest of him covered by a sheet); one eye swollen shut, and wasn't showing signs of movement.  "I mean, after Defender Bear tried to hit me with lightning, and I ran off in the Forest of Feelings, but then I found Secret Bear, and he was hanging from the tree, all tied by his wrists, and he was…"

"Take Care and Cheer are going to do all they can to make sure he gets better, and that's the truth," replied Lotsa Heart, padding Gentle Heart on her shoulder to try and assure his friend.

The looks on True Heart's and Noble Heart's faces were not as compassionate.

"First Funshine, then Hugs and Tugs, now Gentle Heart, and poor Secret," True Heart listed off.  "I hate to say it, Noble Heart, but the Care Bear Family has got a serious problem from within."

"If we do have a problem, True Heart, we had best see to it as soon as possible," the elder concurred.  He flipped open his Caring Phone.  "This is Noble Heart to Caring Control Center.  Come in, Control Center."

"This is Control Center."  It was Bright Heart answering.  "Go ahead, Noble Heart."

"Bright Heart, has there been any word from Wish Bear?"

"Negative.  We haven't heard any word from her since she left to find Defender."

"Can you tell me where she is right now?"  Noble Heart could hear the typing of keys through the earpiece.  "It looks like Wish's phone puts her at Defender Bear's house; his phone isn't giving off a signal, though.  He must have turned it off."  After that, someone else picked up the control center's radio.

"Noble Heart, this is Share Bear.  I'll go check on Wish and see what's going on over there."

"Good idea, Share.  In the meantime, have Bright Heart send out the message to all bears and cousins that we're having an emergency meeting, and have everyone convene at the Hall of Hearts as soon as possible."

"You got it," Share replied.  She stepped out of the control center and got onto a rainbow roller outside.  Share landed it a short distance later, right outside Defender's house.  She was skeptically expecting to be some kind of argument when she arrived, but instead, it was silent all around.  Share knocked on the door a few times.  "Hello?  Wish?  Defender?"  She got no response.  Testing the knob, she found it unlocked.  Taking a second to prepare for any sort of surprise, Share quickly turned the knob and shoved the door open.  To her horror, she saw Wish Bear lying scattered next to the opposite wall of the one-room house.  Share hurried to her side and shook Wish to she if she was all right.  Fortunately, Wish started to moan from being moved.

"Ooooo…W…What happened?"

"I should be asking you that question," Share retorted.  "What's going on?  Where's Defender?"

"I…I…he threw me against the wall," Wish muttered, breaking eye contact with her friend.  "But…he's not acting himself, Share.  I…I…I just…still can't believe…"

"Aaaah!  Oomph!"

The two girls were interrupted by a distant voice and crash.  They both turned around; it seemed to have come from the bathroom.

Share asked hushed, "What was that?"

"I don't know," said Wish.  Share helped her friend to her feet, and they warily crept towards the bathroom.  They stood on either side of the door, backs against the wall.  Share put her hand on the knob to open it.  When she saw Wish nod, she quickly opened it, slowly turned her head in to look, and then screamed.

Wish looked in and there, face down on the floor, was Defender Bear.

"No, I don't need any help, but thanks for offering, and yes, I'm fine," he grumbled as he made to push himself off of the floor.

"After what you've done, you're going to need a lot of help," Share scorned.

"What do you mean, 'what I've done'?  Do you have idea what I've been through today?"

"Not as bad as what we've been through!"

"Wish, what is she talking about?  What is going on?" said Defender, confused.  "Wait a minute, have you been hurt!?  Oh, my gosh!  Are you okay?"

"Um…"  While Wish fought with herself whether to talk to whom she thought was her true love, Share put her arm in front of her friend.

"Wish probably doesn't want to talk to you anymore, and frankly, I can understand why.  I'm not buying your ignorance one bit!  Every since you got back from your cave, you've hurt a lot of people.  Funshine, Hugs and Tugs, Gentle Heart, and don't get me started with Secret Bear!"

"What…?" Defender tried to step in, but Share continued to fire away.

"We all trusted you—well, most of us, anyway—and yet, you threw it all away in one day!  I'd ask you why you did it, but there's no reason that could possibly explain such atrocious actions."

"But…"

"I don't know how you got in here, probably your magic, but I think you've caused enough of a mess as it is, so you might as well just go back the way you came!"

Having heard enough of the unbelievably callous derision, Defender responded by pointing a finger at the light purple bear.  "Now just a minute, Share Bear!  It sounds to me as if we've all been duped.  Don't think so?  Well, let me tell you this:  I wouldn't start accusing me, especially since you don't know what I had to do to get here.

            "There I was, cleaning my old home, minding my own business, and then I get attacked from behind by some black bear!  You heard me, Share—and I'm not done yet, so you might as well close your mouth.  Next thing I know, I'm on the floor with all my clothes gone.  I was going to try and warn everyone about this black bear, but he trapped me, in my own cave.  Lucky for me, I brought my spell book with me, so I managed to find a way out of there by going through the mirror.  I was trying to come out the mirror in the main room of my house, but this ended up being close enough, and the book also broke my fall…

            "But, don't you get it?  I've been locked away this whole time.  Whatever you think I did, I didn't.  And, from what you said, someone has been causing a lot of trouble here.   How much do you want to bet the bear who ambushed me is the same one stirring up trouble here?"

            This was certainly a surprise to Share—could what Defender be saying be true?  She was finding it rather difficult to compute all this information in her head.

            "Look, Share," Defender added, more coolly this time, "we're getting nowhere here arguing with each other.  If we're going to do something, we need to do it now.  Please, if ever you needed to trust me, I think now would be the best time to do that.

            "And Wish," he was now looking at his slightly-huddling darling, "you know I wouldn't lay a hand on you like that.  But, I will apologize that I let something awful happen to you.  Please, dear, tell me you still have faith in me…"

            And for a minute, the only thing that could be heard was the bated breath of the three bears echoing in the small bathroom.  Finally, Wish ended the spell of silence.

            "It wasn't him."

            "What?" Share and Defender said simultaneously.

            "The one…who attacked me…he looked just like Phoenix, but he wasn't acting like himself at all.  He wouldn't talk to me, except…he seemed really confused, and said he wanted to explain what he'd done, but I think that's why he attacked me; he didn't mean to say that, and he didn't want anyone else to know that.

            "I've always known Phoenix to be honest with me—okay, maybe too honest sometimes—but, well, you heard him just now, Share, didn't you?  What he said sounded like something that Phoenix would say.

            "So yes, Phoenix, I trust you."

            Defender couldn't help but feel a bit captivated by Wish's words.  "Oh, Wish, honey."  However, he remembered that there was action to take.  "Share, are you with us?  Please?"

            It didn't really seem like there was much choice for her anyway.  "Okay, I'm in."

            "Great.  Where are True Heart and Noble Heart?"

            "Probably at the Hall of Hearts by now.  They were calling everyone for an emergency meeting about Def…um, the guy who looks like you."

            "That might not have been such a good move.  If he's got most everyone in one place, and we don't know what he's capable of..."  The white bear's mind raced for any ideas.  Then, he caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror he fell out of.

            "Hold on.  Guys, did we get that big mirror installed in the Hall of Hearts before all this happened?"

            "Yeah, Phoenix, we did," said Wish.  "Why?"

            "I've got an idea.  I can see my clothes on the bed, which means that look-alike looks just like me right now.  You two, get to the Hall of Hearts right away.  If you see me…er, I mean, the other me…distract him as long as you can.  You'll know when it's really me—trust me."

            Share and Wish looked at each other, and nodded in agreement.  "Okay, we're on our way."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

            By the time the Defender Bear, Share Bear, and Wish Bear had settled their affairs and set off, the remainder of the Care Bear Family (except Take Care Bear and Cheer Bear, who were still tending to Secret Bear) had already gathered within the main room.  Everyone was anxious about the idea of one of their own acting so maverick, and worried for their own safety.

            At this point, True Heart's gavel was useless.  "Please!  Everyone!  Settle down!" she and Noble Heart shouted.  "I see most of us are here; I'd think we'd better start this emergency meeting.  As you're all aware, there have been some rather unfortunate incidents here in the kingdom, and they have all been attributed to one family member, and…"

            "Speaking of Defender Bear, where is he?" inquired True Heart as she looked around the room.

            Her question was answered by a sudden opening of the room's double doors and an icy wind blasting through, followed seconds later by Defender Bear, who was wearing nothing but a fiendish smirk on his face.  And after he stepped inside, the doors slammed themselves shut.

            Once the strong breeze subsided, some of the bears and cousins stood up, readying themselves in case they felt they were threatened.  True Heart did her best to try and come between seemingly quickly-escalating standoff.

            "Everyone, I think it's only fair that Defender Bear has a chance to explain himself," said True Heart as she walked up towards the white bear.  "Now, my friend, you may have heard that there are some very heavy charges against you.  If you have anything to explain to us, now would be the best time.  We're willing to listen to anything you have to say."

            To this, Defender put out one hand in front, and a concentrated burst of wind knocked the elder Care Bear several yards back, sliding to a stop halfway across the large heart-shaped table.  Now, everyone in the room was in an uproar and ready to stare down the rebel.  Defender laughed with contempt.

            "Fools!" he shouted.  "You're all fools!  If you're listening to me now, then hear this:  You've all been nothing but annoyances to me!  You've brought nothing but anguish, so now I shall return the favor!  And, there is nothing any of you can do to stop me!"

            "That won't stop us from trying," countered Noble Heart as he pulled True Heart from the table. (Fortunately, she wasn't hurt.)  "I never thought I'd see the day when I would have to order this against a Care Bear, but…Care Bear Family, countdown!  Three, two, one…stare!"

            And so the stares came, some straight at Defender, some arcing over other bears, but alas, none of them hit their mark.  The white bear raised his hand once again, and all the beams were stopped by an invisible wall about five yards out from him.  And, with a wave of his other hand, icicles instantly formed on the ceiling of the hall.  Each about two feet in length, they began to fall all around the bears and cousins.  They scattered to avoid the icy spikes; some of the icicles impaled the grand table, forming deep cracks in it and kicking up splinters.  All the while, "Defender Bear" was enjoying their torment.

            Amidst the confusion, the white bear could hear pounding against the sealed doors.  Eager to see who could be trying to intrude on his task, he waved his hand in front of them, and both Wish Bear and Share Bear fell into the room, with the doors slamming shut again behind them.

            "Well, well," scoffed "Defender", "look who's come late to our get-together."

            "Um, do you think this was enough of a distraction?" Share quietly asked her friend.

            "Not unless you had something else in mind," Wish mumbled back.

            "Defender" looked at the two, and was eager to continue his torment with them.  But, upon seeing Wish again, the surge of emotions, still unknown to him, welled up inside of him again, and he started clutching his head and his heart.  The bear screamed in agony, which in turn, summoned more icy winds inside the hall.

            Managing to keep some of the feelings in check, he snarled at Wish from afar, "I don't know…what it is…you're doing to me, but…but…I won't let…you do this…to me…anymore!  I will…"

            "Defender" stopped mid-sentence.  He looked behind him at the large mirror on the wall.  Had he seen something from…inside it?  He had scattered the other bears and cousins across the room, so no one was near enough to have a reflection.  The bear made to turn away…but there it was again!

            Forgetting everything else, even the foreign emotions, the bear walked up to the mirror.  He saw his mirror image up close, but the terrified looks on the rest of the people with the room.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him.

            "What kind of trick is this?!" he seemed to demand from the mirror.

            His reflection replied…by swinging its arm out and punching him square on him muzzle!

            The bear yelped, and the reflection stuck his outside of the mirror.  "I'd say it's a pretty good trick, if you ask me," it taunted.  It stuck its head back within the mirror, and then jumped out entirely on top of the other bear.

            Every Care Bear and Cousin gasped, as they could not believe they were seeing two Defender Bears wrestling each other on the ground, grappling, struggling, and striking at each other.  They both managed to escape each other's grasp, and now stood a few feet from themselves, both gasping and wearing a determined stare at the other.

            "How can there be two of them??" asked Bedtime aloud.

            "Which one's the real one?" said Proud Heart.

            Both Defenders were speaking at the exact same time.  "I am!"  "No, you're not!"  "Stop that!!"

            "Come on, guys," one Defender spoke alone, "you know it's me here!  We have to stop this impostor!"

            "Me?  You're the impostor," snapped the other Defender, "and you won't get away with it!"

            "Excuse me?!  You can't be the real…uh, me!"

            "Oh yeah?  Only the real Defender can do this!"  And, with a lift of his hand, a focused burst sent the other Defender Bear crashing into the mirror, starting a cascade of fragments all around him.  The others yelled, but when the shattering stopped, they could see that he was sitting on the floor against the wall and…smiling!

            "Actually," he said, sounding amazingly unharmed, "the real Defender Bear…would've realized he had experience with breaking mirrors.

            "And, he'd also know how to do…this!"  He held up a large shard of the mirror out in front of him.

            "Shard of truth, reveal to us the whole truth!"

            And, with those magic words, the piece of glass began to shine brightly and then emitted an equally intense cone of light, enveloping the other Defender Bear, who had to wrap his arms over his face against such brilliance.  In the midst of the light show, every bear and cousin could see that the bear's fur deepen from white to black, and the shield tummy symbol disappeared from his chest.  They gasped collectively.

            When the light finally subsided, Defender forced a conquering smile.  "It looks like you can't hide from us any more, imposter.  You might as well tell us who you really are, and what the purpose of your scheme was."  The black bear just laughed as he moved his arms and looked around at the Care Bear Family ready to face him.

            "Very well.  I am Shade Foyle, obedient servant to Master No Heart.  My goal was to wreak havoc on you Care Bears and Cousins, and I succeeded.  Hear me, you worthless animals!  My master and I will not stop until you are all destroyed!

"Especially you, Phoenix Audubon!" he said, looking down at the white bear.  "Very soon, we will all meet again!"  Shade laughed once more, but this time, clouds of blinding black smoke burst from nothing, and instantly filled the room.  By the time someone managed to open the door to let the smoke out, Shade Foyle was nowhere to be seen.

"Is it over?" asked Gentle Heart timidly.

"I'm afraid not," replied Defender, still sitting on the floor.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Ugh…this thing makes it hard to scratch my back," Defender Bear griped as he tried to reach an itch underneath his vest.  After Take Care had extracted the bits of glass that were stuck in his back, Defender had to wear a bandage that covered his entire back to protect all the cuts suffered during his encounter with Shade Foyle the day before.

"If it bothers you that much, why don't you just use your magic to make them heal faster?" asked Wish, walking alongside him in the streets of Care-a-Lot city.

"Well, honestly, dear, I feel really bad for Secret Bear.  Doc says he'll make a full recovery, and I don't want to just leave him behind, so to speak.  And, I don't want to fix him up, either; I think he needs plenty of time to recover after this ordeal.  We all do," he finished with a sigh.

"I just can't help but think that all this was all my fault, Wish," Defender continued.  "I mean, of all the Care Bears to imitate, No Heart makes Shade imitate me.  And, look at the trouble he caused.  It's a wonder most of them still trust me."

"But it was someone imitating you that did all that, Phoenix," Wish reassured him.  "Even if some of us had doubts…including me...I think you've proven to all of us that you are who you say you are, and you didn't do those terrible things.

"Of course now, I have to ask: is it really you I'm speaking to?"  She giggled.

"Come on, Wish, that's not really funny right now," Defender chided.  "Besides, it's not over yet.  You heard what Shade said.  All we can do now…is wait…"

Phoenix seemed like he had more to say, but up ahead, the two saw Share Bear standing to the side like she had been waiting for them.

"Hey, Phoenix, um, I mean, Defender?" she asked a bit hesitantly.  Her eyes darted to either side, seemingly scanning for passersby.

"Either name is fine, Share.  What is it?"

"Listen, about yesterday…I, uh, I want to apologize about having my doubts about, well…you know."

"Sure, I follow you," said Phoenix.  "Don't go and totally blame yourself, though; I know now why there was misunderstanding, so we're all on the same page now."

"Well, I also just wanted to tell you…um…" Share trailed off.

"Are you all right, Share Bear?" inquired Defender.

"Oh yes, it's just…well, I want you to know that…from now on, I'll trust you.  You know…I think I finally get you.  Well, at least, I can tell your intentions are always good.  So, I'll try be and more of a friend from now on."

Defender gently hugged Share after her confession.  "You always were my friend, Share.  But, I really appreciate this.  Really, I do."

"Thanks.  Well, I'd…better go.  See you guys," and she excused herself and walked off.

"You've got to admire her courage, Wish," said Phoenix after a spat of silence afterwards.  "That wasn't easy for her to say, but good for her that she did."

"I agree.  I'm so happy for Share," she beamed.

"Me, too.  With this ordeal we've got, I feel we're all going to need each other."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Author's Notes:

Project Date: December 25, 2003—April 4, 2004

Special Thanks To: "Sun Tzu" for criticism and editing.  Also, to "Swift Heart Rabbit" for inspiration.

The Care Bears and Care Bears Cousins are the property of American Greetings Corp, Nelvana Ltd, and Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc. No relationship with any of the aforementioned companies is implied by this work.

The story is the original idea of the author and is not intended to represent any real event. Furthermore, the uses of the characters are not meant to represent any real person, explicitly or implied. Any use of the story, in whole or in part, must not be completed without the prior consent of the author.