Revenge of the Book
by Martial Arts Master
Care Bears and all related characters copyrighted by Nelvana, DiC Entertainment, and Atkinson Film Arts. There are, however, two characters in this fanfic that I made up. One is:

Jack the Robber: A parody of Jack the Ripper. This guy, however, is merely a robber, without the heart to kill anyone. Unfortunately for him, he becomes the newest puppet of the evil-spirit-within-a-book from the first Care Bears movie.

Manny Macho: A male teenager who comes from a family who firmly believes in the "macho" stereotype (even the mother, who does all the housework). Some of you may know the "macho" stereotype: Smokes, drinks beer, treats women like objects, thinks anything intended for smaller people is "gay", loves violent action, swears a lot, doesn't express feelings. However, Manny, while subscribing to the stereotype thanks to pressure from his family, secretly hates it, wishing he could express his more sensitive feelings. He becomes one of the heroes of this story.

So those are the two characters I made up. I got the idea for this after watching the DVD version of "The Care Bears Movie", and this takes place after that movie. And now the story shall begin!

***



The evil spirit was angry.

That stupid boy, Nicholas, had been supposed to help it rid the word of all caring. And yet, thanks to those Kim and Jason kids, Nicholas had closed the book. The evil spirit, in desperation, had even destroyed the key which would seal it, but that infernal bear Secret Bear had produced another one.

Now it was trapped inside this horrid thing. It wanted to be free.

Oh, how it wanted to be free.

You see, this evil spirit had never told the humans exactly why it wanted a world with no caring, even though it had ostensibly only been helping Nicholas achieve revenge on the humans who'd left him friendless.

The evil spirit wanted a world of no caring because when it was alive, it was a female psychologist who'd grown tired of listening to those pathetic people and their petty little problems. She'd died of bitter old age, but her spirit returned, and it reasoned that in a world of no caring, the world would be perfect: no problems to complain about.

Little did she know, as she sat there, in her book, which Nicholas had buried after the whole incident, that she would get another chance at her evil means...



Jack the Robber was not having a good day.

He didn't know how to do any honest work. You see, he'd had abusive parents, and had run away at age fourteen, too old to adopt. He'd had to live on his own, and he hated it.

He remembered the punchings...and the kickings...the fact that his parents hadn't even seemed to be doing it out of anger...they merely had drinking problems, and as you may know, alcohol screws up your judgement. They'd merely been having a little fun.

But it wasn't fun for him.

He lived in a tent on an abandoned field, quite near the circus where Nicholas and Fettucini performed. Those two provided some light to Jack the Robber's life, at any rate.

He made his living by breaking into people's homes when they weren't there, and stealing money. He'd gotten quite good at it. He'd even earned an alias: Jack the Robber.

He'd long ago discarded his real name. His past life was a loser. He hated his past life, with his parents' drunkenness.

But today none of the homes he'd broken into had any money stored in them. Just plain rotten luck.

"I wish my luck would change," he muttered to himself. "I've had a pretty crummy life so far."

Now why didn't the Care Bears detect this unhappy person? you might ask. Surely he counts as a person who stopped caring.

And you'd be right to ask.

Unfortunately, unbeknowest to him, the evil spirit, while weak from being sealed, had still been able to use its powers to shield him from the Care-o-meter, to deliberately prevent him from being helped by the Care Bears. There was a reason.

After he made his wish, though, things began to change.

"I can help you, Jack..." a voice said to him.

Jack looked up, startled.

"Who's there?!" he shouted, shaking a fist in the air. "Come out before I pound you!"

"You wouldn't want to do that," the voice answered, "when I can help you realize all your dreams."

"Where are you?" Jack the Robber asked."

"Underneath your feet," the voice replied, as Jack looked down, startled...



But now we must take our story somewhere else.

We must take our story to the land of Care-a-Lot, the home of the Care Bears.

The Care Bears were wonderful little creatures. Their mission was to travel to Earth when people had trouble with their feelings, and to help them share those feelings and feel better.

But you already know that part, friends; else you would not be here. So I have no need to list their names.

I probably also have no need to inform you of their wonderful little friends, the Care Bear Cousins.

I do, however, probably need to inform you why they were called their cousins, since they were not even bears.

You see, they are cousins by name, but not by biology. Rather, they are cousins in spirit. The friendship these wonderful little animals share with the Care Bears is a friendship known also to cousins. Right now, the Care-o-meter hadn't dipped yet, so they were all having fun. The Care Bear Cousins were visiting Care-a-lot at the moment, so they, too, were included.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Love-a-Lot Bear squealed as she slid down a rainbow slide. She ended up accidentally sliding into Grumpy Bear, who had been walking past the slide at that moment.

"Ow!" he shouted as he was knocked back a foot.

"Oops! Sorry Grumpy Bear!" Love-a-Lot Bear cried out.

"It's okay," Grumpy Bear grumbled. "This kind of stuff happens to me all the time."

Meanwhile, Share Bear was sharing both a milkshake and an ice cream soda with Champ Bear.

As he took a sip from both drinks, he said, "Thanks a lot, Share Bear! I've been a bit too skinny lately, so I need to gain some weight so I stay healthy."

Share Bear laughed.

"I never heard of anyone gaining weight to stay healthy!" she said, still laughing.

"Well, if you don't eat enough, your body doesn't perform as well," Champ Bear said.

Proud Heart Cat, who was sitting at the table, said, "That would be a tragedy! Then you couldn't perform your best!"

"And we all now you're the expert in that department," Share Bear said, taking a slight dig at Proud Heart Cat's slight perfectionism. But it was harmless, and it helped Proud Heart Cat to specialize in helping those on Earth to do their very best, whatever their best is.

As for Loyal Heart Dog, he was currently playing with Bright Heart Racoon, by playing "fetch" with a lamp that Bright Heart Racoon had produced. Remember, after they'd been inaugurated as Care Bear Cousins, Tender Heart Bear had given them Care Bear symbols and powers.

Speaking of Tender Heart Bear, he was ready to listen to Playful Heart Monkey tell a joke.

"So this guy walks into a bar," Playful Monkey Heart said. "Ouch."

Tender Heart Bear was confused.

"That's it?" he asked.

"Yep," Playful Heart Monkey answered. "Get it? Bar as in places for beers? Bar as in metal bar?!"

Then Tender Heart Bear got it, and he started laughing uproariously.

Grams, meanwhile, was telling Baby Tugs and Baby Hugs a story.

"And so, King Midas was not happy, despite his golden touch, for it worked on his food and drink, too," she was saying. "And gold, being solid, cannot be eaten or drank."

"So King Midas went hungry because of the gift he wished for?" Baby Tugs asked.

"That's right," Grams said.

As for Cheer Bear, she was trying to wake up Bedtime Bear to join in the fun, but to no avail.

In one part of Care-a-lot, Friend Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Secret Bear, and Wish Bear were all playing tag, and Secret Bear was "it".

In another part of Care-a-Lot, Birthday Bear was asking some of the Care Bear Cousins if it was any of their birthdays. Birthday Bear loved to celebrate.

"Sorry, my birthday was a week ago," Brave Heart Lion said.

"Mine was two months ago," Cozy Heart Penguin said.

"I won't be having my birthday for another three weeks," Gentle Heart Lamb said.

"My birthday's in eleven months," Treat Heart Pig said.

"I'm not having my birthday for six months," Swift Heart Rabbit said.

"My birthday's in two months," Lotsa Heart Elephant.

"Darn..." Birthday Bear said. He really loved to celebrate, and usually always found something. Actually, there was something!

"Happy almost birthdays!" Birthday Bear said, leaping about and throwing confetti.

The others shook their heads in amusement.

Suddenly, the Care-o-meter took a dip, and everyone stopped their fun to rush to the meter.

"Someone must need our help!" Birthday Bear said as they were rushing.

"Of course someone needs out help; that's what the Care-o-meter was made to detect, you doofus!" Grumpy Bear snapped.

Everyone took turns looking through the star scope. This is what they saw...



Manny Macho wondered if maybe he should just stop caring. He hated his life.

His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Macho, and his older, 18-year-old brother, Mako Macho, firmly believed in the "macho" stereotype and the way it could help get through life. Somehow, though, Manny didn't see the point.

He had to drink beer and smoke cigarettes, for one thing. And he was too young to do those things. He was only 17 years old.

And he had to be a jerk to women, too.

He hated that. When an attractive woman came by, his parents expected him to say something stupid, like "Ooh, baby! What I wouldn't give to have THOSE round things to play with at the beach!"

He could understand why his father would want to support that, but his mother? She was one of the gender he had to be a jerk to! But yes, she, too, supported the "macho" stereotype, even if it meant that she had to do all the housework.

And of course, if a cartoon ever came on the TV, he was expected to say something idiotic like, "Oh jeez, this show is so gay and retarded that the writers must've been on crack!"

And he was expected to cheer when violent, bloody action came on.

"Not to mention all the times I have to swear," he muttered to himself.

His birthday was in a few days, so he'd be 18 and he'd earn the right to move out, but Mako, who was 18 already, was planning to move out at the same time Manny did and into the same place he did. So Manny still couldn't escape.

You see, growing up in a family like that, he had to pretend to support their ways.

He acted like the mean jerk he was expected to be...but he didn't like it.

He decided...maybe he should just stop caring.



"This is serious!" Champ Bear declared. "I may be good at sports, but even I don't carry macho that far!"

"Me neither, and I'm the brave one!" Brave Heart Lion said.

"We'll have to use the Rainbow Rescue Beam," Tender Heart Bear said. "Who wants to go on this mission? He probably just needs to tell his parents how he feels."

Little did they know that it wouldn't be so easy...



Meanwhile, following directions, Jack the Robber had dug up a strange-looking book.

"Don't tell me you're talking to me!" Jack shouted. "I must be dreaming."

"This is no dream, fool," the book said. "Don't you wish that the world was a fair place? That since you have to steal money to make a living, you shouldn't have to fear the police?"

Jack scratched his head, a sure sign that he was thinking.

"Well, that would be pretty nice, actually," he said. "You don't mean to say that you can help me, do you?"

"That's exactly what I mean to say!" the book said in a louder voice. "I can help you mold the world into a world of no caring. Then, no one would care whether or not you steal to make a living. How does that sound?"

"That sounds wonderful!" Jack the Robber said. "But how do I do that?"

"I contain within me powerful magic spells," the book said. "But you'll need ingredients."

"Tell me what to do!" Jack the Robber said, rubbing his hands together in glee.

"First, turn the key in my lock," the book said.

Jack was confused, until he checked the clasp and found that there really was a key in the lock. He turned it, and there was a brilliant FLASH.

The book opened, and...

"Oh jeez, there's a face staring at me! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Jack the Robber screamed, dropping the book.

"Pick me back up, you fool, I won't hurt you," the face said.

With trembling fingers, Jack picked up the book.

"Now, you won't be able to take all caring from the world immediately," the face warned.

The face showed him a hologram of colorful little bears walking around on clouds.

Jack was confused.

"Who are they?" he asked.

"They are the Care Bears," the face said. "Accursed little wretches. Whenever someone stops caring, they come down from their clouds and teach the person how to share their feelings and how to love."

"Why didn't they come for me?!" Jack the Robber screamed in bitter anguish. He'd decided this was probably a dream, despite what the book said, and that he'd play along, but he was still angry because there was a chance...just a chance...that there really were such bears...and that they'd abandoned him.

The evil spirit, of course, didn't tell him that it had blocked him from the Care-o-meter.

"They thought you were beneath them...that robbers didn't deserve to care," the face said. "But I can help you get revenge. I do have a spell that requires no ingredients at all. With it, you can expel the Care Bears from Care-a-lot, and force them down here to Earth."

"Tell me what to do!" Jack the Robber said, just like before.

The face flipped its own pages and said, "Just read this paragraph."

Jack the Robber read aloud what looked to him like mere gibberish.

But suddenly, dark energy started to pour out of the book, going up into the sky.

Jack the Robber didn't see what happened, but for some reason, some part of the sky looked dark now, and was it his imagination, or were lots of colorful bears and colorful animals falling from the sky in the distance?

"You have now expelled the Care Bears from Care-a-lot," the face said, laughing evilly. "And they cannot return, because the Rainbow Rescue Beam and all the cloudmobiles are still in Care-a-lot. And now, your mission can begin!"

Jack the Robber didn't know what the Rainbow Rescue Beam and cloudmobiles were, but both he and the face started laughing in glee...



To be continued...



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