Well, we were out of town longer than I expected. But I managed to get some work done on the story! Here is the next episode of Care Bears Z: New Beginnings Part II!
~Z~
"Oh dear…what should I do?" True Heart thought aloud. She looked around the now sunlit street. Neat homes lined it, painted with pastel colors and framed with lawns just blooming with spring's flowers. True recognized it as the street her good friend Mrs. Lawson lived on. Before she could decide whether to move or not, however, her ears perked at the sound of approaching footsteps. Not knowing what else to do, she laid on the street as still as possible.
"Huh? A teddy bear?"
True Heart tried not to show her shock at the familiar boy's voice. Relief swept through her as two gentle hands picked her up. She could see a dark red shirt and a backpack strap, but she dared not move her eyes.
"Aww, she's so cute!" another voice, much younger and more feminine, cried. "Can we keep her?"
"I guess so. I can't imagine why someone would leave such a nice toy in the street." True felt herself being held out, and then be taken by two smaller hands. "Go and put her in your room."
"She's so warm and soft…it's like she's alive!" the little girl cooed. She hugged the bear, and True Heart fought the urge to hug back out of pure happiness. The girl turned and hurried back into her house, up the stairs, and into her room. As she was set gently on the plush bedspread, True managed to see some of the girl's features. She had short magenta hair with two mini pigtails on each side. She had big, bright blue eyes that seemed to catch the light and shine. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt beneath a pink jumper. It was indeed Wendy Lawson, the daughter of her best friend.
"You rest right here, okay?" Wendy said happily. "I'll be back when I get home from school. Bye-bye!"
With that she was gone. True Heart was almost dizzy with happiness. How fortunate she was to have been found so quickly by who had to be the sweetest children on Earth! Then again, she had visited their house plenty of times…perhaps she had subconsciously gone to their street while looking for her own. This house was like a second home to her. She frowned. The thought had brought up the question she had hoped to avoid. Here she was, True Heart Bear, a Care Bear. Did that mean her human life was over? Was she still able to be considered Tiara Hart? Was it even possible to be two people?
She shook her head. That kind of thinking only made her confused and a little sad. It could wait. For now, perhaps she should think about how to find the members of her family.
~Z~
"Ready, Terrence!" Wendy said as she left the house. Terrence Lawson, her older brother by eight years, stood patiently by the driveway. He smiled at the seven year old as she ran up to him, her pigtails bobbing.
"Let's go, then." he said. The siblings began to walk down the street and out into the main sidewalk toward their schools. It was 7:30, but many of the town's business owners were up and getting their stores ready for the day. Terrence and Wendy both waved to Mrs. Landres as she opened the Good Luck Inn and Restaurant. They greeted Mr. Carter as he unlocked the jewelry store door. They smiled and stopped when they reached the antique shop. Ms. Bennett was just switching the closed sign to open in the window.
"Good morning, dears," she said cheerfully. "Hannah and Trent will be out in a moment, Wendy."
"Here we are!"
As if on cue. two little kids around Wendy's age came to the store's front. The girl, Hannah, had short, powder pink hair curled softly. She wore a light pink tunic and star-print leggings with pink ballet flats. Her twin brother, Trent, had short, slightly messy, light blue hair. He was wearing a light blue and white striped t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and white sneakers.
"Bye, Gramma!" The twins said in unison.
"Have a good day, my little darlings!" the kindly old woman called.
The group walked on. By the time they reached the elementary school, the yard was full of happily playing kids.
"I'll see you after school!" Wendy said, giving her brother a hug. "At three today, right?"
"No…I have another meeting today," Terrence ruffled her hair and smiled apologetically. "I won't be able to pick you up. Sorry…"
"Aw, it's okay. I'll go with Hannah and Trent!"
"Yeah, Gramma won't mind!" Trent smiled.
"Alright, then. I'll get you when the meeting is over." Terrence said. He gave them all one last smile before turning and walking on toward Carenburg High School.
"Bye, big brother!" Wendy shouted after him. When he was out of site, she sighed and turned to her friends.
"Sometimes I wish Terrence wasn't so busy," she said. "But it's good for him, right? He's really smart, so he gets a lot more important stuff to do…"
"He still cares a lot about you, Wendy," Hannah said. "You're right, though…he has an awful lot to do lately…"
"Well, it's no surprise!" Wendy perked up. "They don't let just any ninth grader be class president!"
"C'mon, you two, the swings are open!" Trent said. The three friends ran off to enjoy what was left of their morning recess.
~Z~
Terrence continued walking toward his high school. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for not being able to walk Wendy home, what with their dad being super busy at the mayor's office and their mom…he sighed. He kept telling himself not to worry, that she would be fine and come home soon, but it was in his nature.
"Yo, Terrence!"
The boy's thoughts snapped back to reality at the voice of his friend. A smile grew on his face. He sped up to reach the other teen.
"Ben!" he caught up, pausing right next to his best friend, Benjamin DeWitt. He was taller than Terrence by about half an inch, and had wild orange hair that refused to stay combed. He was wearing an army green jacket over a red-orange shirt, had slightly ripped jeans, and white sneakers. He also wore his signature smirk on his face.
"Dude, you have to tell me your secret." he said. Terrence blinked, confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't act like you don't know. You made the honor's list again," Benjamin shook his head. "How is it possible?"
"I did? Huh…" Terrence pushed his hands into his jean pockets.
"Seriously, Terrence, you are one of the smartest ninth graders here," Ben looked up at the school; they had arrived. "On the list you're second place. Brandon got first again."
"No surprise," Terrence walked up the steps through the thinning crowd of students. "He's one of the smartest people here, period. I sometimes wonder why I'm not his treasurer."
"It's 'cause he's not all take-charge like you, Mr. President."
"Oh, you're talking to me about take charge?" he laughed.
By now, the longtime friends had reached the hall where they split to go to their lockers. Bidding each other goodbye, they went their separate ways. However, someone else was waiting for Terrence at his locker.
"Hiii, Terrence!" she said in a bubbly voice. Lisa Clarke was another of Terrence's good friends; he had known her since preschool. He tried not to blush as she looked up at him with her ice blue eyes glittering expectantly.
"Hey, Lisa," he said as he opened the locker. "What's up?"
"I hear the SGA's planning an end of the year dance. Is that true?" she asked casually. Terrence nodded as he picked out his French book.
"Yeah, we're already working out the plans," he said. "It's still only April, but I think this plan is here to stay."
"I see…" The girl looked away, smoothing out her pleated pink skirt. Terrence's eyebrow rose curiously.
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason…" The warning bell sounded. "Oh! Gotta run! I'll see you at lunch, Terrence!" she smiled and walked off to the Math hallway.
"Bye…" Terrence whispered. He closed his locker and headed to class.
The rest of the day proved normal, thus largely uneventful. The SGA meeting only provided Terrence with two pieces of information: one, the percentage of honor roll students had jumped from 81% to 86% after third quarter; and two, according to Brandon's calculations there was enough money in the treasury to easily pull off an end of the year dance. Terrence sighed as he walked Wendy home from the antique shop, only half listening to how her day went. He couldn't wait to get home and fall asleep the second his homework was finished.
~Z~
True Heart had been within the Lawson house all day, and had had quite a long time to think. She had thought first of Mrs. Lawson, as her mind hadn't been able to completely leave the subject of her human life. The young mother was currently at the hospital again, recovering from another round of chemotherapy. She had been frail since childhood, but had always been a pure joy to talk to. True thought of the plans she had made to visit her tomorrow; how could she possibly get there now?
Then there was another issue. Tiara Hart wasn't a celebrity in Carenburg, but she was well known. Certainly someone would have noticed that she and Niall were missing by now? Her heart had skipped a beat when she remembered the meeting she was supposed to have attended today. Being the secretary to the district attorney was no small job. Tiara was aspiring to be a lawyer, because of her fondness for truth and justice. How ironic, the soon-to-be-defense attorney nearly kidnapped.
These kinds of thoughts had dominated her morning, but when she finally got them out of her head True Heart was able to focus on finding the rest of her family. A lot of pondering her current situation had gotten a gear turning in her head. The more she thought about the two kids that had found her, the more familiar they seemed. When she had compared them to her memories of her Care Bear family, she almost cried with joy. It had to be them. It had to! The more she thought this, the more excited she got. Now she was sitting on Wendy's bed, staring out the window impatiently for them to get home. She had jumped crazily when they came up the street. She almost ran downstairs to greet them when another thought struck her…
How would she ever tell them the truth?
She stopped in her tracks, sitting back on the bed. Of course, she could always tell them. After all, how else could you explain a walking, talking, feeling teddy bear that knew all about you? However, this wouldn't convince them that they were part of the Care Bear family. That would be much harder. True Heart contemplated calling the Star Buddy out, in case he could ask the Great Wishing Star for advice. However, before she could act, footsteps came tapping up the stairs.
"I'm home, Teddy Bear!" Wendy said, seemingly not noticing that the bear had moved from its previous position. "Hmm…we'll have to think up a better name for you…but that can wait." She flopped down onto the bed with a sleepy smile.
"I'm sleepy…it's only five, though…I walked home with Hannah and Trent today. They're my best friends in the whole world. Terrence was busy at school. Dad is still busy at work. And mama…" Wendy's smile disappeared. "She's sick. She's at the hospital. I wish we could help her get better, but…" the little girl sighed. True Heart kept still, not yet ready to reveal herself. After all, she had just seen a little bit more of Wendy's heart. Such a sweet little girl, yet so troubled…
"Wendy! It's time for dinner!" Terrence called up the stairs.
"Coming!" the girl called back. She gave True Heart a small smile. "I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"
It was all True Heart could do not to jump up and hug the sweet child.
~Z~
Terrence yawned as he put his pencil down on the desk. With his homework done, the dishes washed, and Wendy in bed, he was ready to sleep. He stood up from his computer chair and turned toward the door.
"…Huh?"
It took a moment for the boy to realize he wasn't dreaming. Eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, he backpedaled up the wall. Sky blue eyes stared into his. Suddenly, he didn't feel scared, just confused.
"The teddy bear from this morning…" he blinked several times.
"That's right," it said in a feminine voice. "But I'm not a teddy bear. I'm a Care Bear." She stepped into the light. Terrence gaped as she approached his bead and climbed onto it.
"Wha…how…"
"I know this seems hard to believe, Terrence," she said. "But I've known you for a long time. You know me, too."
"How…do you know my name?"
"It's…a long story."
And so she told it. Terrence was now wide awake, hanging onto every word True Heart said. It was incredible; was this creature really the kind friend of his family?
"Wait, so Mr. Hart got kidnapped?" Terrence asked. True Heart nodded sadly.
"Yes. What's more, I don't know why I took on my true form, and I don't know how to turn back," she looked at her arms. "And I don't know how to find Niall."
"So…you think I'm a Care Bear, too?" he leaned closer to her. "And Wendy?"
"Yes," True Heart smiled earnestly at him. "You don't remember anything yet, but I'm certain you are."
At that moment, the sound of wailing sirens traveled down the street. Looking to the window, Terrence and True Heart could see flashing red and blue lights.
"Police cars…what's going on?" Terrence peered after the cars as they turned toward Philadelphia. His heart dropped to his shoes.
"That's…the direction of the hospital…" Cold worry seeped into him. "Mom…?"
"Terrence!"
True Heart had slipped quickly out the room and downstairs, where she had turned on the TV. Luckily, it had been left on the new channel by Mr. Lawson. Terrence bolted downstairs, nearly tripping as he skidded into the living room.
"…Keeping the patients inside as hostages," the news reporter said. She was standing grimly in front of Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia. "Police are beginning to arrive on the scene not only from Philadelphia, but from Carenburg and Darby as well…"
"Look!" True Heart pointed at the screen. Looking closely, Terrence could see a slowly moving blot of darkness near one hospital window. "It's one of those shadows that came after me and Niall!"
Terrence's eyes widened in horror. The shadow was hovering around the second floor, the one his mother was on. He cast a fearful look at True Heart, who cast a worried, yet certain look back.
Assuring that Wendy was completely asleep and the house was locked tight, Terrence sat True Heart in his backpack, hopped on his bike, and sped off to Philadelphia.
~Z~
Phew! That's a lot of words. Sorry to leave it on such a cliffhanger, but the next chapter won't be far off! Most likely I'll post it tomorrow or Monday. Thank you all so much for your reviews! It's very motivating to see reviews from such great authors ^_^ You guys keep up the good work, too!
Oh, and another thing: For the sake of memory, I'm giving everyone names that have the same first letter as their Care Bear name. For example, Tiara Hart = True Heart Bear, Niall Hart = Noble Heart Horse. From now on, though, it'd be fun for you to guess who's who. I suppose you all know who Terrence and Wendy are? What about Benjamin? Lisa? Hannah, Trent, and Ms. Bennett? ;)
FUN TWO CENTS OF THE DAY: I was watching the old CBF episode "The Care Bear Town Parade". Champ Bear said something that made me shout at my TV, and made my mom shush me (watchin' DVDs at midnight, YEAH!). It's something you shouldn't ever say to someone who's trying to save your life and your town. Ever. Especially when she's your (headcanon) girlfriend. If you remember that episode you might know what I'm talking about. Have a good night!
~Smiley :)