CHAPTER FOUR
Bright Heart sighed. Today could hardly have gone any worse. Instead of a potential new family member, they now had an angry and upset guest who wanted to leave as soon as possible. Only an oncoming thunderstorm—and Noname's own balking at flying in a cloud car through such conditions—had forced him to spend the night here.
Refusing to spend the night in the Hall of Hearts, Noname had already agreed to Bright Heart's proposal to stay at his home. Bright Heart wasn't sorry for the company, but he just wished he could find the right thing that would convince him to stay.
"I'm sorry about what happened at the Hall of Hearts." Bright Heart said for what was, by Noname's count, the ninth time. Noname just flicked his tail in a way that said, in so many words (in no words actually), that it wasn't his fault. "They meant well, they just didn't know that you'd well…have the response you did."
Again, silence prevailed.
"…Could you at least tell me why you don't want to stay?" Bright Heart asked, barely able to keep a pleading tone out of his voice. Noname's face took on a mournful quality that only increased with the bitter half-smile he gave the raccoon.
"Believe me, I just don't belong here. I'm too…different."
"That's a kind of vague—not to mention glib—answer." Bright Heart noted evenly. Noname put on what would be considered the perfect poker face, except for as usual, the eyes. "Is there something your not telling me?" He asked astutely.
"If there was, I couldn't tell you. Rest assured if there was something I was hiding, then my reason for hiding must be valid enough not for me to reveal it."
Bright Heart privately didn't think much of that logic but said nothing. Evidently the silence was, for once, too oppressive for Noname to leave unattended. "Believe me when I say that whatever it is that I am hiding precludes any possibility of me staying and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it."
"But how do you know unless you tell—"
"I'm getting tired." Noname said, leaving Bright Heart's question only half-asked. "You mentioned having a spare cot?" The raccoon nodded, clearly seeing this conversation had reached a dead end. He retrieved the cot in question and dragged it back to his room. Noname climbed on it as soon as it was set, making it clear he would not consider taking Bright Heart's bed.
"Good-night." Noname wished him as he drew the covers up.
"Good-night." Bright Heart returned. "Pleasant dreams." Noname let out what sounded like a half-strangled snort of incredulity but said nothing more.
Even as the Care Bears were going to bed, other figures remained awake. One of them was even now hurrying up a long flight of stairs to speak to his master.
"No Heart! No Heart!" Beastly yelled as he ran up. No Heart felt a nerve twitch above his eye as his bumbling assistant approached.
"BEASTLY! I've no time for your ramblings now." He bellowed as he looked down into his cauldron.
"B-but Boss! I almost caught a Care Bear!" No Heart growled.
If I had a spell for every time he said that I'd be more powerful than Merlin.
Taking No Heart's cold shoulder as encouragement, Beastly continued on. "And this was a new one!"
Terrific, the dark wizard growled mentally. As if there weren't enough of those meddling Care Bears already…He was so upset that he almost didn't hear Beastly's next words.
"…I would've had that fox too if it wasn't for—" No Heart whirled on his hapless servant as he drew himself up to his full height and bellowed:
"Did you say fox!"
CHAPTER FIVE
The day started out awkwardly enough. Noname sat down between Bright Heart and Gentle Heart at breakfast, not saying a word to anyone. He wasn't a morning person to begin with, but there was clearly more to it. Most of the other Care Bears—wary of another explosion—kept their distance from him. A few intrepid souls, Tenderheart, Swift Heart, Noble Heart, True Heart, the cubs, and a couple of others tried their best to either engage him in conversation or convince him to stay. So far, no one had succeeded in getting so much as a word out of him.
Bright Heart and Gentle Heart shared a concerned glance. It didn't look as though anything would convince Noname to stay. If only we knew what it was that he's hiding, what he's so afraid of…Bright Heart wondered as he stabbed his breakfast with his fork.
The relative quiet of breakfast was shattered by the piercing alarm of the Caring Meter. The Hall of Hearts emptied within moments as everyone rushed outside. Noname, at a lack for anything else to do, followed them.
"Bright Heart, what's going on?" Tenderheart called to him, who had just come back from looking over the Caring Meter.
"I'm not sure. I don't think there's a drop in caring on Earth. I think it means that something is coming—" Before he could say the word "here," there was a sudden gust of wind that swallowed his words. It soon coalesced into a cyclone that then died down to reveal a familiar figure.
"NO HEART!" The Care Bear Family shouted as one. Their vulpine visitor blanched and surreptitiously took a few steps backwards.
"What do you want No Heart?" Noble Heart demanded as the family formed a line, ready to Stare the evil wizard back to his castle if the need arose. But No Heart made no move, provocative or otherwise. He just scanned the crowd, looking for something. Or someone. He must have found what he was looking for, because he raised his arms in what was supposed to be a somewhat peaceful gesture and magically amplified his voice for all to hear.
"CARE BEARS! You have something that belongs to me. I want it back. Give it to me and I will leave...peacefully."
"What are you talking about No Heart?" Noble Heart demanded.
"The fox. I want him. He belongs to me." Noname swallowed as he felt all the
attention suddenly shift onto him. He wished that he had never gotten out of bed, or better yet, never left the attic.
"Why?" Noble Heart said, thrown for a minute. "He doesn't belong to you. His decisions are his own." No Heart laughed.
"The fox is mine. In mind, body, and soul. You have no more business having him here than you would my niece or Beastly."
"What's this all about No Heart?" Noble Heart asked shortly. "I would no sooner turn over our guest," he stressed the word for No Heart's benefit "then I would True Heart or anyone in my family. Why this obsession with him?"
"I think it is natural," No Heart purred, "for me to 'obsessed' with that which is rightfully mine. My property, if you will."
"He is not your property!" Noble Heart insisted angrily.
"Oh but he is!" No Heart exclaimed. "He is in every way my property! I am his Master! I am his CREATOR!"
CHAPTER SIX
Utter silence. It was so silent that the beating of his own heart felt deafening in his ears. Noname felt the gaze of the entire Care Bear family on him as well as that of his old tormentor. His hunter. His…master.
No, I call no one master. Not anymore. Whatever spark of defiance he had lit within himself promptly withered and died when he saw the looks on his hosts' faces. It was exactly what he expected to see: horror, fear, and disgust. He knew. He'd seen the same expression on his own face whenever he looked in a mirror. He had stopped looking into mirrors long ago. For the Care Bears, this was a new sight.
As he let his head hang in defeat, No Heart laughed. "You see, he admits it! He belongs with me and mine. And this time," No Heart glared at the sullen fox. "I'll be more careful than to let my pets slip their leash!"
"Leave him alone!" Someone yelled from the crowd. All eyes turned to see who had shouted. It was to everyone's surprise, including her own, to discover that it was the meekest and quietest of call the Care Bears who directly defied the evil magician: Gentle Heart Lamb.
"He isn't like you! He's not evil!" She yelled, something she almost never did. "He doesn't belong with you! Not now, not ever!" A chorus of general approval bubbled across the crowd, which only infuriated No Heart.
"I will not be denied my prize!" He roared. "I've been searching and hunting him for far too long to tamely yield him now! He is not one of you! He is one MY creations! MINE! No different than a Shadow or demon or any other entity I've conjured!"
"He may not be a Care Bear, but he is most certainly not one of yourmonsters either." Bright Heart rejoined. The wizard was now all but frothing with rage.
"STAND ASIDE OR DIE, CARE BEARS! I HAVE NO MORE PATIENCE FOR THIS!"
"For once, No Heart, we're in agreement." Noble Heart said coolly. "Care Bears! Care Cousins! You know what to do!"
"Care Bears! Countdown!" Tenderheart ordered. "Four…three…two…one…"
"STARE!" No Heart cursed as a sea of glowing tummy symbols erupted towards him. He raised his arms and attempted to block them. Whipped into such a frenzy at being denied what he felt was rightfully his, he managed to last longer against the combined Care Bear Stare longer than he ought to have.
But in the end, the result was that he was forced to take a step back. Then another and another. With a frustrated howl he began the spell that would transport him back to his castle.
"THIS IS NOT OVER! I WILL RECLAIM WHAT'S MINE! YOUR DAYS ARE MARKED SLAVE! YOU HEAR ME!" With a final gust of wind the sorcerer was gone. As many family members broke into cheering at their foe's retreat, Bright Heart turned around to where Noname had been standing. He was gone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the second time in as many days, Noname found himself barreling blindly through the Kingdom of Caring. He knew it was foolish. There was no way down and even if there was, he had no idea where he was going. But right then, he didn't care.
They know. Blast it all, they KNOW.
He suddenly found his vision blurred by moisture in his eyes. Is it raining? No, a quick glance told him it wasn't. Could I actually be…
Noname was forced to end his self-analysis when his front foot failed to connect to the clouds that formed the grown. Cursing, he found that he had run to the very edge of the clouds. He flailed his arms wildly as he attempted not to pitch forward and fall who knew how far down. Thinking he was about to fall he managed to compose what he fully expected to be his final thought:
What a stupid way to die.
A sudden yank on his tail caused him to fall backwards. Falling seldom had much dignity, especially when it was your rump you were falling on. But given the alternatives it was better an undignified landing than a fatal one. Getting up he turned around to see who had rescued him. He should not have been surprised that it was Bright Heart and Gentle Heart, and yet found that he was.
He nodded in thanks but avoided their gaze.
"Is it true?" Bright Heart asked at last. He didn't believe No Heart was lying this time, but wanted to hear it from Noname's own lips.
"…Yes. It's true."
"So you're one of No Heart's…" he trailed off.
"The word you're looking for," Noname said icily. "Is monster. Or freak, I'll answer to either."
"You're not a monster." Gentle Heart said softly. "Please, let us help. Is that what you didn't want to tell us?" Noname nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"What's to talk about?" He asked bitterly. "No Heart made me in a vat. Just another creature to command for his own twisted ends."
"What did he want you for?" Bright Heart asked. Noname shrugged.
"I was…a prototype. No Heart was trying to create a sort of anti-Care Bear Family. No Heart's not all that original you know. If you can't beat 'em, clone 'em. I swear all these villains plagiarize each other's hackneyed schemes…Anyway, I was the first; also the last. As you can see," He said rubbing his heart shaped nose for emphasis "It didn't work."
"So I basically became his gopher. Fetch his books, his potion ingredients, clean the castle, what have you."
"Like Beastly?" Bright Heart asked. Noname looked confused.
"Who?"
"No Heart's henchman. A small dirty creature, pig-like nose, spindly limbs, fat body…"
"Oh is that what I ran into yesterday? Never seen him before. At any rate I decided rather quickly that I didn't want to stay with No Heart. Of course, running away from a flying castle isn't that easy. Whenever I got the chance, I sneaked a look at his spell books to try to find anything that would help me get away.
"Eventually I found a transportation spell. But it wasn't enough that I had to get away. I had to make sure he wouldn't find me. You know he has that cauldron he can look into and find whoever or whatever he wants. I had to find a way to stay off his radar. So then I had to find a spell to do that."
"So you escaped?" Gentle Heart asked. Noname nodded.
"No Heart was furious. He kept looking for me, so I decided to stay hidden. The only way he knew I was still alive was…"
"…Was what?" Noname sighed.
"I'm no wizard. Potion brewing isn't my specialty. I messed up and as a result a sort of bond was made. When he used his more powerful magic I could—I don't know how to describe it—see him perform it." He lapsed into an awkward silence. He briefly caught Gentle Heart's eye then abruptly broke away.
"You saw him in my dreams." She said. It wasn't a question. Noname nodded.
"I didn't recognize the two of you at first. No Heart would rant about the Care Bears but I never really knew who or what you were."
"But we could've helped you…" Gentle Heart said.
"Helped me? How? Can you change the fact that I was born to be a tool? A weapon to be used against your family? Can you alter the reality that I am a product of an evil warlock? I think not." Pausing for a moment to wipe his eyes, he continued on. "Besides, the same magic that left No Heart blinded to my location probably also worked on your Caring Meter."
"We would've accepted you." Bright Heart spoke up. "We still would in fact. It's not like this is the first time a new Care Bear's joined the family…"
"I'm not a Care Bear!" Noname exclaimed, not for the first time. "Don't you see that? I'm not another animal modified by the Great Wishing Star to help people share their feelings. I was made in a cauldron by a wizard bent on your destruction! I'm not even sure if I'm a real fox! By sheltering me here all you've done is given him an added incentive to attack you. It's best—for everyone—if I go back into hiding. That way he'll be too focused on me to go after you. I'm very good at hiding you know…He's been searching for years and he's never even come close to finding me." He gave a half-smile, the only kind he was ever able to manage. "A creature of darkness doesn't belong in the light."
"You're no creature of darkness." A new voice broke in from behind them. The three of them turned to see Noble Heart and True Heart standing there. Noble Heart continued. "No creature of darkness would ever suggest risking himself for someone else. That as much as anything proves why you deserve to stay here, with us."
True Heart asked. "We can help you. We want to help you. And I think you'd find that living here is better than hiding in an attic, wondering if today's the day No Heart catches up with you." Noname stayed silent thinking it over. "Please, think it over. We'll leave alone for now. When you've made a decision, let us know." At that the four Care Bears departed, leaving a very thoughtful fox behind.
A/N: I know I said to be concluded last time, but I decided to break the last bit up into two parts, the second one will be posted shortly. To Be Really Concluded Next Time.