Walking down the street, Robbie Rotten found a cupcake just sitting on the wall.
" What's this doing here?" he wondered, and ate it without a second thought.
Unknown to him, a terrible drug resided inside, one that was about to change his life… and everyone else's as well…
" What is it, Robbie?" Sportacus asked eagerly.
" A game." Robbie answered smoothly.
" I know, but what kind of game?" Sportacus asked again, bouncing backwards in front of Robbie.
" You'll see if you stay behind me!" Robbie snapped.
Sportacus flipped over Robbie and landed behind him.
" Stupid elf." Robbie thought, grinning wickedly. He licked his lips.
" Are we there yet?" Sportacus asked from behind him.
They were in Robbie's lair, and walking down a dark, narrow, winding passage.
Robbie was having some trouble, but Sportacus could see perfectly in the dark.
" Almost." Robbie grunted as he smacked his head into a damp pipe.
Sportacus reached up and ran his warm fingers over Robbie's head where he bumped it.
The pain dissipated immediately.
" Hands off!" Robbie yelled, causing Sportacus to momentarily cringe as his sensitive ears rang from Robbie's shout.
Robbie suddenly stopped, making Sportacus run into him and nearly knocking him over.
" Close your eyes." Robbie commanded.
" Alright." Sportacus happily complied. " What are we playing?"
Robbie did not respond, but took Sportacus's arm and sat him down in a cold steel chair.
" Now, don't panic." Robbie said in a sneering voice.
The grin on Sportacus's face faded as he realized he might be in danger.
" Wha-Why? Why Robbie? ROBBIE!" he cried as strong clamps to his temple made him yelp in surprise.
Steel chains wrapped around his body, arms and legs, up to his neck before he could react.
Evil laughter floated through the air as Sportacus's hat was whisked off his head.
Sportacus snapped his eyes open and stared into the leering face of a changed Robbie.
A demonic light glowed deep in his eyes, and he held a pair of pliers in each of his hands.
Sportacus's eyes widened to impossible widths.
" Please, no." he breathed, watching the pliers come closer and closer to his greatest weakness- his tender pointed elf ears.
" Don't panic." Robbie taunted him, touching trembling ears with the cold steel.
Sportacus whimpered as he felt the tips of his ear grabbed.
" Are you happy now? Do you like this game?" Robbie asked, pushing his sneering face into Sportacus's terrified one.
" N-no. Please let me go." Sportacus pleaded.
Robbie threw back his head and laughed, simultaneously pinching Sportacus's ears with the pliers as hard as he could, making the superhero scream in agony.
Cold sweat broke out over Sportacus's body as he realized that there was no escape; he was trapped.
The pain in his ears increased as Robbie twisted the pliers back and forth, nearly making Sportacus pass out with pain.
Robbie stopped and grinned at the shivering, cowering elf before him.
" Some superhero." Robbie chuckled. " All chained up and wetting himself with pain and fear. Oh, how I love this! All these years of torture you have put me though, flipping and being good and kind, oh how you will pay! Your punishment has begun- and you won't survive it. Oh no. I will kill you- someday. Those brats will never know what happened to you. You may as well start bawling your eyes out." he added, as tears ran down Sportacus's face.
" Robbie, Robbie please!" Sportacus pleaded, his voice breaking.
Robbie turned and stomped off, slamming a thick, windowless door behind him, shutting out all light.
The temperature in the small, dark room soon began to rise.
Sweat ran down Sportacus's face as he struggled to break free.
The heat became intense, and Sportacus's head swam and drifted in and out of conciseness as his body resisted the bonds and his muscles ached from inactivity.
The darkness was taking a toll as well.
Sportacus felt his energy slipping away the more he struggled in the intense heat and total darkness.
Groaning, he stopped and tried to conserve energy.
Closing his eyes, he thought about Lazytown and all his friends up there, waiting for him and wondering what happened to him.
He pictured Stephanie crying herself to sleep, a cast on her arm where she had broken it because he was not there to catch her.
He saw Pixel, staying in his room all day, becoming zombie-like as he played video games day and night.
He saw Ziggy, sick from eating so much candy.
He saw the mayor falling from trees and no one to catch him.
He saw Stingy, taking everybody's stuff, and fights breaking out.
He saw Trixie, playing so many mean tricks that everybody hated her.
And he saw Robbie, laughing and enjoying every bit of it.
Sportacus broke down into sobbing.
He couldn't take this. He would die of heart break if something happened to his friends like that.
Suddenly the door blew open, and Robbie stood there, a grin on his face.
" Crying again, are we?" he purred, pulling in a cart behind him and shutting the door.
Sportacus looked at him miserably as Robbie drank in the sight of him sitting so still, so sad.
Robbie turned to the cart and pulled something off it.
The he turned back around and displayed the object to his captive, who froze in terror.
" I-iron?" Sportacus whispered, dread seeping through him.
" Yes." Robbie hissed, enjoying the terror he was causing.
" You will not die, as I have an antidote as well. Just cause you some pain, that's all."
Robbie bent over and started to look for a place to poke the iron nail into Sportacus's skin.
Sportacus breathed on Robbie, blowing him over against the wall.
Robbie tried to rise, but found he couldn't.
" Pull your magic off, elf." Robbie growled.
Sportacus didn't breath.
Robbie grimaced as a weight settled on his chest, pushing him to the ground.
Slowly, Robbie reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small device.
Sportacus went completely limp when he saw it.
" Nooo." he moaned, closing his eyes against the wave of pain that enveloped his body.
Robbie laughed again, and flicked a lever on the device, causing searing pain to rip through Sportacus's body, as though all his bones, muscles, and ligaments were being torn apart.
Robbie got up and walked to Sportacus, who was groaning despite his best efforts to remain silent.
He turned off the small device and set it down on the nearby cart.
" Open your eyes." Robbie commanded.
Sportacus weakly opened his eyes and tried to focus on Robbie.
He whimpered as Robbie pulled out the small nail and held it before his face.
" How much pain will this cause you?" Robbie asked in a mocking tone.
Sportacus tried to swallow, but couldn't.
He closed his eyes and did not respond.
Robbie slapped him in the face.
" Open your eyes stupid!" he yelled, slapping Sportacus again and again till the restrained superhero opened them.
" Now answer me, how much pain will this give you?" Robbie growled pushing his face an inch from Sportacus's.
" Lots and lots." Sportacus squeaked.
Robbie chuckled and shoved the nail into one of Sportacus's well muscled legs.
Immediately, a burning pain rippled through Sportacus.
Sportacus bit his lip in an effort not to scream as the iron began to disincarnate his body.
His skin turned bright green, as all his blood was pushed to just below the surface of his skin.
His hair began falling out, and his organs began to melt.
Robbie howled in gleeful laughter as Sportacus screamed in agony as his body melted away slowly.
After a while of enjoying the misery Sportacus was in, Robbie pulled out a syringe of some green liquid and injected it into what was left of the elf.
The iron flowed out of his body, and the elf magic re-built him back, shaking in terror and pain.
Robbie looked down at him thoughtfully.
" I think I should do this often." He said, smirking.
" Nooo! N-n-nooo! Pleeeaasee!" Sportacus sobbed.
Robbie just laughed again, and picked up another small device from the cart.
Flipping a switch on it, a high piercing sound only Sportacus could hear began to drill into the elf's trembling ears.
Sportacus closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the sound increased into the most painful whine he had ever heard.
The he felt Robbie start slathering what skin he could find under the heavy steel chains with… sugar?
Yes, it was indeed sugar, as his skin began to burn and his blood began slowing, making him feel sluggish, but not enough to show it.
Sportacus tried not to show that he was in anymore pain then he already was, but it was hopeless.
The more he resisted showing signs of pain, the more Robbie increased his sufferings, till he could take it no longer and bawled like a baby, howling himself hoarse as Robbie clamped his ears with the pliers again, twisting them cruelly and ripping small chunks off, making the once great superhero pass out in pain, but only for an instant, as Robbie would bring him too, just to torture him more.
Then Robbie sat back and just watched him as he tried to pull himself together.
His body healed, but the pain remained, and Robbie had left the high piercing sound device on, so it was hard for him to focus on being still and quiet anyways, so he kept crying, though softer now.
Robbie just watched, an evil grin on his face.
Robbie finally switched off the device, and walked up to Sportacus, who regarded him with wide, terrified eyes.
Robbie leaned over him and inspected the chains on the chair carefully.
Then he pulled out a larger device with a screen on it.
Turning it on, and taking a couple steps back from the hero chained in the chair, Robbie turned it on while simultaneously turning on the magic-dissipating device, making Sportacus wince in pain, biting back a cry as he did so.
The images on the screen came into focus.
Robbie was telling the whole town that Sportacus had left, because he was tiered of all of them taking up his time all day.
He told them that Sportacus hated them, and was really an evil elf, and that Stephanie knew it all along, and that the two of them were going to kidnap all of the children and sell them for slaves.
He then held up Sportacus's cap, and told them a heart-rending story, all lies of course, of how he had pleaded with the superhero and had finally snatched his cap when Sportacus attacked him. Robbie was crying, as he revealed many wounds all over his arms and legs.
Robbie claimed that when he took the hat, Sportacus ran away, but said he would be back and make them all pay for this.
Robbie pleaded with them, saying that the mayor was also in on the plot, really, shouldn't he, Robbie Rotten, be mayor, so he could keep them safe?
And the two who were in on the plot to destroy Lazytown put in prison for the rest of their lives?
The whole town agreed, and Stephanie and Mayor Meanswell were seized and thrown into small cages, and locked away underground.
Then Robbie took control, and the film ended.
Sportacus was dead silent, shaking violently, seeing red.
Suddenly, his crystal went off, and he saw that Robbie had made up even the film, as Stephanie was falling off a wall with Trixie just now, and his crystal never lied.
With a roar of rage, Sportacus strained hard at his chains, while Robbie nervously stepped to the door.
The crystal blinked hard, then fell silent, and Sportacus lost it.
The chains began snapping as the superhero bellowed with rage and pain, and Robbie screamed and slammed the door behind him as he fled, leaving the magical diffuser behind as he did so, ensuring the elf would be in a constant wave of pain.
Sportacus broke free of the restraints on the chair, and lunged at the door.
He smashed the device on the floor and body-slammed the concrete/steel door.
Repeatedly, Sportacus kicked, body slammed, and pounded his fist, head, and feet on the door, walls, floor, and ceiling of the small, hot, dark room.
He left many dents in the room, and his green, high pressured blood sprayed everywhere, but he couldn't break free.
Robbie had piled iron outside the door, to keep his magic at bay if his device was destroyed.
Sportacus finally paused, and spotted the chains and steel chair.
With a deep-throated growl, he tore the chair into pieces, and the chains apart into shreds of metal.
Then he collapsed, exhausted into a corner of the room, completely spent.
Robbie did not return for days, leaving him to fret and cry from sheer loneliness and boredom.
He freaked every time his crystal went off, further damaging the room every time.
He did get to see, however, Robbie spreading lies throughout the town, and turning everyone but dear Stephanie against him.
She never fell for it, but believed Robbie had done something with him.
Sportacus was weak, from hunger and thirst, as Robbie never gave him anything to eat or drink; darkness, as there was no light; and the close proximity of the iron piled outside the door to keep his magic-and himself- weak.
He hardly slept, and when Robbie finally came in, the only response he got from the blue clad athlete, was a look of despair, as he tried to do 10 sit ups and only made 7 of them.
Robbie looked around at all the destruction that was inside.
Then he strode up to Sportacus, who tried to rise, but Robbie kicked his legs out form under him, and he fell heavily to the floor.
Robbie bent down, and looked Sportacus over carefully.
Then he motioned at the mess Sportacus had made in a corner of the room when he had to relive himself somewhere.
" Lick it up." he commanded, nudging the ashen faced elf with his foot. " Now."
Sportacus's stomach churned, and he didn't move.
" Do it, or the pink girl gets it!" Robbie threatened.
Sportacus moaned and crawled over to the refuse and attempted to do as Robbie demanded, but kept vomiting, prompting Robbie to order him to lick that up too.
Finally, Robbie kicked Sportacus in the rear, tumbling him head first into the mess.
Sportacus scrambled to get out, but got another kick and this time he lay still, eyes close, retching violently.
Robbie snorted in disgust.
" Well, I guess I'll just have to get the pink girl to lick it up for you." he sneered, then screamed and tried to run as Sportacus lurched to his feet and piled drived Robbie, slamming him to the floor.
Sportacus growled in Robbie's ear, holding him down.
Robbie thrashed, but even in his weakened state the superhero was still stronger then he.
" Hurt my Stephanie, even the smallest scratch, and I will kill you." The elf growled. " I may be a Sports Elf, but I can still kill, if you hurt who I love most."
Robbie tried to swallow, but the elf's hand was squeezing his throat too hard.
Sportacus pinned him for another few moments, the released him slowly, rolling away form Robbie and back to his feet.
Robbie lay there, but leapt to his feet as Sportacus made a dash for the door.
Robbie bolted after him, but stopped when he heard the scream from outside.
Chuckling, he slowly strode to the door and looked out.
Sportacus had tried to flip over the pile of iron, but was so weak he didn't make it, and was writhing and screaming in the jumbled mess of old pieces of iron junk piled there.
Robbie leaned causally against the beaten doorframe and watched in amusement as the usually agile superhero fumbled and thrashed in the pile of iron junk.
Whining pitifully between hoarse screams of agony, Sportacus looked into Robbie's eyes and held his arms out towards him, in a desperate plea for Robbie to save him as he melted away.
Robbie rolled his eyes and bent down and scooped the shaking elf into his arms.
The he deposited him back inside the room, and injected him with the antidote for the iron poisoning.
Sportacus lay still on the floor, eyes closed tight, trembling from head to foot, not daring to move.
Robbie grinned and slammed the door behind him, leaving the exhausted athlete alone again.
Sportacus slowly dragged himself to his feet, and stumbled over to the corner he slept in, and collapsed into it with a groan.
Before long however, Robbie returned, this time with several steel clamps and a long whip.
Sportacus squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered as Robbie secured the clamps in the floor near the middle of the room.
Soon he heard Robbie straighten, and then dead silence ensued.
Soon, Sportacus cracked his eyes open, wondering why Robbie was so quiet.
He immediately wished he hadn't, as Robbie was looking gleefully at him, and as soon as he saw Sportacus looking at him, snapped the whip over the elf's head.
" Get your sorry frame over here, now!" Robbie commanded him, snapping the whip again.
Sportacus got to his feet and slowly walked to Robbie, his head down.
" Lay down and place your wrists in the clamps, and hold still." Robbie said, pushing the reluctant Sportacus down when he hardly moved.
Robbie placed Sportacus face down on the cold concrete, placing his wrists and ankles in the clamps.
Then he cursed to himself and yanked on Sportacus's shirt collar, releasing his wrists and ankles again.
" Take your pitiful excuse for clothes off, Sportajerk." Robbie snapped.
Sportacus stared at him.
" All of it?" he croaked.
" No, stupid!" Robbie shouted. " Just your pants, shirt, and vest. You can keep the stupid crystal." He added as the elf's eyes glazed over for an instant.
Sportacus slowly fumbled with his clothing, since he saw he really had no choice.
Either he did it, or Robbie would, and Robbie might take the crystal if he had to do it.
Finally, he was stripped to his Sportabriefs, and shivering before Robbie, who chuckled madly and pointed to the floor.
Sportacus gripped his crystal tightly in his palm as he laid down on the floor again, cringing slightly as he felt the clamps securing him in place.
Sportacus bit his lip.
He knew what was coming and he held back cries of pain as Robbie laid into him with the whip, over and over.
Robbie lashed the elf's entire body, legs, arms, feet, neck, back, he didn't care what.
Robbie was getting frustrated at getting no more then whimpers from the elf he was so cruelly beating, when he decided to aim a bit higher and lashed his fluttering ears.
That got the heart-stopping scream he wanted.
Laughing wickedly, he continued beating the now howling elf, lashing the ears every few times.
After a while, Robbie finally stopped, because his arm hurt too much to keep on.
Sportacus was still retching violently, but having had no food or water for a while, nothing came up.
Robbie bent down and unfastened the elf's trembling limbs from the clamps, kicking him over onto his back.
Robbie leaned over him, staring into the pain and terror-filled eyes.
Then he reached back, and brought over a steaming pot of- boiling oil.
Grinning evilly, he poured the stuff over the front of the elf, making him scream in such high tones Robbie could not hear it, then passing out at last, succumbing to the unbearable pain as he got his tender ears splashed with the scalding liquid.
Robbie then turned and stalked out, chuckling gleefully at his favorite toy laying on the floor passed out from being in so much pain.
Week after week passed, Robbie torturing the nearly helpless elf unmercifully day after day.
Finally, a few months later, Robbie decided to try to break the elf once and for all.
He had though he would have done it already, but was proven wrong one day when he was forcing the elf to eat some moldy bread.
One of the metal poles off his cart slipped when Robbie drew back his foot to kick Sportacus, but the elf reached out and grabbed it, stopping it from falling and possible cracking Robbie's skull.
Robbie had just stared at him, then turned and left him alone for a few days while he raged on why the elf would save him, when he tortured him so.
His only guess was he was still a hero, half dead or not.
His spirit was still intact, and Robbie wanted it broken before he killed him.
He placed a camera inside the room; to see why it was the elf still had any amount of spirit left in him.
He watched as Sportacus cradled his beloved crystal in his hands, stroking it as one would a cat, then press it to his lips and softly cry and croon something in his native elfish tongue.
Robbie threw his head back and howled with glee.
He would break the elf's spirit, and his will to live.
Stomping into the room, he glared at Sportacus, who cowered against the wall, looking fearfully at Robbie out of the corner of his eye.
" Give me the crystal." Robbie demanded, holding out his hand for it.
" No." Sportacus said quietly, and curled around the crystal clasped in his palm as Robbie exploded.
" No?! You dare to tell me NO!?" Robbie screeched in fury.
He stormed over to the shaking elf in the corner, and tried to unroll him to snatch the crystal by force.
Robbie cursed as he realized he could not do so.
He began to beat the elf with everything he had, nearly killing him with the iron over and over, burning his ears with white hot metal, but still he would not let go of the crystal.
Even when unconscious the elf had too tight a grip for him to pry it out.
He even threw silver dust all over him, and waited several hours, but he would not give up the crystal.
Finally, after nearly a whole straight day of torture, he had weakened the elf enough so he could pry the precious crystal from his grasp.
Sportacus let out an unearthly cry as Robbie wrenched it from his grip, and smashed it with an iron mallet.
It took a few times, but it finally broke into two pieces.
Sportacus's eyes were rolled back into his head when Robbie turned to look at him, saliva running out of the corners of his mouth.
Robbie poked him to see if he was still alive, and was partly relived to hear a small whimper come from the bloody bundle of skin and bones on the floor.
The elf magic in his body had stopped healing him, as he had nearly no food and was too weak to heal any but the most deadly wounds.
Robbie smiled thinly and tossed the crystal onto his cupboard in the main room of his lair, leaving the door to Sportacus's room open.
Robbie was surprised when the halves of the crystal glowed a bright pink, and vanished.
Shaking his head, he returned to the still unmoving elf, and carried him out, tying a collar and tether to him as he did so.
Robbie laid him in the doghouse his robot dog stayed in, and left him there, tied so he couldn't go too far.
Meanwhile, Stephanie was sitting on her bed, looking mournfully out of her window.
It had been months since her best friend and mentor had come up missing, and she still missed him terribly.
No one else in town besides her uncle and Bessie really though of him anymore.
She sighed as a tear ran down her cheek, thinking of Sportacus.
Suddenly, her pink elf charm bracelet, nestled in the rest of her pink bracelets, glowed a bluish color.
The two halves of a very familiar crystal floated in front of her for a second, before landing gently on her bed before her.
She stared at it, and then with trembling fingers picked it up.
Now she knew Sportacus was in trouble, and she was determined to find out what happened to him.
But first, some research.
While Stephanie was finding out what happened to her best friend and hero, Robbie was still at it.
With the elf's spirit broken, and his will to live all but gone, Robbie brutally beat him all the time, taking pleasure in the constant howls of pain and fear.
He trained him that his name and phrases like, "It's okay", and, " Don't panic" meant that he was to have even more torture.
After a few weeks, Robbie got bored with his toy.
Sportacus was getting less and less responsive, and the day came when he just lay on the floor, saliva dripping from his tongue as Robbie screamed at him to open his eyes, but he did not even flinch.
Robbie growled and decided to dispose of him.
First, just in case, he took a fork and a butter knife, and castrated him, removing his testicles with the fork and knife.
That woke up the comatose hero right then and there, and Robbie enjoyed the last tortured screams before he loaded the bloody elf into his cannon, and fired out the pipe.
Dusting off his hands, Robbie went to his chair, and took a nap.
At the same moment, a victorious Stephanie was prepared to go look for the missing superhero.
She had done her research on Sports Elves, and was slightly embarrassed to discover that the slightly sticky vial of liquid Sportacus had given her one day, with the instructions that if something ever happened to him, and she got badly hurt, to spread a little bit of this on the wound, was in fact, some of his saliva.
She found out that the Sports Elf saliva healed wounds, and their fingers brushing over the wound took away the pain.
Now she knew why he would lick his fingers and rub her scrapes and cuts to heal them, and gently brush his fingertips over any bruises to take the pain away.
She had also done research on Robbie Rotten, and was sure he was the one who held her beloved elf.
He had once been a elfin scientist, but had quit when the only other Sports Elf in the world besides Sportacus and one other no one had found yet, had died.
Stephanie was certain that Robbie had captured the elf in order to study him, and she needed to get him out.
Sportacus had once told her (true, she had doused him in honey, which made him extremely hyper for a short time, but when his energy crashed a bit later, he always got very loose tongued) that one of his greatest fears was to be recaptured and studied.
It took another honey dousing trick to get the rest of that story.
She did not want him to be suffering like that, at the hands of the laziest, meanest person in town.
Robbie would probably try to stave him to death or something like that.
Stephanie was sitting on her steps when suddenly something landed with a bone jarring thump right in front of her.
She looked closely at the bloody pile of skin and bones, and gasped in shock when she saw it was Sportacus.
He was covered in cuts and deep gashes, his ears were ragged, and blood was everywhere.
His eyes were glazed, and slightly rolled, his mouth open and tongue dripping more green blood.
He was clothing-less, other then some rags about his waist she supposed had once been his briefs, which oozed fresh blood from a wound in a place she nearly vomited when she saw it by accident.
She was glad she had ransacked his airship before it was blown away in a storm now.
She had all his equipment and spare clothes hidden away in case she ever found him.
She froze as a keening sound came from his throat, and his fingers fluttered a bit.
His bloody hair was starting to lighten already as the sun's warm rays played over his beaten body.
Stephanie gently touched him, and drew back sharply as he cried out and whimpered, closing his eyes tight.
His whole body was shaking as she held back tears.
She opened her tablet/phone and called Bessie.
Bessie came faster then Stephanie had ever seen before, and scooped up the shaking, crying elf in her arms.
" I will wash him up, dear, you get his clothes." Bessie instructed as she swept into the house.
Stephanie ran as fast as she could to her secret hiding spot, and got Sportacus's clothes.
She was sad to see she had no hats, but the main outfit was there, though there would be no way to fit the crystal inside broken like it was.
She just snapped it closed with the fake crystal she had from when Robbie had tried to trick Sportacus with it.
She rushed back to her house, to find all of the other kids gathered in front, eyes wide, as they listened to the terrified screams from inside.
Stephanie pushed past them and let them in behind her as she headed towards the bathroom.
Ms. Busybody was washing the shaking elf, who was weakly thrashing and screaming as she touched him.
The other kids gasped in shock at the sight, recognizing instantly who it was.
Stephanie rushed to Bessie's side, and stroked the elf's hair back from his face, looking into the glazed blue eyes.
" Sportacus?" She whispered.
The elf thrashed harder as she said his name.
He whimpered pitifully and retched as Bessie washed his back and neck.
Stephanie crooned to him, trying to calm him, but no matter what she said or did, he just panicked further.
Pixel ran a computer scan over him, and announced that he had no idea who they were, and was not very much in control over himself at the moment, and seemed severely traumatized.
Ziggy was crying, and Trixie and Stingy were staring in silent horror at the frightened elf.
" He-he really is an elf, isn't he?" Trixie suddenly asked, quietly.
Stephanie had quite forgotten that she was the only one that knew he was an elf till now.
" Yes." She said, leaning back and watching the once great superhero thrash back and forth.
" He is a Sports Elf, the sweetest, kindest, most noble elf there is. And Robbie turned him into this!" Stephanie burst into tears.
" Robbie did this?" Trixie asked, looking slightly dazed.
" Yes." Stephanie hissed, glaring outside.
" Well, he won't get away with this!" Ziggy declared angrily.
" Ziggy, I would not go and do anything." Bessie said from where she was scrubbing the moaning elf. " Robbie has done some very cruel things, and we don't want you hurt too."
Stephanie looked at Bessie, and saw she was holding back tears as she tenderly washed the broken body of their superhero.
" Will-will he be alright?" Ziggy asked, his lips trembling.
" Yes." Ms. Busybody answered, giving him a smile. " With lots of TLC, he will be."
" What's TLC?" Ziggy whispered in Stephanie's ear.
" Tender Loving Care." She whispered back, squeezing his hand in hers.
" We'll give him lot's of that." Stingy declared. " He can stay at my house if necessary."
" That's very generous of you, Stingy." Bessie said. " But I think Stephanie should be the one to care for him. She knows him best."
Stephanie nodded.
" I'll do my best." She smiled.
Bessie then shooed them out while she dried Sportacus off and dressed him in his clothes.
Pixel helped make a moving bed, so they could keep the bed inside where it was safe, cool, and quiet, but could still get him into the sun.
Stephanie kept him in her room at night, after having to listen to his frightened cries for an hour out in the living room.
He was already starting to not want her to leave him alone.
He was frightened if anybody touched him, talked to him, especially his name or anything soothing she said, making it hard to bath, feed, talk to him, or carry him to the bathroom, but Stephanie made it slowly.
She would read to him while he shivered and shook in his bed next to her, and talk cheerfully to him while she did her housework, smiling whenever he stopped crying for a minute.
A week passed, and when she was out of the room, she heard a small thump from Sportacus's direction.
She hurried in just to see him standing shakily next to his bed, but he leapt back in it and pulled the blankets over his head, crying with fear.
Stephanie smiled to herself and walked back out.
Over the next few weeks, he progressed from only coming out when she was not around, to following her everywhere like a shadow.
He tried to follow her into the bathroom too, but she shut the door firmly in his face and locked it, reprimanding him when he broke it to get inside.
She quickly learned he was ultra sensitive to her moods, as he wouldn't stop crying and clinging to her for hours after.
He wouldn't bathe himself, she had to do it.
He slept in her bed with her, he refused to sleep anywhere else.
She had to brush and dry his hair too, as he wouldn't do that either.
He constantly was with her, wanting touched and cuddled, but with his high energy, he often was doing pushups or sit-ups while she washed dishes, his blue eyes ever on her.
When he got bolder he began flipping around the house, and Stephanie found out how much trouble it was to keep a housebound Sports Elf out of trouble.
Finally, she took him outside with her.
Previously, she had always shut the wailing elf in the house when she left.
Having scolded him once for breaking out, he would not do it again, but he raised a ruckus whenever she left him alone.
He never spoke a word save one, her name.
If he wanted something, he would say her name in his soft, accented voice, tugging in her sleeve or skirt.
He would ask for stuff by saying her name questionly, or say it angrily after he discovered throwing a kind of temper tantrum often got him what he wanted, as Stephanie could not help but find it cute when he scrunched up his nose, crossed his arms and pouted, repeating her name over and over, giving her a stony look.
The day she took him outside had been an especially trying one.
Sportacus had broken a couple glasses when he flipped over her head and smacked his head into the ceiling, as he did a lot now. When he hit the floor, he bumped the table, knocking it over and breaking all the glasses on it.
He was very sorry, crawling over to her and burying his face in her lap, curled up bawling, his ears fluttering nervously.
His hat was the one article of clothing she could not find for him, but she rather liked it that way, so she could stroke his soft hair and keep an eye on those ears.
They fluttered when frightened, and pulled back tight against his head when angry.
When happy, they just where there, like any normal ear, just with points.
He loved for her to stroke them for him, cooing almost every time.
She saved ear stroking for right before bed or if he did something especially good, like not whining outside the door when she shut it, or if he was extremely frightened, then she would calm him down with it.
He was scared of nearly everything, but was slowly getting better, so long as she was with him.
So when she took him outside, she was quite surprised when he took a few steps away from her, and cartwheeled around in circles, squealing happily.
She walked over to the sport's yard, watching him as he followed, flipping and doing all sorts of stunts, hopping on and off walls and running around like he had been cooped up for too long, which, she supposed he had.
When they got to the sport's yard, he suddenly crowded behind her, breathing heavily, panting really.
She saw all the kids already there, playing soccer.
She reached back and squeezed Sportacus's hand, and led him forward into the yard.
The kids all froze seeing the frightened elf, who nearly screamed when Ziggy rushed forward and hugged one of his legs.
Stephanie had to really keep her feelings in check at the look on the elf's face.
It was almost too funny, how his eyes nearly popped as he slowly looked down at Ziggy clinging to him, looking for all the world like he did not know whether to scream, cry, or run away.
Then a smile formed on his lips, and he scooped up Ziggy in his strong arms and hugged him close, then cartwheeled over to the rest of the kids, hugging each of them as well.
Then he kicked the soccer ball and joined in the game, beaming with delight as he did so.
Stephanie was so shocked, she did not move till Trixie gave her a strange look and asked her what was wrong, making Sportacus backflip to her and pick her up, inspecting her for any injuries, and finally just kissing her on her forehead and setting her down.
" Stephanie?" he said in a pleading tone, tilting his head at her.
" Yes, I'm going to play too." She laughed as she also played.
When they went home for lunch, she thought at first Sportacus was not coming with her.
He was still playing when she left, and started home alone.
Suddenly, she heard a horrible screech behind her, and before she could turn around, strong muscular arms scooped her up and Sportacus ran faster then she knew he could back into her house, spun around, slammed the door, and locked it, breathing heavily.
A thunderclap sounded outside as he did so, making Stephanie jump in his arms.
" Sportacus? What was that…sorry Sporty." She said, as the elf began trembling violently.
She had quite forgotten in her surprise to call him by his nickname, as his own name seemed to terrify him.
She glanced outside and shivered in spite of herself, causing Sportacus to squeeze her tightly and croon in his Elvin tongue while stroking her hair, though he was frightened himself.
She smiled up at him, then back out at the demonic looking Robbie Rotten pacing outside, unable to get near the door.
Sportacus turned and ran into Stephanie's room, hoped on her bed, and pulled the covers over both of them, shaking violently.
He was squeezing Stephanie so hard she could hardly breath.
She reached her one free hand up and gently stroked his outer ear, making him shudder when she carefully brushed the tip, then ran her finger inside his ear, gently rubbing to calm him down.
He slowly relaxed, making it easier on her to breath again.
After a while, Stephanie wriggled free of his grip and looked out the window, aware of her elf's renewed whimperings under the cover of her bed.
Robbie was gone, but she was sure he would be back.
The remainder of the day, Sportacus would physically restrain her from going outside, and clung to her in the house as well, panicking when she had to go to the bathroom and he had to stay outside.
At bedtime, he dragged her into bed before she even got the lights out, throwing a ball on the switch when she nearly ordered him too, and refused to let go of her, his grip sure even in slumber.
The next morning, he was not any better, and held her the whole time she brushed her teeth.
The mayor tried to calm him while she dressed, but got him into a screaming fit instead, causing Stephanie to have to come out without brushing her hair to calm him down.
She finally brushed while he buried his head into her dress, shaking.
She felt ready to nearly murder Robbie for having done this to Sportacus.
Finally, she got out to eat, getting Sportacus in his chair, though it was a fight to get him in it.
She finally slapped his hands gently, making him howl like she had pinched his ear or something, but he finally slumped in his chair, sniffling miserably.
She tapped his plate of fruit, trying to get him to eat, but he just stared miserably at her.
Finally, she reached over and hugged him, kissing his cheek, and reassuring him that she loves him, she is not mad at him; he is forgiven, before he finally picked up his fork and started eating.
Afterwards, she went outside, Sportacus shadowing her, whimpering the whole time, glancing everywhere wildly as if he was sure Robbie was going to snatch him again from anywhere.
As they entered the sport's field, Pixel raced over to them, waving a small, screened device excitedly.
" I got it!" he crowed triumphantly as he handed it to Stephanie, glancing down at Sportacus, who had collapsed next to her, shivering and glancing around fearfully.
" What happened?" Pixel asked in confusion.
" R-O-B-B-I-E R-O-T-T-E-N." Stephanie spelled, giving Pixel a pointed look.
" Ohh." Pixel said, then bent down, and rubbed Sportacus's shoulders.
" It'll be fine, buddy." Pixel said soothingly.
Sportacus looked up into Pixel's eyes for an instant, the his attention was grabbed by what Stephanie was holding out to him.
It was a video of what he used to be, and as he watched, entranced, as he saved people and flipped and played, he began to tremble violently and snatched the player from Stephanie's grasp.
Slowly, he stood to his feet, the clouded look vaporizing from his eyes.
His knees were shaking, but he looked up with a determined expression on his face.
" I am Sportacus." He said in such a heavy accent that Stephanie had to work hard to make it out.
" I am Sportacus and Robbie broke me, but I know who I am now. Thank you, Pixel and Stephanie. I will find Robbie and save him from what has happened to him." He reached into his vest and brought out two copper barreled pistols, and pressed them into a shocked Stephanie's hands.
" I am not whole, but you will fix me in time." He smiled down at the two children, then turned serious again.
" When I come for you, empty those into me, do not hesitate, or you will die."
With that, Sportacus turned and started at a run out of the sport's yard.
Robbie stepped into view just as he reached the gate, smirking and holding a bunch of wires with small hooks at the ends.
His smile vanished as Sportacus dove into him and began tearing at his neck and shoulders.
Sportacus let out an unearthly shriek as he bit Robbie repeatedly.
Robbie lay motionless under the elf's attack, only moving when Sportacus pulled off, leaving quickly healing bite marks all over his neck and shoulders.
Then the elf turned and stared at Stephanie with blood red eyes, red blood dripping from his mouth and tongue.
He lunged for her, and Pixel let out a desperate yell as he closed the distance rapidly.
Stephanie screamed and fired both pistols into the oncoming elf, the kick from the guns throwing her backwards and out of his reach as he fell where she had been standing, puking up a reddish green fluid as he did so, the bullet holes from the automatic pistols healing almost immediately.
Stephanie watched as the guns dissolved in her hands, then ran and knelt by the unmoving elf on the ground.
Robbie strode over, and knelt down beside her as Pixel looked on.
" Is-is he dead?" Stephanie sobbed, stroking a lock of sweaty, bloodstained hair from Sportacus's pale face.
Robbie stroked him also, looking younger and stronger then he ever had since she had know him.
" No." he said finally. " You have saved him. He will come around, but until then…"
Robbie scooped him into his arms.
Stephanie stopped him.
" Wait." She said sternly. " You are not going to hurt him again, are you?"
Robbie paused and looked down at her, sorrow in his eyes.
" No, I am here to care for him till he is recovered, which may never happen. I am sorry for how I was forced to act, but he has healed me now, and we shall care for him as he has cared for us all these years. Though, he will be scared of me for a while, but that too shall pass."
Robbie strode off, Stephanie following.
" Where are you taking him?" She asked.
" To our new home." Robbie replied.
He turned the corner, and across the street from Stephanie's house stood an oval house that looked a lot like an airship envelope.
Robbie strode up to the gate, opened it and opened the soundproof door when he reached the house.
Stephanie walked inside and knew that all would be well soon; she just knew it, as it was decked out in Sportacus's stuff, as well as her's and Robbie's.
There were no corners in the house, save the bathroom, and her uncle had a note on her bed telling her she could stay if she liked.
Her bed was on the left, Sportacus's in the middle, and Robbie's on the end at one end of the house, and the rest of it had sports gear, bookshelves built into the walls, retraceable tables and couches, and everything else for a house, all built in to the walls.
Stephanie smiled.
Home sweet home at last, she thought as she watched Robbie lay Sportacus on his bed, with her two best friends.
