Arrow awoke the next morning to the sound of retching from the nearby bathroom. Concerned, he shot out of bed to check and sure enough found Tinker with her head over the toilet bowl.
"Are you ok?" Arrow as concerned for his mate and approached her.
"I don't think the oysters agreed with me," Tinker said woozily before standing up and washing out her mouth.
"I knew you shouldn't have had those," Arrow chided her. Tinker glared at him then darted back to the toilet and puked again. "Will you be alright?" Arrow was concerned.
"I will, I'll just go and see Take Care to make sure I'm alright." Tinker brushed her teeth then smiled and gave Arrow a deep kiss, "get dressed dear and I'll see you shortly, a little stomach bug won't stop me."
"I'll have breakfast ready when you get back," Arrow replied, kissing her before going to get dressed.
Tinker sat in Take Care's office as he did some tests on her. Tinker wasn't nervous just impatient as she wanted to start things as soon as possible. Thankfully it was rather early so there was little chance of the others making it there before she got back, plenty of time for a last breakfast alone with her mate.
Tinker was thankful that Trust Heart had volunteered to get Indy when the time came today, she didn't want to pick him up before breakfast.
Take Care turned back to Tinker and just smiled knowingly, "Well I'm happy to say that there's nothing wrong with you Tinker Bear."
"So it was just the oysters last night, that's a relief," Tinker sighed, relieved.
"Oh no the oysters weren't the cause, it was morning sickness," Take Care explained.
Tinker blanched. "What?" she knew what morning sickness meant but she couldn't believe it.
"Congratulations to both you and Arrow, you're pregnant!"
Take Care watched Tinker's reaction, the reactions to these things were always different.
Tinker managed to hide her fears and smiled, "That's nice to hear, don't tell anyone though, I'd like to keep this a secret for now."
"Of course, it's my oath," Take Care replied, "though I will be curious to see how you develop. I've never heard of a Pegasus and a Care Bear having children so I'm not too sure how things will go."
"Don't worry I'll come to you if I have any problems. I need to go now Arrow is expecting me," Tinker slid off the exam table and headed out.
"Of course, just be careful Tinker!" Take Care called back.
Tinker walked back to her house deep in thought, she didn't need to guess how it had happened after all she and Arrow had been mates for seven months now and they were so eager, especially with the rules about Pegasus mating, that she and Arrow took almost every opportunity to make love. Tinker was still skeptical about what Take Care had said, how was it possible for them to have children?
Before she got to their house she turned to the sky, hoping that Daybreak and Nightshade could hear her as she figured out what had happened. "Thank you, Daybreak and Nightshade. Now I know that when Arrow and I are reborn we will be able to have a family, even if we can't have one now," she found herself almost crying but wiped her tears away.
"Right, now it's time to go make a peaceful future for myself and my children!" She strode towards their house but slowed to a normal walk once she entered.
Tinker opened the door to the smell of waffles and bacon, both fresh and set on the table with orange juice and sunny side up eggs. The smells and sights were enough to bring a smile to Tinker's face.
"Welcome home love," Arrow moved over to the door and embraced his mate.
Tinker smiled and embraced him back, "It smells great, Arrow, thank you."
"It tastes even better," Arrow replied.
"Not as good as this," Tinker kissed Arrow gently and held for a rather long time.
Arrow broke off and smiled, "That was nice but let's eat before it gets cold." Tinker nodded and took her seat.
Breakfast was delicious and Tinker enjoyed it fully, but said nothing as she didn't want to drop a bombshell just yet. After they ate, they cooperated to do the dishes. Arrow noticed Tinker's silence but waited until they weren't holding fragile items to talk about her visit to Take Care.
When the last dish was done Arrow finally asked: "So what did Take Care say, I've been expecting you to say something all morning."
"You're not the only one who's expecting," Tinker said quietly.
"Pardon?" Arrow didn't quite catch what Tinker meant, and then it started to sink in especially when Tinker spoke up again.
"I'm pregnant, Arrow."
"You're what?" Arrow blinked wondering if he'd misheard.
"I'm pregnant," Tinker placed a hand on her tummy. Wordless Arrow stepped towards her and did the same. Neither of them said a word for a while.
"I should be happy now, but all I can think of is how you could get hurt," Arrow admitted.
"I hate to say it but this doesn't change anything," Tinker said.
"What do you mean by that?" Arrow was astonished that Tinker was thinking this way, "Do you intend to go into battle while you're carrying our child? I won't allow it!"
"No I have to go Arrow!" Tinker shot back. It was their first real argument but Tinker wasn't going to back down. "If I don't fight then there's a very good chance that we'll fail. Do you want our kids to grow up in the same nightmare world that we did?"
Arrow opened his mouth to respond, then shut it again and sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Tinker was right.
Tinker took his hand and placed it on her cheek, "I'm sorry but this isn't so bad," she said.
"What do you mean?" Arrow asked a bit confused.
"Well it means that we can have children, and when things are corrected and we're reborn we'll be able to start a family together in a peaceful world."
The implication dawned on Arrow and he hugged Tinker tightly. "You're right of course Love; I guess I should look to the big picture in this thing. I wonder what our kid would be like though."
"Not my area of expertise, but the others will be here soon so we should get ready," Tinker said, breaking out of the hug, "We can't tell them though, this is personal for us."
"I promise I won't tell anyone Tink," Arrow kissed her and Tinker returned the favor.
Ten minutes later, Trick, Ruby, Trust Heart, Melody Heart and Independent Bear had all arrived. The seven of them sat around the dining table as Tinker spoke.
"Well it's now or never, we need to stop No-Heart," she opened.
Trust nodded, "I've been watching him a lot these days, he's getting ready to mess up the peace talks and turn this world against itself."
"And we can't let that happen," Melody finished.
"Right, so we need to get to his castle and kill him, no matter the cost!" Tinker said firmly, the conviction in her voice a bit scary.
"I'm all for killing off that freak wizard," Indy spoke up, "But what are you all talking about?"
"It's a long story but suffice to say if we don't kill him then things will turn very very bad," Tinker said. She pulled out a small locked box and opened it, pulling out the timeline of events she had brought back and one other thing she had nearly forgotten about.
Indy whistled at the energy pistol Tinker now held in her hand, "That's one sweet ray gun, where'd you get it?"
"I think we'd all like to know that Tink." Trick had come over to examine the weapon. "It sure looks an awful lot like a bit of future tech." He met her gaze questioning why he hadn't been told about this.
"Yes I brought it back with me, I know I made a big deal about us not messing with the timeline but let's face it, we're up against No-Heart and we need an edge to make sure that we beat him," Tinker was clearly not in the mood to argue the point.
"Wait, you guys are from the future?" Indy was a bit surprised but instead of freaking out all he did was stare at them lopsidedly.
Trick nodded finally fed up with the lie, "We are. They are Fauna's kids," he pointed to Ruby and Arrow, "We are Grumpy and Swift Hearts," He indicated himself and his sister, "And Melody and Trust are half siblings belonging to Loyal Heart, Brave Heart and Harmony. I take it you can figure out who belongs to who. We came back to stop our future from happening and to do that we need to take out No Heart." Exhaling he leant back against the wall.
Indy just nodded, "Well ok then." He seemed oddly nonplussed by the event.
"Ok, aren't you even a little weirded out by this?" Trust Heart asked.
"I live in a world of magical stuffed animals who shoot rays of caring from their stomachs while living on the clouds and in the last year I've seen freaky wizard who shoots lightning and magical shape shifting Pegasus who live in another world that I'm not sure how can possibly exist; time travel isn't the most surprising thing at this point and I've probably seen some things on Earth that could freak you guys out a little too." Indy's long explanation was followed by him waving a hand nonchalantly, "But let's not waste time on this, we're here to stop said freaky wizard so how are we going about this."
Everyone just stared at Indy, stunned at how well he seemed to be taking the revelation. However since he had no issue with it they decided to move on.
"Well this won't be easy, regardless of what edges we have," Tinker lay the timeline out and picked up the pistol, tucking it into her pocket after making sure the safety was on, "If Fauna wasn't pregnant I would have liked to ask for her help but as it stands it's just the seven of us. We need to be discreet until we get to the castle but once we're there we're just going to cut loose. As much as I hate to say this, tactics will be mostly useless so we need to just do whatever we can to kill No-Heart."
"Well since my mom is benched, do you think Swift Heart would want to help?" Ruby asked. "Since she knows about us I think she would be pretty upset if we did this without even telling her."
"And Ruby and I can more than make up for Fauna." He called a small amount of magic to his hands letting them glow.
"Yeah, we should ask mom for sure," Tinker nodded in agreement with Ruby, "Not sure how she'll take things though."
"So is there anything else we need to do or should we get going?" Trust Heart was impatient to get things rolling.
"Lets get going. I'll go ask mom and meet you at the caring meter in 20 minutes." Trick replied already half out the door.
"Right, then let's go," Tinker got up and headed out the door, Arrow wanted to stop her but he knew that it was impossible as he and the others all followed, save for Trick who had taken off for Grumpy and Swift Heart's house already.
Hearing knocking on her door Swift Heart groaned and rolled over, burying her head in Grumpy's shoulder. He mirrored her sentiment.
"If we ignore it they'll go away." He tightened his arm around her, not letting her get up to answer the knock.
Trick pounded harder on the door, "Come on guys open up, its important."
"Let me go see what he wants. Don't move." Leaning up she kissed him quick before going to the door. Leaning sleepily against the frame she yawned in Tricks face. "What's going on? Short of Fauna going into labor there is no reason you need to be here this early."
His ears drooped a little, "It's the day mom. We're going to take out No Heart for good. I came to see if you wanted to help."
She was wide awake now, "Really? You guys have to do this already?"
"Well we don't have too. Tell me, how do you feel about eating brown soup for the next 17 years." He grinned trying to lighten the mood.
She thought over her options, in the end it wasn't really that hard of a decision. She wanted as much time with them as she could get. But she had a condition. "I'll help you guys but you have to do one thing for me first."
"Name it mom."
She opened the door wider, "You tell Grumpy who you really are."
Looking over her into the house he winced, "I'd like to amend my statement of anything...I didn't realize I'd have to die for you."
Gripping his ear she dragged him inside, "Don't be such a coward. I have to face it too."
After listening to what Trick and Swift Heart had to say, Grumpy just sat there for a moment. He was processing everything Trick had told him about the future and what they had to do to fix it. His brain kept sticking on one detail, and to him that was the only detail that mattered. "So you're saying if you and your friends kill No Heart, the future will never happen?"
Trick nodded, "Yup. That's what we're banking on."
"I'm going to go help them. I want them to succeed. I don't want them suffering like they did growing up the first time."
Looking at her, he felt his heart sink down to the floor at the thought of losing her. He was a little pissed she'd kept this from him, but he could guess she had her reasons. Thinking of all he'd lose if she died it really didn't seem to matter all that much. Of not seeing that smile every day and of not having their bickering matches he was so fond of. She was his best friend and love of his life and he would do anything to protect her. Gripping her hand he turned back to Trick, "You know I'm going too. Like it was even a question."
"Awesome! Family outing to kill a wizard. Who needs Disney World?"
Grumpy groaned as Swift Heart laughed, "That's my boy."
He nodded, "Beyond any doubt." Getting up they headed to meet up with the others.
When Tinker Bear saw that both of her parents were approaching she easily guessed what had happened. She broke away from the others and dashed towards them, stopping in front of her family.
"I guess you know then, dad," Tinker said. She sounded a bit ashamed but at the same time happy as she launched herself at Grumpy and hugged him tightly.
Grumpy held his hands up and away from her, surprised by the hug. "Yeah, I've been brought into the loop." He patted her back awkwardly.
"You'll have to forgive him, he's not so great with open shows of affection like that." Swift Heart told Tinker.
Ruby felt insanely jealous watching the family but said nothing. It's not like it would matter soon anyway. But it still wasn't fair that Tinker got to hug her dad.
Clearing his throat Grumpy spoke again. "So are we going or what?"
"Yes we are," Tinker broke away, "Let's get going." Tinker moved over to Arrow and nodded, Arrow shifted into his Pegasus form and Tinker climbed on to his back.
Melody Heart Lioness had already pulled out her special wheelchair access cloud car and she and Trust Heart Dog were ready to go.
Before Ruby gained her Pegasus form she threw herself at Trick, kissing him hard and wrapping her arms around his neck. Breaking away before he had a chance to respond or recover she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I love you I love you I love you. Don't ever forget that."
"Ruby why does it sound like your saying goodbye? If things work then we'll be together again." Her attitude was scaring him. He figured it was tied in to why she'd been acting so weird but he was waiting for her to tell him what was wrong.
"It feels like this is goodbye. And just in case it is, I want all my bases covered." she dug her fingers into his back, holding onto him super tight.
"They're covered, trust me." He kissed her until she was ready to let go, glad the others let them have this last moment.
Shifting into her Pegasus form she spread her wings allowing Trick to hop on. Swift Heart and Grumpy created a cloud mobile for themselves and the group took to the air.
Indy sat in the back of Trust Heart and Melody's vehicle as they flew. As they flew he had to ask something that was bugging him. "Why am I so important in this?"
"We don't know really," Melody admitted, "Tinker says that time travel is complicated so we need someone from this time to help us out."
"Right, but why me?" he asked.
"Well, we knew you in the future," Trust Heart said.
"So I survived the end of the world huh? I guess that makes sense that you'd want me along then." He thought for a moment then asked, "What was I like?"
"You searched for old technology and helped us a few times, found some really neat stuff like that energy weapon Tinker has," Trust added.
"Well it's gratifying to know that all my skills don't go to waste, but as much as I sound like a badass in the future I'd rather live in this world than let it blow up."
"That was your sentiment when you found out we were doing this." Arrow told him from where he was flying nearby. "We need you now too because Fauna is unavailable and she was the one who did him in last time."
"Well I can do it," Indy said.
"I know you can, we saw you fight Red Snout back in the falls," Tinker called from Arrow's back.
"Just wait until you see me fight with a real weapon, Fauna can attest to that," Indy replied.
"We heard her telling Blue about it. She was impressed by your skills. And he was very grateful. Even Red Snout may have mentioned he was glad you knew how to use the pig sticker." He turned briefly to look back at Tinker, making sure she was doing okay.
Grumpy seemed to catch up on the timing, "Does Fauna know she's having twins?"
"Nope. She won't know till they're born."
"So when we get there are we just going to run distraction while Indy tries to stab him? Or shoot him? Or whatever." Ruby asked.
"Attack him in whatever way we can," Tinker said, "We need to do whatever it takes to kill him for good this time!"
Trick was in the main hall of No Hearts castle. He had opted to go in first, having the best ears along with the best surveillance training. Already he had seen some shadows float by but they weren't anything a care bear stare couldn't handle. He was more interested in the whereabouts of their boss. Listening closely he tried to hear heavy footfalls. When nothing came he motioned for the others to come in.
As Indy landed, he drew his sword and held it at the ready, his eyes narrowing into a death glare as he moved with a practiced ease. Tinker tensed as she landed, keeping her hand in her pocket ready to draw her trump card when the time was right.
Melody took a deep breath, honestly she was not ready for this as there was little that she could do, but she wanted to see this out to the end and she was ready to do anything to make sure this succeeded. Trust Heart placed a hand on his half-sister's shoulder wishing he had a weapon of some sort to use.
Ruby and Arrow had both gained their guardian forms. While she loped quietly up the hall Arrow clung to her back with his taloned feet. Swift Heart and Grumpy hung back, ready to lend a stare when the time was right but that was about all they could do.
Sniffing the air coming down the hall Ruby sneezed rapidly, "Ugh, I smell wet fur and rotting garbage."
"Only one furry henchman I know can smell like that."
Grumpy scowled at his wife, "How do you know what Beastly smells like?"
She shrugged, "Lucky guess."
"What should we do about him?" Indy asked.
"He's pretty useless but he does know what's going on around here usually," Trust said, "So let's grab him and see if he knows anything."
Ruby flexed her claws, "Oh please, allow me." As Arrow flew off to land on Trick Ruby trotted forward to stalk Beastly. A moment later there was a yelp and a soft growl. "Let me go! Let me go!" Ruby returned with Beastly hanging from her mouth. He was swinging about madly trying to hit her. When he did she tightened her grip making him cry out. Dropping him at Indy's feet she sat back, "Now behave yourself and answer our questions."
Beastly coiled back from Indy, recognizing him from the ill-fated attempt to capture Fauna.
"Where's your master you little freak," Indy pointed his sword at Beastly, not close enough to hurt but enough to show that he was serious.
"Okay okay I'll talk. He's down in the dungeons making sure those two Pegasus are contained. He doesn't want them getting away to warn the others and he won't let me near them because he's afraid I'll let them free accidentally. He underestimates me I tell you."
"Enough with the rambling Beastly. We all know you're incompetent." Grumpy barked at him.
"Hey I resemble that."
Swift Heart covered her face with a groan, "You mean resent."
"Yeah that too."
Arrow approached him with a glowing hand, having gained his human form briefly, "All right fur brain. Night night time." Tapping Beastly on the nose, he fell over and began to snore.
"Who do you think he's got Arrow?"
"No idea Rubes. Do you know?" he asked his wife.
Tinker shook her head. "Not a clue, we'd know if it was Fauna or Blue. Someone would have warned us already."
"Regardless we know where to go, does anyone know the way to the dungeon?" Indy asked.
Grumpy and Swift Heart raised their hands, "Unfortunately we do. All too well." She beckoned for the others to follow her and they headed for the staircase.
The closer they got the louder the noise became. No Heart was bellowing at his shadows to contain the blasted beasts. As the group entered the dungeon, Ruby stopped short, seeing the Pegasis who were captured. "No way."
"Who are they?" Indy asked quietly, having sheathed his sword on the rather cramped walk down the stairs.
Tinker readied herself to draw her weapon, "I don't know but No-Heart has them so we need to free them!"
Arrow was struck with awe at the two deities before him. "Ruby, are those-?"
"Yup." Her eyes were narrowed and angry. She wasn't sure she wanted to be the one freeing them, the wounds from their punishment still stinging. In fact she decided then and there not to.
In actuality she couldn't if she wanted to. The two were being held with golden chains glowing with No Hearts magic.
"Without you to protect them, the Hunters will burn Pegasus Falls to the ground. And I will be rid of a major nuisance." He flared his power causing the two to whinny in pain.
"I've seen enough!" Indy charged out from their hiding place, drawing his sword in one quick motion.
No Heart just barely noticed Indy charging at him and narrowly dodged the white bear's sword strike.
"You again!" he hissed.
"You got that right!" Indy said, taking another strike at No-Heart but missing.
With the area freed, Tinker shot over to the two Pegasus Deities. She stood in awe for a moment before shaking her head and speaking up: "Daybreak, Nightshade, hold still for a moment I'll get you free," she drew her weapons and aimed carefully at the anchor on the floor. The shot left a small crater in the ground but broke the chains off enough that Grumpy, Swift Heart, Trick and Trust Heart were able to pull them away from the two with ease.
"Damn you bear!" No-Heart was forced to back off and began retreating out of the dungeon.
"Oh no you don't!" Indy charged after him.
Before they followed, Tinker asked the two deities: "Are you alright?"
"Thanks to you we are. We came here to stop him when we saw his plan and he ambushed us." Daybreak replied.
"We knew this was a possibility as soon as you 6 crossed over. But we couldn't take the chance that it would put our kind at risk." Nightshade smiled at Tinker, "But it was clearly a good choice to put our faith in you Tinker Bear."
Tinker couldn't help but blush, "White Fang told me what you expected of me, I feel honored by what you've allowed to happen," she placed a hand on her tummy, "Everything."
"Uhh Tinker," Trust Heart tapped her on the shoulder.
"Oh right," Tinker shook her head, "I guess we'll meet again, but it's time for us to save the future!" Tinker took off after Indy and No-Heart followed by Swift, Grumpy, Trust and Trick, Melody opting to just wait out the rest of the event in the dungeon due to climbing the stairs back up being an impossibility at this point, while getting down had been bumpy but doable.
Ruby was able to contain herself until the others had left the room. As soon as they were gone she got her eyes glowing and fearlessly advanced on the god and goddess, "HER! You allowed her to become pregnant!"
"Watch it Ruby." Arrow warned her, letting a growl enter his voice.
"They played by the rules Ruby. We discussed this and passed judgment. We will not change it." Daybreak told her.
Looking at his twin in question she told him, "Trick and I had sex and because of that I'm going to be kept from him in the new life and if by some miracle we do get together I can't have his children. Our DNA won't match but apparently yours and their precious little Tinkers are a perfect match."
Arrow looked to the deities for conformation. "What your sister says is true. We reward those who are faithful. Tinker showed us respect before she even knew how. You'd do well to learn from her." Nightshade scolded Ruby.
Shaking his wings Daybreak looked on the two, "We will only accept your anger towards us for so long Ruby. For now we are going to warn your parents about what transpired here today. If you succeed they will forget, if not, well they must be prepared."
Pausing a moment Nightshade walked up to the twins, "Arrow comfort your sister but enjoy the rewards we have given you." She moved her mouth to Ruby's ear. The young mare flinched away but Nightshade followed. "I promise you will be happy Ruby. As long as you distinguish what is right. Not everyone you love has to leave you."
The two Pegasis turned into balls of light and floated away to warn the Falls.
"Ruby I-"
"Congrats on being a dad." She turned to him, "You promised me things would never change between us. If that were true you would have defended me."
Arrow moved to her, "You didn't tell me Ruby. You just acted. How was I supposed to know? I'm sorry but you broke the rules." He wrapped his neck around hers, "Don't be mad at me at the end of it all. If I thought there was something I could do I would."
She sniffled, "It's just so unfair."
"You heard Nightshade, so go from there to make it fair again."
Nodding they went to catch up with the others.
No-Heart had much more room to fight upstairs but it wasn't helping him much. Independent Bear was fighting like a mad man and with skills none of those present had seen before. It was only the constant barrage of lightning that kept the white bear at bay but he had so far managed to dodge every blast.
Tinker had only managed to get off one shot before the others arrived, missing and creating a sizeable hole in the wall but now she was having difficulty aiming at him.
"A bit much Tinker?" Trust Heart asked as he the others arrived up the stairs.
"I used minimum power to free Daybreak and Nightshade," Tinker said, "but don't talk now attack!"
Trust Heart growled, recalling things from his own time and charged at No Heart on all fours. No-Heart was taken aback when Trust Heart latched on to his leg and bit down hard.
"Get off me you stupid mutt!" No-Heart shook his foot but barely managed to dislodge Trust Heart. At that point he was hit by a barrage of stares from the Care Bears present: Indy, Swift Heart, Grumpy, Trick and even Trust Heart. Tinker stopped her stare and fired at No-Heart again.
No-Heart held his hand out and bellowed in pain when the blast hit, his hand being vaporized.
"Miserable bears!" he shouted, launching more of his lightning at his attackers, forcing them to dodge and stop their attack.
Arrow and Ruby had arrived shortly thereafter. Arrow flew up and over in eagle form and dove at No-Heart's face, but was forced to pull away when a blast of lightning nearly seared off his wing.
"You will not beat me in my home!" No-Heart's amulet began to glow, his hand actually regenerating before he turned into a bull and charged at the assembly, forcing them to scatter. No-Heart turned into a tornado and began whirling around the room.
More stares from the Care Bears forced No-Heart into his normal form and Ruby took the opportunity to pounce on No-Heart, scratching him violently with her claws before being blasted off by some wind from No-Heart.
Tinker took another shot at No-Heart and missed, blowing another hole in the wall, while Arrow dive bombed the wizard again and Indy charged with his sword drawn. No-Heart managed to dodge Indy's strike, forcing him back with a barrage of lightning, and smacking Arrow out of the air with a backhand. Arrow hit the wall and was dazed, causing Tinker to shout out in anger.
"ARROW!" she attempted to fire at No-Heart again but he shot the weapon out of her hand with a lightning bolt.
"I've had enough of you bear!" No-Heart shot Tinker with a blast of wind, knocking her back and dazing her, seeing a chance he fired a powerful lightning bolt at Tinker.
Tinker wasn't able to get up in time, but someone reacted faster. Ruby leapt in front of Tinker and took the full force of the attack dead on.
"RUBY!" Trick's shout of rage and sorrow was audible and he turned on No-Heart, firing off a particularly powerful stare and charging as fast as he could at the wizard, delivering several powerful punches and kicks to the wizard before he was finally thrown off.
Tinker and Arrow ran to Ruby's side where she lay in her Pegasus form, a huge part of her side black scorched and bleeding. Tinker couldn't bring herself to look at the wound and instead looked at Ruby's face.
"Why did you do that?" she finally asked.
"I guess I just couldn't stand to see my brother's mate die," Ruby choked out, coughing up a little blood and clearly straining to speak.
"Was it because of what Daybreak and Nightshade said?" Arrow asked, tears dripping down his face.
"I guess s-so," she did her best to manage a smile, "Stop crying over me and kill that s-stupid wiz-zard!"
Trick had landed near Ruby and rushed to her side, as Tinker and Arrow got up to rejoin the battle. The others had held No-Heart back for now.
Trick stroked Ruby's cheek. "You totally stole my thunder Ruby. I was going to jump in front of someone dramatically and sacrifice myself." He managed a grin along with the teasing tone.
She laughed briefly before coughing and bringing up more blood. "Sorry maybe next time." Her eyes closed briefly, "Don't you dare cry."
Leaning over he kissed her cheek "Why would I cry when I'm going to see you again soon. You're just being lazy and decided to leave the party early." He was going to keep this goodbye as normal for them as possible. It's what she wanted.
Managing another laugh she told him "Guilty as charged."
As he felt her slipping he whispered "Love you always."
"Me too. Always." Closing her eyes she inhaled one more time and was gone. Standing Trick fixed dark eyes on No Heart, "Wrong move buddy."
"Pah, one nag dead you'll all follow soon!" No-Heart tried to shoot Trick but the enraged hare dodged and charged at the wizard once again beating him down as hard as possible.
Using the moment Tinker dove to reclaim her weapon, cursing when she saw the charred barrel.
"Will it still work?" Arrow asked.
"The barrel's been fused shut," Tinker grit her teeth, "if I tried to fire this thing then it would just explode. Wait a minute..." Tinker took the energy pistol in both hands and cracked open the breech in the middle before carefully fiddling with the internal workings.
"What are you doing?"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Tinker replied to Arrow's inquiry, "I'm going to overload this thing and hopefully the blast will be too much for even No-Heart to take." A moment later the gun started beeping.
"There!" Tinker stood up and dashed to her brother, who had just been thrown back and was about to get up and charge No-Heart again when Tinker grabbed him.
"Let me go!" Trick demanded, trying to get back at the wizard while Trust Heart took over his role in close range.
"Take this!" Tinker was not in the mood to argue as she shoved the overloading weapon into his hand, "It's going to blow in 30 seconds, use it!"
Trick understood and as Trust Heart was thrown back he dove right in again, striking No-Heart and staring him as much as possible, counting the seconds to the detonation. Trick took a chest full of lightning but managed to shove the weapon down No-Heart's sleeve with only 3 seconds to go, jumping back as far as he could.
No-Heart felt the added weight in his arm too late and a massive explosion rent the room which forced everyone there to dive for cover.
As the dust settled, Swift Heart looked up making sure everyone was still alive. Trick had collapsed next to Ruby's body, the shock from his actions knocking him out and Grumpy lay next to her unhurt but unconscious and Trust Heart was also knocked out, half buried by rubble near a collapsed wall.. Arrow had used his body to shield Tinker from the blast, his back badly scorched and bleeding in several places but to his relief Tinker was unhurt. Indy was nowhere to be seen.
"That was pretty foolish," Tinker chided him despite the seriousness of the situation.
"Like I was going to let the mother of my foal get hurt," Arrow's justification was impossible to argue with.
Despite the gravity of what Arrow had just said, Swift Heart forced herself to focus on the more important issue: "Did we get him?"
"ARRRRRRRGH!" No-Heart bellow of rage and pain burst as he broke out from underneath a pile of debris that the explosion had piled on top of him. The wizard was a grizzly sight, his entire right arm and most of his torso was gone, looking like some giant creature had taken a bite out of him leaving only his legs, left arm, head and a thin piece of his torso connection the parts.
"Forget No Heart, he should be called no innards!" Tinker cursed, after all they'd done No-Heart was still standing, alive, and now angry as a hornet.
"I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU FOR THIS! ALL OF YOU!" No-Heart raised his remaining hand and began charging up a blast of lightning to finish them off.
Time seemed to freeze for Tinker, Arrow, and Swift Heart as all their efforts began to crumble before them.
"Not this time No-Heart!" The shout came from Indy who burst out from some debris that he had placed as a shield and charged at the wizard with incredible speed both his hands on his sword's hilt.
With his only hand devoted to his attack and with most of his body gone, No-Heart had no way to avoid or deflect Indy's attack as he leapt and No-Heart and swung his sword down with all his strength.
There was an audible *thud* as the lightning jus dissipated, what was left of No-Heart's body crumbled to dust as his head hit the ground. The hood fell away to reveal the face beneath. Not taking any chances Indy quickly sliced the head twice in half then stood, panting and sweating over his defeated foe
"I guess he's No-Head now huh?" Indy managed to crack the joke before dropping his sword and then falling next to the dead wizard and closing his eyes, resting as most of his energy had been spent on the last attack. Indy's sword fell to the ground, breaking in to three pieces from the effort of breaking through the wizards bones three time.
Tinker barely had a moment to savor their victory before she felt an incredible pain, as did Arrow.
"What's happening?" Arrow asked, worried.
Tinker held up her hand to show Arrow that it, like the rest of their bodies as well as Trust, Trick and Ruby's were becoming more transparent by the moment: "The timeline is restructuring," she seemed oddly calm about slowly vanishing, "Since No-Heart is dead the world never ended and without that we never traveled back in time. Our timeline never existed now and so neither did we."
Swift Heart was at her daughter and son-in-law's sides in an instant: "Tinker," she couldn't manage to say anything more.
"Don't be sad mom," despite her words, a few tears began to trickle down her cheeks, "We'll see you again, of course we won't remember you and we'll just be kids," she touched her mom's tummy, "Get working on that too, or this might never happen. Time travel is always complicated.
"I'm going to have such wonderful kids," Swift Heart was crying as she embraced Tinker and Arrow, both of whom were barely visible now, "and so will Fauna."
"I bet mom would be happy to hear that," Arrow smiled, "I guess I'll see you soon Swift Heart, just don't mess up so my mate's never born."
"I won't I promise." It was the last thing Swift Heart said before the bodies of all the time travelers vanished and Swift Heart's arms suddenly felt very empty.
Swift Heart didn't know how long she sat there before a groan shook her out of her stupor.
Indy had recovered enough energy to stand and walked over to Swift Heart. But before any words could be shared the whole castle began shaking.
"I guess without its master this place can't stay standing for long," Indy's statement proved true as a piece of debris fell down, completely crushing the last remains of No-Heart's head, "we need to go now!"
"Yeah," Swift Heart would mourn later as she dashed over to the still unconscious Grumpy Bear and lifted him up, good thing she had convinced Grumpy to start losing weight after they were married. Indy conjured a cloud car and helped Swift Heart load Grumpy's unconscious form in to the back seat before they took off with Swift Heart at the wheel.
They flew away from No-Heart's castle as the whole thing and the clouds that supported it vanished completely.
"Why did we bring him along too?" Indy pointed to the sleeping form of Beastly next to Grumpy in the back seat
"Oh he was never really dangerous, and without No-Heart pushing him around he might reform," Swift Heart snickered, "Or maybe we can force him to be a janitor in Care-A-Lot."
Indy couldn't help but laugh at the thought: "Well that would be nice."
Swift Heart's laughter died off as she remembered what had been lost. "I wish the others could have survived with us..."
"What others?" Indy's question took Swift Heart completely by surprise: "It was just the three of us who decided to get rid of No-Heart before he tried anything else because of what he did to Fauna." Indy groaned as a thought crossed his mind, "I'm never going to hear the end of this from the founders about actually killing No-Heart am I?" Indy received no response but then again he didn't really expect one.
Swift Heart sat with her own thoughts, remembering what Tinker had said: They had never existed; if that were true then it made sense that no one would remember them but then why could she? She recalled the blood transfusion that she had received from her own future son, which had to be the answer. After all when they vanished the wound she received hadn't suddenly felt retroactively worse so perhaps that part of Trick inside of her meant that she would remember everything that happened, but no one else would.
Swift Heart had to check just to make sure so after she dropped Grumpy off at Take Care's and took Beastly to the founders-who were also giving Indy a stern lecture about the whole incident-the blue rabbit sped off to the house that the time travelers had been sharing. The whole house was gone, the patch of land completely bare as it had been over a year ago. Swift Heart went to check her old burrow; not only were Trick's things gone but the whole place was covered in dust, as though no one had lived there for months. Swift Heart Rabbit lingered only for a few moments before leaving, the sight a bit too much for her.
Back at the clinic, Blue and Fauna had arrived, despite Blue's protests. Both had received word of what transpired from Daybreak and Nightshade and while they, like everyone else, had forgotten about the time travelers and while there was no real threat anymore, they still wanted to make sure that Grumpy and Swift Heart were alright.
Swift Heart did her best to put on an air of happiness around Fauna, feeling her huge pregnant tummy briefly before excusing herself to go see Grumpy.
Indy sat nearby, a few bandages covering the few wounds he had received. Noticing the two rulers of the Pegasus there he thought of something and went over to meet them.
Fauna couldn't suppress a smile as the white bear approached her: "So Indy, I hear you knocked off No-Heart once and for all," she seemed rather pleased with the aspect.
Independent Bear nodded: "Got that right," he confirmed, "I have the wounds to prove it, probably a couple scars too, not to mention I broke my sword cutting his head off and apart, lost all the pieces when his castle collapsed too." He glanced around noting how even though the rest of the Care Bear Family was relieved that No-Heart was gone forever they were all still giving the white bear odd and even a few scared looks, "But I doubt anyone's going to be singing my praises anytime soon."
"You have our thanks both for stopping an invasion of Pegasus Falls and for saving our deities from No-Heart," Blue dipped his head to Indy.
"Swift Heart and Grumpy actually freed them, I just killed the freak job," Indy was never one to take undeserved praise. Indy took a deep breath before continuing, "Regardless if you want to thank me I do have something I'd like to ask of you."
"Oh, what's that?" Fauna became somewhat suspicious of Indy's tone.
"Nothing major," Indy reassured her, "but you can probably tell that I'm not going to be the most popular guy around here." Indy looked at the two, deciding to make his request more formal: "Kingsire Blue Timber Wolf, Queendame Fauna Grey Wolf, I would like to request that I be allowed to live in Pegasus Falls as a temporary resident, at least until this all blows over." He stood, waiting to hear their response.
The regents only exchanged the briefest of looks, "We would be most honored to have you join us for as long as long as you need." Blue told him.
Fauna nodded and folded her hands over her belly, "Plus when the foal comes, I'm going to need all the help I can get keeping the meatheads in place, and we already know you can handle that." Grinning Blue placed an arm around his mates shoulder and kissed her temple. "So how about it Indy? Would you accept the title of Royal Peace Keeper while you stay with us? I know Daybreak and Nightshade would approve."
"Royal Peace Keeper huh?" Indy couldn't help but smile, "I can't say no to that. I'll need some time to carve a wooden sword though, I'm not too good without something like that plus I just don't feel right without something to that effect at my side. I'll just need the right kind of stick and a knife or something like that." Indy thought for a moment, "Is there anyone in that falls that could carve one for me?"
"I'm sure one of our shamans could work something up. White Fang for instance is great with carving things using his claws." Blue told him.
"I'm going to go check on Grumpy while you boys talk shop." Waddling away she called back to Indy "I don't know what you three were thinking going in by yourselves."
As he watched Fauna go Indy had to think on her words: "Honestly I'm not sure what we were thinking either, all I remember is us deciding that No-Heart was up to something serious especially after that incident with Fauna and that we had to stop him before he could try anything." Indy sighed, "Well it all worked out for the best anyway."
"I wish you guys had told me," Renegade had just come flying over in his Care Bear Cousin form, "I would have joined you guys in a heartbeat."
"It didn't occur to me, I don't remember whose plan it was though," Indy admitted.
"So how's Fauna?" Renegade turned to Blue, "I haven't seen her much since the last festival."
"Yeah that's mostly my fault." He rubbed the back of his neck with a small smile. "I've been a little panicky about her first pregnancy. But she's been good. Moody, hungry, and tired now that she's approaching the end."
"As long as she's healthy I'm happy," Renegade smiled, "I don't know if it's a sign or not but Treat Heart and I might be having kids soon, she has a doctor's appointment tomorrow to check."
"Well congratulations, or whatever I should say now," Indy was clearly not sure what to say so he just sighed and sat down on the clouds for now, "I'll need some rest as soon as we get to the falls, I'm completely burned out after what I had to do."
"I'd imagine so. I'm surprised you all got off so easy." Blue looked to the door of the room Grumpy was in. "But I'll make sure we get a place set up for you. Less nest like and more bed like." He grinned at Indy before turning to Renegade. "And I hope you get good news. Plus if you need help, your sister is kind of an expert now.
"An expert in what to expect you mean?" Renegade asked, "Or should I ask you what I might expect out of Treat Heart?"
"She's the expert in what to expect. I can tell you this, never question the cravings, just do. Always say no if they ask if they look fat. Do not comment on mood swings. And when they are feeling extra lovey and snuggly just go with it." He showed Indy and Renegade his forearm. It had three scars running down it that looked fairly recent. "I learned the hard way."
"Yikes," Indy said. "So what did Fauna mean when she said she'd need help to keep the meatheads in place anyway?" Indy had to ask.
"Some of the alphas like to fight and when things get out of hand she usually steps in." He grinned, "Better them then me. She got away from me a few weeks ago and knocked some heads together. They hadn't expected her to put up such a fight but she still sent them running."
"So you want me to step in in her place?" Indy asked, "That could be exhilarating, but I think I can handle a few rowdy Pegasus alphas."
"I'd offer to help, but I think I'm going to be busy with the same things you've been Blue," Renegade chipped in.
"Understandable Renegade. And don't worry, I'm sure Indy's old buddy Red Snout will be all too eager to help."
"Blue?"
He looked back at the room with Grumpy, "Yeah babe."
"Can you get me some Oreos and peanut butter from the Hall of Hearts?"
"Sure thing." He held out his hands in a "so there" motion before walking out the door of the clinic.
Renegade sighed, "Well at least I know how to cook."
"Good luck buddy," Indy said, "I'll see you some other time though, I need to move to the Falls. I don't want to deal with the backlash for killing No-Heart."
In the room Grumpy was sitting up in the bed with Swift Heart on the edge. They were just waiting for Take Care to give the all clear that he hadn't been hurt worse when he was knocked unconscious.
Fauna was sitting in the room's only chair with her hands folded on the swell of her belly. Swift Heart was finishing recapping how Indy had finished off No Heart and how the castle had been destroyed.
"I'm so mad I missed that! To be honest I always wanted to be the one to take him out for good." Fauna groaned.
"Somehow I knew you were going to say that." Her chest twinged momentarily as she thought of her kids. "But I think you are hardly in any condition to do so."
She waved off Swift Hearts concern, "Pshhh I could have taken him."
Grumpy just sighed and shook his head. "I hope your kid isn't as stubborn as you."
Swift Heart laughed outright at that, "I think that is a hopeless hope honey."