I know I did another Care Bears story that's kind of like this one. The thing is, I tried to edit that one, and this came out instead, so I guess I'll edit the other story some other time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story. And if you like it, let me know what you think. :)
Grumpy sat very still, listening to the storm outside. Tenderheart's words echoed through his mind, spoken recently after a great Grump storm.
"While we all get frustrated, we must also control our emotions."
Grumpy shivered. He knew how true those words were. More than even Tenderheart knew. It was something he needed to do, something he'd had to do every day when he was younger. He'd grown up in a lot of ways, but he'd never quite outgrown one particular aspect. Even now, during lightning storms, he froze up, clenching every muscle in his body and locking his mouth shut. And outside the lightning pounded down around Care-A-Lot, on all the different cloud islands.
So here he was. Alone in his Care-A-Van. Buffeted in the wind as the sound of rain beat down on the roof. Locked tight in a ball of trembling muscle. Trying not to scream. Trying to stay silent. Trying to be invisible. Because he feared the consequences of letting even a little noise, a little power escape him.
He knew they would never talk to him again, if they knew. Even Tenderheart would reject him. Kind, loving Tenderheart would not condone his presence any longer. No bear would want to even look at him. Not if they knew, so he covered his ears with his paws and rocked back and forth, so tense that every inch of him screamed in protest.
During a lull in the storm, he relaxed a bit. He knew the storm would start up again soon. It couldn't be helped. But any excuse to relax, to think of something besides his aching body, his rumbling belly badge, his overwhelming fear was just fine by him.
The words echoed again, taunting him as he reached slowly for his Carry-All to get food. But he knew they were right. More than any bear else, he had to control his emotions. They all knew his belly badge powers were unusual. They knew the storm clouds were odd. They thought Grumpy himself was strange. But they were used to him now. They were used to the sometimes cold way he pushed them away with his attitude. They knew he loved them. And that was true. He did love them. He trusted them, too. Just not with everything.
His trembling fingers rifled through the depths of the Carry-All, searching for anything edible. He had to eat before the lightning started again. The storms were getting more frequent, lasting longer. And with them came panic, paranoia, and terror. Was he the cause of the storms? How was that possible? But there seemed to be no other explanation.
His fingers wrapped around a chilled bowl. He pulled it up out of the depths of the Carry-All to find it was full of potato salad that Share had given him two days before. He didn't care. It was the first thing he'd had the chance to eat since that lunch. The storms had been tearing through Care-A-Lot since that evening. Grumpy's entire body was stiff with pain. His joints had been locked together for hours, and they protested every movement. But his belly was empty, and he knew the consequences of not eating for too long.
Without hesitation, Grumpy stuck his paw into the bowl and scooped out a handful of the salad into his mouth. The cool, mushy potatoes fell apart in his mouth, spreading the tangy sauce over his taste buds. The crisp bite of the celery and green onion made a delicious crunch between his teeth as the tangy sauce spread over his tongue. Share's face appeared in his mind, telling him that he could keep all the leftovers for himself. The picture froze as he looked around at the bears he was closest to. His heart had swelled at their care and love, but it had burst when the first rumble of the approaching storm reached his ears.
Tears began to pour out of Grumpy's dark blue eyes, streaking down his dusky fur. He paused as he drew his hand back to see that his fur was darker than usual. He groaned low in his throat as he grabbed another handful of potato salad and shoved it into his mouth. He was losing it. He was going to slip soon, and then it would all be over. He would be shunned, forced to leave by those who said they loved him. But they only loved his outsides. And when they sent him away, where would he go?
A shiver of electricity pricked at his spine, and he ate faster, needing to get food into his empty belly before the lightning started again. When the potato salad was gone, he dove back into his Carry-All, hunting for something more substantial. He found a plate, a large plate, and heaved it up and out. Yes! It was the roasted chicken breasts that Share had given him at the lunch. Because of the Carry-All's magic, they were still a bit warm. No matter. He had to eat, had to have energy to outlast the storm. Anything would be better than his body consuming itself.
The chicken fell apart between his teeth, tender and juicy. Spices coated his tongue, reminding him that food should be enjoyed when it was eaten, but he didn't have time for that. He chewed and swallowed faster and faster, gulping down water from a bottle to get the food into his stomach. The tingle of electricity was getting closer. The storm would be starting again soon.
Tears continued to wind their way down Grumpy's furred cheeks as he stuffed himself full. Sometimes he hated the way he always gorged on food, but at the moment it was imperative. Because of what he was, what he had to control, he burned through way more calories than any Care Bear. They were used to his burning need for food many times a day. They had accepted it, but he had heard the whispers when he was a cub. He had always been afraid that they would find out that he wasn't like them, that he wasn't a real Care Bear.
When he had finished the entire platter of chicken, he used the water bottle to wet his paws and he wiped them on his belly. The thundercloud badge was black and angry, the hearts gone, replaced with flashing lightning bolts. His entire body was alight with the electricity, and he knew he didn't have much longer.
'Blankie, blankie, blankie,' Grumpy thought wildly, reaching once again into his Carry-All.
He dug through the depths until he found it, just as a flash of lightning lit up his dark, silent Care-A-Van. He jerked it out so violently that everything above it came tumbling out around him. All he could do was scream inside of his own head as his jaw locked. He had only enough time to wrap the smooth, cool blanket around his shoulders before the roar of thunder sounded in his ears and every joint locked in terror. His trembling fingers clutched at the edges of his blanket, and he stared in wordless horror at nothing as images played through his head, memories of his life long, long ago, before he became a Care Bear, before he'd begun to live a lie.
Grumpy knew that his behavior wasn't normal, but he didn't trust the Care Bears with his pain. What would they think of him if they knew of the scars, mental and physical, hidden by his cold attitude and soft blue fur? What if they knew what he really was? What if, what if, what if…
His eyes were focused on the past as a large, terrifying shadow reared above him. Blinding yellow-white eyes stared at him, disapproving, forever judging him for what he wasn't, and teeth were bared, dripping liquid energy, ready to get rid of him once and for all.
The shadow lunged for him, and for the first time in his life, his jaw unlocked and he screamed in Thunderspeak.
"Daddy! Stop it! It hurts!"
But Grumpy was too lost in his nightmarish memories to hear the clap of thunder that shook Care-A-Lot, that caused the lightning to pause and the rest of the storm to quiet until all that could be heard throughout the islands was the rhythmic pattering of rain on ground and leaves and roofs. Every bear in Care-A-Lot froze where they were, terrified by the closeness of the thunderclap and what it could mean.
Wonderheart screamed as the rumble of the thunder began to fade in her throbbing eardrums. Tenderheart threw open her door, and even the little cub could see the fear in his eyes. He hurried over to hold her, his paws trembling. The old bear stared out at the silent thunderstorm, the drumming rain the only thing to be heard. All of the lightning had stopped at the roar that had caused a cloudquake. What had just happened? Were they coming back? What did the roar mean? He clutched the cub to him, recalling some frightening memories of his own childhood. He didn't want Wonderheart to ever have to experience what he had.
Harmony, Share, and Cheer huddled together in Cheer's home, eyes wide with terror. Harmony and Share had come over to help clean before the storm had started the day before yesterday, and they had gotten cozy as they waited for the lightning storm to ease up. It wasn't safe to walk around Care-A-Lot with lightning flashing. That was asking for a burn injury. They had been doing pawdicures when the thunderclap and cloudquake happened. Harmony and Share slowly came to life, but Cheer didn't move, a strange terror gripping her.
"That sounded close," Harmony said quietly. "You okay, Share?"
"Yeah. Cheer?"
No answer.
"Cheer?"
Both of the purple bears turned to see Cheer staring in wide-eyed horror at nothing, her mouth working as her paws clutched her arms so tightly that they were shaking.
"Cheer!" the two bears shouted, frightened.
They shook her gently, trying to bring her back. But that didn't work. Instead, she screamed, loud, long, and terrifying. She cringed back into the wall, screaming a wordless, petrified screech. The door flew open to show a drenched Funshine, who stared around with wild eyes.
"What's going on?" he shouted over her screams.
"Dunno! Get Tenderhear!" Harmony bellowed, horror in her eyes.
"Hurry!" Share begged.
Funshine turned and sprinted into the rain. When he'd noticed the lightning had stopped, he'd headed out to check on the others. As he arrived at Cheer's garden, he'd heard her screaming. He ran, his heart pumping as he raced for the Rainbow Ride. When the cart materialized, he buckled himself in for the five minute ride to Tenderheart's house. As the rain blew into his face, he thought, not about Cheer's scream, but about the roar of thunder and the cloudquake.
Funshine thought back years and years, decades of human time, to when he was a cub. And he recalled a strange little black cub, limping and hungry and unable to speak. The little cub had made soft noises like thunder and rain, as if that was how he spoke, but Funshine didn't know why. They had spent weeks together, playing and eating great quantities of food, but then, after one incident, he'd never seen the cub again. That roar that had cut through the lightning and thunder had sounded like the one from his childhood, and it made him think of pain and confusion. It wasn't just regular thunder. It was a language, and whoever spoke it was in so much pain.
"I hope you're alright, Inky," he whispered.
The Rainbow Ride stopped, and Funshine threw off the seatbelt and raced for the door, forgetting once again about that dark cub.
Grumpy became aware that the tingling electricity in his spine was gone. The lightning storm was over. All that was left was rain. His locked limbs relaxed as he came back to himself. He wasn't a cub with his father and mother. He was just Grumpy Bear. He looked around in the dim lamplight from his desk and saw a mess of epic proportions. It looked as if his Carry-All had dumped a fair amount of its contents all over the floor. He couldn't care. His belly was still full and his eyes grew heavy as he lost all fear. Sleep. He needed sleep.
He stood up, clutching his blanket around his shoulders, and dragged himself into his bed. Before his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. He was grateful, yet again, for Sweet Dream's power that allowed his dreams to be sweet and loving, instead of the murky nightmare memory he'd lived over the past half hour.
