I am sorry to announce that I will be leaving ff.net for a while…I have some friends staying with me for a week and won't have much time to update. But I'll be back after that!
DISCLAIMER I sadly don't own anyone. *sniff* But I do own my Wish Bear pillow!
True Heart had the cloud ship ready and waiting when Luke returned. Leia could only gawk open-mouthed at Care-a-Lot and its inhabitants.
She let Luke guide her onto the cloud ship without complaints. This whole ordeal was way beyond her realm of comprehension. Once the entire Care Bear family assembled on the ship, Luke left his sister in Share Bear and Funshine Bear's charge and went to confer with the two parents.
"Where are we going exactly?" he asked.
"The Great Wishing Star is not only of this universe," Noble Heart explained. "He may know of your home."
"The crystal is partly made of your enemy as well as mine," Luke mused. "That means it must have a backwards port. It must also lead from this world to mine. I just don't know how!" he finished frustratedly.
"The Great Wishing Star will know," True Heart assured him. "Don't worry." Luke just looked pensive.
Leia, meanwhile, regarded the Care Bear family curiously. Luke seemed to trust them and so far they'd tried to help in any way they could. Likewise, they looked curiously back at her.
For a trip to the edge of space, it was surprisingly short and anti-climactic. And, Luke noted, they had stopped in the middle of nowhere. There was just blackness and certainly no Great Wishing Star. In fact, no stars at all.
The air shimmered faintly and with blinding light, an impossibly large star-shaped face loomed over them. Luke and Leia, with all their Jedi calm and diplomatic elegance respectively, went slack-jawed and stared. The Great Wishing Star blinked and smiled.
"Why hello Care Bear family!" it said.
The Care Bears and Cousins bowed their heads in reverence. "We seek your help!" Noble Heart said. "Darkheart threatens us again."
"Ah yes," the Star said. "When the boy showed his caring for Christy, Darkheart's evil left him and fled our universe as we know it."
"Into mine," Luke commented, momentarily overcoming his shock.
The Star laughed. "Yes. There is only one way to put an end to him. I can bring you to where he has hidden. Once you destroy him there, all will be set right once more."
"What do you mean, set right?" Leia asked in a small voice. Luke had never seen her look so sad.
"All will be restored to its normal place and time in the universe."
Luke took his sister's hand. "We'll go home, Leia."
"Oh." Leia knew she should be happy to go home. To be with her beloved Han again. But it was like she'd found Alderaan all over again. The thought of leaving pained her as much as the thought of staying.
True Heart could tell that Leia was going through something, although she didn't know what. As she watched the woman sadly, she suddenly felt something moving in her paw. Her eyes opened wide when she saw what she held and she glanced at the Great Wishing Star. He winked and nodded just slightly to her.
"We must go quickly," Luke said. "We cannot allow the crystal to gather strength."
"Very well," the Great Star said. "Good luck on your journey!" As the shining star faded away, those on the cloud ship did, too.
"Holy hell!" Han Solo yelled as Luke, Leia, and several colored creatures appeared from thin air outside the cave.
Luke saw Han, Chewbacca, Wedge, and every single pilot staring at them, jaws scraping the rock ground. They had returned to Wayland.
AUTHOR'S NOTE The Great Wishing Star's explanation is based on a quote from Care Bears Movie 2: A New Generation. True Heart says to the boy (the former Darkheart) "Your evil left you when you admitted how much you really cared!" This tends to suggest that Darkheart wasn't defeated, he just abandoned the boy as his host.
