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Chapter 2: From the Ashes

Bright Heart's eyes were red and puffy as he entered the docking bay. He rubbed his eyes as he walked around, looking at the four Arwings still in their docking stations, before he stopped in sight of where Slippy was staring at schematics on the screen over his workbench. Bright Heart opened his mouth to speak, then stopped and turned to walk away.

"Last I checked, it's bad manners to walk up to someone without saying anything," Slippy looked up. "Come to see what I'm working on?"

"Sort of...I mean I need something to do for the next four days," Bright Heart scuffed his feet on the hangar floor.

"Take a look, I could use a second head to help me with this." Slippy watched as Bright Heart remained where he stood.

"Thank you...but I shouldn't...I mean I..." Bright Heart swallowed hard.

Slippy stood up from his workstation and turned fully to face Bright Heart, "Is this because of your talks with Andross." He saw the raccoon's surprised face and continued, "Tenderheart told everyone and we all agreed that it's not your fault. You didn't know who he was, that and the last time you spoke to him was over a decade ago, back then he was just starting to go crazy and he was still respected in some circles. If what he said is true, that he was about to be involved in a war, it would have been right before General Pepper banished him to Venom. A lot happened after that and we don't blame you for this."

Bright Heart tried to smile but only managed a weak one before walking over. "Thank you."

"Just a word of advice: don't tell anyone back in Lylat about that. They aren't as understanding so you might just end up being tried in a military court for conspiring with an enemy of the Cornerian Government." Slippy turned back to his work.

Bright Heart wiped some sweat from his brow then took a deep breath, "So what are you working on?"

"A new metal I've been stuck on the concept stage for a couple years now. It's much more durable than the ceramic titanium we use for the Arwing's armor but too heavy for fighters, perfect for larger ships though." Slippy tapped the screen and switched to a different schematic, "And these particle beam weapons that could supplement or replace plasma lasers if I could figure out how to keep them from overheating so fast." He turned to the raccoon, "Have any insight?"

"Maybe..." Bright Heart scratched his chin, "I really don't want to be designing weapons..."

"It's your choice, but if I can correct these flaws before we get back to Lylat then it would significantly boost our ability to fight No-Heart and Andross when they show up."

Bright Heart held his breath for a moment, then pulled another stool up and sat next to Slippy, "OK. Let's see..."

OoOoO

"Alright, Confidence, just sit still." Take Care carefully unwrapped the bandages from Confidence's ear. Her left ear had lost a third off the top and the stump had healed. "Your ear tip has stopped bleeding. You won't hear as well out of this ear but I suspect you'll still hear better out of that ear than most of us. Now for your face." Take Care set the bloody bandages in the garbage tray and set about removing the bandages wrapped around the left side of Confidence's face.

Confidence didn't even flinch as the bandage was unwound. The cool air of the sick bay hit the now exposed injury around her eye; she tried to blink but only closed her right eye. "My eye." Confidence Heart reached up to the left side of her face, but Take Care stopped her.

"Don't touch, look in this." Take Care handed Confidence a mirror. Confidence held it up and her right eye went wide as she saw her disfigured reflection in the mirror.

"It's not pretty. Just hold still, I have something for you." Take Care carefully set a mask over Confidence's face, secured around her head with tight belt-like strap. Confidence looked out of the clear eye-holes of the mask and into the mirror. It was a plain white mask the completely covered her entire face except for her snout, nose and mouth.

"Try to close your eyes." Take Care instructed. Confidence did, her right eye closed then there was a click and the left eye cover shut over her eye. She opened them again and there was another second before the cover opened.

Take Care nodded, "It's crude, but with your eyelid and tear duct gone this mask will let you sleep and keep your eye from drying out; it covers both eyes so it can read your right eye's movements when you blink or close and react accordingly. You'll need to have it recharged and the fluid refilled every so often. I'll make something better when we get to Lylat."

Confidence Heart set the mirror down, "May I leave, Take Care?" her voice was flat

Take Care nodded, "Yes, but come and see me if your eye starts to bother you."

"I will." Confidence stood up from the bed and walked out of sick bay.

Confidence Heart found Tenderheart, Peppy, Defender Bear and Hope Bear on the observation deck. She did her best to ignore them and went to the food replicator for some coffee. The sound of the machine drew their attention and Hope was the first to approach her.

"Confidence Heart, why are you wearing a mask?" She peered curiously at the white mask on the fennec's face.

Confidence took a drink from the coffee before she answered, "For my eye. Ask Take Care." She turned away from Hope and walked to the window, coffee still in hand. Hope felt a chill run through her at Confidence's words, that issued forth as if from a machine, and immediately went back to her father's side.

Tenderheart and Peppy walked closer to Confidence who didn't even seem to register their presence. "Confidence, are you alright?"

Confidence ignored the question as she asked one of her own, "So there's only 13 of us left?"

"13 Care Bears. We'll have to give everyone a proper funeral when we get to Lylat." Tenderheart looked down at the deck, "Wish is the only one we can send off."

"OK." Confidence Heart finished off her drink then threw it to garbage disposal chute, which was a matter recycler. A small burst of wind flew with the cup and burst on the wall as the cub fell into the chute. "At least I can still do that."

"That's good," Tenderheart smiled, "Just hang in there, Confidence and relax until we get to Lylat." Confidence didn't respond.

Tenderheart gave her a worried look and turned to Peppy, who had stayed silent throughout the exchange. "Don't force anything on her, unless she's doing something self-destructive. Right now she just needs her friends nearby."

"Alright," Tenderheart looked around and spotted Defender sitting at a table and staring at the tabletop while Hope had gone to get something to eat from the food replicator. "Excuse me."

Defender Bear looked up at Tenderheart as he sat down across from him. "Are you holding up OK, Defender?"

Defender looked down at the table again, "I'm trying. I know my phoenix spirit didn't define me but I still lost my magic and Wish... I know why she did it, she wanted to repay me for every time I saved her life with my magic, I just..."

"You wish it had been you right?" Tenderheart said. Defender looked back up as Tenderheart continued, "I felt the same way after The Prank destroyed Paradise Valley and after it killed Love-a-Lot and Champ." Tenderheart clenched his fists and let out a sigh, "It's survivor's guilt and it's alright to feel this way but you can't let it consume you. You still have your life and your family, especially Hope," Tenderheart looked over to Hope Bear who was waking back over with a tray that had three bowls of soup on it.

Defender smiled, "Thank you, Tenderheart. I still need some time."

OoOoO

Get Well, Pace and Hugs were all in the guest quarters, Get Well across from Pace and Hugs paced the floor. Hugs chewed on a nail then turned to the two. "Guys, I think I'm going to ask to join Star Fox when we get to Lylat."

Pace just stared at her while Get Well stood up, "What?"

Hugs faced Get Well head on, "I want to do something to help, not just sit around and wait for No-Heart to show up again." She smirked, "Maybe I can be a fighter pilot."

"That's nuts!" Get Well's voice raised, "Why do you want to do that? You don't even know how to fly one of those things?"

"So what? I'll learn," Hugs looked to Pace. "What do you think, Pace?"

Pace did his best to keep his eyes on his two friends, "I'm not going to stop you, Hugs, but I think it's dangerous. I'll still support you."

Hugs smiled and sat down next to Pace, "Thank you, Patient Heart." Pace blushed.

Get Well sighed and threw up her hands, "Fine then. At least I'll be here to keep you out of trouble."

"Thanks, Get Well." Hugs said.

Paces face was still red as he took a deep breath, "Hugs, I have a crush on you."

Hugs turned to Pace, her eyes wide, "What?"

"I have a crush on you, I've had one on you for years but I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure how you felt or how to tell you and then I was in college for years. I could never find the right time to tell you but now, with everything we've lost I don't want to risk never telling you if something bad happens." Pace took a breath to recover from his long confession and turned his still red face away from Hugs.

Hugs just stared at the liger for a moment, then carefully took his chin and turned him back to face her. "I wish you'd told me sooner, before all of this happened."

"Do you...feel the same about me?" Pace forced himself to look Hugs in the eyes, though he desperately wanted to avert them.

Hugs just stared for a moment, then smiled and gave him a kiss on the nose, "I do, maybe just as a friend but with things like they are now I'd like to see what happens. Some comfort would be nice."

Get Well shook her head and smiled, "Took you two long enough."

OoOoO

Connie had wandered the ship in somewhat of a daze for the past couple days. There was nothing to look at out the windows beyond the technicolor seizure of warp space and she'd seen most of the ship already. Part of her was still coming to grips with everything that had happened; she had to accept it but even so she hoped fervently that all of the events would prove to be a bad dream.

Connie eventually found herself in the docking bay and looking at the arwings still at rest in their docking clamps. Her gaze was drawn to Perfect Panda, who stood next to one of the fighters with his hand on the fuselage.

Her own problems momentary forgotten, Connie called out, "Perfect! What are you doing here?"

Perfect didn't flinch but turned to face Connie as she approached. "Just thinking about my future prospects. You?"

Connie sighed, and her troubling thoughts had returned. "Trying to get my mind off things." She looked up to the fighter that now loomed overheard. A thought entered her mind and she smirked, "I think I'm going to learn to fly one of these things."

"Excuse me?!" the voice came from two sources, Perfect Panda and Soulful Heart Fox.

Concerned for Bright Heart, Soulful Heart had come to the docking bay to check on him, but found him engrossed in his work alongside Slippy, a positive change from how he'd been the previous day. He had intended to leave until he spotted Connie enter and stuck around just long enough to hear what she had said. Now he stood with his arms folded and scowling slightly at Contrary Heart, "Did you just say you want to be a fighter pilot."

Connie glared back at Soulful, "I'm going to be a fighter pilot."

"And why is that? Because you want to get back at No-Heart for what happened?" Soulful Heart.

"Yes!" Connie's shout made Perfect recoil but Soulful stood his ground. "Don't you?!"

Soulful grit his teeth for a moment before he answered, "Yes, I do, but I don't think we should be jumping into fighters to be shot at."

"So what should I do? Just sit around and let everyone else fight for me!?" Connie's tail had frizzed out and was swishing back and forth in agitation, "I lost everyone, Soulful, everyone except for you and Pace and I'm not going to let anything hurt them!" She raised her fist, "I'll make them pay and make sure nothing happens to anyone else in my family!"

Soulful Heart was about to reply when Perfect spoke up, "I agree with Connie."

"What?" Soulful said.

"Really?" Connie turned to face Perfect.

The panda's face was serious as he continued, "No-Heart and Andross aren't just going to let us get away, they're going to come hunting for us and I don't think the Care Bear Stare is going to be much use against fleets of robotic combat drones and starships." He sighed, "much as I hate to say it we need to fight on their level if we want to survive, let alone win."

Soulful Heart looked from Perfect to the much calmer Connie, then turned around, "Alright then, do what you want. Just remember to dig an extra grave for yourself."

Connie winced at Soulful's words but let him go and turned to Perfect, "Thanks."

Perfect nodded. "No problem."

OoOoO

"How's Cheer holding up?" Tenderheart stood in front of Take Care in the sick bay.

Take Care nodded over to where Cheer sat in a wheelchair in front of a video screen, watching something neither of them could distinguish, "She's been doing better ever since you told her about the chance of getting fully functional prosthetics, but for now she's just trying to keep herself busy until we get to Corneria. Is there anything else?"

Tenderheart shook his head, "Everyone else is just trying to keep busy, most of them have come to me to ask what we should do when we get there. I think I have some ideas but we'll have to wait for that."

"Alright. If you'll excuse me," Take Care turned and went into the sick bay's office.

Tenderheart was heading back to the guest quarters to get some sleep when he heard the sound of crying nearby. He stopped then followed his ears until he stopped at Fara's cabin. The sliding door had jammed open with Fara's flight jacket lodged in the doorway. Tenderheart knocked on the door, "Fara, can I come in?"

There was some muffled noise on the other size then Fara opened the door and stood, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Tenderheart. Sorry did you need something?"

Tenderheart stood eye-level with Fara (Lylatians and Care Bears were around the same stature) and reached out to her, "No, but I think you need some help. It's about Fox." It wasn't a question.

Fara nodded and motioned for him to come in. Tenderheart stood nearby as Fara sat down on her side of the bed. Fox's side was still unmade from the last time he had slept in it. "I'm trying to be strong for everyone, but he's gone, I miss him and I know everyone does too. Every night I can't help but cry to sleep. I can still smell him in here but it gets fainter every night and when I wash or recycle these sheets and blankets...that's the last time I'll ever smell his scent." Fara had started to cry again.

Tenderheart walked over and extended a hand to Fara, "Believe me, I know how you feel. When I lost Love-A-Lot I..." Tenderheart drew in a shuddering breath as he felt the memories resurface, "I felt like I had lost everything worth living for. I can tell you, it never gets easier no matter what you tell yourself. It's not wrong to feel that way as long as you keep moving forwards, but keep them locked in your heart and remember: he would want you to move forwards too."

"I'll try," Fara looked up at Tenderheart, "how did you learn all of this?"

Tenderheart couldn't resist a smile and a chuckle, "I'm a Care Bear and a leader, this is what I'm good at, that and being a stickler for organization if you believe anyone else you ask."

Fara couldn't suppress a small giggle, "Thank you."

OoOoO

"LYLAT SYSTEM APPROACHING. PREPARING TO DROP OUT OF WARP."

Fara was sitting in the command chair as she heard ROB's report, "Thank you ROB. Open a channel to General Pepper as soon as we're in range then take us into orbit around Corneria."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

A few minutes later, General Pepper's face appeared on the communication screen. The General was a yellow dog in a red military uniform and hat with a general's rank insignia on the chest. "Ahh, Fara Phoenix-McCloud. Where is Fox?"

Fara took a deep breath, "I have a lot to report..."

OoOoO

Everyone had gathered in the docking bay as Peppy, Fara and Slippy prepared to board the shuttle parked off to the side. Slippy was in a business suit with a white lab coat over top, Peppy was wearing a formal Cornerian military uniform and Fara was in a business dress.

Fara straightened up and turned to face everyone else in the bay. "Peppy and I are going to make our report to General Pepper, as part of our contractual agreements, and then Slippy and I are going to see my father, Warren Phoenix, to discuss some plans we have for the Future of Star Fox. At the moment you Care Bears are refugees so you need to stay on the Great Fox until I can get you some form of asylum on Corneria. If any of you have plans I suggest you make them by the time we get back as, if things go as planned, the Great Fox will be leaving orbit once I return." Fara listened to them affirm her words, then turned and stepped on to the shuttle, which took off towards the planet below.

As they watched it leave, Tenderheart stepped forwards and turned to the Care Bears assembled in the bay, (with Get Well standing behind Cheer's wheelchair), "Care Bear Family. I have a something I wish to say: I think we should all join the Star Fox team."

The bay was silent for a moment, but Take Care was the first to speak, "Why do you think we should do that, Tenderheart." Her voice was stern but not aggressive.

"Because, Take Care, I've been thinking a lot on the trip over and done my best to talk to everyone. We all want to do something to stop Andross and No-Heart, whether that's fighting," Tenderheart turned to Connie, who averted her gaze, "or working to improve our changes to fight," he turned to Bright Heart, "but mostly that we don't want to just sit in a refugee shelter on Corneria to wait for them to arrive. They could be here soon and even I want to fight them, if for no other reason than none of us want No-Heart to do to any other planet what he did to Earth."

Perfect raised a hand, "But what if he just shows up a couple hours or two days from now?"

"Oh please." Falco snorted, which drew everyone's attention, "I hate that mad monkey megalomaniac as much as the next decent Lylatian but he only has a damaged flagship and maybe one or two hundred fighters. I know we need to pull the Conerian's military's tail out of the fire all the time but even they aren't incompetent enough to fail to stop that small of an attack. He's gonna have to stop somewhere to make repairs and build more ships so we got plenty of time."

Tendheart nodded, "Good. What do you all say? I won't begrudge any of you if you choose to stay behind."

"I'm in." Confidence Heart was the first to speak up.

"Me too," Connie piped up.

"Me three!" Hugs jumped up and raised her hand.

"I'll go too. I want to help fight to protect everyone," Defender said.

"I'm going with dad," Hope piped up.

"I'm not staying behind then, as long as I get my new arm and leg." Cheer raised her left hand.

Take Care sighed, "I'll have to go too. I'm not going to abandon you."

Get Well raised a hand, "I'm not staying behind."

"I'll join up," Perfect said.

Soulful nodded, "I'm not going to live in a refugee shelter surrounded by strangers. I'll join."

"I agree, I'm joining," Bright Heart raised a hand, "Besides I want to see more of everything they've developed."

Patient Heart Liger was the last to speak, "I still don't know about this but I don't want to be left behind. I'll join too but I'm not going to fight."

Tenderheart nodded, "You don't have to fight, there are other ways you can help. Looks like we're all in then."

Three hours later, Tenderheart had gathered everyone back in the docking bay to meet the returning shuttle. Only Fara and Slippy stepped off.

"Hey Fara, where's Peppy?" Falco called.

"He stayed on Corneria to help General Pepper prepare for Andross' return. But I have good news: the remaining Care Bears and Cousins have been registered as refugees and you can head down to the domestic shelter at any time." Fara turned to the Care Bear Family.

Tenderheart cleared his throat, "Actually, Fara, we've all decided to join Star Fox to help fight against Andross and No-Heart."

Fara smiled and then laughed slightly, "Haha, well I'm not sure how surprised I should be but that speeds things up." She pulled out her communicator, "ROB, set course for Fichina, we're going to Space Dynamics."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"Wait, what's Space Dynamics?" Cheer asked.

"Space Dynamics is a subsidiary of Pheonix Enterperises, my family's company," Fara said as she opened the docking bay doors and led the procession back into the ship, "It's also the primary technology and weapons supplier and manufacturer of the Cornerian Military. Their headquarters used to be on Corneria but a few years ago it was relocated to a large space station in orbit around Fichina, which could be best described as an 'ice planet' that is used as a garrison by the Conerian Military. I spoke to my father and after he saw the finished plans that Slippy and Bright Heart made for the new alloys and weapons he gave me full control of the station. So we're going there to make to get ready for Andross and No-Heart's return."

Slippy slowed down until he was walking alongside Cheer's wheelchair, "I called Amanda while we were down there, she'll be at Space Dynamics when we get there and we can get you into cyber-surgery right away."

Cheer sighed, then stared at where her right arm and leg used to be, "Thank you."

OoOoO

The Space Dynamics space station was a massive steel-grey complex, easily large enough to house a ship four times the size of the Great Fox in zero-g drydock. The main section was conical in layout with several floors at various intervals attached to a huge drydock section, housed in a giant hangar with construction pylons and cranes extending all the way across the sides.

Fara gave her first genuine smile since they had left Earth and turned on the ships intercom, "Everyone prepare to disembark from the docking bay. We've arrived at Space Dynamics."

"DOCKING PROCEDURE INITIATED. TURNING CONTROLS OVER TO AUTOPILOT."

Fara nodded to the robot, "Very good, ROB, prepare to disembark with us."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

OoOoO

The ride from the Great Fox into the station was cramped, with all 17 of them other than Take Care crammed into the shuttle with ROB at the controls. Thankfully it only lasted a couple minutes and they gratefully disembarked.

"RETURNING TO RETRIEVE FINAL PASSENGERS." Once everyone had disembarked, ROB flew the shuttle out of the station's docking bay and back to the Great Fox. Everyone knew he was going to pick up Take Care, and Wish Bear's body.

Fara did her best to divert attention from that thought as she spoke, "Welcome to Space Dynamics, the largest manufacturer of alloys and military equipment in the Lylat system. This station is an R&D facility, foundry, manufacturing plant and training and testing facility for everything onboard, including combat and flight simulators programmed with multiple scenarios and training programs." She turned to face the assembly, "We're going to be living here for a few months, if things go as planned. Don't worry about the soldiers you see around, they're based in the military installations on planet Fichina below, just don't let them provoke you into a fight. Any personal items we have will be brought over from the Great Fox by tonight."

"Hold on, why are we taking everything off the Fox?" Katt spoke up. Falco had volunteered to carry Kalico off the ship.

Fara took a deep breath before she broke the news, "We're going to need a larger and better armed ship for the battles ahead, one that can accommodate a least a dozen ships if not more and one that can defend itself better if attacked, so we don't have anther incident like in Sector Z."

"You mean when pulled your tails out of the fire?" Katt smirked and nudged her husband gently with her elbow. Falco rolled his eyes and muttered what sounded like 'thank you' under his breath.

Fara nodded, "Exactly, and part of the agreement is that we need to strip the Great Fox for parts since we won't be using it. The Arwings will be towed into the station's docking bay before the construction begins. Just a moment, the welcoming committee is here." Fara walked ahead and spoke to a small assembly of other Lylatian workers who had approached the group.

Confidence's ears twitched as she could pick up on the conversation and she repeated what she heard out loud, "They're greeting her, and asking what's going on. Fara says that she's in charge now and...they're grumbling but accepting. She's telling them about us and...here they come."

Fara approached and motioned for the youngest of the assembly, a collie in a blue worker's jumpsuit, to step forwards. "Ralph will show you around the station and to the living quarters. There should be enough space for most of you to have a room to yourselves."

"Excuse me!" a shout came across the docking bay.

Slippy recognized the voice and was the first to turn and spot a tall pink toad in a doctor's coat jogging towards them. He brightened up, "Amanda!" He took off like a shot, half-running and half-hopping across the hangar, only slowing to a stop when he reached Amanda. The rest of the group watched as the two frogs embraced and kissed, which would have been an odd sight to them if they hadn't seen Jolly Heart Platypus and Cozy Heart Penguin kissing back on Earth.

The married couple's reunion was interrupted when Amanda approached the group and walked up to Cheer Bear. She gave an unflinching look at the stumps where the bear's arm and leg had once been, "This looks pretty bad, but don't worry I can fix this. My name is Dr. Amanda Toad. Do you mind if I wheel you away now?"

Cheer looked over at the others, then caught Tenderheart's eye and he nodded to her with a smile. "I'm ready," Cheer turned to face Amanda.

"Good." Amanda started to push Cheer's wheelchair away from the group. "I'll talk to you later Slip, I love you."

Slippy couldn't help but blush as he waved goodbye to his wife, "Good luck, Amanda. I love you." He turned to Ralph, "OK so about that tour?"

Ralph nodded, "Alright, if you'll follow me I'll show you to your quarters." He motioned for them to follow as he led them out of the docking bay.

OoOoO

The last thing Cheer remembered was Amanda putting a mask over her mouth and nose and telling her to relax, then she woke up in a different completely white room. She groaned and tried to roll over, to block the light from her eyes, but felt a familiar weight on her right side. She turned to look to see a metallic limb sticking out of what had been an empty shoulder on her right arm what seemed like moments ago. It looked like it had come off one of those muscle models used in medical labs, no skin or fur just metallic bones and muscle; a glance downwards confirmed that a right leg had been installed and attached to her right hip. She smiled and tried to move, then frowned when nothing happened.

"Cheer Bear? Cheer Bear can you hear me?" Amanda's voice came from a loudspeaker on the wall. Cheer used her left arm to force herself into a sitting position, her new leg hanging off the bed by the knee like a real leg would. She could now see that she was in a white room with a window in one wall where Amanda stood on the other side of the glass at a console. "Good, you're awake."

"Amanda?" Cheer squinted to make sure it was her then started to panic when she remembered what had happened, "something's wrong, I can't move my new arm and leg!"

"Nothing's wrong, this is perfectly normal," Amanda watched Cheer to make sure she was calming down. "You just had new limbs attached and your body is still trying to learn how to use them, even with the nerve endings attached. You're going to need to spend a couple weeks learning how to walk and use your arm properly, especially while you're stuck in quarantine."

Cheer's eyes went wide again and she would have stood up if she could get her leg working, "Quarantine! Am I sick?"

Amanda shook her head, she'd heard this all before, "No, this is standard procedure." She paused, "Do you know how your immune system works?"

Cheer nodded, "You mean how the white blood cells kill germs that make me sick?"

Amanda nodded, "Yes. Sadly, our immune systems aren't as sophisticated as that. They don't attack 'germs', viruses and bacteria, but rather they attack any foreign entity inside your body. The hookups for your artificial limbs will be seen as foreign entities by your immune system and your system will attempt to attack them which is painful and dangerous. In order to prevent that we have to give you an immune suppressant so your body will adapt to the artificial limbs' presence, but that immune suppressant also makes it much harder for your immune system to fight off any germs that do get inside your body so until the adaptation period is finished it's safest if you remain in a sterile quarantined environment, which should be about two weeks."

Amanda noticed the shocked expression on Cheer's face and spoke again to reassure her. "It used to be a lot longer. I developed the immune suppressant that you're using and it's been used to facilitate organ donations and the reason I was able to get the grant to develop fully functional cybernetic prosthetics like yours. The trade-off for cutting down the recovery time is that your body might accidentally adapt to any diseases you pick up during the process and could become permanently sick. Still, two weeks in here is better than several months getting sick all the time."

"So how do I re-learn to walk?" Cheer stared down at her right leg, "And is it going to look like this forever?"

"I'll help you with that, and I'll be able to add synthetic skin, fur and nerve endings once everything is calibrated so your arm and leg are the same strength as your originals."

Cheer seemed to deflate a little, "So I'm not going to have a super strong arm or leg?"

Amanda shook her head, "No, but they will be more durable. I know it sounds appealing but having a super strong arm doesn't really work because it's still attached to a flesh and blood shoulder and body so it could do more damage if you try to lift or hit anything with it. Also if the arm and leg are stronger or faster than the originals then it will throw off your balance and make just walking around much more difficult; I can make programming tweaks remotely until it feels just right but until I'm finished with that you won't have any feeling in that arm or leg so it will feel awkward. Now as to your arm and leg, getting them to work will take a while and you will have to use the wall for support. I would like you to try and make your way across the room to the chair you see over there."

Cheer finally noticed the setup on the other side of the room: a desk chair in front of a computer console next to a food replicator and a sign with the word 'BATHROOM' stuck over top of a door. "Over there?" she pointed across the room.

"Yes, lean up against the right wall and try to get over there. Just try to walk naturally," Amanda said.

Cheer took a deep breath and forced herself to stand. Despite the lack of feeling in her new right leg she was able to balance on it until she leaned up against the wall. She had to lunge her left leg forwards and drag the right leg forwards one step at a time, terrified she'd fall and be unable to stand.

As if reading her thoughts, Amanda spoke up again, "If you fall over there's a robotic arm and harness in the ceiling that can get you back on your feet."

Cheer glanced up to the robotic arm in the ceiling, at least that was some reassurance. A couple steps from the chair, she was able to get the leg to move half-a-step forwards before she finally slumped into the office chair. "Did I move it?"

"Slightly, not bad for a first try but you'll need more time to work on it. Now we need to keep trying if you want to sleep in the bed instead of the chair tonight."

Cheer groaned, "Can I get some food first?"

"Of course."

As Cheer ate, a thought occurred to her. "Amanda, why are you here, I mean this is a military lab isn't it?"

Amanda chuckled, "Technically this is a civilian installation contracted to the military, but the reason I'm here is because this facility is the best place to test new alloys and technologies for my prosthetics. A set of contracts give me a chance to test everything especially on soldiers that have lost limbs. Now once you're finished eating we can get you back to learning how to walk again."

Cheer sighed and dug into the food she had replicated.

OoOoO

Bright Heart and Slippy had gone to the R&D lab to oversee the development of the new alloys. Slippy had uploaded the schematics to a display screen in front of the other engineers and scientists. "Alright, these are the three new pieces of equipment we're going to be working on. The first is the directed particle energy weapons, or more practically known as a beam gun. It has a slower fire rate and higher heat generation than a plasma laser but thanks to Bright Heart," Slippy motioned to the purple raccoon, who was wearing a white lab coat, "We've brought the heat down to manageable levels to let this weapon be mounted on fighters and battleships. We're going to be developing a working prototype as soon as possible for testing. Bright Heart?" he turned things over to Bright Heart as he changed the screen to a different diagram.

Bright Heart took a deep breath and turned back to the assembly, "We also have two alloys we're going to be developing as well. The first we've named 'Durabillum', an alloy that's denser and more durable than the ceramic titanium alloy used on most ships, fighters, and bases. The weight makes it unsuitable for fighter construction but it's perfect to use as the armor plating for larger ships, so we'll need to get to it for the new Great Fox. Then there's this," Bright Heart changed the screen to a new diagram, "Laminate Tatanium. It's as durable as Durabillum but much lighter then ceramic titanium. The problem is that in order to achieve this it spreads the energy of impact out the edges which means that making anything out of interlocking parts will create too many buckle-points along the structure. We need testing to find the best way to construct a fighter with this material."

Slippy clapped his hands together, "Alright, everyone, get the machines ready." He turned to Bright Heart, "Nervous?"

"Yes, but I can do this." Bright Heart took another deep breath and they went to work.

OoOoO

Cheer limped across her quarantine cell. Struggling to move her new right leg. Amanda watched her and nodded, "Not bad, but keep at it. You're on track."

Cheer sat down hard in the chair and managed to raise her prosthetic right arm to try and poke at the replicator. "This still sucks. How much longer am I going to be stuck in here?"

"About a week if you keep this up, by then your immune system will be back up to its regular ability." Amanda said. She watched as Cheer took a paper cup of water from the replicator and accidentally crushed it.

"Crud!" She forced the false hand open and dropped the paper cup.

"Just keep at it and you'll be using your new limbs in no time," Amanda reassured her.

"Is everything alright?" The voice came from Tenderheart Bear, who had just approached the window.

Cheer smiled and waved to Tenderheart with her left hand, "Making progress. Thanks for showing up."

"Sorry, everyone's busy with getting ready to join Star Fox, but I wanted to make sure you were alright." Tenderheart leaned up against the glass.

Cheer stumped over and put her left hand up against the glass against his. "What about Wish?"

"She's still on ice. We're waiting until you can attend the funeral," Tenderheart hung his head.

"Thank you," Cheer said.

OoOoO

Contrary Heart stepped out of the long simulator pod and scowled slightly, "Still stuck on level 5." She looked up and around the bay, twenty cockpit shaped simulator pods on were arrayed in rows of ten either side of a long hall and a larger console where the simulations were monitored.

Another simulator's hatch opened and Perfect Panda stepped out. He smiled and waved to Connie, "I just finished level 4, how about you?"

"Can't get past 5." Connie leaned up against the simulator. "Two weeks at this, I'm never going to finish all the courses."

"Just keep at it and you'll get it. You're ahead of me," Perfect chuckled.

Connie smirked, "True, but still..." She looked over to the one next to her where Tenderheart was plugging away. The console on the side of the machine showed him at the end of level 7 out of 100.

At last the hatch opened and Tenderheart stepped out. "Whew. Getting tougher now." He looked up at the two who had watched him step out, "Want to get some lunch?"

"Sure." Perfect nodded.

"I'm gonna wait for Hugs." Connie looked at the simulator next to Tenderheart's.

While they were talking, Confidence Heart emerged from her own at the opposite end of the hall. The console on her machine said level 12. She didn't pay any heed as she turned and walked down the opposite exit to where the rest of the Care Bears had departed. A moment later Defender emerged from his own simulator, which read level 10. He spotted Confidence right as she disappeared around the corner then followed after her.

Confidence Heart stepped into the combat range, a large field full of hologram generators that could generate enemies for her to fight. She entered the last level she'd beentried and took the charge pistol off the weapons rack.

The white mask on her face betrayed no emotion as she stepped into the simulator and her eyes looked left and right to pick out the targets. She pulled out the charge pistol and fired at the first humanoid target that popped up, then ducked under a blast and fired another shot off. She ducked again and this time sent out a torrent of wind from her left hand at the next target. Fortunately the machine registered her magic as a valid attack and the target disappeared. The next target she turned to she had to focus as a yellow beam of light fired off from her hand and took out the next target.

For five full minutes, Confidence Heart continued to fight in the simulation with her blaster and blasts of magical light and wind, the last one charged at her and she created a blade of light from her left forearm and sliced the hologram in half as the simulation ended. She turned to the entrance to see Defender standing there. "Were you watching me?" Confidence's voice was flat as she exited the training chamber.

"I was. What were those yellow blasts you shot from your hands and the blade on your arm?" Defender asked.

"Light. I've been practising a new element and kinetic techniques. Are you going to use the simulator?" Confience asked.

Defender nodded, "I need to retrain my own abilities." He focused magic into his hand and spoke a few words thenhis old sword appeared in a flash of magic.

"You can use magic?" Confidence's voice barely showed any surprise as she spoke.

Defender nodded, "Without the phoenix I can't wield the same kind of power I once did, but I remember all the spells I used to use and sharing my body with the spirit has left me with some magical enhancements."

Confidence held up a hand and Defender felt a tingle as she spoke, "I can feel your mana flowing more strongly than it had before. Good luck. Excuse me, I have something I need to do before we meet Cheer later."

Defender watched Confidence leave before he went into the combat simulator and turned it on.

OoOoO

"You can't be serious, Fara." A Dalmatian foreman turned to Fara, who was staring at the assembling frame of the new ship taking shape inside the hangar.

Fara kept her eyes on the hangar as she answered, "I'm very serious. The new ship was always intended to be a self-sufficient flying carrier capable of manufacturing new parts and ships while in flight. So we will be transferring the primary foundry and starship manufacturing facilities into the new ship as per my direction."

"Why not just built new ones for the ship instead of gutting Space Dynamics?" The Dalmatian's voice became challenging.

Fara shook her head, "Because of time. We have no idea when Andross is going to return and we need the ship to be ready as soon as possible. Not to mention," she turned to face the foreman, "When he comes this will be one of the first places he hits, either to capture or destroy it. It's best if all the important machines aren't here when he attacks."

Before the Dalmatian foreman could argued any farther there was a call from across the docking back. "Fara. Can we talk for a moment?"

Fara was relieved for a break as she turned to greet Confidence Heart, who had just approached her. "Yes, Confidence Heart, what do you need?"

"May I use one of the 3D printers in the foundry? I need to make better mask." She pointed to the flat white mask that covered face to hide the injuries and scars.

Fara nodded, "Of course. Just don't take too long."

"Thank you." Confidence turned and walked away and left Fara to deal with the foreman's continued protests.

The 3D printer wasn't hard to use and the computer connected to it allowed Confidence Heart to design and print her new mask in a little under an hour. Confidence was forced to remove her mask for a moment to get the measurements for the sections that covered the injured parts of her face. Even the stale air of the station made her wounds sting. She took no mind as she watched the machine carve and paint the object she had designed.

Finally, Confidence Heart removed the mask from the machine and held it up over the mask as she did her best to look at the reflection in the screen of the monitor. She pulled it away and gave it a once over: it was black, symmetrical and angled down the top to look like a furrowed brow, extended down to the top of her muzzle with two long spiked protrusions that would run down her cheeks, two smaller spiked tips that went along her temples and was criss-crossed with multiple yellow lines that looked like circuitry; the eye holes were triangular and tilted in such a way to give the wearer what looked like a permanent death glare. Confidence nodded in satisfaction and headed for the medical bay.

Take Care was expecting Confidence Heart to arrive to get her mask changed out and cleaned, what she wasn't expecting was for the fennec to hand her the mask she had just printed. "Can you make all my masks look like this from now on, please?"

Take Care gave a concerned look to Confidence Heart, "I can, but why."

"I don't want my face to be a blank white mask, and this will let you make it sit more comfortably." Confidence's voice carried a hint of pleading.

Take Care gave her a look, then sighed, "I can make a few of these, and it fits over the injured areas. Just give me a minute to copy it in the replicator and add the medical parts." She turned to the workspace she had been provided, "This time I've made the left eye cover be able to close in synch with your right."

"Thank you."

A few minutes later Take Care returned with the mask that now had an elastic strap attached to the left with buttons on the right side. Confidence removed her old white mask and carefully attached the buttons on the right side. It took a moment to adjust and she blinked several times to test the left eye cover. She nodded to Take Care, "Thank you. When is Cheer going to be released?"

"In about five minutes. Meet us in the docking bay for the funeral in an hour." Take Care watched as the fennec turned and left the medical bay.

OoOoO

Cheer walked back and forth across her quarantine cell, moving her false arm and leg. "Still feels weird, well I can't feel anything except in my shoulder and hip," she looked at the metallic false right leg and arm. "Am I done in here yet?" She folded her arms and turned to face Amanda.

"All done. I just need to tune the synthetic nerves and hook them up to the synthetic skin and fur. Step into the decontamination chamber." Amanda pushed a button and a section of wall next to the window slid back and to the side.

Cheer smiled as she stepped into the chamber, still unused to the clanks her metallic leg made as she walked across the floor. She coughed a bit as she was sprayed by the machine for a full minute then the door opened and she stepped out. "Finally, that place was staring to stink."

"Alright, just get up onto the table," she pointed to an operating table that was tilted to allow anyone to lay down on it.

"OK, just be fast." Cheer walked over to the table and lay down on it, her arms and legs sliding into depressions that had been set for her.

"Don't mind the restraints, I need you to hold still until we're done." Amanda walked over to a console and began the operation.

Cheer didn't feel anything, but that wasn't new. She gawked as she saw what could be best described as a long pink furry flesh glove and boot were lowered towards her on a surgical robot that had a needle on one end. Then straps emerged to hold her down.

"Just so you don't flinch away," Amanda explained, "Attaching synthetic skin and fur."

Cheer would have flinched if she wasn't held down and she watched the long glove and boot pulled over her metallic limbs and a needle and strong thread sewed up the open sides and attach the to the still exiting skin and fur at the shoulder and hip, the pricks were painful. Cheer had to look away as the machine worked at her for five whole minutes, then the machines stopped.

"Alright, releasing restraints." Cheer felt the restraints release then finally looked at her right side.

Cheer stared at then touched her arm. It felt real. It looked real. Other than the scars on her right side Cheer looked like she had never been injured. She gave a quizzical look, "Feels like I'm wearing a thick glove."

"Sorry, but it's hard to replicate the sense of touch accurately. We've only managed to get about 50% of sensation." Amanda examined Cheer's arm to make sure the seams were clean.

Cheer smiled and gave Amanda a hug, "Thank you! I have to show everyone, bye!" She turned and darted out of the bay. Cheer couldn't resist a jump and whoop for joy. Sure it felt a little off but she could walk again! She had never felt so liberated.

OoOoO

Cheer's return was greeted with enthusiasm and joy by the remainder of the Care Bear Family, along with apologies for not visiting her while she was in quarantine.

Unfortunately, the welcome back ended when they finally decided to give Wish Bear a proper funeral. With Earth gone they instead gave Wish a funeral in space, putting her in a casket that would be launched out to hopefully stay adrift among the shooting stars, like on her tummy symbol. Every remaining member of the Care Bear Family set about carving the names of all those who had died in the destruction of Earth onto her casket, starting with Wish's own.

Wish Bear

Fox Phoenix-McCloud

True Heart Bear

Noble Heart Horse

Bedtime Bear

Birthday Bear

Friend Bear

Funshine Bear

Good Luck Bear

Polite Panda

Grumpy Bear

Swift Heart Rabbit

Trickster Heart Hare

Tinker Bear

Love-a-Lot Bear

Tugs Bear

Marina Bear

Champ Bear

Grams Bear

Harmony Bear

Secret Bear

Share Bear

Brave Heart Lion

Feral Heart Tigress

Royal Heart Liger

Joyful Heart Liger

Cozy Heart Penguin

Jolly Heart Platypus

Gentle Heart Lamb

Lotsa Heart Elephant

Loyal Heart Dog

Playful Heart Monkey

Proud Heart Cat

Treat Heart Pig

Regal Heart Lioness

Stellar Heart Tiger

Hopeful Heart Liger

Darien Lion

Stealth Heart Liger

Chance Heart Liger

Shy Heart Cougar

Chaos Li-Cougar

Havok Li-Cougar

Faith Heart Liger

Cautious Heart Cat

Zippy Heart Roadrunner

Justin Case Spider

Truth Bear

Sage Heart Bear

Life Heart Unicorn

Sweet Heart Pegasus

Meek Heart Unicorn

Wild Heart Unicorn

Love Heart Bear

Confidence Heart Fennec

Miracle Heart Kitsune

Anger Heart Fox

Guidance Heart Raccoon

Flair Heart Raccoon

Independent Bear

Flash Heart Bear

Tenderheart turned to Confidence Heart who was staring at her own name on the plate, her new mask betraying no emotion through the opaque triangular lenses.

"Did you put your name on there, Confidence?"

"Don't call me that, Tenderheart. Confidence Heart died with Love Heart and Miracle Heart," she turned her glaring masked face towards Tenderheart, "My name is Cassandra Avalon."

Tenderheart opened his mouth to reply when Defender Bear spoke up.

"We release my dear Wish into the stars she spent her time wishing on. I can't begin to thank her for what she did for me," Defender was tearing up as he spoke, "And I only wish she was still her with us. But we send her off now, along with all the memories of those we have lost."

Hope Bear clung to her father's arm and shook with grief as they all watched the casket drift out of the docking bay and into space.

Everyone cried. There was no reason not to.