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Chapter 19: Rebirth

Samantha was awakened by the sound of the shower. She stirred and covered her eyes from the light of day that flowed in through the window over her head. She mumbled incoherently and rolled over, then she spotted the crystal.

"It wasn't a dream?" She reached out for the crystal and touched it, was it blue or green? Didn't matter. She held the crystal to her chest and stared at the ceiling, did she really want to go through with this?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a banging at the front door. "Samantha! Are you in there?"

Samantha recognized her father's voice and scrambled to grab her clothes while keeping low. Thankfully the curtains of the window next to the door were closed and the window at the top of the door was too high off the ground to be seen through just by standing. Regardless she stuffed the crystal into her pants pocket and ducked into the small corridor next to the bathroom out of sight of the windows just in time. Her father's face appeared in the half-sun window at the top of the door right after Samantha vanished around the corner.

Samantha panted. Her heart was hammering as she heard her father banging on the door again. She didn't even notice when the shower shut off or when Guidance Heart emerged, that is until the raccoon let out an "Eep!"

Samantha turned to see Guidance Heart covering herself with her arms, her fur was still damp but she was otherwise unclothed. "Samantha, I forgot you were here."

Samantha smirked, "Don't be so nervous, Guidance, you know me. Besides I can't see anything."

Guidance hesitated then slowly withdrew her hands, though her face turned red. "Alright." More banging on the door drew her attention, "What's that?"

Before Samantha could answer Anger Heart emerged out of the still open bedroom door, "Who the fuck is here this early in the goddamn morning!"

"I'm gonna take a shower, see ya," Samantha darted into the bathroom as Alex stomped towards the front door.

Alex unlocked the door and threw it open to see an older man dressed in a nice suit standing in front of him. "What the hell do you want?!"

"Mind your manners when you speak to your elders and cover your..." the man looked down, "What kind of monster are you if you don't have-"

Anger Heart gripped the door frame and bared his teeth, "None of your damn business! What the fuck the do you want?!"

"Simple: give me my daughter and I'll leave." The man folded his arms, "And get dressed before everyone sees you."

"I'll get dressed when I damn well want and I have no fucking clue who your daughter is or where she is, other than not here. Now get the fuck out of here before I call the police!" Before the man could answer, Anger Heart slammed the door and locked it behind him. He leaned up against the door and held his head as he felt the man pounding on the door behind him. He looked up when Guidance Heart approached and could hear, barely, the shower running over the man's shouts.

"Is he going to leave?" Guidance Heart looked up and shrank back when the man's angry face appeared in the door's window.

"He'd better, I wasn't bluffing." Anger Heart tapped his foot.

Eventually the man gave up and the pounding stopped. A moment later they heard, and saw, a car drive down and off their street. Anger Heart sighed in relief and frustration, "So much for sleeping in. Guess I'll make breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns sound good?"

Guidance Heart smiled, "Perfect. Here I'll help."

Samantha stayed in the shower longer than she needed to, just to make sure her father was gone. She felt the heart shaped crystal in her pocket once she got dressed and was about to pull it out but then she pushed it back down. Better keep this to herself for now. Her clothing stank somewhat but that smell was forgotten when she exited the bathroom and caught a whiff of breakfast.

"Smells good, may I?" Samantha asked as she passed through the living room, where the dining table was.

"Go ahead," Anger Heart pointed to the kitchen, his mouth half-full of food.

Samantha returned to the table a minute later, her plate full of the rest of the food that had been left for her. She didn't say anything as she dug in.

Guidance Heart was the first to finish and she set her fork and knife down then turned to Samantha, "Samantha, did you know that man at the door?"

Samantha winced slightly but finished chewing and swallowed before she answered, "That was my dad."

Anger Heart nearly choked as he was swallowing and hastily downed a glass of water, pounding his chest to get the food to pass through, "What?!" his voice was slightly hoarse.

"Yeah, that was my dad. Probably here to drag me off to church." Samantha went back to her food.

"But I told him I didn't know who his daughter was! Urgggh!" Anger Heart ground his hand into his forehead. "How did he even find where we live?"

"You didn't know she was his father so you didn't really know, and it's not like we blend in, everyone knows where our house is." Guidance Heart put a hand on Alex's shoulder.

Samantha grinned, "So you two are fully shacked up now?"

Guidance Heart blushed, "That's not the issue here. Why did you hide from him?"

Samantha sighed, "Because I'm sick of the way they try to run my life. They set me up on a date with someone from church and told me I had no choice. Just a couple more weeks and this will end," she leaned back into her meal.

"Huh?" Anger Heart stared at Samantha, who seemed to ignore. He sighed and turned back to his breakfast.

"Are we going to Defiant Heart's again today?" Guidance Heart asked.

"Mmhmm," Anger Heart nodded, his mouth full of food.

Samantha finally finished her breakfast, "Can I come too?"

Guidance Heart looked at her somewhat hesitantly, "I don't know, I mean this is magic training for us and... well..."

"Let her come," Anger Heart finished then took their plates to the kitchen.

Samantha grinned, "Thanks, Anger Heart."

The fox shuddered slightly, "Yeah, it is weird to hear you call us that."

Samantha became jumpy as soon as they left the house and she repeatedly checked over her shoulder right up until they got on the bus, though she was still tense until they transferred downtown. Anger Heart and Guidance Heart gave each other nervous glances as Samantha relaxed but kept quiet for the duration of the trip.

Samantha was bouncing on her feet as she approached Defiant Heart's house; though she had stared she kept quiet about the size of the place. The door was answered by Love Heart, who was startled to see her standing there.

"Umm, hello Samantha, why are you here?"

"I want to learn magic," Samantha stepped forwards and raised a hand clenched into a fist.

Love Heart just stared at her for a moment then sighed, "I can try but I can't promise that you'll be able to learn anything, I don't even know if humans can even learn magic."

"Great! Let's go!" Samantha pushed past the three Care Bears and nearly ran into Defiant Heart Badger, who just glared at her as she ran past.

"Alright. Anger Heart you can practise conjuring mana while I go over the basics again with these three," Love Heart pointed to the fox before he faced the other three, "Alright, Defiant, Guidance you two keep trying to conjure mana, and Samantha," Love Heart held up his hands and conjured a blue field of mana again, "This is mana."

Samantha seemed hesitant to approach, "What is that stuff?"

Love Heart took a deep breath, "It's the source and fuel for magic and life. Just touch it and you'll see what it feels like."

Despite her pervious enthusiasm, Samantha hesitated with her hand hovering a couple centimeters from the blue field in Love Heart's hands. Guidance Heart stepped forwards, "It's not dangerous, here see." She extended her blue furred hand into the field then shuddered, "Ooo! It's warm!"

"What?" Love Heart gave Guidance Heart a funny look, "wasn't it damp yesterday?"

Guidance Heart withdrew her hand and stuck it back into the field, "It's warm, not hot."

"Odd," Love Heart looked over at Samantha, "Ready to try?"

Samantha nodded, "Alright," she carefully stuck her hand into the field then shivered, "It's cold! And it feels funny."

"Well I guess cold is your element then, which means water," Love Heart let the field dissipate, "Now do what I say and try to find that same funny feeling deep inside you and bring it out, like Anger Heart is doing." Love Heart pointed to where Anger Heart had conjured his own smaller field of blue mana. Anger Heart panted but kept the field shimmering in his hand.

Samantha looked from Anger Heart back to Love Heart, mouth agape, "Didn't he just start yesterday?"

Love Heart nodded and folded his arms, "He did but don't feel bad he's a natural. Just take it at your own pace."

Samantha took a deep breath then held her hands out and tried to feel the energy inside of herself. Defiant Heart glared over at her and rolled her eyes and grit his teeth, trying to bring out his own mana field.

By the end of the session Anger Heart was resting and chugging a huge bottle of water he'd grabbed from Defiant's fridge but none of the other three had made any headway with conjuring any mana.

"Ugg, I feel like I'm constipated whenever I try this," Defiant slumped down on the grass. Guidance Heart shuddered but didn't comment.

"Right, I think that's enough magic practise for today, now for chest symbol training," Love Heart turned to Samantha, "Sorry but you can't really do this part."

Samantha pouted then sighed, "Alright." She turned and was about to leave, when she stuck her hands on her pockets and felt the crystal again. She turned her head back, "Love Heart, can I talk to you in private?"

Love Heart turned from the other three Care Bears, "OK, just wait inside until I'm done giving them their instructions."

Samantha rummaged through Defiant Heart's fridge as she waited for Love Heart. It was mostly barren save for several snack foods, bottled water and some milk. She checked to make sure the milk wasn't expired, then gave a sigh of relief when she saw it was still good.

She was still drinking when Love Heart stepped inside. "Alright what do you want to talk about?"

Samantha finished her drink then looked out the window to make sure no one was listening in. Seeing the other three struggling with their current exercise, and all with their shirts off, she fished the crystal out of her pocket, "This."

Love Heart stared at the heart-shaped crystal. It was orange, no, yellow, green, blue. The crystal slowly shifted through the rainbow pattern of colors as Samantha held it forwards. "What is that?" Love Heart asked as he reached forwards carefully to touch it. It felt warm.

"Last night I made a wish on a star and it spoke to me. I said I wanted to be a Care Bear and it told me that I could with this, once I was sure it was what I wanted."

Love Heart started and stepped back, "I'm sorry, what? You want to be a Care Bear? Why?"

Samantha withdrew the crystal and held it close to her chest, "Because my family sucks and I'm sick of being controlled by them. I just want to make my own life without being dragged back to them, but..." She lowered her hands, "I don't know if I can really do this. It's permanent once I make up my mind and... I mean what if I'm not a good Care Bear, what if I can't hack it..."

Love Heart looked into her quivering eyes, "Why are you telling me this? Do your friends know?"

Samantha shook her head and pocketed the crystal again, "No they don't, and I'm telling you because you don't know my parents and you won't risk telling them. If they found out... I don't know what they would do to me."

Love Heart sighed the folded his arms, "Want me to talk to your parents."

"NO!" Samantha's eyes went wide and she held up her hands defensively, "If they found out about you and about the magic you're teaching they could come down on both of us like a sledgehammer! Just stay here and do your thing and if I choose to be a Care Bear then I want you to train me too."

Love Heart sighed again then tried a smiled, "Alright, if you do that then I will, but you said it's irreversible so think before you decide."

"I will. I should get going though, there's going to be hell to pay at home." Samantha turned and left, which left Love Heart to return to the training out back.

By the end of the chest symbol training, Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart had managed to get their symbols glowing (Guidance's being the brightest) and they were all tired.

Anger Heart was about to speak up when he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket, he fished it out and read the text, "Hey, Caleb invited us to see 'Meet the Robinsons' in a bit, anyone want to go?"

Guidance smiled, "I'd love to."

Love Heart raised a hand, "I'll pass, have fun"

OoOoO

Samantha didn't want to go home. She didn't want to go home as she walked to the bus stop. She didn't want to go home as she rode the bus. She didn't want to go home as she transferred downtown. She especially didn't want to go home as she turned onto the street that led to her house.

Her dread was partially replaced by confusion when she saw Caleb standing at her front door, wearing what she assumed were his church clothes. He smiled as she approached, "Hey, Samantha."

Samantha stopped on the bottom step, "Hi, Caleb, why are you here?" She had a guess but hoped she was wrong.

"I'm your date today, just a sec." Caleb turned and opened the door just enough to get his head in, "Your daughter's home."

"Good, can you send her in?" It was her father's voice.

"Sorry, but the movie's going to start in 20 minutes and we have to get there right away."

She heard her father sigh, "Fine, but I will talk to you tonight Samantha!"

Caleb shut the door, "Alright let's go," he pointed to a small car parked out front.

"Are your parents here?" Samantha tried to peer into the car.

Caleb shook his head, "Nope, I got my license last month but they let me borrow their car for today." He opened the passenger door for her before he got in the driver's seat.

Samantha sat with her arms folded as the car pulled onto the main street, "How serious are you about this date?"

Caleb shrugged but kept his eyes forwards, "Not very. My parents know how... strict yours are so they asked me if I could take you out to get them off your back," he smiled, "relax I have more planned."

Samantha was about to ask what he meant when they came to a sudden jolting stop as a kid darted across the street. After that her heart was hammering too fast for her to want to ask any questions.

Thankfully her answer came when they got to the theater and she lit up as she saw Brandon, Anger Heart, Guidance Heart and Defiant Heart standing at the entrance. Samantha grinned a she hopped out of the car, not waiting for Caleb to open the door. Caleb didn't seem to mind as he shed the jacket from his church clothes.

"I thought it would be nice if we just had some time out with friends," Caleb glared at the badger, "I didn't invite him though."

Defiant Heart snorted, "I'm here to see the same movie on my own."

Caleb rolled his eyes, "I'm not paying for your ticket."

"I can pay my own way, thank you!" Defiant shot back.

"Let's not start a fight, OK?" Brandon said, "The movie starts in five, let's go."

As they all filed in and paid for their tickets, Brandon asked, "So are we ever going to meet Love Heart Bear?"

"I guess that's up to him," Guidance Heart took her ticket from the cashier.

"So where did he go?" Samantha asked.

OoOoO

Love Heart let the weights on the seated row weight machine finally come to a rest and leaned forwards against the front pad of the chair. He was sweating but it wasn't as unbearable as he once found it. He heard someone whistle as they walked past and caught a glimpse of Love Heart's weights, set to 235 pounds. Love Heart stood up and grabbed some paper towels from the nearby dispenser to wipe the sweat off his head and the machine, funny how there was no green fur on it. He shrugged this off and moved on to the next exercise on the little chart he'd filled out the previous day.

Love Heart was in the gym for another hour before he finally called it a day, showered then headed out. He decided to just walk the distance back to Defiant's house, it was an hour long walk but he needed some time alone to think. In only three days he'd not only met three new Care Bears one of whom used to be human, but a human who wanted to be a Care Bear herself and apparently was given the chance by the Great Wishing Star. Love Heart shook his head, unsure how to process all of this information and his mind drifted to his family, still waiting back in the states. Were they safe? Had those two, Shatter Heart and Blade Star gone after them or were they after him still? Was this city safe with him here? All these questions swirled around in Love Heart's mind until his head hurt and he stopped to sit on a public bench to clear his head.

As he sat there his mind drifted to something Confidence had said to him a couple months ago: about how she chose air as her element because it would let her fly. Maybe it wasn't just his new friends who needed to train.

Love Heart stood up then looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. "OK focus, Love Heart, guide the wind around your body and let it lift you." As Love Heart spoke to himself the wind whirled around and down his body and flowed under his feet. A few bystanders stopped to watch as the air pushed itself under Love Heart's feet. Love Heart felt his feet slowly lift from the ground and opened his eyes to see that his feet were half-a-centimeter off the ground. Love Heart exhaled and let his feet touch the ground. Love Heart smiled, "OK, just gotta keep trying."

Every few blocks Love Heart stopped to try again, getting a little higher off the ground each time. Ten blocks away Love Heart didn't stop as he pushed the wind under his feet and floated half a meter forwards before he nearly tipped over in mid air and stumbled as he touched down. He grinned and picked up his pace, speed walking down the sidewalk as he tried again this time flying a full meter before he landed, a bit more gracefully than before. He grinned more brightly and sped up.

Down the street Love Heart was soaring larger and larger flights until he finally cleared a whole street and landed in front of Defiant Heart house. Love Heart sighed and smiled, "Just gotta keep trying." He reached into his pocket and fished out the key Defiant Heart had given him. As he opened the door he heard a car pull in the driveway. Turning he saw Defiant's mother step out of the car. They both stared at each other for a moment.

"You're a friend of my son, right?"

Love Heart nodded, "I am. He went to a movie."

"Oh, well that's good." She walked right past to Love Heart spoke.

"Can we talk about your son?"

OoOoO

"Thanks for this, Caleb, and all of you," Samantha took a deep drink from what was left of her pop from the theater. "I needed this."

Caleb smiled, "No problem, I just hope things go well when you get home."

Samantha sighed, "No chance of that, I'm gonna catch hell from them. Probably literally at this point."

"Don't worry, we'll be here for you," Guidance Heart put a hand on Samantha's shoulder.

Samantha smiled, "Thanks but I don't know if it will do any good." She looked over to where Defiant Heart sat, separate from the rest of them. "Excuse me." Samantha passed the trash can on the way to Defiant Heart and dropped her now empty cup inside it, "Mind if I sit here?"

"Kind of do, actually," Defiant Heart was stirring the soup cup he'd bought.

"Yeesh, sorry. Why don't you join us?" She leaned one hand on the table.

Defiant Heart sighed, "Because it's weird at the very best, I tormented you guys for years."

"Just Anger Heart and Guidance Heart actually."

"Doesn't matter, it's going to be a while before anything changes so for now I'm just going to do my own thing." Defiant got up and moved to another table farther away. Samantha sighed and returned to her friends.

"No luck with him I see," Brandon said.

"Then screw him, if he doesn't want to join us outside of training then leave him," Anger Heart stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and folded his arms and silently fumed.

Samantha shrugged, "Well let's move onto better news: you're all invited to my 18thbirthday after exams."

"I'm sorry, what? 18th?" Brandon just stared at her, as did everyone else at the table, "Don't you mean your 'sweet 16'?"

Samantha snorted, "My 16th wasn't that sweet, but it was what got me up the courage force my parents to let me to go public school."

"Then why aren't you in grade 12?" Caleb asked.

"Because my old private school had a bullshit system for grades that meant I couldn't transfer any credits or even courses over, so they just stuck me in grade nine again to make things simple," Samantha sighed, "Not that I mind so much, I mean at least I got to meet you guys."

Anger Heart looked Samantha up and down, "You don't look like you're nearly 18."

Samantha glared at the fox for a moment, then sighed and put a hand on her nearly flat chest, "Yeah well... maybe I just don't have it in me, who cares though? In two weeks my parents can't force me to do anything every again."

"Well I'll definitely come, if I'm invited," Guidance Heart smiled. Her sentiment was echoed the rest of their friends.

None of them noticed Samantha's sister Emily watching them. She left before any of them could see her and pulled out her cell phone, "Mom, dad, she wasn't on a real date..."

OoOoO

Love Heart sat at the overly clean dining table and faced Defiant Heart's mother. She sipped at a mug of freshly brewed coffee.

"I guess it started when I got pregnant with Daniel..." She sighed, "We were going over our finances and we saw that even with one of us working full time we wouldn't be able to support a family, even just one child, so as soon as I could I started working part time, and once we could afford daycare I went full time. Neither of us wanted to live day to day, paycheck to paycheck so we threw ourselves into our work. After a while we found that we enjoyed the challenges at our jobs and we kept working harder and harder for it's own sake."

"While you neglected the son you were working for," Love Heart's tone was scathing as he glared at the woman. "Did you even notice when he turned into a badger?"

She fiddled with her coffee mug, "I think we did, but we didn't really consider it much. He still sounds the way he used to so we know it's him."

Love Heart sighed, "at least you didn't throw him out on the street."

"How could we!?" his mother's voice rose considerably, "He's our son! It doesn't matter what he looks like!"

"Does your husband agree?"

"Yes...he came home two months after Daniel changed and he was surprised but he said it didn't matter as long as he was our son." She sighed and relaxed again.

"Where is your husband?" Love Heart leaned forwards, with his arms folded on the table.

"His job makes him travel a lot, but it is worth it even though he's stuck at his job level. He's too good at what he does get promoted into something more sedentary." She drained the last of her coffee then took it to the dishwasher.

Love Heart followed after her, "You must have enough savings now. Why is this so hard to do?"

"Because..." She took a deep breath, "Because I'm working for more than just our present. I'm pushing hard enough to inspire others beneath me and keep the company more diverse at higher levels, it's a challenge I enjoy and I don't want to back off after all the work I've put into this." She turned to Love Heart, "I'm torn between wanting to be there for my son and my company, but even if I can't be there for him personally I'll support him in whatever he does, as long as he's not becoming a real monster."

Love Heart sighed and put a hand to his forehead, "That's better than I expected, but you still need to do more than that, he doesn't even remember your names," he held up a hand, "Don't tell me, if you want him to remember then you have to talk to him. I'm trying to help him and both of you but I can't just be a proxy for communication."

She nodded, "I understand and thank you for at least being his friend...I need to think about all of this. Why are you helping?"

Love Heart smiled, "He needs help and this is what we Care Bears do, we help people."

"Well I hope every other Care Bear is as thoughtful as you."

OoOoO

Samantha's dread had returned as Caleb pulled up in front of her house, lessened somewhat by the relaxed afternoon she'd had with her friends. She made it to her front door then turned and waved to Caleb, which let him know it was alright to leave. She watched him drive off then fished the heart shaped crystal out of her pocket. She held it to her chest for a moment then shoved it into her pocket. Time to face the music.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife as Samantha stepped in the front door. Her parents and sister were nowhere to be found. She was practically on her toes as she stepped through the house.

"Welcome home," the steely voice belonged to her father, who emerged from the kitchen. Before Samantha could say anything, her father crossed behind her and locked the deadbolt, "How was your date?"

"It was fine, the movie was good," Samantha felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck.

"Just you and that boy from the church?"

Her father's leading tone didn't escape Samantha's attention as he lit a pipe and took a long draught. She stuck her hand in her pocket and gripped the crystal hidden there, which felt warm to the touch as she decided on her answer. "Caleb and I met our friends at the mall to go to the movie."

"I see," her father took the pipe from his mouth, "Samantha, you've been spiraling down a road to disaster for the last two years. Public school does not allow any sort of redemption and I see you on a path that leads to Hell. In 13 days we are sending you to a convent in Toronto where you will learn to be a proper woman, better than you sister if you can."

Fear and rage boiled up within Samantha, but rage won out, "You can't do this to me!" She made a dash for the door but was caught by the arm.

"I can and must, for your sake as well as ours. You're not an adult yet." His grip was too tight to escape, "I will not watch you destroy your life and be corrupted by those abominations you call friends. We have already taken the liberty of contacting your school and the convent to let them know you're coming and you will be escorted to the airport Saturday evening. We are willing to risk our souls by missing one day of church to ensure that yours is saved."

"Let go of me!" Samantha raised her free right hand, accidentally bringing the crystal with it, and tried to strike her father, only for him to catch her free hand.

"This kind of violence...what is that?" He spotted the crystal.

"It's mine!" Samantha closed her hands into a vice-like grip.

Her father's strength proved too much and he forcefully unbound her fingers from the crystal and tore it away, "More ostentatious garbage from those friends of yours. I need to have a talk with Caleb's parents about what they let their son get up to, as for you," he marched Samantha up to her bedroom while she struggled all the way. She had just enough time to see the lock on the outside of her room as she was shoved in and heart the click behind her.

"You will stay in there until you accept our decision, or we will drag you to the airport, kicking and screaming if we must." Her father's pronouncement had an air of finality to it as he marched off, throwing the crystal in the trash can of his bedroom.

Samantha picked herself up off the floor, tears staining her cheeks as she searched the room. The window was locked with a keyed padlock and any electronics she'd had were gone. She didn't own a cell phone which meant she was cut off. She charged at the door and beat on the door, trying to break it down. "LET! ME! OUT!"

"Please stop, baby sister, you're only going to hurt yourself."

"Emily?" Samantha stopped.

"I'm sorry but I had to follow you to see if you were telling the truth. Why did you lie, baby sister?"

Samantha was seething, she wiped her eyes as she breathed harder and harder until she finally let out a massive scream, "I HATE YOU!!!!!!"

Samantha didn't hear Emily retreat, she just slumped down against the door and cried.

OoOoO

"Mom, dad, why are Samantha's parents so...overbearing?" Caleb sat at a table with his parents.

His father sighed, "Because some people think the only way to salvation is to force it on others, but forcing people into that is just...wrong. That's why we let you choose to stop going to church once you were old enough to stay home alone. You came back because you enjoyed the community, it was best that you found your own reason to keep the faith rather than it be forced on you, which would make you resent it."

"I wish we could do something, but even though we've reported out concerns to child protective services, there is little we can do..." Caleb's mother sighed. "All we can do is hope they take action before too long."

OoOoO

"She's been taken out of school."

The teacher's words rang in Anger Heart's ears as he marched down the sidewalk towards Samantha's address. Steam rose from his body as he stormed up the front walk and banged on the door.

The door didn't even open as a man's voice roared form within, "You have one minute to get off my property before I call the police on you, monster!"

"You're the monster! What did you do to Samantha!?" Anger Heart pounded on the door again.

"Thirty seconds!"

Anger Heart fumed but turned and left the house.

OoOoO

"Why can't we do anything?!" Anger Heart slammed his hands on the table, "They're keeping her locked up in there!"

"What do you want us to do?! Go break down their door and drag Samantha out? We'd be arrested and have to go on the run." Love Heart sat with his arms folded and stared Anger Heart down. Guidance Heart stood aside, fearful to get in between the two.

"I...I just..." Anger Heart growled, "Well what do you want us to do?!"

Love Heart sighed, "Nothing. We can't do anything without getting in serious trouble, so unless you want to get arrested just sit tight and study for your exams." Love Heart stood up, "Now I have my own practise to do until the weekend."

Anger Heart just growled but he turned to Guidance Heart. He instantly softened when he saw the fear on her face, "ARe you alright?" He stood up and was thankful that Guidance didn't back off.

"You scared me, Alex, but I know how you feel. I want to help Samantha too but... Love Heart's right, at best we would be trespassing and maybe even kidnapping." She took Anger Heart's hands in her own, "Now let's just focus on something to take your mind off this, OK?"

"Studying..." Anger Heart sounded disappointed.

"Yes, just be happy you have me to help you," Guidance Heart smiled.

"Why don't you have to take exams again?" Anger Heart asked as he sat down at the table again.

"Because I got over 90% in every subject so the exams are more likely to lower my grades this year, now let's go over algebra."

Anger Heart groaned.

OoOoO

13 days spent trapped in her room were torture for Samantha. Food left for her while she slept so she didn't have a chance to escape and she could feel her will breaking. Her desire to resist going away more each day as she was cut off from even basic social interaction. By the next weekend she stopped shouting through her door at her family and just lay in bed when she didn't have anything to eat or drink. She had run out of tears and now just waited for her inevitable end.

When the day finally came, her father had almost finished packing her bag when Emily entered the room and accidentally knocked over the trash can next to the duffle bag he was packing for his youngest daughter. Nothing seemed to spill out and no one noticed the color shifting heart-shaped crystal tumble into the bag before he zipped it up.

Samantha felt like an empty husk, physically and mentally, when her bedroom door opened for the first time when she was awake since she was shut in here. Her mother entered and maneuvered her like a mannequin to dress her in the special robes and clothes she would be wearing for the next eight years, minimum.

"You'll thank us for this later, Samantha, when you are a better person," She said. Samantha didn't respond.

Samantha was led out of her room and the duffle bag was lifted over her shoulder. "There, now let's get going."

Samantha felt a strange warmth from the duffle bag as she was all but tossed into the backseat of the car and buckled in alongside her duffle bag and Emily and their mother waved goodbye from the front step.

At first Samantha just rode in silence, the ride was stalled by unexpected traffic and her father gripping the steering wheel. Despite the rage induced in those around him from the traffic jam, her father remained calm and didn't even say a thing to her, save one: "This is the start of a new life for you. You'll thank us when you're done."

Samantha didn't respond, but her attention was gradually drawn to the duffle bag and the warmth she felt. She looked at the pocket watch that had been attached to her robes, 11:00pm. When the car started to move again and her father was focused on the road, Samantha carefully opened the duffle bag's central pocket.

There it was! Glowing with the shifting colors of the rainbow was the crystal that had been given to her by the wish she made on the star. The crystal that she had been told would find its way back to her. She looked up, fearful of her father's reaction and as they turned onto the road into the airport she managed to grab the crystal and pull it into her robe sleeves. Instantly, Samantha felt the warmth return to her and she started to fill up again. Her eyes narrowed at the man that had sired her, but she relaxed her gaze when he looked back at her briefly as they pulled into the airport's entrance.

She only had one chance. If she was forced into the terminal then it was all over.

Her father came around and opened the door, unfastening her seatbelt, then gently moving her outside the car as he reached for the duffle bag.

Now! Samantha slammed the door hard, knocking him on the rear and off balance enough to make him fall forwards and she ran. It was dark and cold even in the early summer air but that didn't matter, Samantha had one last chance at her own freedom and she took it. She felt parts of the robe tear as she vaulted over a parking barricade and onto the flatlands, running south. There were houses in the distance, a new project she heard of, maybe she could hide there or at least evade capture long enough. The dark robes suddenly found a purpose as camouflage for her as she left the well lit area around the airport. She swore she could hear her father yelling at her but she didn't stop to turn and see, pressing forwards as fast as she could, the crystal in her hand and the pocket watch thumping against her side.

Samantha's run came to an end when she hit a slope, tripped and rolled down, landing in a shallow trickle of a stream. She coughed and spluttered as she pulled herself up as the robes plastered to her body as she crawled back onto the bank. There was a small depression in the wall of the false riverbed and she leaned up against it.

Sirens.

Samantha wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there but she heard police sirens. Whether they were searching for her or not it didn't matter, she had nowhere to go now and her reckless run had sealed her fate if she was caught by her father.

She looked down at the watch: 11:58pm on the eve of her 18th birthday.

She pulled her right arm free and held up the crystal. Her eyes narrowed, "Samantha will never be an adult." She held the crystal to her chest with both hands as the watch ticked to 11:59pm. "Crystal, Star, please turn me into a Care Bear!"

The crystal pulsed then lit up in a bright glow and dissolved into Samantha's body.

Samantha felt a soft warmth covering her body, then the changes started. Her ears moved up the side of her head and enlarged, her face pushed forwards as her nose spread out and became wet and several new sharp teeth formed in her mouth; she actually felt herself gaining mass all over her body, arms, legs, torso and chest though she didn't gain or lose any height. She let out a groan as she felt a tingle all over her body as fur grew in and a sudden cry of pain as her new tail forced its way out from the base of her spine and she let out a howl towards the sky

She lay still for a moment, then scrambled to pull off the robes but found them plastered too hard to her body. Furious, she bit into them with her teeth, finding them much stronger as she literally tore the robes and the new clothes underneath to shreds.

"I saw a light over there, maybe it's her!"

She heard the voice from above as she finally tore the clothes free from her body. She suddenly found herself full of energy again and she took off without a single look back at where she had come from. A moment later the police searchers found the torn robes and abandoned watch; they never noticed the figure running through the night back into the city.