Care Bears III: The Search for Timid Heart
Chapter 5:
They stared at one another, fascinated. Timid Heart seemed frozen in place, not even able to blink. The sable colored bear curled the corner of his lips into an excited grin, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Guys..." He whispered so low his words were barely audible. "Guys..." He tried again, a little louder.
The other four approached, not seeing what Tender Heart was seeing. He turned slowly, struggling to tear his eyes off the now suspicious wolf.
"What is it, Tender Heart?" Wish Bear inquired, instantly silenced by Tender Heart slowly bringing his finger to his lips with a shush.
The 4 of them approached slower, reacting to Tender Heart's odd behavior. That's when they spotted the big blue wolf, and instantly stopped in their tracks, eyes wide with wonder and excitement. Timid Heart, more nervous now, backed up a few steps, eying the colorful bears that surrounded him...that looked like him.
"Oh my goodness..." Friend Bear gasped, covering her mouth with her paws.
"He's so handsome." Wish Bear gushed.
"Gosh." Grumpy whispered to himself. "He's awfully big."
Secret Bear leaned over and whispered in Friend Bear's ear. Friend Bear nodded. "That's right, Secret Bear. Timid Heart grew up very fast!"
Timid Heart pricked up his ears at the sound of his name. His name that he'd forgotten.
"W-What...did you call me?" He finally stammered out.
The bears were almost taken aback by the wolf's query. They exchanged looks. Tender Heart was the one to answer.
"Don't be afraid of us." He said calmly. "Your name is Timid Heart. We're your family."
The wolf took another step back, shocked. "My...family?" He said, unbelieving.
The bears all smiled, feeling the excitement of the moment. They had finally found their long lost cousin.
Tender Heart took a couple steps toward the wolf and extended his paw. "If you come with us..."
In a split second, the wolf turned and bolted, spooking the bears and causing Tender Heart to tumble back and fall on his rump. The whirlwind of excitement brought the bears out of their stupor, and they quickly realized the wolf was suddenly 100 feet away, staring at them.
"Wait! Timid Heart!" Tender Heart called anxiously.
The bears quickly ran towards their cousin, who turned and sprinted further away.
"Come on, guys! We can't lose him again!" Tender Heart ordered.
The bears all took off after the wolf, who kept a good 100-200 foot lead ahead, but stopped long enough to not let the bears lose sight of him. Unbeknownst to the frantic bears, the wolf was leading them deeper into the forest.
Colette walked with Dark Heart down a deer trail. Aside from them occasionally calling their "dogs", they walked in silence. Dark Heart looked over at Colette, her face full of worry. At least it was a nice face. He wouldn't have minded being in her company, enjoying her face, were he not pressed for time. He had to ask some questions in hopes of getting a clue about where the wolf may possibly be.
He called Beastly's name again, then walked over to a fallen log and sat down. Not saying a word, Colette walked over to a tree near the log and leaned against it, her large dark eyes looking at the ground.
"They could be anywhere you know." She said solemnly.
"I'm sure they'll turn up." Dark Heart said optimistically. "We were walking in the forest and Beastly took off after a deer. Once he realizes he lost me, he'll come looking for me. I'm not too worried." He looked at her with a raised brow. "What happened with your dog?"
She sighed and looked away. "I wish it was as simple as what happened to yours. But I don't think mine will be so quick to come back."
"How come?" He pressed. "Did something scare him off?"
She hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Something like that."
The heat of the day hit the depths of the forest, forcing her to remove her hoodie and tie it around her waist. She wore a black tank top. Dark Heart scooted closer.
"C'mon. Tell me what happened." He insisted impatiently, feeling she may have information that would be useful.
She hesitated again, as though the thought of it pained her.
"I left him for a few minutes. Just a few. I went to get us some food."
To Dark Heart's surprise, she took a seat next to him on the log before continuing.
"He was gone. I looked around and saw claw marks in the dirt. Like he had been dragged away."
Dark Heart narrowed his eyes, intrigued.
"I followed the marks to some trees by the lake. And that's when I saw him..." She paused and sighed before continuing. "He was tied to a tree on a short tight rope. There were a couple of boys there. They were throwing rocks at him."
Dark Heart gasped slightly and leaned back. That sounded cruel even by his standards. "That...that's awful." He caught himself saying. He was happy his father wasn't there to hear it.
"And you know, the weird thing is, I know those boys. They're usually pretty nice. It was so out of character to do that. Almost like...they were possessed or something."
Dark Heart's eyes went wide. "Possessed?" He immediately recalled seeing the Spirit that morning instructing 2 of No Heart's shadows to go on a mysterious mission. Was it them who caused the boys to engage is such a cruel act? Did the Spirit intentionally do this? Why?
"What did you do?" He managed to ask.
She leaned back on her hands, looking up at the trees. "I just wanted to cry. But instead, I felt this...anger. Deep inside me. This...rage. I can't explain it. But it made me want to...hurt them."
Dark Heart listened with great interest.
"I remember running towards them. Then...I punched them in the face...kicked them. Afterward, it was like they went back to normal. They ran off, so I went and untied my..."
"Wait, wait, wait..." Dark Heart stopped her right there, struggling to hold in a laugh. "You punched them in the face and kicked them?"
Colette shrugged. "Well, yeah. They were hurting my baby. I mean...what would you do?" She looked at him curiously.
He did like her big, black eyes. And her face. And the fact that she pummeled those boys. He smirked a little.
"I'd probably do exactly what you did." He said. "It actually sounds pretty brave."
She smiled back a little before looking away. "Well...I don't know about that. I just know I'd do anything to protect him. And to tell the truth, I felt bad for beating those boys up. I wish I would have done things differently." She brushed some hair behind her ear. "After they ran off, I untied Timmy—my dog—but he was so scared, he ran away. He must have been terrified." She folded her arms tightly against her chest. "I've been looking for him ever since." Her voice sounded sad and distant.
Without thinking, she leaned against Dark Heart. His eyes bulged, and his heart—dark as it was—pounded violently in his chest. The heat of the day had nothing on the heat pulsating from his every skin cell.
Almost as though she could feel the air around them grew warmer, Colette quickly pulled away and stood up. "We've rested long enough, let's start searching again." Her sentence was rushed.
"Yeah." He squeaked, his voice cracking nervously. He cleared his throat. "I agree. Let's go."
He cupped his hands over his mouth and called Beastly's name. Colette mimicked his actions and called Timid Heart.
"Timmy!"
The snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves caught the attention of both teenagers. They whipped around and Colette's face brightened when the blue wolf came into view.
"Timmy!" She called excitedly and started towards the wolf.
Quickly regaining his composure and remembering his mission, Dark Heart eyed the wolf and prepared to make his move. The amulet in his chest began to glow.
Then, 5 colored bears came into view, not far behind the wolf. Dark Heart gasped and quickly ceased using his power, the amulet's glow dying. He growled, annoyed at the inconvenience. With Colette obviously preoccupied, Dark Heart quietly backed into the shadows of the bushes.
Colette only noticed her beloved wolf, and ran towards him with open arms. Timid Heart leapt into them, cuddling against her chest and neck.
"Oh Timmy, I was so worried about you! Are you okay?" Colette almost cried into his fur.
"I'm okay mommy. I brought them with me!"
Colette felt a sense of dread. "What? Who? Who's following you?"
She looked up in time to see 5 brightly colored things fast approaching. She gasped, startled, and pushed Timid Heart behind her protectively. She armed herself with a rock and shielded her precious wolf with her body, holding the rock up defensively.
Tender Heart spotted the threat and quickly slid to a stop, the other 4 bumping into him. Colette's eyes went wide. These things were BEARS.
She shrieked, dropping the rock and falling back against Timid Heart, scooting away as far as possible without crushing Timid Heart against a tree.
Tender Heart held up his paws. "It's okay! Don't be scared! My name's Tender Heart. This is Wish Bear, Friend Bear, Secret Bear and Grumpy Bear." He pointed to each as he introduced them. "We're the Care Bears!"
Dark Heart rolled his eyes from the bushes.
Colette sat there, still frozen, her eyebrows lowering suspiciously. Clearly she had no idea what they were talking about. Tender Heart picked up on this.
"You...you've never heard of us?" He asked, feeling silly.
Colette looked away, as though she were trying to recall, then looked back at the bears, slowly shaking her head while mouthing the word "No". Her facial expression almost said, 'should I'?
Grumpy sneered and crossed his arms. "Well this is awkward."
Suddenly, her fear and confusion melted away as Colette stared at the strangers, getting a good look at them. Her face transformed into an expression of curiosity.
"Hey..." She gasped. "You...you kinda look like Timmy."
Upon hearing his name, Timid Heart poked his head out from under her arm, smiling.
"They say they're my family, mommy." He said excitedly. "Isn't that neat?"
Colette slowly smiled. "It is. Wow..." She got her legs underneath her and sat up, resting on her knees. She looked closely at the bears, no longer suspicious. "Look at you. Where'd you all come from?"
No longer feeling threatened by the girl, the bears stepped closer. There was an air of friendliness now.
"We're from a place in the clouds called Care-a-Lot." Wish Bear said, pointing up.
Colette looked up, remembering the first time she'd seen Timid Heart. He too had pointed up when she asked where he was from. The bears were definitely telling the truth.
Colette looked back at the bears, smiling softly. "My name is Colette. I found Timmy when he was a puppy. I raised him."
Tender Heart reached out and took Colette's hand. "We can't thank you enough for taking care of him, Colette. We'd been looking everywhere for him. We've been very worried. We'd like to take him home now."
Colette's smile slowly faded. "Take him?"
Friend Bear stepped forward. "You see, it's our job to help the people in the world care and to share their feelings. Each of us has a very important mission. His mission is perhaps the most important of all. We need him. The world needs him. And we need to take him home so we can train him."
Wish Bear looked past Colette at the wolf.
"Timid Heart, you have to come with us. Please."
Colette looked over at her baby. She wore a sad smile. "Timid Heart." She whispered. He responded by looking at her, worried. She stroked his head. "That's your real name. Do you remember?"
Timid Heart nodded. "A little."
She grabbed Timid Heart, pulling him into her lap. She hugged him close. A massive burst of love pulsated from them, knocking the bears off their feet.
Dark Heart suppressed a moan of pain from the bushes.
Tender Heart sat up, a huge smile on his face. "Whoa, so that's where those were coming from!"
Colette and Timid Heart didn't pay attention to him. They simply looked at each other, eyes full of sadness.
"You have to go with them Timmy." She said, choking back the tears.
Timid Heart shook his head. "But I wanna be with you."
"Don't worry, Timid Heart." Tender Heart reassured. "We could always bring her to Care-a-Lot to visit you. We'd never try to keep you two apart. After all, we owe Colette a lot for saving you."
Colette smiled, feeling relieved. "See, Timmy? I'll come visit you."
"Come with me now!" Timid Heart insisted.
"Tell you what. You go with them now and learn more about your family. If you're good and do what they tell you, I'll come up for a visit. How's that sound?"
The wolf considered the conditions for a moment, then finally agreed. "Okay mommy. I'll go!"
"No!" Dark Heart snarled from his hiding place.
The bears were thrilled. "Hooray!" They all shouted, drowning out Dark Heart's disapproving growl.
"Oh boy, we can't wait to introduce you to everyone-..." Tender Heart finished with a loud grunt as he was instantly knocked on his back by Timid Heart, who stood on top of him, his full weight on his stomach.
"Yay, I get to meet my pack!" The wolf cheered , leaping off Tender Heart and proceeding to jump on and knock down all the other bears. Each went down with a loud "oof!" under the wolf's weight.
Colette giggled, pleased to see Timid Heart so happy after such a traumatic morning, and thrilled that he would get to meet his real family.
"How we gonna get to Care-a-Lot?" Timid Heart inquired, standing on Grumpy's chest.
"If you get off me..." Grumpy groaned. "...I'll show you."
The wolf gently backed off the blue bear, who got to his feet, took a deep breath and thrust out his stomach. His tummy symbol glowed and from it, a car-shaped cloud appeared. Timid Heart bolted and hid behind Colette at the glow. Colette managed an impressed "whoa!"
Timid Heart fearfully peeked from behind Colette's legs, shaking. The light took him way back to when he was a pup, almost falling to his death. A phantom pain came from his own tummy, almost like burning. The other bears parroted Grumpy's action. Timid Heart hid his face at the glowing, shivering fearfully. He didn't like this at all.
"Timmy...they're ready to go." Colette's voice reached his ears. "Timmy? Are you okay?"
He looked up, uncertainty on his face. "I'm scared." He whimpered.
Colette knelt down and rubbed his ears. He loved that.
"Don't be scared, baby. They'll take care of you. You'll be fine." Clearly she didn't catch on to what scared him exactly.
With a big sigh, Timid Heart hugged Colette's leg one more time, then cautiously approached one of the cloud cars. He sniffed them, occasionally shying away in a skittish manner as each of the cars floated into the sky. He looked at the last car, Wish Bear at the wheel.
"Come on, Timid Heart, you can ride with me." She smiled, motioning the wolf to enter.
He finally worked up the nerve to crawl into the vehicle. He almost jumped out when it started to ascend.
"Sit down please." Wish Bear smiled.
Timid Heart settled into his seat, his heart beating a million miles a minute. He kept his eyes locked on Colette as the car got higher and higher; his mommy getting smaller and smaller.
In the bushes, Beastly caught up with Dark Heart. He nudged him.
"What are you waiting for? The wolf is getting away!"
He was met with the back of Dark Heart's hand. "I can see that! What am I supposed to do?!" He angry-whispered. "I don't have enough power to fight, remember?"
Beastly rubbed his face where Dark Heart had smacked him, and looked up worriedly at the disappearing cloud car.
"Well...what are you going to do? The Spirit said we had to come back with the wolf!"
"The Spirit said to NOT come back empty handed!" Dark Heart snapped irritably. He watched as the cloud car disappeared into the sky. He then brought his gaze to Colette. He narrowed his eyes. "...And we won't have to."
Colette looked up at the sky for a while even after the car drove off into the clouds. She sighed, feeling a little sad but it was overshadowed by relief. Timid Heart would be with his real family now. And that's what mattered. With a smile, she turned to walk away.
She stopped short before running into Dark Heart, who appeared out of nowhere. She gasped audibly, but her startle quickly turned to suspicion. She took a step back.
"Wha-...where did you go?"
Dark Heart looked down at her, nothing about his face seemed friendly anymore.
"Oh...I, uh...found my dog." He said almost angrily.
"You did?" She asked, slightly hopeful but retaining her suspicion.
"Yes." He gestured to the ground behind her. "Meet Beastly."
Colette turned and looked down, her eyes locked on a horrible brown creature.
"Hello, little girl!" Beastly hissed, ending with a laugh. "We couldn't get your wolf, so we'll take you inst..."
Colette let out a scream at the ugly creature, her face full of terror.
"AAAAHHH! PIG-MONKEY MAN!" She wailed before kicking Beastly and sending him flying into the shrubbery.
Colette tried to run but was caught by the arm by Dark Heart.
"On no you don't!" Dark Heart roared, pulling her back. "You're coming with us!"
Colette glared at him, gritting her teeth. "Why you lying dirt bag! You were only using me to get to Timmy!" She hissed, trying to pull away.
"And you went and let him go with those bears!" He yelled back, tightening his grip. "Dumb move. Now I'm just gonna have to settle for you."
"Let me go!" She ordered, trying to break free.
He held on, digging his fingers into her arm. "We can do this the easy way or the hard w..."
His sentence was cut off when she hammered her fist into his gut. His grasp loosened. With great speed, she whirled her leg up and over his arm, put her weight on his arm and proceeded kicking him in the side with that leg repeatedly until he let go. She jumped back a few feet, then spun and kicked him again, knocking him to the ground. Then she ran.
Dark Heart got to his knees, holding his side with one arm while supporting his weight with the other. The look on his face was one of pure shock. He was definitely not expecting that. Beastly crawled out of the shrubs and rested near him.
"Dark Heart...I don't think she's going to do this the easy way." Beastly stated.
Dark Heart was enraged. He glared at Beastly. "YA THINK?!" He exploded, causing Beastly to cower.
Dark Heart looked in the direction Colette ran. His eyes started to glow red, matching the amulet in his chest. "So let's do this the hard way." His voice rumbled.
His whole body glowed now as he began to transform. Beastly shrank back fearfully.
Colette, breathless, ate up the ground beneath her with every stride, trying with everything she had to put as much distance between herself, that creature and the almost supernatural boy as possible. Something about him just didn't seem...human. She knew she had to get somewhere safe. She jumped over logs and dodged trees, finally making it into a clearing where she could really up the speed.
But she wasn't expecting what came next.
There was deep pounding sound from above, and in an instant, she was shrouded in a massive shadow. She dropped to her knees and covered her head as a massive wind blasted over her. The shadow passed and she looked up. Her eyes bulged and she screamed. A horrific beast flew over her, turned mid air and let loose an ear piercing otherworldly shrieking roar.
A gigantic red and black griffin, its form blocking the sun, hovered in the sky above. It shrieked again and lunged downward, extending its massive talons. Colette got up and ran back towards the cover of the trees, hoping she could lose it. But she wasn't fast enough. The talons wrapped around her arms and lifted her high into the sky.
Colette howled again in fear, looking down at the ground as it got further away. She looked up at the beast carrying her, a massive glowing talisman embedded in its chest. From on its back, the ugly little pig looking beast looked down at her, chuckling.
"Shoulda picked the easy way!" He laughed wickedly.
Colette dangled, terrified and confused, from the sharp claws of the fantastical creature as it climbed higher and higher into the sky. She looked ahead. It seemed to be flying right towards a cluster of black storm clouds. She kicked and squirmed, feeling a sense of dread at what must have awaited her in that terrible kingdom of thunder and lightning.