"Shielded From Harm"

Author's Note: I don't own the Care Bears, but I do own Regal, Stellar, and their family...you know the drill. Also, I would like to thank NebulaBelt for letting me borrow Soulful Heart for a bit. He has a pretty small part in this one, but I hope I kept him in character. Whether or not I use him again will depend on how well I do here...let this be the test! Rather shorter than I had intended, but I hope you enjoy it.

Regal hadn't expected her second pregnancy to be so stressful. As a member of the Care Bear Family, she knew that a routine Caring Mission could easily turn dangerous, especially if No Heart arrived. Therefore, this meant no Missions for her, and fewer reprieves from her cubs' hi-jinks. As much as she loved her daughters, being a mother was a lot of work. She would sometimes find herself just craving a break, and these feelings were coming more frequently now that she was confined to the Kingdom of Caring. But then the guilt would set in. 'How could I want a break from my own babies?' she would chide herself.

But really, it could sometimes leave both her and her husband feeling drained on a normal day. Between Connie's stubbornness, Hope's tendency to sneak off while their backs were turned, spilled juice or milk at breakfast, dried Play-Doh ground into the carpet, incessant questions, carsickness, tantrums, crying, Mr. Rogers, one of them throwing up behind the television and neither of them owning up...Oh yes, Friends and Neighbors, sometimes Regal and Stellar just had to get out of the house. Only now, the closest Regal ever came to having a day out was walking to a friend's house to visit. And these days she wasn't feeling very 'normal' at all; her morning sickness had finally subsided, but she was tired all the time, and she found herself craving wierd foods (and sometimes getting some very strange looks from her family and friends as a result). To say nothing of the emotional highs and lows she was experiencing...She had forgotten about that part.

Stellar was afraid to even drive her down to Earth for lunch, for fear of an emergency Mission cropping up and forcing him to drag her along with him. Regal was at the end of her first month of pregnancy, and with two more months to go she wasn't even showing yet. Two days ago, Stellar had told Brave Heart off because the hapless lion brought Regal and the girls down to Denny's for lunch; Regal had wearily told her husband to shut up, which was unusual in and of itself. Today Gentle Heart had volunteered to babysit, and it was all Regal could do to keep from crushing her in a grateful hug. The first half-hour had been filled with a certain relief, but now the guilt was back, full-force.

Regal sat alone at a table in the Hall of Hearts, idly poking at her food with her fork and resting her chin in her paw. Soon would come the days when she would cross to the other side of the street to avoid having a well-meaning friend touch her belly to feel the baby kick. As it was, she had wanted to keep her pregnancy a secret for a while longer, but somehow or other it had leaked and everyone knew about it. About the only ones who weren't looking at her as if she was a ticking time bomb these days, aside from the cubs, were Grams Bear, True Heart Bear, and Soulful Heart Fox.

During Regal's first pregnancy, Soulful was still new to the Family. She remembered one time when she, feeling as big as a whale, was being cornered by Cheer Bear, who touched her belly before even saying hello. Catching Soulful's incredulous look, she had put on a pained expression and mouthed the words 'Why me?'. As usual, his eyes spoke the words his mouth did not; 'My sympathies, but better you than me.'

At the moment, Soulful Heart was debating whether or not he should say something. He had noticed her melancholy mood, but it wasn't really any of his business; for one thing, it was possible that she and Stellar could have had an argument. For another, it might have had something to do with the stress of being a parent, something he knew absolutely nothing about. Still, she had helped him out a few times in the past, and it didn't seem right to just let her sit there like that. But what could he do? Talking to people wasn't his forte...

Just then, Grams and True Heart crossed in front of him, obscuring his field of vision. He blinked once, then turned aside to follow them. They were talking in low, 'dinner-room' tones, occasionally giving a small chuckle, and when they stopped and turned to face each other they caught sight of him out of the corners of their eyes. Grams gave a short cry of surprise, her paw flying to her heart. "Oh my...don't do that, Dear. You scared me."

"Sorry." he said, looking resigned. "I think there's a bit of a problem."

"Problem?" asked True Heart.

Soulful didn't answer, but he nodded his head in Regal Heart's direction. The lioness was still staring off into space, a plate of food growing stone-cold in front of her. She didn't look sad, exactly, just a little overwhelmed, and the two female Bears nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, Soulful, we'll take care of it." said True Heart, smiling at him, but he merely bobbed his head once before walking over to the lunch queue to receive his tray.

Grams and True Heart glanced at each other, their eyebrows rising and falling once as if in a shrug, and made their way over to Regal's table.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Grams, sitting down at her right while True Heart sat at her left.

"Hm?" Regal raised her head a bit, looking like she was coming up for air. "Oh...It's nothing, really...Where are Hugs and Tugs?"

Grams Bear gave a smile that was faintly nostalgic, and said, "Oh, they're getting so big these days that Bright Heart thought it was high time they began some sort of education. He's volunteered, of course." the old bear chuckled. Hugs and Tugs were a far cry from those rambunctious little cubs Regal was so used to seeing, but they certainly weren't half-grown yet.

The lioness remembered that Bright Heart had made a similar offer in regards to her own cubs, saying that sometimes a Caring Mission required that they help struggling children with their homework if they're stuck on something. It was rare that they had this kind of Mission, but it wouldn't reflect well on the Family if they didn't understand the material. "Well, here's to hoping he doesn't start them on Calculus right away..." she smirked a little, but suddenly found herself stifling a yawn.

"Feeling tired, are we?" Grams asked sagely.

"Just a little..." Regal said, "I've got no energy these days...And it's not just from chasing Connie and Hope around. I'm used to that by now."

The two bears nodded, and Regal continued to speak; she hadn't realized how badly she needed to talk, and though her husband meant well, he didn't quite get it. "Do you think I'm...I don't know...selfish?" Regal asked them.

"Why do you think you're selfish?" asked True Heart, concerned.

"Well, am I?" she insisted. "The truth, please."

True Heart cocked an eyebrow, not missing the irony of that statement, and replied, "No, I don't think you're selfish at all. Stressed out and tired, maybe, and in need of a break, but not selfish."

"But that's just it..." Regal looked down at her salad, fighting back unwanted tears, "All I could think about today was how much I wanted a break, and I jumped at the chance to have someone babysit the girls...But now I feel terrible." she sniffled, and quickly rubbed her eyes to keep anyone from seeing and coming over to ask. "I just feel so guilty..."

True Heart put an arm around her shoulders, and said, "Taking care of cubs is a big job. Sometimes, in order to be better parents or guardians, we need a little time to decompress. Did they seem upset when you left them?"

"No..." Regal shook her head. "Actually, they were excited to be there..."

"Then there's no reason for you to feel guilty." True Heart told her, "You're having a well-earned day off, and they're spending the day with a favorite babysitter. What's there to feel guilty about?"

Regal smiled faintly. "I hadn't thought of it that way..." It struck her as a bit of a rationalization, but it did make sense. Finally, she gave a short laugh and said, "Here I am, talking about how tired I am, when you raised most of the Care Bear Family."

"Oh, it was stressful at times, but it was a lot of fun too." smiled True Heart, remembering. "I remember...hee hee...one time, when Brave Heart was little, he put his diaper on his head like it was a hat..."

Regal's ears perked, and at the mental picture True Heart's description had brought on, she felt a rebellious smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. A moment later she was snickering quietly, and two moments later the three of them were helpless with laughter.

"You keep that to yourself, all right?" True Heart winked.

Regal, who couldn't speak, made a zipping motion across her lips and continued to giggle. It felt good to laugh, really laugh; her stomach grew pleasantly sore, and her blood seemed to grow a little warmer. Soulful Heart, who had been watching from afar, set his jaw firmly and gave a satisfied nod. Things were as they should be.

Hope pricked her ears at the sound of oncoming footsteps, and jogged around Gentle Heart's house to the back yard.

"Hope?" Gentle Heart was calling, "Come on out, the game's over. No more hiding." The green lamb saw the tip of Hope's tail sticking out from behind her house, and she smiled as she tiptoed over and gave it a gentle tug.

"Yeek!" Hope jumped, surprised and dismayed at having been caught.

"Found you." chuckled Gentle Heart, "Come on inside, it's time for lunch."

The liger cub peeked around the corner, and smiled meekly. "How do you always find me?" she asked.

"That would be telling." Gentle Heart said with a wink, beckoning her back towards the front of the house. "Now, let's go inside before your sister finishes both your lunches."

"Okay..." Hope sighed as she fell in step behind her. She considered hanging back and sneaking off to hide somewhere, but all chances of that had been abolished with that one little tail tug. It wasn't that she wanted to worry anyone, but she wasn't particularly hungry at the moment, and she was bored with Gentle Heart's games. Gentle Heart was one of her favorite babysitters, but today Hope was in a rather adventuresome mood; mixing up the brownie batter or playing with Gentle's yarn dolls just wouldn't cut it for today. And, while Connie would surely be more than happy to join her, she wanted some 'alone time'. "After lunch, can I go for a walk?"

"Well..." Gentle considered, "We could go for a walk down by the-"

"No, I mean, can I go for a walk by myself?" Hope clarified. Her ears swiveled back when Gentle Heart shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Hope, but you're too young to go off by yourself...and besides, your mother's trusting me to watch you and Connie. Speaking of which..." she led Hope inside, half expecting to find Connie with her paws covered in marshmallow fluff, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the cub had made three 'fluffernutter' sandwiches with almost no mess at all.

Connie looked up guiltily, sucking marshmallow fluff from the end of her little finger. "Sorry, got some on my pinkie..."

"That's okay, Connie. You did a great job." Gentle Heart praised her, taking the plastic knife from her and cutting the cubs' sandwiches into quarters, and leaving her own sandwich whole.

"I won't go far..." Hope wheedled. "Pleeeeease?"

Gentle Heart, who had just taken a bite of her sandwich, held up a finger as she reached for her glass of milk. A moment later, having washed it down, she said, "Where did you want to go?"

"Just to the edge of the yard. Please?"

"Where ya goin', Hopie?" asked Connie.

"I don't even know if I am yet." Hope said a bit crossly, still gazing up at Gentle Heart, who looked like she was wavering. 'Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please...' Hope thought to herself as she put on her most pathetic expression. She knew her father hated it when she did that; he said it made her look like "Puss in Boots" from "Shrek 2", and it was always hard to resist. And she was certainly not ignorant of this fact.

'Hee hee, Hope's doing it again...' thought Connie, taking such a big bite from her sandwich that she nearly choked, and had to reach for her glass in a hurry. Connie herself had attempted the 'liquid eyes' trick before, but she always spoiled it by giggling at the thought of how silly she must look.

"Well..." Gentle Heart hesitated, then sighed, "Okay. But only while I'm there to watch you."

Hope's face had lit up at the word 'okay', but had sagged again at the word 'but'. "Okay..." she mumbled as she sullenly took a bite from her sandwich. They ate their lunch and went outside, and Hope had to settle for simply moving a little ways off from where her sister was playing. The property lines were well-defined; the place where the grass of Gentle Heart's lawn ended and the clouds began was the cut-off line, and she knew that whenever she neared that line the lamb's already-attentive gaze would sharpen. There was no sneaking off now.

"Ohhh...darn it." she swore lightly, then glanced around to see if anyone had heard. No one had. Walking to the edge of Gentle Heart's lawn, Hope considered the wide expanse of clouds that lay before her, and beyond that, the rainbow-colored road.

"Hope..." Gentle Heart called as a sort of reminder.

"I know, I'm just looking." Hope called back, getting on her knees and prodding the clouds with her fingers. Soft, like pillows; pliable like Play-Doh. "Aha..." She stretched out on her belly and broke off a small piece of cloud, only to have it disappear into thin air. "Awwww..."

"Ow!" Connie squealed, dropping a flower and wringing her paw. The bee that had just stung her zig-zagged off into the bushes and out of sight, it's flight pattern pained and irregular. Connie shook her paw as Gentle Heart hurried over to see if she was okay. "Ow, ow, ow..."

"Let me see..." Gentle Heart took her paw, and was relieved to see that it wasn't swelling up.

Connie bit her lip and tried not to cry. "It hurts!"

"I know." Gentle Heart kissed her forehead, and took her uninjured paw. "Let's go inside, and I'll take care of it...Hope, you'll have to come inside for a minute."

Hope, who had turned her head in concern at the first 'ow', got up and brushed the grass stains off her knees. "Coming." She made her way to the back door in little mincing steps, keeping her eyes on the ground; she had no desire to step on one of those bees. She stood in the doorway, watching as Gentle Heart removed the stinger from her sister's paw, and it didn't take her long to realize that she might as well have stayed in the yard. Gentle Heart was busy with Connie, and had pretty much taken it for granted that Hope would stay put.

But Hope didn't want to stay put. What harm could it do to take a small walk through the surrounding neighborhood? Just a small one. She took a slow, careful step backwards, then another. Then, when nothing happened, she turned and zipped out the door, her heart pounding as she jumped the porch steps and broke into a run. 'I just disobeyed...' she thought as she poured on the speed. She didn't know what it was that made her run, but then again she wasn't used to being the one to break the rules.

Hope skidded to a stop when she felt a stitch building in her side and leaned forward, grasping her knees with her paws as she tried to catch her breath. 'Where am I?' She looked around, getting her bearings. Yes, there was Proud Heart's house...And there was Proud Heart's garden...And there was Soulful Heart coming up the path...

Soulful Heart?

"Uh-oh..." Hope turned and dove into a clump of bushes. Had he seen her? No, he was looking at something in his paw, a book of some sort. Hope stayed quiet as he approached her hiding place, now secure in the knowledge that he hadn't spotted her, and she found herself clamping down on a giggle. 'He can't see me.' If she had kept running she might have plowed into him, and then she would have been in trouble. Like she would be in trouble when Gentle Heart found her missing. 'Didn't think of that, did I?' She buried her face in her paws, wondering just what it was that had possessed her to run off in the first place. She hadn't really intended to go far, but it was almost as if a panic had seized her as soon as she had cleared the doorway. And her knees were becoming sore. As she shifted her weight, a twig snapped beneath her. She froze. So did Soulful.

The fox stopped short, his ears twitching slightly as he tried to pinpoint the sound. Or maybe he was trying to decide if he had really heard it; it had been very faint. She felt a wave of cold wash over her as he turned his head this way and that, his ears pricked, his legs braced for running. She held her breath as his eyes passed directly over her, half expecting him to see her there...to sense her there. His eyes were sharp and alert, and she wouldn't have been surprised to see him suddenly start in her direction, demanding to know why she wasn't with a grown-up.

But no. Apparently deciding that it had only been a squirrel or something similar, he gave his head a shake and continued on his way towards Gentle Heart's house. Hope let out her breath in a gusty sigh, and sat back against the squat trunk of the bush. 'Why in the world did I run off? She knows I'm gone by now, and she'll tell my parents.' she thought.

Oh well...in for a penny, in for a pound. Hope got to her feet, and walked in the opposite direction Soulful had taken. If she was going to get in trouble, she might as well go for a walk first and earn it. All she would have to do is avoid being seen for a while. She was safe in the Kingdom of Caring...right? There was a niggling little doubt in the back of her mind, but when she tried to bring it to the surface it fluttered away. Figuring that if it was important she would eventually remember, Hope lifted her chin and started forward.

Elsewhere in the Kingdom of Caring, Beastly was sulking beside his rattletrap of a helicopter bike. He couldn't figure out what was going through his master's head, but this was hardly unusual. No Heart never told his servant what his plans were unless they involved him directly. Shrieky was told more than Beastly himself was, and she hadn't been there as long as he had. It just wasn't fair. Beastly had been given his orders; to watch the cubs for any evidence that they possessed a certain kind of power that no other Bear or Cousin had, to stay out of sight and not bother them directly, and, worst of all, to inform No Heart if the mother became pregnant again. 'As if I'm supposed to know that without asking her...' he thought bitterly, and he wasn't about to attempt that. Even though Regal Heart could take care of herself, and could certainly get the better of Beastly, she also had a protective husband on her side. The odds were severely stacked against him, and...it just wasn't fair.

Beastly could have gone on with his pity party for hours, and he would have been happy to do so, but at that moment he saw someone coming towards him. It was one of the cubs. Beastly tried to duck out of sight, but he was too late; she had seen him. She stopped short, her eyes widening and her ears rotating forward.

"Hey, I know you! You're Mr. Beastly." Hope said, pointing an accusing little finger at him.

"What of it, punk?" Beastly returned, rather more shakily than he meant to.

"You're not supposed to be here." said Hope, who had stopped some thirty feet away from him. That thought that had eluded her came back in a rush; No Heart was after her and her sister, he had made attempts to take them before, and Beastly worked for him. She knew she should simply turn around and run...but she was curious. "What do you want?"

"Er...I...um...well, uh..." Beastly took off his aviator hat, and turned it in his clawed hands as he tried to come up with a good answer. She wasn't close enough to grab, and if she ran she'd tell the bigger ones, and that would be the end of it. His cover would be blown, and he would have to face No Heart's anger. "I'm...just out...taking a walk..."

"Me too." Hope said, her tone conversational and unalarmed. "Why do you wanna kidnap us? Me and my sister?"

"Because No Heart told me to." Beastly replied, taking a small step towards her, and was gratified that she didn't take a step backwards.

Hope eyed him shrewdly, and smirked. "You always do what he tells ya?"

This struck Beastly as being rather cheeky, though he hardly had the brains to think of the proper word, and he frowned. "Sure. Don't you always do what your parents tell ya?"

"Yes." Hope said easily enough.

"Then why're you out here all by your lonesome?" When Hope looked guiltily away, Beastly took several steps forward. "Aha! Ya don't always do what they say, do ya?"

"I usually do." she said. Looking back at Beastly, she got a bit of a start; he seemed to be much closer than before. Realizing too late that he was closing the gap between them, she turned and ran.

'She'll squeal!' Beastly thought in a panic, and he surged after her as fast as he could go. "Come back here!"

"No!" Hope yelled, making for the nearest tree when she realized that she'd never be able to outrun him. She zipped ten feet up the tree as easily as any house cat would, despite her lack of retractable claws, and looked down at him from one of the lower branches. "Go away! Leave me alone!"

Beastly gave a strange-sounding chuckle, and stood triumphantly below her. "And just who's gonna make me? You're trapped up there!"

Rather than answering him, Hope swallowed hard and glared down at him, setting her jaw in what she hoped was a brave expression. In her mind's eye she was back in Gentle Heart's kitchen, she and her sister helping the green lamb to make a batch of brownies. She'd rather be anywhere but stuck where she was, treed by this strange-looking grown-up who, even to her childish mind, seemed to be rather...stupid. She wasn't safe, and she wasn't at her babysitter's home, she was right there in that tree; and since she was stuck in that situation with no way to get out of it, she intended to do some damage if he came anywhere near her. Drawing her lips back from her teeth, she hissed ferociously. "You go away, I'm warnin' you!"

"Heh, you're warning..." Beastly snickered, and he began to climb the tree, his long-nailed hands making it easy to pull himself up to her level. Hope hissed again, made a mock-swipe at his face, and climbed higher.

'Do something to make him leave,' Hope told herself, 'Try to Call...' She stopped a few times and scrunched up her face like she'd seen the big ones do, but nothing happened. She tried sticking her tummy out a little, but still nothing. She was about half-way up the tree now, and when she looked down she began to doubt that this had been a good idea. Beastly's hand closed around her heel, but she kicked it away with a squeak. "Go away, or you'll be sorry!"

"I already am!" Beastly complained, shaking his hand a little to disperse the slight pain from her kick. "You're coming with me, whether you like it or not!" he told her, having apparently forgotten No Heart's warning.

Hope was now as high as she could go without risking the thin branches near the top, and she was beginning to hyperventilate as a sudden terror gripped her. What if she fell out of that tree? "No..." she whispered. Then, more strongly, "No. I'm. Not!"

Abruptly, Hope's tummy symbol began to glow white. Beastly tried to scramble out of the way, but no Call was sent towards him. He looked up at Hope, who was clinging to the branch like a little monkey, and from what he could tell...could it be? Yes, she looked like she was inside a bubble! "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" asked Hope, a little surprised by his reaction, and by what she herself had done...whatever that was. She continued to train her eyes on Beastly, not sure what to expect now.

Beastly reached for her again after a moment, thinking that it was some kind of trick, but his hand stopped a few inches away from her. She cringed and whimpered, but he couldn't seem to touch her. When his hand came in contact with the almost invisible whatever it was that surrounded her, it was like he was prodding a transparent cement wall.

"Stop it!" he cried petulantly.

"St-stop what?" she peeped.

"Whatever you're doing, cut it out!" Beastly's voice rose to a shriek as his frustration grew. Then, out of nowhere, it occurred to him. This was what No Heart had been looking for. This was what he had been sent to find out. This was--

"Stay away from my daughter!" roared a deep, male voice that was coming swiftly nearer, accompanied by the sputter of a Cloudmobile.

Hope turned her head, and while she saw Gentle, Connie, and Soulful running towards the tree from a good distance away, she saw someone else. Stellar Heart, returning from his last Mission for the day, was pushing his Cloudmobile for all it was worth, looking positively savage as he half-stood to fire a Call at Beastly.

"Daddy!" Hope squealed, her tummy symbol dimming without her knowledge, and the bubble disappearing.

Stellar's Call missed, but the ones that Gentle and Soulful sent did not. Beastly fell out of the tree, landing on the clouds with a bounce. He had time to reflect that he was very lucky it wasn't solid turf he was landing on, and he had time to reflect on how unlucky he was that he now had three adult Care Bear Cousins to contend with.

Stellar pulled up beside Hope, and put her in the seat beside him. "What were you doing up there? What have I told you about sneaking off?" he demanded. Then, almost as an afterthought, "Who was supposed to be watching you?"

Gentle Heart bit her lip as Connie pointed to her, and lowered her head. "Me..."

Stellar lowered the car, forgetting about Beastly, who had taken his opportunity and run off. "What happened? How..."

"I got stung by a bee. See?" Connie held up her paw to show off her Clifford Band-Aid.

The tiger absently took her paw in his and examined it before giving it a brief kiss, and he turned to Gentle Heart. "Tell me what happened."

Even though his voice was controlled, Gentle knew he wasn't happy with her. She lowered her head some more, and took a deep breath. "Well, Connie got stung, and I told Hope to follow us inside. And she did, but...next thing I knew, I turned around, and she was gone. I...I'm sorry..."

"Don't be too hard on her..." Soulful ventured, then wished he hadn't bothered to open his mouth. The tiger looked him in the eye, his expression saying clearer than any words, 'Don't tell me how to be.'

Out loud, Stellar said, "Thank you, Gentle, but I'll just take them home now."

Both the lamb and the fox could see that he was doing his utmost best not to blame her, but this was hard for him to manage it after seeing his daughter trapped near the top of a tree by Beastly.

"Daddy, it was my fault." Hope said meekly, "I waited until she looked away, and...and..."

And she lost momentum when he looked her in the face. He chewed his lower lip as if in thought, then said, "We'll talk about this when we get home. Goodbye, Gentle, Soulful."

Soulful nodded his goodbye, and Gentle Heart merely studied the ground. When Stellar and his daughters had left, Gentle Heart shook her head. "How could I be so stupid?"

"You're not stupid." Soulful told her firmly.

"I'll be lucky if they ever ask me to babysit again..." she looked up at him.

'That's not true,' his eyes told her, 'but I think it'll probably be a long time before they do.'

Gentle Heart, reading his expression, sighed and nodded. "Well...I could use a pick-me-up...I just took some brownies out of the oven. You want to go have one?"

The fox smirked at her. "I'm not about to say no."

Hope sat in the time-out chair, her stomach growling as the smells of her mother's cooking wafted towards her from the kitchen. Tonight it smelled like chicken parmesan. She didn't have to worry about not getting her dinner, though she probably had her father's past to thank for that; but that fluffernutter sandwich she'd had earlier that day seemed like a distant memory. She hoped dinner would be ready soon, which would signal the end of her time-out; her tushie had fallen asleep.

"Whoa!" Beastly cried out as he skidded across the dusty stone floor of No Heart's throne room.

"What did I tell you about not letting yourself be seen?" No Heart roared, advancing on the hapless creature, who skittered crab-like on his back to both avoid No Heart and to keep him in sight.

"B-b-but I found out what the other cub's power is!"

No Heart stopped, and folded his arms in his sleeves. "Go on..."

"She can...she...Well, she made some kind of bubble around herself. I couldn't touch her." Beastly explained, trying to make it sound impressive.

No Heart almost seemed to deflate. He had expected something more. 'One freezes us in place like so many statues, and the other makes a bubble. This is what I've been losing sleep over...'

"Um...No Heart?" Beastly began to look concerned, though for himself, not No Heart.

"Bloody Hell..." No Heart growled, and stormed towards the doorway. "Bubbles...BUBBLES!" Picking up the nearest object, a black glass figurine of some sort of demon, he hurled it against the wall. "Clean that up!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"Right away, No Heart!"

The sorcerer headed straight for his cauldron, and peered into it. The liquid swirled for a moment, then it smoothed out to show the family he had come to hate so well. They were just clearing the table after their evening meal. While the mother began to wash the dishes, the father headed upstairs with a can of paint. No Heart leaned forward suddenly, his disappointment over his wasted effort with the other twin forgotten. Yes! Stellar Heart Tiger was adding to a paint job for a room that hadn't been a part of the house a few days before. Judging from the color of the paint, a light, pastel green, this was to be a baby room.

"There's going to be another..." No Heart muttered to himself.

End