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Chapter 14: Aether Strings of Fate

Love Heart was shaken awake from where he in his bus seat. "Love Heart, we're here," Confidence's voice whispered in his ear. Love Heart yawned and stretched up and out from where he sat, and accidentally smacked one of the other passengers in the face.

"Hey! Watch it bear!" the man snapped.

"Sorry," Love Heart mumbled. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. The bus had come to a stop in a garage very similar to where they had departed from. Love Heart stood up then helped Confidence out of her seat before he shuffled out of the bus along with the rest of the passengers. Five minutes later they were on another bus heading to the hotel where they had made reservations.

It was late in the afternoon when the arrived at the hotel. Upon entering their suite on the 10th floor, Sweet Heart jumped into the air and flapped around the room, "Whooo!" she cried out as she landed, flapping her wings a bit, "much better!"

"Wing cramps?" Life Heart walked over to her daughter.

"Yep," Sweet Heart nodded. She looked up at her mom and to her tummy, "Can I touch?"

Life Heart giggled, "Of course." Sweet Heart reached out carefully and touched Life Heart's baby bump. It hadn't grown much in the last month but by now it was obvious to everyone that she was pregnant.

Sage Heart walked over and put his hands on Life Heart's shoulders, "Are you alright?"

Life Heart turned to look behind her, "I am, you seem better now."

Sage Heart nodded, he'd been tense during the entire bus ride, "I was just scared someone else would attack us before we got here." Sage Heart yawned, "I'm going to bed, good night, "he gave Life Heart a kiss."

"I think I'll join you. Are you sleepy, Sweet Heart?" Life Heart looked down at her daughter.

Sweet Heart shook her head, "Nope!" She put on a face but couldn't stop her eyes from drooping.

Life Heart smiled and took her daughter's hand, "Alright then, come help put mom and dad to bed then you can stay up a while, Confidence, Love Heart, you can have the other room."

"Thanks mom," Love Heart had dragged his suitcase towards the bedroom with the single bed while Life Heart led her daughter towards the other bedroom.

Love Heart and Confidence Heart parked their suitcases in the single bedroom and Confidence flopped onto the bed and sighed.

"Are you alright?" Love Heart sat on the side of the bed.

"No," Confidence yawned, "How about you, Love Heart?"

Love Heart leaned back, "I don't know."

"Hmm..." Confidence tried to sit up but couldn't find the energy and just slumped back and draped her left arm over her eyes.

Love Heart turned and lay down next to Confidence on her left. "Can I help?"

"Stay with me," Confidence pulled her arm from her eyes and took Love Heart's hand in her own. "Just until I can sleep."

Love Heart smiled, "OK," He turned and gave Confidence a soft kiss.

In the two bed bedroom, Sweet Heart lay down and tried to pretend to sleep but was out like a light before she could even think of what she was going to do. Exhausted from the trip, Life Heart and Sage Heart lay down in each other arms and were soon asleep.

Love Heart couldn't sleep. He listened to the soft snores that came from Confidence Heart as she lay next to him and just stared up at the ceiling. He glanced over to her for a moment then carefully pulled himself off the bed.

Confidence stirred and opened her eyes, "Love Heart?" She mumbled.

Love Heart turned back to Confidence, smiled and bent over, "Hey, I can't sleep so I'm just going out for a bit, OK?"

"mm'kay," Confidence Heart mumbled, "I love you."

"I love you too," Love Heart gave her a soft kiss then waited until she was asleep before he slipped out of the bedroom.

The suite was a lot bigger than Love Heart expected a hotel room to be. In addition to the two bedrooms there was a kitchenette and a small living room with a TV next to two couches that faced one another across an overlarge coffee table. Love Heart suspected that it was meant to be a dining table as well. He peeked in on his parents and sister only to find them asleep as well. With little else to do, Love Heart grabbed his wallet and one of the keys to the suite and was about to head out until he stopped and sniffed. He raised an arm and sniffed again, recoiling from the stench in his fur and on his clothes. Shower and change first, then head outside.

The setting sun was barely visible around the buildings as Love Heart stepped outside, wearing a green t-shirt with a collar low enough to expose his chest symbol, blue jeans, running shoes, and his brown cargo vest. He felt the slight breeze going through the water still caught in his fur. He shuddered slightly then checked the map he's grabbed at the hotel's entrance. "Might as well do some sight seeing."

As Love Heart walked down the sidewalk he could feel everyone stop to stare at him. He fidgeted as he stopped at a crosswalk and despite the crowd everyone kept him at arm's length. One man, less polite than the rest, stepped forwards and grabbed one of Love Heart's ears.

"What kind freaky costume is this?!"

"OW! Let go!" Love Heart yanked his head away and rounded on the man with his teeth bared.

"The fuck? That's no costume!" the man shouted.

"Some weird kinda experiment?"

"It's freak that's what it is!"

"Are you lost?" One particularly patronizing woman leaned in close to Love Heart. He was about to respond when he saw the crosswalk change and he bolted across the street. He felt someone grab his shirt and he wrenched away and started jogging to get away.

"Hey! Get back here bear!"

Love Heart wasn't sure if he was being chased or even if anyone cared but he picked up his pace before turning a corner and ducked down an alley. With no one around to see him he crouched and gathered the air around his legs then leapt upwards, grabbing onto the fire escape as his momentum slowed then climbing up over the edge and walking up to the top then jumping again to get onto the roof.

Love Heart sat down hard on the concrete roof and looked over at the sidewalk. He saw two of the people from the crosswalk searching around for him and he ducked back on to the roof. What was their problem? Love Heart sighed and walked to the other side of the building and dropped off the side, falling off the side slowly enough to land safely on the ground. He heard a couple people scream and stare at him as he looked at them, one woman pointing an accusing finger at him.

"De-demon! Devil! Stay away!" Love Heart blinked then stepped back before turning and running away from the crowd until he was alone on a side street.

Love Heart was panting, less from exertion and more from shock. What the hell just happened? He shook his head and looked up at the street sign before he pulled out his map to check where he was. OK he wasn't too far from where he had intended to go at least and he could get back to the hotel if ne wanted.

A sudden wind picked up and tore the paper from his hand. Love Heart reacted instantly running after the flying map, jumping over two meters into the air to snatch it from the air and keeping a tight grip on it this time as he landed.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look a flying teddy bear!" The voice came from a little girl who was pointing at Love Heart and had her other hand being held by her mother.

"Don't point, dear," The woman took one look at Love Heart as he folded the map up and stuck it back in one of his vest pockets then pulled her daughter along, "let's go before it sees us."

"Wait, miss I-," Love Heart tried to call after but the woman just averted her gaze and kept pulling her daughter away, who was struggling to try and reach Love Heart.

Love Heart just stared at them for a minute then looked around and saw more people who gave him weird or repulsed looks. Love Heart sighed and started walking again.

OoOoO

"I'm sorry but we only serve US citizens here," the old man at the hot dog restaurant in the food court said.

Love Heart felt his eyebrow twitch and pulled out his wallet, "I am!" He held up the citizen card he'd gotten as part of the registration Sarah had helped him go through.

"Hmm," the old man took the card and stared at it, "Where did you get this forged you little creep! I'm calling the cops."

Love Heart felt lightning crackle down his arms as he growled then snatched the ID back, "Well screw you too! I'll eat somewhere else!" Love Heart stormed off as he heard the old man argue with who he assumed was the restaurant's manager. Love Heart walked up to a pizza joint and looked up at the young hispanic man who was at the till. "Can I get something here?"

The young man blinked then smiled, "Of course, and don't mind him. He'd only serve Caucasians if he could get away with it. So what's with the furry outfit anyway?"

Love Heart grit his teeth and stared at the counter, trying to avoid looking the man in the eye, "It's not an outfit, it's real. Can I just get two slices of Hawaiian please?"

The man blinked and hastily rung in Love Heart's order. "That'll e $9.50"

"Here!" Love Heart dug a $10 bill out of his wallet and accepted the quarters in return before taking his slices and going to sit down.

Everyone was staring, they had been staring since he left the hotel and now it was becoming more than a little annoying. Love Heart tried to push the thoughts out of his head as he ate but they lingered like a bad smell. Love Heart didn't even bother to look up as he stormed out of the mall, still chewing the last of his pizza and leaving his empty tray and garbage on the table.

"Hey! You have to clean that up! Hey!" someone shouted after Love Heart but he ignored them until he was outside and hurried away from the mall.

Love Heart tried to shut out everything around him as he just found himself weaving away from anyone near him as tears flowed from his eyes. He started to run, he ran from the experience until he heard someone shout out to him.

"Police! Stop there bear!"

Love Heart slowed down until he came to a stop. He wiped his eyes and turned to face the beat cops who approached him. There was no one else around

"Alright, kid, take off the costume," one of the cops reached for Love Heart.

Love Heart winced away, "I'm not wearing a costume."

"For real?" The second cop just stared at Love Heart for a moment, "Alright, what's your name."

"Love Heart Bear."

The second cop let out a snort of laughter, "For real? Alright let's see some ID."

Love Heart groaned but fished out his wallet and held up his ID for the second time that day.

"How the hell is that even legal?" the first cop glared down at Love Heart and took the card from him. "And why were you running?"

"Just getting away from some jerks." Love Heart was doing his best to hold his temper in check but he could already feel his sparks dance from his fingers.

"Riiight, well I don't care where you got this fake ID from, you're coming with us." He fished out his radio.

That did it. Love Heart lost his temper and a burst of lightning erupted from him which shorted out the cop's radio. Love Heart snatched his ID and ran. The first cop unholstered his gun and took aim but a cloud of mist suddenly enveloped Love Heart, hiding him from view. The second cop shook his head and pushed his partner's gun down, "Let it go."

"But we have to call this in! He could be dangerous, he could-"

"And tell the chief what? That we caught up to a five-foot-tall green bear with a tattoo on his chest who created a fog cloud when we tried to apprehend him? We'd be kicked off to medical leave so just forget it and get back to the beat, unless you want to write up a whole report about this and firing your gun."

The first cop sighed and put the safety back on his gun before he re-holstered it, "As soon as I'm off today, I'm hitting the bar."

Love Heart had ducked into a nearby alley, the star on his forehead still glowing from when he cast the spell to create the mist, a spell his mom had taught him that she used to use when she needed to escape from danger. He was panting as he had heard the click of the officer's gun and felt it was a miracle he hadn't been shot. He slumped against the wall and slid to the ground. "So much for sightseeing," he muttered. He wanted to stay there longer but it was getting dark, the street lamps were just starting to turn on, so he sighed and decided to head back to the hotel.

While Love Heart checked his map to find his way he heard some shouts nearby and looked up. He saw a bunch of people run towards him, a man stopped and pointed at him, "Y-you, stop your crazy friends over there!"

"Crazy friends, what?" Love Heart stared at him bewildered until he heard a scream followed by an explosion. Love Heart stuffed the map back in his pocket and took off going against the people fleeing. Someone fleeing crashed into Love Heart and knocked him down. The man glared at Love Heart and kicked him.

"Fuzzy freak!" he shouted before taking off at a run again. Love Heart winced from the pain but stood up in time to see a silver bear with a katana in his left hand crash to the ground. The bear was wearing black pants and a black longcoat with the sleeves in shreds; he was bleeding from several cuts on his torso and arms. He coughed as he stood up.

"Ready to reconsider yet?" The rough voice came from a white bear with a black shard pattern across his fur, wearing blue shorts and a green tank top and holding a cutlass in each hand. He gave a sinister grin that showed off sharp teeth. Love Heart wanted to jump in but wasn't sure which side he should help.

"No." The silver bear spoke calmly in a deep voice as he stood up, his katana held in both hands.

"Alright then," the black shard bear took a deep breath.

"Wait a moment, Shatter Heart, we seem to have a guest." The feminine voice like wet black velvet came from another bear who had her hand held out in front of 'Shatter Heart'. She was dressed like what one would call a stereotypical ninja, all black from head to toe except for dark blue cords wound around her ankles and feet, a dark blue sash that ran from left shoulder to right hip and connected to a belt of the same color and a dark blue bandanna tied around her forehead outside the hood that covered her hair and ears; her hands were exposed and were covered in midnight blue fur and she held a ninja-to reverse-grip loosely in her right hand.

Now that Love Heart had a moment to look at them he could see that both of these bears had chest symbols: Shatter Heart had a shattered black heart and the ninja bear a five pointed ninja star, or at least those symbols had been stitched into their clothing. He could see that Shatter Heart had dark purple eyes that seemed to ripple.

The ninja bear pulled down the mask over her muzzle which exposed her midnight blue face and twinkling ice blue eyes. "My name is Blade Star Bear, and you are?" Love Heart was a bit too stunned to answer so she turned away from him, "Never mind, we'll deal with you later. Now then I think we've played cat a mouse long enough so this will be the final time I offer you a choice: come with us or die."

"come with us or die." The words echoed inside Love Heart's head. That's what Confidence Heart had said the wolverine's demand was.

"For the last time, I will not come with you." The silver bear rooted his stand as he held the beat up katana in both hands towards the two bears facing him.

"Then DIE!" Shatter Heart charged forwards and struck at the silver bear's katana which snapped off over half the blade. The silver bear stumbled back as Shatter Heart raised his swords for a killing blow.

There was a crack of thunder as a blue lightning bolt struck Shatter Heart in the side and knocked him off balance. "Leave him alone!" Love Heart charged at Shatter Heart as he conjured a pair of swords into his hands from his chest symbol. Love Heart struck at Shatter Heart, his swords passed through him which made him shout and step back.

Love Heart stepped in between the silver bear and Shatter Heart, who was still reeling in pain. "Are you alright?"

The silver bear just stared, "No, but thank you. Look out!"

The warning came too late as three five pointed shuriken embedded themselves in Love Heart's right forearm. Love Heart flinched and dropped his swords so he could pull them out, but after he pulled one out the stars vanished.

"So it seems you're against us," Blade Star held her left arm out from where she had thrown the ninja stars, "But nevertheless I shall offer you one chance: come with us or die."

Love Heart glared at her and held up his hands, "I choose neither!" Love Heart flung his hands forwards and fired off a blast of lightning at Blade Star, which struck her dead on tough she didn't cry out in pain. Love Heart crouched and grabbed his swords just in time to block Shatter Heart's sword swings as lightning crackled across his body. Both bear's swords clashed against each other as Love Heart pressed his attack and pushed Shatter Heart backwards.

"A pity," Blade Star shook off the electricity and reached up to the chest symbol stitched into her outfit as it glowed then withdrew three more shuriken that she threw at Love Heart. Love Heart cried out as the ninja stars hit him in the side and Shatter Heart kicked him to send him off balance.

"Not good ENOUUUUUUGH!" Shatter Heart held out his long shout which sent out a sonic wave at Love Heart. Love Heart could feel his ears pounding as the blast caused his skin to ripple and nearly buckle under the strain. He saw Blade Star jump towards him, slick green goo trailing off her sword as she struck down at him. Love Heart barely managed to dodge at the last second as the blade hit the ground and melted some of the pavement under her blade. Love Heart's breath caught in his throat as he steadied himself.

"Get out of here!" Love Heart shouted to the silver bear, who still held his katana's hilt with less than ten centimeters of blade left. Love Heart had to dodge aside as Shatter Heart lunged at him again, only for a sonic shockwave to explode out from where he hit the ground which cause Love Heart to stumble.

"Worry about yourself," Blade Star shot out her left hand, palm open, and fired a jet of green acid at Love Heart. Love Heart cried out in pain as the acid struck him in the right arm, the pain was indescribably but he kept focused on blocking and striking out at Shatter Heart who had kept up his assault.

"No, I won't leave you!" The silver bear swung his right hand over his shoulder as five strings of blue light launched out and latched onto five chunks of debris that lay on the road. He hurled his hand forwards, open palmed, and the rubble flew past and cannoned into Blade Star, knocking her backwards and off her feet. The silver bear charged at Shatter Heart and swung back with the broken katana still in his left hand. Shatter Heart turned just in time to see a shimmering blue aura envelope the blade as the silver bear swung at him, and scored a deep gash into Shatter Heart's side which forced him back.

"What?" Love Heart stared for a moment.

"Atherealist, and you?" The Silver Bear asked.

"Aerokinetics." Despite his pain Love Heart managed a smile. It didn't last as Shatter Heart, ignoring the wound in his side, let out another sonic scream. This time it hit the silver bear dead on and Love Heart dodged aside, only for four more shuriken to whirr past his face and hit the pavement, where they shattered into shards that peppered Love Heart in his side and back.

"No matter, you will not escape," Blade Star crouched low and ran towards Love Heart.

"Shut up!" Love Heart shouted as he swung his swords at her with lightning dancing across the blades, "Lightning Cross!" the lightning erupted into a bright blue X in front of him as he swung downwards and struck Blade Star dead on. She let out a growl and was hurled back as electricity coursed along her body.

Shatter Heart's stopped his scream and the silver bear didn't waste a moment, throwing more strings of energy forwards to grab a large rock behind him then yanked back which catapulted the rock right into the back of Shatter Heart's head.

Love Heart and the silver bear stood, panting and watching the two on the ground. Blade Star was the first up and looked about to charge at them but found her legs too unsteady to stay up very long and she dropped to her knees; Shatter Heart couldn't even manage that. At that moment they heard sirens blare from nearby.

The silver bear took Love Heart's arm, "Let's go before the police get to us." Love Heart just nodded and let his swords dissolve as the silver bear pulled him away.

Blade Star finally managed to drag herself over to Shatter Heart. "We need to go, get patched up." Shatter Heart just groaned as Blade Star grabbed him and they sunk into the ground, the acrid smell of her acid melting them below before a sonic shout collapsed the cave they made.

When the police arrived all they found was a battlefield and the broken blade of a katana. No eyewitnesses were able to give a concrete description of what they'd seen except for four bears that had been fighting like mad men. The report later read that a gang battle had broken out, no one wanted to be the one to say that four bears had been fighting in the streets without any proof.

OoOoO

The silver bear dragged Love Heart for quite a distance until he stopped and pointed to a fire escape on an old building, "Up!" he shouted. He let go of Love Heart's arm as a ball of blue energy surrounded him and he catapulted up to the fire escape. Love Heart followed suit and used a bubble of air to launch himself up to join him. Both slipped inside as they police sirens flew past.

The building was an old condemned factory with a wide open floor and Love Heart slumped to the floor of the catwalk that was thankfully still stable. Now that the adrenaline had worn off Love Heart was exhausted and suddenly very aware of just how much pain he was in. He started to pluck out the star shards from his fur, only for them to dissolve before he was halfway done and his right arm started to seize up.

"That looks bad," the silver bear knelt next to Love Heart. He was panting but nowhere near as bad as Love Heart was. He grimaced as he could see the fur and flesh had dissolved and his arm had become grotesque.

"Feels worse," Love Heart grunted.

"Hold still, this is going to hurt." The silver bear held up his hands as blue strings of energy attached to Love Heart's arm. Love Heart clenched his teeth hard as he felt the magic working into his arm, forcefully growing new skin, fur and even some other melted body parts as the strings wove and stitched the new flesh back into place. The pain that lanced through Love Heart made his vision go white and he let out a loud cry of pain.

Finally, the silver bear stood up, panting heavily, "There. How's that."

Love Heart turned to see his arm, now back in one piece and with all the skin and fur where it belonged. "Hurts like hell," he tested the arm and winced at the pain but at least everything was there, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, now hold still so I can treat your other injuries." The silver bear moved to Love Heart's front as more blue strings connected to Love Heart's injuries, growing and stitching new skin and fur into place, making it look like he'd never been hurt in the first place.

"My name's Love Heart. Who are you?" Love Heart asked.

The silver bear remained silent for a moment, the looked up so Love Heart could see into his brown eyes. "Isaac Nelson Dewitt Yancy, but people who know me call me Indy."

Love Heart nodded, "Thanks Isaac. Are you alright?"

"I've been better, but you're worse. Just wait a moment." Indy kept at his work until all of Love Heart's wounds were healed. He sat down and ran his hands over his own body, strings of blue aether stitching his wounds shut as well. "Thank you for saving me."

Love Heart smiled, "No problem. Who were those two and what was going on?"

Indy remained silent for a minute, wincing as his wounds closed, before he spoke. "Their names are Shatter Heart Bear and Blade Star Bear and they've been chasing me for months. They catch up to me every so often and I'm forced to fight them and then run, until today."

"What do they want?" Love Heart turned his head to face Indy.

Indy kept staring off into the empty factory, "For me to join whatever it is they're a part of, but as soon as I told them I wanted to be left alone they attacked me and then the chase began. I need to rest then I should get going before they come back."

Love Heart grabbed the hem of Indy's coat to stop him from standing up, "I don't think they'll come back for a while with those injuries, but they know I'm here now and they might bring more of their friends..."

"What?" Indy let himself be pulled back down, "There's more of them?"

Love Heart nodded, "My girlfriend was attacked the other day by a wolverine called Passion Heart who said the same thing: 'come with me or die'. I don't think they know that Confidence and I are together or even that we know each other yet but...I can't let them find my family while I'm here. I have to leave."

"I'm sorry, could you back up and explain who you're talking about?" Indy had a very confused look on his face.

Love Hear chuckled, "Right. My family and I are staying here while we wait for passports so we can go to Canada to find more Care Bears, creatures like us. I was out having a..." Love Heart paused as the rest of the day's events came back fresh to his memory, "bad day when I ran into you but now they might be watching me so I have to leave ahead of time if..." he dug around in one of the pockets of his vest and pulled out his passport, "Good, I can leave if there's still a flight left." He stood up, "Isaac-"

"You can call me Indy," the silver bear stood up alongside him.

Love Heart smiled, "Right. Indy, can you do me a favor," he dug out the map and room key from his pocket and handed them to the silver bear, "I need you to go to my family and keep an eye on them until they leave, just to be safe. Mom's pregnant and Confidence is still injured from her fight with that wolverine so I'd feel better if you stayed there with them."

Indy managed a smile and took offered items, "I could do that. I suppose they wouldn't think to look for me in the same town twice in a row."

"Thanks, first I need to give you something." Love Heart turned to face him.

Indy tensed up and gripped the remains of his sword, "what?"

"Your chest symbol, like this," Love Heart pointed to where his shirt collar hung low enough to expose his symbol.

Indy stared for a moment then shook his head, glared and raised his broken katana, "No. I'm not joining your group and getting a tattoo stuck to my chest for no reason!"

Love Heart took a step back, "Sorry, I just wanted to give you a gift. It's not a tattoo."

"What is it then?" Indy hadn't relaxed.

"It's a symbol that give you powers, like this," Love Heart held up his hand as his symbol glowed and one of his swords appeared in his hand.

Indy stared somewhat awed but tried to keep a passive expression, "That's useful. Will it hurt."

Love Heart smiled, "Nope."

Indy sighed and lowered his broken katana, "Alright, just make it fast."

Love Heart nodded then his tummy symbol glowed and shot out a white symbol that flew toward Indy. The silver bear tensed up again as the symbol circled around him until it landed on his chest. It felt warm. When the glow faded Indy had a small red heart ringed by ten yellow stars on his chest. He touched it, "It's part of the fur?"

"Yep, and Dad can show you how to use it. But you need a name," Love Heart folded his arms as he thought.

"What's wrong with my name?" Indy looked hurt.

"Nothing, but Care Bears usually have a name that tells people something about their personality. Confidence Heart's other name is Cassandra Avalon."

"I see. Hmm..." Indy thought for a moment, "Do I need to have the word 'heart' in my name?"

Love Heart shrugged, "I guess not."

"Well how about 'Independent Bear'. I prefer to be alone when I can and that's not a bad thing, some people just need alone time. Also people can still call me Indy if they want."

Love Heart smiled, "I like it. Welcome, Independent Bear." Love Heart listened out the windows. The sirens had faded a while ago and the sun was almost set. "I need to find a payphone, want to walk with me?"

Indy nodded and the two of them carefully stepped back out onto the fire escape and Love Heart jumped down to the ground, cushioning his fall with a bubble of air, while Indy climbed down to the bottom of the fire escape before kicking down the ladder. Love Heart watched as he stepped down the ground and Indy looked back, "too tired from fixing us up."

"Ahh," Love Heart nodded then motioned for Indy to follow him.

The streets were quieter now and people just stopped to glance at the two bears for a moment before they moved on. Love Heart searched the streets until he found what he was looking for: a pay phone.

"Finally," Love Heart darted over to the payphone and pulled out the phone book. After he found the hotel's phone number he dialed the front desk and deposited the coins into the phone. "Hello? Yes, can I speak to room 1014."

"Just a moment, they're taking another phone call. I'll put you on hold until they're done." The voice on the other side of the phone was calm and methodical. Love Heart sighed and leaned up against the payphone's side. He looked up at Indy, who had walked up to stand next to the phone, "So who taught you kinetics?"

"An old man named Koran, I guess you could say he was my father." Indy looked up at the sky. "What about you?"

"My dad taught me too." Love Heart listened close to the hold music and sighed, "Where is Koran?"

Indy looked down at the ground, "He died two years ago. He was old and he told me it was his time." Indy looked up, his eyes were wet. "I've had some problems since he died, I'm not a legal citizen of this country so I can't get a job or even a place to live," he held up the side of his longcoat and for the first time Love Heart noticed that it was rough, ragged and full of holes, "I can only do so much to fix this."

"Mom might be able to help you with that, hold on," Love Heart heard the hold music end as the ring tone came back.

"Hello?" Confidence Heart's voice came over the phone.

Love Heart sighed in relief, "Confidence Heart, how are you?"

"Love Heart? It's late where are you?" Confidence Heart sounded both frantic and relieved.

"I don't know right now. Listen something happened today, I met three new Care Bears today," Love Heart took a deep breath, "One of them is with me right now, he's a silver bear named Indy, but the other two... they said the same thing you said Passion Heart told you 'come with us or die'."

"There's more of them?" Confidence's voice turned into a growl, "Who are they?!"

"A white and black bear named Shatter Heart Bear and the other is a blue ninja bear named Blade Star Bear."

"Wait, a ninja, like black pyjamas and shuriken?"

"Yeah. They were chasing Indy so I helped him fight them off, but they know I'm here now. I don't think they know I'm with you but they might come back for me." Love Heart took a deep breath as he thought about what he was about to say, "I'm going to try and catch a flight to Regina tonight, I can't risk them following me back to the hotel. Indy's going to com-"

Confidence interrupted him, "What?! Love Heart you can't just leave out of nowhere! I mean what if there is no flight tonight are you just going to wait in the airport?"

"If I have to, I'm not leading them back to you guys. I'll see you next week."

He heard Confidence Heart sigh, "Well I have bad news then. I just got off the phone with my brother and there was a mix up at the passport office, turns out it will take a week per passport so it'll be almost a month before we can get out of here."

Love Heart winced, "Shit, that's not good. They might find you even if I leave tonight...Hey is mom up?"

There was some shuffling from the phone before Confidence answered, "Yeah, she heard me shouting."

"Can I talk to her?"

"Yeah, just a sec." Love Heart heard more shuffling.

"Love Heart? Are you alright?" Life Heart sounded worried.

"Yeah. Look mom, I need to try and catch a plane tonight because more of those crazy Care Bears are after us, Shatter Heart Bear and Blade Star Bear. I had to fight them and I don't want to lead them back to the hotel."

Love Heart heard his mother take a deep breath in and out, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'll do my best to keep everyone safe until we can leave. Please stay safe, son."

"I will, thank you. Oh before I forget I'm sending another Care Bear I met today. He's a silver bear named Independent Bear, he's a friend. Can you let the front desk know so they don't throw him out?"

"OK, I love you, Love Heart."

"I love you too mom, and tell Confidence Heart I love her too."

"I love you too!" Love Heart heard Confidence shout form nearby. He smiled, "see you in a month," Love Heart hung up and turned back to Indy. "Can you find the hotel?"

Indy showed Love Heart the map, "Yeah. Don't worry they won't follow me." Indy's form flickered and disappeared as Love Heart watched. "Telekinetic invisibility, good luck."

"Thanks," Love Heart waved to where he saw a faint shimmer of the air where he assumed Indy was. He sighed and turned back to the phone booth and dialed, "Taxi?"

OoOoO

Independent Bear ducked down the alley next to the hotel while still invisible, checked to make sure no one was looking in his direction then became visible and walked into the front of the hotel.

The clerk looked up at him, "Are you Independent Bear?"

Indy stopped and turned his head to look at the clerk. "Yes."

"Alright, they told me you were coming. Do you know where to go?"

"Tenth floor?"

"Turn right when you get up there, it'll be on your left."

Indy nodded, "Thank you."

Indy fidgeted as he rode up in the elevator. The air felt hot and heavy as it kept going up, and up, and up until finally it stopped and the door opened. Indy darted out and turned right, almost running down the hall until he found room 1014. He fished the key out, then stopped and knocked on the door. A moment later the door opened and Indy's eye's widened when he saw an unclothed moss green unicorn standing there. She had a picture of an apple tree with heart shaped fruit on her chest and, he looked down, she appeared to be with child.

The unicorn smiled and spoke in a soft almost melodic voice, "Oh hello. You must be Independent Bear, please come in." She stepped aside to let Indy in, who sighed in relief to see a window across from the door.

Indy leaned up against the wall next to the door and turned to the unicorn, "Who are you?"

"My name is Life Heart Unicorn, I'm Love Heart's mother." Life Heart smiled then turned to the wall nearby.

Indy blinked then stared, "His mother? Is he adopted?"

Life Heart shook her head, "No. He is my very flesh and blood. Please just a moment I'm almost done."

Indy watched as Life Heart's horn glowed and a ball of blue light flew up to attach to the corner of the ceiling. Now that he looked, Indy saw a dozen other orbs floating around the room. Life Heart started to chant as her horn glowed blue and the orbs were all connected by beams of light. Life Heart chanted a few words he didn't understand, the orbs glowed bright blue for a moment and then vanished.

"There, all done." Life Heart turned back to her guest and, upon seeing his confused expression, continued, "That spell will keep anyone from seeing or detecting us from the outside as long as we're inside this room or even on the balcony. Anyone who looks through the windows or at us on the balcony, from even short distance, will just ignore us as though we aren't here. I didn't cover the door so we can still order food if we need to."

"I see," Indy just stared at the unicorn. She seemed to be glowing but that might have been just because she was pregnant.

"So you're Indy." The rougher feminine voice drew Indy's attention to a long-eared fox with her right arm in a sling. She was fully dressed so he couldn't see her chest symbol.

"I am. And you?"

"Confidence Heart Fennec," Confidence walked over to him and extended her left arm to him. Indy reached out hesitantly with his left hand and shook it, surprised as the strong grip she had. "Welcome to our home for the next three weeks."

"Thank you." Indy released her hand, "Can I sleep somewhere?"

"You can have my bed for now, I'm not gonna sleep for a while," Confidence Heart slumped onto the couch and grabbed the TV remote, "Wish I'd brought Sailor Moon with me," she mumbled. As Indy walked off she called, "Don't freak out if you feel me get into bed later. I'm not sleeping on the floor!"

"OK." Indy took his coat off and tossed it on the floor then paused, looked down, and decided to keep his pants on for now as he slipped into the bed. The softness of the bed overwhelmed him and Independent Bear was out like a light in moments.

OoOoO

Love Heart leaned up against the door of the call as he watched the city go by and sighed.

"Want to talk?" The African-American driver asked.

"Dunno." Love Heart kept staring out the window. "I had a rough day in town."

"I know the feeling."

Love Heart blinked, "What?"

"Being different, especially looking different, makes things hard in this country. Were you profiled?"

"What does that mean?"

"Did the police try to arrest you for no reason?"

"Yeah..."

The driver came to stop at a red light, "I've had that happen before. Twice when I was driving my own car I got pulled over and asked where I got the car. They tried to take my car registration once but I threatened to tell their chief if they did." The light changed and the taxi started moving again.

"I've never dealt with that before, it's...terrible." Love Heart turned back to the driver.

He nodded, "It is, but it mostly happens in larger cities. It's better than it used to be but they still need work."

"You're the first human today who spoke to me like I was a person."

"I could see. My advice is to not give them satisfaction if they don't attack you and never respond with violence because it will just make things worse for you and anyone of your kind as well."

"I'll remember that." Love Heart turned to look back out the window. The sun had set and the only lights he could see were from the airport terminal.

"Keep the change," Love Heart passed $50 to the driver and stepped out of the car. He looked up at the terminal entrance, took a deep breath then walked in.

The terminal was mostly empty, just the staff at the ticket booths, the janitors sweeping the floors with large machines and a few people in line ups. Not knowing what else to do, Love Heart headed for the information desk.

"Excuse me." Love Heart got the attention of the attendant. She stared at him for a moment before reassuming a professional air.

"Good evening. How can I help you today?"

"Are there any more flights leaving for Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada tonight?" Love Heart asked. He tried to look at the screens displaying the departure and arrival times but couldn't make sense of the abbreviations.

"Just a moment." The clerk turned to her computer. A few mouse clicks and some typing later and she answered, "There's a red-eye on Air Canada leaving in eighty minutes," She pointed to the desk along the wall with the words AIR CANADA on a sign over it.

"Thanks."

Thankfully there was no line up for Air Canada. The clerk was a bit more skeptical of Love Heart's appearance, but he still took Love Heart's registration and Love Heart paid with his debit card and got his ticket.

Love Heart found the terminal too quiet with only about twenty other passengers and none of them were awake enough to want to speak to him. Love Heart barely registered when he was called to board and was fortunate enough to get a window seat. The experience of the plane taking off made Love Heart's heart jump into his throat and he gripped the armrests until the plane finally leveled off. Exhausted, Love Heart called for an attendant to get a pillow that he propped under his head and leaned the chair back. Hopefully they'd wake him up when he got to Regina.