Everybody stared at Grumpy, shocked at what they saw. The Care Bears knew it had to be Grumpy because of the belly badge. But he certainly didn't look like their Grumpy Bear. Instead of blue fur, he was black. Claws flashed white against his black paws and he bared his glowing teeth in a snarl. His eyes were no longer normal blue eyes. They now looked exactly like the Thunder Bears' eyes that bored into him in alarm. He was a Thunder Bear down to every detail except for one: his belly badge, which was black and angry, rumbling with thunder and flashing with brilliant bolts of lightning.

"What is this trickery?" the angry Thunder Bear demanded.

"No tricks," Grumpy said grimly. "You're not going to take out your anger on these Care Bears."

The Thunder Bears began to circle him, sniffing at the strange little bear. His scent was certainly Thunder Bear at its base, the smell of an approaching storm, but it also held an odd smell. It wasn't quite Care Bear, but it wasn't quite their kind either. They murmured to each other, trying to puzzle out what was going on. Their noses told them one thing, their eyes another. For it was very obvious that this bear had a belly badge, the universal sign of a Care Bear. But how could that be? They had never heard of a black Care Bear, nor had they ever heard of one with storm powers.

Funshine cowered behind Grumpy, staring past his friend to the larger, more powerful bears. He had no idea what Grumpy was going to do, but his gut told him that Grumpy was the only one who could possibly end this without bloodshed. Or further bloodshed, he thought as he gripped the back of his neck with one paw. He could feel the slick blood running down his back, and he quivered at the thought that it could have been much worse.

Tenderheart pressed back in front of all the other Care Bears to keep them from getting closer, and he watched in fascinated fear as the Thunder Bears murmured in their strange language. The pops of thunder and plopping rain made him uneasy. They were eyeing Grumpy with wary suspicion, confused by what they saw. And Tenderheart didn't blame them. Everything the old bear thought he knew about Grumpy was now tossed into a swirling mass of confusion and perplexity. As he stared at the fearless little bear in front of him, obviously guarding the other Care Bears from the damage these three could do, he wondered for the first time if he ever really knew Grumpy.

"You know who this is, Twister?" Crumble asked slowly after drawing back to stare down at Grumpy.

"Who?" Twister demanded, crossing his arms.

"The little runt." The other two stared in bewilderment, so Crumble clarified."Maelstrom's little brother."

Spritz made a face, staring down disdainfully at Grumpy. "He said he took care of him."

"Not well enough," Twister muttered. "Saved by the Care Bears, were you, little runt?"

Grumpy said nothing. He flexed his fingers, electricity crackling between them. All of his focus was on the bears in front of him, aching and raw and angry. He didn't know how to do this. He was afraid of messing everything up. It was true that he often helped his Care Bear friends with negative emotions. He even helped children from the world below with their difficult feelings. But he had never been faced with such a monumental task as the one in front of him. The tangled mess of thoughts, memories, and feelings were almost overwhelming, to the point that he was a bit dizzy. Still, his instincts knew what to do. He only hoped that everything would be okay.

"Answer me, runt, and we'll make sure you die first," Spritz promised, taking a step closer and leering down at the little bear.

This was it. Grumpy took a deep breath then spoke slowly and clearly. "Just because you feel like you don't have a family anymore doesn't mean you get to hurt others," he said calmly.

Spritz's eyes widened and he stepped back, horrified. The other two glanced at Spritz with confusion. Grumpy could feel the disbelief in Spritz, then confusion, which swept over the overpowering feelings of loneliness and neglect from his family that engulfed him. Spritz immediately grew defensive.

"What? How did you…?"

"You've seen your family die from the inside out because of what their ancestors did," Grumpy replied, gesturing at Tenderheart and the others.

Tenderheart perked up, as if he were trying to understand the Thunderspeak. Spritz glared at the Care Bears, clenching his fists and digging his claws into the pads of his paws. Unnoticed by the three Thunder Bears, the still air began to change as Grumpy spoke to Spritz. The weather seemed to be edged with an intangible emotion, and the wind began to blow, softly at first, but then with more force. Spritz snapped his teeth, his fur rippling in the wind as fear and pain began to fill the air around him. His feelings oozed out to surround him, a suffocating mist that clung to him like spider's webs.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" he spat, terrified.

"Don't I?" Grumpy asked mildly as the other two watched with unease.

Spritz was beginning to panic at the calmness Grumpy gave off, and he latched onto the only thought he could find. "No! They're not dead, runt!"

"I didn't say they were. They're dead inside. They're so busy putting out their own fires that they've never had time for you. You're their oldest child. So everything is on you. You have to keep up with your brothers and sisters. All seven of them. You don't get to spend much time for yourself. And despite all of your siblings, you feel all alone. You have nobody to talk to about being neglected, not physically, but emotionally. So you hide behind a tough façade, destroying whatever you can reach. But I promise that will never make them see you. You need to talk to them about this or nothing will ever change."

Spritz swallowed and he took several steps back, trembling. He lowered his eyes and gritted his teeth as the wind picked up, wrapping around him in a phantom embrace. The sharp scent of rain filled the air and soft rumbles filled the sky, and the dark, clingy mist poured from him like blood from an open wound. Grumpy had touched a nerve, a raw nerve, and Spritz said nothing more, looking bitter as he fought back tears, but it was a losing battle. His friends gazed in astonishment as he broke down. The Care Bears hadn't understood a word of what had happened, but they did understand tears. Tenderheart watched, bewildered, as the Thunder Bear shrank away from Grumpy, who had done nothing more than talk to the bear. Funshine had understood most of it, and he ached for Spritz. The poor bear.

Grumpy turned to Crumble, who stood tall, his yellow-white eyes flashing dangerously. Once again, the little bear spoke calmly, thoughtfully.

"You think you hate them. And it's all because of their ancestors. You don't want to kill them. You want them to help. But you're too angry at their perceived wrongs toward our kind to do anything more than try and destroy their happiness because misery loves company. It was not their fault. It was a completely different generation that ruined our partnership. It's not them you hate, but yourself. You're so angry. You see nothing but destruction in your future. And so you're hopeless. You have no reason to hate yourself. You put too much pressure on yourself."

Crumble's eyes dimmed, and he, too, took a few steps back. He looked at Grumpy as if he'd never seen anything like him before. He and Spritz looked almost scared, and the same dim, dark cloud surrounded Crumble. The wind was blowing hard against them, tiny droplets of rain on the air as the storm grew nearer. The thunder was closer now, and tiny sparks of lightning briefly flitted from cloud to cloud. The two Thunder Bears were silent as Grumpy turned to the most twisted out of the three.

"What do you have on me?" Twister snarled. He looked unafraid but wary.

"You can't produce a thing."

Twister growled low in his throat, a rumbling peal that was echoed in the sky. Grumpy didn't shy away.

"You need to. You're intact in a way that most of the rest aren't. But you can't produce even a drop of rain. It hurts you. You feel their pain and can do nothing about it. But you know you could. You know you're supposed to. But you just can't. So it builds and builds and it's killing you, or you wish it would."

"What do you know, you runt?"

The first raindrop fell, hitting Twister's nose. He looked up, and his face twisted in agony. Then he looked down at Grumpy. Jealousy flashed in his eyes, and he bared his teeth.

"At least I'll kill you," he hissed. Then he lunged.

Before he touched Grumpy, the little black bear raised his hands and the dim, dark mist that seemed to swirl around the three Thunder Bears raced toward his outstretched fingers. The foreign bears yowled and stumbled back, hitting the dirt hard as thunder crashed above them. The sky split open, rain pounding down across the land as the wind howled like a wounded beast. Grumpy stood very still as the Thunder Bears gazed up at him in astonishment. Grumpy glowed like a shadow full of light, his bright yellow-white eyes the only spot of color in his form. Then he lifted his hands heavenward, and the black mist exploded into the sky. The storm hit a new peak, roaring and shrieking, beating all the bears with rain.

The Thunder Bears screamed, standing up and fleeing the little black bear. A mix of strange sensations filled them as they sprinted for their cloud to get away. The storm beat at them as they ran, soaking them through. They reached their cloud, piling on, and without any direction, the howling winds ripped them from their mooring and flung them into the open sky. They stared back at Care-A-Lot with shock and fear, getting farther and farther away. And then they were gone.

Grumpy watched wearily until they were out of sight. Then he slowly lowered himself down beside Funshine. Funshine, who was still gripping his bleeding neck with one paw, grasped Grumpy with the other.

"You okay, Grumps?"

Grumpy felt shaky and weak, and he shook his head. His brain felt full of a puffy cloud, sticky like cotton candy. He was suddenly so tired that it ached down to his very bones. He was vaguely aware of shadowy figures moving, standing up, fighting the wind and rain, hurrying toward him.

"It's okay. We'll be okay," Funshine said.

Grumpy's vision narrowed as Tenderheart fought his way over. But he didn't grab at Grumpy, ask if he was okay, or any of his usual behaviors. Instead, he stared in shock at the black bear. And Grumpy couldn't take it. He'd known that Tenderheart would never understand. Tears stung his eyes, and he swayed then fell back. Funshine caught him awkwardly with his free paw.

"Grumpy!"

His tongue felt thick and useless, and he couldn't find the words in English he needed. "Tell him I'll leave. Just let me… let me lay here. Please… please…" he slurred in Thunderspeak.

The world went dark as the last of his energy drained away, and all he knew was the pounding rain and swirling winds.