FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

You can see far away,

then fly to me on wings of the mind

From the endless night

_ _

Independent Bear stood in a field of blue roses under a cloudless sky as a soft breeze wafted by him.

Fragile life comes

So rarely and stays even less

Crumbles at your gentle touch

He crouched down to pick a flower, only to have it shatter into tiny filaments at his slightest touch.

Fear and hate

Turned inwards

Only brings you pain and loss

He stood up and looked down, taking careful steps through the flowers only to break every single one his feet touched, leaving a trail of an empty field behind him.

One day your life will fulfill

And your seeking will

End in peace or pieces

_ _

In the distance, Indy saw a figure standing amidst the flowers. A Care Bear, or Care Bear Cousin he couldn't tell at this distance but he knew he had to get to get to her.

Beautiful and fleeting

This love to be

May it weather the storm

Coming from the horizon

Then the sky cracked and the peak of the sky shattered into a widening hole revealing absolute darkness that only grew and grew.

Indy's eyes shot open. He lay in bed panting and sweaty for a few minutes, just reassuring himself that he was awake before he threw the covers off and stumbled into his bathroom. He splashed water on his face and looked in the mirror. This was real. He glanced sideways at the frosted glass in his shower at the sliver of dawn peeking over the clouds and sighed. Might as well get up now, no chance he was going to sleep after that.

Care Bears Family Adventures, Book 4: Generations

Chapter 1: Return to Yesterday

True Heart rummaged through the Hall of Hearts' attic. "I know it's here somewhere..." She picked up an old photo album and wiped some of the dust off the cover. She smiled as she looked at the baby pictures of the young Care Bears and Cousins then set it aside and continued her search.

"So there you are," Noble Heart poked his head up through trap door and rested his arms on the floor. "What are you looking for?"

"The catalyst...what did Sage call it?" True Heart pondered for a moment, "The Radiant Heart Crystal." She moved the box of photo albums aside and opened another.

"Ahh." Noble Heart nodded then climbed the rest of the way into the attic, "I don't think you have to search any longer." He came up behind True Heart and attached a thin chain necklace around her neck. The Radiant Heart crystal hung at the end of a short silver chain in a clawed setting where it dangled right in the middle of her chest. It was a multifaceted gem shaped like a valentine heart whose color continuously shifted. "I found it a couple days ago and asked Grumpy to make the setting. It was going to be your anniversary present next week but I don't want you to think it's lost."

"Oh Noble Heart!" True Heart spun around and gave him a big hug as tears of joy streamed from her eyes, "Thank you! I love it!" She looked up and gave Noble Heart a kiss, "And I love you."

Noble Heart smiled and embraced her back, "I love you too. Want to get out of this dusty attic?"

True Heart stepped back and held her new necklace in one hand while taking Noble Heart's in the other, "Yes, I do but..." she looked back over her shoulder, "We should go through these soon. A lot of memories here."

"Yes there are," Noble Heart nodded while still smiling, "Let's go make some new ones."

OoOoO

Tenderheart Bear would never get used to sitting in the U.N. as a representative of the Kingdom of Caring, even though he had been the one to champion this new direction being the only non-human seated in the hall was always a tense experience, and the suit he was forced to wear made things especially uncomfortable in every sense of the word. Thankfully the magical translator necklaces they had provided to the U.N. proved to be a huge point in their favor, a gift that helped communication between members of each nation, granted all representatives were expected to speak English but it was still a huge boon.

While Tenderheart was listening intently his interest peaked when the Secretary General's next item came up. "The next item we need to discuss is the impending extraterrestrial contact we can expect in the next few days."

The secretary general waited for the conversation that followed to die down before he continued, "I know this is a surprise to many of you but we only received this information two days ago from an observatory that wishes to remain anonymous. Right now our current priority is deciding who will make first contact. If they are approaching Earth then we need to determine their intentions. There appears to be only one ship so we need to try and convince them to land in the country that's going to initiate first contact. Now then, who should we nominate?"

"I believe the Kingdom of Caring would be the ideal location." Surprisingly it wasn't Tenderheart who made the suggestion, but the delegate from the UK. Emboldened, they continued to speak, "It was technology from the Kingdom of Caring that allowed us to set up the observatories to detect anything that far away or that we even know there are extraterrestrials, not to mention they are a relatively neutral territory with the capability to defend themselves and warn us if they have hostile intent."

The secretary general nodded, "I see, do you agree with this, Tenderheart?"

"Yes, we would be willing to act as the ambassadors for first contact with the extraterrestrials approaching Earth." Tenderheart said, "I'll have to ask our science minister to try and contact them before they decide to land somewhere else."

"Alright. Are there any other suggestions?" The secretary general waited for the inevitable volunteers before he continued, "Now that that's settled, we need to put it to a vote."

OoOoO

"Dad!"

"Anger Heart!"

"Anger Heart!"

Anger Heart fox stopped on the path on his way home from a caring mission and turned to face the three young Care Bears running towards him: his and Guidance Heart's son Flair Heart Racoon (a pink boy raccoon whose symbol was a heart wearing a tricorn hat with a large red feather stuck through it), Tugs' and Contrary Heart's daughter Marina Bear (a teal bear with widely spaces navy blue stripes whose tummy symbol was a navy blue heart with a light blue ocean wave at the center), and Love Heart and Confidence Heart's daughter Miracle Heart Kitsune (a purple fennec fox with a dark purple eight pointed star on her forehead whose tummy symbol was a red heart with a purple eight pointed star inside of it). All three looked to be about ten years old, though Marina was only five.

All thee skidded to a stop in front of Anger Heart, except Flair who ran right into his dad and gave him a hug. Anger Heart smiled and hugged him back, "How was school?"

Flair sighed and let go, "Boring, dad, but at least there's no homework today."

Marina grinned, "Now we got all weekend to have fun."

"We're going to see Great Grams Bear so I can show her this." Miracle Heart turned sideways to show off that she had three tails growing out of the base of her spine. With the magical training Love Heart had given her Mira had grown a second tail when she was only six years old and had immediately insisted on changing her species name from 'Fennec' to 'Kitsune'.

Anger Heart winced slightly, remembering how painful it had been when his tails split.

Mira wasn't done and she turned to Anger Heart with a dazzle in her eyes, "Can you please show me your tails?"

"Yeah, I wanna see all the tails you got!" Marina pumped her arms and exhaled which gave off a sound like a cat's purr.

"Please show us dad!" Flair was practically vibrating with excitement.

Anger Heart glanced back at his only visible tail, then looked back into the eager faces of his son and his friends and gave up, "Alright, but just for a moment." He only had to concentrate for a moment as the three children ran around behind him as his tail split and eight identical tails spread outwards like a blooming flower. He heard gasps of wonder as he swished the tails experimentally, remembering how the extra weight and limbs felt.

"Is that an illusion?" Mira asked.

"No, it's shapeshifting. They fuse into one tail whenever I make them," Anger Heart looked backwards over his shoulder.

"Can you turn into something like a dragon?" Marina asked.

Anger Heart couldn't help but chuckle, "No, I'm not that good."

"Why do you hide them, dad?" Flair asked.

"Because trying to get around or even sit down with eight tails sticking out of your butt is a huge pain. Do you think your mom would like it if I knocked over everything I walked past in the house?" Anger Heart merged the tails back into one.

"Oh, I guess not," Flair nodded.

Anger Heart turned to face them all again, "Now don't keep Great Grams Bear waiting, I'm sure she wants to see you," he ruffled first his son's then the two girl's headfur before they all dashed off. He watched them go for a moment then headed home. While he wasn't lying about the inconvenience of so many extra limbs, in truth his main reason to hide his tails was because the idea scared him. The power they represented and how it could so easily grow out of control that even feeling the extra gravity was a constant reminder of what he could do if he didn't keep it under control.

OoOoO

Love Heart didn't like going to these U.N. summit meetings, and he especially didn't like just waiting in one of the rooms outside while people debated and discussed things, but he was officially Tenderheart's bodyguard on these excursions and he knew he was likely the best qualified to do this job. Another official title was carried by the uniform he wore custom made by Hugs and Grams Bear: Prince General Love Heart Bear.

When the Kingdom of Caring entered the U.N. they were required to designate their system of government so they chose a somewhat convoluted term: Constitutional Oligarcal Monarchy. Officially Noble Heart, True Heart, Sage Heart and Life Heart were the kings and queens of the Kingdom of Caring with Tenderheart, Brave Heart and himself as the ruling council beneath them and several other as specific ministers (like Bright Heart as the minister of science). As the leader of the Care Bear Magi, who were officially the army of the Kingdom of Caring, Love Heart had the title of General and the additional title of Prince, as the son of two of the Monarchs, titles he accepted but never used unless he was required. His uniform for this purpose was sky blue with a white sash and a rank insignia of a heart with five stars in an X pattern across the front. The last addition was a silver metal with a pair of crossed red swords adorning it, representing his defeat of Dusk Heart a decade ago.

Love Heart passed the time playing with his heartphone, simple color matching games that at least helped time pass faster. With the rise of smart technology and their presence known to the world at large it was decided that the Care Bear Family needed a technological upgrade to their communications, thus Bright Heart and Grumpy Bear designed and built the heartphones. Physically they resembled a touch-screen smart phone with a single power button and two volume buttons on the sides, a camera on the front and back and they functioned as any smartphone on Earth would; each heartphone was wrapped in a durable rubber case the same color as the owner's fur with an image of their tummy symbol in the middle of the back. However, due to their inconsistent position in the sky they couldn't just sign up to a contract on earth, not to mention the expense involved, they had to create their own network. Bright Heart and Grumpy Bear had used the old Caring Meter as a base to set up their personal heartphone network tower which also projected the caring meter's readings to the phones and a GPS signal to locate the targets of their missions, which rendered the old systems for monitoring mostly obsolete. They still maintained the old system just in case but it was no longer as extensive or up to date as it could have been.

Love Heart was finally shaken out of his distraction when Tenderheart returned from the meeting, looking both excited and flustered. "Love Heart, we need to get home."

"What happened?" Love Heart stowed his phone as they headed out of the building.

"There's extraterrestrials heading towards Earth and the Kingdom of Caring was chosen to make first contact with them." Tenderheart was walking outside as he spoke.

"Wait, you mean aliens?" Love Heart stared at him in disbelief.

Tenderheart nodded, "Yes, maybe even the same ones that Bright Heart was communicating with years ago." He conjured up a cloud car and got in the driver's seat. "We have to contact them so we can get them to land at home before anywhere else. I just hope Bright Heart can communicate with them."

Love Heart chuckled as he sat in the passenger's seat, "Knowing him, he'll find a way regardless of the risk."

OoOoO

"You could have come early if it was important," Take Care said as she sat behind her desk.

"I didn't want to wake you, and it's not serious just... a bad dream I've been having for a while." Indy kept his gaze level with Take Care's as he sat down across from her desk.

Take Care nodded, "What kind of dream, can you remember it?"

Indy nodded, "I can, just now. I'm standing alone in a field of flowers that disintegrate when I touch or walk through them. Then I see a Care Bear, or maybe a cousin, in the distance but I can't identify them. Then the sky shatters and I wake up."

"Have you been having this dream a lot lately?" Take Care asked.

"For two weeks now, but I only just remembered. It started waking me up a couple days ago but this..." Indy took a deep breath, "This was the first time I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards. Do you know what it means?"

Take Care shook her head, "Sorry, but I'm not good at interpreting dreams. It might have something to do with your psionic powers, granted I don't know much about them but it's always a possibility. Have you been using them much lately?"

"No, I try not to."

"Because you almost killed Love Heart with them when you were children," Take Care finished. "Has anything in your life changed recently that might have brought this on?"

Indy had to think for a minute, "Nothing comes to mind."

"Well let me know if this keeps happening or if it gets worse," Take Care said. As she got up to file the report she started humming and smiling.

Indy smiled as well, "Looking forwards to Get Well's graduation?"

"I am, and so is Cautious Heart," Take Care turned back to him, "Want to come?"

Indy held up his hand and shook his head, "Thanks, but I don't want to impose on a family thing."

"Suit yourself." Take Care went back to finish filing.

Indy made a hasty exit without Take Care noticing. He felt a spasm travel down his right arm but ignored it. As he had been speaking to Take Care and saw her when she turned around, something hit him. He pulled his heartphone out of his tummy symbol and immediately searched for blue roses online and read the result: representing unattainable goal, the impossible dreams or secret love. He stopped and looked around to make sure no one was listening to him. His heart beat faster and he took several deep breaths before he was finally able to admit aloud to himself.

"I love her."

OoOoO

"Great Grams Bear!" Marina and Mira ran over to Grams as she stood up out of her rocking chair then crouched down to catch the two in a big hug.

"How are you my little darlings?" Grams asked

"Just great, look three tails!" Mira stepped back and showed off her new appendages.

"Look, fangs!" Marina opened her mouth to show off her elongated canines, one of the few cat-like traits she possessed.

"You two are growing up so well," Grams looked up to where Flair Heart lingered by the door, "Flair, is something wrong?"

Flair shuffled his feet awkwardly, "I'm not your great grandson..."

Grams walked over to the pink raccoon and lifted his chin, "That doesn't matter. I can be your great grandma if you want, go on and smile Flair."

Flair grinned and gave Grams a hug and Grams hugged him back, "There you go. Now do you have homework this weekend?"

"No." All three answered at once.

"That's good," Grams stood up, "Do you want to hear a story?"

Mira shuddered, "No, not after listening to Bright Heart all day."

Grams couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, we can do that later."

"Can we have some cookies?" Marina asked, doing her best to sound sweet.

"I'm afraid I don't have any," Grams saw the disappointed looks on their faces, "But don't worry, you can help me bake some more." At those words all three children darted into the kitchen. Grams chuckled. She would never get tired of this.

In the kitchen, Marina found the flower and hauled the large bucket out of the cupboard and up on to the counter while Flair found the sugar and Mira climbed up on the counter to where she knew Grams kept the chocolate chips.

"Now Mira, you know you're not supposed to do that," Grams easily lifted her great-granddaughter down to the floor, then grabbed the bag of chocolate chips anyway.

"Don't you wanna go see your uncle Pace's graduation?" Flair asked as he and Marina climbed up on step stools to help measure the ingredients.

Marina stuck out her tongue and shook her head, "No, I don't wanna go back to school to see a bunch of people talking for hours."

Flair nodded, "Yeah, me either."

"Sounds boring," Mira agreed.

OoOoO

Shortly after Indy left, Take Care received two more visitors. Contrary Heart Liger and her husband Tugs Bear stepped into her office.

Tugs spoke first and got straight to the point, "Did you find out what's wrong with Marina?"

Take Care was expecting the question and she was quick on the reply, "Yes, and she's perfectly healthy, healthier than most at her age actually."

"But she's growing so slowly," Connie protested, "I was already fully grown at her age."

"Yes, I am aware," Take Care said, "You said she's friends with Miracle Heart and Flair Heart, right?"

Tugs nodded, "Yeah, and?"

"They're magi so they age slower. Everything I've looked at says that she decided she didn't want to grow up fast and leave her friends behind so she subconsciously slowed herself down to be the same age as her friends," Take Care turned to Tugs, "You were a toddler for almost 20 years before Connie and Hope were born because you liked being a cub and living with Grams Bear, but when you were born," Take Care turned to Connie, "Hugs and Tugs decided they wanted to grow up with you. Marina's just doing the opposite, slowing down so she doesn't leave her friends behind."

"She did ask us why Mira and Flair were growing so slowly when the came to her first birthday," Connie thought back to that day remembering Marina's 'why aren't they growing up?' question and her own answer about how Magi aged more slowly.

"We can do that?" Tugs was perplexed.

"It's subconscious, as far as I can tell. When Grams Bear went through her phase that one year of Thanksgiving when she started riding that motorcycle and cooking tacos, she actually became younger, albeit only dropping from 'senior' to 'late middle aged', probably a good thing since every cub wants to spend time with her these days. It seems the saying 'you're only as old as you feel' is more literal for the Care Bear Family." Take Care stood up, "If you don't mind, we should get going. The graduation ceremony starts in a couple hours."

"Alright, I can't wait to see Pace again," Connie grinned as she and Tugs left, passing by Cautious Heart as she returned home.

"Ready to go, mom?" Cautious Heart poked her head through the door.

"I am now," Take Care stood up, still smiling as she left the house and conjured a cloud car for them to fly down to earth.

OoOoO

"Marina!" Connie called as she and Tugs stepped into Grams' house.

"Hi mom! Hi dad!" Marina dart out of the kitchen a bunch of flower dust stuck to her face. She grinned, "We're baking cookies."

Tugs laughed, "This brings back memories. Are you ready to go to Uncle Pace's graduation?"

Marina's cheerful attitude seemed to vanish and she folded her arms, "No, I wanna stay here!"

Grams heard the two come in and was at Marina's side before Connie or Tugs could get angry. "Why don't you let me watch her while you're gone Tugs? I know she'd be dreadfully bored there."

Tugs and Connie exchanged a look then looked at their daughter's defiant face, Connie in particular seeing a version of herself facing down Regal when she went through a defiant phase.

"Alright, Grams, if it's not too much trouble," Connie said.

"It's never too much trouble for my little darlings," Grams gave a knowing smile to Tugs. It had the desired effect.

Tugs sighed, then smiled, "Alright. We'll be back later Marina."

"Alright!" Marina practically jumped then gave her parents a big hug, purring twice before letting them go and running back to the kitchen.

"Have fun, I need to get back to watching them." Grams headed into the kitchen as Tugs and Connie left.

"It is going to be boring, Connie. Wish we could stay here," Tugs sighed as he buckled in and Connie started the cloud car.

"Me too, but it's for my kid brother and I want him to know I'm happy for him." They took off towards Earth.

OoOoO

The graduation ceremony seemed to drag on forever as the graduates received their diplomas and it seemed like every member of their faculty got up to deliver a speech. Take Care and Cautious Heart didn't have much trouble staying awake, though Cautious Heart occasionally checked her heartphone when the speeches dragged on a bit too long. As for the 'Pride of Regal Heart' as some called it, only about half of them managed to keep their attention focused on the ceremony.

Regal Heart Lioness and Stellar Heart Tiger sat together, paws clasped, tails intertwined and heads leaned up against one another as they watched their son Pace with pride; Stellar couldn't resist crying at the sight. Their youngest child, Faith Heart Liger, sat next to them, her gaze wandering all over the crowd and sometimes down to her feet.

Hopeful Heart Liger sat with her husband Darien and their young son Stealth Heart Liger (technically a li-tigon as he was only one quarter tiger but liger was easier to remember), a tawny liger with widely spaced black stripes, a full black lion's mane and a black tuft on the tip of his tail; his tummy symbol was a pair of white sneakers, one lying on its side with the laces undone, on a yellow star background. He was a little over 2 years old, around 14 years for a Care Bear. Darien's gaze kept dropping and at one point he had to take hold of his son's shoulder to keep him from sneaking off and getting lost in the crowd.

Brave Heart and Feral Heart sat together with their 1-year-old (6 in appearance) daughter Joyful Heart Liger seated between them, bouncing on her seat unless Feral rested a hand on her shoulder. Joyful Heart was a lime green liger with black stripes and a lime green lion's tuft on the end of her tail whose tummy symbol was rainbow-colored fireworks on a pink heart background. Their fully grown son, Royal Heart Liger, sat next to his father, occasionally checking his heartphone to play a game instead of listening to the speeches. Royal Heart was a sea green liger with black strikes and a nearly full mane and a lion's tuft on his tail; his tummy symbol was a heart with a gold and jeweled scepter laid across it from the upper right to the lower left.

Chance Heart Liger sat with his wife, Shy Heart cougar: an ice blue cougar whose tummy symbol was a blushing star buddy, both dividing their attention between the ceremony and each other. Their twin sons, Chaos and Havoc Li-Cougar, sat next to them and didn't even bother to look up from their heartphones until Pace or Get Well were visible. Havoc was the elder of the twins, a pale cream feline with widely spaced light blue stripes, a very short mane and no tuft to the end of his tail and a tummy symbol of a blue tornado with hearts mixed into the contents; he resembled his mother more than his father, other than his mane and stripes. Chaos was a light blue feline with cream colored stripes more closely spaced than his brother's, a cream colored tail tuft and a tummy symbol that was a blue tornado with stars mixed into the 'debris', all of which made him resemble his father.

Connie and Tugs sat with Hugs near the edge of the crowd, Hugs grinning and giddy in her seat as her two closest friends were receiving their diplomas.

As soon as the ceremony was finished and the hats were thrown, Hugs bolted out of her seat and right towards the approaching Patient Heart Liger and Get Well Bear. Neither had the chance to jump aside as Hugs literally bowled into them, pulling them into a tight hug as they fell to the ground.

"Ack Hugs! Let me up!" Get Well tried to wiggle out of her friend's grasp to no avail.

Hugs gave one last tight squeeze before helping them to stand, whereupon she immediately pulled them into another hug, "I missed you guys!"

Patient hugged her back, hoping she wouldn't notice the blush that crept onto his cheeks, "I missed you too, Hugs."

"Me too," Get Well hugged her back then peered over Hug's shoulder. She smiled and waved a hand towards Take Care and Cautious Heart.

Hugs finally let them go only to have Pace literally swarmed by his family, all of whom couldn't wait to shake his hand, clap him on the back or give him a big hug, especially Regal and Stellar.

Despite her nature, Cautious Heart Cat immediately hugged big sister, "Congratulations."

Get Well hugged her back, "Thanks, Cautious." She let go as Take Care approached.

Get Well was taken aback when her mother started to cry and pulled her into a big hug, for once not seeming to notice that she was in the midst of a huge crowd. "I'm so proud of you," Take Care spoke quietly into Get Well's ear.

Get Well smiled as she began to cry too and hugged Take Care, "Thanks mom, I promise I'll do everything I can now."

Cautious Heart couldn't help but tear up as well so turned her gaze back to the others, nearly bursting out with laughter as Pace was assaulted by his massive extended family.

OoOoO

After having the excess baking ingredients scrubbed out of their fur, Marina, Flair and Mira listened to one of Grams' stories, telling about some of their parent's adventures before they were born. By the time the story was over they heard the ding of the kitchen stove and five minutes later they were sitting on Grams' couch enjoying the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

Rapid knocking on the front door signaled the arrival of one of their families. Marina groaned as she heard the voices of her cousins, Chaos and Havoc enter ahead of their parents.

"Hey kiddo, your mom asked us to pick you up," Havoc darted forwards and snatched a cookie of the plate in front of the trio.

"Hey!" Mira shouted as Chaos also dove in to steal a cookie.

"Where's mom and dad?" Marina demanded, looking past her cousins to where Chance and Shy Heart stood at the front door.

"They're helping to set up the party tonight," Chance rolled his eyes, "for some reason they didn't want us to help."

"Maybe because they don't want to risk any pranks or traps being set up, Chance," Shy Heart said.

"Com'on, Shy-Shy, who doesn't love a surprise to liven up a party?" Chance held up his arms. Shy Heart just sighed and gave Chance a look of mock despair.

"Can you believe she's a year older than us?" Havoc asked as he ruffled Marina's headfur none to gently.

"Yeah, she's a shrimp," Chaos giggled, "Is she ever going to grow up?"

Marina had finally had enough, she jumped to her feet and glared up at her twin cousins, "I'm not a shrimp!" She did her best not to raise her upper lip, which Connie told her was very rude.

"Leave her alone!" Flair Heart was up at Marina's side at an instant.

"Back off, jerks!" Mira was on her feet, reflexively taking a martial arts stance.

Hearing her friends back her up emboldened Marina and she grinned up at the two Li-cougars, "I'm not growing up slow, you're growing up too fast!" she pointed a finger at them, "You're all grown up now so you have all those responsibilities and you didn't enjoy being cubs, but me," she pointed to herself with her thumb, "I'm gonna enjoy being a kid as long as I can, especially with my friends." She felt comforting hands on her shoulders from Mira and Flair and relaxed.

Grams Bear couldn't help but chuckle, having watched the display from her kitchen doorway. "Very good, Marina. No reason to rush growing up, there's plenty of time for that in the future."

Marina smiled, "Thanks, Great Grams Bear."

Flair and Mira both joined hands with Marina, "Com'on, we'll take you home," Mira said.

"Yeah, let the tornado twins do their own thing," Flair Heart added. He stuck out his tongue at Chaos and Havoc before the three of them darted out the door with Mira in the lead.

Havoc blinked, "What just happened?"

Chance walked over to his sons and put an arm around each of their shoulders, "You both got schooled about life by your older cousin."

Shy Heart couldn't help but smirk, "She really is more mature than the three of you."

"Hey," Chance gave a fake pout, then laughed and turned around to give Shy Heart a big kiss, making her blush at the display.

OoOoO

Later that night there was a massive party in the Hall of Hearts to celebrate the return of Patient Heart and Get Well from university. Everyone attended, food was served and Anger Heart Fox, Brave Heart Lion, Harmony Bear and Guidance Heart Raccoon offered to perform for them once they gave their return speeches.

Get Well went first, smiling brightly as she stood in front of the assembled family. "It's good to be home. University wasn't as bad as mom made it out to be but I was lucky enough to have a good friend for a room mate," she nodded towards Pace before she continued, "I see a lot of new faces here, I guess we missed out on a lot of families starting while I was gone. To everyone who hasn't met me yet: Hello, I'm Get Well Bear, Take Care's daughter and now your second doctor. I'll be starting at our hospital tomorrow so maybe next time I'll be seeing you there, but hopefully not." Get Well chuckled, "I know Pace isn't one for speeches but I think he wants to at least say something." She stepped down as Patient Heart took her place.

"Hello. I don't have much to say different than what Get Well said, except that most of the new faces are nieces and nephews of mine. I'm going to be a veterinarian so I'm going to be looking for an internship on Earth after I've had some time to relax." Pace stepped down without much fuss.

The band took this as their signal to start playing, with Anger Heart and Guidance Heart singing.

"Bye Bye Yesterday" by 3-nen E-gumi Utatan , cover by https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-zquYmXjZTddb_cyD-8VXQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jBwT_56MnU

"Just wait a second," I know I'm not heard

Screaming out, and yet they never hear a word

I've wasted every bit of energy

Fearing this world as the limits close around me

The time is passing with the days that we see

Watching though I know it'll leave me

It's like they're taking all the memories I loved so

Now I wonder if I'll ever sleep anymore

_ _

Though we laughed and said goodbye

Though tears were in our eyes

Time passed before we even knew the reason why

Once we hear that final bell

There's nothing left to tell

But it echoes in my mind - all the time

_ _

BYE BYE YESTERDAY

It's been a year of cramming through those lessons that I never really knew

Tomorrow we'll do it all again

"I know I'll see you soon" as if it never really ends

BYE BYE YESTERDAY

It's been a year of cramming through those lessons though I never wanted to

You helped me see just who I wanted to be

But still my tears fall

Guess you never knew it all

BYE BYE YESTERDAY

It's been a year of cramming through those lessons back when I was here with you

We'll grow as time will pass us by

But still the colors in our memories shine

Take Care slipped out of the Hall of Hearts in the middle of the chorus. She was happy for her daughter but she had to get out of that party.

A few minutes into her walk she heard footsteps running up the path behind her. She stopped and turned around to see Independent Bear running up to her with a large food covered in plastic wrap in his hands.

Indy slowed to a stop, "Here, I got some food from the buffet before it was all gone."

Take Care couldn't help but smile, "I was going to go home and cook dinner."

"Well eat this first," Indy walked alongside Take Care as she resumed her walk home, "Save you time so you can just relax tonight."

"Sounds like a good idea, I just wanted to make sure Get Well was alright before I left." Take Care said.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind just quiet evening," Indy said as the hospital came into view.

Take Care opened the door then stood inside, holding it open for Indy, "Why don't you join me then?"

"Thanks, Take Care," Indy walked past her and just barely suppressed his blush until he passed by her. He set the food tray on the kitchen counter, "Excuse me a moment," he kept his back to Take Care then darted for the bathroom. Take Care didn't even register as she took the plastic wrap off the food tray and took a bite of some cheese.

In the bathroom, after doing his business and washing his hands, Indy had to splash water on his face to try and calm down. He stared at his now wet reflection and shook his head, he had to keep it together if only for the sake of their friendship. Blurting out a confession or trying to do anything else would be wrong. He could live with this, how was it any different than the last decade?... because now he knew he felt different and he had to face that if only in his own mind. He grabbed the hand towel and dried his face, letting out a small burst of psionics to push his hair back.

Indy grabbed the edged of the sink as another spasm rocked through his body. Twice in one day... He took a deep breath as the spasm passed then stood up. He'd just have to face this the same way he was going to face his new feelings for Take Care, by keeping it suppressed so it wouldn't hurt anyone.

By the time he exited the bathroom, Take Care was already seated in her living room armchair with a mystery novel in her hands and the plate of food on the coffee table in front of her. She looked up at Indy as he entered but merely smiled and said nothing. Indy smiled back, popped a chunk of cheese into his mouth, then grabbed a favorite book of his off Take Care's bookshelves and sat down on the couch as close to her as possible. He did his best to focus on his book but kept stealing glances towards Take Care. Authoritative and caring but calm even under the harshest pressure when she needed to be, he never thought about her this way before. He forced himself to turn back to his novel, knowing that this would fade with enough time and he could go back to just being her friend without feeling awkward...

Maybe...

OoOoO

Defender Bear nodded at the four young children in front of him, the one in the middle holding a children's basketball, "Alright then, go have fun and don't get into another fight." He smiled as he watched them run to the park's small basketball court then leaned back against the small fence that surrounded the park. Caring missions had picked up over the last few years but surprisingly they had become easier, ever since the Kingdom of Caring had become members of the U.N. parents had become much less nervous about their presence and no one objected to them dropping out the sky to dispense advice or even physical aid to their children. It also helped that after No-Heart's defeat Cold Heart had seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth, which they assumed was due to the power the Magi had displayed against Dusk Heart and No-Heart a decade ago and not being able to deal with that power himself.

A sudden chill ran up Defender's spine and then through the rest of his limbs. At the same time the basketball the children were playing with suddenly bounced away from them, as if thrown by a bad pass.

"Hey come back!" one of the children ran after the ball as it bounced towards a man who hadn't been there a moment ago, who caught the ball. He was tall, about 175cm, and dressed in all black: pants, shoes, socks, shirt and open high-collared trench coat; even the irises of his eyes were dark-grey, almost black.

'Pheonix Audubon. We meet at last.'

The sharp voice echoed inside Defender's mind.

As the child approached the man smiled at him, "Is this yours?" he asked in a high sweet voice.

The child stepped back from the stranger and his odd smile. "Yes."

The man bent forwards and offered the ball to the child, "Here you go, I'm no good at throwing."

The child stepped forwards and took the offered ball. The man patted the child's head, then with one swift motion he grabbed the child's head and gave a sudden twist, snapping his neck!

Defender stared then blinked and shook head...only to see the child just fine and running back to his friends.

The man shook with silent laughter, looking happy to all outside but the voice in Defender's head was much more sinister.

'Hehahahaha! That reaction was priceless. I'm surprised you fell for it.'

_ _

Not wanting to draw too much attention to what was going on, Defender just thought the words aloud in his head, expecting the man to be able to hear him, 'Who are you? What do you want?'

The man turned his back to Defender Bear, 'My name is Mental Heart. I'm here for you and the rest of your kind.'

'What?' Defender tensed and his hand strayed under his cloak ready to draw his sword.

'I wouldn't do that.' Defender froze, his hand on his sword's hilt, 'I can feel them all around us. So many living, breathing people. Oh I don't doubt that you would avoid drawing them into the fight, but...'

There was a sudden scream and Defender's attention shot to a man who had just collapsed on the sidewalk. People gathered around as the woman he had been talking to started babbling, "We were talking and he just collapsed!"

Defender Bear just stared as Mental Heart's voice spoke again. 'It's almost too easy, and they're so fragile, especially the children. Do you still want to fight me?'

'Leave them out of this!' Defender was about to charge. 'If you want to fight then fight me!'

'In good time, for now enjoy what little time you and the rest of your kind have left. I have a feeling your lessons about sharing your feelings are about to become pointless.' Mental Heart walked away as the approaching sound of sirens were heard.

Defender watched as an ambulance pulled up and the paramedics jumped out to tend to the man who had collapsed, then he heard one of the kids pull out a smartphone to answer a call. "What? What happened to mom!?" Then the other children's phones rang. By the time Defender turned back to Mental Heart, he had vanished.