RPG Care Bears: Quest for Care-a-Lot [Rated G for intense cuteness]

[Sara]

[COLOR=purple]A quick note: I'm going to ask that people post in narrative format, rather than script. Thaaaaank you.

Sara as [b]Secret Bear[/b]
Nerdsy as [b]Brave Heart Lion[/b]
Miss Tori as [b]Love-a-Lot Bear[/b]
Baron as [b]Funshine Bear[/b]
Mitch as [b]Treat Heart Pig[/b]
Arcadia as [b]Loyal Heart Dog[/b]
Genkai as [b]Bubbly Bear[/b]
JJRiddler as [b]Grumpy Bear[/b]

I'm writing how I remember the movie being...it's rather...well, you'll see. It won't win any awards, but it's straightforward and fun.

[center]~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

Wish Bear frowned as she looked through her telescope. Something was [i]wrong[/i] down on earth.

"Tenderheart, come quick!" the green bear called.

"What is it, Wish Bear?" her friend asked, hurrying over. "Is something the matter?"

"Look," Wish Bear said, pointing and handing him the star-shaped object.

Tenderheart blinked in dismay. "Oh, my," he said. The area Wish Bear had directed him to seemed dull, like a photograph that had been left in the sun too long. "What do you think is going on?" he asked.

"I don't know," Wish Bear said gravely, "But I think we need to find out."

"You're right," Tenderheart replied.

The two Care Bears slid down a rainbow to investigate...

...and didn't come back.
[center]~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

And that, my friends, is a quick introduction to our story. The disappearance of Tenderheart and Wish Bear (No one's playing them, remember) will probably lead the other Bears to notice that something's up. I suggest someone calls a meeting to decide what to do, and from there we'll see what happens. I'd imagine our cast of characters will be in a group (or possibly two, with a couple animals remaining to run Care-a-Lot?) looking for the missing Bears. Or maybe they get displaced and just have to make their way [i]back[/i] to Care-a-Lot...that would fit the title, I suppose.

Anyhoo. Those are just suggestions, for anyone who's not sure where to go when presented with a kid-friendly story. :p

Knock yerselves out.[/COLOR]

[Baron Samedi]

Funshine was running around, playing tag with Love-a-lot and Bubbly bear, when he bumped into Grumpy.

"Why Grumpy, what is the matter with you? You look very sad... and it's sunny! Why so sad, the Sun is for Fun!" chirped Funshine in a bright, perky voice.

"I can't find Wish bear or Tenderheart... and I really need to talk with them. It is very important" moaned Grumpy, looking very down and upset.

Oh... well, how about we all help you? It'll be like a big fun game of hide and seek! But we all look for Tenderheart and Wish bear! Won't that be fun!" Funshine said, almost bursting with glee at the idea of a new game to play.

"Not really" groaned Grumpy, becoming ever more down.

Yes it will... it's sunny, a lovurly day, and we have a game to play... what could be better?" questioned Funshine enthusiastically.

Love-a-lot, Funshine and Bubbly bear ran off to round up the others for a Hide-and-Seek game. Grumpy bear sat there and sulked until they all came back...

[Hope this is good!]

[JJ]

[COLOR=indigo]Grumpy thought about why it was so important for him to find them. It was something he had heard about the world below.
"
I am going to go ahead and look for them over by the village" he said getting up

He then walked off to find someone else to ask about thier last wherabouts. As he contiuned along the happy cloud like path he came upon Loyal Heart Dog laying in the shade.
"
Hey Loyal Heart have you seen or heard from Wishbear or Tenderheart?" he asked already feeling that he couldn't help either.

"Nope, sorry I can't help you. But would you like help with finding them?" he asked already starting to get up.
"
No it's ok I just wanted to tell him something." he said his sulking mood getting even worse.

He walked off getting closer to the village and his last hope of finding the two Care friends.[/COLOR]

[Nerdsy]

[COLOR=blue]Brave Heart Lion had just woken up from a great nap, yawning. The sun was shining merrily, and he was happy.

"I wonder what my cousins are doing today?" he wondered out loud in his great, growly voice. "I feel like helping someone learn to care."

Before that, however, he decided that it would be a neat idea to brush his teeth. He bounded over to his bathroom, picked up his Golden Toothbrush of Love, and proceeded to brush his teeth with a rainbow.

"Hmm," mused, "it's pretty dull this morning. No unicorns."

He then bounded out the door, and entered his Happy-Chrome colored Cloud Car.

"I'm glad I had this customized," he growled.

A little while later, he arrived at Care-a-lot, and met up with Secret Bear.

"Why Secret Bear, how are you today?" bellowed Brave Heart, with a hearty slap on the tiny bears back. Secret Bear made a few hand gestures, which Brave Heart took to mean that he was speaking loud enough.

"What's that, can't hear me?" he roared, with the fury of a thousand happy feelings. "You haven't lost your hearing, have you?"

Secret Bear gestured for him to keep it down.

"Oh, okay. Do you know where the others are?" asked Brave Heart, in a much softer voice.

Secret Bear pointed to the North.

"Then let's go!"

And with that, they bounded off towards the castle.[/COLOR]

[Sara]

[color=orangered]All the Care Bears sat gathered around a rainbow-spattered table in a large, fluffy hall. It was evening, and by now everyone in Care-a-Lot had heard that two of their number had disappeared without a trace.

Grumpy Bear looked around the table with some amount of dismay. Somehow with Tenderheart's absence, he had ended in charge. "Does everybody know why we're here?" he asked. There was chorus of affirmative noises. Secret Bear nodded vigorously.

"Tenderheart and Wish Bear are missing," Grumpy said anyway. "Now, what are [i]we[/i] gowing to do about it?"

"Why would they leave without telling anyone?" Bubbly Heart asked worriedly. "That's not like Tenderheart."

Secret Bear whispered something to Love-a-Lot, who nodded. "Maybe they meant to come back, but were just delayed," Love-a-Lot translated. "After all," she added sensibly, "We know they wouldn't disappear on purpose."

"Maybe they'll be back tomorrow morning?" Funshine offered. "We should wait until then to start worrying about anything."

"I don't think so," Grumpy said gloomily. "Even if they [i]were[/i] here, we have a problem. That's why I was looking for them in the first place." He stopped talking and blinked with surprise as Brave Heart opened the large heart-shaped door of the hall to reveal three more Care Bear Cousins.

"What's wrong, Grumpy Bear?" Proud Heart kidded. "Cat got your tongue?"

"We heard there was a problem," Loyal Heart added, "And we're here to help!" Treat Heart nodded.

"It's great to see you!" Brave Heart roared loudly.

Grumpy growled to himself. "Great. At this rate we'll never get done."

"What's that, Grumpy Bear?" Love-a-Lot asked.

"Nothing," Grumpy sighed. "But we do have a problem. I didn't notice it at first, because the [b]Caring Meter[/b] is still normal. But I was checking the readings, and either the Happiness sub-function is haywire, or--"

He realized it the room had grown silent, and sighed. "Lots of people on Earth are sad," he summarized.

"But the Caring Meter is normal!" Bubbly Bear exclaimed. "I saw it when we were playing tag--"

"the Caring Meter [i]is[/i] normal," Grumpy Bear explained. "That's what I said. But people can be [i]sad[/i] and still [i]care[/i] about things, so the main Caring Meter reading doesn't display sadness or happiness. You have to check the other meters to see that. And the other meters say that lots of people are sad."

"Well, maybe that's what Wish Bear and Tenderheart went to go look at," Treat Heart said. "Problem solved."

"[i]No[/i]," Grumpy Bear said with exasperation. "Problem [i]not[/i] solved. If they were going to check that out, they should have been back by now. But they're [i]not[/i] back, and the readings are getting worse."

"Oh, my!" Funshine exclaimed. "We need to do something!"

A murmur of agreement ran through the hall.

"But what?" Loyal Heart asked.

"Easy!" Brave Heart exclaimed loudly. "We'll just have to go and find them!"

"Right!" Bubbly Bear agreed. "Who wants to go look for TenderHeart and Wish Bear?" Every paw in the hall shot up, and the air was suddenly filled with enthusiastic exclamations.

"Quiet!" Grumpy Bear exclaimed. "Quiet!" But no one heard him.

Secret Bear saw him getting frustrated, though, and tugged at Brave Heart's arm.

"What is it?" the lion asked, looking down at him. Secret Bear pointed to the head of the table, where Grumpy Bear was being ignored.

Brave Heart grinned. "My pleasure!" he exclaimed. He took a deep breath.

"[i][b]QUIET![/B][/I]"

The hall was suddenly silent.

"Thank you," Grumpy Bear said grudgingly. Then, "We can't [i]all[/i] go. We all have things we need to do here. Only four or five of us should go."

"I'll go," said Love-a-Lot.

"Me, too!" cried Bubbly Bear and Funshine Bear. "After all," added Funshine, "We were some of the first Bears to know about it!"

Secret Bear jumped up and did his best to look menacing. Grumpy nodded. "Okay, Secret Bear, too. And I'll come. That's five--that's enough."

"Hey now!" Brave Heart roared. "You can't leave us out of it!"

"But--" Grumpy began.

"You Bears might have jobs here," Loyal Heart pointed out, "but we don't. We're coming, too."

Grumpy looked at the other two cousins. Treat Heart nodded.

"I'll stay here," Proud Heart offered. "After all, [i]someone[/i] needs to make sure things don't go haywire without Grumpy taking care of everything."

"Okay," Grumpy said. "That's eight of us.

"When should we go?" Treat Heart asked. "As soon as it's light out again?"

Good Luck Bear jumped up. "You can go right now!" she cried. "We weren't going to tell anyone yet, but the [b]Rainbow Rescue Beam[/b] can use Moonbeams now, too! Anytime you're ready, we can send you down to earth."
[/color]
~~~~~~~~
[b]Caring Meter[/b]=large speedometer-type scale in Care-a-Lot that measures the amount of caring on earth. (When the scale get's to zero, Care-a-Lot disappears.)

[b]Rainbow Rescue Beam[/b]=contraption that uses rainbows to send Bears where they're needed. (Malfunctions sometimes. :toothy: )

[Baron Samedi]

[b][I sent us off in groups.. for Adventurous Fun ^^;; If this isn't good, I'll change it][/b]

They literally [i]poured[/i] out of Dream-Day Hall. Fuzzy, furry, funny creatures, rushing off eagerley to their roles for the search. And then, out comes Grumpy, tagging along behind. All sad and grumpy, and, more importantly, worried.

Ooff towards the Rainbow Rescue Beam hurried nine little creatures. Secret Bear, Brave Heart Lion, Love-a-Lot Bear, Funshine Bear, Treat Heart Pig, Loyal Heart Dog, Bubbly Bear, Grumpy Bear and Good Luck Bear.

Wishing them luck, Good Luck Bear sent them off on the rainbows.

Treat Heart Pig, Love-a-Lot Bear, Brave heart Lion and Loyal Heart Dog went on one, with Secret bear, Bubbly Bear, Funshine Bear and Grumpy Bear on the other.

Off they shot on their separate paths to solve the world's sadness.

Good Luck Bear waved them off, and as he was shutting down the Rainbow Centre for the night, happened to glance at the co-ordinates he had entered. He gasped in shock " Oh no.... I sent them to wrong places.... they're heading straight for the centre of the sad.... and for the big desert. Oh no... What have I done?"

[OOC: Damn Malfunctiong equipment]

[Genkai]

Everybody landed with a thump on a huge bed of stones, which stretched as wide as any Care-Bear could see.

"It's so ho-o-o-o-ot!" Grumpy Bear offered immediately.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Funshine said, though the green bear had done nothing.

"Oh no, it [i]id[/i] sad down here! I can feel it in the air!" Bubbly's eyes grew wide as he looked around at the barren desert, but soon he was back to his silly old self " Not to mention, there isn't a sign of any many bears but we bears here!!"

Grumpy bear was, as usual, ver grumpy and quite distraught at his new surroundings. " Well, I can tell we're gonna have a grand old time here...."

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Bubbly inquired as he spun around in mock amazement at his surroundings.

Secret, who had been tossing a rock to himself, threw the round stone behind him and began forward, motioning the others to come with him.

"Wait Secret! Before we do anything, we should discuss it [i]as a group[/i]!" Funshine, that sweet but slightly condescending voice that no one could say no to.

"Couldn't we..?" Bubbly bear began to speak, but stopped himself for fear of making a fool of himself in a serious situation, which he has done alll too many times before.

"You know about Secret Bear's thing about the Care Bear Stare!" Funshine replied.

Grumpily, of course, Grumpy Bear repeated the oh-so-repeated saying of Secret Bear's, "Do not try to do the Stare, if present not is every bear, yeah, yeah, yeah...."

Bubbly threw his arms around Secret Bear to Secret Bear's great discomfort, and shouted, "Welp! Old Secret over here's right! Gotta start walkin', and stop talkin!" Bubbly said in his silly voice.

All the bears present went along, in hopes in reuniting with the missing bears.


"

[Nerdsy]

[COLOR=blue]"Groan... where am I?"

Brave Heart Lion woke up slowly. The world around him was, for some reason, blurry and dancing. His fur was wet, and his head felt like it was a throroughly bruised pumpkin.

As the world around him came back into focus, he saw that he lying in a puddle in the middle of a very high outcropping of rock.

"Oh man," he groaned, "this can't be good. Where are the others? The Rainbow Rescue Beam should have sent us all to the same place!"

When he finally gained enough stability to be able to stand securely, he inched his way over to the edge of the rock. He looked down, and saw nothing at the base. He wasn't really that far off the ground; if the others had been there they would have surely left footprints.

Suddenly, something shot by Brave Heart in a blur of motion. It nearly knocked him off of the rock, but he managed to keep his balance.

"What the heck was that?" he roared, forgetting about the throbbing in his head. "It looked like some sort of dog, with it was much grayer than Loyal Heart, and it looked like some sort of Collie."

He waited there for a few minutes, to see if the mysterious gray dog would show itself again. It didn't, and Brave Heart decided that he should probably climb down the rock and start searching for the others. Before he started his climb, he took a good look around at the landscape.

Brave Heart hadn't noticed it before, but all of the colors were duller than they should have been. It almost seemed like they were getting duller by the minute.

"That can't be. I must have hit my head hard."

And with that, he continued down the rock.[/COLOR]

[Arcadia]

[size=1]"Oooh, pain... woof, my poor tail.." Loyal Heart Dog sat up slowly, blinking blearily at his surroundings before giving himself a good shake. Hair flew and his tail wagged violently back and forth before he let out a happy yelp. That felt much better! But now as he took a better look around him, he could tell that there was something very, very wrong.

The colors were faded and dull, and the area was just so.. [i]sad.[/i] "Oh, this is no good," Loyal Heart Dog thought, staring up to the cloudy sky above him. The cliffs above him looked dark and jagged and the Care Bear Cousin began to wonder where his other companions ended up. "Something must have gone wrong with the Rainbow Rescue Beam... how awful!"

He explored the little alcove he found himself on a bit more, before deciding that he should try to find a way off it so he could sniff out the other Care Bears and Care Bare Cousins. [i]I'm sure I'll find somebody,[/i] Loyal Heart thought optimistically, before starting up the rock.

It was hard work, but Loyal Heart was determined. The sadness of the place was very disheartening, however, and it took a lot of will-power to keep his tail wagging happily. He made it about half way up before he thought he saw something peering down at him. Something gray-ish?

"Hellooo up there!" Loyal Heart called out, but he only got a slight echo in response. "Woof, woof.. how strange.."

His eyes quickly caught another shape on the rocks, and this one looked much more familiar. With a happy yelp and some vicious tail-wagging, Loyal Heart barked, "Brave Heart!! Woof, down here!!"[/size]

[Genkai]

It had gotten darker, well, darker even that it had been during their initial landing. The four bears settled for the night in a not-so-cozy bed of rocks.

"Well, I guess we'll have to keep searching tomorrow. But someting seems very eerie to me..."Funshine yawned and hugged himmself tightly to keep himself warm.

As each care bear fell asleep in their own time, the rocks around and under them dissapeared, leaving them asleep on the ground. Soon their surroundings changed drastically....

-----

Grumpy woke up with a start.

"What..WHAT HAPPENED HEEEEEEERE?" He moaned loudly, so that the other three bears, still huddled together, woke up.

As all ofthe bears stood up, shock appeared on each of their faces....

Bubbly was the first to speak. "Oh, wow! Look at that!"

[Baron Samedi]

Funshine glanced around the lush rainforest... how did this happening. Turning to the others, he pouted and put his hands on his hips.

"Are you guys playing a trick on me? It isn't a very funny one, at all."

The looks on the other care bears faces immediatley dispelled his doubts though... something had truly gone wrong.

"I guess that the moonbeams weren't working quite properly yet..." Bubbly Bear said, letting the words trail off miserably. Glancing off into a nearby clearing, Secret Bear got very excited, and started to jump up and down, tugging on Grumpy's arm.

Inside the clearing, there was a patch of grey, spreading. And in the distance, they heard a dog bark...

[Sara]

[color=ff6600]Secret Bear raced off in the direction of the sound, and Bubbly nd Funshine ran after him.

"Secret Bear, [i]wait![/i]" Grumpy cried, in one last desperate attempt to maintain control of the situation. It was too late. "Silly Bears," he muttered to himself, traipsing behind. "We don't know what's over there..."

The four Bears hurried through the landscape. What had once been harsh desert was now a thick forest...and strangely, the colors around them seemed to be fading.

"Oh, I don't like this," Bubbly Bear said worriedly. Looking around, he was alarmed to see how the jungle around them was becoming less and less distinct. The colors--what there were--seemed to run together, leaving everything a mottled green-grey-brown. The Bears stood out as four splotches of brightness.

Wait--make that [i]five[/i] splotches of brightness.

"Love-a-Lot!" Funshine cried happily.

The pink bear turned toward them, troubled. Her face lit up upon seeing her friends, however, and she exclaimed cheerfully. "Funshine! Secret Bear--Bubbly! I thought I was the only one here..."

"We all landed together," Bubbly explained. "We think the Rainbow Rescue Beam messed up and sent us to different places."

"Well, I haven't seen anyone else.."

Secret Bear put his hands to his ears, doing his best to look like a dog.

"We thought we heard Loyal Heart," Funshine said quickly. "Have you heard anything?"

"No. But, I'll help you look."

"Alright!" Bubbly exclaimed. Secret Bear jumped up and down with enthusiasm.

Grumpy finally reached the others. "Well, I hope you Bears are happy--" he began.

"Come on, Grumpy!" Funshine cried. "We're off to find the others!"

The four other Bears ran off. Grumpy stood for a moment, glowering at the sky.

"I hope you're enjoying this, Good Luck Bear," he said darkly. "Because I'm not."[/color]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]Love-a-Lot Bear was so happy to be with her friends again that it took her a moment to realize that the dullness was spreading all around them. She felt her heart swell, though, because she knew that somehow it would all be okay, no matter what happened.

"I thought I heard him over in this direction," Funshine said, pointing towards an outcropping of rock. All the bears stopped for a moment and stared at it. It wasn't too terribly big, but it was still high for a small little Care Bear.

The wind began to blow slightly, and the moon was a dull white above them in the starlit sky. They quickly began to make their way towards the outcropping once again, taking one another's paws so that all would be safe and together.

Suddenly, they heard the barking again, much closer than last time. "Over here!" shouted Bubbly, who was leading the group, and he pulled them over in another direction.

"I think I see something, something colorful!" said Love-a-Lot, gripping Secret Bear's paw tightly.[/color][/size]

[Arcadia]

[size=1]Loyal Heart was excited - he'd found another Care Bear Cousin! That meant that the others were bound to be around here somewhere, and that was a good thing, indeed. The dull gray of the place was troubling and the blue dog wanted to get to the bottom of all this sadness before it really got out of hand. He knew, however, that it would take all of them to figure out this puzzle. "It's such a good thing we're all great friends," he said to himself, and wagged his tail happily.

The rocks weren't nearly as hard to climb as they'd been before and it only took a moment for the two Care Bear Cousins to reach each other on a nice, flat ledge.

"Loyal Heart, I found you!" Brave Heart exclaimed loudly, his arms spread triumphantly.

The blue Care Bear Cousin jumped up and down excitedly, clapping. "You did, you did! We've got to stick together now, and find our other cousins. It'll be much easier if we work together," Loyal Heart quipped amiably, in a much brighter mood now.

The two Cousins didn't have to look hard at all, however - a yell from above caught there attention and the two looked up to see Bubbly waving fanatically down at them.

"It's Bubbly Bear! Oh, and there's Love-a-Lot, and Funshine.. woof, how wonderful!" Loyal Heart yelped.

Secret Bear peeked over the edge of the cliff then, and gestured for them to climb up.

"Let's go, Loyal Heart!" Brave Heart said with a roar, and the two Care Bear Cousins started up the rocks.[/size]

[Sara]

[color=ff6600]Treat Heart looked around with dismay. He had been walking around for hours, without any trace of any of his friends. He was starting to lose heart.

There was a scuffling noise some ways ahead of him. "Loyal Heart?" he called out uncertainly. "Is that you?"

There was no reply, but Treat Heart thought he heard another soft noise.

"Well, then," the pig said to himself, "We'll just have to go and see."

He climbed along the rocks, stopping every few moments to listen....and rest his feet. He really wasn't made for scruffing along in the desert...the lush Forest of Feelings was [i]much[/i] more his style, and he sighed. "I wonder how Proud Heart is doing in Care-a-Lot," he wondered softly.

"Is anyone there?" he called out again. There was still no sign of his mysterious quarry, and he was beginning to lose hope.

He sat down on the ground, feeling dejected. None of his friends were around...he couldn't find them--maybe they weren't even here. Maybe the Rainbow Rescue Beam had sent him to the wrong place, all alone. He would never see his friends again..he would never get back to the Forest of Feelings...

A large grey dog padded over to him. Treat Heart didn't notice..his head was drooped, resting on his chest.

The dog nudged Treat Heart with his nose, but the pig made no move to respond. His usually-cheerful eyes were dull, and didn't seem to see anything. Everything around him seemed grey, and cheerless, and [i]lonely[/i]....

Mellan Collie sighed sadly. Another one... He tried nudging Treat Heart again, but nothing good happened.

Unaware of his surroundings, situation, or new companion, Treat Heart Pig started to cry.[/color]

[Baron Samedi]

Funshine sighed. This was pointless. They'd been wandering for hours, but it all looked the same. Slumping agaoinst a tree trunk, he let the group go on ahead. It wasn't like they cared about him anyway. And what was the point. As he slipped to the ground, he looked beseechingly at the sky.

And... there was the sun. He felt a glimmer of something, something...

A cloud went over the sun.

He looked down, and sat there dejectedly. It was just so... depressing.......

[Sara]

[color=ff6600]Secret Bear's eyes went wide as he realized they were one bear short. He looked to the left, then to the right, then up, and finally down--catching a glimpse of Funshine through his legs, he tumbled over and landed on his head.

Secret Bear ran over to his friend and tugged at his arm, but Funshine only looked up forlornly and said nothing. Secret Bear jumped up and down in frustration, and looked around. His other friends were still walking down the path. (Of [i]course[/i] there's a path.)

Secret Bear patted Funshine on the head, then turned and scrambled to catch up with the others. Brave Heart was in the lead, quietly (well, not really quietly) singing to himself. Bubbly, Loyal Heart, and Love-a-Lot were happily talking amongst themselves. Grumpy brought up the rear, trudging along behind the rest.

Secret Bear reached Grumpy and (breathlessly, not that it mattered) did his best to relate the situation.

Grumpy sighed. "What is it, Secret Bear?"

Secret stamped his foot to impress the importance of the sitation, then tugged Grumpy's arm and pointed back at Funshine. The green bear was still sitting dejectedlyon the ground, some ways back.

Grumpy made a sound of alarm. "Brave Heart!" he yelled..[/color]

[Nerdsy]

[COLOR=blue]Brave Heart Lion trudged along the path, singing merrily.

"A peanut sat on a railroad track, his heart was all a flutter! Along came a choo-choo train and TOOT! TOOT! Peanut butter! Wait, that songs not very happy at all..."

At this, he stopped to think of a more cheerful song, and realized that someone was yelling at him and pulling on his shoulder.

"... for happiness sakes, Brave Heart, snap out of it! Come and look at Funshine!" Bubbly Bear cried, nearly frothing at the mouth.

Brave Heart looked back, and noticed the panic that was setting in. He hurried over to the crowd and pushed himself through.

"What's wrong with him?" Brave Heart inquired.

"I don't know!" Grumpy yelled, spitting all over the golden lion. "Secret Bear just found him like this. He's not responding to anything we do, and just started crying while you were off crooning to the world!"

Brave Heart seemed to either not realize that he was being yelled at, or simply didn't care. He walked up to the nigh comatose Funshine Bear and picked him up off of the ground.

"Brave Heart, what in Carehalla are you doing! Put him down!" cried Grumpy frantically, upset that his unwanted authority wasn't working.

"Funshine! What's wrong?" roared the lion, shaking Funshine as if the bear was a rattle. "Wake up, buddy!"

As he was shaking poor Funshine, he stepped on a sharp rock and let out an ear-splitting roar that caused all the bears and cousins around him to cover their ears and hit the ground.

Funshine blinked once, then twice. A large smile spread over his face.

"Why, what's the matter, Brave Heart? Did you hurt yourself?"

All at once, a rush of color spread across Funshine's body. This surprised Brave Heart, as he didn't even notice that Funshine was to dull.

"Funshine! You're okay!" exclaimed Love-a-Lot, ignoring the ringing in her ears.

"Of course I'm okay," Funshine replied cheerfully. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You tell us!" Grumpy yelled, "you're the one that stopped in the middle of the road and stopped talking to us!"

"Oh, I did stop, didn't I?" Funshine said thoughtfully. "I just felt upset at something, and had to sit down for a minute. But as soon as Brave Heart let out that yell, I felt fine!"


"Well, if you're okay, then we can get going!" roared Brave Heart, and he started marching up the path again.

"I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down, I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down..."

Grumpy sighed. "I swear, if I have to end up listening to that buffoon sing this entire adventure, I'm going to do just what Funshine did. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he's the one that caused it!"

With that, the group continued their search for for Treat Heart Pig. Leading the way was Brave Heart, who did not seem to notice the small patch of gray on his left paw...[/COLOR]