Revenge of the Book Part Four
by Martial Arts Master
Care Bears and all related characters copyrighted by Nelvana, DiC Enterainment, and Atkinson Film Arts. I made up Jack the Robber and Manny Macho, though. This is the final chapter.
***
The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins were horrified after having seen Manny Macho get shot in the shoulder after protecting Gentle Heart Lamb.
They picked him up, ready to take him to the hospital.
Jack the Robber, meanwhile, was grumbling.
"Stupid kid...shouldn't have gotten in the way..." he was mumbling.
"What does it matter?" asked the evil spirit book in his hand. "You're going to create a world without caring after you finish them all off anyway."
Everyone else heard the familiar voice.
"So that's why this guy's so mean!" Love-a-lot Bear said. "He's been brainwashed by that evil spirit just like Nicholas was! But why did he unlock the book in the first place?"
"It doesn't matter now!" Jack the Robber began angrily, "but for your information, my life has been horrible! I've had abusive parents whom I was fortunate to escape from, I've had to live on my own from a very young age, I've had to turn to a life of crime to make ends meet, and I've just stopped caring. And you Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, who claim to care about everyone, obviously didn't come to help me!"
Then, Brave Heart Lion thought of something.
"I've got it!" he said, snapping his fingers. "Remember when you guys inaugurated us as Care Bear Cousins, and put tummy symbols on us? Maybe now, we can do the Care Bear Stare as well as you guys!"
"Bring it on, you pansies!" Jack the Robber said, waving his fanny at them as a taunt.
The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins lined up and shot a rainbow-colored beam out of their tummy symbols. Now that the Care Bear Cousins were in on the act, this time, it actually appeared to be working.
"I feel strange..." Jack the Robber said in wonder. "I feel all warm inside. Like the feeling you get when---"
"No! Stop! You don't care!" the evil spirit book said. "You don't care because they don't care! And we want a world where nobody cares!"
But the power of the combined Care Bear Stares was too powerful.
Slowly, Jack's madman look began to fade, replaced by a normal face.
"Thank goodness!" Jack said, sighing in relief. "I thought I was gonna become a psycho killer."
The evil spirit began to panic.
"No! Nooooooooooo!" it screamed.
In a desperate tactic, it used the same green magic to try to re-brainwash Jack the Robber.
"You Care Bears will be finished!" the evil spirit cried maniacally. "He's so hate-crazed because of what he thinks you did. If I hadn't blocked your Care-o-meter, this plan would never have come to fruition."
But the evil spirit had just made a fatal mistake. It had been so concerned with taunting the Care Bears that it had forgotten to make sure Jack the Robber was completely re-brainwashed. Thus, Jack the Robber overheard all of it.
"YOU!!!" he screamed in unimaginable anger. "You're the one who made sure the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins never helped me! I was in so much mental anguish, all because you blocked them from detecting me! And then you used my anger to help your twisted ways...anger that you were responsible for!"
Then, before the evil spirit could react, Jack the Robber aimed the gun at the book and shot a hole directly through the center.
The evil spirit screamed, and there was a brilliant FLASH of light.
Then, the book was empty. The pages were blank, no face to be found.
"Now the evil spirit is destroyed," Jack the Robber said. "Even if the book is found again, it will never again use anyone else for its evil ways. Give that kid to me. I'll take him to the hospital myself, even if it does mean I'll be arrested for robbery."
Before the others could respond, Jack the Robber took Manny's unconscious form...
Manny's eyes slowly opened.
His first thought was that he wasn't in the forest anymore.
Looking around, he could see that he was in a hospital bed.
Then, he looked over to his right and saw a humongous pile of flowers, boxes of chocolates, and a couple of cards.
A voice spoke from his left.
"One of the cards says it's from 'the Care Bears', and the other says it's from 'the Care Bear Cousins'," the voice said.
Manny looked to his left and saw a nurse.
"Do you know who they are?" the nurse asked.
The nurse would call Manny a lunatic if he told her who they really were, so he said, "They're just a couple of clubs. Don't ask me where they got the names, I didn't pick 'em."
"Oh, I almost forgot!" the nurse exclaimed. "You have visitors. It's visiting hours, so shall I send them in?"
"Yeah, sure," Manny said.
To his astonishment, Manny's brother, Mako, and his parents walked into the room.
"Hey dude, I just wanna say that you were awesome!" Mako said. "Not many people are man enough to get shot in the shoulder and still be alive."
"It isn't like the movies," Manny said, suddenly groaning in pain as he became aware of his shoulder throbbing. "In the movies guys can get shot in the shoulder and keep fighting. In real life, though, this friggin' hurts!"
"That's because when bullets enter the shoulder, they bounce around," the nurse said. "You're lucky to be alive!"
"Mom, Dad, bro, there's something I really need to share with you," Manny Macho said.
"Whatever you like, son," his father replied.
Manny sighed in relief. The Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins would've wanted him to share his feelings. In 17 years he'd never told his family how he'd felt about what he was going to say.
"I hate being macho!" he cried out. "For 17 years, you've forced me to conform to your stereotype! I hate drinking beer because it makes me sick with hangovers! I hate smoking cigarettes because it makes me cough! I hate not being allowed to express my feelings! Do you know how frustrating it is to have to keep my sensitive feelings inside of me? And what about me having to act like a jerk to women? How do you expect me to have a relationship later in life if I want one? I can't have one treating women as less than equals, that's for sure! And I can't watch cartoons rather than those stupid violent movies because of your stupid stereotype! I don't feel very loved..."
After Manny was done ranting, he screamed in pain, because he'd gotten himself so worked up that he'd moved his shoulder.
Meanwhile, his brother, mother, and father were astonished. They, of course, were firm believers in the "macho" stereotype. But what they said next would show they weren't that bad after all.
"Son...why didn't you tell us?" Manny's mother asked. "In 17 years, why didn't you say something?"
"Because I was afraid you'd call me unmanly," Manny responded bitterly. "Or a sissy! Or a wimp! Or homo! Or gay! Or queer!"
"Son, you do realize that we're only allowing you to yell at us because you haven't gotten this off your chest for years?" his father said.
"I know...and I'm sorry, but that's the way I feel," Manny said with conviction.
"Bro, being macho is a cool way to live life, but if you don't wanna be macho, I'm not gonna stop you," Mako said.
"We only forced you to conform because we thought you would be happier that way," Manny's father said. "But if your way of life walks a different path, then so be it. Your birthday's in a few days, and when you turn 18 and move out, we'll make sure Mako doesn't move in with you."
"That's not gonna happen anyway," Mako said. "Not now that I know how he feels."
Manny was completely flabbergasted.
The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins had been right! All he'd needed to do was share his feelings, and his problems were completely solved!
For the next few days, the relationship between Manny and his family was patched up.
Then, when Manny moved out, he went into college and majored in psychology.
After graduating, he went to graduate school to study more of the same thing.
He kept studying afterwards until he got a Ph.D in psychology.
He ended up forming a therapist group for males who want to either become more sensitive or want to freely express their more sensitive sides without fear of persecution.
Actually, to thank Manny for saving her life, Gentle Heart Lamb gave him permission to use her image as a symbol for his group.
As for Jack the Robber...well, let's find out, shall we?
After many years, Jack the Robber, or should we say former robber, was finally out of jail.
Because one of the charges was assault, the sentence was much longer than mere robbery, and he was a much older man now.
He could've had the visit from the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins that he'd so desperately needed, but after his experience with the evil spirit book, he realized the trouble that lack of feelings could cause if improperly used, and no longer stopped caring. He was going to set things straight with his parents, and tell them how he felt, and he was at their door now.
When he knocked on the door, a very old man and a very old woman answered the door.
"Mom, Dad, it's me," Jack said.
His parents were shocked.
"Son?!" they both exclaimed, embracing him.
"We haven't seen you in decades!" his mother said.
"Why did you run away?" his father asked.
Jack pulled away from their embrace.
"You two used to get drunk and abuse me!" he said. "After your idiotic alcohol binges, you used to beat me up! You weren't even angry!"
He continued accusingly, "You were beating me up for fun!"
He was soon sorry for his harsh words when he saw tears in his parents' eyes.
"I'm sorry I yelled just now," Jack began, but his parents cut him off.
"We're the ones who should be sorry," Jack's mother said. "Running away was wrong, but after a long time we realized that it was the only way you could escape. Our drinking impaired our judgement as to what kind of fun was acceptable."
"And we realized how horrible we'd been to you," Jack's father said, "and that it was our own fault that you ran away. We were so consumed with guilt that we swore that from then on, we would never drink alcohol again. And we gave it up for good. That's why alcohol hasn't killed us. We were right to swear off alcohol."
"But we aren't going to live very long, Jack," Jack's mother continued. "And you've had to be a criminal to survive. We've already done all the complicated legalities for a will. Why don't you live here, with us, and when we pass away, everything will be left to you."
"Obviously it was wrong of you to turn to crime," Jack's father said. "But you've already served your full sentence, and you didn't try to break out. You were in there so long, I think you've learned your lesson. So how about it, son? Give us one more chance."
Jack the former robber was suddenly choked with emotion.
He'd never thought his parents had had it in them to be sorry for their actions.
He hugged them both, shouting, "I accept!" and beginning to cry at their generosity.
Jack lived many long years after that, but his parents died soon after.
Jack went back to education and got a Ph.D in psychology just as Manny Macho had done, afterwards forming a group for rehabilitating convicts.
And none of this could ever have been made possible without the intervention of the Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins. Long may they live and prosper.
***
The End
E-mail all questions and comments to bleifer@comcast.net
by Martial Arts Master
Care Bears and all related characters copyrighted by Nelvana, DiC Enterainment, and Atkinson Film Arts. I made up Jack the Robber and Manny Macho, though. This is the final chapter.
***
The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins were horrified after having seen Manny Macho get shot in the shoulder after protecting Gentle Heart Lamb.
They picked him up, ready to take him to the hospital.
Jack the Robber, meanwhile, was grumbling.
"Stupid kid...shouldn't have gotten in the way..." he was mumbling.
"What does it matter?" asked the evil spirit book in his hand. "You're going to create a world without caring after you finish them all off anyway."
Everyone else heard the familiar voice.
"So that's why this guy's so mean!" Love-a-lot Bear said. "He's been brainwashed by that evil spirit just like Nicholas was! But why did he unlock the book in the first place?"
"It doesn't matter now!" Jack the Robber began angrily, "but for your information, my life has been horrible! I've had abusive parents whom I was fortunate to escape from, I've had to live on my own from a very young age, I've had to turn to a life of crime to make ends meet, and I've just stopped caring. And you Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, who claim to care about everyone, obviously didn't come to help me!"
Then, Brave Heart Lion thought of something.
"I've got it!" he said, snapping his fingers. "Remember when you guys inaugurated us as Care Bear Cousins, and put tummy symbols on us? Maybe now, we can do the Care Bear Stare as well as you guys!"
"Bring it on, you pansies!" Jack the Robber said, waving his fanny at them as a taunt.
The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins lined up and shot a rainbow-colored beam out of their tummy symbols. Now that the Care Bear Cousins were in on the act, this time, it actually appeared to be working.
"I feel strange..." Jack the Robber said in wonder. "I feel all warm inside. Like the feeling you get when---"
"No! Stop! You don't care!" the evil spirit book said. "You don't care because they don't care! And we want a world where nobody cares!"
But the power of the combined Care Bear Stares was too powerful.
Slowly, Jack's madman look began to fade, replaced by a normal face.
"Thank goodness!" Jack said, sighing in relief. "I thought I was gonna become a psycho killer."
The evil spirit began to panic.
"No! Nooooooooooo!" it screamed.
In a desperate tactic, it used the same green magic to try to re-brainwash Jack the Robber.
"You Care Bears will be finished!" the evil spirit cried maniacally. "He's so hate-crazed because of what he thinks you did. If I hadn't blocked your Care-o-meter, this plan would never have come to fruition."
But the evil spirit had just made a fatal mistake. It had been so concerned with taunting the Care Bears that it had forgotten to make sure Jack the Robber was completely re-brainwashed. Thus, Jack the Robber overheard all of it.
"YOU!!!" he screamed in unimaginable anger. "You're the one who made sure the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins never helped me! I was in so much mental anguish, all because you blocked them from detecting me! And then you used my anger to help your twisted ways...anger that you were responsible for!"
Then, before the evil spirit could react, Jack the Robber aimed the gun at the book and shot a hole directly through the center.
The evil spirit screamed, and there was a brilliant FLASH of light.
Then, the book was empty. The pages were blank, no face to be found.
"Now the evil spirit is destroyed," Jack the Robber said. "Even if the book is found again, it will never again use anyone else for its evil ways. Give that kid to me. I'll take him to the hospital myself, even if it does mean I'll be arrested for robbery."
Before the others could respond, Jack the Robber took Manny's unconscious form...
Manny's eyes slowly opened.
His first thought was that he wasn't in the forest anymore.
Looking around, he could see that he was in a hospital bed.
Then, he looked over to his right and saw a humongous pile of flowers, boxes of chocolates, and a couple of cards.
A voice spoke from his left.
"One of the cards says it's from 'the Care Bears', and the other says it's from 'the Care Bear Cousins'," the voice said.
Manny looked to his left and saw a nurse.
"Do you know who they are?" the nurse asked.
The nurse would call Manny a lunatic if he told her who they really were, so he said, "They're just a couple of clubs. Don't ask me where they got the names, I didn't pick 'em."
"Oh, I almost forgot!" the nurse exclaimed. "You have visitors. It's visiting hours, so shall I send them in?"
"Yeah, sure," Manny said.
To his astonishment, Manny's brother, Mako, and his parents walked into the room.
"Hey dude, I just wanna say that you were awesome!" Mako said. "Not many people are man enough to get shot in the shoulder and still be alive."
"It isn't like the movies," Manny said, suddenly groaning in pain as he became aware of his shoulder throbbing. "In the movies guys can get shot in the shoulder and keep fighting. In real life, though, this friggin' hurts!"
"That's because when bullets enter the shoulder, they bounce around," the nurse said. "You're lucky to be alive!"
"Mom, Dad, bro, there's something I really need to share with you," Manny Macho said.
"Whatever you like, son," his father replied.
Manny sighed in relief. The Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins would've wanted him to share his feelings. In 17 years he'd never told his family how he'd felt about what he was going to say.
"I hate being macho!" he cried out. "For 17 years, you've forced me to conform to your stereotype! I hate drinking beer because it makes me sick with hangovers! I hate smoking cigarettes because it makes me cough! I hate not being allowed to express my feelings! Do you know how frustrating it is to have to keep my sensitive feelings inside of me? And what about me having to act like a jerk to women? How do you expect me to have a relationship later in life if I want one? I can't have one treating women as less than equals, that's for sure! And I can't watch cartoons rather than those stupid violent movies because of your stupid stereotype! I don't feel very loved..."
After Manny was done ranting, he screamed in pain, because he'd gotten himself so worked up that he'd moved his shoulder.
Meanwhile, his brother, mother, and father were astonished. They, of course, were firm believers in the "macho" stereotype. But what they said next would show they weren't that bad after all.
"Son...why didn't you tell us?" Manny's mother asked. "In 17 years, why didn't you say something?"
"Because I was afraid you'd call me unmanly," Manny responded bitterly. "Or a sissy! Or a wimp! Or homo! Or gay! Or queer!"
"Son, you do realize that we're only allowing you to yell at us because you haven't gotten this off your chest for years?" his father said.
"I know...and I'm sorry, but that's the way I feel," Manny said with conviction.
"Bro, being macho is a cool way to live life, but if you don't wanna be macho, I'm not gonna stop you," Mako said.
"We only forced you to conform because we thought you would be happier that way," Manny's father said. "But if your way of life walks a different path, then so be it. Your birthday's in a few days, and when you turn 18 and move out, we'll make sure Mako doesn't move in with you."
"That's not gonna happen anyway," Mako said. "Not now that I know how he feels."
Manny was completely flabbergasted.
The Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins had been right! All he'd needed to do was share his feelings, and his problems were completely solved!
For the next few days, the relationship between Manny and his family was patched up.
Then, when Manny moved out, he went into college and majored in psychology.
After graduating, he went to graduate school to study more of the same thing.
He kept studying afterwards until he got a Ph.D in psychology.
He ended up forming a therapist group for males who want to either become more sensitive or want to freely express their more sensitive sides without fear of persecution.
Actually, to thank Manny for saving her life, Gentle Heart Lamb gave him permission to use her image as a symbol for his group.
As for Jack the Robber...well, let's find out, shall we?
After many years, Jack the Robber, or should we say former robber, was finally out of jail.
Because one of the charges was assault, the sentence was much longer than mere robbery, and he was a much older man now.
He could've had the visit from the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins that he'd so desperately needed, but after his experience with the evil spirit book, he realized the trouble that lack of feelings could cause if improperly used, and no longer stopped caring. He was going to set things straight with his parents, and tell them how he felt, and he was at their door now.
When he knocked on the door, a very old man and a very old woman answered the door.
"Mom, Dad, it's me," Jack said.
His parents were shocked.
"Son?!" they both exclaimed, embracing him.
"We haven't seen you in decades!" his mother said.
"Why did you run away?" his father asked.
Jack pulled away from their embrace.
"You two used to get drunk and abuse me!" he said. "After your idiotic alcohol binges, you used to beat me up! You weren't even angry!"
He continued accusingly, "You were beating me up for fun!"
He was soon sorry for his harsh words when he saw tears in his parents' eyes.
"I'm sorry I yelled just now," Jack began, but his parents cut him off.
"We're the ones who should be sorry," Jack's mother said. "Running away was wrong, but after a long time we realized that it was the only way you could escape. Our drinking impaired our judgement as to what kind of fun was acceptable."
"And we realized how horrible we'd been to you," Jack's father said, "and that it was our own fault that you ran away. We were so consumed with guilt that we swore that from then on, we would never drink alcohol again. And we gave it up for good. That's why alcohol hasn't killed us. We were right to swear off alcohol."
"But we aren't going to live very long, Jack," Jack's mother continued. "And you've had to be a criminal to survive. We've already done all the complicated legalities for a will. Why don't you live here, with us, and when we pass away, everything will be left to you."
"Obviously it was wrong of you to turn to crime," Jack's father said. "But you've already served your full sentence, and you didn't try to break out. You were in there so long, I think you've learned your lesson. So how about it, son? Give us one more chance."
Jack the former robber was suddenly choked with emotion.
He'd never thought his parents had had it in them to be sorry for their actions.
He hugged them both, shouting, "I accept!" and beginning to cry at their generosity.
Jack lived many long years after that, but his parents died soon after.
Jack went back to education and got a Ph.D in psychology just as Manny Macho had done, afterwards forming a group for rehabilitating convicts.
And none of this could ever have been made possible without the intervention of the Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins. Long may they live and prosper.
***
The End
E-mail all questions and comments to bleifer@comcast.net