Chapter 29: A Time for Departures
Love Heart lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling as he reflected on what Indy had told them yesterday. They had always suspected Eriol was behind the strange happenings since he arrived and knowing they were all tests to give the Clow Cards an outlet for their energy put it all into perspective. The news about Su Yung, the Spirit Book that had nearly destroyed the Kingdom of Caring when they were kids? That was something else.
"Love Heart?" Sweet Heart poked her head in the room, "Are you ok?"
"No," Love Heart sat up on his bed, "I've been thinking, a lot." He turned to face her, "I need to do something about this."
"About Eriol?" Sweet Heart opened the door all the way.
"No. About the spirit book, or Su Yung I guess." Love Heart caught the smell form downstairs, "Smells like lunch."
"Yeah," Sweet Heart nodded, "Let's go."
They all ate in silence, even Kero didn't say anything. The Jump spirit even sat on the table next to Love Heart despite it not needing to eat.
Love Heart was the first to finish and he sat waiting for everyone else before he spoke. "I need to leave. I have to find Su Yung and stop her before she hurts anyone else."
"Do you have to?" Sweet Heart asked, she looked to their parents both of whom looked concerned but didn't say anything.
"Yes." Love Heart touched his chest where he would have been impaled without The Shield's new armor form during the fight with the bull demon, "After what she did to us when we were kids and if she can unleash No-Heart's old demon then I can't wait around for her to return. I need to find and stop her now."
Life Heart twiddled her hands together, "Are you sure? Of course you are. But you're not going alone, are you?"
"Just me, Confidence, Loyal Heart, Keroberos and the cards." Love Heart nodded towards Kero and The Jump, "Appropriate or not this is still my test and I'll need to find ways to transform the rest of the Clow Cards while I do this."
"I'm with you," Kero pumped his hand in front of me.
"All the way!" The Jump bounded up on Love Heart's shoulder.
Sage Heart cleared his throat to get their attention, "What about Eriol? You haven't spoken to him about any of this yet."
Love Heart sighed, "If he wanted to tell me he would have, and I have my own problems to worry about. I just hope he'll help if things get out of hand. I already texted my friends about this so Confidence can let her family know." He rolled his eyes and smiled, "she'll probably play the 'I'm an adult now I can do what I want' card."
Sweet Heart giggled, "I'm an adult card! Release!" everyone burst out laughing.
Once the laughter calmed down Life Heart began to clear the lunch dishes "I'll be leaving too. That demon has to be exorcized and I'm the only on who can do it."
"I'll come with you then," Sage Heart joined her in cleaning the table.
Life Heart gave Sage Heart a kiss on the nose, "No, Sweet Heart needs someone here so I'll get Independent Bear to come with me."
Sweet Heart piped up, "Why didn't you do that the first time, mom?"
Life Heart turned on the sink, "Because we were still in the middle of the big star roundup and we didn't know where No-Heart disposed of it. The trail's fresh now so I need to find it and exorcize it before someone else wakes it up."
"Since we have to pick up Indy anyway, everyone should get a check-up from Take Care tomorrow," Sage Heart began drying as Life Heart washed.
Sweet Heart's face sank, "I'm gonna miss both of you," her wings flared, "Maybe I can have a going away party with you."
Love Heart shook his head, "No, we can't wait for that to start and finish, we have to leave without everyone begging us to stay." He saw his sister's face fall again, "But you can plan a big welcome back party once we're gone. I'm sure everyone will want to be part of that."
Sweet Heart smiled, "Ok." She waited for her brother to get up and gave him a hug, "How long will you be gone?"
Love Heart hugged her back, "Don't know: a couple months, maybe a year or more. I'll call when I can." He let go and headed for the stairs, "But I've gotta go pack for the trip."
"I'll help," Sweet Heart offered and followed after him.
"Me too!" Kero flew after them.
"Me three!" The Jump bounded up the stairs with them.
In the attic Love Heart retrieved the sleeping bag and tent he and Confidence had shared on their after-exam camping trip and dragged them to his room with the others' help.
"You're going camping?" Sweet Heart eyed the tent case.
"Yeah, don't know where this will take us so we'll probably need to sleep outside." Love Heart opened his dresser and passed a few select pieces of clothing to the bed, including his battle costume.
"So how are you going to track Su Yung?" Kero asked as he helped The Jump fold some of Love Heart's clothes so Sweet Heart could pack them in a suitcase.
Love Heart paused for moment and picked up the Heart Book from the dresser top, "I have an idea. Other than the elements every Clow Card I've transformed has gained new powers, like your ability to bounce off the air, Jump, or The Sword's ability to shoot sword beams. It's partly based on the properties of the card but also on what I can imagine it doing so I have an idea but it's going to take a bit of a stretch."
"Which one?" The Jump asked.
Love Heart smirked, "I'll save that surprise for tomorrow. Let's finish packing then we can hang out the rest of the day."
"OK," Sweet Heart smiled and started cramming folded clothes into Love Heart's suitcase.
They spent the rest of the day playing video and board games. Love Heart wanted the memories to last forever.
OoOoO
Birthday Bear was getting out of the shower when they heard their doorbell go off.
"Hold on a minute!" Birthday called as they quickly towelled off and wrapped the towel around their torso before they rushed to answer the door, finding Gift Bear standing there just in shorts and a backless tank top. "Gift Bear? What happened to your wings?"
Gift looked over her shoulders. Her wings were about half the size they had been, no longer so big they could envelope her but still rather large on her back, "They were getting in the way a lot. I only had them so big because I wasn't used to having them out as a bear." She stepped in as Birthday stepped back, her wings easily fitting inside. "And I don't want to repeat what happened with your lamp last time."
Birthday chuckled, "That's alright, it was just something cheap I got. What brings you're here tonight? Not that I'm complaining."
Gift put her hands behind her wasit and looked down, "We're leaving. Eriol, me and Spinel. Love Heart's leaving so we have to follow him and deal with Su Yung if he can't."
Birthday's face fell and they stood in silence for a moment, "How long will you be gone?"
"Don't know, weeks, months, maybe years…" Gift stared at the floor, "And after I backed out last time I didn't want to leave on bad terms."
"I was nervous too," Birthday tapped the towel they were still wearing, "I guess the broken lamp was just an excuse, we both wanted to back out. But now…" Birthday motioned for Gift to follow them to their bedroom.
Gift smiled and followed after them, "Going to change into something more comfortable?"
Birthday stopped inside their room and tugged at their towel, "Not sure I'm comfortable yet, but I need to show you my own… secret." They dropped the towel and turned to face Gift.
Gift was startled but only jumped slightly, "You're both male and female?"
Birthday poked one of their breasts, small but a bit bigger than Gift's, and then looked past them to their dick and balls, "Sort of. The term is intersex." Birthday sat down on their bed, "I was assigned man at birth but it wasn't till I was about 10 that I decided that my sex and gender didn't matter and I declared myself NB. A couple years later I started to grow… these," they poked one of their breasts again, "Take Care had just come back from medical school so she told me it's just a rare thing for people, but I think I'm the only Care Bear or Cousin with this drastic a difference. I didn't keep it a secret from anyone, some of them freaked out, others avoided me, we learned a lot of lessons after I found out but eventually everyone came around. We were still kids, really, so there's no hard feelings. I still don't tell anyone else about it, humans or the cubs."
"Because you're scared?" Gift sat next to Birthday.
"A bit, but mostly because its none of their business," Birthday turned to Gift, "But I think it is your business now, if you want it to be. You're fun to be around when you weren't going after Love Heart."
Gift blushed, "I like parties. I haven't been very fun lately though…"
Birthday leaned closer and put a hand on her shoulder, "You're still adjusting and with everything that's happening I'm just happy you were able to come here to say goodbye."
Gift turned and gave Birthday a soft kiss, "Thank you, Birthday Bear." She leaned her forehead up against theirs.
"How far do you want to go?" Birthday whispered.
"All the way," Gift replied, she sat back and looked down at her chest, breasts visible but still small as she had just barely grown them to 'complete' her female body. "But I'm not a fan of these," she poked her chest through her shirt.
Birthday blinked, "What?"
Gift gave a sultry smile as her breasts started to grow, quickly surpassing Birthday's in size up through B-cups, "That's more like it, mmmmm," Gift moaned softly as her tank top lifted up and exposed her belly. Birthday couldn't help getting aroused as Gift's breasts continued to grow until they reached D-cups in size, her tank top little more than just a tight top at this point. "Now we can play," she giggled, "oof, heavier than I thought."
"You're amazing," Birthday watched as Gift Butterbear pulled her tight top off, her wings vanishing momentarily to make the task easier, who then pulled them into a tight kiss. Birthday gasped as they felt their breasts squished against Gift's and they reached back to stroke her wings, which fluttered at the touch and made Gift kiss even harder. Birthday rolled over and pulled Gift with them until she was on her back, her wings spread beneath her. Gift tried to work her shorts off but struggled, only for Birthday to grab and help her pull them off.
Gift fell back, panting as her heavy breasts heaved, "So heavy." Birthday leaned over her and gave her a kiss and Gift kissed them back.
Birthday pulled back and grabbed Gift's breasts, which made her gasp. "Sorry!" Birthday pulled back, "too much?"
"Sensitive," Gift gasped, "Please again!"
Birthday was a bit more hesitant when they grabbed Gift's breasts again, which made her gasp.
"Don't stop! Please don't stop!" Gift out a loud moan as Birthday squeezed more roughly, her tongue lolling out as her body was assaulted by previously unimaginable sensations. She practically whited out when she felt Birthday penetrate her, overwhelmed by the feelings until she felt them fall down next to her. She carefully rolled over, pulling her wing behind her so she could pull Birthday close, feeling their breasts smooshing together as they fell asleep.
By the time morning came, Birthday had slipped down to rest their head on Gift's breasts. Waking up was still a new experience for Gift, heck needing sleep was a new experience but she loved it.
Gift gave Birthday a kiss on their forehead, "Enjoying your new pillows?"
"Yeah," Birthday mumbled and pulled her closer, "Sleep well?"
"I did," Gift closed her eyes again and the two of them just lay there for a few minutes before Birthday finally let go and pulled back, stretched and yawned.
Gift sat up, feeling the unfamiliar extra weight on her chest, "You were rough last night. Want to go again?"
"Really?" Birthday sounded surprised as they sat up, "I didn't mean… you liked that?"
Gift smiled, "Yeah, I mean you didn't hurt me and I liked being able to feel that intensely." Her wings fluttered in excitement.
Birthday blushed but smiled, "It was exciting, I was a bit worried I might not… function properly."
"Stop worrying," Gift leaned over and kissed them.
Birthday kissed back, "I love you, Gift," they whispered.
Gift was taken aback, "R-really," she blushed intensely.
"Really," Birthday leaned forwards, "I love being around you and I want to spend more time with you when you get back."
"Me t-too," Gift leaned her forehead up against Birthday's, "I love you too." They kissed again.
Birthday Bear felt something brush up against their chest and pulled back, "Gift, did you make your boobs bigger again?"
Gift Butterbear folded her arms under her breasts, which were a bit heavier than last night, "Maaaaybe."
Birthday giggled, "Let's get cleaned up together then." They slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom. Gift's wings fluttered so much she lifted off the bed and floated after them.
Birthday started the shower, testing the heat with their hand. "So, I guess you'll be leaving after this."
"I don't have to." Gift touched their shoulders from behind, "Eriol says we can leave any time after Love Heart does, no rush for us. We could spend all day together."
Birthday leaned back for a moment, feeling Gift's breasts press against their back, "I'd like that. But let's get showered first." They took Gift's hand and pulled her into the shower.
OoOoO
That same morning, at Take Care's hospital, everyone who was leaving was getting a last-minute check-up from the doctor.
Take Care yawned and grumbled as she told Confidence Heart to leave so she could finish up with Loyal Heart. "She's healthy. Alright up on the bed, Loyal." Take Care directed.
"Sorry we dragged you out of bed so early," Loyal Heart was unintentionally giving Take Care 'puppy dog eyes', not that he could help it.
Take Care sighed, she wasn't totally immune despite growing up with Loyal Heart, "I get it, you don't want a huge fuss for everyone to see you off." She started taking Loyal's blood pressure.
"I'm just kinda worried about how Yue is affecting me. I mean the wings, the magic arrows, just…" Loyal shuddered.
"I understand," Take Care finished the blood pressure test and continued. She spoke periodically as she ran through the tests, "You're actually healthier than the last time you had a check-up, probably all the extra exercise more than sharing your soul, or however that works."
Loyal Heart sighed in relied, "Thank you, Take Care." He hopped off the bed, "I'm going to miss you."
Take Care smiled as she removed her lab coat, "I'll miss you too. Just be careful out there."
Loyal Heart wagged his tail, "I will."
Loyal Heart Dog and Take Care Bear joined everyone else outside: Love Heart Bear and Confidence Heart Fennec were loading up the Cloud Car they were going to be driving with Kero's help, Independent Bear and Life Heart Unicorn were checking their backpack's contents and loading them up while Bright Heart Raccoon, Gentle Heart Lamb, Brave Heart Lion, Harmony Bear and Grumpy Bear waited nearby to see everyone off, as did Cautious Heart Cat and Get Well Bear, both of whom were half-asleep.
"Anyone else coming?" Grumpy yawned and looked around.
"I said goodbye to Dad and Tori on my way out," Confidence shut the trunk of the cloud car.
"Dad and Sweet Heart are still asleep," Love Heart checked the Heart Book at his side one last time. "And we didn't want a drawn-out farewell."
"I'll miss you," Brave Heart grabbed Love Heart in a tight hug as he stepped away from the car, soon joined by Harmony Bear.
"Yeah, not gonna be the same around here," Harmony said.
"I'll miss you two too. I'll call or text when I can," Love Heart patted both of them on the back.
Confidence gave Gentle Heart then Bright Heart each their own hug then a fist bump to Grumpy, who wasn't in the mood for that level of affection, "Don't watch too much new stuff before I get back," Confidence joshed.
"We'll save some for you, promise," Gentle Heart put an arm around Bright Heart.
"Yeah, just don't die out there," Grumpy's question shocked everyone but he just stared back at them, "Just be careful ok."
"I will, Grumpus," Confidence climbed into the passenger's seat of the cloud car.
Loyal Heart got into the backseat and pulled Kero in with him, strapping the guardian beast in so he wouldn't be left behind when the car took off.
Take Care was saying good bye to Indy, not normally given to fussing she was still nervous, "Be careful out there, Indy."
"I will," Indy hugged her, "you know I won't do anything stupid. I love you."
"I know, but I can't help but worry. I love you too," Take Care and Indy kissed.
"Where's dad going?" Cautious Heart asked Life Heart.
Life Heart knelt in front of the kitten, "We're going to get rid of that bull demon, your dad's going to protect me while I make sure it's gone for good."
"Just come back safe, please dad," Get Well turned to Life Heart then Indy.
"I will, Get Well," Indy ruffled her headfur, "Just keep studying."
"OK," Get Well hugged Indy, followed shortly by Cautious. Indy did his best to hug them back, unable to crouch down.
"We can't use a cloud car," Life Heart said, "we'll have to walk the whole way or the demon might sense our approach, or I might be unable to pinpoint it. While it's recovering it's like a cornered animal so we need to be cautious."
Indy finally separated himself from his daughters then checked the katana sheathed at his side, "We will be." He gave Take Care one last kiss before he and Life Heart set off towards Ghastly Gorge.
"So how do we know where to go?" Kero asked from the backseat. He, Confidence and Loyal Heart were watching Love Heart, who was still standing outside the cloud car.
"I had this inspiration, just watch," Love Heart pulled out the heart key.
"Key of the Heart
With Powers Burning Bright
Reveal the Staff
And Shine Your Light
Release!"
Love Heart grabbed the staff from the air and pulled out a card from the Heart book which he threw into the air.
"Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall
Ancient forces heed my call!
Glow Card, discard your former might
And draw new power from my light
Heart Card!"
The staff's wings spread and the star on Love Heart's lit up as The Glow changed into a Heart Card and the spirit emerged as a collection of glowing green balls of light.
"Glow Card! Illuminate the way forwards!" Love Heart held his hand out and The Glow gathered over his open palm, then formed into an arrow pointing forwards and slightly to the right and down. "That's where we need to go." Love Heart let The Glow float to the middle of the cloud car's front seat before he got in and buckled in.
"I didn't think The Glow could be used that way. Your magic has grown more than I though," Kero tried to stretch up and look at the arrow.
Love Heart started the car, "Thank you. I didn't think so either but I had an inspiration and decided to see what I could do."
"Then let's go!" Confidence pumped a fist in the air as they took off, following the direction of The Glow.
OoOoO
Gift Butterbear and Birthday Bear spent most of the day sitting on Birthday's couch, Gift only bothering to replace her top because she like how stretched it felt over her enlarged breasts. They watched a couple movies, laughed and shared lunch. Birthday stroked Gift's wings and that got her excited until they lay across the couch, Birthday sticking their hands under Gift's top to squeeze her breasts again as they made love.
Near lunch time found them laying together in their afterglow on the couch. Gift carefully nudged Birthday upwards so she could get up. She took her top off and headed for the door.
"I need to go now," Gift's voice was full of regret.
"I know," Birthday got up as Gift opened the door and stepped out.
Gift turned to face them and smiled, tears in her eyes, "I promise I'll be back."
"I love you," Birthday embraced her.
"I love you too."
Gift and Birthday kissed for a moment before Gift stepped back, her wings growing and enveloping her as she changed into Ruby. She smiled and gave birthday a peck on the cheek as her emotions dulled again and she took off. Birthday rubbed tears from their eyes and headed back inside. They found Gift's top still on the floor and took a sniff of it, Gift's smell making them tear up slightly as they draped it across the couch's armrest before going to make lunch.
Ruby joined Eriol, dressed in his full robes and with his staff, and Spinel, in his true form of a black panther with butterfly wings.
"Took you long enough," Spinel snarked.
Ruby just smirked, "Missed me? Too bad you don't have anyone you're coming back to."
"Yes, but now he has left," Eriol waved his staff and conjured a pool where they could observe the cloud car guided by The Glow and its occupants, "Other will deal with the demon Su Yung unleashed and we will follow Love Heart. If Su Yung attack and he can't handle it, I'll put an end to her myself if I must."