Keep in mind, this is an AU of the main stuff, and in no way affects it. Nothing from the Main Storyline will make an appearance here, other than some characters.
I will be uploading the final three chapters this week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Thank you for clicking this story, and I hope you enjoy!
Part Eighteen – The Tracker
Dex frowned as he paced outside of Tasha and James' house, nervous and as jittery as a fly. Did he really dare go up there to a house of bears that hated him? If they knew what he'd done to get his parents arrested, they'd be even more angry!
Spotting a car pulling up in front of the house, Dex froze, hoping the person inside wouldn't see him, though he was standing plain and tall. Out of the car stepped a thin panda with silver and black fur and long multi-braided hair – at least six braids with little bells and feathers decorating them, the bells jingling a little as she moved. She wore a single-strap red shirt that halted just above her waist, and low-riding jean shorts. She walked up the stairs and along the path to the porch, pausing long enough to glance at Dex before shrugging and continuing on her way, ringing the doorbell.
Tasha answered the door. "Méngméng! I didn't think you'd make it to our little dinner. I'm so glad. Where's Fēnglì?"
"Wanted to spend the night at a friend's instead of going to a boring dinner." Méngméng laughed a little. "By the way, you have a guest hovering by the bushes over there." She pointed back at Dexter.
Tasha blinked and looked over. "Dex? What are you doing here? It's hot out here. Come inside and sit before you get sick."
Dex blinked a few times, surprised. "I, uh... Okay." He hadn't even realized he'd been sweating. Slowly, he trudged up the steps and glanced nervously at the panda that was his height. "Uh, hi."
She held out her paw to him. "Hello! Méngméng Chūntiān Seillean. Pleasure to meet you."
Dex blinked a bit and put his hand out, letting her shake his hand. "Dexter Wolfe Barrington? I... Yeah." He pulled back as soon as he could.
Tasha laughed a bit. "Dex doesn't like us dangerous bears," she stated, causing Méngméng to grin.
"Don't worry about me, youngen. My job has me rescuing all kinds of people. I'm a rescue paramedic." She smiled at him. "I am an expert on controlling my strengths. Like Tasha said, come on in."
Dex nodded, feeling awkward, and wandered in, immediately coming to a halt when he entered the foyer and spotted the living room with a lot of furniture that was almost twice the size of his family's furniture. Even the rooms were huge! "Whoa..."
Tasha smiled and shook her head. "Would you like a drink? I can get you some water, if you'd like?"
"I, uh, yeah, sure. I... I need to talk to, uhm... Jim? Jay?"
"James? He's reading the paper in the living room. Jade's here, too, though I don't know if you even know her." The black she-bear shrugged and vanished into the kitchen, Méngméng following her to help with dinner.
Dex took a few deep breaths and walked to what he believed was the living room, standing still as he looked at the two bears – one reading a book and the other a newspaper. It was at least two minutes before he was noticed.
James put down his paper and frowned. "Dex? What's up? Surprised to see you here. Where are your parents? Still out looking for Beary? I told them not to worry about him."
"Uh, well, about that. Um... They... I..."
"Spit it out, boy," Jade snapped, turning a page.
"Jade, behave." James shot her a look. "Or I'll send you to your room."
"Just because my apartment burned up and I have to live here. Hmph."
"It burned up because toasters hate you," James teased.
"Shush, you."
James shook his head and looked at Dex. "What's going on?"
"I, um... Well... Mom and Dad were arrested for, uh, kidnapping."
James blinked several times, and Jade dropped her book. "Did you just say they were arrested?! For kidnapping? How the hell did that happen?" James asked, confused.
Dex stood awkwardly as he told the tale of what had taken place. He felt very guilty about what had happened. Scared that his mother might lose the baby. Scared that he'd be an orphan and lose everything. What had he been thinking?!
James groaned after Dex finished and shook his head. "Great. Just what we need. I'll have to go down to the station and fix this, but it'll be easier if Henry was here to help me out and explain. If only we knew exactly where they were at the moment. Dex, what you did was stupid. I get that you were jealous, but still. I hope you plan on apologizing to both Beary and your parents a lot after this."
"I'm going to. Wait, hold on." Dex pulled out his phone.
"Boy, this is no time to be talking to your girlfriend," Jade growled.
"I'm not! I don't have one! This isn't a number I recognize, but it's a text message..." Dex frowned and looked at the message.
NEED HELP. BEARY HURT BAD. ALL HELD HOSTAGE IN A BIG CAGE. BANKER. USE TRACKER! HURRY! 911! 911! GET UNCLE JAMES! ~JEWEL
The teenager frowned a bit. Where had Jewel gotten his number? Maybe she'd been snooping around his phone, or his parents had given it to her. Damn it. Wait, this wasn't the time for this! "It's from Jewel."
"Oh? What's she got to say?"
"She says that they need help. Beary's hurt bad. They're all held hostage in some kind of big cage. Banker? Use tracker?" Dex frowned. Tracker? Wait, she wasn't talking about Beary's cubling tracker, was she?! "They're in trouble! I know how to find them!"
James nodded. "I'll get the girls in the car and find a sitter for Jordan. Go get this thing of yours and meet back here immediately."
Dex nodded and hurried off, while James told Jade to get ready while he went into the kitchen. "Girls, stop dinner. We have a situation, and we need your medical knowhow, and possibly your rescue abilities, Méngméng."
"What's happened?" Tasha asked, immediately turning off the stove.
"Dex got a text from Jewel. Apparently Beary's been hurt, the band's trapped in some kind of large cage, and they're all in trouble."
"Band?" Méngméng questioned, wiping her paws on a towel.
"Yeah. Beary and Jewel went to get The Country Bears back together."
Méngméng's ears flattened. "And have they succeeded?"
"Well, last I saw, they had Fred, Tennessee, and Zeb."
"Alec..." the she-panda murmured. "I'm going for sure."
"Well, I kinda asked you to go, Méngméng," James laughed. "Go get your stuff. Honey, get your med bag. I'll take Jordan to the neighbor's all right?"
Tasha nodded and watched as he left.
.~*~.
Dex felt very small as he sat in the front seat of a Suburban car built for bears. The seats were twice the size of his parent's van, and the steering wheel thick and enormous. Even the seatbelts were heavy and hard for him to manage. James had to discreetly reach over and help him buckle up.
"You're more used to human-sized stuff. I get it. Our stuff is more heavy duty because there's more surface to cover. No worries," the officer stated, glancing at the house where the girls were finally coming out – two with bags, one with a concealed gun – and got into the back of the car.
Dex nodded, looked down at the silver tracking box in his hands, and flicked it on. All the lights flashed a bit before settling on a general direction of right. "Right, please," he told James as soon as they pulled out of the driveway.
James nodded and turned to the right. "You give the directions. I'm sure we'll find them."
The teenager nodded, giving him directions as time went on before falling silent after twenty minutes passed. "Do you think..." He licked his lips. "Do you think Beary's going to be okay?"
The black bear eyed him for a moment, and Dex felt Tasha's paw on his shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be okay," James responded, a small smile on his face at the brother's worry. "Worried, huh?"
"No! Of course not. He's a bear. Not... Not like he's my brother or anything." Dex looked out the window unhappily.
"Can I ask you a question?" James asked after a few moments.
"What is it?"
"What makes you dislike him so much?"
Dex frowned again, mulling it over. Might as well come clean. "I... I don't know. Jealous, I guess... Mom and Dad always give him so much attention. I mean, I'm their son by birthright, and they just ignored me once he came along, unless they're mad at me." He sighed. "But how do you tell them that? They don't care about me. And now with the new baby on the way..."
"Maybe they just thought you could take care of yourself? Or, like you said, they just didn't seem to notice what they were doing. I doubt they honestly meant to. I know what they did was wrong, and I'm certain they're starting to figure that out. Just don't take it to heart, all right? Taking things like that deep within yourself will just create a villain."
The teenager sighed again and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I feel horrible about it, though. I didn't mean for this all to happen. I was just tired of him being the special one. I wanted the attention. I should have just kept my mouth shut."
"Actually, I think Beary might be grateful to you, Dex," Jade spoke up. "From what I saw, he's actually fairly happy. Sad, but happy. It's complicated."
James nodded. "He's with his birth father now. As far as I'm aware, he's not aware of it, but you never know. He could find out."
"Does this mean that Beary will live with him instead of us?"
"Possibly. It's a lot more complicated than that. We'll figure it out when we find them."
Dex nodded and glanced at the tracker box. "Right. Now go left... It's all lighting up, now and getting louder! Stop the car!" Dex looked out the window eagerly, but only found a warehouse with a fence surrounding it and a sign stating NO TRESPASSING.
Dex frowned a little and looked around as he got out of the vehicle once James stopped it. "How do we get in? This thing's going crazy!"
James nodded, standing on his side of the car and looking around. The fence had a barbed top, so there was no way to climb it – not that a bear could fit paws or claws in the netting. "We'll ram it down. Time is precious. Get back into the car."
Upon the duo doing so, James positioned his vehicle into a perfect angle and revved the engine. "Tasha, you'll be okay?" He glanced back at his pregnant wife.
"Of course. I'm a bear."
He nodded. "And off we go." He released the brake and drove straight through the fence, snapping the section from the poles it was connected to. The section flew forward and crashed to the ground.
"That was awesome!" Dex grinned brightly.
James laughed. "Now then, let's see if we can find our missing bears, hm?"
Dex hesitated for just a moment, wondering if he was ready for Beary back in his life. Ultimately, he decided that the house was too quiet, and he missed his little bear brother – as annoying as he was. He'd rather have him back than live in the quiet house where all the attention was suddenly on him again. "Let's get my brother."
Tasha beamed proudly and reached forward, squeezing his shoulder gently. "Now there's the boy your parents talk about."
Dex blushed a little and got out of the car, tracker in hand, the others following suit as they prepared themselves. Dex led the way, staying close to the group, and walked carefully through the dirt parking lot. "Don't you need a warrant or something?"
"At this point, no. We're on a rescue mission. I don't give a damn right now," James stated, while Jade snorted.
"Don't get in trouble, James," Tasha laughed.
"Psh, they love me at the station."
"Only because you bring the most donuts, James," Jade teased.
Dex rolled his eyes and let out a startled yelp as he was suddenly surrounded by fur. "What the hell?"
"You'll be better protected between us all," Tasha explained, smiling at him. "We'd rather risk ourselves than you."
"But why?"
"Because you are the child of a friend," James responded. "Hello?" he called out, looking around warily as they ventured further inside the building. His weapon was drawn, as was his partner's. Jade trailed behind the group, providing protection from behind, while Tasha and Méngméng kept Dex between them, both knowing they'd have a better chance at surviving a shot than he would. "Trixie? Jewel? Beary?"
Dex glanced around anxiously, but all he saw was the furry bodies. However, even he could hear the faint cry for help, followed by an "over here!"
"I can smell them," James stated.
"I smell blood," Méngméng mentioned.
As one, the group rushed towards the source of the cries, soon finding the large metal cage in the center of the warehouse.
Dex paused as the bears surrounding him separated. His sight fell upon the still form of his brother, cradled in the arms of a stranger. Blood soaked a makeshift bandage around his leg, and his right side of his head was caked with blood.
He found himself unable to move. Gone was his bravado and self-centeredness. All that consumed him was the sight of Beary in such pain. His mind flashed back to a forgotten memory, the first time he'd met Beary.
FLASHBACK
"Mom? What's that? Is that a bear cub? Oh, he's so cute! Is he my new pet? Can we keep him?" Eight-year-old Dexter Barrington was a bundle of energy as he hopped around the living room, looking at the small cub that simply stared at him with wide hazel eyes.
Allison laughed and shook her head. "We found him, honey. Well, the ranger did. In the woods all alone. We're taking him in until we can find his parents."
"Why not keep him? He's so fluffy! I'll take care of him, Mommy! I promise I will! I'll clean up after him, and he can sleep in my room and poop in the backyard!" Dex looked over at his father. "Daddy, tell her to let me keep him!"
Norbert chuckled. "Dex, he has a family of his own."
"But they didn't take care of him! He's so thin and scrawny!"
His parents studied the cub, nodding in agreement. While Allison went to prepare a big dinner for them all – and fretting over what the cub was supposed to eat – while Norbert went to rummage around in the basement in search of any of Dex's old clothes.
Dex, meanwhile, was left alone in the living room with the bear cub. "What's your name? Do you have one?" When the cub didn't respond, Dex thought that maybe he couldn't talk! Like a dog! "Okay, I'll say a couple names, and you tell me if you like them or not. Um... Rover."
No response.
"Zelda!"
No response.
"Darn. Um... Fred?"
A flick of an ear, but no response.
"Ryan?"
No response.
Dex went through a few more names before trying the corniest name he could think of. "You're a bear, so... Beary?" He jumped out of his skin when the cub lit up and started babbling.
"Yay! Ya git it! Mah name Beary!"
"You do talk!" Dex felt very proud of himself for accomplishing this. "Do you want to watch Barney?"
"Barney? Sing dino?"
"Yeah! Here, hold on." Dex got up and went to the VHS tapes shelf, looking for a specific set, and upon finding the video he wanted, he took it to the VCR and turned on the TV. When the familiar opening song began to play, he laid on his stomach and sang along.
Beary watched this with interested, and climbed off the couch towards him. He stood for a few moments, watching the moving images on the screen, before laying down and curling up against Dex, relishing in the heat he gave off. After a few minutes, he began to purr.
Dex, of course, was very surprised at this, but didn't move, happy to have the company and the soft warmth the cub gave off. "Hey, what about Barney?"
"Sleep, furzt. Barn-Barn latah."
"Barn-barn?" Dex snorted and laughed a bit.
"Dat wat Jacob call it."
"Jacob?"
"Big brofer. I miss him... You mah big brofer now?"
Dex turned to look at him, flipped on his side, and picked up the bear cub, carried him to the couch and curled up with him. "Yup. I am your big brother now, Beary. I won't let anyone hurt you."
END FLASHBACK
'That's right... I was the one who showed whim the Barney videos. I put up such a fight to keep him around. I asked that he'd be in my room. I wanted a baby brother, and I thought that him being a bear would make it even better!' He blinked a few times, staring at Beary who hadn't moved since their arrival. 'What have I done?'
Dex dropped the tracker to the ground and sprinted forward, his hands slamming against the metal bars. "Beary! Wake up! Come on, doofus! You can beat this! You're a big, dumb, smelly, ugly doofus of a bear!" He hit the bars again as he shouted. "Get up, damn it! No brother of mine is going to be such a wimp!" His voice cracked as he continued to yell.
He was aware of everyone watching him, those in the cage asking silent questions, but he didn't care. That was his little brother, and he wasn't going to screw up again!
Finally, he noticed movement from the cub. His eyes were slowly opening. Dex found himself letting out a choked sob. He was alive! He looked over at the group of bears he'd come with, all of whom breathed sighs of relief.
James smiled for a moment before turning serious. "Méngméng, do you see a way in?"
"At the moment, no. Let me climb to the top and see what I can find." She set down her bag and began to climb.
Jade, meanwhile, drew James away from the cage. "Uh, partner? Are these what I think they are?"
"Hm?" James studied the object she was staring at and froze. "Oh, dear. Uh, Méngméng? Hurry it up."
The silver panda quickened her pace at his tone and was soon on the roof of the cage, looking down and assessing the situation. "Can't seem to find an opening, but I'll keep looking. I do have a stupid question, though. Did anyone try the door?"
No one moved.
Tasha, seeing this, gave the cage door a strong shake and rattle. She was about to give her report when Méngméng shrieked and fell into the cage through a suddenly opening trapdoor in the ceiling of the cage, landing in a startled Zeb's arms. "Are you okay?!"
Méngméng, however, did not answer her, too enthralled by who was holding her. "Alec?"
Zeb was surprised to have his estranged wife suddenly in his arms again. "Uh, hello. Wait... Méngméng?" He dropped her in shock.
"Ow! Hey!" She took a swipe at him, greatly annoyed.
"Stop flirting with your boyfriend and focus, Méngméng!" Tasha called.
"Husband, Tasha. This is my husband," the she-panda responded, earning surprised gasps from the band.
"How'd you get someone as gorgeous as that?!" Ted demanded to Zeb.
"We shared similar interests," Zeb said simply with a sniff as he helped Méngméng back up.
"And what's are those?"
"Not fit for young ears," the fiddler winked. He turned back to look at her, only to find her gone. "Méngméng?" He looked around, finally spotting her kneeling beside Beary. "Oh, right... Rescue medic."
"Tasha, pass me the bandages, clean water, and alcohol. I'm going to properly clean his wounds. I've found an entry and exit. Entry just above the knee, exit in upper thigh. The bullet might have bounced off his bone. Perhaps shattered it. There's a lot of swelling here. He'll need x-rays for sure. He's also damn lucky that the bullet missed his area when exiting."
Zeb knelt by the cage wall, taking the requested supplies from Tasha and giving them to Méngméng.
As she worked, she glanced around for a moment, spotting the instruments. "You were all playing in here?"
"Passed the time, and... and we figured we owed Beary a concert. Just in case," Ted muttered.
"I see... Hold him still." Méngméng finished flushing the wound and now began with the alcohol, earning a squealing cub in response at the pain. "Shh, little one. Xū, xiǎo dōngxī. Yīqiè dūhuì hǎo qǐlái de. Wǒ dāyìng. Nǐ huì huózhe kàn dào lìng yītiān."
Henry watched anxiously, doing as instructed, making sure Beary didn't move while his wounds were cleaned and bandaged. His mind flashed back a few times to the war, remembering the bloodshed of Vietnam.
Jade and James, meanwhile, tried to figure out what to do about the explosives. From what they could see, they were for demolition. Had been whoever had taken the band planned all this? Or was it merely coincidence? There were notices posted too, and signed by a bank. They didn't appear armed or currently dangerous. Either way, the officers knew they needed to hurry.
Tasha watched anxious as Méngméng worked, sparing a glance to her sister, niece, and Tennessee. They seemed healthy enough, but why were Trixie's paws all bloody? Her dress torn?
"I'm fine, Nata," Trixie spoke, walking over to the door and reaching through it to hold her sister's paw.
Tasha leaned forward and rubbed noses with her sister through the openings in the bars.
"I ripped my dress for a bandage. How's the baby?"
"Turns out baby is babies. Three of them," the black she-bear responded. "They believe it's two boys and one girl. Strong and healthy." She let Trixie rest her paw on her belly.
"Triplets?" Trixie felt the cubs moving and grinned. "And they're only just discovering this?"
Tasha laughed and nodded. "Yeah. Ridiculous, no? James just about fainted when he found out. Three cubs so suddenly. Crazy. We're going to go shopping for more cribs and other supplies soon. Now that you're home, you can join us!"
"That would be nice for sure." Trixie nodded and gave her another lick. "Well then, we'd best get out of here, huh?"
"Yeah, but... How's Jewel holding up?"
Trixie's voice dropped as she glanced back at her daughter, withdrawing her paw from her sister's belly. "She won't admit it, but she's scared. We all are. We need to get out of here, that's for sure. The only thing that held us together are the cubs. Despite what's happening, they've remained strong. The boys made up, too. We've been playing while we waited. Silly, I know, but it made Beary smile. Kept him awake, too, though I don't know if he could hear us."
"What do you mean"
"He had a gun go off right next to his ear. Same time he got his ear, well, pierced."
Dex, overhearing this, gulped. He had only been kidding about the big game hunters! And now his brother was hurt by one. Well, basically one. Why had he not been finished off? Was he only injured to hurt the others? Dex wanted nothing more than to find the shooter and knock his lights out. But, first, he had to figure out how to get Beary out of there. The door was locked and they had no way to lift him out of the top opening.
"Is there a key?" he asked softly, looking around. No one seemed to hear him, so he repeated himself in a louder voice. Finally, all eyes were on him, causing him to cringe. "I, uh, just thought there might be a key. To the door."
"Thimple took it with him," Henry spoke up.
"Then why not pop the hinges? Bust it open that way?"
The bears all blinked, looking at him in surprise.
James wandered back over. "Jade, Dex, go look for a crowbar. I think Dex's idea just might work."
.~*~.
"And heave!" Tasha called as James and Jade worked on the hinges with the crowbar they had gotten from somewhere in the warehouse. Two of the hinges were already out, but the last was giving them some trouble.
Dex stood back, fidgeting nervously. Beary was getting less and less responsive. The last time Dex had seen this was when they discovered he was allergic to peanuts and other nuts. Dex remembered being scared, not knowing what was going on, a bag of peanuts in his hand. A babysitter had been called for him, and his parents had left with Beary. His brother had almost died that night, and ever since, even unconsciously, Dex had been careful to not eat nuts around him, and to take care in washing his hands and making sure that anyone else that ate nuts would properly clean themselves before entering the house.
Why had he become so bitter? He loved Beary, but couldn't show it. These past few days had made him realize how much he actually cared.
When the last hinge pin popped out and the door was pushed out by Fred and Ted, Dex rushed in and kneeled next to Beary. "Hey, can you hear me? Smell me? Something. Anything. Please..." To his relief, Beary's nose twitched – the usual indication that he was sniffing something. "That's it!"
"Dex...? Sor... Sorry for... ruining... family," Beary whispered.
Dex felt the eyes upon him and frowned. Ruining family? Had he really said that to him? He didn't know if Beary could hear him, but it was worth a shot. "You never ruined it. I did. I used to accept you. I wanted you to stay with us. I showed you the Barney videos. I was stupid and jealous. Ignore what I said. Forgive me. You have to pull out of this. Mom and Dad will never forgive me if you die. We have to prove that they didn't kidnap you so we can get them out of jail.
"I screwed up, Beary. I screwed up big time. I need your help to make this right again. You always know what to do. I'm not smart. I'm just a bad brother. I should have never turned my back on you. You're my little brother, and I promised to look after you, and I failed. Please, Beary..." Dex broke off when he felt a paw on his hand. He looked down, finding it to be Beary's light brown one. It was then that he realized that his cheeks were wet from tears.
Beary stared at him quietly. He had heard little, but enough to know that Dex was sorry. He also knew it wasn't a false apology like Dex usually gave. He could see it in his eyes that this was genuine. "I... forgive... you..." he whispered, feeling himself begin to slip. "Tell them... do concert... can't let jerk win..." He was vaguely aware of being picked up and carried. "Please... Gotta win..."
His eyes rolled back and he fell into darkness, unable to hold on any longer.
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