12.

Despite the foul mood she was in, even Gentle Heart was surprised at the Hall of Hearts decorations. There were enormous towers of what looked to be cardboard laid against the walls painted white to appear as bricks, and they actually looked convincing at first glance. The spaces between the 'towers' were covered in deep blue paint, which could be undone with some Care Bear stares when it wasn't needed, and dotted to be night skies. The normal chandelier hanging above the Hall of Hearts had a white orb fixed around it and glowed. Obviously, it was intended to look like the moon. Gentle Heart was silent, just blinking at the scene before her. Even she didn't expect her family to work this hard on the ball. The moment was quickly interrupted by Brave Heart. "Ooh! Punch!"

The lion pulled at his collar, but his eyes didn't leave the enormous bowl that sat on a long, white table. Brave Heart turned around and extended his paw to Proud Heart. "Ladies first."

The cat purred, approving of his act of courtesy. Taking his paw, she turned her head. "Gentle? Wish? Aren't you coming?"

Wish Bear nodded, grabbing Birthday by the arm and walked by Proud Heart's side. The yellow Bear didn't protest, but smiled goofily like he always did. Gentle Heart lifted her dress and walked by Brave Heart. She didn't say a word, but it wasn't long until the lion noticed her and raised his eyebrows with a grin. "Embarrassed of your Playful Heart already?"

She looked to him out of the corner of her eye. "He's not my Playful Heart."

Brave Heart did a cross between a snicker and a wheezy laugh, if it was possible. "Denial?"

The lamb shut her eyes in aggravation. "No. Really."

It was then the others decided to tune in. Proud Heart opened her mouth to say something, but Brave Heart didn't even notice her. He was looking over his shoulder to see Playful Heart just standing by the Hall of Hearts entrance with a wandering Funshine. "But you were going out with him right before we left!"

"We stopped," Gentle Heart hastily replied.

It was then Proud Heart got her turn to speak. "Who broke up with who?"

Suddenly the Kingdom of Caring is like a soap opera. Gentle Heart was somehow finding it annoying how her dress wouldn't lift in the back when she tried to hold it up. This little complication only seemed to frustrate her more and more. "I broke up with him."

"Is he okay?" Birthday Bear asked, automatically showing concern for his best friend.

Gentle Heart, even though she was in an unpleasant mood, didn't even expect the next thing she blurted out. "It doesn't matter."

That was enough to make Brave Heart gasp like it was his last breath, and even Wish Bear seemed to slam on her brakes. Gentle Heart just blinked at them, her own surprise at her words quickly fading away. The blue-green bear cocked her head. "What?"

"I have never heard you say anything like that before," Proud Heart commented.

Birthday Bear, attempting to lighten up the moment, cracked an awkward smile. "It must be the apocalypse…"

Gentle Heart didn't see any humor in his words. Instead, she just flattened her ears farther back than they were and turned. Marching off, she realized she must look silly… walking arrogantly while holding her dress. So she dropped it and let it flow beneath her. The lamb could hear the small group of Care Bears and cousins behind her begin to whisper, but ignored it. They just didn't understand her. The lamb cast her gaze to the floor, softly murmuring to herself. "I have been in this family for years. And they don't even understand who I really am."

Looking up, she realized the truth. She was alone. Though she just claimed that her entire family didn't understand her true self, she had a sudden desperation to stand with someone and not be lonely. So she leapt towards the closest group near her that didn't include her previous partners. Standing in the corner of the room was True Heart, Noble Heart, and Tender Heart and Love-A-Lot as his date, all seeming to be discussing how well things turned out. When she approached, Noble Heart horse smiled at her. He was dressed as though he was in the Renaissance Military. "Hello, Gentle Heart. You're early."

She raised her paws to push back her falling tiara. "I guess so… we wanted to see the decorations."

"They did a wonderful job," True Heart commented.

Even the founders of the Kingdom of Caring don't understand me. They spent all their time with the other Care Bears and the other Cousins. Gentle Heart didn't even smile at True Heart as this realization hit her. They lied. They say they care. But if they do… then why don't they care to take time with me?

Noble Heart pulled at the collar of his uniform, also seeming to be uncomfortable like the other males. As Gentle Heart paid more attention, she realized that he was giving Tender Heart a curious look as he pulled. The brown bear coughed. "Are you okay? You don't look too well."

Gentle Heart bit her lower lip. "I look bad?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Tender Heart sputtered out, weakly smiling as if to prove he wasn't talking about that.

So now I don't even look good enough for my family.

Love-A-Lot Bear placed a paw on his shoulder and smiled. "It's okay, Tender Heart. Us girls aren't that sensitive. Gentle Heart, I can walk with you to the bathroom if you aren't feeling well."

"I can do it myself," the lamb replied, her answer seeming to come out in a hiss.

This raised the eyebrows of the four she was standing with. Even Noble Heart and True Heart didn't say anything as she turned and began walking to the bathrooms. As she trudged to her destination, she realized more Care Bears were arriving, and the noise level was gradually increasing. Gentle Heart could already feel a headache coming on. She quickened her pace and finally reached the restrooms. Instantly, she headed to the restroom mirror and looked into her reflection. What she saw even caught her off guard. Rather than Gentle Heart staring back at her, she saw an entirely different lamb. An agitated expression that seemed permanent was planted on her face, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes. Even the normal icy blue color of her eyes appeared to be many shades darker, and the hairspray that held her hair up had the urge to give up on it's work so curls of wool hung at her forehead. The lamb inhaled deeply, and released her breath as a long sigh.

"It's an improvement," she told her reflection, "If they don't like it… then they don't like me."

"Who doesn't like you?"

Gentle Heart jumped at the voice, and turned to see Swift Heart standing at the entryway of the restroom. The lamb huffed and forcefully turned a sink faucet on, shoving her hands underneath the water. "What do you want?"

"Well, seeing as how we're in a bathroom, I guess that I'm in here to use it," Swift Heart smiled, hardly phased by the question Gentle Heart snapped at her.

The sarcastic humor of the rabbit, along with how she handles things almost seemed to be a barrier against Gentle Heart and her temper. The rabbit walked to the sink next to Gentle Heart, grabbing a paper towel in the process. "Actually, because I'm such a genius, I tripped and got some punch on this rag called a dress. I think no one will notice, and the stuff doesn't even stain. But of course it wasn't long until Cheer Bear noticed and she wouldn't hear any of that…"

Gentle Heart stayed silent, lathering her paws in soap to look preoccupied. The ramblings of Swift Heart seemed to be pushing her buttons and making her much more agitated. "…And to add on top of that," Swift Heart continued, "She was asking me earlier who I was going to dance with. That's funny… the last time I tried dancing I almost burned down my house. As strange as it sounds, I'm not lying. You see, it was in the kitchen and-"

"You talk a lot," Gentle Heart finally commented, drying her paws, although not turning off the faucet.

Swift Heart looked up from scrubbing at her dress, ears perking up. "Thanks!"

Gentle Heart walked past her, coming close to shouldering her. "It wasn't a compliment."

The rabbit cousin hopped to the sink that was just abandoned. "Save some for the fishes," she said mainly to herself as she turned the faucet off.

x

As soon as Gentle Heart stepped outside into the Hall of Hearts, it was as if someone took a blow horn and blew it right into her face. The noise level was high as her entire family was crammed into the same room, and everyone seemed to be talking at once. The same feeling of loneliness took hold of her, and she searched for anyone to stand by. In the process, she also spied Playful Heart sitting at the side of room moping. Birthday Bear and Wish Bear seemed to be attempting to cheer him up. Rather than feeling the same sympathy that they did, Gentle Heart rolled her eyes.

Good Luck Bear noticed the lamb, and walked to her with Cozy Heart. "Hi, Gentle. You lose Playful Heart in the crowd?"

Gentle Heart momentarily glanced to the monkey sitting at the row on chairs lined against the wall. "Yeah. I'll find him in a while."

"We're in for a speech," Cozy Heart said as she watched Noble Heart walk in front of the snack table. Gentle Heart also turned her attention to the horse cousin.

Noble Heart raised a glass from the table along with a spoon, lightly hitting it to produce enough noise. It gradually caught the attention of the room, and he set them down with a smile. "Care Bears, Care Bear cousins… welcome to the annual May Masquerade Ball!"

This produced a loud cheer from the crowd, and Gentle Heart winced. She was the only one that wasn't clapping or cheering. Noble Heart horse raised his paws to quiet everyone down. Though it took some time, the cheers faded away to give him more time to speak. "Now, let's have a round of applause for our decorations for this year and the ones responsible! Let's hear it for Share, Harmony, Champ, Love-A-Lot Bear, and Loyal Heart dog!"
Once again, the entire Care Bear family erupted in a boom of applause, with the exception of one Care Bear cousin. Gentle Heart just sighed, watching dully as even Noble Heart joined in. The applause came to a halt after a few moments. Noble Heart tucked his hands behind his back with a smile. "Now, how about I stop wasting your time so we can get this ball started?"

On cue, classical music began playing from a tape player strategically hidden around the room. There was some clapping, and soon the room began talking once more. She turned to see Good Luck trying to bounce in rhythm to the classical music. "This isn't so bad…"

Cozy Heart giggled. "Let's go talk to some people before you hurt yourself."

They're leaving you.

Like a blow to the head, Gentle Heart almost staggered backwards, and put a paw to her forehead. It suddenly felt as though someone had taken the liberty of hitting her with a baseball bat. Gentle Heart groaned, more out of confusion than anything else. What was once a sharp pain was now just a dull ache. And a burning sensation at her chest was beginning to make itself known. Paw still at her forehead, she dully blinked. What was that? Blinking like mad to regain her vision, she looked around the room. And spotted at the indoor window sill an all too familiar bird. No Heart just seemed to be staring at her.

After all you've done, they're leaving you. They're all leaving you.

It was No Heart's voice, and he was in the shape of a bird. His red eyes almost seemed to be burning holes in her skin. That was enough to make a new emotion grow in the pit of her stomach. Though she had spent much more time with the sorcerer than any other Care Bear or Cousin, she now felt fear. Then she realized it. She wasn't afraid of No Heart. She was afraid of her family. Afraid they would leave her.

You tried so hard just to earn their respect. And it wasn't good enough for them.

The burning at her chest suddenly tripled, and Gentle Heart tightly shut her eyes. Why was this happening? Though there wasn't any sign of pain or ache in her legs, they just gave away like twigs snapping, and she fell to the floor. Gentle Heart breathed in shaky breaths. Somehow, through all of this, one of the thoughts that crept into her mind was whether or not the burning in her chest might feel similar to breaking a bone. Maybe seconds passed until anyone noticed her. Or maybe even minutes, considering how much her family didn't care for her. But when someone did, they kneeled next to her.

"Gentle Heart? What's wrong?"

Looking up, her vision was cleared enough to see that it was True Heart who had spotted her. Gentle Heart blinked. "Huh?"

The white bear said something, most likely an offer to stand up, but when she got any closer the burning on her chest suddenly increased. Gentle Heart shakily sat to her knees and shot an angry glare at True Heart. "Get away from me!"

You finally understand… they aren't here to help you. It took time, but you know the true intentions of your family. And they aren't intentions to help you.

"Gentle, we're just trying to help," True Heart said, reaching out a paw to touch her shoulder.

It was almost as if someone was holding a hot branding iron right next to her shoulder. Only it was True Heart's paw. Gentle Heart shrank away from her touch, more confused than ever. She didn't understand anything that was going on. Realizing that the Care Bear family was beginning to crowd around her, she only shrank back more. She wanted them to leave. Then one particular Cousin jumped to her side in a heartbeat. It was Playful Heart. Whatever words he was going to say, he didn't get a chance.

"Step away from the lamb."
Everyone looked up at once, and Gentle Heart shakily smiled. No Heart. He would help her. The sorcerer was in his true form and was stepping towards them. Of course, Noble Heart and True Heart were the first to raise their tummy symbols in preparation for stares. No Heart chuckled. "Every time you harm me, you are only doing the same for her."

He raised a clawed finger, pointing to Gentle Heart. The lamb slowly blinked. His words seemed to be going right over her head, and she didn't understand him. Playful Heart stood, clenching his paws into fists. "What'd you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything," the sorcerer replied, "It was you who did this to her. You made her bring this upon herself."

It was clear to everyone he was smiling beneath his hood, and he was enjoying the fact no one seemed to understand what he was talking about. Gentle Heart, however, knew perfectly well what he meant. True Heart, who still stood next to her, laid a paw on her shoulder as if in comfort. But it only felt as though the pain on her chest and moved to her shoulder. The lamb winced, ducking away from her touch instantly. True Heart blinked, helplessly unaware of what she was feeling. "Gentle Heart, your necklace."

She glanced down to the necklace that laid on her chest and could see what was different. The sky blue gem was glowing with such intensity, the color was almost white, and it was there that she burned. Gentle Heart couldn't think of anything to say, or the explanation for this. It was because No Heart was around… his uncaring was making the spell work double time. It was his words that made her lose focus on her thoughts.

"Do not touch her, if you do not want the risk of endangering her health," No Heart declared, "Do not even approach her."

Brave Heart finally had had enough of waiting, and he stomped forward with an angry growl, tummy symbol glowing. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing, as I have said before," the sorcerer laughed, "Perhaps if you knew the full story, you will understand what I am saying. Gentle Heart."

The lamb looked up to meet his red eyes. She could feel his smile as he spoke. "Tell them what you have been doing."

Though his command was vague, she knew what he meant. All eyes of the family shifted. They were all looking at her. Gentle Heart swallowed, finding herself beginning to shake. "Tell them!" No Heart snapped, even making her jump.

True Heart kneeled beside her, careful not to get too close. "Tell us what, Gentle Heart?"

The lamb finally realized she had to say it. No matter how much she didn't want to, they were all going to find out soon enough. Taking in a deep, shaky breath and then exhaling it, she closed to her eyes to avoid everyone's stares. "I've been…"

She was wishing that her throat would close up so she wouldn't have to say anything. She momentarily opened her eyes to see No Heart, looming over her family and waiting for a response, though he knew what she was going to say. It was then she realized her mistake. She made the mistake of even trusting him in the first place. Gentle Heart bit her lower lip, shutting her eyes tight. She could already feel tears forming behind her eyelids… more out of humiliation and realization than anything else. "I've been seeing No Heart and I've been learning magic."

In a cracking voice, she quickly added, "And I was wrong to do it."

No one even answered at first. No one gasped or anything. She opened her eyes just to be sure, and was surprised to see that not one member of her family was looking at her. All eyes were on No Heart, who looked quite proud of himself with his arms folded across his chest.

Once again, Playful Heart stomped forward in a way Gentle Heart had never seen him walk before. "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything," No Heart laughed, "She was the one who put the spell on herself that you are seeing right now. It was her own fault."

Gentle Heart blinked, not coming to a full understanding just yet. "Spell?"

No Heart laughed. "Yes, it was the closest thing to magic you have ever done. I would have done it myself, but the spell required for you to perform it for it to work."

Gentle Heart wanted to know so many answers to the questions she was thinking of, but was concentrating more on sorting them out right now. She had done magic before… so why was he saying that the spell supposedly on her was the only magic she has ever done? But Noble Heart got to ask the first question. "What kind of spell?"

Though it was clear that even he was angered at the fact No Heart had done this, the horse cousin still managed to stay calm. No Heart seemed to consider answering the question, then simply shrugged. "Seeing as how you do not stand a chance against me now, I might as well explain it. I am sure you recall the 'cloud of uncaring.' It seemed to distress you quite a bit," No Heart began, eyes falling on Gentle Heart, "Imagine all of that power in uncaring packed into one. All focused on one particular Care Bear."

Gentle Heart swallowed, not looking away from his red eyes. She remembered the cloud of uncaring. It was the closest her family ever came to being defeated by the sorcerer. No Heart didn't take his eyes off of her, and she could feel his smile as he went on. "Not only would it make the cousin quite uncaring and unaware of it… but the spell has another plus. It would also slowly turn others around that cousin uncaring, little by little. None of you may be aware of it now, but your feelings of caring and love are slowly being drained from you."

The expressions of shock that came to the Care Bear family only made him laugh. No Heart continued, "For the spell to work, the pawn on the uncaring must set it upon themselves. But, being generally all-knowing when it comes to magic, I completed the majority of the ingredients into making the spell work. Therefore, I am the one pulling all of the strings."

Gentle Heart closed her eyes. "I can't believe I listened to you."

Her voice only came out as a whisper, but it was so quiet in the room everyone seemed to have heard. No Heart stepped forward, placing his hands behind his back and approached Gentle Heart, his posture giving him the appearance of a stalking animal. "You believed me because you are what you're family believes to be. Worthless, weak, and unable to exist on her own. You needed more than you even though. You cannot rely on yourself… you latch on to anyone who comes to you. That's the only reason why you are still here. You didn't even make magic… I had to use my own for it to appear that way. You are unsuccessful and worthless."

"She is not worthless!"

No Heart turned to face the source of the yell with raised eyebrows. It was Playful Heart. His tail lashed from side to side in anger, and his tummy symbol was glowing brightly. "How can you even say that to someone?"

No Heart growled. "Use your cousin call on me. It won't hurt me. It will hurt Gentle Heart," he gestured towards the lamb, then raised himself to look at everyone, "As I have said, I am the one in charge. With only a few words, I can change the entire spell if I wanted to. And right now, if one of you even tries to hit me with your stares or calls, it will lead to the end of your caring, and her existence!"

"You wouldn't dare," Brave Heart snarled, in a matter that no one would have expected.

Even No Heart raised his brows, but his expression quickly changed. "That wasn't very Care Bear-like of you, Brave Heart lion. Just proof that my spell is working."

Gentle Heart's eyes were closed. Surprisingly, she didn't even ache anymore. No one even dared go near her now, knowing what the consequences would be. In the back of her head, she could hear Brave Heart already retaliating to what No Heart had just said. But she wasn't focusing on that. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe herself. As if to remind her, the necklace around her neck began growing warm, but not to the point where it burned like earlier. It was the fault of this necklace everything went wrong. She lied to her family. She even endangered her family by testing a potion on one of them. Or was that even No Heart using his own magic? Then she realized what she had realized not two seconds ago. It was the necklace that was the source of all of this. No Heart just thought she was too stupid to realize this. Even Gentle Heart was unsure if it was truly her feeling anger, or if it was just the spell, as she realized this. She was not stupid. No Heart was now at the point of shouting at Brave Heart in anger at what the cousin had recently said, and he didn't even notice her. To prepare herself for the worst, she inhaled deeply, then raised her paws to the chain of the necklace. Tightening her shut eyes, she clasped her paws over the chain. And yelped.

Gentle Heart looked to her paws to see the chain had made lines into her paws, only a few shades darker than her normal mint green fur. The lines quickly disappeared, though the burning didn't. No Heart had laughed and once again approached her, towering over her small height. "You don't have the strength to do it. You are too weak and powerless. After all of this time with your family, and how they have treated you, you still do not realize this? Then you are quite obviously brainless, too."

He turned and began walking from her. Gentle Heart stared down at her paws. Emotions similar to the ones she had felt previously were boiling up inside her. She closed the paws she was looking at, then glared up at the back of No Heart. "I am not brainless."

She didn't realize her tummy symbol was even glowing to begin with. But she became aware of it when a call slipped from her, aimed right at the wizard. The bright glowing beam of light made contact with the sorcerer. He only arched his back momentarily, then whirled around to face the lamb, eyes glowing in rage. "Fool!"

Gentle Heart already felt the burning begin to happen again. But she didn't double over like earlier, but slowly stood. Playful Heart was at her side in a minute. He reached out a paw to make contact, but stopped himself. "What are you doing?"

Gentle Heart was beginning to shake, but she didn't move. And as soon as it came, the burning left her. She glared at No Heart. "I'm not a fool, either."

Once again, all eyes were on her. She inhaled sharply, then breathed it out. "Your spell has turned me against my own family. It's all your fault you made me hurt them."

"It's your own fault for placing your trust in your own enemies hands," No Heart growled, "Now silence, before I make you do it myself."

"No," Gentle Heart suddenly blurted. If her necklace wasn't going to hurt her, she was safe to be saying this to No Heart. She knew that he wouldn't dare hurt the pawn of his spell.

But these thoughts began to change when he turned on heel, deep purple smoke billowing from the ground around him. In only seconds, the smoke cleared away to reveal that he had shifted. And he had taken to the form of a seven foot tall, snarling werewolf. He lowered his wolf head to be level with Gentle Heart and narrowed his red eyes. In a low, ominous tone he spoke. "I said silence."

Gentle Heart wanted to step back or increase the distance between them, but stood her ground. She prayed that the next words she said wouldn't be her last. "Make me."

With a snarl of outrage, the hackles on the werewolf rose in anger as No Heart straightened, and then shifted his weight on to one foot, slightly leaning backwards. His arm left his side to be raised, and Gentle Heart saw what was coming. What sounded like a squeak came from her mouth, and she found that she was glued to the spot and unable to even move out of the way. No doubt was she afraid of what might come next. But a flash of orange-gold fur leapt to her and tackled her out of the way. The contact made the burning in her necklace begin to start again, and it lasted only a few moments until she skidded to a halt. Looking up, she put a paw to the necklace, but quickly stopped when it only hurt her paws. "Thanks, Playful Heart. I owe you."

The monkey also jumped to his feet, though his landing was a bit off. He weakly smiled. "It looked like you needed some help."

No Heart had hit the floor with his fist so hard it almost sounded like it was enough force to break his hand, but the purple werewolf was fine. And now his attention was directed on Playful Heart. For a few seconds, he just stared, as if calculating on his next move. Then with reflexes much too fast to be human, he reached out one of his massive paws and snatched the monkey cousin by the collar of his costume. With a squeak, Playful Heart was lifted off of the ground in seconds and dangled above the ground. No Heart raised him to eye level. "Do not interfere, Care Bear!"

Gentle Heart could only watch helplessly as Playful Heart hung from his shirt, which refused to slip off of him, trying to free himself, but was completely unsuccessful in his attempts, which only made the sorcerer laugh. The lamb did the first thing that came to her mind. She reached up and placed both of her paws around the chain of the necklace, and lifted. It burned terribly, and it almost felt as though someone else was pulling down, trying to prevent her from removing it. Closing her eyes, she mustered up all of her strength and pulled, trying her best to not let go from the heat the chain gave off. Do it for your family, she repeated in her head, do it for Playful Heart.

She almost fell backwards when the pulling on the chain ceased. Hearing a harmless click, she opened her eyes to see that the glowing necklace chain had just snapped. And the gem had fell on to the floor with a small click, the glowing not stopping. The spell was still in affect. Gentle Heart's eyes darted up to No Heart. He hadn't let go of Playful Heart, who finally gave up on struggling to get free from his grasp. He, too, looked from Gentle Heart to the glowing gem. She could actually see a bit of emotion flash through his eyes, and she recognized it easily. Fear. Now, she felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, now seeing the situation. She was in control now. And No Heart knew it. As soon as her tummy symbol began glowing, No Heart carelessly dropped Playful Heart, and whirled completely around to the gem. "No!"

Gentle Heart forced the call to come out much faster than it normally would. It made direct contact with the gem before No Heart even was close enough to reach out for it. It was all over in three seconds.

The gem glowed completely white, absorbing the call. Then simply shattered into pieces. The shards of the gem didn't roll far away, all soon coming to a stop.

Things grew silent once more. Playful Heart slowly got to his feet, wobbling from lack of energy, having wasted it on trying to get free from No Heart's grasp. He slowly walked to Gentle Heart's side, blinking at the shards of the gem. "…Is it over?"

The lamb stared down at the scorch marks left on the floor from the gem, unsure. "I think so."

She felt a pat on her back, and turned to see Noble Heart horse and True Heart bear. The lamb couldn't seem to do anything else at the time but smile, not knowing what words were appropriate for the moment. Then she realized that she had completely forgotten about someone, and looked to see No Heart. He was in his true form once more, and was near shaking with rage. His words were barely above a whisper, harsh and filled with hatred. "You fool!"

Noble Heart motioned for the Care Bear family to form a line. "Care Bear countdown!"

The sorcerer didn't budge from his spot, eyes locked on Gentle Heart lamb. As if to prove he wasn't going to back down now, in a flash of lightning he was in the form of an enormous draft horse that towered over every member of her family. Easily his massive hooves could crush anything that got close enough.

"Four… three… two… one… stare!"

All of the stares and calls found their target, and the purple horse planted his hooves on to the Hall of Hearts tile floor to avoid being completely pushed backwards. Gentle Heart poured out all of her feelings of caring into the call, trying her best to push No Heart backwards. Looking to her side, Playful Heart was doing just the same thing. Though she was putting all of her energy into the call, Gentle Heart reached up and lightly tapped the monkey on his arm. He looked over to her, and she weakly smiled. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Playful Heart replied.

She focused her attention on to her call once more, and could see that No Heart still wasn't budging, which was something she didn't expect. Usually, when the entire family had their stares and calls combined, he would back down. But not now. She watched along with everyone else as the giant horse took one step forward. Then another. Everyone around her was also getting tired, and one after one, stares and calls would end. Finally, every one of the stares ended. No Heart stood only meters away, slightly swaying, but otherwise perfectly fine. He tossed his mane once, then kept coming. "Foolish Care Bears," he spat, "You are much too brainless to even realize you can never get rid of me. No matter how many times you stare, and you call, I will still be here! And I won't go away until each and every one of you is finished! And you," his eyes darted to Gentle Heart, "You will pay for what you have done!"

He jumped forward, galloping straight at the Care Bear family, though Gentle Heart was specifically in his line of sight. Rather than plowing straight into them, everyone jumped out of the way, leaving No Heart to gallop past them. The horse began turning around to face the family, only to be greeted by a Care Bear stare in the face, and took a few lumbering steps backwards in surprise. Brave Heart lion chuckled. "Bulls-eye."

No Heart had backed up far enough to open the doors to the Rainbow Rescue Beam room of the Hall of Hearts, and was soon standing completely in it. When the call faded, he shook his head in attempts to become focused, and snorted at the cousin. "You'll pay for that, lion!"

The smile on Brave Heart's face completely ended when No Heart reared onto his hind legs in preparation for another gallop. Gentle Heart was getting to her feet from having jumped from No Heart, and heard someone beside her.

"I think I have an idea," Bright Heart said, putting a paw to his chin.

"What?" Gentle Heart asked.

The purple raccoon stood up. "Just tell everyone to do their stares and calls at once, and keep walking towards No Heart. I'll be right back!"

Bright Heart seemed to suddenly disappear, and Gentle Heart looked up to see No Heart rearing up. He was going to go for them again. Going as fast as she could, she dashed to Noble Heart, hurriedly explaining what Bright Heart had said to do. Noble Heart horse nodded. "Whatever he's planning, we'll give it a try. Everyone, countdown!"

The Care Bear family all gradually got to their feet, forming a messy line as No Heart's front hooves pounded on the ground as he landed.

"Three, two, one! Care Bear stare!"

Once more, the Hall of Hearts was lit up with the lights of Care Bear stares and Cousin calls. And again, they hit No Heart just as he was raising his hooves to begin a gallop. Just as Bright Heart instructed them to do, they began walking forward. Gentle Heart, from her spot in the line, could see what Bright Heart had intended to do. No Heart began walking backwards, having no other choice. Soon, he was forced to step backwards on to the Rainbow Rescue Beam platform. Gentle Heart tried her best to keep her stare going, unsure of when to stop. It was when she heard Bright Heart yell, she followed his instructions.

The purple raccoon was standing close to the rescue beam console when he began jumping and yelling. "Okay! Stop!"

Everyone followed his orders and ended their stares. When the blinding lights died down, Gentle Heart could see that No Heart was at the center of the Rainbow Rescue Beam platform, with his head lowered and ears flat. However, it wasn't long until he regained his posture.

Grumpy Bear stood at the controls, finger hovering over a specific button. "One purple horse sent to earth, coming up!"
No Heart, realizing what was going to happen, straightened and shot an angered glare straight at Gentle Heart. Grumpy Bear dropped his finger, pressing down on the button. There was a bright flash of light, then he was gone. The platform was empty, as if No Heart had never been there.

"Where did you send him?" asked Tender Heart.

Grumpy Bear checked the controls and cracked a smile. "In the mountains close by Paradise Valley. We owe it all to Good Luck for that. He won't be back for a long time!"

"It won't be long," Gentle Heart said softly, although not intending to ruin the moment, "He's smarter than that."

Noble Heart horse and True Heart bear walked to either side of her once more, both laying their paws on her shoulders. True Heart managed to smile. "Are you alright?"

Gentle Heart looked down at her paws from where she had grabbed the necklace, and could see the faint marks of the chain. They didn't hurt a bit. "I'm okay. But I guess you're not," she added quietly, "After you've figured out what I've been doing."

"That's not true," True Heart replied, "Though I don't know the full story, I do know that No Heart is a manipulative liar. It isn't you're fault he is that way and dragged you into the entire mess."

"I guess I do have some explaining to do," Gentle Heart murmured, looking down at the floor.

Noble Heart cracked a smile. "We can save that for later. Besides, we were in the middle of a party before No Heart rudely interrupted."

Gentle Heart looked down at her once pure white dress. Now, the front had a line of gray running down it from where she had fell on the floor. "The ball?"

Noble Heart nodded. "Not too much damage was done. There might be some scratches on the tile from that horse No Heart turned to, but everything is alright."

It was then she felt a weight on her shoulder, and the lamb looked over to see Love-A-Lot bear leaning against her. She smiled. "I say the ball is unimportant. We need to celebrate more important things right now… plus, there's always next year!"

"Celebrate what?" Gentle Heart bleated, not following the magenta bear's words.

Love-A-Lot grinned. "You, of course!"

The lamb could already feel a blush starting to spread on to her face. "Why me?"

"Why not you," Tender Heart chimed in, "Today you just took on No Heart all by yourself. And after everything you have been through, you're still standing here in one piece. No Heart was wrong… you aren't weak."

"We might have to switch names," Brave Heart added.

Now Gentle Heart could feel the blush on her features growing more obvious. She put her paws to her nose in an attempt to hide it, and looked to Noble Heart. "You aren't mad at me? I told you guys that I was learning magic from No Heart."

The horse scratched his head. "Well, I am going to be honest and say that I feel a bit clueless, since I never even suspected a thing. But it isn't your fault. There will be a point in time when I will listen to the story of what truly happened to you, but now isn't the time or place. You heard Love-A-Lot… we have a party to finish."

Even if she wanted to stay put, Gentle Heart couldn't have, because a wave of Care Bears and Cousins suddenly swamped her. Lotsa-Heart lifted her on to his shoulder without any effort, and trumpeted loudly in her face.

Gentle Heart winced at the loud noise, then smiled. It didn't bother her one bit, unlike it would have half an hour ago. And it felt like the best feeling she ever experienced.

x

Winds of intense speed carried snow and swirled it in all directions. Anyone unfortunate enough to be at the current setting would be most miserable, if not suffering from hypothermia. And through the dark skies, a rainbow darted past, heading straight for one of the looming, snow-covered mountains. No Heart barely knew what had hit him in the first place. One second, he was in the Hall of Hearts, and in another, he was flying through the air at breakneck speeds. The rainbow finally came to a halt, spitting the sorcerer out on to the snow. Still in the form of a horse, his landing wasn't as graceful as it could have been, with four legs being tangled together, and the large draft horse slid down through the snow for a few feet before coming to a stop. No Heart raised his head from the snow, not bothering to shake his mane out. The Care Bears had just defeated him. They had done it numerous times before, but this one was different. It felt like a sucker-punch to the face, and he knew why.

Standing up, he shifted to his true form, not bothering with the effects of lightning or purple smoke. The wind blew around him fiercely, making his robe sleeves whip around, but the cowl sill managed to stay in place. If he wanted to, he could be back at his castle in just minutes by using his magic. But he didn't want to show up anywhere near the Kingdom of Caring at the time with his new realization. This defeat was different because Beastly hadn't been around. Shrieky wasn't around either. For one of the first times, he had no one to blame but himself.

x

What was once classical music was replaced by loud music from the 80's on the tape player, and everyone was moving around. Gentle Heart lamb sat in the corner of the room, finally having some time to herself. For hours since the party started, she was showed much more attention than she had ever been showed in her life. Or so it felt that way. It also hadn't been long until Take Care Bear showed up with concerns about her paws or where the necklace had rested around her neck, so she was also relieved to have left her office. She watched happily and contentedly as her family tried to look decent enough with their dancing to the 'Breakfast Club' soundtrack. The lamb had removed the tiara from her hair, and now played with it in her paws as she listened to the music and just watched her family. She was still surprised at how forgiving her family was at what she had done. Everyone had come to her at some point just to explain this. Then she realized that only one cousin hadn't talked to her yet.

Looking out into the crowd of Care Bears and Cousins that swarmed the Hall of Hearts, she couldn't seem to find Playful Heart monkey. She soon knew why, for he popped up beside her with two cups in his paws. Sitting down in the chair beside her, he flashed her a grin. "Mind if I join you?"

"No," Gentle Heart answered, "It's okay."

A moment of silence passed between the two before the monkey raised one of the cups. "Punch?"

Gentle Heart smiled, taking the cup with a thanks. The song playing changed to a slower one, and Gentle Heart could see that nearly half of the Care Bears and Cousins already on the 'dance floor' cleared off to let some others slow dance. Of course, no one really took it seriously and she could see some of her family members suppressing their laughs as they stepped on their partner's feet. The lamb looked down to the floor, softly clearing her throat. "Sorry for being mean to you before we came here. Even the spell that was on me isn't a good excuse for that."

"Forget the spell," Playful Heart answered, "All of that ended two hours ago. It's history, and now we're just focusing on having fun."

"That still doesn't mean it was okay of me to be rude to you," she softly said.

"It doesn't matter. If you wanted to go to the ball alone, it was your choice," Playful Heart replied.

Gentle Heart not only found it strange that Playful was putting side his constant hyper ways and speak normally without pulling a prank at the same time. Her eyes hadn't left the floor, and she could begin to feel her cheeks slightly flush pink. "But I still want to. The spell made me say those mean things and that I didn't want to go with you."

She could already see his tail start to swish back and forth. "Really?"

The lamb quietly nodded, the blush from her cheeks fading. She had been wanting to say that since the party had started, so he wouldn't still think she was sour at him, but never really worked up the courage to go and find him. Having said it, she felt much better and finally looked up to Playful Heart. He grinned, jumping from the seat and took her paw in his own. "The song's almost over… we better get in some dance-time before it ends!"

Not complaining, Gentle Heart followed him to the center of the room. Placing her paws on his shoulders with a small blush, she lightly smiled. "I like this song."

-The End-

A/N: It's over. Finally.  Yeah, I saw that ending much too corny myself, but my mind just kept drawing blanks after that line. For those of you who are familiar with Breakfast Club, you might know that there aren't really any slow songs in that movie, so I was picture 'Don't Forget About Me.' Yesh… that movie isn't very Care Bear-ish but ah, well. So. My apologies for making everything to crammed together like that, but I was rushed into just ending this story. That can't be good.
Moving on… it's time for me to thank all of my reviewers! Thank you Fauna Greywolf, NebulaBelt (And for suggesting this fic a zillion times… even though my username was still wretchedwords then. :s thankees!), sun tzu1, eagle205, takecarebear, unknown, dr. review, J.A.M and dr. phil. I really like that last username. 