Hi, I'm back! :D Again, thank you all for being so very patient with me. Laundromat wifi was too limited, so I went to McDonald's. I've worked on the story and hopefully will be able to fall back into my regular updating sched by the time I get home. Here goes!
Last time on Care Bears Z, our heroes struggled with not only the stressful events of their human lives, but interesting developments in their Care Bear lives as well. Something strange is definitely going on with the evil No Heart. No-one seems to be showing any knowledge of what happened just the night before! Could No-Heart be up to something more sinister than ever before, and will the current Care Bears ever find a way to awaken the rest of the family? Find out in Care Bears Z Episode 12: He That Spies!
~Z~
Darkness was a natural part of the castle. Even so, much of that darkness was punctuated with the flickering light of candles and, at the very least, the glowing red eyes of the shadows. However, one part of this dark abode had no light. It was black as pitch, and the silence was the only thing that filled the room. A dank, horrible smell hung in the air, and one could only place it as evil. Nothing good could ever come of this room, and anyone who went into it surely wouldn't last long.
No Heart swung open the door to the room and strode in four steps exactly. His bright crimson eyes flashed with a mild yet sickening expectation.
"Now, are you ready to regain your position?" he asked into the darkness. His only response was a low growl. His head lowered slightly, hiding what could have been a satisfied smirk.
"Good. Go now, and gather information for me. Do not let yourself be seen. Do not fail me again, Beastly."
There was silence, then a slight shifting. Another growl, and finally a raspy voice sounded through the room.
"Yes, my lord."
~Z~
"Get fired up! Let's get down! Grizzly Bears don't mess around!"
"One more time, gals!" Charity called. "Make sure you all stomp hard on the last part!"
The cheerleaders obliged, repeating the chant and steps again. Charity got in position for her part. While she was walking, she saw Christopher glance her way. She smiled and waved. The blond boy smiled back.
"Trent!" the baseball coach called. "You're up!"
Christopher got up from the bench and jogged to home plate. He picked up the bat and readied himself, staring at the pitcher confidently. He gripped the bat's handle, taking a satisfactory deep breath. The pitcher wound up, then fired the ball at him.
The sharp crack as the bat hit the ball was like music to his ears. He saw the ball soar in a white arc above the field. Tossing the bat down expertly, he darted to first base. Seeing that the ball hadn't yet been scooped up, he dashed to second, then, bracing himself, he sprinted for third - and slid in just before the ball touched his back.
A few cheers rose from his teammates and friends in the stands. He smiled and stood, dusting himself off a bit.
"Flawless as always, Chris," a boy named Micheal commented, handing him a water bottle.
"Ah, there's always room for improvement," he shrugged. Then he paused and said, "But then again, they don't put people on varsity for nothin'."
"Alright, everybody, that's all for today," the coach shouted. "I wanna see all of you in the field tomorrow at 3:30 sharp!"
The man got several muttered replies from the team. Christopher grabbed his bag from the bench. He stood and watched as the cheerleaders finished their practice. He glanced at Brandon, who had been waiting out both practices in the bleachers doing his homework and was now packing up his things.
"You were great out there," Brandon jogged up to him from his seat in the stands. "There's no way you'll lose tomorrow."
"Hm...yeah, you're right," he smiled at his friend.
"'Kay, I'm ready," Charity skipped over to them. "And the whole cheer team is ready to chant you all to victory! Not that you need it, of course..."
"Actually, I don't know what we'd do without you," Chris gave her a quick kiss. Brandon glanced away, clearing his throat softly.
"Well, let's get going," Charity smiled.
They walked off the school grounds together, oblivious to the pair of eyes watching them from behind a small group of trees. Beastly slipped back into the shade, away from any curious eyes. He slid a small tablet from his pocket and flipped the cover open.
"Christopher Trent..." he whispered into it. "Charity Short...Brandon Rogers. More information required on Brandon Rogers...conclusive information found on Charity Short and Christopher Trent."
There was silence, and then a soft beep. He slipped the device back into his pocket and scanned the area. He left the trees and strode down the sidewalk.
~Z
"Hmm..." Tiara sighed, placing her head in her hands.
"Something wrong, Tia?" Niall glanced into the room. "You've been up here for a while."
"I'm just thinking..." she looked down at the document on her laptop. "I've been assissting the head defense attorney with a case, and something about the prosecution's argument just doesn't make sense...but I can't figure out what."
"What's the case?"
"Well, the client is one Ms. Andrea Siontz. She's been charged with theft and assault at a small but popular ice cream shop in Philly at 8:00 in the morning, and we can't really prove her alibi. Still, something's been bugging me..." Tiara blinked, then scrolled through the document with the mouse. "Hey, sweetie, can you look at this?"
"Is that a picture of the crime scene?" Niall peered at the photo in the document. It showed a woman with a large purse leaving a store, the door wide open. The woman's shadow stretched to the east side
"Yes. This picture was taken at the scene of the crime from a security camera outside the store, and apparantly it's of the defendant fleeing the scene of the crime. But riddle me this: since the shop is facing the south side of town, and this all happened in the morning, wouldn't the shadow of the defendant be facing the west?"
"That's right," Niall said. He pointed to the screen. "But here, it's facing the east!"
"And that means that either someone made a very wrong document of the time, or this picture has been tampered with." She leaned back in her chair. "I think we have a good argument now!"
"You, are very observant," Niall stood back upright. "See? You didn't need my help."
"If I hadn't called you, I probably wouldn't have gotten on the right track," she smiled, standing up herself and hugging him. "So yes, I did need you. Thank you."
"Anything to help the best woman in my life," he kissed her deeply.
"Mm...now where's all this flattery coming from?" she hugged him closer, continuing the kisses.
"Can I not give praise to a lady who deserves it?" he stroked her back.
"Hehe...well, I'm willing to accept," Tiara winked and released him, striding to the door. "But not in the study, alright?"
"Yes ma'am," Niall followed her out the door, reaching out and managing to tickle her sides. Tiara giggled and rushed down the hall.
~Z~
"Terrence?" Mr. Lawson called up the stairs. "Dinner's ready."
"It's dinner time!" Wendy jumped up slightly, balancing on the railing. "C'mon, Terrence!"
"Um, why don't you go sit at the table, Wendy?" Mr. Lawson said. He climbed the stairs and knocked on Terrence's door. "Terrence? Are you alright?" He knocked again. When he got no answer, he cautiously opened the door. Terrence was sitting on the bed, wearing his headphones and reading a book. He looked up when his dad came in, and took the headphones off.
"Oh, hey, dad..." he said softly.
"Something wrong?" Andrew sat on the edge of the bed.
"Well..." Terrence sighed. "Did you ever ask mom to a dance?"
"Well, yeah," Mr. Lawson shifted a bit. "That was where we started dating, actually; at our high school prom."
"How did you ask her?"
"...Ah, is that what this is about?" his dad smirked slightly.
"Dad..." Terrence blushed. Then he sighed in defeat. "The end-of-year dance is gonna be at the end of the month. I want to ask...someone, and I just don't know how."
"I see..." Mr. Lawson smiled knowingly. "Well, when I asked your mother, I stuttered and trembled and nearly dropped the chocolates I bought her."
"Really?" Terrence eyed his father questioningly. "Chocolates?"
"I know, I know, big century difference," Andrew said. "But traditional was my style, and she decided that she liked it. I guess what I'm trying to say is," he looked back at his son. "Be yourself; ask her in a way you think will work. I guarantee it's better than putting up a front. Women pick up on that kind of thing real fast," he stood up. "Now let's get downstairs. We don't want to keep Wendy waiting."
"Hey!" Wendy called up, as if on cue. "The rolls are getting cold and lonely! They're ready to be eaten; c'mon!"
"Cold and lonely?" Terrence repeated. "When you put it that way, it sounds really sad."
"Better hurry before the turkey gets old and senile," Mr. Lawson smiled as Terrence allowed himself a laugh.
~Z~
"What have you found?" No Heart asked the moment Beastly arrived back at the castle.
"I've found conclusive evidence that Christopher Trent and Charity Short are indeed related to the Care Bear Family. Evidence collected throughout today mildly suggest Brandon Rogers' relation, but further data is needed."
"Very well," No Heart peered into his smoking lightning pit. "I believe it is time to pay a visit to our dear Mr. Jossburg...go, Beastly, and fetch these ingredients." the evil wizard took a long sheet of parchment from the folds of his robe and thrust it into his minion's hands. Beastly nodded and rushed out the door, passing Shrieky in the hall.
"So you've figured out the next step of the plan?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip.
"Yes. It's rather sad, actually," No Heart looked back to the lightning pit. "How oblivious they are to what is happening. I suppose it is still rather early. It's also ironic, wouldn't you say?"
"For now, you both have the same goal," Shrieky said. "But for such different reasons."
"And soon, they will know my reason. Soon..." No Heart's eyes narrowed.
"Soon they will see the truth."
~Z~
Oooh, ominous ending! I hope I did alright for this one, though it's kinda short. I threw in some TrueNoble romance :D and Beastly be creepin' *~* Just what did No Heart do to him to make his personality do a complete 180?
I tried my best to come up with a tricky puzzle for Tiara's law case thing. I use Phoenix Wright games as my reference :)
FUN TWO CENTS OF THE DAY: To all who celebrate it, happy belated Independence Day! My mom sort of made up for this rather boring vacation by taking me and my cousin to see fireworks...even if the show was only like 20 minutes long. Also, why does the country have to have so many flying bugs? They're everywhere!
~Smiley :)