Reunited
Swift Hearts ears picked up the noise of people approaching her and Loyal Hearts camp site, forcing her awake. She quickly crawled over to where Loyal Heart was sleeping, "Loyal, wake up! Someone's coming!"
Loyal shot awake, not bothering to yawn he prepared to conjure a sword, the a familiar voice calmed him down.
"Save your energy, it's just me and Jolly Heart," Valiant Heart said as he and the platypus appeared in the campsite. A moment later Snowy Heart and Cozy Heart appeared via a screen step.
"Well, good thing we're all here," Snowy said.
"Sheila!" Jolly opened his arms as Cozy Heart waddled towards him, a huge smile on his face. He remained this way even as Cozy continued past him and embraced Swift Heart.
"Wha jus 'appened?"
Cozy hugged him from behind, "Ssssorry Jolly, bessst friend beatsss new boyfriend." She kissed his cheek.
"OI'll take it!" Turning he hugged her back.
Valiant Heart hugged Snowy and then let go, "Well now tha the tearful reunion is over, let's see how we all did." Each of them turned out the collection of crystals they had gathered onto the ground and Valiant checked all of them.
The wolverine surprised them all by jumping a shouting, "Yahoo! That's all of them!"
"Wait, it looks like there's one extra," Snowy Heart said, checking the orange crystal, "It looks like your opposite, Swift Heart."
Swift Heart scowled, "Yeah I know." Breaking a stick she pushed around a leaf, "And let me tell you it was a fun time for all."
Valiant looked at the crystal, "So you got one too," he motioned to Jolly Heart, "Well we managed to get one too, Jolly captured his opposite, Glum Heart Platypus, when we ran into her."
Digging into his shorts pocket he retreved the mustard yellow crystal, "An she was one agro sheila if you ask me. OI had ta spur her afore she shut that cakehole O 'ers."
"So," Loyal Heart said, "We have all of our family members, plus two opposites."
"The big question is: what do we do with them now?" Snowy Heart asked, looking to the others for ideas.
"Well for sssssure we ssssshoulg get back to Terra Heartsssss burrow and sssssee if the othersss found a way to reverssse the crysssstalization." Cozy voiced.
"An OI guess we can keep the opposites loike this till we know fo' sure wha we're doin with them."
"That's true," Valiant Heart said, "And once the others are free then we can try to figure out what should be done with the opposites we captured."
"If you manage to get back to them that is!" the voice was one they all knew, they turned to face Shatter Heart and Blade Star in company with Flare Heart Fox. In an instant, Valiant had drawn his sword, Loyal Heart and conjured a spear and Snowy Heart had his bow at the ready.
"I don't know why you're here nor do I care," Valiant Heart said as he released his Zanpakuto, "Swift Heart, get everyone back to Terra Heart, we'll hold them here!" Snatching the crystals up Swift Heart shoved them into Cozy Hearts arms. She then grabbed Jolly's hand and Cozy Hearts free one and took off running. She had no problem getting as far away from those two as she could.
There were no words exchanged as Loyal Heart and Valiant charged at Shatter Heart and Blade Star, their weapons clashign together. Loyal Heart kept switchign his weapons around to keep the opposite and the two care bears from wonderland.
"It's payback time for Wonderland!" Shatter Heart shouted.
"Ziget Dich! Flamberge!" As teh fox, now with five tails, formed, Falre Heart declared, "This time we'll bring you back to No-Heart, Dead or Alive!"
The landscape flew by Swift Heart and her passengers in a blur. It had been a long time since she had run this fast and there was no way she was slowing until she reached her destination. Jolly felt himself getting motion sickness from the speed they were going at and had to close his eyes. Cozy Heart on the other hand was using all her concentration to hold onto the bag of crystals with one hand.
"I think we are almost there guys, just hang on!"
"Loike we 'ave any other choice love!" Jolly got out before he had to swallow to keep from hurling. A few seconds later she heard a bunch of very familiar voices and slammed on the breaks, skidding to a halt among those that had been left behind.
Everyone was surprised at Swift Heart's sudden appearance, but none were as surprised as Defiant Heart and Jolly Heart. The Platypus had been so busy trying to keep from throwing up that he hadan't noticed the stop and was hurled forwards, crashing into Defiant Heart Badger, who was stunned by the impact, before rolling several feet off of him to the base of a tree.
Terra Heart approached them and helped Defiant Heart up asking, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, just a bit dazed," Defiant Heart said.
"Swift Heart, welcome back, how did you do?" True Heart asked, relieved and concerned.
"We got everyone. They're in there." She pointed to Cozy Heart who was on the ground, clutching the bag tightly. "Cozy, you can let go now."
Realizing she still had her death grip the penguin laughed nervously, "Oh yea, hehehe."
Swift Heart shook her head and turned back to True Heart, "I hope you guys found a spell to turn them back."
Blue held up the book from a few feet away, "We think we have. All we need is a guniea pig."
"Well why not test it on Grumpy Bear then?" Defiant Heart suggested, "After a run like that I'm sure that's the best way to reward her," despite the possible implications, Defiant Heart wasn't trying to be funny.
Swift Heart put her finger on her chin looking thoughtful, "Well actually I did have my eye on a new foot spa, but I guess getting my boyfriend back is a good second choice." Taking Grumpy Bears crystal from her pocket she tossed him to Blue. He placed the crystal on the ground and opened the spell book. Glancing up briefly he looked to Fauna leaning on a tree a couple feet away.
She was still mad at him and hadn't spoken to him since Hunter had joined them, "You know the stronger the magic the better." Without a word she knelt down opposite Blue and glanced at the spell. Together they closed their eyes and chanted, hands hovering over the crystal.
"Ala chanam ina amoria luminoteso," Gold colored magic floated from Fauna's hands and navy blue from Blue's. Together they seeped into the crystals surface, causing it to glow. "Verora honesa chantilla conjoui gussue pronomeray," Their voices began to rise and the light from the crystal got brighter. "brirre, Brirre, BRIRRE!" On the last word the crystal blew apart in a blinding light that caused everyone to shield their eyes.
Being blind and able to feel the slight impact cause when the spell finishe, Terra Heart was the first to notice the extra bear in the crowd. "I believe your spell worked," the mole said.
As the light receded and the others regained their vision, they saw a slightly dazed Grumpy Bear sitting among shards of blue crystal. "Okay, I never want to do that again."
Before anyone could say anything, Swift Heart had run to him and grabbed onto his shirt front with both hands, shaking him, "If you ever do anything so chauvinistic again I will personally kill you. Understand?" Whether he nodded in agreement or from Swift Hearts violent shaking was hard to say.
Fauna put a hand on Swift Hearts shoulder trying to pull her off Grumpy, "Okay Swifty I think he gets it. Don't kill him now, we just got him back." But as Fauna pulled her grip got tighter.
Grumpy managed to get a grip on her, "Swift Heart I get it, chill!" He stopped her motion, "I know what happened with you and Delay Heart remember? And I'm sorry but I'm here now." Before anyone else could see her tears, she buried her head against Grumpy's chest.
"Well the spell is great success it seems," Hunter said, speaking up from where he was sitting for the first time since Swift Heart returned.
"It is," Terra Heart said, "Please hurry and release the otehrs, I want to meet the rest of your family!"
"We wouldn't need to do it in the first place if it wasn't for you and your fellow forgeries." Fauna snapped at Hunter as she arranged crystals between her and Blue. Hunter said nothing, there was no point in arguing about that.
Meanwhile, Valiant Heart, Loyal Heart and Snowy Heart were hard pressed to hold back Shatter Heart, Blade Star and Flare Heart, made harder by the fact that none of them had fully recovered from their earlier fights.
Eventually, Valiant Heart called out, "All right, that's long enough, let's get moving!" He grabbed Loyal Heart's hand before he could protest and flash stepped away. Snowy, not wanting to be left behind, screen stepped after them, back towards Terra Heart's forest.
Flare Heart stomped her foot, "They got away, now what are we supposed to do?" she asked Shatter Heart and Blade star angrily.
"Yes, they escaped, but to be honest we weren't trying to defeat them outright," Blade Star admitted.
"Wait what?" Flare Heart asked, "then what is No-Heart going to say."
"Nothing, cause for all he'll care we all died here," Shatter Heart said.
As Fauna and Blue finished the last spell, both looked extremely pale and tired. Fauna fell forward onto her hands, "That took more magic then I thought it would." Blue could do little more then nod. All around them however the clearing was full of excited chatter as the members of the Care Bear family were reunited.
Noble Heart embraced his wife True Heart carefully, "Oh True Heart, thank goodness you're all right. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, my love, much much better now that you're back. I was afraid that Hugs and Tugs wouldn't be able to meet their father."
Similar couples were all embracing, Share Bear, Proud Heart, and Love-a-Lot were all a bit worried until Snowy Heart, Loyal Heart and Valiant Heart returned in a blurr, and all three were happy to be back.
Proud Heart was a bit nervous when Loyal Heart hugged her and he asked what was wrong. Proud Heart sighed and told him about what happened with Depression Heart.
Loyal Heart embraced her softly, "You were very brave, my lady. I admit even I do not like the idea of killing someone. Thank you for protecting our son."
Having been able to drag herself to a tree to lean against, Fauna smiled sleepily as she watched the reunions. She was happy to see her family was whole again. Allowing her eyes to close all the way, she felt her body returning to it's true form before she fell asleep. Blue had just collapsed where he was and was also asleep. Playful Heart picked up the two crystals that remained, one mustard yellow the other orange, "Looks like they missed two."
Cozy shook her head at him, "Trusssst me Playful Heart, you don't want thossse two coming back."
Valiant Heart managed to pull himself away from Love-a-Lot and spoke up, "Good point, those are Glum Heart Platypus and Delay Heart Rabbits, opposites. Now that we're all here we need to figure out what we should do with them, any ideas?" he asked.
"I'm up for Swift Heart's idea of letting Delay Heart wash out to sea." Grumpy called from where he and said rabbit were sitting.
Loyal Heart kept silent, at the moment he didn't feel like getting involved in this argument.
"To be honest, I'm not sure what we should do here," Noble Heart said, "Yes they were created to destroy us and they likely will be difficult to dissuade from that, but I don't think we can just kill them in cold blood."
"I had to k-kill my opposite with my own claws," Proud Heart said. Everyone who hadn't heard the story yet was shocked at what she said, "It-it's not something I'm going to find easy to live with."
Snowy Heart then suggested something, "I don't know about the others, but I seem to recall that Wonderland is missing a white rabbit, why not get a hold of the white queen and see if she can use Delay Heart for that?"
Swift Heart looked at him in genuine shock, "That is an awesome idea Snowy! He would have to get his memory wiped to do the job anyway so there would be no danger to us after he was revived."
"Sounds about right," Valiant Heart said, "When Blue wakes up I'll get to mirror and I'll try to get the queen's attention, then he can tell the queen how to release him and we can send him through. But what about Glum Heart, Jolly Heart what do you think?" the wolverine asked.
Jolly had a big smile on his face, as always, "Send 'er to me mum! Aftah all she' the bee's knees at mollycoddlein broken critters, an far as OI see, she's as broken as they come."
"That sounds like a great idea," Defiant Heart said, "How do you think she'll react to finding out she has a 'daughter'?" the badger couldn't resist a snicker.
"That's all well and good," Valiant Heart spoke up again, tossing Glum Heart's crystal to Jolly Heart, "and it would be nice if Glum Heart could be made to be like us, or even just a slightly awkward inhabitant of Earth, but what about the other opposites? We know they share the same weakness to our stares that we do to theirs so what should we do with that information, capture them or just outright destroy the rest of them?"
"I don't think we should make an absolute decision at the moment," Loyal Heart said, "Proud Heart was forced to kill her opposite in the heat of the moment, and Delay and Glum Heart were captured due to experimentation. I believe we should try to capture them if we see a chance to but only if it is wise to do so or we have an idea what to do with them afterwards."
"If it come down to me o mon en face, den she gonna be de one crystalizing dis time." Etienne told Loyal Heart.
"I agree" said Bedtime with a yawn, "We should try to render them helpless and if it comes down to staring them then so be it. Afterall, we know how to reverse it now so it's not like it's permanent."
"That's a valid point, but what about Flare Heart fox and Treachery Heart Dog, they can't stare and according to Loyal Heart, our stares don't have that same effect, not to mention their other abilities," Snowy Heart said.
"Then there's the fact that Shatter Heart and Blade Star have shwon up again, working with No-Heart," Valiant Heart said, "ugg, that arrogant midnight blue bear and her little glass marked friend, as if they weren't enough trouble before!"
Brave Heart tapped his chin, "Your stares may not work on them, but what if we somehow infused your weapons with care energy. It could at the very least weaken them."
"Possibly, but I think we should stop thinking too much and start acting. If Depression Heart Cat found us here, it's a good bet the others will too," Valiant Heart stood up, raising his sword, "I say we should strike against No-Heart now, hit him while he's still reeling before he has a chance to rally against us."
Grumpy scowled, "That's all well and good for those of you who have been free this whole time, but some of us aren't exactly at our best yet." Noble Heart nodded in agreement, "I know I could use a few hours sleep. And Fauna and Blue need to regain their strength."
Valiant Heart sighed, in the heat of the moment he hadn't considered that. It was Terra Heart who saved the situation by suggesting, "Well if I don't haev an opposite they wouldn't expect you to be underground. It might get a bit crowded but you could all come down to sleep in my tunnel tonight."
"That's very kind of you Terra Heart. It seems like our best option at the moment." Noble Heart turned to his family, "Okay gang, everyone underground." Champ raised his arm, "What about them sports fan?" He pointed to the knocked out Fauna, Blue, and the isolated Hunter.
"I assume they would not want me here while they sleep, just tell me where I should sleep and I will," hunter said, in a voice that showed he did not care what their answer was.
"On the contrary Hunter. You need to proove yourself to Fauna in a big way. I think you should keep watch while they sleep." Swift Heart suggested to him as she moved to the burrow opening, thrilled about their arrangements for the evening.
"I suppose you have a point," Hunter said, shifting into an owl and flying up to a tree where he would be able to spot anyone approaching.
Meanwhile...
"Could you at least explain to me what you mean by, cause for all he'll care we all died here'?" Treachery Heart asked as Shatter Haert sliced through the last of her chains.
"Well, the truth is, while we got some useful info from No-Heart, we didn't plan on his success," Blade Star explained.
"So, once we scoped out your powers, and saw they could be trained like ours, we though that as long as you want to destroy the care bears, why don't you join us, we could train you, make your powers even greater, and next time you fight those Care Bears we would make mincemeat out of them," Shatter Heart said.
"Well," Flare Heart said, "I would like to put that Snowy Heart in his place, but No-Heart needs us at hsi side?"
"You think he needs you?" Blade Star asked, "He sees you as little more than tools, to be discarded when your usefulness has expired, and considering you failed this mission too, that might be too soon for your liking."
"All right," Treachery Heart said, miffed, "it's not like we have anythign else to do."
"Good, then stand close," Blade star pulled out the mirror she'd acquired in Wonderland, "We're going to a secret training ground for a while," she threw the mirror to the ground, whci grew until they were all stnading on top of it, and they sank into its surface , the mirror vanishing after them.