Chapter Text
It was an off day for the land of Care-A-Lot. The usual sunny sky was dark with rain clouds, warning an incoming storm. The usual chatter of play and friendly conversation was replaced with a chilling silence.
Oopsy, though, would wake up like it was any other day. Hopping out of bed excitedly, eating breakfast, and brushing his teeth before decorating his stomach with a signature shooting star doodle.
He would happily exit his house, proceeding to trip and fall on the steps, landing flat on his face.
“Oww…” He slowly pushed himself back upright, brushing off any dust as he looked around the area.
Even for a stormy day, the emptiness felt…too off.
“...H-Hello?” He cautiously stepped forward towards the central area. There wasn’t a single other bear in sight, which only made the green bear's nerves even worse. “I-Is anyone there?”
He looked around at the houses. They were all dark. Had he woken up late? Was there some kind of surprise?
He could feel his heart racing, though it might not have been the best idea, he moved closer to some of the houses, peeking through the windows.
Nothing. Some rooms were a mess, others looked completely untouched. It seemed like nobody was left in Care-A-Lot.
“Wh-Where is everyone? H-Hello?!” Oopsy let out a worried whimper, shakily stepping back from the houses.
A sudden snap of a twig caused him to quickly turn towards the source. Whatever it was had moved too fast for him to spot, but they could see the broken twig they had heard.
“Wh-Who’s there?!” Oopsy trembled, frozen in place. “Sh-Show yourself!”
He attempted to take a step back, but his clumsy nature would be his weakness in the moment, tripping over himself and falling to the ground.
The sight of bright yellow fur caused a moment of relief for him. “Oh, i-it’s just you, Funshine. Y-You really spooked me there! Wh…Where is everyone else? W-Was there something I missed, d-did I oversleep again?”
The relief turned to concern when their questions were unanswered. As Funshine stepped closer, Oopsy could tell something was off.
Relatively, Funshine looked mostly normal, save for some disheveled fur. But their stare seemed cold…a strange glow around their belly badge, as if they were already using it, but no sort of changes could be seen around.
“F-Funshine, a-are you ok? You…seem a bit off. M-Maybe you should go home and get some rest? You might be sick…” Oopsy smiled a bit, trying to hide the clear nervousness in his body language.
No response, only Funshine continuing to step closer, reaching out to grab Oopsy, their emotionless stare clashing with a strange smile on their face.
Suddenly, there came the noise of hard metal footsteps, before a sudden blast of energy hit Funshine, knocking them away as they landed to the ground with a hard thud. Oopsy scrambled to his feet, turning in the direction, letting out a small yelp as they stared straight into the barrel of an arm cannon, attached to a familiar robotic shell.
“G-Grizzle…?”
Grizzle lowered their arm, breath deep, a clear look of initial panic fading from his face and turning to frustration as they scowled at the Care Bear.
“What are you still doing out here?! I thought anyone who hadn’t been affected would’ve stayed inside!”
“Wh-What’s going on?! Wh-What do you mean?!” Oopsy looked over at Funshine worriedly. “Y-You should be more c-careful with that! F-Funshine might be hurt!”
“You’re as dense as always.” Grizzle growled. “I don’t have the foggiest clue what’s happening, but I know they’re not in there!”
Oopsy had ignored the last part of their sentence, moving to go check on Funshine. “F-Funshine, a-are you hurt?”
Oopsy let out a yelp as Funshine grabbed their arm, it was rougher than usual, not at all like what Funshine’s grip usually was like. Funshine slowly moved to their feet, staring at Oopsy with that same emotionless look and eerie smile.
“I feel fantastic, Oopsy!” Funshine finally spoke. Oopsy could tell the moment their voice came through that something was indeed off. “I feel brimming with magic and cheer! I could share this joy with hundreds now!”
Oopsy attempted to pull their arm away, only for Funshine’s grip to tighten. “F-Funshine, th-this isn’t f-funny, you’re scaring me!”
“Come on, Oopsy, join in the fun! I have plenty of magic to share!”
Oopsy froze in fear, noticing their stomach starting to glow more.
“HEY!” A sharp shout caused the glow to return to its previous state, Funshine tuning towards the source, Grizzle yet again aiming towards Funshine. “Put him down! I could knock you off of this cloud in one shot!”
The distraction caused Funshine’s grip to loosen, allowing Oopsy to slip free and stumble back, hitting one of the pillars of the central pavilion.
“Get out of here! Go anywhere! just get as far away from them as you can, who knows what could happen if their magic hits you!”
“B-But that’s my friend! I-I have to help him!”
“There’s no time to do that now ! Unless you want to walk right into whatever fate they’ve fallen to, I’d suggest you hurry up and get out of here NO-”
The sudden rushing of footsteps made Grizzle realize he had taken his eye off of his target, not noticing they had come to charge at him until it was far too late.
Paws reaching out, Funshine lunged at Grizzle, for a split second, a faint glint of white on their paws could be spotted before-
“AAAAGH!”
Another blast of energy blew Funshine away, Funshine hitting their head against a wall with a hard thud, falling to the ground.
“F-Funshine!” Oopsy rushed to Funshine. Despite the risk, Funshine was his friend, after all. He had to make sure they were ok!
Funshine had been knocked unconscious, a small bump on their head from the point of impact. Oopsy seemed to snap into a moment of rational thought. Grizzle was right. None of what had just happened was like Funshine at all. Despite knowing that belly badge powers were positive…something felt…wrong about it. A glow too strong…what could’ve happened?
Carefully, Oopsy nervously stepped back.
Grizzle had fallen to one knee, a hand covering one of their eyes. He looked over at Oopsy, scowling with agitation.
“See?! Who knows what they’ll do! If you want to walk right into all of this, go ahead!” He shakily moves back upright, a small hint of crimson being seen behind their hand. “I’m not wasting my breath pushing you either way any more. I’m going home, I’ve been out here too long already.” He huffs, shakily walking away, soon leaving Oopsy alone.
Oopsy was still hesitant about trusting Grizzle, even if they were right. For now, he’d rush back home, locking the door behind him as he slammed it shut.
For a little, Oopsy sat against the door, panting.
He was scared, he was frightened, unsure of what was going to happen. That day, he spent it isolated in his home, mulling over what to do. As rain soon started to come in, Oopsy made up his mind.
Walking outside, he passed by where everything had happened just earlier. The rain was starting to wash away a small trail of crimson drops that stained the ground.
He had to find Grizzle.