Of the Same Coin
Part Two: Moonlight Shadow
"The last that ever she saw him,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
He passed on worried and warning,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Lost in a riddle that Saturday night,
Far away on the other side.
He was caught in the middle of a desperate fight,
And she couldn't find how to push through."
--Mike Oldfield, "Moonlight Shadow"
"Wh…where's Ph…Ph…Phoenix?"
"Shh, don't talk, Wish…she's at 105 degrees, Take Care!"
"Keep that compress on her head cool, Cheer. We've got to get her to my office immediately!"
All Wish could hear was the squealing of wheels, and the panting of two bears. She tried to open her eyes, but everything would start spinning in front of her, and the light hurt her eyes. Wish tried to keep asking the same question: "Where's Phoenix?" But, no one would answer her. She couldn't tell, but they seemed worried about something else. And for some reason, she felt surrounded by heat…
What's going on? Wish wondered. Why won't anyone answer me? What's happening here? What happened…to Phoenix Audubon?
Earlier that day…
CLANG! CLANG! "UNGH!" CLANG!
From outside the Hall of Hearts, the sound of metal striking metal could be heard, with an occasional grunt in between. Wish Bear stepped inside to investigate, though she had a fairly good idea what was causing these sounds. She opened the door marked "Broom Closet", but did not find any brooms. Instead, Wish walked into a gymnasium floor. And in the middle were Defender Bear and Loyal Heart Dog, engaged in a duel of swords.
The two friends swung at each other, and they seemed to match each other in skill. Swing for swing, they matched each other, and with their graceful dodges and tactical parries, the bout seemed even, until Defender started gritting his teeth, and took his sword with both hands. He began to swing even harder, forcing Loyal Heart to defend, until Defender's last upward swing overpowered one of his parries, sending the sword flipping out of Loyal Heart's hand, and the dog to his knees, clutching his wrist in his left hand.
Wish Bear gasped and ran to the cousin's aid. "Are you all right?"d and ran to the cousin'hing his wrist in his left hand.
ered one of his parrys. He began tltaneous ened the doowithin When Defender Bear turned around to see what had happened, he too ran to his friend's aid. However, Loyal Heart waved them both off with his other hand. "I'll be all right, you guys," he said, unstrapping the black wrist guard from his right forearm. "Good thing I started wearing this, or Defender here might have snapped it clean in half," he finished with a chuckle.
"You're sure you're all right?" asked Wish Bear.
Loyal Heart gave his wrist a few shakes and rubbed it for a moment. "Yeah, I think it'll be all right."
"Gosh, Loyal Heart, I'm really sorry about that," Defender apologized.
"Aw, don't sweat it, my friend. As intense as we were sparring, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a strong swing would come across.
"I suppose we can practice again another time. Me, I'm beat. I'll see you two later," Loyal Heart said as he picked himself up and grabbed his belongings before exiting the gym floor.
"Bye," replied Wish and Defender, who was still kneeling on the floor. As soon as the dog departed, the white bear pounded his fist on the floor. "I can't believe I lost it like that!" he exclaimed.
"What happened, dear?" Wish asked him.
"I…I just got…really angry, and not at Loyal Heart. During our sparring, I started to think about that whole ordeal with Shade, and I started blaming myself again, and I just lost all regard for anything else." He sighed heavily.
"Come on, Phoenix. There's no one to blame for what happened."
"I know, Wish, but…I don't know. It's like the more I try to put the thought out of my mind, the more strongly it rushes back in."
"Why don't we go for a walk, then?" Wish offered.
And so, Wish and Defender took a slow stroll through the city and out towards the Forest of Feelings. Neither one said anything, which did hardly any good for either of them.
Wish was the first to speak. "You know, honey, I don't want to sound like I'm putting you down, but you don't have to feel like you're the only one in all of this."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's like you talk as if you're trying to protect all of us on your own. It's a noble cause, don't get me wrong, but I don't want you to forget that we're all a family, and we can all protect each other, even you."
It was true: True Heart and Noble Heart had stepped up the security of Care-A-Lot. Patrols became more frequent; even at night, with other members helping out Bedtime Bear and Bright Heart Raccoon. Situation reports were compiled everyday since the infiltration by the impostor Care Bear. And overall, there was a definite sense of uneasiness in the otherwise tranquil air. At times, a bear or cousin couldn't be seen in the public of Care-A-Lot without wondering if someone thought they were the impostor, or if one of their friends really wasn't.
"I just don't want to make lofty expectations that you can't achieve, she continued. "I think I speak for the rest of us when I say that you've done a great job so far as a Care Bear, and you shouldn't worry yourself deeply about thinking you haven't."
Defender stopped walking. "Wish…" He looked straight into her eyes. It brought him some comfort, but he still felt pangs of doubt. If only he could believe her and just let all his worries go…
The rest of their walk continued in silence (so as not stir up any more emotions), until Wish Bear's Caring Phone started to beep.
RING-RING-RING! RING-RING-RING!
Wish's caring phone immediately dispelled the ambience. Slightly dismayed, she answered the call.
"This is Good Luck at the Control Center. We've got a caring mission for you on Earth." Wish turned to Defender. It looked like she didn't want to take this job, but her friend nodded to her and mouthed, "It's okay." So, Wish took drew a breath before answering her phone. "Okay, I'm on my way.
"You're sure you're alright with this, Phoenix?"
"Oh yeah, go ahead," he said with a slightly cheerier expression. "The last thing I want to do is keep you from doing our mission. I'll be fine, don't you worry.
"But, if you want, we could meet at our special place when you get back, and we can talk about what's happened, and stuff."
"Okay, I'll be there," Wish accepted with a smile. "With any luck, I should be back before sundown. See you then."
The two hugged and kissed each other on the cheek. "Take care," said Defender as he waved his love good-bye.
"Aaaagh!!!"
"Failure! How dare you return to me defeated!?" No Heart was furious at his pawn, and he was letting Shade know his disgust. With each burst of lightning, No Heart continued to pound the poor bear against the castle wall.
"P-please, Master N-No Heart," Shade pleaded, "Let m-me have another ch-chance! Aagh!!"
Miraculously, the evil sorcerer halted his thrashing. "You want another chance?" he said rhetorically as he paced around his atelier, head slightly tilted up and his left hand on whatever chin hid beneath his cowl.
"Very well. You're lucky I had another plan just in case. But, know this: fail me again, and I'll show you no mercy!"
"I understand, Master No Heart," replied Shade.
With that, No Heart went to one of his spell books and opened it to a bookmarked page. He began to pour several potions and other ingredients into his large cauldron, and let it boil. When it started to bubble, the concoction changed color from brown to deep red.
"Reach in there," snapped No Heart, pointing to the cauldron.
Shade picked himself off the ground and walked towards the bubbling cauldron. The boiling liquid and the fire below made the black bear hesitate, but he slowly slid one of his hands in the brew. To his amazement, it felt rather tepid. He could also feel some solid object within, and put his other hand in to pull it out. When it broke the surface, Shade could see he was holding a large crystal, shaped liked two pyramids joined at their bottom, coming to a point at each end.
"What is this?" he asked aloud.
"This is what you will use to help me get rid of that magical Care Bear. Now, we begin my new plan!"
Wish Bear was flying in her cloud car towards her caring mission: helping a girl named Carla who had just moved into a new neighborhood. She hovered around until she found the quaint, white house that belonged to the girl's family. While her parents were helping the movers unloading their items from the moving truck, Carla was sitting on her porch steps by herself. With her head in her hands, arms propped on her knees, she indeed looked very lonely. Wish walked up to the girl.
"Hi, Carla!" she had cheerily.
Carla's mother turned around to find her daughter standing next to a teal bear with stars on her chest. However, Carla's mother was well aware of the Care Bears and their mission, so she wasn't afraid of the visitor at all.
"Oh, Carla! You have a visitor! And, who might you be?"
"My name is Wish Bear, Mrs..."
"Weathers. You're here for Carla, I take it?"
"She seemed like she needed a friend. So, I've suggested that we all go to the park so Carla can maybe see some of the other children in this neighborhood. I may not be Good Luck Bear, but I'd bet with any luck, she'll make a friend or two. What do you say, Carla?"
"Can we go, Mom?" she asked with spirit in her eyes.
"Sure, it'll be good to take a break from moving. I'm sure your father won't mind staying back to help the movers. We'll leave in a sec."
Mrs. Weathers talked to her husband, and Carla and Wish saw him nod to her, suggesting he was okay with the idea. So Carla and her mother walked down the lane, with Wish Bear not far behind.
The neighborhood park was full of lush green grass. Mostly flat, there were a few hills that pushed up from the ground more wide than tall. There was a section with wood chips on the surface with all of the park equipment--slides, swings, seesaws, and an impressive fort-like play area--where the three girls saw some children that seemed Carla's age playing around. The little girl wanted to point them out to her escorts, but her mother had already taken a seat at a park bench, and Wish Bear had run behind some foliage. Realizing this mild case of abandonment, Carla ran over to join Wish.
"Aren't you coming with me?" she pleaded.
The bear shook her head. "You have to do this on your own, Carla. Besides, you don't need my help. All you need is confidence and courage in yourself. Just be yourself, and I'm certain those other kids will appreciate that and want to get to know you better."
"Well, okay. But, will you wish for a happy ending for me?"
Wish chuckled. "Sure, I will! Now, go introduce yourself." With that, Carla made her way to the playground fort where the other children were playing. She stood there for a few seconds, hoping they'd notice here. When none of them did, she summoned enough courage, and took a deep breath. "Uh, hey guys," Carla called out loudly. Finally, the kids looked down from their perches.
"Who are you?" asked one of the two boys.
"M-my name is Carla. I, uh, just moved into town today."
"You wanna' come up here and play with us?" asked the girl in the fort.
"Really? Yeah, let's play!" Carla climbed up the rope bridge to meet the kids, and they proceeded to get to know each other. Carla learned the names of Jerome, Hannah, and another boy, Rick. She also learned they all lived nearby in the same neighborhood, and they all would go to the same elementary school when it resumed. Mrs. Weathers and Wish Bear were delighted to see the smiling faces on all the kids, including Carla. She was having such a good time she hardly noticed the sun setting in the distance. Her mother came up to the group and said, "Carla, it's time to head back home now. You can see your friends tomorrow, honey."
As Carla and her mother walked home, Wish decided her work was done here. "I'm glad it all worked out for you, Carla," she said.
"Thank you for all your help, Wish Bear," Mrs. Weathers thanked her.
"Yeah, thanks for showing me how special I am," added Carla.
"You're welcome. Have fun at your new school!" And, with that, Wish turned off Carla's street to where she had parked her cloud car. As she went to hop in, she felt someone nearby, and she also thought she could guess who it was.
"You know, you didn't have to follow me. I can take care of myself, silly." She turned around, expecting to see her friend.
But instead, she gasped in horror. "Y…you're not…what are you--!"
As the intense orange sun set across a burning red sky, Defender Bear was starting to grow worried about his loved one. He stood there, alone, at the tree where he and Wish Bear made their promises to each other. He had his left hand over his caring phone, but was hesitating about actually using it. But, he could take the suspense no longer, and yanked it from his hip.
"Defender Bear to Wish Bear," he radioed.
He waited. No response.
"Defender Bear to Wish Bear."
He waited again. Still no response. Looking up to the sky, he was getting very anxious. Perhaps she's busy, he thought. Maybe it isn't anything to fret over…but what if it is?
"Defender Bear to Hall of Hearts." He waited.
"This is Good Luck Bear. We read you, Defender Bear."
He exhaled. "Has anyone heard back from Wish Bear?"
There was a pause from the other end. "No one here's heard from her since she went on her caring mission. What's up?"
"Um, well…can you guys trace where her cloud car is right now?"
"Well, I suppose I could," replied Good Luck. There was a clattering of keystrokes, and then a faint beep could be heard from Defender's end. "It looks like it's still where she landed it. It hasn't moved since she got there."
Defender remained silent. In the pit of his stomach, something didn't feel right.
"Good Luck," he started, "Maybe it's nothing, but I've got a bad feeling. Can't say why, but…"
"You think something's wrong, pal?"
"I've got nothing to go on, admittedly," Defender replied hastily.
"Why don't you go search her out, and let us know what happens? I'm sure she won't mind that you were worried about her."
"You really think so? Well, all right. I'll definitely let you know. Defender out."
Defender started to walk back towards the city, when an idea struck him on the way. He patted himself down, and found a picture of Wish Bear he remembered he left in one of his vest pockets. In it, she was standing beside her house with a big smile on her face. Looking at it made Phoenix smile as well, but also made the uneasiness grow ever so slightly. He decided he would try his "Reaching Out" spell to try and discern where she was, and maybe get an idea of what, if anything, was going on. He stopped his walk, held the small photograph up to his forehead, closed his eyes, and gathered his thoughts.
"I am reaching out to a member of my family. Show me the way."
At first, all Phoenix could "see" in his mind's eye was black. Then, the darkness materialized into a black mist. It enveloped everything, including something within the mist. He couldn't make it out, but he didn't need to; he knew what, or rather, who it was.
Phoenix opened his eyes. Not only did he know where Wish was, but now he was certain she was in danger. He hurried to the runway, jumped into the next available cloud car, and sped off towards the earth below.
Meanwhile, at the end of one city's dead-end streets, surrounded by both abandoned buildings and well-kept trees along the sidewalk, one Care Bear, Wish Bear, was being held captive. She was trapped inside a transparent box twice as tall as she was, and all her pounding on the walls with her fists did nothing to break them. And her captor? Standing next to the box was the one responsible for causing mayhem in peaceful Care-A-Lot; the one whom Wish Bear had earlier mistaken as her true love. It was Shade Foyle. Only now, instead of disguising himself as Phoenix Audubon, he had his true black fur, and he wore an open black leather trench coat, with matching open-fingered gloves. He stood there with his arms crossed, his head slightly tilted upwards, and his gaze firmly set at the night sky above them. He looked to be waiting for something.
"Let me go!" Wish Bear shouted at the black bear. "You'll never get away with this! My family will come for me!"
"That is exactly what I'm expecting," he replied coolly.
"Why do you keep trying to bring us down? I mean, can't you see how much you look like us? And…"
"I am nothing like the lot of you!" Shade snapped back. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I only do what my master orders me to do." However, something about his hostage and what she said aroused confusion just like in the past. Shade closed his eyes and his expression was clearly that of uncertainty. Could she be right, he thought to himself. These feelings keep coming every time I'm around them. Why?
Unfortunately for Wish Bear, something on its way would make her captor put aside his doubts, as high above them, the murmur of a cloud car could be heard closing in. Phoenix Audubon landed the cloud car about 20 feet from the end of the street, and he hopped out. He was not happy with the day's turn of events, and he was letting Shade Foyle know that with a piercing stare of his eyes.
"So, you've finally come, Defender Bear," the black bear taunted.
"Let her go. Now," was the white bear's stern demand.
"That is not going to happen. Not until I get what I came for." Shade then raised his hands out in front of him, and a black mist poured out of them, enveloping much of the street around the bears. But, Phoenix was not going to fall prey to another ambush. He didn't even flinch as the haze came up to his neck. He stood there, waiting…until reaching behind him.
From seemingly out of nothing, Defender had grabbed a black arm, and from her vantage point, Wish Bear watched as a black jacket came up over Defender, and landed somewhere on the ground with a "Thud!" Defender then started to run towards the box where Wish was being held, but halfway there, she watched him get tripped up and fall underneath the black fog. For a while, she couldn't make anything out among the concealing clouds, but then she caught a flash of purple light, and to her shock, saw Defender being thrown into the foliage of a tree across the street. Shade soon darted out in pursuit, but before he got there, the entire tree suddenly caught fire, and out of it came Defender, spearing his rival and grabbing him around the waist before they both fell back into the haze.
Beginning to feel desperation in this fight, Defender Bear finally had enough of this blinding fog. He focused his magic to summon a mighty wind that spun all around him, pulling the black haze off the street and then pulling it upwards. However, it was only after this veil had lifted did Defender realize that he was now facing the opposite direction of the street.
What happened next for Wish Bear seemed to progress in slow-motion. When the fog lifted, she realized that Shade was standing right next to her, and he started pulling something out of the interior pocket of his trench coat. She pounded on the box wall, yelling as loud as she could, "Look out, Defender!" By that time, though, the black bear had revealed what he had concealed this whole time: a long-barreled, metallic black pistol, pointed straight at Defender's back. Wish continued to try and warn her friend, but she had already heard a "BANG!" three times already. As three purple streaks barreled towards the unsuspecting white bear, Defender finally started to turn around, just in time for the projectiles to strike him in his chest, which were soon followed by three more shots. As Wish Bear watched the pain on Defender's face, she knew had to do something. She activated her stare against one of the walls of the box, and put every ounce of energy she had into it. The wall finally began to crack, until the whole box shattered around her. Wish covered her eyes with her forearm as she ran to help her friend, who had already started to fall backwards. She got there just in time to catch his head in her lap. Defender's normally white fur now several trails and splotches of red as the blood wept from his wounds. Wish Bear could not hold back the tears welling up. As she sobbed for her friend, she felt a gloved hand reach back to stroke her.
"Don't…cry, honey" Defender said, trying to console his friend despite his predicament. He tried to suppress his moans from the intense pain. "Everything…will be…fine."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but that won't be the case for you." Wish Bear looked up, and saw Shade walking towards them with apathetic, remorseless eyes.
"Stay away from us!" she pleaded.
"Not before I finish my task." He looked down at his palms for a moment, and out of nowhere appeared the double-pointed crystal given to him by No Heart earlier. "With this crystal, I will take your soul!" Shade held the crystal with one hand above him, so that it caught as much of the light from the full moon as possible. The crystal then started to glow blue itself, and them emitted a streak of blue light upon the two bears beneath him. It didn't seem to affect Wish in any way, but she started to hear Defender shout out in agony. In front of him, a white, vaporous outline of him started to materialize, and when it was finished, it was pulled into the crystal, which had now gone from being empty on the inside to housing a swirling pale white fluid.
Suddenly, Wish felt her friend's body turn cold very quickly, and he no longer moaned. "Defender?! Defender, please! Wake up!" she shook him, but there was no response.
"My task is complete. I shall leave you like you had repeatedly asked me to," said Shade in the same heartless tone of voice. Crystal and soul in hand, he began to float away into the night sky. Wish Bear started to panic; she had to do something to get back Defender's soul, so she first used her stare to send a distress signal back towards Care-A-Lot. Then, she put Defender's arm across her shoulders, and carried him to the cloud car he came in, laid him in the back seat, and set out to pursue Shade Foyle. As she began to close in, the black bear looked back on his follower. For a moment, looking at the devotion she was giving to that other bear made him wish that someone would care for him like that. But, he quickly passed on that notion. "What a foolish creature," he muttered before tucking the soul crystal under one of his arms, and pulling out his handgun again and firing at the car behind him. Wish did her best maneuver out of the way, but one shot ricocheted off her windshield before the next one grazed her left arm just beneath her shoulder. She winced and covered the injury with her right hand, but doing her best to continue to give chase. Up in front of both Shade and Wish was a huge cloud bank. Shade flew in; Wish did her best to stay on him, but when she came out of it, Shade Foyle was nowhere to be seen. She stopped in mid-air.
She had lost him.
Realizing she was out of options, she let her head fall on the steering wheel, and began to cry again, for herself and for Defender Bear. She almost didn't notice the sound of another cloud car and some rainbow rollers and other Care Bears and Cousins came in response to the distress signal. Harmony Bear was the first to reach her. She asked, "What happened, Wish Bear?"
"I…I lost him," was all she could say.
Elsewhere, someone who had been invisible for some time made himself visible. The interesting part about it: Shade Foyle didn't know he could become invisible. He had no idea he could perform such a technique. Where did I learn such a thing, he wondered. He looked down at the crystal under his arm.
"Do you have something to do with this?" he asked the soul within the crystal. "Do you know something? Tell me!"
To his surprise, the crystal suddenly started to shine with an intense white light. And then, an image could be seen. Shade could see the castle of his master, No Heart, and saw him and the white bear whose soul he had just captured engaged in a showdown. It looked like his master was primed to defeat his opponent, but he watched as the white bear's hands began to glow with spheres of intense light; much like the one the crystal had given off. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!!!!" the white bear shouted, and the spheres exploded into a huge beam aimed straight at No Heart, who could not hold back such power for long. The wizard's body was reduced to an amorphous mass of black which managed to make its way against the bear's magic and dragged itself across the bear before streaking off out of the castle.
The next thing Shade knew, he was floating in the middle of the night sky again, the crystal no longer shining. The black bear was thoroughly mystified by what had just happen. What did I just see? A premonition? A past memory? But, whose was it? He looked down at the crystal again. This time, however, he received no noticeable response. Shade decided he had better get this back to his master as soon as possible. And so, with questions still floating in his mind, he continued his flight back to the castle.
At present time…
In the atelier of his castle, the fiendish sorcerer, No Heart, was enjoying his latest prize. With the crystal holding Defender Bear's soul sitting on his table, he could just imagine what sadness the Care Bears must be going through.
Beastly, on the other hand, was merely fascinated by the swirling movements with the crystal. "Uh, boss? What are you going to do with that…lava lamp thing?"
"This 'lava lamp thing', you dolt, will provide me with additional power, once I steal the magical energies from his soul. With that much, no one will be able to stop me! Ha-ha-ha-ha-hah!!!"
While Beastly seemed happy for his master (as it meant that he would probably avoid being zapped in the near future), Shade Foyle, leaning along one of the cold stone walls, didn't share in the lackey's excitement. Instead, he kept an eye on the crystal. As far as he was concerned, he was still due some time with that crystal for himself. But, for now, it was in No Heart's possession. And right now, he was turning the pages of one of his archaic tomes. When he found the incantation he was looking for, the sorcerer put a bony finger on it, and began to chant in some unintelligible tongue. Holding his other hand above the crystal, when the chanting became louder, his hand and crystal began to pass what looked like small blue lightning bolts between each other. The light show lasted for several minutes, until both the lights and the chanting stopped. Nobody said a word until No Heart suddenly slammed his fist on his book and roared in discontent.
"Buh-boss?" stammered Beastly. "Did you get the power?"
"NO, you stupid fool! Even without a body, this Care Bear continues to defy me! I couldn't siphon away any of his magic! Unbelievable!!" Beastly did his best to back away slowly from No Heart's tirade. Unfortunately, he managed to find one of the legs of the table the sorcerer was working on. Beastly fell over it, causing a great clatter on top, including the crystal, which had rolled off the edge. No Heart yelled at Beastly to save it, but he merely stumbled over himself this time. Amazingly, the crystal didn't shatter on the floor; instead, it slowed and hovered an inch or two off the ground. No Heart looked around, and saw that Shade was holding his hand straight out towards them, all the while with his eyes closed and still leaning against the wall.
"Whew…good thing he saved the crystal, huh boss?" Beastly blurted out. To which the wizard simply replied by screaming furiously and stamping out of his atelier. Beastly, meanwhile, decided to scurry out the other door. This left Shade Foyle in the situation he was hoping for—alone with the crystal and a chance to study it further.
In Care-A-Lot, True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse were at Take Care Bear's clinic, where the rescue party had brought back Defender Bear, with Wish Bear in the bed next to him.
"He's not dead, believe it or not," said Take Care, flipping through papers attached to his clipboard. "After I cleaned and dressed his injuries, they started to heal at an accelerated rate. He still has a pulse and he's breathing, though both are weak. All of which is so surprising since his core body temperature is below optimal."
True Heart peeked into the room. "And Wish?"
"Well, when you guys brought her in here, she had developed quite a fever. It's already broken, but she hasn't fully recovered her strength yet. I recommend she rest, as well."
"What can we do to help him?" asked Noble Heart.
Take Care looked up at both of them. "From what I've heard, Defender's 'soul' was stolen. Now, I can't exactly diagnose that as his ailment. But, in any case, whatever got taken, he needs it back."
"Well then, it looks that's just what we'll have to do," True Heart concluded. "We'll have to assemble a team to sneak into No Heart's castle and grab the crystal that's got Defender's soul."
Share Bear, who had been in the room where Defender was "resting", volunteered herself. "I'll go," she said. "That way, Wish can stay here and--"
"I'm going, too."
The fours bears all turned around at the sound of the commitment, and saw Wish Bear sit up on her bed.
"Wish, what are you--?" Share started to ask.
"Phoenix is this way because he tried to save me. As his friend, I think I owe it to him that I at least try to do the same for him."
"Wish, that's simply out of the question," Take Care told her sternly. "I can't just let you walk out of my clinic in your condition."
"Please, Take Care. I'll be strong, for myself, for Phoenix…for all of us."
In No Heart's castle, Shade Foyle was staring into the crystal's churning contents. His soul felt as tempestuous as the one trapped inside the glass cage. With trepidation, the black bear started to speak to the captive.
"I'm…pretty sure you can hear me in there," he said to the crystal. "And, I think you know something…about me. Ever since I first encountered your kind, I get this…strange feeling, and I don't know what it is, but…but it feels…warm…and…good...
"What do you know about me? Tell me!"
At first, Shade didn't notice any kind of response from the stolen soul. He began to lose hope again, but the crystal started to glow again. And, another scene was played out. Again, it appeared to be occurring No Heart's castle, but this time, only the evil sorcerer was seen. He was standing over his cauldron, seemingly in the midst of brewing some kind of sinister mixture. Soon enough, the green liquid began to boil, and something could be seen emerging from the brew. It was…Shade Foyle himself.
The scene stopped and the light faded. But, the shock of what the black bear had just witnessed had not diminished at all. He hastily set the crystal back on the table, and started to step away from it.
"Was that…my origin?" he said aloud. He had never thought about where he came from. If what I've just seen is true, he thought, then I'm…I'm…
"What am I!?" he shouted.
Wish Bear had succeeded in convincing Take Care Bear, True Heart Bear, Noble Heart Horse, and Share Bear to let her join the group. So she, Share, Proud Heart Cat, and Playful Heart Monkey where all riding a cloud car through the pre-dawn sky. Though they all knew it would be a harrowing experience (as is any time one wanders around the castle of a wicked sorcerer), the four knew that they had to what they could to rescue Defender Bear's soul. With the castle in sight, they decided to enter through one of the mid-level windows, and make their way to where the crystal was being held.
"Um, I don't mean to be a worrywart," Proud Heart spoke up, "but, does anybody know exactly where in the castle this crystal is?" The other three looked at her, then at each other, with uncertain faces.
"Oh well, I suppose we'll have more time to see what kind of 'sprucing up' No Heart's done to the place," she quipped.
The nearest stairs were one of the many staircases within the horrible halls. The four decided to take them all the way up. At the top, there was someone waiting for them. It was Shade Foyle, only he didn't look like he was actually waiting for anyone. Instead, he was sitting on the last step, his forearms lying across his lap, his head drooping, eyes closed. This was the bear that had caused so much trouble, but he hardly seemed to be in any mood to cause mischief, or do much else, for that matter. No one moved or said anything at first, until…
"If you're looking for your friend's soul, it's the room behind me," came the listless statement from the sad foe.
"Do we believe him?" asked Share Bear.
"As the unofficial king of mischief of Care-A-Lot," said Playful Heart, "I don't think this is a trick. Just my hunch." The four decided to take their chances, and carefully walked past Shade, expecting to be ambushed, but they weren't. Instead, they found themselves in the middle of No Heart's atelier. And, sure enough, Wish Bear recognized the soul crystal on top of one of the cluttered tables. The top of it was much higher than any of them, so Share Bear ended up having to hoist Playful Heart on her shoulders (as Proud Heart objected to having her fur mussed up). As they teetered around while Wish and Proud Heart kept watch for any sign of Beastly or No Heart, Playful Heart managed to reach out and get a hold of the crystal. Unfortunately, the added weight made him lose his balance. He lost his grip on the crystal, and to everyone's horror, it shattered on the floor with a loud "Crash!" Then, they all watched the soul that had been trapped in it quickly dart outside through the nearest window.
"Well, I…suppose that answered my question of 'How are we going to get it out of there?'" said Wish Bear half-jokingly.
"I'm more worried if somebody actually heard that," said Proud Heart.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!"
"Does that answer your question, Proud Heart?" Share exclaimed. Indeed, No Heart was now at one of the archways to his atelier, and his red eyes were aglow with rage. Suddenly, the room became very cold; the bears and cousins were certain this was No Heart's doing. They looked around for an exit, but the doors and windows began to fill up with ice, effectively sealing them in with the wicked wizard. No Heart had also summoned some of his menacing shadows; they began to form and crawl across the walls, advancing towards the group, when the ice on one of the windows began to shine brightly, before exploding in a shower of icy shards. And, standing in the threshold, with the piercing rays of the dawning sun behind him…was Defender Bear.
No one in the room could believe it, especially Wish Bear. But, there he was, holding one side of his cloak across him, the other holding onto the castle window.
"You!" shouted No Heart.
"Yup, it's me," replied Defender. "I've got a quick question for you, No Heart.
"What makes a shadow go away? Give up? The light!!!" And with that, a great burst of light, even brighter than the sun, flooded the atelier. And, once it dimmed away, none of the bears were to be found.
Later that morning, after they had all returned safely to Care-A-Lot, he had a chance to let them in on a secret.
"Okay, first, I need to scratch this bandage," he said. Underneath his cloak, his entire chest, tummy symbol and all, was covered by a large piece of gauze. "First my back, now my front. Doc, you really need to get less itchy gauze next time."
"I'll make a note of it," he replied, pretending to jot something on his clipboard.
"So, that's why you were holding your cloak like you were some kind of vampire, honey," joked Wish, quickly following with a tight embrace.
Defender chuckled. "Something like that, I suppose. But now, it's time to get serious. I need to let you all know something. When I was trapped in that crystal, No Heart tried to steal my magic powers from me. I did my best to resist him, but I also realized something: during his spell, I could read his thoughts. Most of them were horrible, cruel images, but one of his memories was of something that happened only recently. It was that of the time he created Shade Foyle. It was then that I realized something about him."
"What's that?" said Wish.
"He…is me."
Down on Earth, on a small, uninhabited isle, someone was standing, watching the tide rise and fall back to the ocean. Shade Foyle felt no closer to the answers he was searching.
As the ocean breeze rushed by, the black bear spoke into it. "We will meet again, Phoenix Audubon. You will help me find the truth, one way or another…"
Author's Notes:
Project Date: August 8—December 30, 2004
Special Thanks To: "Swift Heart Rabbit" for criticism and editing.
The Care Bears and Care Bears Cousins are the property of American Greetings Corp, Nelvana Ltd, and Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc. No relationship with any of the aforementioned companies is implied by this work.
The story is the original idea of the author and is not intended to represent any real event. Furthermore, the uses of the characters are not meant to represent any real person, explicitly or implied. Any use of the story, in whole or in part, must not be completed without the prior consent of the author.