A.N. Smurf fans will probably love this story, because it brings two couples together and provides a permanent solution to their main problem: Gargamel.
Gargamel, who had tried for years to catch the Smurfs, got so frustrated from his latest attempt that he decided to go on a vacation. Surprisingly, even though he obviously wanted rest and relaxation he took Azrael and Scruple. The only reason that the Smurfs could think of for that was that Gargamel didn't want to risk Azrael or Scruple catching the Smurfs on their own while he was away. Since all three enemies leaving meant that the forest would be temporarily safer, the Smurfs decided to use that opportunity to form a party for all their non-Smurf friends so that they could meet each other. They invited everyone from Mother Nature to Johan to King Gerard to even Marina and the pixies. Wild Smurf and his squirrels were also obviously invited, but Wild told Chitters and the other squirrels to stay near Gargamel's place so that they could warn the Smurfs of his return. The squirrels, though sad about missing the party, understood the importance of Wild's orders and obeyed. After preparations were completed and the guests arrived, the party begun.
The party was great after introductions were made, as every one of the Smurfs' friends got along with each other. There was even a new addition: Marina's cousin Nereus.
"So this is the handsome Smurf you were telling me about Marina." Nereus smiled upon meeting Handy. "Nice to finally meet you." He offered his hand to Handy.
"Smurfy surprise to meet you, I didn't know Marina had a cousin." Handy shook Nereus's offered hand.
"Yes, he's my cousin from my father's side, my father and his father are brothers. Nereus is next in line for the throne after me." Marina explained.
"But Marina is welcome to the throne if she wants it, I know she'll be a good ruler." Nereus said.
"I know she will too." Handy said a little sadly; he knew that once Marina became the next ruler she wouldn't be able to visit as often.
"Oh Handy, I wish you could rule Atlantica with me." Marina sighed.
"I know, but we already tried finding ways of allowing me to live with you and they almost killed me." Handy hung his head.
"Anyone who would risk his life just to be with my cousin is worthy enough for her in my book." Nereus said solemnly. "Maybe you're going about it the wrong way."
"But I can't stay up here without one of these smurferators. You already know that considering we're in them now." Marina pointed out.
"True, but maybe Handy can make a different kind of smurferator, one that we can control ourselves and keep from rolling down hills." Nereus suggested.
"*Hmmm*, it'll take a lot of work, but I'll try it." Handy said determinedly.
"I know you can do it." Marina smiled, kissing Handy on the cheek; Handy almost melted (metaphorically).
Meanwhile, other conversations were taking place. Clumsy Smurf and Pansy Pixie for one:
"It's great seeing you again Pansy, I've really missed you." Clumsy smiled.
"I've missed you too, but we've had to hide extra well lately." Pansy frowned. "Those wartmongers have gotten even more determined to enslave us."
"Maybe you should stay here with us." Clumsy suggested.
"I don't know, Pussywillow Hallow has been our home for thousands of years. It all depends on what Elderberry says."
"True. I hope she agrees to move here."
"Me too."
Vanity and his pixie friend Periwinkle weren't having a conversation so much as doing their 'exercises'. You know, the ones where they kiss their reflection in a mirror. When they were done they did get to comparing notes on fashion and spa treatments though...
Johan and Savina were catching up too, which they haven't been able to do lately due to Dame Barbara's insistence that Savina spend most of her time learning how to be a proper lady and queen.
All in all, everyone was having so much fun that they almost forgot about Gargamel. And unfortunately, the day of the party was the same day that Gargamel, Azrael, and Scruple returned! Even worse, the squirrels found out that Gargamel had gained something during his absence.
"Finally! Finally! The very spell that will lead me right to the Smurf village!" Gargamel cackled excitedly, holding up a scroll.
Now, while Gargamel had found the Smurf village before, it was so well hidden in the woods that memorizing it's location was nearly impossible...especially for someone with as low an IQ as Gargamel's.
"How does the spell work Gargy-Gargamel?" Scruple asked, almost making the mistake of using his nickname for Gargamel - which Gargamel despised.
"It creates a map that can always lead you to the very spot you want to go." Gargamel explained, still excited. "And of course the spot we want to go is the Smurf village!"
"Yeah." Azrael agreed, chuckling evilly like he...she...er...it always does.
A.N. Geez, will these guys ever figure out Azrael's gender?
The squirrels, horrified, scampered among the trees as fast as they could back to the Smurf village. Once there, they immediately headed for Wild Smurf...causing a commotion along the way.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" Greedy Smurf protested, the squirrels' scampering causing him to drop some pies on his head.
"Well I never!" Brainy Smurf frowned, having been interrupted of his speech (which no one was listening to anyway) by the squirrels' speeding past him and causing him to spin around.
Once they reached Wild, they started skipping into the air and chattering panically at the same time. They finally stopped when Wild whistled sharply and scolded them in his own language. Wild then calmly asked them what was going on. This time, the squirrels allowed Chitters to explain the situation. Now Wild and Nat Smurfling both started getting panicky, but calmed themselves down before they could start running around wildly. Nat then explained the situation to everyone else. Everyone was horrified, Gargamel was going to find them and either eat them or use them to make gold! All of the Smurfs ran around wildly in fright, causing their human friends to stand still and pull Marina, her father Aquarius, and Nereus out of the way. Their smaller friends ducked into the Smurfs' houses. Papa Smurf finally stopped the commotion with a megaphone that Handy Smurf made for him a long time ago.
"QUIET!" Papa Smurf yelled into the megaphone.
Startled, all the Smurfs stopped and stared at Papa Smurf. Papa Smurf lowered the megaphone.
"Now, I can understand your fear, but running around won't do anyone any good." Papa Smurf said. "Remember, we have Mother Nature, Father Time, and Homnibus on our side I'm sure they can help us."
"Well, locator spells aren't my thing, but I can go back in time and prevent Gargamel from getting the scroll." Father Time suggested.
"No, he might be able to get it later." Mother Nature shook her head. "Besides, that scroll is dangerous for the Smurfs even when not in Gargamel's hands. I suggest sending some of the birds to take it from Gargamel so that we can destroy it."
"Now hold on, Gargamel might follow the birds right to us." King Gerard pointed out.
"Well I suggest moving the village to another location." Brainy said in his usual 'I am wise' tone.
All the Smurfs glared at him while the guests rolled their eyes.
"Brainy, that spell is supposed to locate our village, as in us and all the buildings! Moving the buildings wouldn't stop the spell from finding us!" Hefty Smurf snapped.
"Well!" Brainy frowned, offended.
"Now calm down everyone, I believe I can help." Homnibus spoke up. "I have a spellbook with a protection spell written inside. This protection spell can cancel out any locator spell."
At that, Homnibus conjured up the very spellbook he was talking about. He then flipped through the pages until he found the spell.
"Ah yes, here we go." Homnibus conjured a book stand and gently placed his spellbook on it. "Perfect, this will not only prevent Gargamel's locator spell from finding you, but will even prevent Gargamel from ever reaching your village."
"Wonderful, thank you Homnibus." Papa Smurf smiled. "Okay my little Smurfs and our welcomed guests, we'll form various groups. Each group will go after a particular ingredient listed in the spell book. We'll need plenty of each ingredient if we're going to stop Gargamel's spell from finding us."
The groups were formed, leaving only Papa Smurf, Grandpa Smurf, Nanny Smurf, and Homnibus behind to prepare the cauldron Homnibus conjured up. The cauldron was very wide but not too tall so that the potion would be powerful enough without it being difficult for the Smurfs to reach the rim. To the Smurfs' lucky stars, all the main ingredients were found and the potion was just about ready. Unfortunately, there was a problem...
"Now, the next ingredient is a pure heart." Brainy read from the spellbook. "Okay who's going to find...wait a minute, what does that mean anyway?"
"Oh dear." Papa Smurf frowned, reading the spellbook closely.
"What's wrong Papa Smurf?" Smurfette asked.
"A pure heart is the heart of someone who's purehearted." Papa Smurf explained. "Someone kind, loyal, honest, brave, and selfless. In short, the ultimate good person. The only problem is, having a pure heart is very rare, and it's almost impossible to tell who is purehearted and who is just a regular good person."
"You mean...we won't be able to find someone purehearted?" Harmony Smurf looked worried.
"We might not, and that's not even the only problem."
"What's the other problem?" Vanity Smurf asked. "Besides the obvious I mean..."
"In order to put a pure heart into the potion...th-the purehearted will-will have to sacrifice his or her life." Papa Smurf said sorrowfully.
Everyone gasped! In order to save the village, someone would have to die! No one, not even Homnibus, expected this to happen.
"But why does the potion need a pure heart anyway?" Brainy disapproved.
"To prove that the location that's going to be protected is Smurfy enough." Nanny Smurf explained sadly.
"Sacre bleu! What shall we do?" Painter Smurf said, realizing that the village might not be saved after all.
"All we can do is wait for someone to sacrifice himself or herself." Grandpa Smurf shrugged, glum. "Only someone purehearted would do something like that."
And so the Smurfs and their guests waited. The guests, though they didn't have to stay, figured that if Gargamel did find the Smurf village they could at least prevent Gargamel from taking any Smurfs that particular day. Unfortunately, by this time Gargamel's potion was just about ready. Feathers, who was keeping an eye on Gargamel's handiwork, went back to the Smurf village to report this.
Meanwhile, there were some purehearted members in the crowd thinking about sacrificing themselves. Handy Smurf, for one, really wanted to save Smurf village but he also knew how important he was to the village. Same thing with Hefty Smurf, who - even though he had his rough moments - was also purehearted and also an important member of the Smurf community. This caused a mental turmoil in both of them. Then there was one other, one who wasn't a Smurf but was still purehearted. She loved a Smurf with all her heart but knew that they could never be together, at least not physically. Since she'd rather be dead then spend the rest of her life without her Smurf, and also would rather be dead than see her Smurf eaten or used in a potion, she leapt into the air toward the cauldron!
"Marina!" Aquarius gasped as almost everyone else dropped their mouths open.
"MARINA NO!" Handy cried.
It was too late, Marina fell into the potion! There was an explosion, and a clear mist came out of the cauldron and rose into the air. At the same time, Gargamel's locator spell was nearing the Smurf village...when it started going back!
"What?" Gargamel gasped, seeing this inside the cauldron.
You see the spell works like this: after being set up a map of the surrounding area appears in the cauldron. The map then moves until the location you're searching for is found. Once found, the location appears as a red patch on the map. The map then rises out of the cauldron and forms itself into a scroll. The spell can also be redone so that you can get a new map if you lost the old one. If the spell is countered, then the map starts going back toward the spell caster. If it reaches the location of the spell caster, it dies.
"Come on you stupid spell, you're supposed to be finding the Smurf village!" Gargamel snapped angrily
The locator spell kept going back. Gargamel kicked the cauldron, only to hurt his toes. The spell then exploded in a poof of black smoke, right in Gargamel's face.
"Looks like the Smurfs found out about your locator spell." Scruple realized, both disappointed and uncaring.
"SMUUURRRRRRFFFFSSS!" Gargamel screamed so furiously that Scruple and Azrael hid under the bed. The scream carried past his hovel...
