Cheer Bear, Grumpy Bear, Brave Heart Lion, and Gentle Heart Lamb all exchanged worried looks as Tenderheart explained what had happened to them.
"I don't exactly blame Kevin, but..." Grumpy Bear began. "He can't just go running off with anyone, especially if the man he runs off with is trying to poison him against caring!"
"I oughta go down there and take care of Coldheart myself!" Brave Heart Lion chimed in, always the one to put up a fight.
"Now, Brave Heart. I don't think that's wise. I told you about how he trapped me in a block of ice. If you chase him, he will get you, too. It's going to take all of us."
"Tenderheart's right," Cheer Bear agreed. "This man sounds very dangerous. It's safest if we go together."
"Then let's go!" Brave Heart shouted, running straight to the cloud cars next to the castle. The others were in no position to argue. They each hopped into their cloud cars and departed for the park. As he left Care-A-Lot, Tenderheart swore he could hear the Caring Meter drop.
…
Kevin and Coldheart were just outside the park. Both were wearing devices that looked much like flamethrowers, except these shot jets of ice.
Coldheart pointed to the nozzle of Kevin's machine. "These freeze machines have two settings, and you can switch between them by adjusting the nozzle. Right now, it's using the wider nozzle. When the machine is turned on, it will suck the feelings out of its target. Now, if you switch it to the narrow nozzle, it will turn those feelings into a beam of ice that freezes anything it comes into contact with."
All of a sudden, Kevin noticed a couple of bullies picking on Donna. She was trying to get away, but she had been backed up against the wall.
"Now's your chance, Kevin! Teach those two a lesson!"
Kevin fired the device without hesitation. With lightning speed, the freeze machine sucked all the warm feelings out of the two bullies. Colorful streams of light surged and flowed into the nozzle before ceasing altogether. At that moment, the two bullies turned on each other, exchanging blows and bruises. They were loyal to no one but themselves.
"See, Kevin? This is what humanity is really like. Only now, they wear it on the outside."
"Kevin! What have you done to them?!" Donna shouted at her friend.
"What have I done?! I was teaching them a lesson, just like Coldheart taught me!"
The bullies overheard this and launched themselves at Kevin.
"Quickly, Kevin! Switch to the other nozzle!"
Kevin didn't need to be told twice. He fired the device once again. A stream of ice burst from the narrow nozzle, knocking the bullies back and freezing them solid. Just like Coldheart's ice beam.
"Good job, Kevin!" Coldheart praised him, patting him on the back. "Come now. We have a lot more feelings to harvest for my master plan." The two of them left to complete their task.
Donna could only stare, speechless.
…
As much as Tenderheart tried to keep up, he couldn't stop Kevin and Coldheart. Every time he caught up with them, he was too late. Everywhere he looked, he could see people who had been plundered of their feelings. They were either completely listless or fighting each other.
Eventually, though, the tanks on the freeze machines filled up. Coldheart turned to Kevin. "All right. Now that these are full, I'll take you back to my castle so you can see what we'll do with them." They mounted Coldheart's electric blue motorcycle and sped off.
Tenderheart sighed in relief. At least for now, the plundering would stop. He looked back at his team. Cheer, Grumpy, Brave Heart, and Gentle Heart were similarly exhausted.
"I... I can't believe that they'd move so fast!" Cheer Bear panted.
"I'd pummel that Coldheart if only I could catch up with him!" Brave Heart exclaimed.
"I think I saw them going towards the Land Without Feelings!" Gentle Heart shuddered. She knew that they were going to have to go there, and she dreaded it with every fiber of her being.
"Don't worry, Gentle Heart. As long as we stick together, we'll be fine. We'll rescue Kevin, and he'll see that Coldheart was wrong about caring," Tenderheart tried to reassure her.
"As long as Coldheart doesn't freeze us solid or use his evil hypnosis powers on us," Grumpy remarked.
"He won't. Not as long as we stay true to ourselves. And if you do start to doubt yourself, just don't look him in the eye." He turned to Donna. "We're going back to Care-A-Lot to regroup. From what I understand, Professor Coldheart is quite a nasty character. You need to stay out of his way for now. Don't worry. We'll figure this out."
"He would have to be pretty nasty to talk Kevin into stealing people's feelings like that. Please be careful."
Donna watched as the Care Bears took to the sky, hoping that they would find some way to bring Kevin back to her.