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Author
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Topic: A Joke Gone Wrong: A Smurfs Fanfic
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-05-2011 02:44 AM
Disclaimer: I do not own the Smurfs. I'm just here to play. Please don't sue me or steal my story!
NOTE: I'm going to put this story up next, even though it's not finished yet, because I actually started writing it right after "Smurfette's Decision." The original version was called "Hourglass" and it's terrible. I mean, absolutely AWFUL. I hid it away and found it years later buried deep on an old computer disk. That's when I realized what the problem was.
"Hourglass" didn't work because it was actually two stories fighting with each other. So, I split them up. This story, "A Joke Gone Wrong" explores what a possible future for the Smurfs might be like. The other (which I'll post next) is called "Brainy's Glasses," and looks back to the past.
I hope you'll enjoy my story! ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
A Joke Gone Wrong
By Rowena
Part I
It was the first day of spring, but it felt more like summer.
The happy sounds of busy creatures filled the forest. Birds warbled, frogs croaked, insects buzzed and, in their brightly colored mushroom village, the Smurfs sang as they carried out their morning chores.
Well, most of the Smurfs were singing.
The Smurflings were far from thrilled by the prospect of spending a perfect spring morning helping Farmer prepare his fields for planting.
"This stinks!" Slouchy Smurfling said, leaning against the handle of his rake.
Snappy Smurfling scowled and stood up, stretching out the kinks his back had collected while he was bent over pulling weeds. The thundercloud on his shirt looked especially stormy.
"Yeah," he said. "We should be down by the River Smurf playin' smurfball, not clearing weeds from some dumb field."
"It's not fair," Sassette spoke up, brushing the dirt from the knees of her pink smurferalls.
"You don't see the grown-up Smurfs out here smurfin' weeds, do you? An' d'you know why?"
"Because they're all busy with their own jobs in the village?" Nat said, smiling a bit as his friend Flutterby the butterfly glided over to perch on his wide straw hat.
"Ha, that's a laugh," Sassette retorted. "Have you ever seen Lazy smurf his own weight? Or Poet? And what about Brainy?"
Slouchy yawned.
"What about Brainy?"
"All he ever does is boss us around! He scolds and lectures, but he never actually does anything. Unless you count writing those boring books."
Nat smirked.
"Quotations of Brainy Smurf; More Quotations of Brainy Smurf; Even Smurfier Quotations of Brainy Smurf…"
"Yeah, those."
Sassette made a face.
"If you ask me, the only reason Smurfs like that are able to smurf out of real work is because they're older and can smurf it off on us."
"You said it," Slouchy said, and let his rake fall to the ground.
"Yeah," Snappy agreed. "I wish we were grown up. Then we could smurf the day off whenever we felt like it!"
"Oh…"
Sassette suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"What's the matter?" asked Snappy.
"Well," she said, rather hesitantly. "Weren't you three grown-up Smurfs once?"
Nat and Slouchy looked blank.
"Huh?"
"What are you talkin' about, Sassette?" Snappy asked.
"It's something Pappy Smurf said," Sassette said. "I heard him talking once with Hefty and Smurfette. They were talking about Nat, but they mentioned the rest of you too."
"What did they say?" Nat asked curiously.
"They said how they missed the way it was before Natural Smurf had his…accident."
"Accident?"
Nat frowned, peering up from under his butterfly's wings.
"I didn't have any accident."
"Well, you must have because Pappy Smurf said you did!" Sassette asserted, her red braids bobbing.
"Pappy Smurf said it happened when he sent you and Snappy and Slouchy to Father Time's house to smurf an hourglass or something like that. And Hefty said it wasn't right that you three get to smurf a second childhood."
Snappy gave that idea a dismissive swat.
"Ah, you're smurfin' though your hat," he said. "That can't be true! Don't you think we'd know if we'd been grown up?"
"No," Sassette snapped back. "Pappy Smurf said that was part of the problem. That you couldn't remember."
There was a long, uncomfortable silence while the Smurflings processed this news.
Snappy glared.
"If you knew all this, why didn't you say anything before?" he demanded angrily.
"Because--"
Sassette started tough but the wind quickly left her sails.
"Because I was scared if you found out, you'd want to be grown up again. And leave me behind," she finished quietly, not meeting her friends' eyes.
"Oh…" said Snappy.
"Hm..."
Slouchy frowned.
"But Sassette," Nat started, "even if all this is true, you can't think that we would—"
"Now now, youngins, the day's a wastin'!" Farmer's voice called over from the melon patch where the industrious Smurf was hoeing along a row of newly sprouted plants.
"You kids can gab later, when you don't have weeds to clear away."
The four Smurflings shared a look.
"Yes, Farmer," they chorused, and obediently went back to weeding.
But Sassette had raised some disturbing questions, questions that couldn't easily be pushed aside by chores.
So, that night, after Papa Smurf had tucked them all into bed, the Smurflings decided to hatch a plan—-a plan designed to get the truth from Father Time himself.
"After all," Snappy said, "if Papa Smurf's been keeping something this big from us for this long, he must have a pretty big reason. That means the only way we're ever going to learn the whole truth is if we find it out for ourselves, without getting Papa Smurf and the other Smurfs involved. And the only other person who knows all the facts is—?"
"Father Time!" the others agreed, giggling and scheming together until, sometime after midnight, the four of them finally fell asleep.
*******
"So, you really think they'll go for it, Papa Smurf?" Brainy asked eagerly.
It was another beautiful morning, and Brainy Smurf had been up with the sun, busily researching his latest project with Papa Smurf.
Unlike his other self-glorifying works, Brainy planned this book to be about the constellations.
Papa Smurf had willingly given him access to his library, and had even started pouring through the books himself, finding his own interest in the stars reignited by the young Smurf's enthusiasm.
The white-bearded Smurf smiled.
"I think it's a wonderful idea, Brainy," he said. "One of the smurfiest you've ever had."
Brainy's happy grin was nearly devoid of its usual smugness, which only made Papa Smurf's smile wider.
Clapping the spectacled Smurf on the shoulder, he said, "I'm very proud of you, Brainy. I think you're finally beginning to understand what it means to consider the needs of other Smurfs before your own. That's one of the hallmarks of being a truly grown up Smurf."
Now Brainy did look smug.
"Losing my glasses to the Dark-Ness Monster was a bit humbling, I must admit," he said. "It was so hard having to depend on other Smurfs to smurf around the village! Without my glasses, I had trouble smurfing even the simplest tasks. I felt so stupid and clumsy all the time.
"But, instead of mocking my mistakes, the other Smurfs went out of their way to help me—-especially Clumsy.
"That's why I wanted to write this book, Papa Smurf. To give something back."
"Well, I think you're doing a splendid job, Brainy. I'm certain the other Smurfs will appreciate it. The Smurflings in particular could certainly benefit from a book like this."
Brainy's eyes widened behind his thick glasses.
"That's right, Papa Smurf!" he exclaimed. "This book could be just the thing to get the Smurflings to finally show me the respect I deserve! We can camp up in the mountains, just the five of us, and I, Brainy Smurf, will tell them everything I know about the moon and the stars. With my brilliance and my book to guide them, their little minds will swell with knowledge, and I—"
Papa Smurf gave an amused shake of his head.
"And he was doing so well," he thought to himself.
Out loud, he said, "Brainy, Brainy! You seem to be forgetting something."
Brainy looked shocked.
"I am?"
Papa Smurf sighed.
"Brainy, this project isn't about making yourself look good. It's about providing your fellow Smurfs with a useful guide to the stars. Isn't that what you were telling me all morning?"
Brainy nodded sagely.
"Of course you're right, Papa Smurf," he said. "I mustn't smurf ahead of myself. After all, I haven't even finished smurfing the book together yet!"
"Well, you know my library's open to you if you need to smurf any more information, Brainy," Papa Smurf said.
"Oh—and Brainy," he added, catching the young Smurf just as he was turning to collect his notes from the table.
"Grandpa Smurf will be stopping by in a few hours. The two of us have been planning an excursion to gather fresh glowberries from the far end of the forest. We'll be gone all day and probably into the night. I'd intended to leave you in charge here, but if you think it'll get in the way of your work I'm sure I could find another Smurf to—"
"Oh no, Papa Smurf, it would be no trouble at all!" Brainy said with a quick eagerness. "I'd be honored to keep an eye on things while you're away! Why, I'll have the Village running so smoothly you won't even—"
"Brainy…" Papa Smurf warned. "What have I told you about going overboard?"
Brainy blinked, then sagged, looking slightly sheepish.
"You said I shouldn't try to enforce your rules so literally."
"And…?" Papa Smurf prompted.
"And other Smurfs have ways of smurfing things that are just as good as mine, and I should respect that."
The spectacled Smurf sighed, rolling his eyes a little.
"Even if my way is better," he mumbled under his breath.
Papa Smurf nodded.
"Very good, Brainy. You just remember that while I'm away and everything should smurf just smurfily."
"Yes, Papa Smurf," Brainy said, brightening. "You can smurf on me!"
"I know I can, Brainy."
Papa Smurf smiled kindly and opened the door for the notebook-laden Smurf.
"Good luck finishing your book. I look forward to reading it when I get back."
"I'm sure you won't be disappointed, Papa Smurf," Brainy said. "You and Grandpa have a smurfy trip. Don't worry about a thing. You can trust me, Brainy Smurf, to remember every word your wise advice."
Papa Smurf waited until Brainy was well on his way home before he sighed and said, "Oh, I don't doubt you'll remember it. Whether you'll follow it…that's a different story."
To Be Continued...
![[Cool]](cool.gif) ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
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Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-06-2011 12:12 PM
Part II
Harmony's trumpet bleated from the center of the village, honking out notes so sour the sound shattered six of the breakfast dishes stacked at the top of the dirty pile.
Responding to the call, Smurfs poured into the clearing from all directions, mumbling and moaning about the terrible racket.
When enough Smurfs had gathered, Papa Smurf raised a hand for silence, and Harmony lowered his trumpet.
The Smurfs breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Harmony took it as a sigh of contentment and graced them all with a dignified bow.
"Er, thank you, Harmony," Papa Smurf said.
"My little Smurfs," he began. "I know you're all very busy so I'll keep this announcement short. I'm going away for the day to collect glowberries with Grandpa Smurf, and we'll probably be back very late. I'm leaving Brainy in charge here while I'm gone. I want you all to spread the word among your fellow Smurfs and remember to mind Brainy as you would me."
He glanced over to Brainy, who stood beside him with his nose in the air and his chest puffed out like a pigeon's.
"Well," he qualified, "within reason, of course."
"Aww," the Smurfs moaned.
"Yay!" Brainy's friend Clumsy cheered.
Hefty wrinkled his nose.
"Does it have to be Brainy, Papa Smurf?"
Brainy glowered at the muscular Smurf through his glasses.
"Now now, Hefty," Papa Smurf said. "Brainy and I have had a long talk, and I'm sure he'll act responsibly. Isn't that right, Brainy?"
"Of course, Papa Smurf!" Brainy simpered. "Ask any Smurf around and I'm sure they'll all tell you I am Mr. Responsibility."
"Uh, really?" Clumsy tilted his head. "I thought you were Brainy!"
Brainy rolled his eyes.
Papa Smurf smiled, then looked up past the Smurfs' shaking heads to wave at a yellow-clad Smurf with a long, white beard who beckoned to him from the edge of the village.
"We better get a move on, Papa, if we want to reach the cliffs by noon," the old Smurf called. "We're already runnin' a bit late."
"I'll be right there, Grandpa!" Papa Smurf called back, and hefted his rucksack onto his back.
"Good bye, my little Smurfs! Try not to get into any mischief while I'm away!"
"We will Papa Smurf," the Smurfs chorused.
"Have a good hike, Papa Smurf," Brainy added. "And don't you worry about a thing. The village is in safe hands with me in charge."
"I know it is, Brainy. Just don't neglect your book, now. Remember, I want to read it when I get back."
"I'll have it ready and waiting," Brainy assured him confidently. "Bye!"
"Bye! Bye!" the other Smurfs chorused, the group already starting to shrink as they headed back to their chores.
Peeling away from the crowd, the four Smurflings huddled in the shade of a nearby mushroom house, their postures as slumped as their spirits.
"Babbling beavers, why does it have to be Brainy!" Sassette moaned. "This ruins everything!"
Slouchy scowled.
"It sure does," he said. "Our plan was for Sassette to get Papa Smurf to give us permission to pick wild smurfberries while the rest of us snuck into his lab to find his map to Father Time's cave. And it would have worked too. She's got him totally smurfed around her little finger! Not Brainy, though."
"Yeah."
Sassette sighed.
"Brainy's such a stickler for rules, he'll never let us go on our own!"
Snappy frowned a thoughtful frown, his sharp eyes fixed on Brainy's face as he talked with Clumsy on the other side of the clearing.
"Hm… Maybe not," he said, motioning the others nearer. "I have an idea."
"Oh yeah? What kind of idea?" Slouchy asked.
Snappy's eyes took on a wicked gleam, and he smiled.
"How are you guys at mimicking voices?" he asked.
"Mimicking voices?" Nat frowned.
"Yeah! Come closer and listen up."
The Smurflings did, and Snappy whispered his plan into their ears. By the time he finished, all four of them were shaking with giggles.
"Wow, what a smurfy prank!" Slouchy grinned.
"Are you sure Brainy will fall for it, though?" Nat asked.
"Sure I'm sure," Snappy assured them. "Just leave the smurfing to me."
*******
In his crumbling stone hovel at the edge of the forest, Gargamel woke with a start and immediately winced.
Not only was the sun in his eyes, but the happy sound of birdsong assaulted his ears.
The cruel wizard scowled.
"Yeech!" he said, calling to his cat as he slid out of bed to pull on his patched black rags and worn red shoes.
"Just look at it out there, Azrael! It's so green and…ick…"
He shuddered.
"--sunny. Just the sort of weather that would set those rotten blue Smurfs singing!"
"Mreah, mry mrow."
Azrael yawned in his sunny spot, lazily stretching out his skinny body from his neck to the tip of his crooked, brown tail.
"It's not fair, Azrael, that spring should come so soon," Gargamel whined. "Why, it seems only yesterday the forest was barren and the snow was piled high. I could just picture those miserable Smurfs starving in their little village, freezing their tiny blue tails off!"
"Mrat mwas mrus," Azrael griped, thinking back on those bleak, hungry times with an uncomfortable shiver.
But the failed wizard was still ranting and didn't notice.
"Oooh, what I wouldn't give to be able to hold back time—or even speed it up to next winter! Why I—wait a minute…"
The balding wizard paused and rubbed his chin, his beady black eyes glittering. After a moment's deep thought, he snapped his fingers in triumph.
"Ha—that's it!"
"Mwah?" Azrael questioned, the manic gleam in his wizard's eyes starting to make him nervous.
"Time travel, Azrael! The ultimate answer to all our Smurf-catching troubles!"
Gargamel rubbed his hands together with a wicked grin.
"Can't you picture it, Azrael! Why, if we could control Time, we would never again have to chase the Smurfs! We could hop backwards to where we know they'll be—or even hop forwards to get where they're going before they do! And then, with all the gold I'll make with my captured Smurfs, we can travel to the future, Azrael, and bask in a world where no one's ever heard the word 'smurf'!"
In a fit of gleeful excitement, Gargamel raced to his sagging bookshelf and began yanking out volumes, tossing those he rejected to the floor.
"There has to be some kind of formula or spell or— Ah ha! I knew it!"
Slamming the open book down on his cluttered work table, Gargamel ran his finger over the words, reading them out loud to his cat, who had jumped up on the table beside him.
"Hm, here it is… 'Time Locket,' " he read.
" 'With these easy step-by-step instructions, you can make your own Time Locket at home. All you need is a metal-clasp locket and a generous pinch of the Sands of Time (see footnotes).' "
Gargamel frowned.
"See footnotes? See them where?"
Azrael tapped a paw on the bottom of the page.
"Mrown mrere."
"Ah, right, of course."
Gargamel coughed a little.
"Let's see…"
The aging wizard squinted at the tiny handwritten letters.
" 'One,' it says. 'Metal is recommended over twine for stringing your locket as it is less likely to break and land your Time Locket in the wrong hands.' Humph!"
Gargamel snorted, reflexively defensive.
"Wrong hands indeed. Who are they to say who— Actually…" he interrupted himself, "that's not a bad point. Imagine, Azrael, if the locket were to fall off somewhere in the forest and one of the Smurfs were to find it. The havoc they could wreak! Smurfberries and pretty flowers would grow everywhere! Cheerful laughter and happy songs would spread like an epidemic through the towns! Oh, Azrael, it's all too horrible to picture!"
"Mry mrow!" Azrael agreed, making a sour face.
"Well, that's settled, then," Gargamel said. "We'll make sure our locket has a metal chain. Now, what else does it say…?"
Finding his place, he read,
" 'Two: Concerning the Sands of Time. These fine grains of purest sand can be found only in one place: the magic hourglass of Father Time. It is impossible to obtain these grains without first petitioning, then being granted permission from Father Time himself.' "
Gargamel smirked and closed the book.
"Impossible, is it?" he scoffed. "As if I, Gargamel the Great, would need to beg permission from that old fossil. Come on, Azrael."
Grabbing a handy sack, the ragged failure slung it over his shoulder and marched to the hovel door.
"We've got a meeting with Time, and I don't want to be late!"
To Be Continued...
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
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Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
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posted 12-06-2011 12:58 PM
i love it so far :-)
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we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-07-2011 01:52 PM
Yay! I'm glad!
Here's:
Part III
"Hum dum da dum dum dum, dum da dum dum dum…"
The sound of Brainy's humming leaked through the window.
Snappy snickered.
"Yep, he's in there all right," the Smurfling told his friends.
"What's he doing?" Sassette whispered, crouched with Nat and Slouchy under Brainy's windowsill.
"Can you see?"
With the skill of a practiced spy, Snappy slid up the side of Brainy's house until he could just peer through the window's edge without being seen from the inside.
"Um, he's shuffling some papers around…now he's pouring ink into his inkpot…"
Slouchy made a face.
"Sounds like he's getting ready to write some more of that new book of his,” he said. "He'll probably try to make us read it too."
Snappy pretended to choke.
"Gak! Duller than dullsville!"
"Chattering chipmunks, Snappy, shush up! He'll hear us!" Sassette whispered. "Just tell us what he's smurfing now."
Snappy wrinkled his nose at her, but did as she said.
"OK, he's got his writing desk all set up. Now he's crossing the room… Duck!"
Slouchy, Nat, and Sassette bunched up to make room as Snappy dove for cover under the sill.
Above their heads, they heard the sound of water pouring into a bowl, followed by soft splashes.
"Sounds like he's washing his hands," Nat said.
"Or his face…"
Slouchy raised his eyebrows.
The others caught on at once.
"He'd have to take his glasses off!" they chorused.
"Perfect!" Snappy whispered.
Sliding once more up the wall, he risked a peek through the window.
"Yes! Come on, guys, it's now or never!"
Crawling out from under the window, Sassette quickly hopped onto Slouchy's shoulders and Snappy hopped onto Nat's. With only a cursory knock to announce themselves, the Smurflings burst into Brainy's house.
Brainy raised his head in surprise, water dripping off his bare face.
"Hello? Who's there?" he asked, reaching blindly for a towel.
Slouchy nearly stumbled he was trying so hard not to laugh.
Brainy frowned.
"Clumsy? Is that you?"
Sassette nudged Snappy, who immediately elbowed her back.
"Oof! Um..."
She recovered quickly, struggling to put on her best Smurfette impression.
"Um, oh no, no we're not Clumsy," she said, wondering if she should have unbraided her hair. But no, Brainy truly seemed unable to see them.
"We're, um…"
"Hefty and Smurfette," Snappy broke in, doing his best to deepen his naturally raspy voice.
Brainy's frown grew longer.
"Hefty?" he asked. "You sound like you have a cold. Let me smurf on my glasses and I'll—"
"Oh, there's no time for that," Sassette interrupted, tapping Slouchy with her foot and pointing to the table.
Hampered a little by her weight, Slouchy scurried over and snatched the glasses away just before Brainy's fingertips brushed them.
The two Smurflings shared a silent high-five.
"Uh, yeah," Snappy was quick to cover for them. "We just popped in to let you know we're taking the Smuflings out for a day in the forest."
Brainy furrowed his brow.
"Hmm," he said. "I could have sworn I put my glasses down right here. Huh—what was that about the Smuflings?"
Holding a hand out in front of him, Brainy groped his way over to his writing desk.
"Could I have left them over here…?"
"We're taking them for a nature hike in the forest," Sassette repeated. "I'm going to introduce them to all of Mother Nature's prettiest flowers."
Slouchy smirked. Her Smurfette impression was almost too good.
"Hm—a nature hike?”
Brainy grinned.
"What a smurfy idea, Smurfette! Just give me a chance to find my glasses and I'll go with you! I still have my nature guide book, Brainy Smurf: Friend to All the Animals, and I'd be only too happy to lead your little expedition if—"
Nat groaned.
Snappy kicked him.
"Er, uh, no—no, that's OK, Brainy," he said.
"You've got far more important responsibilities here in the village," Sassette added. "And don't forget, you still have to finish your new—oop!"
Sassette bit her lip as Brainy stumbled, tripping over his chair.
His outstretched arm swept across the desk as he struggled to stop his fall, scattering papers and knocking over the big bottle he'd used to fill his ink pot.
Black ink spilled over everything.
"Oh dear!" Sassette exclaimed, still impersonating Smurfette. "Oh, Brainy, look what you've done!"
Brainy struggled to crawl out from under the desk without getting tangled in the chair, banging his head in the process.
"Ouch! Oof—what? Ugg, I'm soaking wet! What is all this stuff?"
"It's ink," Sassette told him.
"What!"
Brainy looked horrified. He tried to stand up, but hit the desk again and had to sit down.
Snappy snickered.
"You knocked over your ink bottle, Brainy," he said, as Hefty. "Spilled it all over your desk. Looks like you'll have to start over on that book of yours. Not that that's a bad thing…"
Slouchy smirked, deciding to try his own Hefty impression.
"Maybe this time you can write something fun! Something exciting, like Poet's epics."
"Something eversmurf would want to read!" Snappy agreed, nearly choking on his suppressed laughter.
"Come on, Sa—Smurfette," he giggled. "Let's smurf out of here."
Slouchy followed Nat and Snappy out the door, carrying Sassette with him.
Sassette glanced back at Brainy, feeling a strange little tug in the middle of her chest. Looking down, she noticed that Slouchy still had Brainy's glasses sticking out of his pocket.
Quickly, she snatched them and tossed them onto the little table by the door.
Hopping off Slouchy's shoulders, she said, "OK, we're set. Now run!"
*******
Once they were far enough away not to be heard, the Smurflings toppled into a heap on the ground, laughing for all they were worth.
"Ha ha! That was the best joke ever!" Snappy crowed. "I still can't believe he fell for it! He really believed we were Hefty and Smurfette!"
Slouchy shot his friends a grin.
"So now Brainy thinks we're on a nature hike, we told Smurfette we'll be helping Farmer in his fields, and Farmer thinks we're working on the dam with Handy."
"And if we're lucky, Brainy'll be too busy cleaning up to even think to come looking for us," Nat said.
Sassette smiled.
"What matters is our plan worked! Now we're free for the whole day!"
"Yeah," Nat said. "If we start now, we'll get to Father Time's cave before lunch."
"Sounds good to me," Snappy said. "Let's go!"
*******
"Brainy? Hey, Brainy!"
An excited Clumsy Smurf knocked on Brainy's open door with his free hand. In his other hand, he held a sparkling gray rock about half the size of his head.
"Uh, Brainy, you in there? I want to show you this great new rock I found for my collection-- Oh..."
Brainy stood in the middle of the room blinking through his glasses at the damp, blackened mess of ink and paper that littered his desk. More ink stained his white hat and pants.
Clumsy stared.
"Um, gosh, Brainy what happened to you?"
Brainy didn't answer. He just shook his head, his arms trembling above his fisted hands.
"Uh, Brainy?" Clumsy asked, starting to grow concerned. "Brainy, are you OK?"
Brainy didn't look at his friend. He just walked past him, out the door and to the left.
"Brainy? Uh, Brainy, where are you goin'? Brainy, what should I say if somesmurf comes lookin' for you?"
Brainy kept walking, out of the village and into the shade of the trees beyond.
Clumsy looked down at his rock, then back to his friend.
Making his decision, the uncoordinated Smurf dropped the rock on the ground-then immediately tripped over it.
Gathering himself up, Clumsy brushed the dirt from his knees and galloped after his friend.
He didn't know what was going on, but it was clear Brainy was very upset. Clumsy was determined he was going to be there for him, whether the spectacled Smurf wanted him around or not.
To Be Continued...
NOTE: The Smurflings played a similar trick on Brainy (stealing his glasses and pretending to be someone else) in the episode "A Loss of Smurf"... until Papa Smurf caught them.
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
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Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
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posted 12-07-2011 02:05 PM
I feel pretty bad for Brainy right about now.
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we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
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Squeaky Smurf
Hering Smurf
Member # 2416
Member Rated:
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posted 12-07-2011 07:11 PM
Hm, me too. This time the Smurflings have really gone too far. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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Keep on always smurfin'!!
Posts: 7507 | From: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Registered: Jul 2008
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Lazy Smurf
blue4ever
Member # 4138
Member Rated:
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posted 12-07-2011 08:19 PM
when is part 4 coming
it so very interesting
i really love it
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HELLO SMURFY WORLD!
(I'm blue4ever)
Posts: 157 | From: smurfs village | Registered: Dec 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-08-2011 03:00 AM
Thanks!! I'm happy you're enjoying my story!!!
Poor Brainy... Things are going to get worse before they get better. But, that's why it's called "A Joke Gone Wrong..."
Here's Pt. 4. Hope you like it!
Part IV
Clumsy finally found Brainy sitting on a rock at the bank of the River Smurf, tossing pebbles into the water with all his might.
Even from a distance, Clumsy could see that Brainy was still in a very bad mood. In fact, now that he came to think about it, he had never seen Brainy in such a terrible mood.
Taking a deep breath, Clumsy moved out from the shelter of the trees and walked to the river's sunny edge.
"Um, uh, hi Brainy," he said.
Brainy ignored him and tossed another pebble into the water.
"Gosh, Brainy, you don't have'ta be mad at me," said Clumsy.
There was no response.
"Come on, Brainy," Clumsy coaxed with a friendly smile. "You can't mope out here in the forest all day just 'cause you got some ink spilled on you. Uh, can you?"
Brainy crossed his arms and stared into space as if his friend wasn't there.
Clumsy frowned a little, but he was far from ready to give up.
Trying a different tack, he said, "Uh, Greedy told me he's makin' his smurfy Swamproot Stew for lunch. Maybe if you had a bowl of that…?"
He shrugged hopefully.
Brainy still didn't move.
Taking that as an invitation, the concerned Smurf climbed up onto the rock and slouched down into a comfortable slump beside him.
Brainy shot his friend an annoyed glance and scooted to the left.
Clumsy followed.
Brainy groaned and rolled his eyes, finally accepting that Clumsy wasn't going to go away. At least, not without some prodding.
"Clumsy," he said impatiently, "I want you to listen to my words very carefully. I wouldn't be interested in Swamproot Stew even if it was Smurfberry Cream Pie. I am deep in thought and I don't want to be disturbed. In other words: GO AWAY!"
Clumsy's eyes widened.
"Uh, gosh. So, uh, what are you thinkin' about, Brainy?"
Brainy threw up his hands and jumped off the rock.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Clumsy called after him, sliding off the rock in his awkward fashion. "Where are you goin', Brainy? Can I come?"
Brainy stopped in his tracks and spun around.
"You just can't take a hint, can you! How hopelessly thick-headed do you have to be to miss this simple, straightforward point? 'Go Away' is not an invitation to tag along. In fact, it means the very opposite. It means I don't want to see you. I don't want to hear you. I don't want to be within 500 feet of you! I need to be alone. So, no! You can't come with me!"
Clumsy knew his friend better than to be offended by this brush-off. In fact, his friend's outburst actually made him feel a little better.
Clumsy had seen Brainy like this many times before, usually just after he'd been kicked out of the village for his pompous pontification, or when the other Smurfs had been particularly harsh in their refusals to read his latest book.
Since his books were usually dull journals filled with annoying advice on how the Smurfs should do their jobs, or accounts of the Smurfs' adventures revised to make Brainy look like a hero, Clumsy understood why the other Smurfs tended to avoid Brainy's writings.
But, Clumsy loved listening to Brainy's stories and often thought his advice would be useful if he ever took up gardening or architecture, cooking or tailoring instead of rock collecting.
Brainy knew Clumsy's interest was genuine, and over the years Clumsy had found he could usually snap Brainy out of even his foulest moods by asking him to read to him out of his latest book.
He decided to try that approach now.
"Um, gosh, Brainy," he said, jogging to keep up with his fleeing friend. "Uh, I was thinkin'—"
"Really?" Brainy spoke with harsh sarcasm, neither turning nor slowing down his rapid march through the underbrush. "Amazing. This is a day that will smurf down in history! Clumsy Smurf has actually smurfed a thought!"
Clumsy smiled, completely unoffended.
"Yep! And that thought is that I would really love to smurf one of your books, Brainy. Really, really. How about that new one, the one you were workin' on with Papa Smurf? Could you read me that?"
As he had expected, Brainy stopped short.
Clumsy tripped on a stick and bumped into him with a giggle.
But, his giggling faded when Brainy didn't move. He didn't scowl at him or even turn around. He just stood there, stiff, staring blankly through his thick, round glasses at the forest before him.
Clumsy swallowed. For the first time, he truly felt worried.
"Uh, Brainy?"
Brainy's shoulders tightened and he clenched his fists.
"Brainy?"
Brainy turned on him, his eyes brimming with tears.
Clumsy was shocked to see him so hurt, so angry.
"You too, Clumsy?" Brainy croaked. "I thought you were my best friend!"
The tears that had been welling up in his bright eyes started to spill down his cheeks.
Brainy turned his head quickly and raced off the path, deep into the thick of the forest.
"Brainy—!"
Clumsy reached an arm out after him.
"Leave me alone!" Brainy cried. "Just go back to your real friends, Clumsy. Tell Smurfette and Hefty I never want to see any of you again!"
Clumsy stood there, positively stunned.
"But… But, Brainy!" he shouted in the direction his friend had gone. "Brainy, what happened!"
But he was too late. Brainy was already out of sight.
To Be Continued...
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RowenaZahnreiCrafts?ref=si_shop
Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Squeaky Smurf
Hering Smurf
Member # 2416
Member Rated:
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posted 12-08-2011 07:11 AM
My, such an awful situation. What else might happen to poor Brainy?? ![[Gargamel]](graemlins/gargamel.gif) ![[Azrael]](graemlins/azrael.gif)
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Keep on always smurfin'!!
Posts: 7507 | From: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Registered: Jul 2008
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Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
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posted 12-08-2011 03:29 PM
Brainy needs a hug really bad right now.
i would so be just like Clumsy and listen to his books just to make him happy lol.
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we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
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Lazy Smurf
blue4ever
Member # 4138
Member Rated:
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posted 12-08-2011 04:47 PM
aww, what a beautiful friendship
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HELLO SMURFY WORLD!
(I'm blue4ever)
Posts: 157 | From: smurfs village | Registered: Dec 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-09-2011 11:22 AM
Yeah, Clumsy's the smurfiest friend Brainy could have.
Here's:
Part V
The Smurf Village was bustling when Clumsy got back.
Smurfs ran right and left between the houses and through the clearing urgently calling out the Smurflings' names.
Clumsy stared for a moment, disoriented by all the confusion, until he was spotted by Smurfette, Hefty, and Handy.
"Clumsy!" Smurfette exclaimed. "Oh, thank smurfness!"
"Uh, gee, Smurfette," Clumsy said, still starting wide-eyed at the frantic Smurfs all around them. "What's goin' on here?"
"Oh, Clumsy, it's terrible!" Smurfette said. "The Smurflings—we can't find them anywhere!"
"We've been looking for nearly half an hour," Handy told him. "See, the Smurflings told me they were going hiking with Smurfette and Hefty—"
"But we never promised them anything like that," Smurfette said, sounding like she was continuing an old argument. "They'd told me they were spending the day with Farmer, helping in the fields!"
Handy nodded.
"Yep. But when I went to ask Farmer if he could spare them for a few hours, he told me they'd already asked to spend the day with me at the dam!"
Hefty scowled.
"Of course they weren't there," he said. "And when we went to tell Brainy, we found his house is a mess, and he's gone too. It's almost as if he's been…smurfnapped!"
Smurfette sobbed.
"Oh, oh, what could have happened to them? I don't think I've ever been so worried! Clumsy, do you have any ideas where they could have gone?"
"Well, uh, no," Clumsy said. "I don't know where they are now. But I can tell you where Brainy used to be."
Handy squinted at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I just left Brainy," Clumsy told them. "Or, uh, actually, he sorta left me.
"See, I'd come over to Brainy's house to show him this great new rock I found for my collection. But when I got there, he wouldn't even talk to me. He was too mad about all that ink spillin'."
"So, he wasn't smurfnapped!" Hefty said. "That's something, at least. Where'd you leave him, Clumsy?"
"Over by the River Smurf," Clumsy said helpfully. "He's just covered with ink. Er, but he won't want to talk to you, Hefty. Or even you, Smurfette."
Smurfette frowned.
"Why not?" she asked. "We didn't do anything to him."
"Uh, yup, but that's what he said," Clumsy told her. "Just before he ran away from me, he said: 'go back to your real friends, Clumsy. Tell Smurfette and Hefty I never want to see any of you again!'"
"Humph! How very unsmurfy!” Smurfette said. “But why would Brainy be mad at us?"
Handy's eyes widened.
"Wait a minute," he said. "I think I'm starting to understand. And if I'm right…"
The normally good-natured Smurf looked uncharacteristically angry.
Hefty frowned, not following.
"If you're right about what?" he demanded. "Smurf it out, already!"
But, Handy shook his head.
"Not yet. Let's go back to Brainy's house. I'll smurf you my idea there."
*******
Brainy's house was in the same chaotic state Clumsy remembered. The door was open and once neat stacks of ink-stained books and papers were scattered everywhere. The desk and overturned chair were splattered with black, and ink covered the floor beneath in slowly drying pools.
Handy didn't go over to the writing desk, though. He headed straight for Brainy's washbowl and pitcher.
"Just as I suspected," he said, poking the rumpled hand towel and the few water-stained spots where the wood of the table was still wet.
"What is?" Smurfette asked curiously as Handy stuck his head out the window, peering down at the ground below.
"Um hm," he said, pulling his head back in and crossing his arms with a frown. "That's got to be it."
"What's got to be it?" Hefty demanded, starting to get frustrated. "Will you just tell us already?"
"Brainy's towel," Handy said. "And the table around the wash basin. They're both wet."
"So?"
"And the dirt under Brainy's window," Handy continued. "It's all scuffed up. Almost as if four sneaky little Smurflings were hiding out down there…waiting for Brainy to take off his glasses."
Hefty's eyes widened as Handy's words clicked.
"Why those little—! They planned this! They must have smurfed in here when Brainy was washing up after breakfast!"
Smurfette looked horrified.
"Oh, no! Oh, surely you don't think the Smurflings smurfed all this!” she exclaimed. “Of all the unsmurfy things to do! And look at all these ruined papers!"
She gingerly peeled a damp page off the floor.
"Why, these must be the pages of Brainy's new book!"
"That's it, then," Handy said. "I think those Smurflings went on that nature hike, but they went alone. They tricked Brainy and lied to all of us so they could smurf away behind our backs. We're going to have to smurf a search party."
Hefty gaped.
"And search the whole forest? Are you off your smurf?"
"Well, what else can we do?" Handy said. "With Papa Smurf gone and Brainy off sulking somewhere, it's up to the rest of us to find the Smurflings before something terrible happens to them."
"Smurf them right if it did," Hefty grumbled.
"Oh, now, Hefty, that's no way to talk," Smurfette scolded. "I think Handy's right. Let's go smurf the others right away!"
Clumsy tilted his head.
"Um, but…" he started, then tried again.
"But, uh, I don't get it. Why would the Smurflings want wreck Brainy's book?"
"Oh, I doubt they did it on purpose, Clumsy," Smurfette said.
"Yeah, they can be sneaky little scamps at times, but I've never known them to be malicious," Handy agreed. "This was probably an accident."
"Accident or not, what matters is the Smurflings lied to us and now they and Brainy are missing," Hefty snapped. "They can't get away with this. We have to find those kids, and now."
"Uh, and what do we do with them when we find them?" Clumsy asked.
Hefty scowled.
"We'll leave that to Papa Smurf when he gets back," he said. "Come on."
To Be Continued...
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RowenaZahnreiCrafts?ref=si_shop
Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Lazy Smurf
blue4ever
Member # 4138
Member Rated:
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posted 12-09-2011 04:53 PM
OH My Smurfness
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HELLO SMURFY WORLD!
(I'm blue4ever)
Posts: 157 | From: smurfs village | Registered: Dec 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-10-2011 04:28 PM
And now...some action! Let the adventure begin!
Part VI
"This is it, Azrael! Father Time's cave."
Gargamel shivered, shielding his eyes from the wind and sand that seemed to swirl around and past the cave's wooden door.
"Ooh! It certainly is chilly."
Azrael glared at him, his back arched and his fur puffed out in nervous agitation.
There was something very strange about this cave. It felt…unnatural.
Azrael shuddered and hunched his way behind his wizard's shoes.
Even Gargamel seemed a little unnerved. He looked down at his cat.
"All right, Azrael, you know what to do," he said, balling up the old burlap potato sack he'd had slung over his shoulder as if it were a knee sock.
"When Father Time opens the door, you act as if you've been hurt. The old fossil will surely come out to help. That's when I'll capture him in this sack. Once he's tied up, he won't be able to stop us from collecting that magic sand for our Time Locket!"
"Mreah."
Azreal nodded, ready for action.
Gargamel made a fist and gave the door a light tap.
There was no sound from inside.
He and Azrael shared a look, then Gargamel knocked again, harder this time.
They waited.
"I don't think he's in, Azrael," the failed wizard said at last. "Shall we…?"
He gestured to the door.
Azrael backed away a few steps, deeply unnerved.
Seeing his cat's fear seemed to turn on Gargamel's stubborn switch. After some grumbling about good for nothing fraidy cats, he reached out a hand and tried the latch.
The heavy door swung open onto darkness.
Gargamel stepped in…and disappeared.
"Mrah!" Azrael cried.
The wind was picking up now, pulling and swirling all around him.
Terrified, Azrael dashed through the doorway after his wizard—
Only to find himself in a warmly lit room crammed from floor to ceiling with clocks.
A tall grandfather clock tocked against the wall while at least two dozen smaller clocks ticked away on a low wooden table. The dirt floor had been recently and conscientiously swept, and everything was neat, tidy, dusted, polished and in its rightful place.
Gargamel hunched over the table, working to pry the flat wooden top off a large hourglass.
"Yipe!" he cried as Azrael streaked past him.
The top of the hourglass popped off and flew across the room.
Gargamel gasped and fumbled the glass, catching it only just in time to keep the sparkling sand inside from spilling all over the floor.
"Useless fool of a cat!" he cried. "Watch where you're going!"
"Mrah!" Azrael snapped back, just relieved to be out of that creepy wind.
He jumped up onto the table to watch what Gargamel was doing.
"We won't need much, Azrael," the wizard said, sticking his fingers into the glass. "Just a pinch or two should be enough for our purposes. Although…"
He looked to his cat, his beady eyes gleaming.
"Consider this, Azrael. Why should I settle for a few mere grains of magic sand when I can possess the hourglass itself? Where's the lid to this thing?"
Pressing the wooden cap back onto the dowels that held it in place, Gargamel tossed Father Time's hourglass into his sack and slung it over his shoulder.
"Well, Azrael, I'd say this was a successful trip. Time to go hom—wait!"
Gargamel rushed across the room and pressed his back against the wall, just out of sight of the open door.
"Did you hear that, Azrael?" he hissed as his curious cat wove his way between his legs. "I thought I heard…"
He paused for a moment, a hand cupped to his ear. His greedy eyes brightened and he smiled.
"Yes! It's Smurfs, Azrael! I'd know those putrid little voices anywhere!"
Azrael tilted his head and pricked his ears, straining to pick up any sound. Sure enough, the high-pitched tones of a Smurfling argument came through loud and clear.
The hungry cat smiled and flexed his claws, ready to pounce the instant the Smurflings crossed the threshold.
*******
Brainy's emotions spun all around and through his head.
He'd been stomping through the forest for at least an hour, not really caring where he was going, and it hadn't helped calm him one bit. His arms still shook, and the ache in his chest felt even worse now that the guilt from losing his temper and yelling at Clumsy had been dumped into the mix.
Brainy had never felt so hurt before, and he didn't know how to deal with it.
When he thought of all the time he'd put in to that book, all the anticipation of finally getting to share something special he'd planned out and researched and created for his fellow Smurfs… He'd been so proud of that work. And now it was all just…just…
Brainy wiped his eyes on his arm.
His earlier books had been something of a plea to his fellow Smurfs, practically screaming: “Respect me! Respect me!”
With this new book, he'd been trying his best to tell them, “I respect you.”
Well, after what Smurfette and Hefty had done, he wasn't so sure that he did respect them anymore. And, perhaps that hurt more than anything else. Just the idea that Smurfette and Hefty, two of his closest and dearest friends, would be so cruel as to play a trick like that…
He couldn't think. Tears kept leaking from his eyes; no matter how many times he wiped them away they just kept falling.
He wished he were small enough to curl up into Papa Smurf's lap and just fall asleep—but at the same time he didn't want Papa Smurf at all. He didn't want to have to run to him to fix his problems, he wanted to handle this hurt himself, like a real grown up Smurf.
But what could he do?
"I don't know what to do!" he yelled at the trees, the rocks, the cliff side above.
"And I don't know how to go back," he added, more quietly.
"I meant what I said to Clumsy. I don't think I could look at anysmurf right now…or ever again even! I'm just so…so angry! Does that mean I'm a terrible Smurf?"
Brainy sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. His hands came away wet and stained with ink. He growled and wiped them on his ink-smeared pants.
"Maybe I am a terrible Smurf," he moped. "Hefty and Smurfette wouldn't have pulled a prank like this on a Smurf they respected...smurfing my glasses, laughing at me stumbling around the room... Nosmurf would. That's probably why the other Smurfs always ignore me and make fun of me and kick me out of the Village. I—I'm just not smurfy enough. Nosmurf respects me, or even likes me. I'm a joke."
He sniffed again, still angry, but now at himself.
"This is the proof. This, right here, what I'm smurfing now. Running away, abandoning my responsibilities in the Village."
He shook his head in disgust.
"They're all better than I am. If one of Handy's inventions breaks down, he doesn't smurf about it. He fixes the problem. If Smurfette's flowers get broken or crushed or dry out in the sun, sure she's upset, but she plants new ones right away. The others don't smurf away when things get tough. They don't yell at their best friends. No, that's me.
“Ooohhh!" he groaned. "Oh, Papa Smurf, I'm glad you're not here to witness this moment! Never in the long history of Smurf has there ever lived a Smurf so petty and immature as I, Brainy Smurf! I'm not fit to bear the Smurf name!"
Sulking and slump-shouldered, the spectacled Smurf climbed up onto a rock and stood overlooking the ridge and the cliffs above. After a long, silent time of blank staring, his puffy eyes began to focus and he gradually realized where he was.
"Wow," he said, "I smurfed farther than I thought. Isn't Father Time's cave somewhere in these cliffs?"
He sighed.
"Now that's a power worth having. Knowledge and control over Time."
Brainy straightened, struck by a sudden thought.
"Hm," he said, "Since I can't smurf back to the Village, I wonder if—whoop, what's that!"
Brainy dove behind his rock just in time to miss being seen as the four Smurflings walked by in a group, their attention fully focused on Snappy's map. Brainy watched them until they'd turned the bend that led to the cliff face. Then he climbed back over the rock to the path.
"I wonder what those four are up to. And with Papa Smurf's map! Papa Smurf will be out with Grandpa until well after dark, so they can't have smurfed his permission."
Brainy frowned.
"Well," he said, "now I guess I'll have to smurf back. But when I do, I'll be smurfing those sneaky map-smurfing Smurflings along with me!"
*******
"Looks like we're just about there," Snappy said uncertainly, looking up at the dark, intimidating opening to Father Time's cave.
He held up the wrinkled map and squinted.
"At least, I think we are."
"Let me see that map, Snappy," Sassette said, poking her head over his shoulder.
"Wallowing walruses—of course this is it! See, look! There's a little sundial carved into the ground here, right into the threshold of the cave—just like the map says!"
"Why is it so dark in there?" Slouchy asked, rubbing the goosebumps the eerily whistling wind had caused to rise on his arms. "Do you think he's home?"
"I don't know," Nat said. "But we've come this far. Shouldn't we at least give it a shot?"
"Oh no you don't!"
The Smurflings turned in alarm.
"Brainy!"
Brainy stepped forward, his arms crossed, his glasses gleaming, and his white clothes splotched with black ink.
"I don't know what you Smurflings are up to, but there's no way you're smurfing in that cave, or anywhere else. You four Smurflings are smurfing back to the Village with me. Right now!"
The Smurflings were still too stunned by his presence to react to his words. They backed themselves into a cluster and started whispering.
"It's Brainy!"
"How did he get here?"
"How should I know, you hickory nut! He must have tracked us from the Village!"
"But how could he track us? We took his glasses!"
"Well, obviously he found them again."
Brainy hesitated, his self-righteous attitude fading as he fell once again into that swirl of painful and conflicting emotions.
"Wait— You? You smurfed my glasses? But-but I thought—"
"Now, Azrael!"
"Brainy, behind you!" Nat cried.
Brainy turned, only to find the cave entrance was now blocked by two all-too-familiar faces.
"Gargamel!" he shrieked. "Quick, Smurflings, run for the trees!"
"Run all you like! You're not getting away!" Gargamel growled, digging into his sack. "Not this time!"
Brandishing Father Time's hourglass, he shouted, "I order you Smurfs to freeze!"
Nothing happened.
The racing Smurfs had almost reached the forest edge; Azrael close on their heels.
"Blast!" Gargamel grunted. "How does this fool thing work? Maybe if I…"
He pried the top off the hourglass and stuck his fingers into the sparkling sand.
As he did, the howling wind picked up, swirling around him in ever tightening whirls. Within moments, four tiny tornadoes had formed by the failed wizard's patched heels. As he watched in alarm, the four tornadoes became three, then two, then one mini storm of dust and rocks and wind, pelting and enveloping both him and the open hourglass.
"Nooo!" Gargamel cried. "No, my sand!"
As the wizard watched, helpless, the tunnel of wind pulled the magic sand into the air. There was a blinding flash, so bright and so powerful it stopped the Smurfs and Azrael in their tracks. The flash was immediately followed by a fierce BANG! The trees quaked, birds screamed, and the cliffs rumbled.
And then, there was only silence.
To Be Continued…
--------------------
"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RowenaZahnreiCrafts?ref=si_shop
Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
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posted 12-10-2011 07:25 PM
i can't wait to find out what happened to them..... :-)
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we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-12-2011 11:41 AM
Guess what--I get to go home for Christmas in just two more days! Yay!!! But there's so much to do before then... I'll probably be able to put up at least another chapter before I go, though. Thanks for reading, and I hope you like this next part!!
Part VII
Papa Smurf dropped another handful of ripe glowberries into his rucksack and glanced over at Grandpa.
The independent old Smurf lay in the grass near the edge of a rocky cliff with his hands tucked under his head, chewing on an oat straw and staring up at the clouds.
"Smurfing a break?" Papa Smurf asked, walking over to join him.
"Nah, I'm done," Grandpa Smurf said, patting the bulging rucksack he'd propped against the tree beside him. "Sack's full to burstin'."
"What, already?"
"Sure."
Grandpa sat up to face the younger Smurf.
"You youngins always have to do things the hard way, checkin' berry after berry, bush after bush. Me, I watch the birds. It's an old trick. If you want to find the ripest berries, smurf the birds, and they'll smurf you straight to the best bushes!"
Papa Smurf frowned.
"Well, you could have said something sooner," he said.
"Why?" Grandpa asked, stretching his arms out behind him as he lay back down in the cool grass.
"I know you responsible types. Sooner you finished, the sooner you'd want to smurf back. An' I'd miss out on a lazy afternoon in the sun."
Papa Smurf shot him a look, but then he smiled and leaned his back against the rough bark of the tree, looking out over the cliff side to the leafy treetops spread out below. He could see practically the whole forest from up there, from the barren hills to the lush meadows to the curving path the River Smurf cut through the trees.
"This is a smurfy spot, isn't it," he said. "I wouldn't object to a few lazy hours just—"
A bright flash burst out from the forest's edge, followed closely by a deafening BANG!
Papa Smurf stopped in mid thought and jumped to his feet.
"Grandpa! Did you see—"
"Yes, I saw it, Papa," the old Smurf said, standing beside him. "That wasn't any natural flash. There was some powerful magic behind it."
"It came from the direction of Father Time's cave," Papa Smurf said, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder. "He might be in trouble."
"An' you think we can help? A couple o' tiny Smurfs like us?"
"Father Time is an old friend," Papa Smurf said. "If there is something wrong, even if there's nothing we can do for him ourselves, we can at least alert someone who can help. Let's go!"
"I knew it would come to this," Grandpa griped as he hefted his own sack. "That's the trouble travelin' around with you responsible types – you've always gotta 'get involved,' even if it ain't no Smurf's business. But you're right, Papa. If the old man is in trouble, we've got to lend what aid we can."
*******
Hefty, Smurfette, Handy and Clumsy were walking along the banks of the River Smurf, calling out Brainy's name and the names of the Smurflings, when they were nearly blinded by a strange, white flash. Barely an instant later, their ears were assaulted by a deep, resounding BANG!
"Oooh, oww! My ears!" Smurfette said. "What was that?"
"Whatever it was, it was pretty close," Handy said, blinking the spots from his eyes.
"Uh, do you think it could have been Brainy?" Clumsy asked nervously.
Hefty scowled, trying to rub the ringing from his ears with the palms of his hands.
"I don't know what it was," he growled. "But I think we should smurf it out. A big bang like that, someone might be in trouble!"
The four Smurfs ran along the river, past tree after tree, until they reached the rocky edge of the forest.
Hefty brought a finger to his lips and led the group behind a large, lichen-crusted boulder. From there, the Smurfs were able to peer out at the sandy clearing beyond without being seen.
"Um, there's no one there," Clumsy said, and climbed up onto the top of the boulder before the others could stop him.
"Oh no, wait, yes there is! And look—they're Smurfs! I didn't see 'em before 'cause they're all asleep."
"Asleep?" Hefty said, walking around the boulder to get a better look.
"Hey, Clumsy's right. There are Smurfs out there. Five of them."
"But, who are they?" Smurfette asked, looking a little nervous. "I don't recognize any of them. And just smurf at their clothes! Those strange shoes, and those peculiar cloaks and neckties. Why, they hardly look like Smurfs at all dressed like that! "
"And who's that back there?" Handy asked, pointing out past the edge of the trees where another unconscious form lay sprawled in the sand.
"That's no Smurf. In fact, I'd say it looks like—"
"Gargamel!" Smurfette gasped.
"Oooooowwwww…"
One of the unfamiliar Smurfs nearest the forest started to stir.
Acting on instinct, Clumsy, Smurfette, Handy, and Hefty dove back behind the boulder.
"Oh, my aching head. What— Where am I?"
The strange Smurf sat up and looked around, adjusting his thin spectacles on his nose.
He was a middle aged Smurf, with a trim red beard that was just beginning to silver. He, like the others, was dressed strangely, in a style the Smurfs had never seen before.
As he climbed to his feet, the four other Smurfs began to wake up, moaning and holding their heads.
"Ow," one of the younger Smurfs groaned, his battered brown hat slipping over his eyes.
Catching sight of the bearded Smurf, he stood up in surprise, his posture slightly stooped, and began barraging him with questions.
"Professor? What are you doing here? Where are we? What happened?"
"I don't know," the older Smurf said irritably, rubbing a sore spot on his hip.
"But wherever we are, I'm pretty sure some Smurfs have been here recently. See all the tracks in the sand? And there's that smell…"
He sniffed the air.
"Sharp and electric, like lightening. I wouldn't be surprised if there was magic behind this."
Another of the Smurfs, a Smurfette with a long red braid, spoke up.
"If it was magic that brought us here, we might find some answers over there."
She pointed toward the unconscious Gargamel.
"I'll wager that human has something to do with how we got here."
"Possible," the spectacled professor said. "Strange that he would be unconscious too, though."
He frowned thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the stranger.
"All right, let's go ask him. Do you all have your Guises with you?"
"Guises?" Handy mouthed to the other hidden Smurfs, crouching behind the boulder.
They shrugged and turned back to the strange Smurfs just in time to see them push up the arms of their cloaks, revealing colored bands around their wrists.
"Yeah," the Smurfette said. "They look OK."
"But will they work?" the slouching Smurf asked.
"Let's find out," said the clean-cut Smurf beside him.
Although he looked neater and stood straighter than his friend, there was a distinct hint of mischief in his expression that made the hidden Smurfs a little uneasy.
"What do you think they're up to?" Hefty asked, only to be cut off when Handy said:
"Shh! Look!"
As the four hidden Smurfs watched in slack-jawed amazement, the strangers began to change, growing and morphing until each had changed their form completely. Now, instead of five oddly dressed Smurfs, five oddly dressed humans stood in their place—humans who were still wearing those colored wrist bands.
As soon as they were satisfied the colored bands had done their job, the disguised group strode over to the unconscious man.
"Wait, Professor," one of the disguised Smurfs said. He appeared to be a tall man with light blond hair. "Is it just me, or does this man look kind of familiar?"
The red-haired woman approached the wizard, but when she bent down to see his face, she gasped.
"No. No, I don't believe it! Is that Gargamel?" she exclaimed.
"Gargamel?"
The professor frowned.
"But if he's here…"
The bearded man charged over to the unconscious wizard and crouched by his side.
"Something isn't right. Look at his clothes! If we've gone back in time, he should be wearing those black rags of his. But look here—does this suit look Victorian to you?"
The slouching man with the battered brown hat and a mop of shaggy brown hair frowned down at the unconscious wizard.
"Yeah. Pretty well-off Victorian too," he said in his slow, deep voice. "He's even got a gold pocket watch."
The blond man shook his head.
"I don't get it," he said. "Why are we here? I mean, why us five in particular? And what is this monster from our childhood doing dressed up like a 19th century gentleman? Where exactly are we, anyway?"
"Hey, guys, come look at this!"
The fourth man poked his head out of the nearby cave entrance.
His hair was short, brown, and spiky, and he had a clipped, snappy way of speaking.
"I think we landed next to Father Time's cave. But there's no sign of Father Time!"
The hidden Smurfs shared a surprised look.
These five strangers knew Gargamel and Father Time! But just who in Smurfdom were they?
The professor ran a thoughtful hand over his beard.
"All right," he said, "it's time for some answers. Gargamel! Gargamel, wake up!"
The well-dressed wizard mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over.
The professor knelt down and shook him.
"Gargamel!" he insisted.
The wizard woke with a snort and sat up.
"What—who-! Get off me!" he exclaimed. "Just who do you think you are, waking a man up at this time of ni—ni—night?"
Gargamel's angry tirade faded into a nervous squeak as he gradually noticed where he was.
"This isn't my bedroom! This isn't my house! Where am I?"
"What did you do, Gargamel?" the professor demanded. "Tell me what's going on."
"How should I know?" the balding wizard snapped. "You're the ones who dragged me here!"
"Us?" said the slouching man with the messy hair. "We had nothing to do with this! We woke up here too!"
Gargamel seemed to deflate a little at that.
"Then what-?"
"Uh, guys," the spiky-haired man called out again from the cave. "You really should get in here. There's a clock in here that's started glowing."
The professor and his friends gave Gargamel a withering glare, then turned and walked into the cave.
After a moment, Gargamel followed them.
The hidden Smurfs shared a look.
"Should we go too?" Handy asked.
"I'll go," Hefty volunteered. "You Smurfs stay here and keep a look out."
"But—" Smurfette started, then nodded. "All right. But be careful, Hefty."
"I will," the muscular Smurf said, and dashed as quickly as he could from the boulder to the cave.
*******
Inside, Father Time's largest grandfather clock flashed and flickered with a strange, golden light.
The six tall humans were so busy watching it, none of them noticed little Hefty climb up onto the table and inch his way behind one of Father Time's many clocks.
There was a loud crackle, and the light around the grandfather clock began to swirl and coalesce until it had taken the vague, blurry form of a thin, balding old man with a long, white beard. He seemed pale and exhausted, but his eyes were bright with concentration.
"Smurfs…"
The old man's voice sounded incredibly distant. Even Hefty had to strain to hear.
"It's Father Time!" the professor exclaimed. "Father Time, can you hear me? Where are you?"
"Smurfs, help me…" the old man said. "I'm being… as a prisoner… Gargamel… apparently he has…"
His voice faded out but his image remained, his mouth moving like he was still speaking.
"What was that?" the professor asked. "Father Time, we can't hear you!"
"…the Sand of Probability," they heard him say as the sound returned. "He must have mistaken that hourglass for the one I carry with me, the one in which the Sand of Time is kept. The sand he stole has the power of wish fulfillment. It can take the bearer to a probable future—to the life he wishes he had. If you can hear this message, Smurfs, please, you must set me free. Unless I can repair the damage he's done….."
The image in the mirror blurred, faded, and disappeared.
All eyes turned to Gargamel.
The stooped little man cringed and backed toward the wall.
"Don't look at me! I'm innocent! Why, I don't even know who that man is! Let alone any of you!"
The professor sighed and stroked his beard.
"The Sand of Probability," he said thoughtfully. "Wish fulfillment… That could just explain it. If we were swapped in time with our former selves…"
The man with the spiky hair frowned.
"Swapped in- Wait," he said. "Does that mean there could be some little kid version of me wandering around the university right now? Because if we've been transported back to Gargamel's time, we'd all be Smurflings. Well, except for you, Brainy."
He nodded to the professor.
"You were older."
The professor smiled.
"Not that much older," he said.
Hefty nearly fell off the table.
"Brainy? Oops!"
The muscular Smurf slapped a hand over his mouth, but he was too late.
"What was that?" the red-haired woman asked, glancing over at the table.
Hefty held his breath, keeping as still as he could.
"Sounds like somesmurf's hiding in here," the blond man said. "Somesmurf who knows Brainy."
"Well, he's not likely to come out as long as we look like this," the professor said. "Slouchy, Snappy, you watch Gargamel while I drop this Guise for our friend."
The messy-haired man and the spiky-haired man nodded and each took hold of one of Gargamel's arms.
"Hey," the wizard protested. "Watch the suit!"
"Why should we?" Snappy snapped back. "If what Father Time said is true, it sounds like this whole mess is your fault! And if we find out you're the one holding Father Time prisoner—"
"It isn't me, I swear it!" the little man said. "It must be my alternate, the…the Gargamel who stole that sand and swapped us all! I'm as much a victim here as you! Honest! Please, what reason would I have to lie?"
"What reason wouldn't you have?" Snappy retorted.
The professor held up his hands.
"All right, Smurfs, that's enough. We can question Gargamel later. For now I suggest—"
Gargamel elbowed Snappy in the stomach and burst out of his captors' grip.
Nat and Sassette grabbed at the wizard's expensive coat, but he wriggled free and dashed for the door.
"Stop him!" Snappy gasped, rubbing his bruised stomach. "He's getting away!"
"Correction," said Slouchy, leaning out the cave entrance. "He got away. Oh, and hey, what's this!"
The slouching man in the battered hat crouched down and smiled kindly at something outside the cave. The others gathered around him as he said, "Hey, there. You Smurfs don't have to hide from us. Who's back there anyway?"
The bearded man gasped, then grinned as two small, blue heads peaked out from behind a rock.
"Papa Smurf! Grandpa!" he exclaimed happily. "We really have smurfed back in time!"
"Hey, you leave them alone!" came another small voice.
The group looked up to see Smurfette, Handy, and Clumsy running their way from the direction of the forest, even as Hefty strode out of the cave behind them, leaving the five strangers surrounded.
"Yeah," Hefty said gruffly. "Just who are you people? There's no way I'll believe that you," he glared at the bearded man, "are really Brainy Smurf."
"What?" the other Smurfs gasped.
The five strangers shared a long look. Then the professor said, "Why don't you Smurfs come inside and sit down. This might be a long story."
To Be Continued…
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
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Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
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posted 12-12-2011 11:58 AM
ooooo i love the guises! very nice.
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we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-13-2011 10:33 AM
Thanks very much! I came up with the Guises because, for this story, I needed something safer, more convenient, and more reliable than the transfiguration spell in "Smurfette's Decision." The Guises are sort of a blend of technology and magic...but I'll let Handy explain all that later on.
Hope you like this next chapter!!
Part VIII
Eleven Smurfs sat around an overturned clock on Father Time's cluttered table: six clustered together on one side, five on the other. They had been talking for several minutes and the shadows were starting to grow long outside the cave.
Hefty crossed his arms and glared at the bearded blue impostor pretending to be Brainy Smurf.
"So, you really expect us to believe that you five Smurfs are from more than three hundred fifty years in the future?" he said. "That would make you almost the same age as Papa Smurf!"
"Well... Not quite," the spectacled Smurf said, shooting a quick glance at his mentor.
"Look, I can't force you to believe me. But it is true. We are the Smurfs we claim to be. Nat, Slouchy, Snappy, Sassette and I all grew up in Smurf Village. But as the years went on and human civilization progressed, we Smurfs found that the only way to keep our community and our Village intact was to adapt to the times."
"So, you made these…what did you call them? Guises?" Papa Smurf said with a frown, staring warily at the colorful bands on the strangers' wrists.
"To help us blend in," Sassette said. "And still keep our Village a secret."
"But why humans?" Grandpa demanded. "Great Smurfs, if you youngin's had to disguise yourselves at all, why couldn't you have chosen somethin' a little more smurfy? Like squirrels or…or chipmunks even? Takin' human form's just askin' for trouble. Not that I have anything against 'em, mind. Some of my best friends have been humans. But you can take it from an old Smurf: no matter how careful you are about it, livin' in the human world you're bound to pick up bad human habits. And that's not what we Smurfs are about."
"It was a risk," Slouchy said grumpily. "And it hasn't been easy. But we didn't have much choice. Our forest was sold off to developers. For a while, it looked like we'd have to abandon our homes and scatter, just to stay alive. But then, Brainy and Handy had an idea."
"And what idea was that?" asked Smurfette with a glance to Handy, who seemed a little uncomfortable.
"They decided to buy the land back," Nat said. "See, the humans who 'owned' it didn't value the land itself, only the money they thought it could bring them. So, the whole Village began to work together to earn money we could trade in return for our forest."
"And when that took too long, we even called on a few friendly kings for help," Snappy added.
"Back then there were a lot of human wars going on around this area. The old-style kingdoms were becoming constitutional monarchies and kings were losing a lot of their power to elected parliaments and things. But our friends did what they could for us and in the end the forest and all the land around it, from these hills all the way to the River Smurf, was legally ours. But to make sure no one ever challenged our claim, or found out that it was really us Smurfs who 'owned' the land, King Theodore III suggested we build something here. Something that would benefit us Smurfs and the humans from the nearby city too."
"So, ol' Theo gave us a charter and enough money to fill a barn and we began work on our university," Sassette said. "We wanted it to be a place where humans could learn to value the forest just for being a forest. And now, it's become one of the top-ranked universities in Belgium!"
"Belgium?" Clumsy asked. "Uh, what's that?"
"It's here, where we are," Snappy told him. "At least it's what the humans will call this place in about two hundred years or so. I think it got its official independence in 1839. What was that, Slouch, the Treaty of London?"
Slouchy shrugged, hiding a yawn behind his hand.
"How should I know? History's your thing. I teach music."
Grandpa grunted.
"Human history. Human politics. Human money. And now you young whippersmurfers are smurfin' around disguised as humans."
He shook his head.
"Some future. Sounds to me like with all your human finagling, you've all lost sight of what it is to be a Smurf!"
"I don't see it that way," the Professor retorted, repositioning his glasses on his nose.
"You spoke of humanity's bad habits. Some of the worst of these are greed, violence, exploitation. Through our university, we can address those problems directly and help our human students learn to overcome them. This has not made us human, Grandpa. Quite the contrary, we have been teaching them to be more like Smurfs."
Sassette, Slouchy, Snappy, Nat, and Clumsy broke into a round of applause.
"Here here!"
Brainy sat back and stroked his beard with a small smile.
Grandpa just crossed his arms.
"Humph."
Papa Smurf shifted his legs, trying to find a more comfortable position beside the clock.
"Uh, Br- That is, Professor," he said, still struggling to equate this bearded Smurf with the Brainy he knew.
"Yes, Papa Smurf?"
"May I see your Guise?"
The temporally displaced Smurfs shared a glance, then shrugged.
"Well, I don't think there'd be any harm in that," the Professor said. "After all, the technology needed to make these things won't be available for several hundred years. Here."
He undid the buckle and reached across the clockface so Papa Smurf could take it.
A gasp rang out from the gathered Smurfs.
"What? What is it?" Papa Smurf asked, clutching the Guise in his hand.
"Papa Smurf! You look just like the Professor!" Handy exclaimed. "Wow, glasses and all! And you, Professor! You look just like—just like—"
"Just like Brainy…" Hefty gasped, his eyes as round as two robin eggs.
"Huh?"
The Professor raised his hands to his suddenly smooth face, touching his chin and his thick black glasses.
"Hey, what's happened to my beard? And what's this on my clothes? Black ink?"
"Of course!" said Handy. "Papa Smurf, put down that Guise."
Papa Smurf put the little band on the clock in front of him and was instantly back to normal.
Handy poked it a few times with his finger, causing his image to flicker from the Professor to Handy, the Professor to Handy, until Sassette started to giggle. It was a nervous giggle, more frightened than amused.
"Oh no. Oh no. Oh, babbling beavers I don't believe it."
Quickly, she undid the buckle of her own Guise and placed it on the table.
As soon as the colorful band left her hand, the air around her shimmered.
Instead of an attractive Smurfette with a sensible braid, the group saw a tiny Smurfling with red pigtails and pink overalls.
"Don't you see?" the little Smurfling piped. "Our Guises must have reset to default when we were transported here! All this time, they've been disguising us to look and sound like ourselves when, really, we've looked like this!"
"No way," Slouchy said, and unbuckled his own Guise.
Instantly, the messy-haired musician in the futuristic-looking clothing was replaced by a slouching Smurfling in a red shirt and a floppy white cap.
Snappy groaned and held the wrist with the Guise on it to his chest.
"Oh no, not again!" he said. "I don't want to have to grow up a third time! Two childhoods was more than enough for this Smurf."
"I agree," said Nat, taking off his own Guise. "But I guess this answers our question about our counterparts in the future," his little Smurfling-voice peeped from under his large straw hat. "If we look like our past selves here, they must look like us back home!"
Snappy looked horrified.
"So, they're not just trapped in our time. They look like us too?"
"There's a disturbing thought," Brainy said. "But it brings up another question. If we truly have swapped bodies with our former selves, why do we still have our Guises? And why was Gargamel dressed so strangely?"
He paused and cleared his throat.
"Great Smurfs, Hefty was right! My voice really did sound whiny!"
"This is too much," Hefty said, rising to his feet. "Papa Smurf, what are we supposed to make of these Smurfs? I mean, do we believe them or is this all some kind of bizarre trick?"
"I wish it were a trick," Snappy grumbled, still refusing to unbuckle his Guise. "No way I'm going to be a Smurfling again."
Papa Smurf looked at Grandpa, then around the table at all the nervous, frightened Smurfs, and sighed.
"I'll admit this is a lot to take in," he said. "But I for one believe their story. For several reasons," he added firmly before Hefty could protest. "The main reason being that message from Father Time—the message you yourself told me about, Hefty. If Father Time is right and Gargamel has tampered with the Sands of Probability, it would explain just about all of this. Anyone who was touched by that sand – in this case Gargamel, the Smurflings, and Brainy – would have been smurfed to the life they wish they had. And, as we've seen, this is precisely what has happened. Gargamel apparently has become a wealthy man, Brainy has become a wise and respected leader and you, my young Smurflings, have gained your independence."
"OK, fine," Snappy said. "But we want that independence back! Don't you have any idea how we can smurf back home to our own time? To our own lives?"
Papa Smurf sighed.
"That will be difficult," he said, and turned to Hefty.
"You said Father Time was being held by Gargamel?"
"That's what it sounded like, Papa Smurf," the muscular Smurf said. "But Gargamel's somewhere in the future."
"No," Brainy said. "He's here too! And if he's been displaced from his own time, as we have, I'll bet he'd be willing to do practically anything to regain his own life. Even help us track down his counterpart in the future!"
"Then we could free Father Time and fix this mess!" Sassette cheered. "Oh, what are we waiting for! Let's go find Pappy Gargamel!"
Snappy scowled.
"Good grief. Bad enough you look like a Smurfling. Do you have to act like one too?"
Sassette stuck out her tongue, then fastened her Guise back around her wrist. Appearing to be an adult again, she shot him a superior look and said, "Sourpuss. Happy now?"
"I won't be happy until we're all back at the university where we belong."
Papa Smurf nodded and glanced at the darkness beyond the cave door.
"Well, I'm afraid it's too late to do anything more tonight," he said. "As it is, it'll be past midnight by the time we make it back to the Village. I suggest you Smurfs spend the night in the Village with us and in the morning we'll see about smurfing an expedition to Gargamel's."
Snappy looked like he was about to protest, but Brainy shot him a look.
Grabbing his guise, the Professor stood up, prompting the other Smurfs to get to their feet as well.
"Thank you, Papa Smurf," he said. "I know how difficult this must be for you, trying to make us feel welcome here while your own little Smurfs are trapped in our time. But, if it really was their wish to try our lives on for size, perhaps this experience won't be such a bad thing."
"What do you mean?" Handy asked.
The Professor smirked.
"I mean that being responsible for running a university and a Village isn't always what it's cracked up to be. And neither is middle-age."
He laughed and began to climb down the table leg to the floor.
"My smurfness, I haven't felt this agile in years. Last one to the Village is a rotten smurfberry!"
To Be Continued…
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
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Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Lazy Smurf
blue4ever
Member # 4138
Member Rated:
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posted 12-17-2011 04:38 PM
i cant wait till the next chapter
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HELLO SMURFY WORLD!
(I'm blue4ever)
Posts: 157 | From: smurfs village | Registered: Dec 2011
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Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
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posted 12-17-2011 04:54 PM
Smurftastic work, Rowena. i love those guises even more now. it's very exciting, but also a little sad.
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we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-18-2011 08:19 AM
Thank you!!!
I made it home for Christmas, so hopefully I'll be able to go back to more regular posts now. I really want to be able to finish this story before Christmas (there are only a few chapters I still need to write), but it seems things are going to get busy with baking cookies and family parties and stuff, so we'll see how it goes. LOL! Thanks again for reading! I really enjoy sharing my stories with you! ![[Santa Smurf]](graemlins/santa.gif)
And now, here's:
Part IX
"Brainy? Uh, Brainy, are you all right?"
It was Clumsy's voice. At least, it was a voice that talked the way that Clumsy did.
Brainy lifted heavy eyelids and sat up slowly, feeling stiff and tired and achy all over. Had he fallen asleep at his writing desk? His head was pounding, making it hard to remember…
"Oh good! You're awake!" Clumsy's strangely deep, resonant voice boomed near his ear. "But, uh, where's your Guise?"
"Where's my what? Clumsy, what are you…"
He trailed off, focusing on the speaker's face for the first time. Only, he didn't see Clumsy's familiar blue features. He didn't see Clumsy Smurf at all. Instead, a tall human hovered over him dressed in dusty work clothes the likes of which Brainy had never seen, his large blue eyes worried under his shaggy mop of silvering hair.
"YIIIPE!" Brainy squeaked, diving behind a stack of ponderous looking books.
"Uh, gee, what's the matter?" the strange man asked, looking alarmed himself. "Brainy, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
"H-How do you know my name?" Brainy demanded, peering nervously over a book's shiny cover. "Who are you? Did you bring me here?"
The rumpled man looked really worried now. "Gosh, Brainy, don't you know me? Oh no, I don't like this. No, not one bit."
Before Brainy could react, the man reached for him.
Brainy leaped away from his huge hands, but the man cut him off with a quick chopping motion and grabbed him by the tweed jacket.
"Gotcha!" the man said proudly.
Brainy kicked and wriggled and squirmed for all he was worth, noticing for the first time the brown trousers and polished shoes that had somehow replaced his usual white Smurf clothes.
"Let go of me!" he exclaimed, worried that even his voice sounded strange to his ears. "What in Smurfdom is going on? And what, what, am I wearing?"
"Don't you worry, Professor," the strange man said, lowering the tiny Smurf carefully onto his palm. "I'm gonna take you straight to Handy. He'll know what to do."
"Professor? Handy? What—?"
Brainy would have asked more, but the man tripped himself up on a chair leg and nearly crushed the disoriented Smurf in his attempt to stop his fall.
"YOW! Hey, watch where you're smurfing!"
"Uh, sorry," the man said sheepishly. "Uh, are you OK, Brainy?"
"No, I am not OK!" Brainy exclaimed. "I want to know where I am and what I'm doing here. And I don't want to get flattened by some clumsy great human!"
"But gee, Brainy, I'm not a human," the man said. "I'm a Smurf like you!"
Brainy stared, not quite comprehending.
"What?"
"Well, you see," he started, then seemed to think better of it. "Nope, nope, I'd better let Handy do the explaining," he said. "Now you just hold tight and try not to talk. We don't what the students to see you like this, now do we?"
"Students—?" Brainy started, but the tall man was already on his way, squeezing down crowded corridors with the terrified Smurf cupped carefully in his hands.
*******
Nat Smurfling woke to a shrill, piercing scream.
He was up and out the door so fast, he'd nearly made it to the Village center before he realized he didn't recognize anything…or anyone…around him.
The Village he knew was a small community of individual mushroom houses, most with only one or two rooms.
The buildings Nat saw now were tall, multi-story structures, many joined together in long rows with shops at street level and residences above. The roofs and awnings still had a mushroom look, but the streets that branched off from the central square were paved with cobblestones and lined on both sides with broad, brick sidewalks. Nat had never seen anything like it.
Nat was so lost in disoriented wonder he walked straight into a Smurf who was running from the opposite direction.
"Oof!" the middle-aged stranger exclaimed. "Oh, Nat! So you heard that scream too?"
Nat still felt lost, but the strange Smurf's question jogged his brain back into something close to working order.
"Uh, yeah… Yeah, I did," he said, and coughed a little. His voice sounded peculiar. "Do you know who it was?"
"It sounded like Sassette," the strange Smurf said worriedly. "Come on, let's smurf if she's all right."
Nat nodded and followed the older Smurf up a long street to one of the taller buildings. He saw that a large crowd of concerned Smurfs had gathered there.
Nat's companion walked up to the nearest group.
"What happened?" he asked them. "Is Sassette OK?"
"We're not sure yet," one of them answered. "Smurfette, Dreamy, and Vanity are in there with her now."
"Nat! Hey, Nat!"
Nat turned at the unfamiliar voice, scanning the crowd.
A blue hand shot up from the far side and Nat started making his way toward it.
The hand belonged to yet another unfamiliar Smurf, this one a little younger than the Smurf he'd bumped into but still older than most of the grown-up Smurfs he knew.
Nat stopped short, cold panic slowly rising inside him.
Who were these Smurfs? How did they know his name? Where was he, anyway?
"Nat, thank Smurfness you're here too!" the Smurf said. "I was so scared I was all alone!"
Nat backed away as the Smurf approached him.
The Smurf's relieved smile fell.
"Come on, Nat, don't do this to me. You've gotta know who I am. You just gotta!"
"I don't!" Nat exclaimed in his strange-sounding voice. "I don't know anysmurf here!"
"Well, I know you. I'd know you anywhere in that ratty straw hat of yours," the Smurf said. "Even if you are a grown-up."
Nat felt a jolt go through him at that. He looked down at himself, then back at the other Smurf, who was wearing a very familiar scowl. He blinked, then stared in disbelief.
"Snappy?" he asked in a weak voice. "Snappy, is…is that you? What's happened to you? To both of us?"
"What do you think?" Snappy snapped. "We've been smurfed to the future, that's what's happened to us. Gargamel must have done it with that hourglass he stole from Father Time's cave."
Nat stepped back, his muddled mind slowly coming back into focus.
"Yeah, I remember that!" he said. "He and Azrael were chasing us…there was this powerful wind and then…then…"
"Then we woke up here," a deep, sluggish voice broke in.
Snappy and Nat looked up in surprise to see a tall, slouching Smurf approach them, his hands in the pockets of his baggy trousers.
"Bet that's why Sassette screamed," he said. "If we three look like this…"
"Right," Snappy nodded. "She'd be grown-up too."
"Oh, poor Sassette," Nat said, his nervous eyes darting from one transformed friend to the other. "She's probably terrified. We should go in there. It might help if she knew we were here too."
"You think they'd let us?" Slouchy asked, looking out at the crowd.
"What reason would they have to stop us?" Snappy asked. "It's not like we're Smurflings."
"Hey, yeah," Slouchy said, a slow grin spreading across his face. "We're equals now. Grown-ups like them!"
"Yeah," Snappy said, returning his grin. "And grown-up Smurfs don't get bossed around and told what to do like Smurflings. They can smurf whatever they like. Come on, let's go inside."
Snappy and Slouchy moved through the crowd with smug confidence, but Nat still felt uncertain.
None of this seemed real to him. It was more like a dream, a nightmare that could snap to an end at any moment.
*******
The sound of soft sobs quieted Slouchy and Snappy as they entered the building and climbed the stairs.
Sassette's door stood open.
The three Smurfs peered into the neat little room beyond, feeling much more like spying Smurflings than any of them wanted to admit.
Smurfette and Vanity were in there, looking familiar and strange at the same time.
Vanity had aged well, maturing into a dapper, elegant Smurf in a dove-gray suit with a silver-topped walking stick polished to a highly reflective sheen.
Smurfette looked as lovely as ever, only now her golden hair was streaked with gray and piled into a loose bun. Free wisps of hair fell over the shoulders of her long rose-pink dress.
She was the first one to notice the three Smurfs in the doorway.
"Oh Nat, Snappy, Slouchy!" she exclaimed, rushing to welcome them in. "I am glad you're here. You three have always been close to Sassette. Maybe she'll talk to you. She hasn't smurfed more than three words to us."
"Where is she?" Nat asked.
"In her room," Vanity said. "Dreamy's been trying to find out what's wrong, but he hasn't smurfed much luck so far."
He rapped his cane against a half-open white door.
"Sassette?" he called. "Three friends have come to see you."
Dreamy stepped out of the room, his large eyes deep with worry.
"Oh, thank Smurfness it's you three," he said when he saw them. "I was just thinking of smurfing for you. Come in, come in!"
Nat, Slouchy, and Snappy shared a look, then shuffled after him.
Sassette sat on her bed with her back to them, her red hair tied back in a single tight braid that fell to her waist. Like most of the Smurfs they'd seen in this future Village, Sassette was dressed strangely, wearing a fitted plaid shirt and denim trousers.
"Sassette?" Nat said gently. "Sassette, it's us. Are you OK?"
Sassette shivered a little and turned to face them. Her eyes widened and she shot to her feet.
"Nat? Snappy? Slouchy? Are—are you…?" she stammered.
"Yeah, it's us, Sassette," Slouchy said. "Really us."
Snappy couldn't seem to stop staring.
Sassette flushed and glared at him.
"What are you smurfing at?" she said.
Snappy swallowed and straightened.
"Uh, nothing."
"It better be nothing! Babbling beavers, what kind of crazy dream am I smurfing?"
"It's not a dream, Sassette," Nat said. "I thought it was too, at first. But…"
He glanced over at Dreamy, Vanity, and Smurfette, who were watching them curiously.
"Um, would you mind if we smurfed to Sassette alone for a few minutes?" he asked.
"Can't you four just tell us what's smurfing on without all the silly coded secrecy?" Vanity asked petulantly. "Honestly, I thought your little 'Smurfling club' broke up years ago."
"It's nothing important, really," Snappy said, putting his hand on the door. "Everything's fine, and you can smurf that to the others outside."
The three older Smurfs looked a little annoyed at this obvious dismissal, but they gave in.
Snappy closed the bedroom door behind them, then turned a sly smirk to Sassette.
"Well?" he said, holding his arms out and turning full circle. "What do you think?"
"What do I think of what?" she asked grumpily.
"Sassette, don't you get it?" he said. "We're grown-ups! Grown-ups!"
"Yeah? And what's so great about that?" she retorted. "We still don't have the answers we were looking for at Father Time's cave. And just look at me! I feel so…so…"
She growled and threw herself onto the bed.
"I'm not ready for this," she mumbled into the quilt. "I want to be me again."
"What, an awkward little Smurfling?" Snappy said. "Why? Sassette, you're beautiful!"
"Well, maybe I don't want to be beautiful," she mumbled. "Maybe I like being an awkward little Smurfling. At least then no Smurf looks at me like…like you! Smurf it off, Snappy!"
She threw a pillow at him, which he deflected. He did avert his eyes, though.
"Sorry," he said. "I don't mean to, honest. But…but just consider the possibilities! We're free now. No Smurf can tell us what to do!"
"I guess," Sassette said mulishly, pulling herself up into a mopey hunch. "But how did we get here, like this? Last thing I remember, we were running away from Azrael."
"Snappy thinks it was Gargamel," Nat said. "He stole something from Father Time's cave. Some sort of hourglass that sent us all to the future."
"Great," Sassette grunted. "So is he here too, then? And what about Brainy?"
Snappy's expression fell.
"See?" Sassette said. "We're not so free after all. We've got all sorts of problems. And with everyone here thinking we're grown-ups, there's no one we can tell, no one we can smurf to for help! They'll be sure to think we're crazy if we do."
"We don't need their help anyway," Snappy said.
Nat was about to protest when a knock came on the door and Vanity poked his head into the room.
"If you four are done chatting," he said in his haughtiest voice, "the rest of us have to smurf to work. And, unless I'm mistaken, all four of you have classes to teach today. Do you need a lift to the University?"
Sassette, Nat, and Slouchy looked completely lost, but Snappy slipped quickly into a mask of cocky confidence.
"Sure," he said. "we could smurf a lift."
"Will you be coming too?" Sassette asked.
Vanity gave her a suspicious look.
"I wouldn't have offered to drive you if I wasn't," he said. "Are you sure you're all right, Sassette?"
"She's fine," Snappy said, grabbing her hand and hefting her to her feet.
She pushed him away with a glare.
"Don't do that," she said, and turned to Vanity.
"I'm starting to feel better," she told him. "It was a nightmare, that was all. A bad one. It really shook me up. I'm sorry if I made you worry."
Vanity looked enlightened.
"Well, as long as you're feeling better," he said. "I'll wait for you outside. Do you all have your Guises?"
He gestured to a colored band on his wrist.
"Uh…" Sassette said, looking around the room.
"We lost them," Snappy broke in.
Vanity wrinkled his nose.
"All four of you?"
They shrugged.
"But that's impossible!" the middle-aged Smurf exclaimed. "By all that's Smurfy, you Smurfs are supposed to be adults! How could you possibly-"
He cut himself off in mid-tirade and took a deep, calming breath.
"Fine. Fine. Getting angry over this will only lead to wrinkles. I'll drop you off at Handy's office and you can explain to him how four supposedly mature, intelligent Smurfs managed to misplace four Guises all at once. I'm late enough as it is, thanks to this morning's rigmarole. I just hope you all snap out of whatever strange humor you've smurfed into before we get to the University. This peculiar behavior isn't like you at all. Any of you."
When they didn't reply, he sighed, and his expression softened.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get smurfing before you make me miss my first class all together."
To Be Continued...
![[Sassette Smurfling]](graemlins/Sassette.gif)
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
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Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
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posted 12-18-2011 08:33 AM
i <3 Sassette's reaction to what's happening. she's so adorable.
i'm glad you got to go home for Christmas.
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we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-19-2011 12:23 PM
Thanks! Me too!
Part X
Handy's 'office' was really an enormous engineering laboratory located in the basement of one of the university's many picturesque stone buildings.
Brainy stared around in open amazement as the tall man with Clumsy's voice carried him past shelf after shelf of intricate architectural models on his way toward a small computer station at the back of the room.
"Wow, what is all this?" Brainy asked. "All these bridges and buildings and what is that?"
He pointed excitedly toward a half-constructed robot.
"A clockwork man? And what are those things hanging from the ceiling?"
He gestured to a cluster of aircraft models.
"I've never seen anything like them. Do they actually fly? I have so many questions!"
"Oh, uh, these are just some projects Handy's been smurfin' with his students," Clumsy said.
"Handy has students? Human students?"
"Well, uh, yeah they're human. Just about everysmurf has students, Professor—I-I mean, Brainy. Even me. I smurf classes here too, you know."
"Really?"
Brainy looked him over, taking in his dirt-stained clothes and messy hair.
"What do you smurf?"
Clumsy giggled proudly.
"Rock gardening and landscape design. I also help out with grounds maintenance, along with Farmer, Smurfette, Nat, and a few others, and every semester I get to show off my rock collection to Miner's geology students. Oh—and here's Handy now! Hi Handy–whoa, whoops!"
Brainy yelped as Clumsy tripped on the leg of one of the lab tables, sending the poor Smurf flying toward a whiteboard covered in red, green, blue, and black scrawl.
He was caught just in time to avoid becoming a permanent punctuation mark by another tall human, this one in a welder's apron and a smurf-blue baseball cap, with a yellow pencil tucked behind his ear.
"I got you, Professor!" the man said in a voice Brainy didn't recognize as Handy's…at least, until he scolded, "You've got to be more careful, Clumsy!"
"Uh, gosh, Handy, I'm really sorry," the disguised Smurf said, picking himself up off the rubber-coated floor. "I didn't mean to trip like that. Is Brainy OK?"
Handy carefully set the little Smurf down on his computer desk, where Brainy staggered unsteadily before collapsing in a dizzy pile.
"He seems to be," Handy said worriedly. "What are you two doing here anyway? And why isn't the Professor wearing his Guise? Classes are about to begin!"
"Hellooo! Haaandy! Are you in here?"
Brainy blinked blearily up as yet another human approached, twirling a cane and striding down the aisle between the lab tables as if it were a catwalk at Paris Fashion Week.
This man was dressed to the nines in a fancy dove gray suit, and he kept glancing at his reflection in his cane's polished top.
Brainy adjusted his glasses and squinted.
"But surely that can't be...Vanity?"
"Great Smurfs, I am popular today," Handy commented dryly. "And what brings you here, Vanity?"
"I have a little delivery to make before I smurf to my classes," Vanity said, setting his briefcase down on Handy's computer desk and undoing the latches.
Brainy stood on his tiptoes to try to peer inside.
"Oh, hello, Professor," Vanity said, "I almost didn't see you there. Anyway..."
He reached into the briefcase and lifted Sassette, Nat, Slouchy, and Snappy out onto the table beside Brainy.
"These four Smurfs seem to have misplaced their Guises, Handy, and I was hoping you could rustle them up a few spares. Preferably before they have to call their department offices and cancel their classes for the day."
Handy looked thoroughly harassed.
"Well, it's not that simple, Vanity—"
"Oh good, I knew you could handle this," the dapper Smurf said, snapping his briefcase closed and swinging it gracefully off the desk.
"I've really got to dash before I cross the line from fashionably late to downright tardy. Ciao, Smurfs."
Handy scowled after Vanity's back as he strutted back up the aisle and out the door, leaving a scented cologne trail in his wake. Handy batted it away.
"OK, so let me get this straight," he said. "You four--"
He gestured to Nat, Snappy, Slouchy, and Sassette, who all huddled behind the back of Handy's laptop.
"All of you. You all lost your Guises?"
"It's not so much that we lost them," Snappy said, taking a few steps out from behind the computer. "It's more like we never had them. What are Guises, anyway? And what's going on here? Why are Smurfs disguising themselves as humans? What proof do we have that you really are Smurfs? You don't even look like Handy."
"Yeah," Slouchy spoke up. "I mean, it's one thing to smurf to the future, but I don't get any of this."
He stared around the laboratory tables and equipment with some wonder.
"Um, gosh," Clumsy said, his eyes wide. "Sounds like you Smurfs lost your memories too, just like the Professor!"
"I never said I lost my memory!" Brainy protested, standing up and straightening his glasses. "If you want to know the whole story, it all began this morning, when four conniving Smurflings conspired to—"
"Hey, who are you calling conniving!" Snappy snapped, starting everyone talking at once.
Handy listened for a moment, trying to piece together the argument, but before too long he'd had enough.
"Wait, wait, hold it everysmurf!" he said, holding up his hands.
The quarreling Smurfs stopped their noise and looked up at him.
"I think I'm starting to smurf the picture," he said. "And if I'm right, I might be able to help you. But for now, I going to need you all to slow down and tell me exactly what happened. Clumsy?"
"Yeah, Handy?"
"Run to the office upstairs and put in a few calls to the music, history, and science departments, will you? And tell the Professor's secretary to reschedule any meetings he might have had today. We're going to be here for a while."
"Sure thing, Handy. Uh, do you want me to cancel your classes too?"
"Well, all my classes for today are in the afternoon. Then again…"
Handy glanced up at his wall clock and sighed.
"Yeah, better tell Marina to cancel my classes too. Oh, and Clumsy—"
Clumsy stopped short halfway through the door.
"Yeah, Handy?"
"Send word to the Village. We'll probably need to call an assembly tonight and I want to be sure everysmurf gets the message to show up."
"Right!"
Clumsy turned and marched out, his voice fading as he climbed the stairs.
"OK, got to remember…cancel classes, reschedule meetings, call assembly…"
"Now," Handy said, turning back to the displaced Smurfs. "Tell me everything, in order, from the top."
*******
Next time, it's back to the past to see how Gargamel and the older versions of Brainy and the Smurflings are coping. And what about Father Time? Stay tuned!
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
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Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Rowena
Smurf
Member # 4018
Member Rated:
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posted 12-21-2011 05:33 AM
Part XI
The first rays of the morning sun spread out through the forest, lighting the way for the short procession of Smurfs marching purposefully toward Gargamel's hovel.
Papa Smurf took the lead, chatting animatedly with the bearded Professor and his oddly-dressed companions.
The remaining Smurfs, namely Hefty, Smurfette, Clumsy, and Handy—all of whom had been present at Father Time's cave the night before—trailed some distance behind, still unsure quite what to make of their visitors from the future.
"I don't know about you Smurfs, but I couldn't smurf a wink last night," Handy said, covering a wide yawn with his hand.
"Yeah, me neither," Hefty said. "I smurfed the strangest dream."
"Gosh, you too?" said Clumsy. "I dreamed about a great big river, and this river kept wearin' away and wearin' away at this great big rock until it was just a little pebble I could put in my pocket for my rock collection. And then, when I looked up, the river was at the bottom of a huge canyon and the whole forest had changed and I didn't know where I was, or how to get back to the Village. What was yours about?"
"Well..."
Hefty squirmed, looking as if he wished he hadn't mentioned it.
"I dreamed I heard Father Time calling for help. He was locked up in a cage, somewhere dark—underground, I think, and there weren't any windows. So, a few of us Smurfs volunteered to help him, but it seemed the closer we smurfed to the old man, the older we got, until…well…"
"Well, what?" Handy asked.
"Well, nothing," Hefty said irritably. "It was just a dream, that's all. Nothing a few dozen pushups couldn't smurf."
"I had a nightmare too," Smurfette said, "only, in my dream, all my pretty flowers withered, and no matter how much I watered them, I couldn't get them to bloom again. What about you, Handy? Did you have bad dreams last night?"
"No. I didn't sleep long enough for bad dreams," Handy said. "I couldn't stop thinking about what that Professor Smurf said last night."
"Uh, what'd he say?" Clumsy asked.
"He talked about a future version of me, about things I haven't even smurfed yet. Like those strange Guises they all wear. It gave me such an unsmurfy feeling."
Handy shivered.
"I never really thought much about the future before, you know? I just smurfed my job and worked on my inventions. But now, I find myself wondering… What will I be like in the future? Will I still be me? Or will I become somebody else, some Smurf I wouldn't recognize if I saw him…like what's happened to Brainy and the Smurflings."
The Smurfs shared an uncomfortable look.
Handy turned his thoughtful gaze toward the Professor and his companions.
"If you ask me," he said, "I think we've all been smurfing nightmares because seeing Brainy and the Smurflings all grown up like that made us realize we're not going to stay like this forever. We're, all of us, going to grow older and change—just like they did. It's a scary thought."
Hefty scowled.
"Ah, you're bein' ridiculous," he said. "Those strange Smurfs don't scare me. And neither does Father Time."
"Father Time?" Smurfette said.
Hefty gave a start.
"Did I say Father Time? I meant—"
"No—that makes sense," Handy said. "Think about your nightmare, Hefty. Clumsy and Smurfette smurfed bad dreams about the effects of time. But you actually smurfed a dream about Father Time. You're afraid of Father Time, aren't you, Hefty."
"What? Me, afraid of that old man?"
Hefty straightened.
"You're talking through your smurf, Handy. I'm not afraid of anything!"
"It's OK, Hefty," Clumsy said. "Father Time has always made me nervous too. He's so tall, and has such a long beard, and sometimes he carries that great big sickle with him, like it's a walking stick!"
"I tell you, I'm not afraid of Father Time!" Hefty protested.
"Then why do you think you smurfed that nightmare?" Smurfette challenged.
Hefty scowled.
"Oh, come on, you Smurfs," he said. "You know what happens whenever some Smurf gets mixed up with Father Time! Remember when Papa Smurf sent Nat, Snappy, and Slouchy to Father Time's cave? They were a bunch of regular Smurfs like us, just heading out to return an hourglass for Papa Smurf, and they came back as Smurflings! They didn't even remember being grown up. And when Father Time found out, what did he do to help them? Nothing, that's what. And we've been stuck with them like that ever since. Now, look—look!"
He pointed to the oddly dressed Smurfs up ahead.
"Those same Smurfs are older than any Smurf in the Village, except for Papa—again, because they went to Father Time's cave! And as for Brainy…''
"What about Brainy?" Clumsy said.
"Well, look at him up there," Hefty said. "He's not even Brainy anymore! He's some stranger called the Professor. And what about Gargamel? What's happened to him?"
Handy shook his head.
"I know all this is strange, Hefty, but I don't think what happened to Brainy and the others is really Father Time's fault."
"He's in charge of Time, isn't he?" Hefty pointed out. "It was his clock and his sand that caused this unsmurfy mess. And now he's trapped in the future, our Brainy, Slouchy, Snappy, Nat, and Sassette are Smurf knows where, and we're stuck with a bunch of weird doubles who seem to spend more time being humans than they do being Smurfs!"
"That's not very fair, Hefty," Smurfette said. "You heard what they said last night. It sounded to me like starting up that university of theirs was the only way to save the Village. They were trying to preserve what it means to be a Smurf, not abandon it."
Hefty shrugged.
"Maybe," he said. "But if you ask me, it's not right to smurf around with Time. No Smurf should have two childhoods, and no Smurf should grow old before his smurf!"
"And there it is again," Handy said.
"There what is?" Clumsy asked.
"Time!" said Handy, and his expression turned somber. "The only snare even a Smurf can't escape."
"I don't want to talk about this," Hefty grumbled. "I'm not afraid of Time and I'm not afraid of the future! We smurfed some bad dreams, that's all. It's got nothing to do with why we're out here. Father Time is in trouble, and it's up to us to help him. We should be smurfing about that, not smurfing on about things we can't smurf anything about!"
"Hefty's right," Smurfette said. "We should concentrate on rescuing Father Time. We can smurf about the future when it gets here."
Clumsy and Handy nodded their agreement, and for a few moments the four Smurfs walked in silence, listening to the sounds of the slowly awakening forest…and the snatches of conversation they caught from the Smurfs up ahead.
"It's so beautiful here," the Professor was saying to Papa Smurf. "Where I come from, everything moves so fast… Sometimes, we forget how important it is stop and smurf the sunrise." He sighed and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "When I get home, I'll have to think of a way to remind my fellow Smurfs just how smurfy things used to be. Perhaps I'll smurf a book: Professor Brainy's Adventures in Time. I could even smurf my manuscript to my publisher in Brussels—masquerading as a work of fiction, of course…"
Clumsy giggled behind his hand.
"Gosh, that Professor Smurf sure talks like Brainy."
"He kind of does." Smurfette giggled too.
"So, you really think we'll be able to smurf out of this, Professor?" Snappy said in his gruff voice. "That we'll be able to rescue Father Time and smurf things back to normal?"
"Oh, absosmurfly, my dear Snappy, and I'll tell you why," the Professor said, taking up a lecturing pose that was so patently Brainy, it sent Smurfette and Clumsy giggling all over again—until Handy shushed them and moved closer so he could hear better.
"It's basic time travel theory," the Professor was saying as Handy approached. "Think about it: if this adventure didn't smurf out to our advantage, the Brainy who belongs in this time would not have been here to grow up and help to found our university, don't you see? And if he never grew up and helped found the university, then I wouldn't have been stuck in my office going over those boring budget reports when he and I were swapped in time by Gargamel…which I clearly was, since I'm here now talking with all of you. Therefore, it follows that everything will smurf out in the end. It's a simple, if round-about concept commonly known as a 'paradox.' So, there's no need to worry, Snappy. We'll smurf back home soon enough—and I'm sure Papa Smurf will back me up on this."
Hefty grunted.
"OK, I'm convinced," he muttered to his friends. "Beard or no beard, only Brainy could spout that much blathersmurf."
"Uh, yeah," Clumsy grinned happily. "Guess he didn't really change all that much after all!"
Papa Smurf turned his head.
"Clumsy? Hefty? Smurfette? What are you Smurfs doing, lagging all the way back there?" he said. "Why don't you smurf up here with the rest of us?"
"Sure. OK, Papa Smurf," the stragglers chorused, scurrying to close the gap.
Handy raised a tentative hand for attention.
"Um, excuse me, uh, Professor Smurf…"
"Handy, it's me, Brainy," the Professor said. "Just call me Brainy."
Handy cleared his throat.
"Yeah, um, Brainy," he said. "I just want to make sure I'm smurfectly clear on what you're saying. Are you saying that your presence here, now, in this time, is proof that we're going to be able to rescue Father Time?"
"That's the basic gist, yes," the Professor said.
"Because the other Brainy you replaced had to be here in order to become you in the future?" Handy said.
"Correct."
"But," Handy said, "but, what if it doesn't smurf that way? What if Time's not as straightforward as a simple loop? What if it's more like…well…"
"Go on, Handy," Papa Smurf encouraged.
"Well, Papa Smurf, remember when I wanted to build a Time Smurfing Machine, and you said smurfing in time was very dangerous, if not impossible, because the very act of smurfing to the past changes it, and because the future hasn't been smurfed yet?"
"Well, I may have—"
"And, didn't you also say, Papa Smurf," Handy went on, "that each Smurf makes his own path? That his choices and decisions help to smurf his destiny?"
"Yes, I do believe I said something of the kind."
"You did, Papa Smurf," the Professor confirmed. "In fact, it's still one of the most popular of Brainy's Quotations from Papa Smurf!"
"Oh… Well then, there you have it," Papa Smurf said with a self-conscious chuckle.
"For Smurf's sake, Brainy," Sassette muttered. "More than five hundred years old and still a suck-up."
Smurfette giggled, and Sassette grinned at her.
The Professor narrowed his eyes at them.
"Yeah..." Handy said. "Well, anyway, when you said that, Papa Smurf, it gave me this idea that each Smurf walks a sort of destiny line, like a road. And these roads all have forks and branches, just like a real road. And sometimes the way is marked, and sometimes it's hard to tell which path is right. So, I was thinking…no, this isn't working. I need to draw it out."
Snatching his pencil from behind his ear, Handy pulled a small pad of handmade paper from his pocket and drew a straight line across the first page, then added one small x to the bottom and one to the top of the line.
"Let's say this line represents the time between where we are now, and where you come from in the future," he said, holding his sketch out for the Professor to see. "We can call it your Time Line. This x down here at the bottom is our time, and the one at the top is the future. Now, what if, when Gargamel used that Probability Sand and swapped you and our Brainy, that swap didn't form a loop, but a sort of criss-cross?"
Starting from each x, he drew a pair of dotted lines across the page, making them cross in the middle.
"That leaves you and our Brainy both at loose ends, doesn't it?" he said. "There's no line here in the middle that connects past to future anymore. You're both smurfing your own, brand new Time Lines toward a brand new future. And, if that's the case, then anything could happen. Anything at all. And your being here isn't proof of anything except that Father Time's magic works."
Most of the other Smurfs looked completely bewildered by Handy's diagram, and a little scared, but the Professor took the pad in his hands and inspected it closely, raising his eyebrows so high they vanished under the brim of his cap.
"Handy, this is incredible!" he exclaimed.
"It is?"
"Yes! This idea of yours is centuries ahead of its time!" he said. "Of course, it's very sketchy and imprecise, but only last week, I was reading a book by a human physicist called Brian Greene in which he described a theory of parallel universes, or alternate realities, that is not entirely dissimilar from this rather rough theory you just—"
"Stop! Stop, it's too much!" Snappy exclaimed, clapping his hands over his ears. "We don't have time to smurf into quantum theory and alternate universes and all the rest of that astrophysics sci-fi mumbo-jumbo gobbledygook you and Dreamy and Handy are always smurfing on about! What's the difference if we're all looped in a paradox or traveling some alternate timeline? We're stuck either way!"
"Yeah! Here, here!" the other Smurfs agreed.
Snappy crossed his arms over his chest.
"Now, here's what I know," he said. "Gargamel got us here. Gargamel trapped Father Time in the future. And only Father Time can smurf us all back to where and when we belong! So, let's stop all this smurfing around and smurf to Gargamel's like we planned, right now, before the unsmurfy creep wakes up!"
"I'm with Snappy on this," Nat said. "To Gargamel's!"
"To Gargamel's!"
The other Smurfs cheered and picked up the pace.
Before long, the forest thinned, the land began to slope upwards, and Gargamel's barren, tumble-down hovel came into view.
"Let's smurf to that window," Papa Smurf said, pointing to a small, square window with rotten wooden shutters. "And remember, my little Smurfs, keep your eyes smurfed for Azrael."
"Oh, right. I almost forgot about Azrael," Slouchy groaned.
"Where is Azrael?" Nat asked. "Has any Smurf seen him since the accident?"
"There he is!" Sassette whispered from the window ledge. "Curled up on the hearth."
"OK, Smurfs," the Professor whispered, hopping down from the window ledge to the floor. "Let's do this like we planned. Ready?"
"Ready," Hefty grunted. "Let's get this started."
To Be Continued...
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"It is easy to pretend we are strong. It is much harder to admit we are weak. A true friend, by loving every part of us, teaches us to love our weaknesses."
~Quotation from Brainy Smurf
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RowenaZahnreiCrafts?ref=si_shop
Posts: 239 | From: University | Registered: Oct 2011
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Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
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posted 12-21-2011 01:25 PM
Marina!
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we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
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