Gentle Heart gasped for air. She couldn't believe that she'd almost drowned in that river. As hard as it was to see in these woods, she didn't think that they'd fall into a river. She could only thank the stars that she'd made it back to shore safely.

But when she collected herself and looked around, she noticed another problem. Two other problems, actually. One, she had no idea where she was, and two, she had no idea where anyone else was, either. She was completely alone.

All of a sudden, the pine trees in the clearing seemed much taller than they had before. She didn't know what kind of things might be hiding in the foliage. There could be wolves hiding out in those bushes... or hyenas. Okay, that other one was a bit far-fetched, but Gentle Heart knew better than to think that she was safe in these woods.

She looked overhead, spotting the blue beam in the sky. She tracked it in the sky until her eyes reached Coldheart Castle. There. That's where it was. Chances are, the others were headed in that direction, too. She began her uneasy trek towards the icy palace in the distance.

"Poor little lamb. Left behind by her so-called family..."

Gentle Heart's ears perked up. Where was that voice coming from? She looked around but could only see black trees.

"Is that any way for a Care Bear Cousin to greet a new friend? I'd have thought better of you..."

She jerked her attention to the source of the voice. She could see a pair of red irises glowing in the blackness between the towering pines. She blinked twice, and the stranger's face took form. It was hard to see in the blackness, but she swore she could see a monstrous blue face illuminated by the red light from his eyes. She didn't have to think hard about who this might be.

Gentle Heart burst into a run. She imagined that the Professor would have been ugly and odious, but those eyes... they were the eyes of a demon. Before she could get far, however, she tripped and fell on her face. Looking back, she could see that her feet had been frozen together.

"Now, now. I just want to talk."

"I-I don't want to talk with you!" Gentle Heart squeaked. "A-And I wasn't left behind! We just got separated when we g-got washed downstream is all," she squeezed her eyes shut.

Ah, so the fuzzy-wuzzies got separated, Coldheart thought. Lucky for him; he would have a much easier time picking them off one by one. He kneeled down to Gentle Heart's level.

"I can tell you're lying. Tell me, little lamb, just why did you come after me then?"

She didn't open her eyes. "What do you mean? Why did I come here? I came here to help stop you!"

"But how do you think you can stop me if you're too scared to open your eyes to me?"

Gentle Heart did not reply.

"You don't belong here. You're far too soft and gentle to pose any threat to me. You can't even run away. What are you going to do?"

Gentle Heart whimpered. Truth be told, she had always doubted her place in the Care Bear Family. She wasn't as strong as Lotsa Heart, nor as courageous as Brave Heart or as smart as Bright Heart. In fact, she didn't think she had any natural talents at all. And now her worst enemy had trapped her in the middle of a menacing forest with no hope of escape. Maybe she really was useless after all...

"You won't last long in the Land Without Feelings like this. But I can help. Just open your eyes and look at me."

Against her better judgement, Gentle Heart peeked up at the Professor. Instantly she was captivated by the cascading waves of magenta and red that overtook Coldheart's eyes. She couldn't look away as all traces of gentleness inside of her transforming into something cold and hard.

Coldheart destroyed the ice around her feet with another zap of his magic finger. "How do you feel?"

Gentle heart rose. On her face was an expression of frozen contempt. What was so great about kindness and gentleness, anyway? All they did was make her weak. Too weak to stand any chance against Coldheart and the Land Without Feelings. But now, she was strong. Her only loyalty was to him. He would make her strong.

Coldheart smirked to himself. This little fuzzy-wuzzy lamb was so insecure about her place in her so-called Care Bear Family that she would do anything for approval. Even if that approval was from her worst enemy.

Well, it certainly made his job easier. "Come, Stone Heart. We have work to do."

Coldheart turned to leave. Gentle Heart, now Stone Heart, followed close behind.