Nathaniel sat in his room, tears streaming down his face. If he didn't know it before, what happened tonight confirmed what he'd feared.
That was what he got for taking pity on a street child. She had been sitting on the side of the street, a bundle of burnt-out matches in her hand. It was getting dark. She would have frozen to death if she stayed out much longer.
She may have frozen to death already. The events replayed over and over in his mind.
"Nathaniel, what is the meaning of this?! You brought this... this FILTH into our home?!"
"Father, it's New Years' Eve and she has nowhere to go. She was going to freeze to death out there."
Nathaniel didn't even feel his father's slap until he realized he was suddenly looking to his right side."You do NOT talk to me that way! You get this street urchin out of our house this instant!"
Now Nathaniel was getting angry. "Are you telling me that you really don't care one bit what happens to her?!"
And that's when his father lost it. He screamed all manner of curses that Nathaniel didn't care to repeat, lashing him again and again. Of all the things he said, though, one stuck out to Nathaniel:
"What would you know about caring?! You're just a monster who cursed us by being born! HAH! No wonder you took pity on her! You're BOTH just a couple of WORTHLESS ANIMALS who need to go back to the DROSS you came from!"
And that was when it hit Nathaniel. It didn't matter what he did. He could be the kindest, gentlest creature on this Earth, and he would still be a monster. That's all he was in his father's eyes. A human curse who should have never been born.
That's when his father kicked the little girl back out in the streets. Nathaniel lost all respect for him right then and there. For all that man loved to talk up mercy and charity in others' presence, those traits never seemed to show when he was in private. Hypocrite. Just like the rest of them.
Nathaniel wiped the tears from his eyes, his backside still stinging from the strapping his father gave him. Something deep within him had turned to stone. And soon everyone would be able to see it.
…
Coldheart sighed. Another bad dream. He wished he could just forget about it all. Sometimes, he thought that he was past all this, but every once in a while, he would remember something from his childhood that turned his veins to ice.
He shuddered. He thought he would be past this by now, but even his ice powers couldn't completely numb out the past.
All he wanted to do was to lie back down and avoid reality. But as much as he would have liked that, he knew he had a big day today. He remembered how he and Kevin had started up his Careless Ray Contraption the day before. He had shut it off for the night as not to waste energy, but if his hypothesis was correct, Kevin's hometown should be emotionally frozen and buried in snow by now.
Slowly, he extracted himself from the bed and began the process of getting ready for his day. It was when he got to the point where he was dressed and fixing himself his morning tea when he heard Kevin come in from upstairs.
"Oh! I didn't hear you come down. Did you sleep well?" He asked, trying to disguise the tiredness in his voice.
"Uh... yeah..." Kevin replied. He could sense something was off about the Professor. "Are you okay?"
"W-What?! Of course I'm okay! I-I just haven't quite woken up yet is all," Coldheart insisted, trembling slightly.
Kevin could sense there was something else going on with Coldheart that he wasn't letting on. He suspected it had to do with Coldheart's past. Kevin was no stranger to mistreatment from adults; he too had nightmares about what had happened to him. But he knew that it was best not to probe too deep.
"Here. Let me get you some breakfast. Then I can introduce you to the Careless Ray Contraption's controls. That way you can teach everyone in the world a lesson they'll never forget!"
Kevin smiled. Coldheart treated him just like a son.
…
Tenderheart Bear stirred from his fitful sleep. The frigidity of the Land Without Feelings had made it hard for he and his team to sleep the night before. He could only thank the stars that they hadn't frozen to death the night before.
One by one, Cheer Bear, Grumpy Bear, Brave Heart Lion, Gentle Heart Lamb, and Noble Heart Horse all arose, looking equally haggard. Yes, the night had not been easy on any of them. But that didn't matter now. They had to rescue Kevin. And they had to stop Coldheart from freezing the world over.
"Alright," Tenderheart sighed. "Looks like we'd better get going. Every second we waste is one second closer to the end of all caring in the world."
"I hate to think what Kevin's going through right now," added Cheer Bear.
"Hah. I bet that nasty old Professor froze him just for the fun of it," Grumpy replied, always the pessimist.
"Don't worry. We'll show him what for! Right, team?" Brave Heart interjected.
"I-If he doesn't freeze us, too..." Gentle Heart bleated.
Noble Heart interrupted them all, "Guys! Let's get a move on! Tenderheart's right; we don't have time to waste. As long as we all stick together, we should be fine."
All four of them agreed. Just as long as they stuck together.
As they made their way into the frosty forests of the Land Without Feelings, the gate they passed through slammed shut behind them.