Of the Same Coin
Part Four: The Bear and the Dragon
"Black shadows fall
From the lindens tall,
That lift aloft their massive wall
Against the southern sky;
And from the realms
Of the shadowy elms
A tide-like darkness overwhelm
The fields that round us lie."
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
In the land of Care-A-Lot were situated many houses with walls of fluffy clouds. And one of these houses belonged to Defender Bear, and he was lying in his bathtub. The water was topped by mountains of white lather, such that, were anyone else in the room with the white bear, they would've spotted him only after much searching, for not only was he submerged up to just beneath his nose, the part of him above the water was covered in suds. He looked like all the other piles of bubbles around him.
The only things that separated Defender from the soap were his eyes. They seemed to be burning a wall with fixation, but the bear's true focus was elsewhere. His thought remained in the morning, where he had managed to persuade his former adversary, Shade Foyle, to consider leaving his mischievous ways, only to have all his efforts spoiled by the intrusion of the Care Bear Family's long-time nemesis, the cruel sorcerer, No Heart. The potent aroma of the bath soap could not wash away the disappointment, or the determination, of the bear lying underneath the foam.
I'll save you yet, Shade, Defender vowed to himself. I…we… won't give up on you. Just be strong, Shade. We're almost like brothers, like family, and this family has taught me not to give up on one another, so I won't give up on you.
In another part of the sky, someone else was dealing with disappointment. No Heart's intentions, however, were of a more malicious disposition.
"Those accursed Care Bears!" he nearly shouted as he paced angrily back and forth in his magical atelier. "How is it possible that no matter what plan I put together, they always ruin it? Always!"
In a steel cage mounted ten feet off of the floor of the study was Shade Foyle. Once the sorcerer's newest minion, the black bear was now sitting very still in the cage. Although the cage seemed to be nothing more than bars, Shade was making no attempts to escape it. (That, or all his previous attempts had failed.)
"Whatever plans you're coming up with, I won't be a part of them anymore," said Shade with a trace of defiance.
"Shut up, you!" No Heart snapped back. "I fully intend on getting all my usefulness out of you, whether you like it or not! So just sit there like the obedient beast I made you to be and be quiet!"
And so, No Heart continued to think of another scheme to rid himself of the Care Bears. "There must be some new strategy I can use against those disgusting cretins," he thought aloud. Just then, the enormous black cauldron in the center of the room, which had a luminous green liquid, suddenly dimmed. The still waters began to tremble, catching No Heart's attention. He stomped to the edge of the cauldron, and stared curiously at the mixture; this wasn't his magic at work.
The water started to swirl rapidly, creating a small whirlpool within the cauldron. In the center, the green water darkened even more until it was pitch black. From within, two red lights appeared and formed a pair of eyes.
"Pardon my interruption," came a voice from the murky waters. "I was just passing by, and I heard that you were looking for a way to get rid of something, am I right?" The voice had a hiss to it, and its pitch fluctuated while it spoke.
"I didn't ask anybody for help, so you can just be on your way now," snapped the sorcerer.
"Now, why would you just simply dismiss me like that? Wouldn't you like to hear what I have to offer? I think you might like it."
No Heart sneered. "I am No Heart! I don't like anything!"
The voice continued promoting its offer. "But, what if I told you that I could show you a power, something that will wipe away all your enemies? You'd want that, yes?"
By then, No Heart's megalomania found the proposal too irresistible to simply pass up. But the sorcerer remained skeptical. "You're offering me power, you say? Certainly, I can't expect that you'd simply bestow that without some kind of compensation?"
"Well, aren't you the perceptive one? Yes, there is something I need from you: passage to your world.
"Though I am communicating with you now, I require a corporeal form to inhabit so that I can interact with this world. That way, you can witness the power for yourself."
"I'll…think about it," No Heart waved the being off, not wanting to sound eager. But at this point, the fiendish sorcerer was ready to try just about anything if it meant the elimination of the Care Bears.
The next morning, the entire Care Bear Family was gathered around the heart-shaped table in the Hall of Hearts. For some, this was a little too early, and they were trying to shake off the drowsiness (especially Bedtime, who had just finished his night shift and was ready to call it a day). Defender Bear, on the other hand, had a travel mug full of coffee and a hard, determined look on his face; he appeared ready to leap into another fight.
True Heart Bear struck her gavel to begin the meeting. "Thank you for coming, everyone," she started. "We have a pressing matter to attend to; that's why we've convened so early. As such, we shall get down to business. Wish Bear, will you please brief the family on the situation?"
Wish stood up from her seat next to Defender. "Yes, True Heart," she started, holding the paper with her notes. "Two days ago, Bedtime, Defender, and I went to meet Shade Foyle on an island down on Earth. After a…um…" she paused, then looked at Defender. He looked back and simply shrugged. Wish continued, "After a 'heated discussion', we succeeded in persuading Shade to come back with us to Care-a-Lot. However, we were ambushed by No Heart, who abducted Shade against his will."
Wish's summary was immediately followed by Defender's Bear fist slamming onto the table. "Now that that's settled, may we please go help Shade now?" he exclaimed impatiently. "Why are we wasting time here? He needs our help, people!"
True Heart pounded her gavel loudly. "That's enough, Defender Bear! We understand your concern, but we're not about to simply set out blindly. Please restrain yourself for just a moment."
The white bear was just about to snap back, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the worry in Wish Bear's countenance, and thought the better of it. He simply let out a huff, crossed his arms, and silenced himself.
"Thank you," said True Heart. "Now, we must assume that No Heart is planning another attempt to eliminate us, so we must be ready with our own preparations. That's why we—"
BOOM!
The elder was interrupted by a loud explosion, followed by a strong tremor that shook nearly every one in the Hall of Hearts out of their chairs and onto the floor. (Good things clouds are soft.) Fortunately, the quaking subsided after about 10 seconds.
"Is everyone alright?" Noble Heart quickly shouted out.
"I'm okay," answered Cozy Heart Penguin.
"Other than my fur being mussed up, I'll be fine," was Proud Heart Cat's reply.
"I will once Birthday gets off me," groaned Grumpy Bear.
"Sorry, Grumpy," the yellow bear apologized.
While the rest of the Care Bear Family picked up the mess in the meeting room, True Heart, Noble Heart, Tenderheart Bear, and Brave Heart Lion headed towards the control room to try and find the source of the disturbance.
"Is it No Heart again?" Brave Heart asked.
"There's no sign of him on the sensors," replied Tenderheart, who was sitting at the main console.
"Any harm to Care-a-Lot?" inquired Noble Heart.
"Only minimal damages. Whatever caused that cloud quake, it doesn't appear to have been in our proximity."
"Phoenix, come with me," said Wish as he picked up the last fallen chair. Defender Bear followed her outside to a lookout platform next to the Hall of Hearts. It looked undamaged, so the teal bear stepped out to the rail, and with a quick stare from her tummy symbol, produced her star telescope. She started to scan the horizon for clues.
"See anything, dear?" Defender asked his companion.
She focused the scope's sight. "I think I…there!" She handed the telescope to Defender and pointed out in one direction. "Look there!" The white bear lifted the scope and peered out where Wish was pointing.
Off in the distance, he could see black, and not much else.
"What is it?" he asked Wish.
"I don't know, but we'd better inform the others immediately."
So, Wish and Defender ran back inside the Hall of Hearts, into the control where the four leaders were still assessing the situation. Noble Heart was the first to notice the pair. "Wish? Defender? Did you find something?"
Wish nodded. "I found something with my star telescope," she informed the group. She reached over Tenderheart's shoulder and typed in some commands at the console. This brought up a map of a section of the Pacific Ocean. A couple of seconds later, a sizeable black spot obscured part of the water.
"What is that?" Brave Heart spoke out.
"Something that deserves investigating," True Heart concluded. "Defender Bear," she turned to the two. "You and Wish Bear mobilize a few teams and head out to that black spot."
"You got it, True Heart," Defender replied.
"And please, don't be hasty. Who knows what dangers are out there?"
"Okay-okay," he partially rebuffed her as the two left.
Bright Heart Raccoon had joined the four leaders in the control room, while Wish, Defender, Birthday Bear, Cozy Heart Penguin, Good Luck Bear, Harmony Bear, Friend Bear, and Secret Bear set out for the black anomaly in the Pacific. It wasn't long before they could see it in the horizon, and the closer they got, the more apparent its enormity was for the group. It was a pillar of pitch black that spanned into the depths of the ocean to as high into the sky as the bears and cousin could see.
"Defender Bear to Bright Heart Raccoon," said the white bear into the cloud car's radio.
"Bright Heart Raccoon here."
"Bright Heart, what exactly are we dealing with here?" he asked the smart cousin.
"It's nothing," the raccoon replied honestly. Even so, the answer wasn't quite what Defender Bear had been expecting. He was speechless for a moment before he radioed back to the control room
"Whaddaya' mean, 'nothing'?" he almost shouted into his radio. "We can see this huge black column from miles away!"
"But that's just it, Defender. The signals from our sensors and radar aren't getting reflected back to the Hall of Hearts when it reaches that area. That's why it came up as black on the world map in the control room. That 'column' you see is, in simple terms, a vacuum—nothing at all.
"You mean, like, a black hole?" asked Defender, bewildered
"Well, sort of. A black hole is supposed to absorb everything that comes near its gravitational pull. But, this column...even though it goes down into the ocean, the water level hasn't been affected in any way. Nor has it penetrated through the earth into the Atlantic Ocean. It seems to be some sort of self-contained black hole. Something like this is unprecedented in the scientific community. It's fascinating!"
"I'm more worried about the safety of the humans than science, Bright Heart," Defender responded, not sharing his cousin's fascination.
"But there's more to this 'column' than you realize," the raccoon carried on.
"I don't know how much more I can take."
"Well, I'm sure you want to know that in the middle of where the column is now, is where No Heart's castle used to be."
Defender slammed on the brakes of his cloud car, and he and Wish Bear were jerked forward by the inertia, their seat belts keeping the pair in their seats. The other cars slowed down and stopped. The white bear fumbled around for the radio again.
He frantically asked, "Are you absolutely sure, Bright Heart?"
"Yes. Based on the last known position of the castle, and the approximate time the column appeared, those two points overlap each other."
Shade, he instantly thought. "Do you think it's still there?"
"Inside?" Bright Heart sounded perplexed. "If it were a black hole, anything inside would have certainly been pulverized by the intense gravity. But, like I said, this is something unprecedented, so who knows how it is behaving from the inside."
"Guess there's only one way to find out," Defender remarked aloud.
"Honey, you're not going to just fly us into that thing, are you?" Wish protested.
"Of course not, Wish," the white bear immediately reassured her. "But I fear we may be running out of time."
Defender accelerated the cloud car, and a few minutes later, all eight team members were within several yards of the massive black pillar. Nothing could be seen inside; it looked solid all of the way around.
"What's our next move?" asked Birthday Bear.
"I'm going to get closer," said Defender as he unbuckled himself from his seat. "Keep the line open with the Hall of Hearts in case they discover something."
"Be careful, Phoenix," pleaded Wish. He nodded, stepped out of the car, and began to float in the sky. He slowly and cautiously approached the column, looking any sign of No Heart's castle within, or at least an entrance inside. He floated up to where it was right in front of his nose, and held his position there for a moment. Just then, he thought he felt a faint sensation—some kind of sign of life from inside the seeming void. Instinctively, he lifted a hand, and reached into the black.
The next thing Phoenix Audubon knew, he was coming to consciousness, lying prostrate on the ground. He blinked his eyes a few times; for the first few seconds, all he could see was black. Had he gone blind? No, he put a hand in front of his face, and he could see the brown glove on it. He picked himself up, and looked around. Indeed, Phoenix was surrounded by pitch black all around him, even beneath him. In fact, the "ground" he was supposedly standing on was indiscernible from the rest of the surroundings. Curiously, the white bear slowly bent down and tried to reach down to touch the sole of his foot. To his surprise, he found that he could. And yet, despite not seeming to have a foundation, Defender Bear didn't feel like he was falling at all.
Actually, he couldn't feel anything at all. Not hot, not cold. "Hello?" he called out loudly. He strained to hear an echo, but heard nothing. He couldn't feel any kind of wind or breeze; even when he breathed, it felt stale.
And then, Phoenix finally remembered what happened before he came to. "Am I…am I inside the black pillar?" he asked aloud, not actually expecting someone to come along and answer his question. That would explain the lack of anything, he surmised.
Without warning, something lightly struck the bear on his back. He turned around, and to his horror, it was Beastly. He was on his back; he was literally floating around in the darkness. He looked in sorry condition: his normally brown arms and legs were paled to near-white, and his face was purple. Defender couldn't see any sign of movement from the little monster.
"If this really is a void," he said to Beastly, "then there wouldn't be any air for you, I suppose. So, why am I not passed out like you? It must be the phoenix spirit in me, I guess." He took a moment to reflect on his good fortune, then turned back to Beastly. As a Care Bear, Phoenix really couldn't leave Beastly in such a state. "Even so, I'm certain I'm gonna' regret this," he sighed, and then took in a deep "breath". He paused, focused some of his magic, pinched the short troll's big, round nose, and shut his eyes before he exhaled into Beastly's mouth. Immediately, the color began to return to his cheeks and extremities. A couple of seconds later, Beastly began coughing back to life.
Defender was also hacking, but for a different reason. "Bleagh! Don't you ever use mouthwash, Beastly? Ugh! ...Mister Beastly?"
Beastly had stopped coughing and starting gasping for air and grabbing his neck. Realizing there was still no air for him, Phoenix waved his hands around Beastly, forming a bubble full of air around him. The little guy started coughing again, but was soon replaced by more constructive pants and inhalations.
"Oh-thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-thank-youuuuuu!" Beastly got on his knees and clung to the bear's ankle.
"Uh, you're welcome, I suppose," said Defender, shaking his foot loose. "All right Beastly, tell me where everybody…er, everything is."
The mischievous one tried to pull a fast one. "Oh yeah, and what do I get out of telling you?"
Phoenix didn't feel like dealing with this right now. "You get to stay in your air bubble, Mister Beastly, that's what."
This was a good enough reason for the troll. "Okay-okay, I'll tell you. After No Heart came from the last time you nasty Care Bears beat him, he was working on another plan to get rid of you all, when someone, or something, started talking to him from inside his cauldron."
"Who?"
"I don't know! It said it would give the boss some kind of 'power', if it got 'passage' into our world."
"What kind of 'passage'?"
"It said something about needing a cuh…cuh…corporal form," Beastly tried to explain, apparently having reached the limits of his vocabulary.
"You mean, 'corporeal'?"
"Yeah-yeah, that's the word it used. Anyways, No Heart waited a couple of hours before he decided to accept this guy's offer. So he zaps Shade until he's unconscious, and sends him into the cauldron."
Defender Bear had gotten the feeling this story was not going to have a happy ending. "And? And?"
"Well…a bunch of black stuff exploded out of the cauldron, and then…I couldn't breathe…and then you showed up," Beastly finished, trying to keep up the tough act. Defender was not paying that part much attention.
"So, where is everybody? Where is the castle?" the bear pressured Beastly for an answer.
"I-I-I don't know!"
Phoenix let out a frustrated sigh. Clearly, he'd gotten all the pertinent information from the lackey that he could. "Well in that case, I'm going to search for any sign of Shade or No Heart's castle."
"Hey! You're not just gonna' leave me here," Beastly gulped, "alone? In the dark?"
Defender sighed again. "You can come along if you want to," he offered despite not fully celebrating the idea of traveling with the little mischief-maker.
Beastly responded with his "shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk-shuk" laugh and followed the Care Bear in the darkness.
Phoenix couldn't tell how long they had walked. His caring phone wasn't working properly, so he couldn't tell how much time had passed. He wasn't even sure which direction he was going; he just started walking, with Beastly tagging along. He had hoped he could find some kind of clue, or even a sign of life. But the blackness seemed to go on forever, all around the pair, never changing.
"How long are we going to be walking around in here?" Beastly moaned inside his air bubble.
"Until we find something, I guess," Phoenix replied honestly.
"Oh…did we find anything yet?"
"No."
"Okay." And about one minute later: "Did we find anything now?"
"No!"
Having experienced the consequences of annoying someone with magical powers, Beastly decided against repeating the question. Nevertheless, he got the answer he desired when Defender Bear suddenly stopped.
"W-w-w-why did you stop?"
Phoenix didn't answer right away; he felt the temperature, which was tepid to begin with, suddenly drop. His fur stood on end. Out in the nothingness, he thought he sensed something…familiar.
"I don't think we're alone," the bear finally uttered.
Beastly perked up a bit. "No Heart? Is that you?" he started to shout.
"No, not him," said Defender. This left Beastly out of people he wanted to meet in this darkness, and even No Heart hadn't been an exciting thought. He decided to do what he did best: run away.
Phoenix Audubon wasn't in any hurry to follow the little creature. In fact, given the circumstances, Beastly was probably safer with nothing around to hurt him. He was more concerned about who or what was so nearby, yet remained hidden. Even in the vacuum of the darkness, he swore he heard something move behind his back. He spun around, but found nothing there. But once again, that same sensation moved past his back. Phoenix gathered himself for a moment. Whatever it was, he would face it with all his courage. So, he turned around once more.
"Shade?" Defender Bear couldn't believe it. About 20 feet in front of him, there was Shade Foyle, standing by himself. Although, he wasn't moving and his eyes were closed.
"Shade? Shade! Are you all right?"
The black bear did not reply, and did not move. Defender took two steps forward.
"Shade!" he was now shouting. "Can you hear me?"
"The being you are referring to cannot answer you." The voice that came from Shade's mouth was not only his, but another one as well—a booming, distorted voice. Immediately, a haze began to surround Shade, nearly as black as the darkness around both of them. The haze then shot straight up over the bear's head, where Defender witnessed with disbelief as the face of a dragon started to materialize from the haze, complete with two red, shining slits for eyes. Down below, the rest of the haze took shape in an enormous, serpentine shape, and the figure of Shade Foyle stood still amidst the formation.
"What…what are you?" Defender shouted to the shadowy creature.
"Wish Bear to Defender Bear! Come in!" said the teal bear into her radio repeatedly. So far, she hadn't received any sort of reply. Good Luck Bear decided that now was the best time to call back to Care-a-Lot.
"Good Luck Bear to Hall of Hearts," he radioed in from his cloud car.
"This is Noble Heart. Go ahead, Good Luck."
"Noble Heart, we've arrived at the 'black hole', and…well, you're not going to believe this, but Defender Bear stepped into it."
"He what?"
"Yeah, and we haven't been able to contact him since. Should we...you know, follow him in there?"
There was a long pause on the other end. Good Luck wasn't looking forward to the idea of entering the pitch black pillar, but he would go if the elders said he should.
"Good Luck, tell the others to hold their position for now. There's no sense in venturing into something we have no information on."
"Will do, Noble Heart. Good Luck out." He shouted to the others, "Hey, guys! Noble Heart says to wait out here." Everyone nodded to show comprehension. Even Wish Bear, although she was clearly concerned for her best friend's safety.
Who knew so much could happen after only one minute, Good Luck Bear though to himself.
Meanwhile, the dragon-looking creature did not answer Defender Bear's question right away. The bear and the dragon were locked at the eyes, both gazing fiercely as if trying to discern some kind of knowledge from the other.
"I must say, it has been ages since I have met anyone that could exist within my void," the creature finally spoke, still using Shade's voice along with its own. "So I shall entertain your demand.
"I am simply known as 'the shadow dragon'. I have existed in the cosmos for longer than you could comprehend, puny being. I have fed off the energies of worlds that can no longer sustain life. I have feasted on many worlds in my time…but it has been too long since I last savored such succulent energy.
"It was fortunate for me, then, that I happened to be near this world. For a planet as small as this, I could sense vast amounts of energy. I was hungry, and I decided that I had to have this world's energy for my own."
"But…" Defender started to say, but the shadow dragon continued on.
"I could sense that one being possessed more energy than the majority of the other creatures on this planet. So I observed it for some time. This creature—he called himself "No Heart"—was constantly expending his energy on a bunch of other beings…which, consequently, I assume you are one of them?"
"Er, I…"
"'What a waste of perfectly tasty energy!' I said to myself. So, I figured I should help myself to some of it. I contacted this No Heart, and promised him power. This was the perfect bait, if you think about it—he wanted some way to rid himself of you and your puny lot, and I told him I had such a way. He was a skeptical one…said there must be a catch to my offer.
"There was a catch, of course. You see, being made of shadows, it's rather difficult for me to survive in a world full of light. As such, I needed a being to host me so I could enter your world. Eventually, No Heart provided me with one, as you can plainly see." Phoenix gathered he was referring to Shade. "Once I had possession of this little being, I went ahead and set up a void so that I wouldn't need this being here."
"Where is No Heart!" the white bear finally interrupted the dragon's monologue.
"Oh, him? Well, I suppose he and his castle are somewhere within this void. Of course, if you were to look for it, that could take you some time. This place is a lot bigger than it looked from the outside, as I'm sure you've figured that out by now. Of course, this is nothing compared to the rest of the universe—"
"Let Shade go!" Phoenix shouted again.
"Well, aren't you the needy little one," said the shadow dragon in a huff. "But, like I said, I don't require this host anymore, so you can have it." With that, the creature moved itself off of Shade, releasing his hold over him, and the black bear fell over limply.
"Shade!" Defender yelled as he ran to his twin's side. He picked him up a bit; Shade felt cold to the touch, but he was still alive.
"Can he exist in this void, too? Such resilience is rare in the universe," the shadow dragon remarked. It was only his own, distorted voice now talking to Defender. "It's a shame you all will be snuffed out very soon."
"What!"
"That's the sole reason I came to this world, wasn't it? I'm not leaving without its' energy!"
"But, what'll happen to the earth if you do that?"
"Oh, it'll just be a barren sphere orbiting around," the dragon answered nonchalantly.
Phoenix laid down Shade gently, stepped in front of him, and held out his hands. "You can do that! I…I won't let you harm the humans of this planet!"
"You? You would try to stop me?" The dragon began to laugh so loudly that it didn't need any kind of matter to drown the bears in its amusement. "I can't recall the last time anyone's tried to put up a resistance to me. And let me tell you now: they've all failed. Whole populations couldn't stop me. Just what makes you think you alone could stop me?"
In all honestly, Phoenix wasn't sure of the answer to that question himself. He had stepped into the pillar of darkness to save his twin; he hadn't expected to face something this enormous. And if it had enough power to banish No Heart, how was he supposed to stand up to it? Normally, caring missions were saving one person on Earth, but all of them? Nevertheless, Defender Bear remained steadfast in his mind.
"My name is Phoenix Audubon, and also, Defender Bear," went the bear's declaration. "I am a member of the Care Bear Family. Our mission is to protect the feelings of the human beings of planet Earth. We help them to laugh, love, and enjoy themselves and each other. We defend from those who would seek to bring them pain and despair."
"Well, forgive me for not sounding impressed, Phoenix Audubon," chided the shadow dragon, clearly not impressed by the bear's speech, "but you are wasting my time, and there is much energy for me to consume. Now, if there's nothing further, I shall now surround this 'Earth', as you call it, in my void."
"You'll have to go through me first!" Defender Bear blurted out immediately. He tried not to wince—he still wasn't confident that he could take the shadow dragon on. And neither did the dragon. He let out another fit of roaring laughter.
"Oh, you're too much! But, since my travels almost never include someone to chat with, I shall allow you the privilege of humoring me." The dragon began to shift its gigantic hazy, snake-like body so that it was now behind the upper "torso" that faced Defender Bear. "Feel free to strike me whenever you're ready," the shadowy alien goaded.
Oh, this is turning out perfect, Phoenix thought sarcastically to himself. He took a few deep breaths. Well, if I've got any chance at this, I'll have to him fast, and with a lot of force. Okay, here goes nothing. He made a lightning-fast dash to his right so as not to get Shade, who was still unresponsive, caught up in the fray. Then, he summoned up as much of his magic as he could in a few seconds, held his hands out at the shadow dragon's face, and unleashed his assault. First, he sent two large, intertwined bursts of flames spiraling at the dragon, which exploded on contact. Not stopping, he next sent out a blue bolt of electricity into the blast. Finally, he hurled a purple beam of pure magical energy towards the dragon, which caused an even bigger blast. When the smoke finally subsided, Phoenix watched intently where he sent his attack. He couldn't see the shadow dragon anymore. Was that it? Had he won?
"That was certainly disappointing," came the dragon's voice. The smoke began to shift, and reformed into the shadow dragon's shape. "You didn't even make a scratch!" it gibed him. How would you even scratch a shadow? Defender thought to himself. "However, this has shown you possess quite a bit of energy. I can't imagine how delicious the rest of your energy will be once I drain you of it! But first, I shall play with my dinner!" The shadow dragon's red eyes began to shine even more as it tilted its head back, and then shot out a huge blast of shadow straight at Defender.
"Care Bear, stare!" he immediately reacted. His shield tummy symbol lit up, and he sent the stare at the dragon's attack. It held the shadow at bay, but Defender Bear couldn't keep it up as the blast completely enveloped him. It pushed him down into the darkness, and the dragon's streaming shot was bitterly icy. Defender couldn't do anything to counteract this assault. Mercifully, the blast stopped, and Defender was lying on his back, his heavy breathing and chattering teeth the only thing moving about him. Not only had that left him cold, but he also felt drained. It took all his effort to lift himself off of the "ground". He got to his knees, but couldn't pick himself up.
What power! was the first thought in his mind. Now I can understand how he must've taken out No Heart. I don't know if I can withstand another hit like that! But, if I lose, what'll happen to Shade…to the Care Bear Family…to the entire world? I've got to get up! He looked up, and saw the shadow dragon sail down from above and settle in front of him.
"Well, it looks like this shall be all I get from you. In case you hadn't noticed, that attack absorbed some of your energy. And I must say, it was indeed very tasty.
"So now, you shall become my appetizer, and then the main course—your planet!"
The shadow dragon reared its head back one more time, and as Defender Bear looked up despairingly, he wondered if it really would end this way for him. How he wished he had done more for the Care Bear Family, how he should have shown Wish Bear more affection…
…But, out of nowhere, a thick sheet of ice rose up in front of him, and arched high over his head. When the dragon unleashed its attack, the ice wall cracked around the edges a bit, but it held up and shielded the white bear from the devastating blow.
Phoenix couldn't believe it; his eyes were wide in amazement. The ice suddenly sublimed into steam, and on the other side was Shade Foyle. He too was on his knees, having not yet fully recovered from being possessed by the shadow dragon.
"Shade," Phoenix uttered. "You—"
"You have to stop it, Phoenix," said Shade, his monotone belying the sense of urgency. "You're the only one who can."
"But…I…I can't…"
"Yes, you can, Phoenix," the black bear answered back, trying to making himself sound reassuring. "I know you can do it. I trust that you can."
"How dare you, you insignificant speck!" the Shadow Dragon bellowed. "How dare you defy me like this! Foolish creature, I shall enjoy devouring you, after I take care of your friend here!" It reared its head back once more, to prepare for his final assault. Meanwhile, Phoenix was fighting on a second front: within himself.
I already tried to stop the dragon, and I couldn't, he thought to himself. How can Shade believe in me? How…can he trust me? Phoenix looked over to Shade, and somehow, beneath the cold gaze of Shade's eyes, the white bear swore he could see a glimmer, a spark of hope. So he closed his eyes and concentrated with all his might.
If Shade trusts in me, then I will, too! I believe in me! I can do this!
The Shadow Dragon let loose his burst of darkness, and aimed it squarely at Phoenix Audubon…
…but before it could reach him, a brilliant white light erupted from with the bear's body, forming a huge pillar of light that spread up and down into the void.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" the dragon roared in agony. "That light! I can't stand it!"
Floating upright in the middle of the column, Phoenix Audubon opened his eyes, and stared straight at the dragon.
"Shadow Dragon," came his voice, which now had an echo despite the vacuum, "I will only tell you this once:
"LEAVE OUR WORLD, AND NEVER COME BACK!"
With that, the light from the pillar exploded out, and filled the void with the white light…
Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…
That sound…I recognize it…
Defender Bear opened his eyes. As he expected, he was met with a soft white glow from above; the familiar continuous beeping from an EKG machine; the crisp bed sheets he was laying in.
"Where are you, Doc?" he called aloud.
Take Care Bear stepped in from the next room. "Ah, I see you're finally awake," he said to his usual patient.
"How long was I out this time," Defender asked, not really certain he wanted to know.
"Oh, just a few hours," said Take Care. "You have some visitors waiting out here for you. Shall I let them in?"
"Please."
Through the same door came Wish Bear and Cozy Heart Penguin. "Oh, Phoenix! I'm so glad you're all right," Wish said as she took her usual seat by Defender's bed.
Suddenly, the white bear started to remember what happened. "Wait! Where's…where's Shade? Is he…?" He whipped his head around, and saw that this time, there was another bed in the room. And lying there was Shade Foyle. Like Defender, he was bandaged in several places. However, despite all the dialogue, he was still asleep. Defender just stared at him for a moment; even in sleep, Shade's face had the same stern, almost confused look on it.
Defender looked to Take Care. "Is he…?" Take Care took a deep breath before answering.
"He just needs some rest, but I believe he'll pull through. Even though he bears a resemblance to you, he doesn't seem to have the 'rapid recovery' trait that you do."
"I see," replied Defender. He turned back to Wish and Cozy Heart. "Okay you two, I'm sure you want to hear all about what happened, right?"
"Only if you're up to it, dear," said Wish.
"Sure. It's not like I'm in any condition to do much else." So he told the two all about what had happened after he had fallen into the pillar of darkness. There were a few gasps after he relayed some of the details, but Defender expected as much.
"You mean all that happened in five minutes?" asked Cozy Heart, puzzled.
"Five minutes? It seemed like forever to me!"
"No, Phoenix," Wish started, "after you fell in, we were told to wait for further instructions. But about five minutes later, we all watched the column start to fade away. That's when we saw you and Shade start falling from the sky. When we caught both of you, you were all cut up and bruised. So we brought you back to Take Care's clinic, and well, here we are."
"Weird," answered Defender flatly. "Hey, I just thought of something: whatever happened to Beastly? And No Heart?"
Wish Bear explained, "Well, when the darkness disappeared, we found Beastly floating around in a bubble—I figured you had something to do with that. Anyways, he was desperate to return to No Heart's castle. While we weren't thrilled at the idea, we figured he had been through enough. The Hall of Hearts got a lock on the castle's position after the pillar was gone, so we dropped him off there. We didn't run into any trouble from No Heart or his shadows."
"So I guess the dragon was telling the truth," Defender said to himself.
After stories were exchanged, Take Care came back in to check on both patients. "Now, should I have a security team ready when your friend wakes up?"
"No!" Defender blurted out. "I mean, no, that won't be necessary. I assure you, he won't be any trouble."
It only took until the next morning for Defender Bear to fully recover from his ordeal. Shade Foyle, on the other hand, needed three days' rest before coming to. During that time, every Care Bear and Care Bear Cousin stopped by Take Care Bear's clinic to get a peek at the formerly dangerous bear—some came more than once. Defender Bear kept waiting for his Caring Phone to ring to let him know when Shade had recovered, and as soon as he got the call, he hurried over to the clinic. When he arrived, he also found True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse waiting. Take Care Bear gave them the okay to see the patient.
When they stepped in, the only things that had changed since the last time they saw Shade were a few less bandages and his eyes were open. But he still had the same empty demeanor about him.
True Heart was the first to speak to the black bear. "Shade?" she called to him. He slowly turned his head to look at the elder. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name is True Heart Bear. Over here is Noble Heart Horse."
So far, Shade gave them no response, so True Heart continued.
"Well, I am curious—what do you know about us, about the Care Bear Family?"
"All I know of you is that No Heart wanted me to destroy you all," he replied honestly, yet apathetically. "Well, I think Phoenix over there tried to tell me about your family, but I was more concerned with beating the truth out of him at the time."
True Heart and Noble Heart both looked at Defender, who could only laugh nervously at the candid response.
Noble Heart asked, "Well, you…don't want to destroy us anymore…do you?"
"No, I suppose not."
Both elders let out a soft sigh of relief. "Well Shade," Noble Heart continued, "since it looks like you don't have anywhere else to go, we'd be happy to have you stay with us."
Upon hearing this, Defender filled with enough excitement for both he and Shade. "You mean it, Noble Heart?"
"Of course," said True Heart. "After all he's been through, I think the best thing for Shade is a safe place where he can recuperate in peace. What do you say, Shade?"
The black bear did not act any more thrilled than before. "Okay, that's fine," was all he said in response.
Defender Bear had agreed to let Shade stay at his house once he was released from Take Care's care. Defender lent his bed to his "twin" while he took the sofa. They spent the next week touring Care-A-Lot and the Forest of Feelings. As happy as Defender was to show Shade around, the black bear didn't seem any less indifferent for it. Though other bears and cousins pointed this out every now and then, Defender, true to his namesake, defended his new friend.
"He just doesn't know how to express his feelings yet," he said several times. "Just give him a chance. You'll like him, honest!"
The true test of acceptance came from two other family members. First, when walking through the Forest of Feelings, Defender and Shade came across Gentle Heart Lamb as she was tending to a garden. When she spotted the pair, she dropped the pruning shears she was holding.
Defender was quick to diffuse the tension. "Hey, Gentle Heart. Shade here has something to tell you." He gave a little shove to his twin. "Don't you?"
"I…I want to tell you…that I'm sorry about what I did before," the black bear said to the lamb. The droll tone didn't convince Gentle Heart at first, but after seeing Defender Bear praying out of the corner of her eye, the lamb realized he was being sincere.
"Thank you for saying so. There's no hard feelings between us," she said.
When it came to Secret Bear, however, things weren't as cut-and-dry. When Secret spotted Shade walking with Defender in the city area of Care-A-Lot, he started to run away. Defender quickly cast a spell to levitate him a few inches off the ground to keep him in place, and he and Shade hurried to the floating bear.
"Please, Secret! Give us a chance for a moment," he pleaded. Secret stopped flailing his legs, but he looked no less uneasy at the sight of the black bear.
"I understand that you're scared of Shade," Defender continued, "but things are different now. Really! Shade just wants to apologize. So please, would you hear him out?"
Now Secret Bear was skeptical, and he folded his arms across his chest to show this. Still, the flight risk seemed to have passed, and so Defender set Secret back down to give Shade a chance to talk to him.
"Look," Shade began, "I'm sorry that I beat you up before. I…hope that we can be friends." And he held out his hand.
Secret turned his eyes to Defender and gave him a look that said, That's it? Is he for real? The white bear countered with his own gaze that said, Yes, you can trust him! Secret relented, and shook Shade's hand, to the obvious delight of Defender, who hugged both of them simultaneously afterwards.
At the end of the week, True Heart and Noble Heart called a meeting of the Care Bear Family. After all the weeks of being on alert, things had become relatively quiet in the skies above Earth. The bears and cousins took their seats; Shade Foyle was seated between Defender Bear and Wish Bear.
Noble Heart struck the gavel to begin the meeting. "Thank you all for coming. We'll try and run through this as quickly as possible, so you can all return to your affairs. What is the report on caring missions, Tenderheart?"
"16 missions since the last meeting, all completed without incident."
"Good to hear. Well, I shall go ahead and open the floor to any new business." No one spoke up at first.
"Very well then, I shall—"
"I have a suggestion."
Everyone turned around to see Defender Bear stand up.
"All right, Defender," Noble Heart acknowledged the white bear. "What do you have for us?"
"Well, you all have seen Shade here out and about in Care-A-Lot, and I got to thinking: why don't we let him stay?"
"He has been a model guest. I don't suppose that's out of the question," Noble Heart conceded.
"No, I mean, he should really stay here."
"I don't follow you, Defender Bear?"
"What I'm saying is: we should make Shade Foyle a Care Bear!"
There was a collective gasp once Defender finished his statement, followed by an uproar of chatter. Noble Heart banged the gavel repeatedly.
"Order! Order! There will be order!" he shouted over the group. "Defender Bear, what you're asking for is no small order."
"I understand that, Noble Heart," said Defender, "but I really think that Shade would do a great job as a Care Bear, if everyone would just give him a chance."
Noble Heart and True Heart looked at each other for a moment. "Defender, while I think Shade seems willing to do good things, I don't think he's a good candidate as a Care Bear."
"But—"
"I'm sorry, but that's where we'll leave it. Now, if there's anything else—"
"NO!" Defender slammed his fist on the heart-shaped table. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to give up on Shade, no sir."
Even Shade was surprised by Defender's determination. "Really, it's okay," he said to try and calm down his twin.
"Let me handle this," Defender said quickly to him. "Now," turning back to the rest of the family, "I seem to recall that everyone seemed to accept another bear that saved one of their own from danger. So Shade's done some bad things before. He's made up for it, and I'm a witness to it! Besides, where else can he go? What else can he do? Can't you all see it in your own hearts to accept this reformed, this…this…this nice bear?" (He had run out of argument at this point.)
Defender had hoped someone would agree with him, but all he got was a deafening silence.
"I second Defender's motion." Wish Bear suddenly stood up. Defender looked to his best friend, and he was humbled by her cooperation.
Noble Heart sighed. "Well then, let us take a vote. All those in favor of accepting Shade Foyle into the Care Bear Family, please raise your hand."
Several hands went up. Defender Bear was grateful that is was more than just his and Wish Bear's that were raised. He was also happy to catch Share Bear's hand go up as well.
"And those that oppose?"
Other hands went up, but Defender instead looked at the red table. He waited as True Heart counted the number of hands.
"17 to 14. The ayes have it."
Defender started clapping, but stopped when he realized he was the only one. Shade had no outward reaction to the results.
"Well, Shade Foyle," Noble Heart said after the tally, "let me be the first to welcome you to the Care Bear Family." Again, the black bear did not appear affected at all by the news.
"The first order of business now will be to decide on a family name for Mr. Foyle," said True Heart.
"Actually, I have an idea," Defender chimed in again. "Okay, I thought about this all last night, and I came up with the perfect name.
He turned to his left. "Shade, what do you think of the name, 'Truth Bear'?"
The black bear merely shrugged his shoulders. "It's okay," was all he could muster.
Defender laughed nervously. "Well, that's settled."
"In that case," said Noble Heart. "Tenderheart, will you do the honors?"
Tenderheart, who had voted for Shade's inclusion to the family, walked over to where Shade was sitting. Defender Bear nudged his twin out to get out of his chair.
"Shade Foyle, do you pledge to uphold the mission and beliefs of the Care Bear Family?"
"I do," was the hollow-sounding response.
"Do you accept the responsibility of protecting the people of Earth and their feelings from those who would seek to harm them?"
"I do."
"And, do you promise to be an example for others to follow, and to help your fellow Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins in times of need?"
"I do."
"Then, it is my honor and privilege to name you Truth Bear, the newest member of the Care Bear Family." With that, Tenderheart's tummy symbol lit up, and a copy of it flew into Shade's chest. When it faded, upon the white fur was now a gold-rimmed mirror containing the reflection of a red heart inside of it.
When all was said and done, there was a polite applause from the rest of the family. Defender Bear whispered something into Truth Bear's ear. When the clapping subsided, Truth Bear spoke up with as much emotion as he could muster.
"My name is Truth Bear, and I am a member of the Care Bear Family."
THE END
Author's Notes:
Project Date: April 27—December 21, 2005
(Original Project Started: December 25, 2003)
The Care Bears and Care Bears Cousins are the property of American Greetings Corp, Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc, and Nelvana Ltd. 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.