FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Foreward: I'm sorry this took so long, but a lot of bad stuff happened in my life that made this nearly impossible to do. I want to thank Phoenix Audubon, Fauna Greywolf, Mariel1/Contrary Heart Liger, Take Care Bear/Amber, NebulaBelt/GammaEradon, and Silver Wolf16 (from FF.net as well) for helping me by allowing me to use their ideas and characters to help shape this story. Lastly I'd like to thank Krystalvix for doing the cover art for this story. I can't thank you all enough for helping me make this but without further ado, the story.

A/N: Normally I don't do this, but from this point forwards this series is incorporating stories from my friends into its continuity, some of which do not completely fit together. I will do my best to mix things in but if you want a more complete picture then you should read the following stories on Fanfiction.net before you read this story. From Mariel1/ContraryHeartLiger: Even Brave Hearts can be Broken, Since I Found You, Soo Stellar, Talent Night, Musings of a Tiger, Beloved, Deck the Halls, The Unexpected, Two of a Kind, I don't Wanna, Speculations, There's Always 'Hope', and Will You Still Care. From Phoenix Audubon: Rise and Fall, How Defender Bear Learned to Deal, Loaded For Bear, The Past Reliving, and Of the Same Coin. From Take Care Bear this story: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/shiningstars/mommy-t374.html . And from NebulaBelt/GammaEradon: Old Foxes Want no Families. I will put a note at the start of each chapter to let you know which stories have taken place between chapters.

The wheel of time turns onwards and the Care Bear Family grows. New and lost members have joined, each of them with their own struggles, lives and virtues. Now more will join, but they bring with them more than this, a mystery and a link to a past forgotten

Care Bears Family Adventures Book 2: Magi Chapter 1: Foxes and Raccoons

"Are you holding up alright, Soulful?" Bright Heart Raccoon, a two-tone purple raccoon with a heart shaped lightbulb for a tummy symbol, glanced over at the dark red fox seated next to him in the Cloud Car. Soulful Heart had a hand over his tummy symbol, a red heart with a black Eye of Horus inside of it.

"I'll be fine as soon as we land," Soulful gripped the side of the car as they descended towards a city. "Just go over the mission details again."

Bright Heart nodded, "Two missions, a young girl named Germaine Siedleman who is thinking about dropping out of school and..." he quickly checked the mission dossier, "A boy named Alex Kitun who has severe anger issues, up to an including getting violent with his peers."

"No prizes for guessing who's supposed to help who," Soulful rolled his eyes.

"They're apparently close friends so maybe we can do this two on two instead of both going solo," Bright Heart looked down as they approached the ground, "Now we just have to find them."

OoOoO

"Leave her alone!" A bright red fox in blue shorts, a dark green t-shirt and brown sandals put himself between a pre-teen boy and a light and dark blue raccoon girl who had just been thrown to the ground. Her face was muddy and her pink dress was streaked with dirt.

The boy scowled at them, "Serves her right. Little freaky kid's toys like you don't belong at our school."

The fox squeezed his hands into fists, "I'll say it again. Leave. Her. Alone!" He stepped forwards with the last word, his rather sharp teeth bared. He only came up to the boy's chest which forced him to look up to stare him in the face.

The boy just laughed and stepped forwards, shoving the fox to the ground.

"Alex!" the raccoon cried out, she tried to stand only for the boy to run over and kick her, forcing her back down, holding her now sore leg.

Alex growled and shot up, "GRAAAAH!" the boy turned just in time for Alex's fist to connect with his nose. As the blood started leaking and he stumbled back Alex kicked him, hitting him in the shins. The boy took off, limping slightly and squeezing his nose to stop the bleeding. Alex watched for a full minute until he was sure they were alone then turned back to the raccoon, who was trying to stand up, using a street sign for support.

"Are you alright, Germaine?" Alex helped her to stand and pulled out a tissue packet, using one to wipe the mud from her face before it dried.

"I'll be fine. You didn't have to hit him Alex," Germaine dusted off her dress.

"He hit you. Here," Alex took a deep breath then licked the mud off her face. He gagged then started spitting the mud out of his mouth.

Germaine giggled, "Thank you..."

Alex finished scraping off his tongue then smacked his lips a few times. "Yech. And you're welcome." Alex smiled and took her hand, "Anything broken?"

"Let me check," Germaine searched the pockets that had been sewn into her dress and pulled out a small black case. Opening it she sighed in relief when she saw the glasses inside were still intact, "No, thank goodness. I don't think they could afford to get me a new pair."

"I could get you new ones," Alex said, he scuffed the sidewalk with his foot.

"Thank you," Germaine gave Alex a look of concern. "Are you OK?"

"As long as you are," Alex smiled, "When's your curfew?"

"Ten o'clock, why?" Germaine cocked her head to one side.

"Want to go see a movie? I'll pay," Alex said.

Germaine smiled and nodded, "Yes, I'd like that." They strode off, hand-in-hand towards the theater.

OoOoO

"OK, so where are they?" Soulful Heart searched around the parking lot trying to ignore the stares they always got from adults.

"They should be nearby, the caring tracker says they're in there," Bright Heart pointed to the movie theater.

"Great, no better place to be: crowded, noisy and ten dark rooms any one of which they could be in." Soulful sighed, "How are we even supposed to pick them out?"

"That's why I made this caring tracker," Bright Heart held up the device, which looked like a heart with an electronic compass display and a pair of ports on the bottom, "we can't always find the kids alone, especially with how cautious people are about their children these days. Better to be open about it instead of sneaking around."

"Right. Can we at least get away from the cars?" Soulful pointed to the sidewalk next to the theater's entrance, where the posters for the movies were hung inside large frames.

Bright Heart nodded and, after checking for traffic, the two darted across the parking lot until they could lean up against the wall. They passed the time talking about the various movie posters on display until the caring tracker started beeping. Bright Heart fished it out of the furred vest he wore and checked the display, after shutting off the alarm, "They'll be outside in a moment. Ready?"

"As much as I... ever... am?" Soulful had turned to look through the windows of the theater's entrance, only to see a bright red fox and a two-tone blue raccoon exiting the theater, both wearing clothes. "Tell me our reflections are just warped, Bright Heart, please."

Bright Heart stared as well, but shook his head, "Nope, they're not." As if to prove his point the couple exited the theater and still remained very much real, "And it looks like they are Alex and Germaine."

"So our mission has become a recruitment drive." Soulful sighed, "so how should be approach this."

"Preferably before they get on a bus." Bright Heart took a deep breath and shouted. "ALEX! GERMAINE! OVER HERE!"

Alex and Germaine had been laughing over their favorite jokes from the movie when they heard their names being called. They turned around in time to see a purple raccoon and a dark red fox, both with tattoos on their stomachs, walking towards them. Alex's mouth fell open and Germaine rubbed her eyes then fished the case out of her pocket and put on her glasses.

Germaine blinked and took a sharp inhale of breath as she looked up to stare Bright Heart in the face.

"It's like I'm staring into a mirror," Alex leaned close to Soulful, who recoiled slightly from the shorter fox.

"Please don't do that," Soulful said.

Germaine took a deep breath and finally managed to speak. "Who are you?"

"My name is Bright Heart Raccoon and this is my close friend, Soulful Heart Fox," Bright Heart gave an off-hand gesture to Soulful Heart, "We're Care Bear Cousins."

Alex blinked, snorted then scowled and folded his arms. "Alright, where are the cameras?"

"Excuse me?" Bright Heart gave Alex a bewildered look.

"The 'caught on tape' or 'prank show' cameras, because I have had enough from pretty much everyone to want to deal with this shit right now." Alex glared at the two.

Bright Heart visibly winced when Alex swore, Soulful wasn't even phased as he spoke. "There's no cameras, we're real so can you get past the 'I don't believe what I'm seeing' phase so we can help you?"

Alex put his hands on his hips and leaned back. "HA! Help me with what? How long is this prank going to go on for?"

"Well that attitude for starters and if we wanted to prank you I'm the last person they would have sent," Soulful replied.

"Umm, Alex, let's not stand out here. People are staring," Germaine tugged Alex's shirt sleeve and pointed as some of the people who stopped to stare.

"They always stare, but fine," Alex sighed then pointed to a restaurant with the word Wasabi over the entrance. "If you'll explain what's going on I'll treat you to dinner OK?"

"Sounds good to me," Bright Heart nodded and the four of the headed for the restaurant.

Wasabi, as the name implied, was a Japanese restaurant with Kabuki paintings of samurai, geisha and other historical and mythic figures on paper hangings on the walls and in the windows. Bright Heart and Soulful sat beside each other on one side of a table facing Germaine and Alex respectively.

"Shokuji o arigat?," Soulful gave a small bow as the server came by with their food.

"You speak Japanese?" Germaine asked.

"Sort of. Care Bears can speak or understand every human language," Soulful said as he took the small bowl of miso soup and took a drink.

"Oh... but I can't. I've been trying to learn Japanese for a while now though," Germaine fidgeted in her seat then dug into her noodle soup bowl to avoid having to speak.

"It's not inherent. You'll be able to do it once you get your tummy symbols." Bright Heart said before he dug into his rice bowl.

"That would certainly beat going through French immersion for another four years." Alex swallowed his mouth full of food. "So what brings you down to talk to two freaks like us?"

"You're not freaks, despite all evidence to the contrary. But we're getting off topic." Soulful finished drinking the miso soup, and ate two mouthfuls of his rice dish before he continued. "Alex, I'm here to talk to you about your anger issues."

"What?" Alex glared at Soulful, who just glared back.

"You get into a lot of fights and you talk back to your teachers, you need to get your temper and actions under control before you end up in trouble with the law." Soulful set his bowl down. "Don't glare at me, it will be a serious problem if you don't work on it now. Now tell me, why are you so angry al the time."

"None of your business!" Alex snapped, folding his arms and tilting his head down to glare at Soulful from under his eyebrows.

Soulful groaned, and pushed the palm of his right hand against his forehead. This was going to be difficult.

"Alex, please listen to him." Germaine put an arm over his shoulders. "I'm worried about you too. It's like what happened earlier today."

Alex visibly relaxed when he felt Germaine's arm over his shoulders and turned to face her. "Germaine, that guy pushed you to the ground. He probably would have done worse if I hadn't done something."

"That is an exception, Alex. You've been in fights over pettier reasons and you lash out constantly at people." Soulful said.

"OK, if you know so much about us why didn't you know what we looked like? And if my violence has been such a problem what took you so long to come and see me?" Alex glared back at the two seated across from them.

"We've been backed up on caring missions lately," Bright Heart chuckled nervously, "this mission just came up and we only had the basic information. On that topic, Germaine, I do need to talk to you."

"Is it because I want to drop out of school?" Germaine looked down at the table top.

Bright Heart blinked then stared, "Yes, how did you know?"

"Because everyone's been talking to me about that," Germaine clenched her fists in her lap, "But I can't stand it anymore! Everyone picks on or makes fun of me and I know that high school students are worse!" By now the few others in the restaurant were staring at the table.

It was silent for a minute before Bright Heart spoke again, "How do you know?"

"We went for a visit to one of the high schools I could go to next year, and the students they..." Germaine was crying now and her throat choked up as she tried to speak.

"They were cruel, they kept jeering at us and the other kids we were with, asking 'why is someone with a big stuffed animal even going to this school' or calling us words I was told not to repeat. It was horrible. One of those students came after us earlier and attacked us. I'm never going to that place again!" Alex grit his teeth then picked up his bowl and started shovelling the rest of his meal into his mouth.

Germaine was tearing up as she continued to speak, "Things have been almost as bad for a while. When we first went to school we met and we became friends because we'd never met another like ourselves. The kids liked us at first because we were like big stuffed animals, but when we got to fourth grade they started teasing us for the exact same reason, then they started bullying us and..." Germaine took a shuddering breath and did her best to calm down as Alex patted her on the back.

After seeing their reaction, Soulful tugged on Bright Heart's vest and motioned to the back of the store. "Excuse us for minute," he said as he and Bright Heart retreated to the back of the store, which allowed Alex and Germaine to finish their meals in peace.

"I think we should bring them up to the Kingdom of Caring," Soulful whispered, making sure they weren't overheard.

Bright Heart nodded, "I had planned on that, I think-"

"To live there."

Bright Heart nearly bit his tongue. "What?! I mean..."

"You mean you weren't going to invite them anyway?" Soulful raised an eyebrow, "You asked me to join and despite my constant refusal I did. But these two?"

"This is different. Alex and Germaine have lives and probably families down here. You were living alone in an attic, Regal was being kept prisoner by No-Heart, Stellar was trapped and tortured in a circus, Defender found us and Truth Bear turned against No-Heart and chose to join us."

Soulful nodded. He'd been one of the barely more than half the family to vote for Truth Bear to join the Care Bear Family, owing to his own experiences with No-Heart, and despite what Truth Bear had done when he'd been known as Shade Foyle. Soulful glanced back at the two eating in silence then turned back to Bright Heart, "They're miserable, Bright Heart. If they have families who care then they'll let us help them, and if their families don't care then are they really any worse off?"

"What about their schooling?"

Soulful Heart snorted, "Bright Heart, the curriculum you and Take Care designed is leagues ahead of the mind rotting drivel schools feed to kids in this country. For starters you let Hugs, Tugs, Get Well, Connie and Hope try more than once to get answers right, here they just give them one chance on assignments and homework and rarely give any input. Trust me, were doing them a favor."

Bright Heart blinked then sighed, "We'll ask them first and meet their families then decide OK?"

"OK," Soulful nodded and the two of them returned to the table.

Bright Heart shoveled the last of his food into his mouth and washed it down with half a glass of water when it caught in his throat.

"Can we go now?" Alex asked, arms folded and glaring at the two.

"Just a moment," Bright Heart pounded his chest, getting the food to pass through. He took a deep breath then asked, "Would you two like to see our home?"

"Your home? Where is that?" Germaine asked.

"Up in the sky, it's regular fluffy cloud heaven," Soulful deadpanned as he pointed to the ceiling.

"No, seriously," Alex said.

"He is serious. The Kingdom of Caring sits on top of clouds reinforced by stardust infused heart vines that allow it to support every structure up there," Bright Heart said.

"Uh-huh," Alex stared at the two as though their heads had spontaneous turned into pineapples.

"I'd like to see that, if I can," Germaine smiled gently at the pair.

Alex sighed, "If Germaine is going then I'll go too." He stood up, "Let's go then."

"Right now? What about your parents, will they mind?" Bright Heart asked.

"Probably not, they're dead. My grandparents too," Alex said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Bright Heart averted his eyes.

"I live in an orphanage and my curfew isn't for a couple hours. I'll be fine, Germaine said.

"That was easy," Soulful dusted off his hands and stood up.

Five minutes later the four of them were in a cloud car flying up to the sky. Everyone except for Bright Heart clung to the sides as they rose away from the ground.

"How does this thing fly?!" Alex shouted.

"How much farther is it?" Germaine asked.

"Too far." Soulful held his stomach, "just hold on and it will be over soon."

Thankfully the ride was short and before too long Alex and Germaine found themselves looking out over the Kingdom of Caring. The ground and houses were made of clouds, save for the rooves which looked like they were made of plastic. The walkways were made of rainbows and even the trees leaves formed hearts and stars. Some distance away there was a large red structure in the shape of a valentine heart. Just about the only thing that looked normal was the black tarmack landing strip painted with reflective yellow guidelines.

"Saccharine isn't it?" Soulful Heart glanced back at the passengers.

"Yes," Alex said.

"It's beautiful," Germaine leaned over to get a better look at the lay of the land.

"Hold on, we're going to land," Bright Heart spotted Secret Bear waving two glowing paddles to guide him into land.

Soulful was the first out of the car, sighing in relief now that he was back on his home soil, so to speak.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Germaine stared nervously at the clouds next to the landing strip.

"Of course." Bright Heart stepped out onto the clouds and stomped on it for emphasis.

Germaine and Alex shared a look then stepped out of the car. They stood at the edge of the landing strip, nerving themselves to take the step.

"We don't have all day," Soulful said.

Alex growled then sighed and stepped onto the clouds. After he was certain he wouldn't fall through the ground he took Germaine's hand. She gulped and stared at him but Alex just smiled and gestured to the clouds he was standing on. Germaine smiled back, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the clouds. She cringed, expecting the ground to open up beneath her, then sighed when she found it solid.

"So where do we go?" Germaine asked, turning to Soulful and Bright Heart.

"Follow us, we'll introduce you to Noble Heart and True Heart and hopefully we can introduce you to everyone." Bright Heart motioned for them to follow as he set off towards the massive heart shaped structure.

"E-everyone," Germaine's breath caught for a moment, "How many of you are there?"

"A little over 40 last I checked," Soulful said. He turned around to face the pair, "Are you OK?"

"I don't like being around too many people I don't know," Germaine looked away from Soulful Heart.

"Neither do I. Trust me it gets better once you get the meet and greet over with," Soulful Heart did his best to give a reassuring smile.

"OK," Germaine nodded and gripped Alex's hand tighter as they walked.

They weren't heading to the big red heart, the Hall of Hearts as they called it, instead they deviated shortly after leaving the airstrip to a house on the border of the town of Care-a-Lot and the large forest called The Forest of Feelings. It looked much like the other homes in Care-a-Lot, seemingly constructed of clouds with a shingled roof that, on closer inspection, was some sort of clay or brick painted yellow so it looked like plastic from a distance. The house next to it was much larger and even had a huge attached garage.

Bright Heart knocked on the door of the first house and stood with Soulful Heart, Alex and Germaine until someone answered. She was an older cream colored bear with a tuft of multicolored hair on her head and a tummy symbol that was a tiny pink heart inside of a multicolored star. She smiled, then stared and rubbed her eyes.

"Oh dear, I think I may need to get glasses. I'm seeing double." She opened her eyes and blinked again, nope there were two foxes and two raccoons stand in front of her.

Alex glowered at the bear, "We're real, thank you!" he snapped.

"True Heart, these are Germaine and Alex. We went to help them on our caring mission and we found... well two lost family members," Bright Heart turned to the side and held his arm out.

True Heart Bear smiled, "Well then, let me say welcome to the Kingdom of Caring. Would you like to come in?"

"OK," Germaine nodded and True Heart stepped aside to let them in.

Once inside they could see that the house was indeed constructed of wood, the clouds appeared to just be layered to the outside like siding. The house itself could be best described as quaint, with a small entrance, a kitchen, dining room, stairs leading up and a living room where a purple horse with a rainbow colored mane and tail sat, reading a book; his tummy symbol was an inverted version of True Heart's: a tiny yellow star inside a multicolored heart.

"Noble Heart, look who's here," True Heart walked over to the horse.

Noble Heart looked up at the four and smiled. He set his book aside and trotted over to the group, as he had horse hooves instead of more human-like feet.

Alex found his hand caught in a tight grip and shaken as Noble Heart spoke. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Noble Heart Horse, welcome."

"Thank you," Alex pulled his hand free and shook it to get some feeling back in.

Noble Heart shook Germaine's hand as well and she felt her whole body shaking from his force. "I'm G-Germaine and this is Alex. Are you and True Heart married?" she asked.

"Yes we are, almost as long as we've been living up here," Noble Heart released her hand from his grip. "Sit down and tell us about yourselves."

"Bright Heart, Soulful Heart, do you want to stay?" True Heart offered.

"Sure," Bright Heart nodded.

"I'd like to hear more about them so I'll stay too," Soulful said.

A moment later Noble and True Heart were sitting on the loveseat facing Alex and Germaine who sat on the couch across from them. Bright Heart took an armchair and Soulful dragged a dining room chair in to sit on.

"So, what can you tell us about your pasts. How have you lived on earth for so long?" True Heart asked.

"There's not much to my life. I was found on the streets and they brought me to an animal shelter. Then when they found out I could speak and understand them they took me to the orphanage and I've lived there ever since. I got reading glasses because I'm far sighted and met Alex in school." Germaine said.

Alex crossed his arms, "I was adopted by my grandparents and... what?" he saw that Bright Heart had raised a hand.

"What happened to your parents?"

Alex sighed, "My grandparents were human and my parents were normal red foxes and none of them could have kids. My parents were sort of pets for my grandparents because they kept living around their house. Then one spring my grandparents found them dead and I was lying near them looking like this, so they adopted me. I called them my grandparents because they were so old." Alex wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes, "they died three years ago, they were just too old. The doctor told me they only hung on to look after me. I've been living on my own ever since."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Noble Heart said.

"You two seem a bit young to me," Soulful Heart looked over both of them.

"Wh-what?" Germaine stared wide-eyed at Soulful, recoiling in her seat.

"Hey!" Alex almost jumped out of his seat but managed to restrain himself.

"Soulful Heart!" True Heart was shocked but Soulful Heart held up a hand to forestall her comments.

"How old are you two?" Soulful asked.

"Thirteen, why does that matter?" Alex folded his arms and glared at the other fox.

Soulful sat back and crossed his left leg over his right, "That's been bothering me for a while now. You see, Care Bears age very fast. Most of the Care Bear Family grew from infancy to adulthood in about a year and the cubs that live up here now age about six times faster than humans. But you say you're thirteen years old and honestly you look like you are thirteen. I know it's not because you don't have tummy symbols because Regal Heart grew up on earth too and she was still fully grown after a year. I've never heard of this happening before."

True Heart cleared her throat, "Actually, it has happened before." Soulful turned to her with a curious look on his face. "When the family was first formed there were two others who came with us: Sage Heart Bear, who was raised with me as my adopted brother, and his son Love Heart Bear."

"I know we never told you about them, but we don't like to talk about them," Noble Heart gave Soulful and apologetic look. "A year after the family was formed, Love Heart was still an infant even though everyone else was fully grown. Later that year he was kidnapped by No-Heart and the three of us: Sage Heart, True Heart and I, went to save him. Sage Heart managed to save his son and ran off while we stayed to fight No-Heart and then... well that's when that memory lapse happened in our family. We haven't seen or heard of Sage Heart or Love Heart since, and we have tried to find them but... they just seem to have vanished."

"I see," Soulful would question them more about this later, for now he wanted to focus on the two new family members in front of him.

Germaine fidgeted in her seat. "Is something wrong with us?" she asked.

"No, not at all. You're just a little different." True Heart assured her.

Noble Heart stood up and walked over to the pair. "Alex, Germaine, would you like to join the Care Bear Family?"

"Join?" Alex asked, looking up to meet Noble Heart's eyes.

"Yes. You may have grown up on Earth but you are both one of us and you're welcome to join us and live up here in the Kingdom of Caring."

"Yes!" Germaine all but shouted, practically jumping out of her seat, "I want to live here!" She blushed upon realizing her outburst and sat back down, but still smiled.

"Well then, I suppose we should go see your orphanage to officially adopt you, to avoid any issues going forwards," True Heart stood up. "What about you, Alex."

Alex sat, staring at the coffee table in between the couch and loveseat. "I... don't know."

"What? but Alex..." Germaine's face fell.

"I don't know!" Alex shut his eyes as he shouted. "I just... I need time to think," Alex stood up and dusted off his shorts. "Can you take me home, please?"

"You don't want to stay?" Germaine put a hand on Alex's shoulder.

Alex tensed for a moment and looked like he was about to start shouting then he turned and looked at Germaine and visibly relaxed. "I said I don't know. I want to go home and think about it for a bit, OK?"

"Alright," Germaine nodded.

Five minutes later, Alex was riding with Bright Heart and Soulful down to Earth and Noble Heart and True Heart were taking Germaine to her orphanage to officially adopt her.

Alex remained silent as they rode down. He stared off into this distance, lost in thought as they drew closer to earth. His train of thought was derailed when Bright Heart spoke up. "Alex, is that smoke coming from your neighbourhood?"

Alex shook his head and looked forwards, his face contorted in rage, then despair. "MY HOUSE!"

OoOoO

Alex's house was up in flames and sirens were blaring some distance off as he, Bright Heart and Soulful stood in front of the conflagration. Alex had just stared for a minute, and then the tears started to flow. He scrunched up his face and pressed the heel of his palm onto his closed eyes, trying to stem the tears the streamed down his face. Neither Bright Heart nor Soulful could think of something to say to comfort him so they just stood back and let him let his grief out. Alex finally let out a sob and started to let himself cry for real.

And that's when they heard the laughter.

Through puffy and bloodshot eyes Alex saw the same boy who had attacked him and Germaine earlier that day. The boy grinned, showing his red eyes as he drew a pocket knife and advanced on the three. Alex wiped his eyes and bared his teeth, fury covering his face.

"Care Bear Cousin Call!"

Two blue oscillating beams that looked like music bars shot past either side of Alex and struck the boy. He raised his arms in an attempt to deflect the beams, but they struck home and with an unearthly cry they watched a large wispy black shadow with horns and red eyes was forced from his body and fly away.

"No-Heart," Bright Heart whispered.

Alex turned to stare at the two. "What the hell was that?"

"Care Bear Cousin call, a little trick we can teach you," Soulful gave a quick smile, then frowned as he looked towards the boy who was still standing.

The boy shook his head then swiped sweat from his brow and glared at the three before him. "For fuck's sake, they're multiplying!" he said.

Alex rounded on him and snarled. "You burned down my house?!" He tried to charge at the boy, only to find his arms restrained by Bright Heart and Soulful Heart, who struggled under the surprising strength of the younger fox as he tried to drag them forwards step-by-step.

"Don't do something you'll regret later, Alex," Soulful cautioned.

"I did?" the boy turned, as if only just now noticing the fire, and grinned. "Hah! Guess I did, well at least I know you won't be around much longer." He gripped the open pocket-knife and started towards the three.

Bright Heart was horrified, "I thought we pushed the shadow out."

"This kid's messed up," Soulful said. Both were distracted for a moment which gave Alex the moment he needed to wrench out of their grip. The boy was in range and stabbed for Alex's chest but he jumped aside and the knife went into his side.

"RAAAAAAAH!" Alex shouted and tackled the boy, knocking him to the ground, and start pummeling him. "EVERYTHING I HAD WAS IN THERE, YOU BASTARD! ALL MY MEMORIES AND YOU! YOU! ARRRRRGH!"

Finally, the fire engine and paramedics arrived and one of the firefighters pulled Alex away from the boy. Alex snapped his jaws and struggled but he was restrained as the paramedics took a look at the knife still stuck in his side. The boy tried to run only to be stopped by a rainbow colored rope around his feet that Bright Heart lassoed him with.

Half-an-hour later the fire was out, Alex had his wound stitched up and the police had arrived. Investigations were conducted, harsh words were spoken and finally the police asked all four of them, including the boy Joseph, to come down to the police station for questioning.

Questions were asked, answers were given, accusations were made and harsh words were exchanged, but finally the police made their decision.

Alex sat in an office with an officer who was reading over the notes from the various interrogations.

"Joseph denied most of the charges, but all the evidence, including his fingerprints on the knife, have shown us that he is guilty of trespassing, arson, assault and possibly attempted murder. As for you, Alex, the worst that will happen is it will be ruled as self-defence, I don't think you'll be needed in court, but keep in touch just in case." the officer in charge finished writing down the notes and shook his head. "Do you have a place to stay, Alex?"

Alex stayed silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and answered, "I have some family who came to see me today. I can live with them."

"Those two who were with you at your house?"

Alex nodded.

"Well, according to our records you've been officially emancipated so it's up to you. I can arrange to put you in foster care if you want."

Alex shook his head. "Can I leave now?"

The officer nodded, "We have your cell number. You'll be contacted if anything is needed."

Alex was silent when he stepped out of the police station. Bright Heart and Soulful Heart stood on the sidewalk, having been released from interrogation earlier than him. Both stayed silent as Alex walked down the steps and stopped in front of them. He was holding a framed picture in his hands, showing himself a few years younger and smiling while standing with an elderly couple.

"This is the only thing they found that wasn't damaged too badly. I let them keep the rest for evidence," Alex looked up at the two.

"What will you do now?" Soulful asked.

"I want... to go with you."

OoOoO

Alex was silent the entire ride back up to the Kingdom of Caring as the sun approached the western horizon. The fox remained lost in thought as Bright Heart and Soulful Heart delivered their report to Noble Heart and True Heart, at least until Germaine sat next to him on the couch and put a hand on his shoulder. Alex looked up into her eyes which were filled with sympathy.

Germaine looked down at the picture Alex still had in his hands. "Your grandparents, I remember them. I miss them too."

"I lost everything, all from the stupid kid who attacked us!" Alex grit his teeth and squeezed the frame before he set it down.

Germaine leaned closer, "You still have me, and everyone up here." She smiled, "I can't imagine what that felt like but now you have a new home, somewhere you fit in and can belong, we both do. Feel sad if you want but don't forget that I'm here for you, we all are."

Alex managed to smile, then gave Germaine a hug, "Thank you."

Noble Heart cleared his throat to get their attention, "It's getting late, why don't you join us for supper?".

Germaine and Alex turned to face the four still in the room with them. "Is there room for all six of us here?" Germaine asked.

True Heart shook her head and smiled, "Not here, at the Hall of Hearts. If you're still up for it then we'd like to introduce you to the rest of the Care Bear Family."

Soulful held up a hand, "Just a moment. Before we go you two should decide on names."

Alex blinked, then frowned, "What? What's wrong with our names."

"Oh nothing's wrong with them, but everyone up here has a name that shows what they believe is their most prominent or important personality trait," Noble Heart smiled. "Actually my name used to be Joel."

"I'm just saying you should think about it now before we make the announcement to everyone or you'll be bombarded with... less than stellar suggestions," Soulful shuddered slightly.

"Good idea, but don't overthink it, after all one of my best friends is named Grumpy Bear and he's still as much a member of our family as Soulful is," Bright Heart put a hand on Soulful's shoulder.

Alex sighed, "Alright, makes sense."

"Let's go then, I'm hungry," Germaine stood up and all but pulled Alex to his feet.

As they exited the house, Soulful Heart pulled Alex aside. "A little tip, watch your language when we meet the rest of the family."

Alex blinked, "What?"

"You swear a fair bit. I don't mind it so much but this place is about as saccharine as it looks so it will cause a lot of problems if you keep it up," Soulful sighed, "Trust me, just go with it for now."

Alex sighed as well, "Alright, I'll do my best."

OoOoO

As Alex and Germaine approached the Hall of Hearts one last cloud car landed right outside the front door. The driver was an orange tiger with black stripes and had a tummy symbol made up of red and yellow stars formed into a clockwise spiral galaxy. He walked around to the passenger side door to help the passenger exit, despite her protests that she didn't need her. She was a light orange lioness with a swollen tummy, clearly in the late stages of pregnancy, and her stretched out tummy symbol was a heart with a tiara perched on the right side. Two cubs exited the back seat, both orange...tigers? No they had little tufts of fur on the ends of the tails like a lion's. Both had brown stripes but one was dark orange and had a tummy symbol identical to the adult tiger's, except the galaxy spiraled counter clockwise, while the other was a paler orange, almost peach, who's symbol was a candle with a heart shaped flame.

"I can walk just fine on my own, Stellar," the lioness huffed as she almost pushed the tiger, Stellar, away.

Stellar frowned but continued to help her stand. "You're almost due, Regal, don't be reckless."

"Daddy look!" One of the two cubs, the one with the reversed spiral galaxy symbol, pointed towards the approaching group.

All four turned to face Alex and Germaine, who stopped only a few paces short of them.

Regal smiled at the group and waddled over to them, her left hand on her belly as she extended her right hand in greeting. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Regal Heart Lioness and this is Stellar Heart Tiger, my husband, and our twin daughters: Contrary Heart Liger and Hopeful Heart Liger." She shook Alex's hand once he took hers.

"Or Connie and Hope for short," Stellar Heart added.

"Hi!" Connie practically bounced over to them. Hope approached a bit more cautiously.

"Shouldn't they be tigons?" Germaine looked down at Connie, who was standing next to her.

"Technically, but we think Liger sounds better," Stellar said, ruffling Hope's headfur as she was standing next to him.

Alex's gaze drifted down to Regal's pregnant tummy. Regal seemed to read his mind and asked, "Do you want to touch it?"

Alex nodded.

Regal huffed and rolled her eyes, "Alright, since you're new you two can feel it, but don't ask me every time you see me, OK?"

"OK," Germaine stepped over and both she and Alex reached out to feel her taut tummy. Both felt a strong kick from within and Regal grunted.

Stellar chuckled, "He's a lively one. Let's get inside so we can start the party."

"Yay! Party!" both twins cheered as Stellar took Regal's hand to walk her inside, their daughters each taking one of their remaining hands.

Every Care Bear and Care Bear Cousin had gathered to meet Alex and Germaine. The inside of the Hall of Hearts was full of multicolored animals. Most of them were bears but in addition to Noble Heart Horse, Bright Heart Raccoon, Soulful Heart Fox, Regal Heart Lioness, Stellar Heart Tiger and the twins Connie and Hope they could see: a blue dog, an orange cat, a purple penguin, an orange monkey, a blue rabbit, a yellow pig, and orange lion, a pink elephant and a green lamb.

Everyone stopped to watch as the two entered, Noble Heart and True Heart splitting off to go sit at the head table next to the lion and a brown bear who sat just beside Noble Heart and True Heart respectively.

True Heart began. "Welcome everyone. As you can see we have some new family joining us this evening."

"Bright Heart and Soulful Heart found them as the subjects of a caring mission today. Germaine has been officially adopted from her orphanage by the Care Bear family and Alex," Noble Heart took a deep breath, "He has suffered a tragedy today that we don't wish to make public for the moment. We ask that you don't pester him about it for the time being unless he's willing to tell you."

"Welcome to the family then," the voice came from a white bear whose tummy symbol was a shield broken into quarters, the top had a small yellow star, the bottom had a small red heart, and the sides were both solid blue. He sat in between a teal bear with a shooting star for a tummy symbols and a black bear whose symbol was a mirror with a heart inside of it.

"Yes thank you, Defender, but now to the business at hand." Noble Heart stood up. "Alex and Germaine, have you two decided on names you wish to go by here?"

The brown bear stood up and added, "Please, no one start shouting suggestions unless they ask, let them decide."

"Ah agree, Tenderheart," the lion looked around the room and saw that the monkey was practically bouncing in his seat, ready to say something.

"Thank you, Tenderheart, Brave Heart, now do you two have an idea?" True Heart asked.

Alex and Germaine were holding a whispered conversation, both nodded then turned to face the head of the table. "I think I know," Germaine said, "I feel like I can help people find their way in life so I would like to be called Guidance Heart Raccoon."

"Since you said anything works, and everyone says I have anger problems, you can call me," Alex jabbed a thumb towards himself, "Anger Heart Fox."

There were some mumbles of agreement, some disagreement, and even a snort of laughter from one member of the family. Tenderheart banged a gavel to silence the crown then turned to face them. "Then welcome to the family, Anger Heart Fox and Guidance Heart Raccoon. Now allow me to give your tummy symbols."

"Do we need to take off our clothes?" Germaine asked, looking down at the pink dress she was still wearing.

"Not if you don't want to, the symbol will appear on your clothes too," True Heart said.

"Alright, two tummy symbols coming up!" Tenderheart's tummy symbol lit up bright white and fired off a bright white emblem that flew over to the two new cousins and circled around them. Both of them felt the glow intensify and then the white light burst and... nothing.

Tenderheart blinked, "That's never happened before."

"Let me give it a try, they're cousins after all maybe it needs my special touch," Brave Heart stood up.

"Yeah, I don't think anyone needs that," the monkey clapped his hands together above his head, only to receive a whack from a noticeably ticked off Regal Heart.

Brave Heart glared at the monkey and then got his own tummy symbol glowing and fired off another white emblem that again flew off to circle around Alex and Germaine glowing brighter until it dissipated, and again nothing happened.

The whole room was dead silent. Several members of the family stared, some avoided staring, some just sat, stunned. The silence was broken when a red bear with a smiling apple for a tummy symbol stood up.

"Alex, Germaine, I need you two to come to my clinic now."

OoOoO

"Any idea what's wrong with them, Take Care?" Noble Heart asked. Following the sudden downturn at the meeting, Noble Heart had come with Alex and Germaine back to Take Care's clinic which was right next door to where he and True Heart lived.

Take Care sat down in her chair, wearing her doctor's coat, and set her notes aside. She put a hand on her forehead, "Nothing, absolutely nothing Noble Heart. I ran every test I could think of without getting invasive and I can't figure out why they didn't get tummy symbols."

"Nothing?" Noble Heart dropped into the chair he'd been standing in front of and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

"Nothing physical. They're just as healthy as the rest of you, healthier than most of you in fact especially for their age." Take Care sat up, "As for why they're aging at the same rate as humans: they seem to have normal pituitary glands, or at least normal compared to humans, unlike the more efficient and overactive version that Care Bears possess."

Noble Heart sat back up, "Do you think it's related."

"Possibly. And before you ask, yes they have the same efficiency of life traits the rest of us have. They should stop aging when they're between 25 and 30 years old."

Something rarely discussed but easily noticed is that Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins stopped aging once they reached the rough physical peak of their lives, at physical age 25 to 30; a side effect was that they were literally "only as old as they felt" in fact when Grams Bears had a youthful burst of energy around the time of one of Sour Sam's schemes Take Care had run her through some tests and discovered that, due to her more upbeat and energetic attitude, Grams actually registered as younger than she had been in years.

Take Care took a pair of empty folders from a package on her desk and wrote Alex/Anger Heart Fox on one and Germaine/Guidance Heart Raccoon on the other. "I'll keep track of their development for now, and cross reference it with the cubs' development when they hit the same relative age." She sighed and looked up at Noble Heart, "I know it's not what you wanted to hear but this is new to me too. If I get an answer you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you, Take Care."

Alex and Germaine sat in the waiting room re-clothed and staring at the ground.

"This sucks!" Alex's shout caused Germaine to jump, "We come all this way, find a place we think we belong and it turns out we don't even belong here!" He slammed his fists into the arms of his chair.

"Anger... Alex I..." Germaine was at a loss for words and she resumed staring at her knees.

"Hello."

Both their gazes were drawn to a light blue Care Bear cub whose tummy symbol was a greeting card with a heart on the cover.

Germaine couldn't help but smile. "Hello, what's your name? Are you here for a check up too?"

The cub shook her head, "Nope. My name's Get Well Bear, Take Care Bear's my mom."

"Mom?" Alex looked over at the cub, "Are you adopted?"

"Yup," Get Well nodded, "I'm sorry you didn't get your tummy symbols today, here," she produced two greeting cards and handed one each to Alex and Germaine. Both accepted the cards, the cover each one said "I'm sorry you didn't get your symbol" and once open they said "But I know you will soon, keep trying! -Get Well Bear"

Germaine giggled, "Aww, how sweet. Thank you, Get Well."

Alex kept staring at the card, then closed it and set it on his lap. He wanted to tear the thing in half but he couldn't bear to do it since it had been such a heartfelt gift.

Get Well hopped up on the chair next to Germaine. "Are you OK?"

"I don't know. I think we just need some time," Germaine looked over to Alex, "What about you, Alex?"

"I don't know," he clenched his fist, "I just wanted someplace to belong!"

"You can," Germaine put a reassuring hand on Alex's shoulder. "What about you, Get Well, what do you do around here?"

Get Well looked over her shoulder then leaned in close to Germaine and whispered, "I want to be a doctor like mom someday."

"Oh my, that's a big goal you have to reach," Germaine said. She took the cub's hand, "But I know you can do it if you try hard enough."

Get Well beamed, "Thank you!"

The door to the entrance opened and Take Care stepped in followed by Noble Heart. She gave her daughter a smile then turned to Alex and Germaine, "Alright, you two can go now."

"Go where?" Germaine asked.

"To the Hall of Hearts. You can have some of the leftovers from dinner and sleep in the dormitories tonight until we can get some homes for you two," Noble Heart said.

"Why are you letting us stay here?" Alex asked. He was still looked at the floor.

"Because, Anger Heart, tummy symbols or not you two are welcome to live here." Noble Heart walked over to Alex and lifted his chin so he could look him in the eyes, "You lost your home and Guidance Heart is our ward now. We will look out for you."

Alex looked away, "Don't call us that. We don't deserve to be called that."

Noble Heart sighed, "If you wish, Alex. Do you feel the same?" he looked at Germaine, who nodded. "Alright, but let's get you to your beds now."

"Good bye!" Get Well waved as the three of them left Take Care's clinic and headed for the Hall of Hearts.

OoOoO

Alex stood in front of the full length mirror in his bedroom in the Hall of Hearts, naked except for his fur. He turned around, spotting the small red heart on his rear, flicked his tail a couple times and then turned back to face the mirror. He touched the heart-shaped tip of his nose then ran his hand over his still bare tummy. That was the only missing part, if he had a tummy symbol he'd be just like everyone else up here, but instead... nothing. Alex sighed then turned as he heard the door creak open.

"Alex?"

"Gah! Don't come in! I'm naked!" Alex scrambled to grab his clothes from where he'd discarded them.

Germaine ignored his plea and stepped into the room. She too was naked except for her fur and reading glasses. "Honestly, it's alright. I can't see anything through your fur."

Alex sighed and dropped the pile of clothes in a heap on the floor again. "I guess so." He turned to face her, "Disappointed?"

Germaine smiled and shook her head, "No. I think you're handsome. Almost no one else bothers up her so why should we?"

Alex walked over to his bed and sat on the edge, "It just feels weird. I mean Grandma and Grandpa insisted but... yeah I guess it's alright."

Germaine came and sat alongside Alex, putting a hand on his shoulder, "So what do we do now?"

"I... don't know." Alex clenched his fists in his lap, "I thought we'd finally found a place to belong but now..." he touched his white tummy again, "now, we're just freaks again."

"At least, you're here with me," Germaine blushed.

Alex unclenched his hands and smiled, "Thank you." He looked over at Germaine and he blushed as well.

Germaine leaned in and gave Alex a kiss. It was a quick peck on the lips but to both of them it felt like hours. "Thank you," Alex hugged her.

"I love you," Germaine whispered. "You've always been there for me, even when I asked you to stop fighting you still protected me, and I love how full of life and energy you always are, even if your temper gets the better of you."

Alex pulled back to look Germaine in the eyes, "I love you too. You're thoughtful and kind, and you've showed me books and TV shows I never would have thought to watch. You always supported me even when I flew off the handle for no reason."

They kissed again, deeper and longer this time. Alex pulled back, a soft smile on his face, "Well, good night."

"Good night," Germaine stood up and headed for the door while Alex slipped into bed. A moment later he heard her footsteps getting closer and felt Germaine slid into bed with him. He turned around, surprised, and saw Germaine smiling at him.

"Can I stay?" she asked.

Alex just stared, then smiled and embraced her under the covers, "Of course."