Coldheart should have been angrier. After all, one of the fuzzy-wuzzies got away. And the other two were still at large.
But despite this little setback, Coldheart was feeling very optimistic. He'd managed to corrupt three of the six Care Bears that had gone after him. Remembering how easily he'd blasted Tenderheart back when they first met, he doubted that the three Care Bears were enough to take on him, Kevin, and the three corrupted Care Bears on their own.
Coldheart snickered. It wasn't three against one. It was three against five.
"Professor Coldheart?"
"Oh! Kevin! I didn't hear you come in!" Coldheart smiled, despite himself. "How's the Careless Ray Contraption been treating you?"
"It's been fine. I checked and it seems like the entire east coast is frozen."
"Oh, fantastic! Listen, I didn't get all the fuzzy-wuzzies, but I did manage to get the lion today! He was the one who wanted to knock my teeth out; imagine that!"
Not that Kevin could tell by the way Brave Heart was looking at him now. Coldheart's icy gaze was really something if it could break the heart of a great lion like Brave Heart. Kevin hated to think what Coldheart did to break him down enough to hypnotize him.
Guess the real lesson here is 'don't mess with the Professor.' "Aren't you worried about Tenderheart and the other Care Bears?"
"Nah, not really. They don't stand a chance against you, me, and the three fuzzies we have here. Like I said, their caring doesn't stand a chance against our wits and strength."
"You have more than enough of both for all of us."
Coldheart blushed slightly. "Why, thank you!"
The two shared a laugh.
…
Grumpy breathed a sigh of relief. At last they were out of that miserable cave. And to make things better, they were right up at the castle wall. He could tell by the tall peppermint spires and the Christmas lights strewn everywhere that they were in the right place.
"How should we get in?" Noble Heart inquired. The three looked around for a discrete route into the castle.
"The front door?" Grumpy sarcastically suggested.
"Wait, guys! I think I found a way in!" Tenderheart motioned to the crew to follow him. He was standing in front of a hole in the wall of the castle. It was small, but it was just big enough for a Care Bear to squeeze through. One by one, the three squeezed themselves through the hole.
They were met with row after row of shelves. Atop those shelves were glowing jars of various colors. They must have arrived in some kind of apothecary room. Grumpy could make out some of the labels on the jars in the low light. "Frozen Heart Potion?" he read off a jar that glowed an icy blue. "Greased Lightning Salve?" he read off another that emitted a faint yellow light.
No time for inquiring what all these were for. They had to save Kevin. The three made their way out of the apothecary and into the hallway.
They had to step softly and carefully to make sure no one heard them. They hugged the wall of the castle, hoping it would make them less visible in the spacious, ornate hallway. Even so, every step they made seemed to echo throughout.
After an agonizing amount of time, the three came across a closed door. Tenderheart heard voices coming from the other side. He leaned in for a closer listen.
"There! Now that the Careless Ray Contraption is all fueled up, there's nothing stopping us from freezing this entire world over! We'll have our revenge on all those who were mean to us! Isn't it grand?"
That was all Tenderheart needed to hear. He burst through the door and strode right up to Coldheart.
"Ah, if it isn't little Tenderheart Bear. Didn't I teach you enough of a lesson back in the park?"
"Enough games, Professor Coldheart! We're here to take Kevin back!" Tenderheart declared.
"And to stop you from freezing the world's feelings!" Noble Heart added.
"You're here to take Kevin back? For what? So he can go back into foster care? So that he can continue to be tossed from home to home, never finding his true family? Never finding the one place he truly belongs?"
"I... uh..."
"Face it, Tenderheart. I've been more family to him than you or any of your pathetic friends have ever been! Where were you when he was being mistreated in his foster homes? Or when he was confined in a group home with kids who picked on him every single day? The same place you were when I was being beaten! You were off kissing some pretty blonde girl's scraped knee or something!"
"Alright, t-that's enough!" Tenderheart barked, trying to disguise the tremble in his voice. "C-Care Bears Countdown!"
The three of them lined up, ready to unleash their secret weapon. All of a sudden, Kevin jumped between them and Coldheart.
"No! I won't let you do it! If you wanna hurt my dad, you're gonna have to do something really horrible to me first!"
Both the Care Bears and Coldheart jumped back, surprised. Dad?!
Coldheart gaped in shock for a few seconds before regaining his composure. "Hah! See, Tenderheart? He's on my side now. Seems you three need to cool your act!" Coldheart yanked a freeze machine off the wall and opened fire on the three.
The three flew backwards from the blast. When they opened their eyes, they were stuck fast to the wall, sealed in globs of ice.
Coldheart burst into uproarious laughter. "NYAHAHAHAHA! So much for the power of caring! Stone Heart, Cheerless, Broken Heart, please escort these meddlers to their rooms. I'll deal with them in the morning." He looked back towards Kevin. For a split second, Tenderheart could swear he saw Coldheart's expression soften.
…
Later that night, Coldheart stared at the ceiling of his room. He couldn't stop thinking about what Kevin had called him earlier. He really thinks of me as his dad?
Truth be told, Coldheart had grown fond of the boy these past few days. They had been sharing all their meals together. Coldheart had been putting him down to sleep every night. He didn't even need to use his stare to lull Kevin to sleep any more. I guess... I guess I really am...
No. That was impossible. He didn't believe in love. He didn't love anyone. At least... he wasn't supposed to. He'd given up on that delusion a long time ago. Or so he thought. Did he really have it in him? Maybe they could really be...?
Coldheart rolled onto his stomach and shouted into his pillow. He didn't want to think about this. He didn't want to think about his family. All of a sudden, he broke into a cold sweat. These feelings... he hated these feelings.
He sat up. Indulging in these thoughts was doing no good. Maybe his Frozen Heart Potion would numb him enough for him to get to sleep. He made his way off the bed.
As he was traversing the hallway en route to the apothecary, he caught sight of the door to Kevin's room. All of a sudden, his desire for the Frozen Heart Potion vanished. As sick as it was, he didn't want to let go of the warmth he'd fostered for Kevin. This only confused him more. Love was sickness, but it was also... healing?
He didn't get it. He made his way back to his room and lay back down on his bed. This time, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.