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Author
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Topic: "Empath Goes Wild" -- the full story
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-18-2022 08:22 AM
This is an EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf fanfiction story that is set in an alternate timeline. I might as well post it while I am working on the latest fanfiction story that introduces Wild Smurf to the EMPATH universe.
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Chapter 1
It was near the end of another busy day in the Smurf Village, when Tapper opened up his tavern and started serving his customers the usual drinks they ask for. Some of the Smurfs who were in the tavern with their drinks started playing card games, throwing darts, shooting pool, and trying their hand at Handy’s pinball game machine. A few others were busy looking at the various selections of the record machine, trying to figure out which song they want to listen to. Others just simply sat around and enjoyed their refreshments, trying to take their minds off the work of the day. It was around this time of the day when Empath entered, carrying a copy of the Smurf Village Times with him as usual.
“Welcome, my fellow Empath,” Tapper greeted with a smile. “What may I smurf you this evening?”
“Just the usual glass of sarsaparilla ale and a pencil,” Empath requested.
Tapper got a glass mug and filled it with the cold frothy brown liquid that Empath enjoyed ever since he first tried it during his first visit to the Smurf Village, though admittedly the drink was more potent from the time Tapper reopened the Smurfrock Tavern after being closed for years and renamed it Tapper’s Tavern. He placed both the mug and a pencil on the counter.
“Thanks,” Empath responded as he picked up both the glass and the pencil, taking a sip of the ale.
“By the by, how are things smurfing with your job in the village?” Tapper asked.
Empath sighed. “So far, things are going very…smurfily, as most of the Smurfs are fond of saying. Hardly any problems to deal with between this smurf’s fellow Smurfs. No dire emergenices to take care of. It’s just been…very peaceful.” He unfolded his newspaper and took a look at the articles Reporter and some other Smurfs had written in it.
“It does make you wonder, though, how Smurfs like Reporter can still find smurthing to write about in their daily newspaper,” Tapper commented. “Gargamel, Azrael, and Scruple haven’t been smurfed in the forest since last year, when you led a group of Smurfs on a final assault against him. Hogatha barely smurfs up to smurf us any trouble. Nor have we been bothered much by the likes of Lord Balthazar or even Chlorhydris, that witch that likes to smurf around with people’s feelings to make the world smurf company with her misery.”
“Seems like this one’s presence in the village has made things too peaceful for even the lesser adversaries of the Smurfs to desire bothering us,” Empath observed, finding himself disappointed even in what he was reading. “The likes of Gargamel must have given us something worth talking about during the last years of this smurf being away in Psychelia, always wondering what he’s got planned up his sleeve for our eventual demise when his last plan has failed.”
“Aye, that he has been a source of consmurfation among us, Empath,” Tapper stated glumly. “Though he’s not someone that every Smurf really wants to smurf about, he at least kept us smurfing on our toes, always on the smurfout for his evil presence smurfing about, ready to pounce upon any Smurf. It’s not smurfing that I would really want him to smurf back here anytime soon. But sometimes nowadays it does smurf like there’s a void in our lives that his being smurfed out of forest for good has created.”
“Very strange to hear that a much hated adversary of ours becomes something we don’t appreciate having in our lives to make this living as a Smurf worthwhile until he is gone for good,” Empath surmised. “Come to think of it, this smurf would very much have wanted to confront Gargamel time and again, but now it’s only something that this smurf can only think of doing when Handy and Papa Smurf get the Imaginarium back up and running again.”
“Ah, yes, that place Papa Smurf first smurfed us in the dead of winter when all we had to smurf forward to is snow and more snow,” Tapper pondered. “I’m surprised to hear that he’s smurfing this thing yet another go. What’s he and Handy smurfing with it now?”
“Papa Smurf’s trying to search for some special crystals in the mines that would prevent more than one fantasy to be active when the Imaginarium is being used,” Empath answered. “These crystals may also allow us to stop in the middle of a particular fantasy and pick it back up at another time, among other things.”
“Hmmm, smurfs like someplace that’s going to smurf away some of my customers, Empath,” Tapper said, realizing what the return of the Imaginarium would mean to his business.
“This smurf doubts that Handy and Papa Smurf have any intention of having the Imaginarium compete with your establishment, Tapper,” Empath remarked. “Rather, this smurf believes that it would complement the already-existing entertainment centers of the village, such as your tavern and the Smurf outdoor theatre, each of which provides something rather unique for the Smurfs to experience. Besides, the Smurflings need a place that they could play around in on days when they can’t play outside.”
Tapper sighed. “Well, who am I to smurf in the way of progress around here?” He watched as Empath took his ale, his newspaper, and his pencil to a table by the window, where he was waiting for Papa Smurf to arrive in order to talk to him in private. Tapper rarely saw Papa Smurf talk with any Smurf in his tavern unless it was something really important. But all the same, Tapper knew when to keep his distance from such conversations.
Just then, Duncan came into the tavern. "A tall glass of your finest sarsaparilla ale, laddie," he requested as he approached the counter.
"Aye, one glass smurfing right up for you, my fellow Duncan," Tapper said as he went to fill his friend's order.
Duncan received his glass and took a big swallow of the frosty brown ale. "Busy night tonight in your tavern, given that Handy's trying to fix that Imaginarium so that the laddies can smurf their own kind of fun by smurfing under the hat of a fair maiden Smurfette, if you know what I mean," Duncan commented.
"I'm not entirely comfortable with that kind of thought, Duncan, that Papa Smurf may have smurfed a brothel of sorts in our own Smurf Village just so the Smurfs can enjoy that kind of fantasy," Tapper said with some distaste in his voice.
"I know that it must smurf against your religion, but what else can we smurf with a bunch of young pups who are all smitten by the love bug with only one Smurfette they can smurf their hearts to?" Duncan said.
"I must admit that getting Smurfette out of my mind is very difficult, but all the same, I would rather not dishonor either the Almighty or our dear Smurfette by acting out a fantasy of me smurfing that kind of private moment with her, Duncan," Tapper said.
"If that's how you want to smurf about your own private business, then so be it, laddie," Duncan said. "I can't help feeling that I would want to be smurfing with her among the ancient members of the McSmurf clan up in the highlands of that distant island where we smurf from."
"I have a feeling in my spirit that you and I may someday return to those lands where our clans smurf from, though it may not be in the way that we would want to smurf it," Tapper said.
"Don't tell me that this is one of those things that the Almighty smurfs you when you're alone with Him," Duncan said, sounding displeased.
"I can never be certain what it is that the Almighty smurfs me that concerns our future, Duncan, but I never want to find myself smurfing away from Him when it's something very important, a prophecy that we may all have to smurf heed to for our safety and well-smurfing," Tapper said.
"I'll be smurfing by you, no matter what happens or how things smurf out," Duncan said as he took another sip of his ale.
A short while later, Papa Smurf had entered the tavern. “What can I smurf you for this evening?” Tapper asked as the village leader approached his counter.
“Smurfberry tea, hot, please,” Papa Smurf requested.
“Aye, coming right up, Papa Smurf,” Tapper said, happy to take his order. He fetched a tea cup from behind the counter, poured some hot water in it, and dipped a tea bag into the water. He gave Papa Smurf a spoon that he could stir up the tea with as well as a sugar bowl full of cubes. Papa Smurf dropped two cubes of sugar into his tea, stirred up the sugar and the tea, then took a sip before nodding to Tapper, satisfied with his order.
Taking his tea with him from the counter, Papa Smurf joined Empath with his glass of sarsaparilla ale at a table by the window. Empath was busy passing the time doing one of Brainy’s daily crossword puzzles in the village newspaper. So far he was able to get most of the words in the puzzle, yet Empath was amazed by the extensiveness of his half-brother’s vocabulary, for there were still words in the puzzle not yet filled in that left Empath wondering what they could be. It was one of the few things from Brainy’s creation that he enjoyed thoroughly.
“So, Empath, what’s smurfing on that you need to smurf a talk to me about?” Papa Smurf asked curiously as he sat down across from Empath at the same table, drawing his attention away from the crossword puzzle.
“Nothing of any major importance regarding the things that happened in the village today, Papa Smurf,” Empath answered, placing his pencil and the newspaper down on the table. “Just a question about this smurf’s past that has been on this smurf’s mind as of lately that this smurf can’t let go of.”
“I thought I smurfed you everything you needed to know about your past, Empath,” Papa Smurf wondered, feeling a little uncomfortable about going back to the same subject one more time.
“You did, Papa Smurf, and though this smurf was angry at you for what you have told this smurf, this smurf has learned to accept those things and has forgiven you for what you have done,” Empath stated. “However, this smurf still wonders about what you have told this smurf years ago as an infant the day that you have left this one in Psychelia.”
“That I wished that you could have been smurfed as a normal Smurf?” Papa Smurf guessed, seeming to know where Empath was getting at with his question. “Believe me, Empath, it was one of those things I smurftimes wished I have never smurfed to you, though having to smurf you behind there did make me wonder.”
“This smurf is wondering myself if you still wish at times that this smurf could have been born as a normal Smurf instead of one who has these minds-eye abilities that required this smurf being sent to Psychelia in order to be trained to use properly,” Empath said with some uneasiness.
Papa Smurf sighed, uncertain of what to tell Empath. “There were days when you were not around in the Smurf Village between your visits when I smurftimes wished that same thought, Empath,” he confessed. “But now I have smurfed to the conclusion that if you haven’t been smurfed with those abilities, you would never be the Smurf you are now, even with what I have smurfed with you all those years ago. You see, while I had the choice of whether I wanted to be a wizard or not when I was smurfing with Paladore as a young Smurfling, your special abilities were smurfed upon you at birth. But regardless of whether or not we chose to have those abilities, we still have to smurf a choice as to how we wish to smurf them. As one of the famous Smurfs of old have said, with great power comes the greater responsibility of smurfing them for the greater good. Your training in Psychelia has supposedly smurfed you with the discipline of smurfing your minds-eye abilities for the sake of your community, whether it was your fellow Psyches or your fellow Smurfs. And while I have smurfed you how to become an individual during your visits, yet you have chosen of your own free will to smurf what you have smurfed in Psychelia for selfless purposes instead of selfish desires. It’s one of those things I have smurfed in you that lets me know that you will smurf a fine leader of the Smurf Village someday.”
Empath nodded with some understanding. “Maybe that is just what this smurf wanted to hear from you, Papa Smurf,” he spoke, “that this smurf actually has worth in this world this smurf was born into.”
“Empath, even if you weren’t smurfed with any of your powers, that would not smurf me love you any more or less as a son of mine,” Papa Smurf declared with some sympathy, holding Empath’s hand with his. “You could have smurfed your entire life out in the wilderness being smurfed by animals and smurfing through the trees like one without your powers, and yet I would still have loved you because you are the one thing my love for your Mama Smurf Lillithina has prosmurfed, and I would not smurf back one moment of loving her with all my heart to make sure you smurfed into the world just as you are, however way you smurfed into the world. The one thing Lillithina wanted was to make smurf a little bit of what she loved in me was in you as well.”
“Well, this smurf is still years away from growing my first set of whiskers, which this smurf could sense from you was one of the things my Mama Smurf loved about you, Papa Smurf,” Empath said with a hint of jealousy.
Papa Smurf chuckled at that thought, remembering those moments Lillithina loved playing around with his beard when they were alone together. “Yes, well, there was a heart behind this face that your Mama Smurf loved more than the whiskers, Empath, a heart that loved Lillithina just as she was, even though she wasn’t the most beautiful Smurfette to look at in the world at that time. I have a feeling Smurfette smurfs the same thing in you for her, the way you two smurf around each other. I don’t think she needs to smurf you growing a beard in order for her to love you any more than she does for you now.”
“This smurf just wants her to be happy with whoever she wishes to give her heart fully to, even if it isn’t with this smurf,” Empath confessed. “This smurf may feel heartbroken, but this smurf isn’t going to hold a grudge with whomever that Smurf is that she wishes to share her entire life with.”
“That’s one of the risks about love for a female Smurf, Empath,” Papa Smurf admitted, taking a sip of his tea which was now starting to cool down. “Being able to smurf the one you love smurf up her own mind and let her heart smurf wherever it leads to, and not expecting anything in return for the love you smurf her, isn’t an easy thing to smurf. But as long as you’re willing not to smurf up on the one you love, she may someday smurf for herself the kind of Smurf you are, and that may smurf her heart to you.”
Empath nodded to that as he took a sip of his sarsaparilla ale, accepting the truth about what Papa Smurf had said about love. “This smurf apologizes for asking you to talk to this smurf about something that has nothing to do with important tasks of the village, Papa Smurf.”
Papa Smurf smiled at Empath. “There’s nothing about what you smurfed me that you need to feel sorry for, Empath. Your curiosity about yoursmurf is one of the things I enjoy smurfing to you about, even if it results in smurfthing I’d rather not see you smurf again like the time I smurfed to you about your true past.” He decided to let the matter drop and turned his attention to what Empath was doing with the newspaper. “Hmmm… smurfs like Brainy’s been smurfing some real stumpers in his latest crossword puzzle. Mind if I take a smurf for myself?”
“Not at all, Papa Smurf,” Empath replied, handing Papa Smurf the paper.
Papa Smurf took Empath’s pencil and furrowed his eyebrows as he studied the puzzle’s clues and the words that Empath had already filled in. Though Papa Smurf wasn’t quite the puzzle addict that Empath was, Empath knew that his father enjoyed being challenged from time to time trying to figure out words to fill into Brainy’s crossword puzzles. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it more than reading one of Brainy’s quotation books.
Papa Smurf found a few words that Empath had missed and filled them in.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-18-2022 08:24 AM
Chapter 2
Traveler’s timeline journal.
This one has spent a great deal of time, immeasurable by any standards, exploring every event that has happened in history, from the beginning of time to its end, by traveling through the timestream. This one is amazed by everything this one has seen so far, including mysterious events such as how the Smurfs came to be in the history of the world. Also being able to observe it all in the form this one now inhabits – as an energy-based lifeform who can appear invisible, intangible, and undetectable by anyone else unless this one willed himself to be so – makes such exploration more of a hands-on experience than just simply trying to imagine what those recollected events would have been like. This one has completed the task of having to give this one’s great-grandfather Empath, in a time when he was around 150 years of age, the knowledge of events that were to happen from that point in time to when he alone was left in the world having to raise this one in a tree stump in what was left of the Smurf forest. This transference of knowledge has admittedly caused Empath to experience “time jumps” in a sense when his active memory would switch from being in the Smurf Village in his present time to whatever event in his future – this one’s history – the “time jump” would take him. The events in each of these “time jumps” included such things as his eventual marriage with Smurfette, the discovery of a Smurfette Village in another part of the world, the daughter he would father through Smurfette, the death of his father Papa Smurf that caused the mantle of leadership to be passed onto his son, the death of his wife Smurfette, the death of his friend Polaris Psyche and all the Psyches he would be in charge of as the new Psyche Master, and last but not least, the death of his half-brother Brainy as he was swallowed up by the earthquake that forever destroyed the village. Empath, realizing that he could not retain such a vast amount of knowledge in his memory without physically harming him, had since transferred all this data into a memory crystal that he then left buried in a ground as a sort of “time capsule” for others to find when the Smurfs would be all but a memory. Great-Grandfather Smurf can now rest easy knowing that the task he wanted this one to carry out is now complete.
This one is now exploring the Smurf forest, noting that for such a place that exists in this world, there are a number of portals and gates that would take one from this world unto others, such as the mysterious fog that transports one into the world where the Pussywillow Pixies and the Wartmongers existed, constantly locked in a struggle with each other. Some of these portals also lead to places that exist outside the normal realm of time and space, where beings such as Father Time monitor all events that occur in the timestream. One of these places is where this one’s great-grandfather has experienced an alternate history – a history where Empath never went to Psychelia to learn about how to control his powers, but which also resulted in the Smurf Village being in constant struggle with the Psyches who now wanted the Smurfs dead because Empath’s presence among them now represented a great potential threat to the Psyche Master. From this experience Empath learned to appreciate the actual history that he lived where he was forced to live most of his first 150 years of life in Psychelia. This particular place in question has now peaked this one’s curiosity about the exploration of possible alternate histories. How would the history of the Smurf Village differ from that which this one knew unfolded if a variety of different choices were made?
Traveler, a rather unique-looking Smurf who had flaming yellow “hair” and wore a reflective gold uniform, had just emerged in the Smurf forest at the time that most of his greatgrandfather’s fellow Smurfs’ adventures took place after travelling at incredible speed through the timestream. Totally invisible, intangible, and virtually undetectable by any being unless he willed otherwise, he floated around the forest, riding through the air as if he were riding a surfboard, observing everything there was in the Smurf forest, noting every particular detail. It was incredibly amazing to him to see firsthand how beautiful the Smurf forest looked in a time centuries before human progress had diminished it greatly. He looked down at the Smurf Village and saw all his forefathers – and foremothers Smurfette and Sassette – going about their business in their daily routines, apparently happy with their lives, and for the most part, unconcerned about what fate had in store for them. He felt somewhat jealous that he wasn’t born and raised among this particular generation of Smurfs. Yet he knew that if it weren’t for them, his existence as the last surviving Smurf in history would never come to be.
Then as Traveler moved on from observing the Smurfs, he came upon a place hidden in the Smurf forest that he remember his great-grandfather told him about – the place called the Temple of Alternity. It somehow seemed to exist outside the normal realm of space and time. Inside the temple, there was a wheel that looked like a circular weaving loom with myriads of threads all going in and out from the center.
“The wheel of infinite possibilities,” a voice broke out of the silence as Traveler got a closer look at the object in question. “Each thread in that wheel is a possible reality, a timeline that sprouts from every possible decision and choice made, whether that decision is made by us or not.”
Traveler looked at the being who appeared from behind him, a friendly sort who seemed to be all-knowing. “You are Alternis,” he stated, remembering him from his great-grandfather’s recollections. “How are you able to see this one?”
“You are a being who, just like me, exists where time has no meaning, so it is easy for me to spot you,” Alternis explained. “This place you are in, my temple, exists in a place called Infinitude. In this place I can exist for ages, unaffected by what happens in the world where people live in time. Days, months, and years mean nothing to me here.”
“This wheel that this one’s great-grandfather used to see an alternate history he could have lived,” Traveler began to ask, curious about the device, “would it be possible for this one to see what kind of alternate history would have unfolded that could have prevented this one from ever having existed?”
“There’s nothing the wheel of infinite possibilities cannot do, Traveler, if you are willing to seek out the answers for yourself,” Alternis answered. “Just touch a thread and give the wheel a spin.”
Traveler touched Alternis’ wheel of infinite possibilities, and instantly he found himself bombarded by too many images, seeing so many different kinds of timelines all at once. It was like being everywhere, and everywhen, all at once. He couldn’t handle the overload of information, so he concentrated his thought on one single timeline to appear in.
Soon the images of multiple timelines all faded, and Traveler found himself standing in the Smurf Village…but it was a Smurf Village that barely resembled anything that he recognized through his recent time travels as of yet. He looked around, and was astonished by the sight of what he was seeing. There were bodies of both male and female Smurfs – most of the male Smurfs being recognizable as his great-grandfather’s fellow Smurfs – all strewn about, most of them dead, and some barely living, though none of them were aware of his presence. They all looked rather sickly, their condition probably worse than the unknown incurable disease that destroyed Papa Smurf’s fellow Smurfs back when Empath and his fellow Smurfs were young Smurflings. Traveler touched one of the bodies, and immediately he knew what had caused this to happen – a disease that called itself “the blue plague” that had managed to spread to every Smurf present in the village.
He looked around the village and saw the same condition everywhere, though strangely he could find no trace of his greatgrandfather Empath anywhere in it – if he was even there to begin with. Then he came to the outskirts of the village and sensed some sort of protective energy shield that surrounded the whole place. Apparently whoever made this shield appear must have done so to prevent this disease from spreading beyond the village’s boundaries.
Then Traveler saw what appeared to be Hefty, Brainy, Baby Smurf, and the Smurflings accompanied by two female Smurfs he couldn’t recognize from his known history, plus a female baby Smurf. They were approaching the shielded village with Puppy dragging along behind them, looking as shocked as he was at the sight that was before them.
And then the voice of Alternis called out to Traveler, and the next thing Traveler knew, he was back in the Temple of Alternity, standing before the wheel of infinite possibilities. He was stunned by what he had experienced.
“You have just seen one of many alternate histories that the wheel allows one to experience firsthand,” Alternis explained. “Everything in that history is a result of many different choices and courses that were taken from the beginning of time until when the timeline reaches its end. Even the slightest single choice made could make a whole world of difference between one alternate history and another.”
“Those Smurfs in that timeline – are they the same Smurfs as the ones this one knew from actual history?” Traveler asked.
“Yes and no,” Alternis answered. “Even if you knew the faces, the histories behind them in that timeline would be so different, you couldn’t tell that they would have been the Smurfs you knew from actual history. The female Smurfs you saw would be far different from the ones you knew the male Smurfs had found and married.”
“But what happens to them in that timeline?” Traveler asked, curious to know about what he had experienced.
“Their fate remains unknown and unanswered,” Alternis answered, shaking his head. “But given what power you have to travel through time, you could possibly have seen for yourself what the outcome might be. Perhaps those Smurfs who came to see the devastation that awaited them in the village would have survived, confronted whoever was behind this, started their lives anew, built a new community that would thrive elsewhere. Or perhaps they would have perished, either by this ‘blue plague’ that devoured them or by whoever caused it to happen. Such are the mysteries of the timestream.”
“How can this one have the power to see those alternate timelines for myself and be able to travel through them?” Traveler asked with some disbelief.
“The wheel has already enabled that power in you, Traveler, the moment you touched it, as I have already sensed,” Alternis replied. “With a single thought, you can now direct a course that will take you into the other life of the one you wish to explore. The one whom you explore it with will only experience a brief lapse of time, and may even see brief images of that other life. But other than that, they will not even know what you are doing.”
Traveler looked at himself, contemplating what this newfound ability means. Apparently, being able to travel through time by his own power – the power given by the remnants of the Psyche Master who resided in his great-grandfather Empath – was just the beginning of this new life he had as the last surviving Smurf. So also was his doing so in order to let the younger self of his great-grandfather know what kind of history would unfold for him and his people – a history that his great-grandfather wanted to see preserved at all costs. Now he must decide what he was going to do with this new additional power he had somehow acquired.
Traveler entered into Empath’s house that evening and watched as he wrote everything that happened in his day in his personal journal, even recalling the conversation he had with Papa Smurf that evening at Tapper’s tavern about his father’s spoken wish that Empath would have been born a normal Smurf. His great-grandfather told him countless times about the loneliness he felt having such great power thrust upon him even at birth, that at times he even felt like Papa Smurf, wishing that he would have been born as a normal Smurf instead of one who possessed these “minds-eye” powers that Traveler himself inherited down through the lineage of marriage. But just as Papa Smurf had told Empath earlier, Traveler also knew from his greatgrandfather that with having such great power comes the greater responsibility to use it for the greater good of others. From the history Traveler knew about his great-grandfather, Empath used that responsibility well even when the time came for Papa Smurf to pass on the mantle of leadership to his son on the day of his passing away, never using his powers for personal gain or even in the same manner that the Psyche Master once tried to use them when he was a Smurf living among his own kind. Empath since then passed those lessons he learned from Papa Smurf and from being in Psychelia on to this children and grandchildren, some of whom became the leaders of the village up until the day when the Smurf Village was forever destroyed and the surviving Smurf community was scattered to the four winds, eventually leaving Empath with only his great-grandson in the early years of the twenty-first century.
Traveler watched as Empath finished his journal entry, got himself undressed for bed, blew out the candle, and settled himself to sleep in his bed. He traveled briefly into the following day, passing through the hours as if they were mere seconds, stopping when Empath had woken up and put on his Smurf clothes for the brand new day – a point when Empath’s mind would be the most lucid. It was then that Traveler – without being seen, heard, or even detected – placed his hand inside Empath’s head and linked with his mind, allowing himself to travel back in time to when Empath was born with just a single thought.
It was like watching a movie of somebody’s life rewind at incredible speed as Traveler journeyed into that time when the Smurf Village was so much different from how Empath knew it during his lifetime. During that time, the Smurfs didn't have any Smurf leading them except themselves, and every Smurf wore their own colors, which it was how they were able to tell each other apart, while only the children wore white. Also during that time, Papa Smurf’s own fellow Smurfs were starting to have children of their own, with Hefty and Handy, the twin brothers, being born first. Papa Smurf himself, who at the time was called Culliford, wanted to have a child of his own with his late wife Lillithina, and several years later that wish became a blessing when Lillithina became pregnant with Empath.
As Traveler continued to watch, he saw Culliford, wearing a brown beard and moustache, pacing around nervously outside a house, waiting for his child to be born at the day of Empath’s birth. Soon came the sound of a baby crying, and then another Smurf wearing a green hat and pants, a thin graying beard, and a white smock came out smiling.
"Congratulations, Culliford, my Smurf," the older Smurf beamed, shaking Culliford's hand. "Your wife just gave smurf to a bouncing baby boy."
Culliford couldn't believe the news. "Smurfeka...I'm a Papa Smurf! I'm a Papa Smurf!" he cried out in excitement. Traveler then followed Culliford as he went inside the house less than a minute later. He saw his wife, a female Smurf with short brown hair wearing a red cap, who looked almost as beautiful as Traveler’s great-grandmother Smurfette, holding their newborn child in her arms, smiling at both of them.
"We really made magic happen this time, Lillithina, my dear," he commented, kissing his wife on the forehead.
"I think you made most of the magic happen, Culliford," Lillithina remarked. "He smurfed his way into the world without any problem. If he's a special child, there's no doubt about whom he smurfs after."
"Then that must make you a special Mama Smurf," Culliford said with a slight tease in his voice.
"Could be," Lillithina laughed, holding the baby so that they could both examine him.
"Well, he's certainly got your eyes and your smile," Culliford pointed out.
"And he's got your ears and your nose," Lillithina added. "But I wonder who's hair color he'll smurf when he grows his first beard?"
"That we'd have to wait 300 years to find out," Culliford reminded her.
“Well, until then, I still have your handsome furry face to smurf at, my love,” Lillithina laughed as she stroked her husband’s beard lightly. "I'm sure that our little bundle of joy will smurf after his own Papa Smurf." Then she lifted the baby's hat and noticed something that surprised the both of them. "Well, I wonder who's smurf of the family he smurfed this from...a yellow smurfmark shaped like a star on his forehead!"
"Well, I'll be smurfed...!" Culliford exclaimed, noticing the smurfmark as well. The baby opened his eyes and saw his parents for the first time, smiling at them. "There's no doubt about it that he's a special baby!"
Traveler noticed that Culliford was curious about the yellow star mark, though. He followed Culliford as he entered the village’s house of archives and looked through its many books to find out something he only heard about as a Smurfling as just folklore. He found what he was looking for in a book about smurfmarks, written in ancient Smurf text: "He who is smurfed with the mark of a star is truly blessed by the stars, for it is this smurf who shall possess abilities beyond all imagining, beyond all the five known senses...abilities that only the strong of minds can harness."
Culliford was lost in thought, trying to figure out at that point what that could mean – these abilities "beyond all imagining", "beyond all the five known senses", and "that only the strong of minds can harness”, as the text had said.
Traveler continued to watch as the life of Culliford and his new family unfolded. Over the following days, Culliford and Lillithina were showing their newborn child to their fellow Smurfs, and they were impressed. Culliford's friends toasted with him over brewed sarsaparilla, while Lillithina's friends gave her advice about baby care as well as recipes for baby foods and some clothing they thought would look good on her child. The only thing they couldn’t figure out at that point was what they could name their child. For Culliford and Lillithina, having a child with a visible smurfmark on his forehead was more than enough of an indication. In any case, the couple took care of their child without any problem except for the occasional diaper change or feeding time. But even those times never felt too trying for them, and their child rarely raised a fuss at all.
Then a day came when Traveler saw Lillithina rush to Culliford after he came home from a hard day’s work, looking like she had seen a ghost…or worse. Lillithina swore that she saw her son just sitting around and making things float around in midair, and even making himself float around as well. Culliford said that she was just seeing things, but she insisted that what she saw was for real. Culliford decided to find out for himself. He looked into their child's room and saw the infant playing with his toys on the floor. Apparently he saw nothing out of the ordinary here. He told his wife not to worry, that he will take care of their son while she got some rest.
But after Culliford was left alone with the child, he started to notice it for himself. He reentered the child's room and saw all his toys floating around, moving as if they were planets in orbit, and his son in the center of the room, giggling as his watched. Culliford swore he could see his son's yellow smurfmark glow. Then before he knew it, Culliford found himself floating around the room as well, turning around upside down as his son watched on, squealing in delight. Culliford yelled out to his son in a panic, and then instantly, everything in the room that was floating around in orbit now dropped to the floor, including Culliford, who landed on his stomach.
Picking himself up, Culliford felt angry enough to scold his child when he realized that something incredible has happened, and his anger was replaced by curiosity. He now asked his son to show him how he was able to move the toys around the room without even touching them, and his son did so by simply looking at the smurf-in-the-box until, slowly and without him ever touching it, the toy rose into the air high above Culliford's head.
"Amazing...simply amazing!" Culliford finally stated, excited by what he saw. "You certainly didn't inherit this ability from your Papa Smurf, and I'm not certain your Mama Smurf gave you that, either. You must truly have those of the legend, my son...the abilities beyond the five known senses!"
Traveler watched Culliford continue to test out Empath’s abilities, even as far as hiding Empath’s toys on him to see if he would be able to find them, and with each of those tests, his son performed them flawlessly. But what amazed Traveler was Empath’s infant perceptiveness of his father’s emotional state. He just somehow knew what his father was feeling at any given moment and responded to it without any fuss. Culliford himself was amazed to the point where he surmised that his son was full of empathy, and so named him Empathy – a name that, despite the loss of a single letter, would forever stick with him even in his life in Psychelia. His friends Seamus and Angus, though, had decided that he should have the combined name of Eamon Dunbar, which is what was recorded in the book of records.
But even as Culliford was proud of his son, Traveler could see trouble was beginning to brew. Lillithina was starting to feel estranged from both her husband and her son as Empathy became the center of attention in the village, and she wanted Culliford to see that what he was doing with their son and his abilities was turning him into a sideshow attraction. Her concern was for Empathy being able to live with his fellow Smurfs as he grew up, that his abilities wouldn’t isolate himself from the others as he learned to use them wisely. Culliford answered his wife confidently that he would make sure that Empathy would keep what he learns to himself, but he himself was unsure of even how to train his son to use them wisely. His dilemma led him into doing some research, and through that research he discovered that a Smurf who used to live in the village years ago, possessing the same powers Empathy did, had now founded a village of “white-toned Smurfs” who also possessed those powers – the group of people Traveler knew were the Psyches.
Culliford decided to chance going to this ‘Psyche village’ to find out whether these Psyches would be able and willing to train Empath in learning how to use his abilities properly. He took his son to the place called Psychelia under the guise that he and his son were going to go on a picnic, and late in the day he found their village that was beyond the mountain range. Upon arriving, Culliford was greeted by the Psychelian guards who wanted him to depart immediately, but somehow the Psyche Master sensed what Culliford wanted and allowed him to have a private audience in his chambers, to see if this Empathy truly had the same abilities the Psyches had. Upon probing Empathy’s mind, the Psyche Master was convinced and decided to train him, but Culliford had to leave his son behind in Psychelia. The father didn’t like this condition one bit, but the Psyche Master gave him little choice.
Traveler watched Empathy crawl over to his father and look up at him sadly, somehow knowing what his father was going to say to him. "I'm sorry I have to smurf you like this, Empathy, my son," Culliford said, holding Empathy one last time. "I can only hope that one day you will undersmurf why I had to and you will find it in your heart to forgive an old fool like me. I just wish you didn’t have to be born with these powers you have. I wish you could’ve been born a normal Smurf." He kissed Empathy on the forehead and set him down before the Psyche Master. "Until we meet again, I will always cherish you."
Empathy watched tearfully as his father turned and left the temple. Then he started to cry, wanting his father not to leave him. The crying got louder as the door closed behind Culliford as he left. Then Traveler saw that the Psyche Master projected an electrical field unto Empathy, bathing him in such a painful burst of energy that it made him scream. Traveler knew from his greatgrandfather’s memories that such was used to erase every memory Empathy had of being a Smurf up until that point, but watching it firsthand like he did now made Traveler’s stomach turn. Outside the temple, there was loud banging on the door of the temple as Culliford thought the Psyche Master was killing Empathy and tried in vain to stop this from happening.
Then soon the screaming stopped, as Empathy simply passed out from his memory being erased. Culliford at that point simply thought that his son was now dead, and ended up going home dreading what he now had to tell his wife. In the temple where Traveler was still observing it firsthand, the Psyche Master then summoned the medics of Psychelia to put the infant Smurf in a gestation chamber, where he would remain for 50 years, his mind being reprogrammed by the Psyche Master. By the time he joined the other young Psyches who came forth from their gestation chambers, the only thing Empathy – now renamed Empath – knew of himself was that he was a Psyche like all the others with him.
Traveler knew these were the events that set forth into motion the kind of life Empath would live for the rest of his life in the history his great-grandfather had relayed to him. It also set in motion the kind of life Culliford would live as the village leader named Papa Smurf. But he still wondered about what Empath had asked Papa Smurf in that day he observed – whether his father still thought, as he did in Psychelia, if Empath had never been born with those powers that had cursed him to a life being lived apart from his fellow Smurfs.
He froze the timeline in place as he himself wondered: What if Empath truly wasn’t born with those powers? How different would his life turn out from that point on? Would he be accepted by his fellow Smurfs? Or would something else happen in its place that would make him be so different from them?
Traveler decided to investigate that possibility. He made history in that timeline rewind again, only this time he went to the point before Empath was even conceived. Then with a single thought, he altered its course and allowed the following events in that course to unfold.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-18-2022 08:26 AM
Chapter 3
As Traveler watched, Culliford and Lillithina were still wanting to have a child of their very own after several years of watching their fellow Smurfs being able to have children. Every time they themselves have tried, it always seemed to fail, and the village medic continued to give them the bad news. It was as if nature or some higher power was intentionally putting their desire on hold, which left them feeling frustrated and envious. Both of them loved each other very much, but they now questioned whether they would even be able to have children at all.
“Would you still love me, Cully,” Lillithina asked him one night as they were sitting together on the outskirts of the village, watching the stars, “even if I couldn’t smurf you any children?”
“No matter what happens to us, Lilly, even if we smurf old and gray before we smurf our first child, you know that I will always love you,” Culliford replied, holding her hand in his and looking in her eyes, letting her know his promise to her was real.
The two of them smiled at each other as they continued to watch the stars, hoping and praying that a miracle could somehow happen in their lives. They were wondering aloud what kind of child they would have, what that child would be and do, what name he would bear as his identity.
Traveler could see his great-great-grandparents had that kind of love for each other, ever since the two of them had married along with most of their fellow Smurfs 100 years previously. Lillithina was the only Smurf that seemed to care about somebody like Culliford who, though he wasn’t as intelligent as their best friend Aristotle Smurf, he still had a heart that cared for someone like Lillithina, who saw the beautiful female Smurf she was on the inside no matter how plain she looked on the outside. Lillithina especially liked how furry her husband’s face looked, even when his own fellow Smurfs teased him about his beard from time to time. It made him look even more handsome than he did when she remembered him before the beard grew in. In her own opinion, it also made him look more masculine than even the likes of Muscles Smurf with his tattoos. She was hoping some of this would pass on to their son, should their child ever be a son like most of their fellow Smurfs were having.
Then one day, Culliford came home from working with his fellow Smurfs to find his wife at home, smiling a private little smile that held a secret. “So how has your day been, Papa Smurf?” she asked him.
“Papa Smurf?” Culliford asked, curious about her smile and her calling him that. “You mean…?”
Lillithina nodded as she took her husband’s hand and placed it on her stomach, which was now starting to swell a little. Somehow Culliford felt as if he could feel that new life now growing in her.
“Lilly, we did it!” Culliford exclaimed, kissing and embracing her. “We’re going to smurf a Baby Smurf of our very own. All those years of smurfing for this to happen, and it suddenly smurfs out of the blue!”
“You’re going to be a very busy Smurf, my dear Cully,” Lillithina reminded him, tugging at his beard in the way that usually excited him. “Smurfing our house in order for this little one when he or she smurfs into the world. I hope that our baby smurfs out to be just like you.”
“Or maybe she will smurf out to be like you, my sweet Lilly,” Culliford responded, touching his wife’s face so tenderly as the two of them looked into each other’s eyes, smiling and enjoying their company as they allowed the reality of this news to sink in. The one thing Traveler knew for sure was that it would change their lives forever.
Traveler watched as Lillithina’s pregnancy continued to progress through the normal several months that a baby Smurf takes in order to be born. In the history he actually observed of his great-great-grandparents, Lillithina didn’t seem to have any trouble during the time she carried Empath, and rarely did Culliford have to take her to the village medic for anything but a checkup. Here in this alternate history that unfolded, though, Lillithina seemed to go through this pregnancy more like the typical mother Smurf that did, with symptoms such as morning sickness, back problems, and other situations that made both her and her husband wonder if this child was ever going to make it to being born. Lillithina had difficulty sleeping at nights, which eventually drove her husband to sleeping elsewhere in the house – or just elsewhere in the village – so that the both of them could have peace.
And then came the day when their child would be born. As Traveler continued to watch, he again saw Culliford pacing around nervously outside a house, waiting for his child to be born. Soon again the sound of a baby crying came, and soon that other Smurf wearing a green hat and pants, a thin graying beard, and a white smock again came out smiling.
"Congratulations, Culliford, my Smurf," the older Smurf beamed, again shaking Culliford's hand. "Your wife just gave smurf to a bouncing baby boy."
Culliford couldn't believe the news. "Smurfeka...I'm a Papa Smurf! I'm a Papa Smurf!" he cried out in excitement.
Traveler again followed Culliford as he went inside the house less than a minute later. He again saw his wife holding their newborn child in her arms, smiling at both of them.
"We really made magic happen this time, Lillithina, my dear," he commented, again kissing his wife on the forehead.
"I think you made most of the magic happen, Culliford," Lillithina remarked. "Even through all the difficulty we smurfed through having him, he still smurfed it in one piece. If he's a special child, there's no doubt about whom he smurfs after."
"Then that must make you a special Mama Smurf," Culliford said with a slight tease in his voice.
"Could be," Lillithina laughed, again holding the baby so that they could both examine him.
"Well, he's certainly got your eyes and your smile," Culliford pointed out.
"And he's got your ears and your nose," Lillithina added. "But I wonder who's hair color he'll smurf when he grows his first beard?"
"That we'd have to wait 300 years to find out," Culliford reminded her.
“Well, until then, I still have your handsome furry face to smurf at, my love,” Lillithina laughed as she again stroked her husband’s beard lightly. "I'm sure that our little bundle of joy will smurf after his own Papa Smurf." They lifted up the child’s hat as he opened up his eyes, smiling at them. Traveler noticed at that point, to his surprise, that their baby was born with no smurfmark of any kind on his forehead.
“There’s no doubt about it, Lilly,” Culliford said, letting out a sigh of relief, though there was a slight hint of disappointment in that sigh. “He’s smurftainly a special baby.”
From this point on, Traveler started seeing some changes that were affected by this alternate version of Empath who was born with no smurfmark on his forehead. One thing that hadn’t changed, however, was that over the following days, Culliford and Lillithina were showing their newborn child to their fellow Smurfs, and again they were impressed. Culliford's friends again toasted with him over brewed sarsaparilla, while Lillithina's friends again gave her advice about baby care as well as recipes for baby foods and some clothing they thought would look good on her child.
But the change started to show when all the excitement over Culliford and Lillithina having a newborn child had worn off. The baby Smurf they now had to love and nurture as their own showed nothing of a unique personality that made him distinct from all the other baby Smurfs he was being nursed with. It also made it a big problem for them to decide what they were going to name their child. Half their fellow Smurfs who had children were able to come up with names for them within a few days of their birth, while for others it took a month or so for them to draw any such inspiration, which for some certain others meant going as far as looking in the village dictionary. It was fortunate, however, that their parents could tell their children apart at all. Unfortunately for Culliford and Lillithina, having a child with no visible smurfmark on his forehead became more of a problem than it was a blessing.
Culliford did his best to try introducing his newborn son to the world he was born into. He took him to see Muscles Smurf, the village mechanic and carpenter who was the father of Hefty and Handy, so he could see what it would be like to work on machines and furniture. He took him to Baker Smurf, the village cook who was the father of Greedy and Nabby, to see him at work preparing food for everyday meals. He took him to Tiller Smurf, the father of Farmer, to see how the food they eat was grown. He took him to Aristotle Smurf, who would a few years later become the father of Brainy, who read him all sorts of children’s books from the village’s archives, not to mention showing his work as a published author. He took him to Picasso Smurf, who was the father of Poet, Painter, and Sculptor, to see how he makes all sorts of wonderful masterpieces with clay, stone, and paint. And probably against his better judgment, Culliford took his son to see Pranky Smurf, the father of Jokey, who showed him all sorts of gags he has invented and used over the years to fool his fellow Smurfs, though only his wife Trixie laid claim to inventing the exploding gift box that became Jokey’s common prank among his fellow Smurfs.
However, despite Culliford’s efforts, nothing of what he showed his son really brought out anything in the child that displayed any form of uniqueness in him. His son seemed rather content to being a nameless baby Smurf that acted like any other baby Smurf. His constant crying when it came time for feeding, diaper changing, or just needing attention became a common feature in the Culliford household, even to the point where it almost drove him and his wife crazy – even regretting the day when they found out they were going to have a baby.
Then one day, Culliford decided he was going to take his son on a flight over the entire forest, to show him all the wildlife and to see all the mountains and the waterfall, again hoping that it might spark some interest in his son to become something other than just a normal nameless baby Smurf. Lillithina wished them well and to remain safe as the two of them took off together on the back of a stork.
However, as the two of them were busy flying over the forest, taking in all the sights, the clouds above them were starting to get dark, and Culliford could hear the sounds of thunder rumbling. He had a feeling that a storm was brewing, and that they were now in great danger as they felt rain beginning to pour down. He guided the stork to turn around and head back toward the village. But as the stork flew back, a few bolts of lightning began to strike the forest. One bolt was so close that it made the stork swerve wildly in order to avoid being hit. But as the stork swerved, Culliford lost his grip on his infant son, and the baby Smurf plunged from the sky into the tree foliage below.
“Baby!” Culliford cried, watching helplessly as his son fell to what looked like his death. There was nothing he could do at that point but hold on for dear life and make it back to the village in one piece.
Traveler watched as Culliford returned home to his wife, who became upset that such a thing happened when he told her the terrible news. Their fellow Smurfs also heard about the accident, and so they decided to comb the entire forest, hoping that they would find his son, wherever he may be, with the slim chance that somehow he survived the fall. After several days of searching, however, they realized that he was nowhere to be found, and so gave the couple the sad news that he most likely didn’t make it.
Lillithina became so upset she blamed Culliford for all sorts of things that led to the loss of their child, and eventually she ended up leaving Culliford, as she did in the actual history that Traveler knew, to live with Aristotle for a time, who again ended up fathering her second child Brainy. Culliford, again saddened and heartbroken by the loss, ended up living with a friend of his who allowed him the use of his laboratory, and kept himself busy working on various experiments that he never got started on when he was married to Lillithina, living in isolation. He again had a statue made in what would have been his son’s likeness as an adult Smurf, though the facial expression was that of a happy Smurf instead of one who knew his life was forever changed by having to live it in Psychelia. And again, when the statue was finished, Culliford mourned for his son before it.
Traveler was astounded that, despite the change in Empath’s history regarding the lack of being born with a smurfmark and other things, something in that particular history kept certain elements, such as the separation of Empath’s father and mother, pretty much intact. But Traveler still had to wonder – what happened to this version of Empath who was now lost from his father by an accident of nature instead of being forcibly taken from him by the Psyche Master, who now in this timeline was entirely unaware of Empath’s existence?
He headed back out into the forest to find out. He traveled back in history in that timeline to the point around when this alternate Empath fell out of the sky and saw that the foliage managed to break his fall, so that he ended up landing on a thick sturdy tree branch, unconscious. A short while later, a squirrel that was busy scampering to find shelter from the rain found the infant Smurf lying there. Uncertain of what to do, the squirrel decided to take the baby home with him, hoping that it would awaken.
At home in the squirrel’s nest after days of being unconscious, the infant Smurf awakened, apparently hungry. Fortunately, the squirrel who rescued him had a mate who had just given birth to a baby squirrel, so she was able to suckle both her child and the baby Smurf. Soon enough he was able to bond with this squirrel family who somehow simply accepted him as one of their own, though he was a relatively hairless creature compared to them. They gave him fur to shield his body with when he slept, even when the days were cold.
Due to the rather slow aging of a Smurf, however, the young infant Smurf found himself bounced from one family of squirrels to another as he grew to be a young Smurfling. Nonetheless, during those years that he grew among the squirrels, he picked up skills that enabled him to leap from tree to tree with the same agility and speed as a squirrel, and to communicate with the squirrels with the same kind of verbal language they used. He also learned to feed himself with the type of berries and foods in the forest that he alone could eat, though he could only lap up water from the river in a manner similar to a dog. Despite his unique stature, he rarely if ever walked upright, choosing to crawl around in the same way that squirrels do, behaving also in the same manner. It was a way of life for this young Smurf that Traveler wouldn’t have expected to come from this alternate version of Empath.
Traveler journeyed ahead into the timeline up to around 50 years since the alternate Empath’s birth. In the village, he saw the same thing happen just as it did in the actual history that he knew: Culliford’s fellow Smurfs were slowly dying of an unknown incurable disease that was leaving more and more of their children as orphans. Culliford was called to help some of his fellow Smurfs find out what was causing the disease to spread, as well as why he and all the children were spared the ravages of it. But nothing Culliford could do could stop the disease from continuing its course, even through his wife Lillithina.
Traveler saw at that point Culliford sitting by his wife's bedside, looking at her as she struggled for the last several minutes of life left just to tell him something important. Brainy wanted to stay with his mother to the end, but Lillithina sent him outside to play with his fellow Smurfs so that they could have her last moment with her husband alone.
"Brainy has no father to look up to now since Aristotle passed away," she spoke with great difficulty. "Promise me, my dear Culliford, you will look after Brainy while I smurf care of our other son in the hereafter. He's all that I have left to give you!"
"I promise to you I will!" Culliford answered, holding his wife's hand gently. "I want you to know that I'm sorry about what happened to our son."
"I know," Lillithina whispered, "and I forgive you."
Then she drew her last breath and closed her eyes forever. As she did, Culliford wept for her.
As more of Culliford’s fellow Smurfs died, Traveler saw that he was left with more with their children. As much as Culliford yearned to be a father again, he never expected it to happen like this, with more Smurflings than he could handle by himself. Fortunately, those few adult Smurfs that were still alive and active gave him all the help they could give, teaching whatever would be useful for the children to survive. Somehow, they knew that Culliford would outlive them, so they trusted that he would always be there for the children when they themselves would pass on. They also knew that he would help the children grow into adulthood and someday have children of their own so that the village would survive.
Then Traveler saw at some point that Culliford was alone with 97 Smurflings in the village, making a fateful announcement. Most of the Smurflings looked uneasy as Culliford spoke, but they bravely listened.
"My little Smurfs," he said, "from this day on we now face a new way of life in the village. This is going to be as much difficult for you as it will be for me, so I am asking all of you Smurfs to help me. I know some of you are already very skilled in the essential tasks of the village while the rest of you may have little or none of those skills on hand. We will need to learn how to cooperate with each other, learn from each other, smurf out for each other, and just be there for each other. Only by working together can we smurf the strength to carry on and survive, as all of your parents would have wanted you to do. I will do my best to be there for each and every one of you and care for you as my own, because you are all now my little Smurfs."
"Don't worry, Uncle Smurf!" a Smurfling named Handy spoke out. "We'll help you smurf care of things so you won't have to do it all. We'll smurf our best to make you proud of us, won't we?"
"Well, if he is, then I smurftainly will!" another Smurfling named Hefty joined in.
"Count me in, too!" Brainy, the third Smurfling, insisted. A dozen other Smurflings made similar statements, and then finally all the others did the same.
"Uh, just one thing, Uncle Smurf," a fourth Smurfling named Clumsy asked. "What do we call you now?"
Culliford chuckled at the question. "I'm not your Uncle Smurf anymore, Clumsy. From now on, you can just call me Papa Smurf!"
"Papa Smurf?!?" every Smurfling exclaimed.
From that day on, Traveler saw that Culliford as his name died along with the rest of his fellow Smurfs, as the alternate Empath’s father undertook a transformation into his new identity as the Papa Smurf. He spent more hours being awake, as well as an incredible amount of energy, trying to settle every dispute, answer every question, teach every simple task, and just be there for all his little Smurfs at the same time. At first it exhausted him to the point where he wished he could enjoy the restful peace of his wife and his own fellow Smurfs in their graves. But after about twenty years of having to live like this, Papa Smurf and his little Smurfs finally became adjusted to this new way of living, and Papa Smurf became more relieved and friendlier. The day when Papa Smurf just stood back and watched as his little Smurfs took care of everything in the village, after all his trials and tribulations with every single young Smurf, left him feeling proud about what he accomplished through his efforts.
Yet Papa Smurf knew that even a busy leader like him needed time for himself. So when fewer of his little Smurfs needed him for anything, he used what spare time he had to resume his projects in the laboratory, being careful to balance his time between personal work and being a father figure. Despite this, Papa Smurf still felt empty without his son in his life, and unlike what happened in the actual history that Traveler knew, there was nothing that happened in this timeline that was anything like a beacon of hope to change that. Papa Smurf remained perpetually unaware that his son was still alive, yet now living among the animals in the forest and learning how to live like he was one of them.
One day, though, Papa Smurf’s son was scampering through the forest as close to the village as he could. From the treetops that he could look down on, yet nobody could see him in, he was seeing these Smurfs for himself, examining how they lived and, in particular, how they dressed. Being that he lived his entire life up until that point without the need for wearing any clothes, he was surprised that these blue-skinned beings like him even needed to be dressed in just a hat and pants. Yet something in him wanted to identify himself as being like them rather than just being like an animal.
One night, he stole into the village very quietly and took off with a piece of cloth from Tailor’s workshop. He used that piece of cloth to fashion for himself a crude-looking loincloth to cover up the lower part of his body, much as he saw Smurf pants doing the same for the Smurfs in the village, tying it tight around his waist with a strong piece of vine. Then he took some leaves and wove them together in the form of a Smurf hat which he wore on his head.
Then he went down to the river and took a look at himself wearing the loincloth and the Smurf hat. He saw a glimmer of a smile on his face in the reflection, knowing that he now at least resembled a Smurf.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-18-2022 08:31 AM
Chapter 4
Over the next 80 years, Traveler saw nothing entirely remarkable happen with either Papa Smurf’s son or with Papa Smurf and the other Smurfs as life continued to go on without any of them yet crossing paths with each other. Sir Johan and Peewit still first encountered the Smurfs when they were trying to get back a magic flute that was stolen from them by Matthew McCreep. Gargamel still entered the forest and threatened to get his revenge on the Smurfs when they rescued one of their own from his evil clutches. He also still created the Smurfette who was originally used as a pawn to destroy the Smurfs, and then later was changed into a real Smurf by Papa Smurf, who later foiled his plans to capture the Smurfs. Baby Smurf still came to the village, and then was later followed by the Smurflings who came from Smurfling Island to look after him, bringing Puppy along with them who again was given to the Smurfs by Homnibus. Sassette was still rescued from being imprisoned in a crystal, though temporarily was given the false story of also being a creation of Gargamel. Scruple still became the mischievous unwanted apprentice of Gargamel when he was kicked out of the guild of sorcerers for his constant bad behavior.
However, the day that would have been Empath’s 150th birthday – the day of his final return from Psychelia in the history that Traveler knew – wound up being yet another ordinary day in the life of the Smurfs who were still yet unaware of the existence of Papa Smurf’s son. No party tables and decorations were being set up, no birthday cakes were being made, no special gifts like the one Empath received from Tailor were being prepared. Nobody was sent to Psychelia to pick up any Smurf who happened to be there waiting for them – if indeed there was any Smurf there. The Psyche Master continued to raise and train the Psyches in Psychelia without any interference from any outsiders. Even Polaris Psyche, one of Traveler’s great-grandfathers, continued his life free of anything that would have give him an inkling of a desire to leave Psychelia.
But then came the day when the existence of Papa Smurf’s son would be known. It happened about a month or so after what would be Empath’s 150th birthday when the Smurfs had ventured out into the forest in a small group to gather nuts. Brainy, being one of the Smurfs in that group, was already complaining about the job. "Nuts! Why do we have to gather all these nuts?" he said as he dropped an armful of them into a cart.
"Brainy, for the smurfy-third time, Greedy needs them for his smurfberry acorn surprise," Smurfette replied, tired of hearing Brainy complain.
"Well, it would have to taste pretty smurfy for us to be smurfing all this way out here for the nuts, is all I have to say," Brainy said as he picked up his cart and started pulling it, not noticing that a pair of eyes was watching him and the other Smurfs from inside a bush.
Nat and Sassette were busy filling up their carts when Nat stopped in the middle of his work. "Hey, what was that?" he asked.
"What was what, Nat? I didn't hear anything," Sassette responded.
"I did, over in those bushes," Nat said as he dropped the acorns into his cart and then walked off in the direction of the sound he was hearing.
"It was just some animal smurfing by, Nat," Smurfette said as she loaded up her cart.
"No, Smurfette, I know the way that animals sound," Nat said, sounding very insistent.
"Nat, Nat, Nat, even I can't identify every single animal in the forest, but I'm very sure that it's nothing that we need to worry ourselves about," Brainy said. "Why, just the other day..."
But just as Nat got close to the bush, it started to rustle, as if there was some kind of animal inside it that was going to strike at any minute for being disturbed. Brainy yelped in fear, and Smurfette cried out, "Be careful, Nat," as Nat looked closer into the bush to get a good look.
Then suddenly an animal did come out of the bush -- a gray squirrel. It just sat there and looked at the three Smurfs who were looking at it with curiosity. "Why, it's only a squirrel, Brainy," Sassette said, feeling somewhat relieved.
"I bet that it simply wanted to smurf one of the acorns we were gathering," Nat said, as he picked up an acorn and gave it to the squirrel, who then rushed off with the acorn and disappeared behind some bushes.
Then Smurfette found an acorn lodged underneath a tree root and tried to pull on it, but somehow it wouldn't budge. She called the other three Smurfs who were near her to help pull the acorn out from the under the root. But as the four of them pulled together to get the acorn out, it ended up setting off a trap that captured them inside a net.
Soon Gargamel appeared, along with his cat Azrael. "Well, well, well, it seems that my trap has captured a few Smurfs this morning," he said with unbridled glee as he took the enclosed net down from the rope it was attached to. "I've been waiting all night out in the woods for one of my traps to spring, so you must know how hungry I am for breakfast. Well, by the time I am through with you, none of you will live long enough to enjoy your lunch."
"Oh, Pappy Gargamel, you can't do this...you just can't," Sassette pleaded. "I'm your daughter, remember?"
"Daughter schmaughter...you're just as delectable to me as the other Smurfs," Gargamel said. "Besides, who is there to even stop me?"
Then suddenly came a blue blur that jumped out at Gargamel from a nearby tree, attacking him with such speed and strength that it caught the human wizard off guard, kicking him right in the nose and causing him to drop his net. His cat Azrael tried to scare away this blue being that attacked his master, but the attacker reacted fearlessly to Azrael by hissing back at the cat, putting such fear into him that he jumped right onto Gargamel's face, causing him to curse and stagger. The Smurf then overturned one of the carts carrying acorns and made Gargamel lose his footing as he rolled his way off a cliff along with Azrael.
The squirrel then returned to chew through the net so that the Smurfs could escape. But before they could ask any questions, the Smurf reappeared again, whistling to get the squirrel's attention. It quickly scampered away with the Smurf, leaving the other Smurfs wondering who or what that Smurf was.
Papa Smurf was with Tapper, Duncan, Hefty, Tracker, and the other two Smurflings as they watched the group of Smurfs return to the village. “What happened in the forest that made you smurf back so soon, my little Smurfs?” he asked.
“Pappy Gargamel smurfed us in one of his booby traps, Pappy Smurf, but we managed to escape with our smurfs,” Sassette reported.
“There was this Smurf out in the forest that smurfed so wildly that smurfed to our rescue,” Nat added. “He just smurfed out of the trees as fast as a squirrel, and then just smurfed straight into Gargamel and smurfed him down to the ground, and then he smurfed a mean scare into Azrael that smurfed him away.”
“You mean there’s a wild Smurf out in the forest?” Snappy exclaimed. “That’s smurfally awesome!”
“A wild Smurf?” Hefty asked as he overheard this report. “I thought that we’re the only Smurfs who smurf in this forest. How could there be yet another Smurf that we don’t smurf anything about?”
"Something in my spirit tells me that this is one situation that needs to be further investigated upon, if those Smurfs are telling the truth," Tapper said.
This made Papa Smurf stroke his beard and furrow his eyebrows in wonder. He had a feeling that this “wild Smurf” may be in fact his own son that he thought was forever lost to him years ago when he fell from the sky while he and Papa Smurf were escaping a lightning storm on their way back to the village. But he wasn’t certain of whether to tell his little Smurfs that, since they have come to know him solely as Papa Smurf since they lost their own parents.
“You’d better smurf me where it is you’ve smurfed this ‘wild Smurf’,” Papa Smurf suggested. “If there is yet another Smurf in this forest, we’d want to let him know that he isn’t alone.”
"Maybe me and Hefty should come along to help you Smurfs find him, Papa Smurf," Tracker requested. "Who knows who or what exactly we're dealing with?"
"Very well, then," Papa Smurf said. "Duncan, you're in charge of the village until I return."
"Aye, Papa Smurf," Duncan said. "Be careful out there."
The four Smurfs took Papa Smurf, Hefty, and Tracker back to the site where Gargamel’s booby trap had caught them and the group of Smurfs they were with. But aside from the broken trap, there was no trace of this “wild Smurf” anywhere in the immediate vicinity.
“I don’t undersmurf it, Papa Smurf,” Brainy said, scratching his head. “He was here a few minutes ago. He couldn’t have just disappeared like that.”
“Tracker, do you hear anything in the forest?” Papa Smurf asked.
Tracker used his finely-tuned hearing to listen to the ambient sounds of the forest, and then just shook his head. “Nothing, Papa Smurf. If this ‘wild Smurf’ is still smurfing around the forest, he isn’t smurfing a single sound in doing so.”
“Why do I smurf the feeling like we’re smurfing after a ghost?” Papa Smurf asked, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“Whatever it was, it smurftainly was no ghost that smurfed at Gargamel like that,” Sassette responded.
“Clockwork Smurf could probably smurf Gargamel down with that kind of strength and speed, but I don’t think he could smurf away Azrael with just a mean face and a fierce growl,” Nat said.
“Papa Smurf! Smurf here quickly!” Tuffy's voice called out from another part of the forest.
Papa Smurf and the other six Smurfs quickly ran over to where Tuffy and a few other Smurfs were gathered, where they heard loud hissing and growling sounds. “We found this Smurf smurfing in one of Gargamel’s traps that was hidden behind this bush,” Tuffy reported. “But he’s smurfing like an animal and won’t let any Smurf come near him. He almost smurfed off my fingers when I tried to reach in to smurf him down..”
“That should smurf you not to smurf your finger in places where it doesn’t belong, Tuffy,” Jokey quipped, laughing at his own joke.
“Smurf as much of the brush back as you can away from the cage,” Papa Smurf ordered. “I want to smurf for myself this Smurf that was captured.”
Hefty and Tracker pulled back much of the brush, to reveal a Smurf around the same age as Papa Smurf’s male adult “little Smurfs”, wearing a leaf-woven Smurf hat and a tattered old loincloth, trapped in the cage. He retreated as the brush that was covering him was now being pulled back to reveal him.
Papa Smurf bravely took a look inside the cage where this “wild Smurf” the other Smurfs found was trapped in. He was cowering in a corner of the cage, not wanting any Smurf to touch him.
“Don’t worry, my little Smurf,” Papa Smurf spoke soothingly, slowly extending a hand inside the cage. “I won’t harm you, and neither will the other Smurfs. You’re among family who cares for you. Let me take a close smurf at you.”
The “wild Smurf” cautiously approached Papa Smurf and sniffed his hand, making sure that he was no threat. Then he allowed Papa Smurf to hold his face with his hands as he examined him. Papa Smurf was amazed at the fact that, despite his now being around 150 years of age, the “wild Smurf” looked very much like his son – the very son he thought had died when he fell from the sky on that rainy day they went flying over the forest.
“Do you remember me?” Papa Smurf asked him. “I am your Papa Smurf. You are my son, the one I smurfed into the world many years ago. I lost you out in the forest, and now here you are grown up.”
The “wild Smurf” reached out his hands and pulled Papa Smurf’s face closer so he could have a look for himself. He studied every feature of that face, as if he was hoping to remember something about this Smurf claiming to be his father. There was a look of surprise as he too recognized Papa Smurf for what he was despite what the years had also done to him.
“Hefty, smurf open the cage,” Papa Smurf ordered. Hefty took a stick and used all his strength to break the cage open, allowing the “wild Smurf” to come out. He immediately leaped toward Papa Smurf and grabbed him in such an embrace that Papa Smurf could not break free from. The other Smurfs just simply watched as Papa Smurf put his own arms around the “wild Smurf”, who was sobbing over meeting his Papa Smurf again for the first time in years.
“Welcome home, my son,” Papa Smurf gently told him, a tear dripping from his own eye.
Soon Papa Smurf and the other Smurfs who were with him led Papa Smurf’s son back to the village, where Papa Smurf called the rest of the Smurfs together to greet the “wild Smurf” in the village center. They all looked curiously at this Smurf who seemed to scamper like a squirrel and even speak like one, wondering where he had come from and why he was behaving like this. All Papa Smurf could tell them was that he was most likely raised by squirrels as he grew up, though he could not explain how that Smurf was able to fashion a Smurf hat out of leaves or even a loincloth.
“At the very least, my little Smurfs, our newfound Smurf is back home in the village where he belongs,” Papa Smurf finished. “So I want you all to smurf him feel like he’s just one of the family and smurf him whatever he wants and needs so he can feel like he’s right at home.”
“We’ll do our best to give this Smurf a smurfy welcome home, won’t we?” Smurfette responded eagerly, finding her heart already going out to Papa Smurf’s son. The other Smurfs all seemed to agree with that.
“Uh, what do we call this Smurf, Papa Smurf?” Clumsy asked out of curiosity.
Papa Smurf wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Just simply call him Wild Smurf, Clumsy. I don’t think he would be offended by that name.” He looked toward his son to seek his approval. “Does that name sound smurfy to you?”
Papa Smurf’s son nodded, not minding this impromptu naming of him in the least.
“Well, I guess that’s settled,” Papa Smurf concluded. “From now on, Wild will be his name.”
Traveler watched as Papa Smurf helped his son, now named Wild Smurf, get adjusted to learning how to live like a Smurf, though now because he had spent his entire life out in the wilderness learning to live like an animal and was only now learning how to live like a Smurf, the learning process was much more challenging. Papa Smurf first took him to Tailor’s workshop, where he gave Wild a white cap and a white pair of pants to wear. Upon trying them on, however, Wild acted very strangely, as if the Smurf clothes he was now wearing was irritating him. He basically ended up hopping all over the workshop trying to get the clothes off him, knocking over anything that was in his way and making a total mess of Tailor’s workshop. Eventually Papa Smurf got Wild to calm down long enough for Tailor to get the Smurf clothes off him, inspiring Tailor to sew up a new loincloth that had a drawstring attached to it. Wearing that and his old leaf-woven Smurf hat, Wild felt much more comfortable and happier.
Next, Papa Smurf took him to the dining area where Greedy was serving split pea soup for lunch. Greedy never saw another Smurf that had such an appetite for food like himself or his brother Nabby, who although lacked Greedy’s skill for making food was so much a food freak that he resorted to filching games to get his hands on more of it. But what was really unsettling was Wild’s eating habits, which were much more like an animal’s. He ate his bowls of split pea soup by just sticking his face right into the bowl and slurping it up, making loud noises as he did. Then he saw Papa Smurf just simply pick up his bowl of soup and pour it into his mouth to drink in the last gulps of his serving. That made Wild desire to do the same with his bowl of soup, although his first attempt to do so caused a bit of soup to be spilled upon his person. Some of the other Smurfs sitting around the dining table, though somewhat offended, simply took it all in stride, knowing that someday Wild will learn to behave more like a Smurf. A few others, like the Smurflings, simply thought Wild’s eating manners were rather amusing.
Then came Wild Smurf’s attempt to play smurfball with his fellow Smurfs. He first watched the game being played by Hefty’s team and Player’s team, fascinated by seeing the red ball being volleyed back and forth across the line marked in the dirt between the two teams, hoping that either team would miss the ball in order to score a point. Then came Wild’s turn to participate in the game, playing on the team opposite Hefty’s team. The other Smurfs were astounded by that, despite his hopping around on all fours instead of standing upright like his fellow Smurfs, Wild was still able to play the game quite well, basically leaping around, using his head and his feet to volley the ball back across the line toward the other team. But then came a bit of a problem when Wild Smurf had accidentally crossed the line in his next attempt to volley the ball. A Smurf on Hefty’s team sternly warned Wild that his crossing the line disqualified his team from winning a point. Unfortunately, that made Wild so mad that he leaped on the Smurf that reprimanded him, wrestling him violently to the ground and pummeling him fiercely to the point where Hefty and a few other Smurfs had to pull Wild off his victim before he caused serious harm.
Papa Smurf, who was watching this scene happening, realized that his son now needed a course in the social graces of a Smurf. He escorted Wild safely away from the playing field and took him somewhere else so he could have a talk with him.
“You have to smurf the difference between an attack and a friendly warning, Wild Smurf,” Papa Smurf tried to explain as Wild tried to listen. “Those Smurfs weren’t out to harm you – they just wanted you to follow the rules of how to play smurfball so you can have fun with your fellow Smurfs. I know it’s going to be difficult for you to undersmurf this now, but I know that in time you will be able to know all that there is to know about being a Smurf, and you will be able to interact with your fellow Smurfs in a way that doesn’t smurf any harm to any of them. And no matter what happens, it won’t smurf me love you any more or less as a son of mine.”
He then saw Brainy passing by with one of his Quotations books, heading somewhere with it, and decided to intercept him. “Brainy, I’m smurfing you in charge of teaching Wild Smurf how to better behave himself as a Smurf,” he directed. “He may also need to be educated so that in time he could learn to speak like a Smurf.”
“Why, absosmurfly, Papa Smurf,” Brainy replied, eager to share his knowledge of things with the newcomer Smurf. “You can count on me, Brainy Smurf, to make smurf that Wild knows all the basics about being a Smurf, and to smurf him a wellrounded education, smurfing him about Smurf history and culture and philosmurphy and…”
“I’m sure that you’ll smurf a fine job in teaching Wild Smurf all that you know, Brainy,” Papa Smurf interrupted, not wishing for Brainy to go on and on. “But let’s start with something simple, like trying to smurf him to speak. I’ll also assign Smurfette and a few other Smurfs to help you in any way possible to teach Wild Smurf other things about being a Smurf.”
Wild Smurf looked at Papa Smurf rather fearfully, as if he didn’t want Papa Smurf to leave him.
“It’s all right, Wild,” Papa Smurf comforted him. “I’ll still be in the village if you need me for anything. I’m leaving you in the good hands of Brainy and some of your fellow Smurfs. They will smurf good care of you and make sure that nothing wrong happens to you while you are here with us.”
Wild Smurf seemed to understand that as Papa Smurf turned him over to Brainy.
In a mushroom cottage that was being used as a schoolhouse for the Smurflings, Brainy began to teach Wild Smurf simple things such as the basic alphabet and some simple words to learn. Wild sat behind a student’s desk trying to pay attention to the words Brainy was writing on the chalkboard.
“Okay, then, can you say the word ‘smurf’?” Brainy instructed as he looked toward Wild.
Wild simply stared at Brainy without any understanding of what he was trying to do.
“’Smurf’,” Brainy repeated, pointing to the word on the chalkboard with the piece of chalk. “Say the word ‘smurf’.” But Wild just continued to stare at Brainy.
“You say the word with your lips,” Brainy pointed out, slowly saying the word “smurf” in the hope that Wild could see what he was supposed to do with his lips.
Still Wild just stared at Brainy.
Brainy sighed, realizing that he wasn’t going to get Wild to say even the common word “smurf”. “Okay, then, can you write the word ‘smurf’ on your slate?” he instructed. He picked up the writing slate that was on the teacher’s desk. “This is the slate.” He also picked up a piece of chalk. “This is a piece of chalk.”
Wild found both items on his desk and picked them up.
“Good,” Brainy beamed. “Now you write the word ‘smurf’ on your slate.” He illustrated this by slowly writing the word “smurf” on the writing slate, doing it close enough so that Wild could see what he was supposed to do with both items. “See, ‘smurf’. Now you write it.”
Wild put down the slate and sniffed the piece of chalk with his nose. He then took a bite out of the piece of chalk.
Brainy groaned at this. “No, no, no, Wild,” he scolded, taking the piece of chalk out of Wild’s hand. “You don’t eat a piece of chalk, you write with it.” He also took the writing slate on Wild’s desk away and then brought over from the teacher’s desk a bottle of ink, a quill, and some pieces of paper.
“Let’s smurf something else to write the word ‘smurf’,” Brainy suggested. “Now this is a quill. You dip the quill into the ink that is in this bottle. You use the ink on this quill to write the word ‘smurf’.” He illustrated this by slowly dipping the tip of the quill into the ink bottle in front of Wild so he could see, and then he wrote the word “smurf” on a piece of paper in the same manner. “See, that’s how you write ‘smurf’. Now let’s see you write it.”
Wild picked up the quill and sniffed at it briefly before flinging it aside. Then he picked up the bottle of ink and sniffed its contents through the bottle’s opening before drinking it.
Brainy groaned even harsher than before. This was one lesson that wasn’t going to go well.
Brainy decided that he would forego trying to get Wild Smurf to learn about speaking and writing, and instead try to teach him how to stand and walk upright. He took him outside the schoolhouse to show him this lesson.
“See what I’m smurfing, Wild?” Brainy instructed. “This is called standing. This is what all Smurfs do.” He noticed that Wild Smurf was still looking at him, unsure of what Brainy was trying to teach him. “I’ll teach you how to stand,” he said as he tried to reach out to Wild. “Let me smurf you to your feet.” But Wild reacted fiercely to Brainy’s attempt to touch him, scaring him away.
“Okay, then,” Brainy said sheepishly, backing away from Wild, “I won’t teach you to stand yet. I’ll teach you how to walk. This is what all Smurfs do.” He then showed Wild walking by doing so, a simple back and forth across a very short distance.
“Of course, walking is better if you can learn to stand. Can you stand up for me?” He illustrated this by first crouching down by bending at the knees and then raising himself back up until he was standing upright.
Wild seemed to understand this motion. He imitated raising himself up until he was also standing upright. Yet he was still a little hunched over when he was standing.
“Well, that’s a start,” Brainy complimented. “Now watch again as I show you walking.” He again did a simple walk back and forth, slowly enough so that Wild could see and understand what he was supposed to do.
Wild tried to make his first steps, but he ended up falling back on the ground hunched over. Brainy slapped his forehead, again feeling that this was another lesson that wouldn’t go well.
Just then, Smurfette passed by outside the schoolhouse. “Hello, Brainy,” she pleasantly greeted. “How’s your schooling with Wild Smurf smurfing?”
“Why, Smurfette, it couldn’t have smurfed any better,” Brainy answered back, not wishing to reveal his current lack of success in his lessons. “I was just smurfing Wild how to speak, how to write, how to stand, and how to walk, and…”
Then Brainy suddenly noticed that Wild had darted over to where Smurfette is and was howling like a dog in front of her. Apparently Wild had felt the same kind of attraction for her that most of her fellow male adult Smurfs had felt when they first saw her after Papa Smurf had changed her into a real Smurf.
“Well, hello there, too, Wild,” Smurfette greeted, giggling at Wild’s reaction to her presence. “I can see you smurf the same kind of feelings for me as well. You don’t smurf so bad yourself for a male Smurf.”
Brainy cleared his throat, trying to get Wild’s attention. Wild then turned away from Smurfette and headed back toward Brainy.
“At the very least, you smurfed him to obey you, Brainy,” Smurfette commented, still not offended by Wild’s greeting her. “I have some things Papa Smurf wanted me to teach Wild about being a Smurf, if you can smurf time for me and Wild sometime during your own lessons.”
“Oh, smurftainly, Smurfette,” Brainy replied. “I’ll see what I can do to smurf you somewhere in my busy schedule of lessons that I have planned for Wild.”
Smurfette gave Brainy a look of total disbelief before she left.
After Smurfette was gone, Brainy turned his attention toward Wild. “You know, that is not how a gentlesmurf acts toward a lady, Wild. You don’t smurf up to Smurfette and start howling at her like she’s some animal in the forest. You have to treat a lady Smurf with some respect and courtesy. Like this.” He pretended that he was walking up to Smurfette to talk to her, even acting it out with gestures. “’Why, hello there, Smurfette. How are you smurfing today? I hope things are smurfing well for you. Is there anything I can smurf for you today?’”
Wild just simply sat there, unable to fully understand what Brainy was trying to teach him.
Brainy sighed. “Okay, Wild, I have to admit that Smurfette does seem rather smurfy, and I can’t blame you for acting that way in front of her. It’s just that she still hasn’t decided for the past five to six years who she wants to smurf her life with among the male Smurfs around my age. Maybe you may have better luck smurfing her heart than any of the other male Smurfs here, including me. But I don’t think it’s going to happen to you unless you start smurfing yourself to be more like us instead of like an animal.”
Wild simply sat and whimpered at the thought. He never had to think about these things before since he never had encountered any female Smurfs before now. He was so content when he was living the carefree life as a male Smurf roaming the forest the way he did. Now in addition to dealing with being around other male Smurfs that didn’t live like him, he also had to deal with living with a female Smurf that also didn’t live like him. And this one female Smurf is one that he felt like he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and he couldn’t understand why he felt that way.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-18-2022 08:32 AM
Chapter 5
At the end of the day, Wild Smurf was in Tapper’s tavern with his fellow Smurfs, apparently having the time of his life dancing and twirling and leaping and somersaulting to the tunes that were playing from the record machine. Earlier on, Tapper had introduced Wild to his first glass of sarsaparilla ale, which he drank in one single gulp. Surprisingly, he liked the taste of the ale so much, he signaled for Tapper to give him another glass of the stuff, which he also drank in a single gulp. However, Tapper could see that Wild had not yet experienced what drinking more than one or two glasses of the ale would do to a Smurf, since normally it would cause an adult Smurf to begin losing all sense of control. So far, however, the three glasses of ale Wild had ingested simply gave him so much more energy that he had no idea what to do with it. Tapper then decided that maybe he could introduce Wild to some music that he could dance to, so he simply selected a record to play and watched as Wild simply got into the beat, swinging and swaying around like he had been doing it all his life. The first song he chose was the Smurflings’ “Smurfbop”, and after the song was done Tapper showed Wild how to select another song just by pushing a button on the machine from a selection of choices. Wild chose the next song, which turned out to be Smurfs Without Hats’ “The Smurfy Dance”, and he enjoyed listening to it so much he ended up playing it over and over. Then he selected a song by Sloppy’s band Azrael Rocks, “Smurf This Way”, followed by Vanity Smurf’s “I’m Too Smurfy” and a dozen or so other songs by various Smurf musicians. However, Wild found only a few songs from among the ones he selected that were worth listening to over and over, and so the tavern was basically inundated by the repeating sounds of “Smurfbop” and “The Smurfy Dance”.
Tapper couldn’t help but simply watch Wild entertain himself all night in front of the record machine, noticing that he was like a kid in a candy store, always wanting to try something new and different, amazed by something most Smurfs have ended up taking for granted. The other Smurfs in the tavern either watched Wild or just tried to mind their own business in their own conversations and entertainments, despite having to put up with listening to the same songs over and over in the background. At the very least, Tapper knew that Wild wasn’t causing any trouble.
Traveler also stood and watched, unseen by any Smurf in this timeline – which seemed to be the case throughout his entire journey through the life of Empath’s alternate self thus far. The whole experience was like being in a laboratory of everyday living, studying everything and making notes of what he has observed from how the Smurfs that here would have been his ancestors lived out their lives in the timeline he has chosen. He only wished, as he was making a mental journal of what he has seen, that he could publish his findings somehow or to someone who would make better use of the information he had gleaned. But as Alternis had told him earlier, traveling through somebody’s alternate timeline is a rather personal experience that’s best left known only to the one who’s experiencing it.
Tapper then turned his attention from watching Wild’s nonstop dancing to Brainy sitting at the counter with a smurfberry seltzer in his right hand, while holding his head with the left hand, looking rather glum. “Having problems as the professor of Smurfology teaching our newfound Smurf brother the basics of being a Smurf, my good Brainy?” Tapper asked, trying to figure out why Brainy was looking the way that he did that night.
Brainy sighed, his mind still on the problems he was having. “Trying to teach Wild Smurf anything useful for being a Smurf has been next to impossible, Tapper,” he muttered. “The Smurflings are much easier to smurf with, since I rarely if ever smurf them eating pieces of chalk and smurfing down bottles of ink like it was smurfberry juice. If you ask me, I think he would have been better off smurfing out there in the forest with all the other animals instead of trying to make him besmurf something that he obviously has no interest in besmurfing.”
“Aye, that he is a strange sort of Smurf, Brainy,” Tapper stated, more amused than annoyed at Wild’s behavior. “But you can’t just smurf him back out to the wolves because of what he’s been smurfing in your classes. Just think that this Smurf has managed to survive his entire life so far with nary a single Smurf to relate to, which I smurfonally think is a miracle in itself. That he’s been smurfed out in the forest wearing nothing but a piece of cloth and leaves for a hat suggests that he may know at least what he truly is. And that he smurfed to the rescue of his fellow Smurfs without even knowing them seems to smurf that in that savage rough exterior of his smurfs the heart of a true hero, one who’s willing to risk his own life to smurf the lives of others. The only thing I can smurf to you at this point is to give Wild Smurf a bit of time so he can learn at his own pace rather than expect him to smurf at yours. Maybe in time he can smurf you things about his world that you might find interesting to smurf about.”
"I can only wonder how well he would smurf as a fighter now, because there's something about him that makes me feel that he's got the spirit of a McSmurf within him," Duncan said as he joined Tapper and Brainy at the counter for another glass of sarsaparilla ale.
"Only you would be able to test that out, my fellow Duncan, because I would rather be a peacesmurfer than a warrior, and I would pray for him to follow in the peaceful steps of the Almighty than in whatever steps other Smurfs would want to smurf him in," Tapper said.
Tapper and Duncan then watched as two Smurfs got up from their table, getting rather tired of hearing Wild playing the same songs over and over. “Okay, Wild, you’ve smurfed your fun,” one of them tried to say to him peacefully. “Let us smurf something else to listen to for a change.”
But Wild continued to dance around, immersed in his music, paying no attention to either of the Smurfs.
“Oh, so you won’t stop the music, eh?” the other Smurf asked, getting impatient with Wild. “I guess we’re going to have to change the tune on you.” He pushed a button on the record machine that changed the current song to one of a very different tempo.
Unfortunately, the change in the song also caused an instant change in Wild’s temperament. He went from extreme joy to unrestrained anger. He violently pushed one of the Smurfs near him to the floor while he hurled the other right into the record machine, demolishing it.
Tapper realized that something was wrong when the two Smurfs changed the song on Wild, causing him to go berserk. He knew that what those two Smurfs did was very unwise, but he now had to keep Wild from wrecking the place over a simple misunderstanding. “Tuffy, Duncan, try to resmurf Wild before he smurfs too out of control,” he instructed.
Tuffy and Duncan approached Wild but did not get too close to him. He was now crouching down low with a mean look in his eyes and gritted teeth, growling fiercely, ready to attack anybody that got close. Tapper knew that as long as they keep their distance, they and his other customers would be safe for now.
"Easy there, laddie, there's no need for us to smurf into a fight that either of us are going to regret now," Duncan said to Wild, trying to keep things from getting out of control.
“It’s okay, my good friend,” Tracker calmly said as he slowly came over to where Tuffy and Duncan had cornered Wild near the wrecked record machine. “Nobody here wants to hurt you. We just want to make smurf nobody else here gets hurt. What those two Smurfs smurfed to your music wasn’t very smurfy of them to do. I promise you that they won’t smurf that to you again. But you’re scaring the other Smurfs who just want to smurf a little harmless fun in here.” He extended his hand toward Wild in the same way Papa Smurf did when he first encountered him in the cage. “If you can’t trust the other Smurfs in here, at least trust in me. I won’t smurf anything bad to you. You have my very word on it as a gentlesmurf.”
Wild’s mean look on his face slowly started to melt away as he saw and heard Tapper speaking to him like Papa Smurf did and would. He could see in Tapper’s face that he was speaking the truth. He relaxed his stance and allowed Tapper to approach him without fear, taking his hand and pulling him away from the unfortunate scene.
The other Smurfs cheered as they watched this situation resolve itself peacefully. But then Wild began to stumble on his feet, unable to keep himself moving. Tapper knew that the effects of the sarsaparilla ale were now taking hold on his new friend. Apparently the party was over for Wild for tonight.
“Looks like your job as professor of Smurfology is most likely needed right now, Brainy,” Tapper called out as he tried to carry the now-staggering Wild in his arms. Brainy came over and helped carry Wild back home to Brainy’s house, where Papa Smurf assigned his son to sleep, while Tuffy took over to tend the tavern for the time being.
Brainy with the help of Tapper laid the now-intoxicated Wild on a spare bed that was set up in Brainy’s house. They pulled away the covers to lay him down on the mattress before covering him up.
“There, that should help him smurf off all that sarsaparilla ale he smurfed,” Tapper said, smiling that he brought Wild safely home after his night out in the tavern. “You know, Brainy, there’s just smurfthing about him that makes me feel like I’ve smurfed him all my life, as if somehow he and I were meant to smurf paths with each other. I also feel like there’s smurfthing about him and you smurfing together, as if you both were more than just good friends. Maybe that’s part of why you shouldn’t give up on teaching Wild Smurf on how to be like a Smurf.”
“I’ll try to smurf that in mind, Tapper,” Brainy remarked. “I just hope those Smurfs that he smurfed around in your tavern aren’t smurfiously hurt by what he smurfed.”
Tapper laughed a little. “It’s a good thing the only real smurfualty in that incident is just my record machine, my dear friend. Handy may not like having to replace it, but it’s a far cry from having to lose those unsmurfy foolish Smurfs over having to smurf those same songs time and again.” He looked at his pocket watch and noticed the time. “Well, time to smurf back into the tavern, make sure no one else is smurfing a ruckus while I’m gone. Hope you and Wild smurf a good night’s sleep, and to smurf you both again in the morning.”
“Thank you for helping me smurf him home,” Brainy said with some honest feeling behind it. Tapper smiled back at Brainy as he headed toward the door.
After watching Tapper leave his house, Brainy decided it was time for him to get some shuteye as well. He changed out of his Smurf clothes and into a nightgown and sleeping cap, placing his eyeglasses on a bed table next to his bed. Then he laid himself down on his own bed and extinguished the light of his candle. “Smurf dreams, Wild Smurf,” Brainy called out to his resting roommate before he finally closed his own eyes and fell asleep.
Traveler froze everything in this timeline at the point where Brainy fell asleep. So far he was amazed by what he had seen in this timeline, that despite how different things have happened with the alternate version of Empath’s life as this Wild Smurf, some things in that timeline’s “present time” and in that village haven’t changed. Tapper still seemed to be the same person here that his actual timeline self was, even though it was only in the “present time” that he first met Empath’s alternate timeline self. His role as the informal counselor of the Smurfs remained just as valuable an asset to his fellow Smurfs here as it did in the actual timeline where Empath played the role of the village’s main assistant counselor. Yet here Brainy remained unaware of the fact that he was the half-brother of this alternate Empath as the Wild Smurf, and though Wild was the older of the two brothers, Brainy played more of a protective role to his older brother than he did in the actual timeline and history that Traveler knew.
Traveler journeyed a bit into the following day and allowed the course of events in this timeline to continue.
The next morning, Wild woke up bright and early before all the other Smurfs and started racing around the village, crowing like a rooster. Most of the Smurfs didn't like hearing this while they were still in the middle of their sleeping, but Farmer paid it very little mind as he was already up around this time getting ready to work the fields. He just chuckled to himself and went about his business.
Then Wild saw a strange contraption sitting in Handy's garage next to his workshop which made him curious about what it's supposed to do. He jumped into the seat of the contraption and started fiddling around with the controls until it started up by itself and began moving, knocking Wild out of the seat.
As Wild chased after the runaway contraption, Painter was up and about, working on a painting in the early morning while everything was still and silent, when the contraption ran over both his easel and the village well, demolishing them both in a single pass. Painter gasped as he saw what happened to his work.
Handy woke up when he and the other Smurfs started hearing the contraption causing damage to a few Smurf houses and Smurfette saw it running over her flower garden outside her house. He and Papa Smurf chased after it as it had scooped up Wild Smurf who stood in its path in an attempt to stop it himself, until the whole thing stopped when it ran straight into Weepy's house, causing its owner to weep when he saw what Handy's runaway contraption had done.
"Great Smurfiny Crickets, is every Smurf all right?" Tapper said as he and Duncan joined the Smurfs that were gathered around the scene where Handy's contraption had come to a full stop.
"Michty me, what in Smurf's name happened here?" Duncan asked as he looked around.
"Wild Smurf happened here, Duncan," Brainy said. "I can't leave him alone for even a second without him smurfing a mess of things. Look what he had smurfed to the entire village while we were sleeping."
"I'm sure that the whole thing was just an accident, Brainy Smurf," Smurfette said.
"Sacre bleu, bringing this Wild Smurf here into the village was an accident waiting to happen, Smurfette," Painter said. "How am I supposed to smurf on a masteurpiesa without him smurfing a complete disaster?"
"I'd say that Wild Smurf is better off smurfing in the forest where he belongs," Vanity said.
"I couldn't agree more with that kind of sentiment," Brainy said, as some of the other Smurfs said likewise.
"I hate having Wild Smurf smurfing around here," Grouchy said.
"Now, now, my little Smurfs, I'm sure that Wild Smurf didn't intend to smurf any harm with what he had smurfed here this morning," Papa Smurf said. "If you will only smurf him a little bit of patience, I'm sure that he will learn in time not to smurf with things that he has no idea on how they smurf."
"Papa Smurf, Wild's just smurfed off into the forest with that gray squirrel," Tapper said as he noticed Wild Smurf scurrying off away from the rest of the Smurfs.
"Well, smurf riddance to him," Brainy said. "We were much better off without him smurfing in this village anyway."
"That wasn't very nice of you, Brainy Smurf," Smurfette said very angrily. "You hardly ever smurfed him a chance to prove himself to be a Smurf like us, and now you just want to be rid of him so you won't have to deal with him."
"Oh, come on, Smurfette," Brainy said, trying to defend himself. "I have been as patient as I could be around him, but the truth is is that he will never be a Smurf like us. There's just too much Wild in him for him to ever become a civilized Smurf like you or me, especially when I smurfed so much effort into..."
Brainy soon found himself flung to the village limits. "No Smurf ever really understands what it's like to be the kind of Smurf that I am, trying to bring culture to an unruly mass of savages," he groaned as soon as he landed. The Smurflings joined the scene at that very moment. "Pappy Smurf, what's smurfing on here? And where's Wild?" Sassette asked.
"I'm afraid he's smurfed back into the forest, my little Sassette, but rest assured I'm not going to lose him again like I did many years ago when he was just a baby Smurf," Papa Smurf replied.
"We'd like to smurf with you into the forest to help find Wild Smurf, Papa Smurf," Nat requested.
"Yeah, we certainly don't mind him smurfing in the village, even if he is rather strange," Snappy added.
"I don't care what the other Smurfs think about Wild, but I just want to show him that I still care for him and won't smurf him away, Papa Smurf," Smurfette chimed in.
"Very well, Smurfette, you and the Smurflings can join me in the search for Wild Smurf," Papa Smurf said. "I'll be leaving Hefty in charge of the village until I return, my little Smurfs, so I want you all to behave yourselves while I'm gone."
"Yes, Papa Smurf," all the other Smurfs said together.
Traveler watched as the six Smurfs headed off into the forest, calling out Wild's name in the hope that they will find him again. While he was used to the idea that being different from the other Smurfs would be cause enough to be persecuted, even if such behavior wasn't totally excusable, he didn't expect that the alternate version of his great-grandfather would be so intimidated that he would just run off into the forest with his squirrel friend without so much as telling anybody where he was going...if he could tell anybody anything through his animal noises.
After a while of walking and searching, Slouchy said, "Wherever this Wild Smurf is, I sure don't see him smurfing around anywhere. He must be really good at smurfing around in the forest to keep us from ever finding him again."
"He's got to be around here somewhere, Slouchy, I can just feel it," Nat said.
"Disappearing dodos, I can only wonder what Wild smurfs out here all by himself and how he ever manages to have fun," Sassette said.
"I bet that he gives Gargamel the creeps whenever he's out here in the forest all by himself, trying to smurf after us like he always does, Sassy," Snappy said.
"I really feel sorry for him, Papa Smurf, that he has to smurf his whole life out here being raised by animals and that they're the only friends and family that he even has," Smurfette said.
"I know how you feel, Smurfette," Papa Smurf said. "But if he really feels happy smurfing out here instead of with us, because that's what he thinks is his family, then there's very little that we can do to smurf him apart from the only family that he knows."
"Look, Papa Smurf, over there," Nat cried out, pointing in a certain direction.
Papa Smurf and the others saw Wild Smurf playing with the gray squirrel and a bunch of other squirrels that had gathered around. They stood at a distance to keep themselves from being noticed by Wild or the squirrels as they watched the scene taking place.
"That's truly amazing, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said, astonished by what he saw. "The squirrels treat him like he's one of them. I can see that he's happy smurfing with them instead of us."
But then Wild stopped and sniffed the air. He seemed to detect the presence of the other Smurfs nearby. He chattered something to the other squirrels, who then scurried off in various directions while he scampered up a tree and disappeared into a hole.
"Uh-oh, I don't think Wild's going to like us disturbing his little family smurf-together, Papa Smurf," Snappy said.
"At least we will be able to smurf with him alone, my little Smurflings," Papa Smurf said. "Now whatever you do, don't smurf anything that will cause him to smurf away from us."
"I'll be careful, Papa Smurf," Smurfette said as the six of them got closer to the tree where Wild Smurf was hiding in.
Wild Smurf peeked his head out to see that the six Smurfs were standing at the bottom of the tree. "Wild Smurf, please let us smurf with you," Papa Smurf said. "We mean you and your friends no harm around here."
"Please, Wild, smurf back to the village with us," Smurfette said. "I'm sure we can find a way that we can smurf together and that you won't have to be afraid of anyone."
Wild Smurf looked at them rather cautiously before he climbed back down to join the six Smurfs.
"Look, Wild, I'm sorry for how my other little Smurfs have treated you," Papa Smurf said. "I can see that you have a family out here in the forest with the squirrels, but they're not the only family that you have. You also have friends among the Smurfs who you also are part of, and they want very much to have you as part of the family that you have in the village. Your friends are also welcome to visit the village anytime that they want, but the last thing we want you to be is alone out here by yourself. Do you understand?"
Wild Smurf looked at Papa Smurf as he listened to everything that his father said to him, seeming to understand.
"There's nothing in the village you need to be afraid of, Wild," Smurfette said as she got close to him. "I'm sure that we can teach you to be a good Smurf just like us, but if you still want to be the kind of Smurf that you are, then I can understand. We won't force you to become something that you don't want to be."
Wild looked at Smurfette as he listened to her, seeming to understand everything she said. Then his tongue dropped out of his mouth as he stared at her.
"Uh-oh, it looks like Wild wants to do the wild Smurf thing with her," Slouchy said.
"Well, I think that Wild Smurf is rather handsome," Sassette said. "I only wish that I was in Smurfette's smurfs right about now."
"Well, whatever, let's just smurf back to the village and give these two Smurfs some privacy," Snappy said.
"I think they'll make a really smurfy couple together, just by the way they're smurfing at each other," Nat said.
"That's going to make the other Smurfs jealous," Slouchy said.
Tapper was with the other Smurfs, helping to put the village back in order, when he saw that Papa Smurf, Smurfette, and the Smurflings have returned with Wild Smurf and the gray squirrel he had run off with. "Oh, thank the Almighty that our wayward fellow Smurf has returned to us," Tapper said as he greeted them.
"I can see that the fair maiden has smurfed the heart of the savage Smurf," Duncan commented, seeing Smurfette's and Wild's arms around each other's shoulders.
"Wild will only be here as a visitor, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said. "His true family is with the squirrels out in the forest, but as long as he's here, we're going to treat him like he's one of us."
"Does that mean that his squirrel friend will also be here with us, Papa Smurf?" Brainy asked.
"The squirrel's name is Chitter, Brainy, and he will be with us as long as Wild is here," Papa Smurf said. "This village will be a home for the squirrels to visit us whenever Wild comes to visit us. And we will provide them with the same hospitality as we would for any of the other creatures in the forest. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Papa Smurf, I clearly understand," Brainy mumbled as he watched Papa Smurf head back to his laboratory.
"Gosh, it smurfs like Wild and Smurfette are in love with each other," Clumsy said as he and the other Smurfs watched the two Smurfs walking with each other.
"Wild and Smurfette," Hefty snorted. "Well, that will be the day!"
"I don't know what it is that Smurfette even smurfs in him that makes her feel so smurfy around him," Handy said, sharing the same feeling as his brother.
"I'm sure that Wild and Smurfette will become good friends with each other, and if they ever decide that they're going to smurf as a couple together, then I will leave it in the Almighty's capable hands, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said. "Right now, let's leave the two Smurfs alone in peace."
"I hate Wild and Smurfette being a couple together," Grouchy said.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-18-2022 08:35 AM
Chapter 6
At this point, Traveler began to wonder about Gargamel, the evil wizard who in the main timeline had been expelled from the forest for being too dangerous around the Smurfs, along with his cat Azrael and his apprentice Scruple. Apparently Wild didn't seem to be powerful enough to get the entire village to be behind him so that they could force Gargamel to leave, so that would result in a different outcome than the one he was all too familiar with from his great-grandfather's stories. He decided to rewind time to the point after Gargamel had his encounter with Wild Smurf and see what the wizard would end up doing.
Then he saw that Scruple was alone in the hovel, doing some cleaning work all by himself. He seemed happy to have some time away from the evil wizard, given how neither the young boy nor the wizard liked being stuck with each other since he wound up being reluctantly adopted by Gargamel.
"Gee, it's almost sundown, and Gargamel hasn't returned from his Smurf watch," Scruple said as he looked out at the sky from one of the windows and then returned to his cleaning. "That goofball must have had rocks in his head."
Suddenly the door opened, and Gargamel showed up looking like he had taken a beating by Bigmouth the ogre. "Actually, you obnoxious little twerp, the rocks were on my head," he said sourly as he stepped through the door with his cat Azrael following him, also looking rather beaten up.
Scruple gasped as he saw how his master looked. "Gee, Gargy, I've seen you taking some beatings before, but you never looked like that after dealing with a Smurf."
"And I will never look like that ever again, Scruple," Gargamel said as he walked right past his student. "My Smurf-chasing days are over." He picked up all the things that were on top of his work table and threw them on top of his stove. "No more Smurf potions, no more Smurf cages, no more Smurf traps. It's all behind me now."
"Gargy, are you really serious?!?" Scruple asked, not believing what he was hearing from his master.
"I have never been this serious in my life," Gargamel said. "I don't want to see them, I don't want to eat them, and I don't want to turn them into gold. All I want to do now is DESTROY THEM!!!"
Scruple fell to the floor when Gargamel yelled out his response. "Gee, Gargy, I'm, uh...glad to see that you're turning over a new leaf. Is there anything that I can do to help you?"
"Just one thing...stay out of my way until I tell you that I need you," Gargamel snapped as he headed for his bedroom and slammed the door so that he could be alone with his thoughts.
Traveler slipped inside the bedroom and saw that Gargamel was alone in what appeared to be in a prayer position. "O, Lucifer, I just don't understand this at all," Gargamel said as he faced the only open window in his bedroom. "There's no wizard who's more well-studied in the ways of those wretched blue creatures than I am, who's even been to their village and lived among them for who knows how long. So why is it now that I have to deal with one little Smurf who is more than capable of facing off against me myself? Oh, there's got to be a way that I can destroy them all, to be rid of them forever so I don't have to live even with that savage pipsqueak haunting me in the forest. There's got to be some way that you can help me."
Gargamel buried his face on his head and sobbed for what seemed to be an hour or so, but after that hour had passed, he looked up as if the deity he was praying to had given him his answer, the inspiration that he needed to fulfill his goal. He went back into his laboratory after Scruple and Azrael had gone off to bed and started working on a couple of potions that he was going to use to destroy the Smurfs with.
By nighttime, the potions were ready. He went out into the forest with his cat Azrael, holding the two vials seperately in each hand to keep them from being prematurely mixed together before giving them a proper test. "We should be far enough away from the hovel, Azrael," Gargamel said. He then noticed a small ant hill up ahead in his path and decided to test the potions out there. "I can only hope for the sake of the ants that this ant hill is as abadoned as it looks," he said as he knelt down and poured a drop from the green potion and then a drop from the orange potion, then stood back to see what kind of effect it would have.
Azrael dared to take a closer look at the ant hill as it started to glow, and then all of a sudden it grew until it became a big volcano that started spewing fire and smoke. Azrael quickly scurried away to safety hiding behind Gargamel.
"It works, Azrael, it works," Gargamel said gleefully. "And it took was just two drops. Imagine what will happen when I use all of the two potions together. There will be no place for the Smurfs to hide from the disaster that I will bring upon them for all the trouble they have brought me through the years."
Traveler realized that Gargamel would find another way to destroy the Smurfs completely, but unfortunately there wasn't anything that he could do to warn the Smurfs about it. He only hoped that someone in this timeline will notice it and give the Smurfs ample warning so that they could deal with the situation effectively.
He returned to the present time in the timeline, and saw that back in the village, the Smurflings woke up one morning to find that Nat isn't in his bed as usual. "Seafaring seagulls, where do you suppose Nat smurfed off to this morning?" Sassette asked.
"Who knows? He probably smurfed out into the forest with Wild Smurf to see how he smurfs and all," Snappy said.
"This early? Oh well, at least he won't smurf himself into any trouble," Slouchy said.
"Let's smurf ourselves ready for breakfast and see what Greedy's got smurfing for us this morning," Sassette said.
As soon as they got dressed, they headed out of their playhouse and were on their way to the dining hall when they ran into Smurfette. "Oh, Smurflings, do you know where Wild smurfed off to this morning?" she asked.
"We were wondering that ourselves, Smurfette," Snappy answered. "He probably smurfed off into the forest with Nat very early."
"Oh, dear, and I was going to smurf him on a picnic sometime today, just he and I alone together," Smurfette said.
"Who wouldn't? I mean...it's too bad he won't be home for a while, though," Slouchy said.
Smurfette sighed. "Well, I guess smurfing time with Nat is more important to him now. Maybe another time, he and I can enjoy the great outdoors together by ourselves."
Just then, Tapper joined Smurfette and the three Smurflings. "What a smurfy morning it's been for me, my fellow Smurfs," he said, sounding very worried.
"You don't sound like you had a very pleasant night's sleep, Tapper," Sassette said. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know what it is, but something in my spirit is telling me that we'll be in danger, and if we don't find Nat or Wild soon, they will be in danger as well," Tapper said.
"Then we've got to smurf out into the forest to find them and make sure that they're safe," Smurfette said.
"We want to smurf with you two, to help you find them both before something terrible happens," Snappy said.
"Very well then, my little Smurflings," Tapper said. "Just smurf close to us and don't smurf for anything unless you see those two Smurfs. I pray that we will be able to find them in time."
Papa Smurf was with Hefty and Duncan when they saw Tapper, Smurfette, and the three Smurflings head into the forest together. "I wonder what those laddies are smurfing at this time of the morning?" Duncan asked.
"Who knows? Maybe Nat got lost in the forest and they need to find him," Hefty answered.
"I'm sure that whatever it is, they are more than capable of handling the situation without needing us to smurf a hand," Papa Smurf said. "Now let's smurf ourselves over to Greedy's and get our breakfasts."
Meanwhile, Gargamel was heading in a certain direction with both of his potions in hand, while Scruple was trailing behind the evil wizard, carrying a cart full of equipment. "Hurry it up, Scruple, we haven't got all day," Gargamel snapped.
"Give me a break, Gargy," Scruple said as he was huffing and puffing and working up a sweat. "Where are we going anyway? What's the big plan?" He suddenly pinched his nose as he noticed a powerful odor in the vicinity. "And what's that awful stink?"
"It's the sweet smell of success, my sniveling student," Gargamel answered. "Look!"
Scruple stopped pulling the cart and joined Gargamel at the precipice in the location that they have stopped at. He looked and saw that it was a giant tar pit. "This is where you wanted us to go?" Scruple asked.
"That's right, and I'm going to use this tar pit to seal the Smurfs' doom by turning it into a volcano of tar," Gargamel answered. "But in order for it to work, the potions must be poured directly into the center of the pit."
"And how are you going to do that, Gargy?" Scruple asked.
"You'll see, as soon as we unload this cart," Gargamel replied, as he went to get the equipment that was loaded into it. Soon it was constructed into a primitive crane which the evil wizard used to lower Scruple into the center of the pit while holding onto the two potions in each hand.
"Be careful not to drop me into this tar pit, will you?" Scruple said, sounding rather fearful.
"Oh, be quiet...I know what I am doing," Gargamel shot back. "Now pour in the potions like I have told you...first the green potion, and then the orange."
Scruple poured the potions into the tar just as he was directed. Suddenly there came a rumbling as the tar pit started to stir rather violently. "Quick, Gargy, pull me back up!" Scruple cried out.
Gargamel tried to reel Scruple back in by using the crank to control the crane, but he soon found out that something was wrong. "Egads...I must have stripped the gears," Gargamel said before he started running for his life.
Scruple saw that Gargamel was abandoning him to his fate and quickly climbed up the rope to safety. "Oooooh, I'll get you for this, you stupid cowardly wizard!" Scruple shouted as he tried to vacate the pit before it turned into a volcano.
Out in the middle of the forest, Wild and Nat were both walking together, talking to each other. "Well, you sure know a lot about smurfing various animal noises, Wild, which is why you must be able to smurf to them much better than I can," Nat said. "I just wish the other Smurfs would better appreciate your abilities so they wouldn't have to treat you like they do."
Wild spoke a response in animal chatter that Nat seemed to understand.
"You seem to like Smurfette just like the other Smurfs in the village, and I certainly don't blame you, because she's just so beautiful," Nat said. "The only thing is, she's never chosen which Smurf she would love more than any others because she happens to like them equally. It's too bad that me, Snappy, and Slouchy are still Smurflings because we also love Smurfette the same way, but we're too young for her to marry."
Wild sighed, seeming to understand Nat, then spoke another response.
"Well, who knows, maybe you'll be the lucky Smurf who will capture Smurfette's heart and you might be the one who will marry her," Nat said. "I could only imagine what kind of life you will smurf with her, but as long as the both of you are happy, who am I to complain about it?"
Suddenly Wild stopped in his tracks, and motioned for Nat to be silent. "What's wrong, Wild?" Nat whispered. "What are you hearing right now?"
Nat heard for himself a growling that came from nearby. He turned and saw that they had just came across a fierce wildcat that had spotted them. This scared the both of them to the point where they started running for their lives.
Nat followed Wild up a tree where they hoped to escape the wildcat chasing after them, but the wildcat managed to climb up the tree and trapped them on a tree branch, with no possible way of escape. "Holy hickory nuts, Wild, what are we going to do now?" Nat asked, sounding very fearful.
Wild saw some hanging vines nearby and motioned for Nat to take a hold of one of them. Then Wild let out a loud cry as he swung himself to safety, far away from the approaching wildcat. Nat swallowed hard and did the same, holding on as tight as he could until he swung right over the same place that Wild landed, letting go of the vine so he could drop down. Wild caught him to make sure he landed safety.
Nat let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Wild...I'm sure glad you were able to save me from that wildcat." Then they noticed that Gargamel and Scruple were both running for their lives before they also noticed what they were running from: a deluge of thick hot black tar that was flowing through the forest. Wild and Nat saw that the tar was rising quickly and climbed up another tree to get to safety, but it would only be a matter of time before the entire forest...and soon the whole village...would be covered in tar.
Traveler saw that the Smurf Village was starting to panic as they felt a rumbling in the ground and saw that there was a huge volcano that emerged from somewhere in the forest...a volcano that was spewing tar. It was splattering the Smurf Village here and there, making a huge sticky mess that the Smurfs found themselves hard-pressed to escape from when they got stuck wherever the tar had hit them.
"Great Smurfs Of Fire! Where did that volcano come from?" Papa Smurf said as he saw what had emerged in the distance.
"I don't know, Papa Smurf, but I have a very bad feeling that it was smurfed by Gargamel," Duncan said.
"Crazy, sound the evacuation alarm so that the Smurfs will know to escape the village," Papa Smurf ordered. Crazy immediately went into action and sounded the alarm, getting all the Smurfs' attention.
"I've got Baby Smurf safely in my smurfs, Papa Smurf," Narrator said before he and Baby both got hit by a splash of tar.
"Michty me, Tapper, Smurfette, and the other laddies are still out in the forest, Papa Smurf," Duncan said. "We've got to go and find them before the tar smurfs them as well."
"As soon as we leave the village, we'd better smurf together and find higher ground for us to smurf out the deluge when it finally comes," Papa Smurf said. "I only hope that the other Smurfs out there will find safety soon."
Meanwhile, Tapper, Smurfette, and the three other Smurflings were still looking for Nat and Wild, but so far their search has been fruitless.
"I wonder if Wild will always be a wild Smurf, and if there's ever a possibility that the Almighty that you believe in is capable of saving him, Tapper," Slouchy said.
"Who knows, Slouchy?" Snappy said. "Maybe the Almighty made him to smurf that way when he was born."
"The Almighty never made any creature, particularly man, to be wild, my little Smurflings, despite what some might smurf to think," Tapper said. "Man was made to smurf the image of the Almighty, and the creatures are to be his servants to smurf dominion over. It is sin that has made man to be wild, and with that all of creation was affected as well. The only way that man can truly smurf the image of the Almighty is through the blood of His only begotten Son, and even then the world will never smurf at peace until He returns once more to redeem His creation and rule over it as He was fated to smurf."
"But is it possible that the Almighty can save a Smurf like Wild Smurf?" Sassette asked.
"There's nothing impossible for the Almighty to smurf except to lie, my dear Sassette," Tapper answered. "He is very much capable of making His gospel of salvation known to every creature, including our friend Wild, for he is one soul that I would covet to see smurfed into the Almighty's glorious kingdom."
Suddenly the five Smurfs stopped in their tracks when they started smelling something that was hot and sticky coming their way. "I have the distinct feeling that we're going to be smurfed with a deluge of something we don't want to be smurfed in very soon," Tapper said. "Quick, my fellow Smurfs, climb up onto that rock!"
They quickly scrambled up to the top of a nearby rock and watched as the tar came flowing by them, rising up so high that it was almost up to their feet. "Oh dear, how are we going to escape this?" Smurfette cried out.
"I honestly don't know, my dear Smurfette, but perhaps calling out for help will attract someone's attention," Tapper replied.
All five of them cried out for help as loudly as they could, hoping that someone would come to their rescue before the tar level rose too high. And then suddenly they found themselves being swung to safety by two Smurfs that were swinging on vines. It was Nat and Wild.
The Smurfs let ouf a sigh of relef as soon as they landed on a high ledge, away from the flow of the rising tar. "Oh, Wild, thank Smurfness you've saved us," Smurfette said as she gave Wild a kiss.
"No time to celebrate yet, Smurfette," Nat said. "The flow of tar is smurfing straight towards the village. We need to find a way that we can divert it away from there."
Tapper looked around and saw something they could use. "Those boulders up on that high ledge can smurf the trick, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said. "Now we just need a Smurf who is able to smurf up to that ledge and..."
Wild immediately started climbing up to that ledge and used a branch to act as a lever so he could dislodge the boulders. He pushed down on the lever with all his might, and then soon the rocks came tumbling down into the gulley below, blocking the path so that the flow of tar was directed elsewhere.
The six Smurfs cheered as Wild came back down from the high ledge to join them. "Smurfabunga!" the Smurflings shouted. "Wild Smurf is a true hero."
"I knew that Wild would prove himself to be a Smurf just like us, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said, sounding pleased.
"It's too bad that the flow of tar is now headed straight for Gargamel's lair," Nat said as he was laughing.
And as Traveler went to see, Gargamel was resting in his hovel, feeling relieved that he was safe from the flow of tar and imagining what it must be doing to the Smurf Village, when Scruple charged through the door and warned his master that the flow of tar was headed in their direction. Gargamel rose up and saw it for himself, then he, Azrael, and Scruple climbed up the chimney to get to the roof where they would be safe as the flow of tar filled the entire house. Gargamel ranted and raved, cursing the Smurfs for foiling his plan once more.
Traveler saw that as the Smurfs returned to the village and started cleaning the mess that the volcano had left behind, Tapper, Smurfette, and the Smurflings returned with Wild to tell Papa Smurf what had happened and that it was Wild that saved the village from being destroyed by the flow of tar. Papa Smurf was pleased to know that his son had acted as a hero in this situation and decided to reward him with a medal to honor his bravery and quick thinking. Wild was curious about the medal and tried to bite into it like it was a cookie, but Smurfette told him that it was a decoration for him to wear and hung it around his neck to show him. The Smurfs cheered as they saw that Wild was a true hero who belonged to the Smurfs.
But then Wild saw his squirrel friends waiting for him, and they seemed to communicate to him that it was time for him to leave them and join his true family out in the forest. Papa Smurf sighed, realizing that he can't keep his own son from being where he felt in his heart that he truly belonged. He went to get something from his house for his son to carry on him wherever he would go and gave him a medallion in the shape of a Smurf head.
"Just remember when you smurf this symbol that you as a Smurf are no longer alone in this world. You are always one with us in our hearts, minds, and souls, and every one of us will always live inside of you," Papa Smurf said.
Wild looked at the medallion briefly for a moment, then he gave Papa Smurf a hug before he scurried off into the forest with the squirrels while the rest of the Smurfs said goodbye to him.
"Oh, Papa Smurf, do you think we'll ever see Wild Smurf again?" Smurfette asked, sounding tearful.
Papa Smurf chuckled. "I'm very certain that this won't be the last we'll ever see of Wild Smurf, Smurfette. He's got to smurf with his family just as much as we got to smurf with ours here in the village."
"I can see that you like to smurf with him very much, my dear Smurfette," Tapper said. "There's just something about him that says that you and him are going to be more than just the smurfiest of friends."
"Oh, Tapper, he's just as handsome to smurf at as all the other Smurfs," Smurfette said. "How can I choose which one of you that I'm going to love more than any other Smurf?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if the laddie does become the Smurf you will think of very much, my sweet lassie," Duncan said.
"I hate Smurfette thinking of Wild very much," Grouchy said, overhearing the conversation.
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-18-2022 08:39 AM
Chapter 7
Traveler was glad to see that the alternate version of Empath would be recognized as a hero by Papa Smurf and his fellow Smurfs, but was surprised to see that he would return to the company of the squirrels he was raised with in the forest. His great-grandfather told him about how he would meet the Smurf that would become Wild Smurf in the timeline he was familiar with, and that he also preferred living out in the forest in the squirrels instead of living with the Smurfs in the village, amusingly saying that they can take the Smurf out of the wild, but they can never take the wild out of the Smurf. His great-grandfather had also grown to envy the freedom that the Wild Smurf was already accustomed to, even if he was what the Psyche Master would deem to be the epitome of everything that was wrong with the Smurfs.
He traveled further into the timeline to see that Wild would make occasional visits to the Smurf Village, making friends with the Smurfs who would be jealous of all the attention he was getting just because he could do things that they weren't able to do, including Hefty of all Smurfs. However, because in that timeline Gargamel wasn't driven out of the forest along with Azrael and Scruple, the evil wizard also continued to remain a dangerous threat to the Smurfs that they had to deal with time and again. Fortunately, Wild proved to be very helpful in those situations where his unique skills as a forest roamer came in handy to keep Gargamel from ever having his way with the Smurfs.
Wild also spent time with Smurfette, keeping her company while she continued to teach him more and more about how the Smurfs live when Brainy decided she was a much better teacher than he was. Of course, all that time Smurfette was spending with Wild was making the other Smurfs jealous and thinking that she was eventually going to fall in love with him, marry, and leave the village in order to live with him. To everybody's surprise, including Traveler's, Smurfette said that she just loved Wild as much as any other Smurf, and that she had no plans of marrying anyone just yet, which meant that there would not likely be a future where Wild and Smurfette would be fated to become lovers.
He stopped at a point a few years later when Snappy had brought home a baby dinosaur that was found in the mountains and had been unfrozen when the Smurfs went there to find a rare herb that Papa Smurf needed for one of his experiments. Snappy named the dinosaur Crinkles and wanted to keep him as a pet, despite all the damage that the dinosaur created when the Smurfling just wanted to play ball with him. Unfortunately, as the Smurfs found out, Crinkles was unable to eat the vegetation of the present time, which meant that he had to be brought back to the prehistoric era that he came from. Papa Smurf went to see Father Time to find out if there was a way that they could bring the baby dinosaur back home, and the guardian of time had given him a special key with sixteen glowing crystals embedded in it.
"This is my special Key Of Chronos, Papa Smurf, which is used to open up portals between one time period and another," Father Time explained. "Be careful with this, because without the crystals you will not be able to use the key, and without the key you can still use the crystals but they will not bring you back home to the time period that you came from."
Papa Smurf took the key back home and told his little Smurfs that he, Hefty, and Duncan will be traveling back in time to bring the dinosaur back home to the prehistoric era, and that he would leave Brainy in charge of the village until they return. However, as Papa Smurf had opened up the portal that would lead to the prehistoric era of the Smurf Village, it started sucking up the other Smurfs into the portal until all the Smurfs, including Wild, found themselves transported through time to the period where dinosaurs once lived. Of course, when they did arrive at that time period, the Smurfs were all surprised to find themselves wearing animal skins for clothing instead of their normal Smurf clothes. Papa Smurf told them what Father Time had told him, that when one travels through time using the Key Of Chronos, they would end up wearing "the latest fashions of that time".
But as Papa Smurf, Hefty, and Snappy went off to find Crinkles' parents and reunite the baby dinosaur with them, Clumsy went off to find some rocks to start a fire with and was abducted by a cave dweller by the name of Grog, who was fascinated by the "magic" that the little blue creature had conjured up and wanted to use him to be recognized as the most important person in his tribe. Brainy, Smurfette, and Duncan went to rescue Clumsy, only to find themselves being captured by Grog as well. However, soon after Crinkles was reunited with his parents, he helped Papa Smurf, Hefty, and Snappy rescue the Smurfs from Grog's grasp and returned them to the group of Smurfs waiting for the Key Of Chronos to be used again so that they could return home.
Unfortunately, as Traveler watched, the Smurfs were suddenly attacked by a giant dinosaur, causing Papa Smurf to accidentally throw the Key Of Chronos into a small crater full of lava, which melted the key but caused the crystals to be ejected from it before it was fully destroyed. By the time the Smurfs had warded off the giant dinosaur, Papa Smurf was left with nothing but the time crystals, and there was nobody else who was intelligent enough to help Papa Smurf figure out how to assemble them into a formation that could open a portal that would possibly bring them back home.
Meanwhile, Traveler noticed that Empath's friend Tapper was a bit more depressed than his fellow Smurfs over the entire situation. "Laddie, what's wrong with you?" Duncan asked, sounding concerned as he noticed this mood for himself. "You look as if the Almighty has abandoned you for smurfing something wrong."
"I just don't understand it, Duncan," Tapper said. "I have been raised on the belief that the Almighty had created the earth as a paradise in six days, and man in His glorious image, and yet I see no evidence of it in the time period we're in. How could this be? Was everything He ever smurfed in His holy book a fairy tale that He wanted people to believe in?"
"I'm afraid that I can't answer that question for you, Tapper, since I don't know much about the Almighty except from what you smurf me," Duncan said. "Maybe it's something you need to pray to Him about, if that's going to smurf you any peace of mind with yourself."
After a while of the Smurfs dealing with Greedy being abducted by a prehistoric bird who had mistaken him for her baby, and Brainy trying to get the baby off his hands and back to its true mother, Papa Smurf had finally opened the portal through an arrangment of the time crystals, which would at least get them out of the prehistoric past. Every Smurf seemed eager as they jumped into the portal and allowed themselves to be taken to wherever and whenever the portal would lead them.
And so through the various time periods and geographical locations, Traveler watched the Smurfs travel in their quest to get back home: ancient Egypt, the Emerald Isle, feudal Japan, the Polynesian islands, ancient Greece, ancient China, Babylon, Scotland, the South American Amazon jungle, Arabia, Transylvania, ancient Rome, Mughal India, Australia, Aztec Mexico, Antarctica, Spain, the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Russia, Camelot in England, Switzerland, Africa, the Netherlands. In each of the time periods, Wild proved to be heroic but still useless in helping Papa Smurf arrange the crystals in the proper order. In one time period, Wild was captured and used for a cuckoo clock, which forced the other Smurfs to come to his rescue.
And then finally, after more traveling through the timeline, Traveler saw...nothing. A big white empty nothing. "What is this?" he asked himself. "Where did this one finally end up?"
"You're at the end of time in this alternate timeline," another voice broke in.
Traveler saw that Alternis appeared where he was right now, in the middle of his timeline traveling. "How could the timeline just abruptly end like this?" Traveler asked. "What happened to the Smurfs from this point on?"
"I wish I could tell you, but this is one of the mysteries of the infinite timelines that branch out from one person's own life, Traveler," Alternis replied. "Sometimes a branch can extend itself almost indefinitely, and sometimes a branch extends only for a certain distance before it ends. It seems that the Smurfs were never meant to make it home from their time-traveling, however much you want to see its conclusion."
Traveler sighed. "Then this timeline journey is all for nothing, because Empath is never meant to travel down this path as the Smurf he might have become in it."
"Don't think that your first timeline journey is a failure because it has terminated into nothingness, Traveler," Alternis said, putting a hand on Traveler's shoulder. "You're only beginning to realize how complex your journey through a person's timeline really is, that there are things that will happen in those timelines that you will not expect to happen, not just because of what you have chosen, but also because of what fate may choose for those who are living in those timelines."
"But what could cause such an ending like this to happen?" Traveler asked. "There's got to be something we can do."
"This timeline must be allowed to end the way that it has ended, or else you could make things much worse by trying to divert it onto another course," Alternis said. "It is time for you to let it go."
Traveler realized that Alternis was right. He pulled his hand out of Empath's head, and instantly everything in that alternate timeline rushed by in reverse until he and Alternis were both standing in Empath's house at the very moment where Traveler had first touched Empath. Time was still frozen as Traveler and Alternis moved about in Empath's house, talking to each other.
"Empath was not meant to become anything other than what he is, or else this one's history would never exist, that much is certain," Traveler said. "I wish to know what may lie in store for the other Smurfs in the village."
"You may carefully explore the alternate histories of any Smurf you wish, but remember that you still cannot change anything in those alternate timelines, even if they will end in disaster," Alternis said.
"This one thanks you for your assistance, Alternis," Traveler said. "It is time to let Empath continue his life the way it is meant to be lived."
"And so we shall leave this place and let history in this timeline continue," Alternis said, as he and Traveler both left Empath's house while still being outside of time.
Empath sat on his bed, looking like somebody had just stepped on his grave. In a moment of time, he felt as if he had lived an entire lifetime that was different from the one he was living now -- being raised among squirrels, living as the Smurf that would be known as the Wild Smurf, using his skills to help save the village from disaster. It was like he had woken from a dream that was every bit as real as his own actual life.
"Great Ancestors," Empath said to himself. "This smurf can only wonder what it was that this smurf had experienced. Is it anything like the visions of the future that this smurf had seen some time ago? Something tells me that this may be something that this smurf would need to tell Smurfette about."
Then there was a knock on the door. "Empath, it's your friend Tapper. Me and Duncan are waiting to join you for breakfast this morning," the person on the other side of the door called out.
"Hold on, Tapper, this smurf is coming," Empath said as he quickly got dressed and left his house to start the brand new day.
At the breakfast table, Empath decided to ask a question that was on his mind. "Tapper, this smurf was just wondering what your thoughts are about those who think that your Almighty makes men to be wild," he said.
"I think that they do not truly know the heart of the Almighty as they think they do, my fellow Empath," Tapper said. "You see, man was made to smurf the image of the Almighty, and the creatures are to be his servants to smurf dominion over. It is sin that has made man to be wild, and with that all of creation was affected as well."
Duncan snorted as he listened to his friend speaking. "Well, I'm not sure that I would believe that smurf for a second, laddie."
"If sin has made people like Gargamel out to be evil, Duncan, who knows how much it has affected man and everything else that he lives with in nature," Empath said.
"Indeed, for the Almighty has smurfed through His prophet Jeremiah that the heart is deceitful above all things and is desperately wicked," Tapper said. "The only way that man can truly smurf the image of the Almighty is through the blood of His only begotten Son, and even then the world will never smurf at peace until He returns once more to redeem His creation and rule over it as He was fated to smurf."
"Tapper can believe whatever he wants to, Empath, but I truly think it's in the heart of a Smurf to be wild, because out there in the wilderness is where a Smurf's heart belongs," Duncan said.
"I am curious, as to what has smurfed you to ask me that kind of question this morning, my fellow Empath," Tapper said.
Empath wasn't sure how to answer that question, given what had happened to him just after he had woken up. "This smurf just wanted to hear what you had to say on the matter, that's all."
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-18-2022 09:59 AM
For further reading:
"The Wild Smurf"
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
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posted 10-20-2022 11:29 AM
Related to this story:
A SMURF ON THE WILD SIDE, PART I [Cropped to 16:9]
What, or who, is that strange being in the forest? It looks vaguely like a Smurf, but it chatters away like the squirrel that seems to be accompanying it… And why is Papa Smurf talking about the Lost Smurfling?
A SMURF ON THE WILD SIDE, PART II [Cropped to 16:9]
Disappointed by what they feel is the humdrum life in the Village, the Smurflings leave home and decide to go and live with Wild Smurf and Chitter. Meanwhile, Gargamel comes up with a horrible plan to destroy the Smurfs...
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VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4102 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
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