It started out as an ordinary day in Lazytown.
Sportacus was playing basketball with all the children when suddenly Trixie tackled him.
Trixie liked to wrestle around with him sometimes, being the tomboy she was, and sometimes Sportacus would let her win, though she always knew it.
Today she just tried to tickle him, but since he was only ticklish in very select places, which he kept well guarded, she was having no luck.
Then her fingers slipped to a special spot right behind one of his ears and happened to brush it.
With a gasp, Sportacus went limp and Trixie yanked off his hat, quite by accident.
Her triumphant grin faded as she stared at his hair, turning from dark, to a blonde, and then at his pointed ears.
All the children fell silent as Sportacus slowly lifted his head and looked at them all with a strange look in his bright blue eyes.
Then Trixie reached down and touched his ear, then tugged it, making him yelp.
" Sorry Sportacus." She said quickly, as all the other children rushed over and began feeling his soft curly hair and petting his ears.
Sportacus moaned as he was rolled over to his back and closed his eyes.
He found it impossible to be worried while his ears were being stroked, and that was not good.
He had to convince the children nothing was amiss, but when he managed to open his eyes, the look on Stephanie's face told him the secret was out.
They knew he was an elf, and there was no use in hiding it any longer." Alright guys, back off." Trixie told everybody. " I found out first, let me do the asking."
" No." said Stephanie firmly. " Let me do the asking."
She sounded so serious that Trixie didn't argue, and slipped off of Sportacus's chest and let him start to get up.
" Stay kneeling." Stephanie snapped at him.
Shocked, Sportacus did as he was told, looking into Stephanie's now hard brown eyes in concern.
" Eyes down, elf." Stephanie said firmly.
Sportacus dropped his gaze, his stomach lurching painfully.
Silence reined for a moment before Stephanie sighed and asked gently, " Why did you never tell us?"
Sportacus struggled to keep his eyes on the ground and the sorrow out of his voice as he replied.
" I did not want you to know your role model was not even human."
Stephanie looked sternly at him.
" Why did you hide it?" she asked.
Sportacus lifted his gaze to her face.
" Because if you knew I was an elf, not a human, you would not pay any attention to me, and would go on doing as you pleased, because, after all, I am just an elf."
Stephanie clenched her fists.
" You were not just an elf, you were are friend, and now I find out the-the, hero I look up to the most has been hiding a deadly secret for the past few years. Good going, Sportacus."
Sportacus's eyes filled with tears at the sarcasm in her voice, and the angry look on her face.
" Vest, hat, and belt please." She said crisply, holding out her hand.
Sportacus choked, then slowly removed the desired objects and handed them over, feeling very exposed as he did so, dressed only in his white t-shirt with the striped sleeves and blue collar, and his pants.
" Follow me." she commanded, and turned and marched up the street to the town hall.
Sportacus trudged after her, shoulders slumped, feet dragging.
He looks like a beaten puppy Stephanie thought, glancing over her shoulder at the subdued elf. How sad. He'll cheer up soon, if he can prove himself. For now, we have to be careful. Elves are tricky.
She marched into her uncle's office, and stopped in front of his desk.
" Uncle, we need to keep Sportacus in observation." She announced, not missing the shudder that went through her hero standing with his head down beside her.
She felt bad for him, but it must be done.
" Wa-what? Sportacus? An Elf?!" her uncle gasped in shock at seeing the superhero's exposed pointy ears.
" Yes, and until we can clear him, he needs to be restrained." She pointed into the other room. " In there, Sportacus."
Sportacus walled slowly into the other room, hesitating at the doorway and glancing back at the Mayor and Stephanie.
She frowned and made shooing motions with her hands, so with a dejected sigh, he walked in and sat down in a corner of the room.
He listened to their hushed conversation in the other room, and tried to stop the tears that were welling up in his eyes and falling down his cheeks.
As he heard Stephanie tell her uncle that "Sportacus may very well have us all tricked and hypnotized", and "if he is really an evil type of elf, they would never know it", "get Robbie he might know," he curled into a ball in the corner and cried harder then he had ever cried in his life.
As great sobs racked his body, he was unaware of the little pink girl in the doorway, tears in her own eyes watching him.
Later that day, Mayor Meanswell stepped in the room, holding a pair of handcuffs and ankle chains.
" Sportacus, come here." He called, sounding unsure of himself.
Sportacus got up from where he had been doing halfhearted pushups, and came over, then stopped in horror.
" That's iron." He said quietly. " If I touch it, it will kill me, slowly, burning me up till I am no more."
" Well, Stephanie said to do this, and she knows more about elves then anyone-"
Suddenly he was cut off by an urgent, but gruff voice.
" No she does not! I do! And get that away from that innocent elf! I know him! All about him! Well, almost." A panting Robbie Rotten charged into the room, and slapped a thick sheet of papers in front of the mayor.
Sportacus looked up in alarm at the red faced Robbie.
" You, know me?" he slowly asked in a thick accent.
" Yes, Íþróttaálfurinn, I do know you. And I am trying to help you, but you seem to have made things difficult for me to do so." Here Robbie grimaced as Stephanie came panting inside.
" Sportacus!" she yelled. " Eyes down!"
Sportacus flinched and looked down.
Stephanie seemed about to say something, then changed her mind and busied herself in shutting the door.
" Here." Robbie glared at Stephanie for a second before handing steel handcuffs and chains to the mayor. " If you have to insist, use these."
The Mayor silently secured Sportacus, who stood there meekly, not resisting, shocked that this could be happening.
Then the mayor led him slowly out towards his stage where he made announcements in the past.
As Sportacus stumbled up the stairs, he thought his heart would break as Stephanie went off on him about how hiding something like that meant only one thing in her experience: he had done something wrong and was guilty, so he hid it, and how she always though better of him then that, and how disappointed and let down she was by him.
Sportacus felt thoroughly scolded, and tried to blink back the stinging tears that coursed their way down his face.
Soon the whole town had solemnly gathered to see Sportacus's trial, at least he supposed that was what it was.
The mayor cleared his throat, then announced:
" We all have seen how Sportacus is really an elf. The question is, what kind of elf and should we banish him or let him stay. Any questions?"
Sportacus cringed at the thought of banishment.
Robbie leapt to his feet.
" I do." He snapped, and stalked up and stood next to Sportacus.
" How can you treat him," he motioned to Sportacus with a jab of his thumb, " like this, when all he has ever done is shown you love and kindness? He has saved your skins more times then he really had to in my opinion, if you ask me, which no one ever does, and here you treat him like dirt the moment he shows his true colors. He has a right to hide the fact he is an elf, and you are just confirming his fears. Why do you think I was so mean to him? To keep him under cover, not to be really rid of him! I knew that would never work. But I had to keep him safe form you brats who would crush him and break his heart when you found out he was an elf. And don't go telling me it is because you found out!" Robbie paused for breath, " Because if he had told you, you would have shunned him just as fast. Now, let me read to you all about Sports Elves, of which there is only two in the world and he is one, unless you banish him, then he will die."
Robbie cleared his throat loudly and read for three hours straight on Sports Elves form his stack of papers.
" And I wrote all this myself." Robbie finished proudly.
Then he marched smartly back down and sat in his seat.
Stephanie scooted over next to him and began whispering in his ear.
A big grin filled Robbie's face as he listened, and he squeezed her shoulder.
Then Trixie stood up and asked Sportacus what kind of magic he could do.
Sportacus shifted uncomfortably and replied that he could do some, but he does not like showing it off.
Trixie looked so sad as she sat back down, that he quickly said, " But I can show you something."
She instantly brightened, and Sportacus closed his eyes briefly.
Clouds began to roll in, and soon the bright, sunny day was overcast and cloudy.
The crowd gasped as rain began to fall.
Sportacus then drove the rain away and sunshine returned.
Sweat dripped off his forehead from the enormous effort that took.
He had not done that trick in ages, and it showed.
Then Ziggy stood up.
" Even though you are an elf," Ziggy faltered, " you are still my hero and best friend, right Sportacus?"
" Oh course you are!" Sportacus told him with a smile that just hid his sorrow underneath it.
Ziggy, satisfied, sat back down.
Pixel stood up next, and his question was rather interesting.
" My computer data reads that you are human. Why is that?"
Sportacus sighed.
" Because of my shield." He explained simply.
" What shield?" Pixel squinted at him.
" You can't see it." Sportacus hastened to explain. " Unless you got a special machine. It is there so you can't see who I am."
" Then, how did we see you then?" Pixel demanded.
Sportacus squirmed.
" Trixie tickled a spot behind my ears that dissolves all magic I may be doing at the time." He said finally.
Pixel looked very interested, but sat back down as Stingy rose to his feet.
" Will you really steal my treasures?" Stingy demanded. " And what about Christmas? Don't you pack all the gifts?"
Sportacus took a deep breath.
The whole Christmas elf thing really annoyed him.
" No, I do not even like gold." he said. " And, I am not a Christmas elf, which mostly do not have anything to do with gifts, that is the gnomes job, but gnomes are so lazy they have to sometimes do that instead of taking care of the reindeer, a much more honorable job." Sportacus lifted his chin as he spoke, looking defiantly at anyone who dared call him a Christmas elf, just in case.
Stingy quickly sat back down.
Then Stephanie slowly rose to her feet.
She crossed her arms and stared at Sportacus for a moment as he stared back.
Then she asked, " Who do you care about the most here?"
Sportacus did not hesitate.
" You." He said simply.
Stephanie did not even blink, but asked her next question fast.
" Then why did you never tell me?"
Sportacus did not reply, and Stephanie slowly sat back down.
She knew why, as surely as the bond between them told her of his heartache.
Robbie had just informed her that the reason she could feel his emotions was because she had bonded to him, and most likely he could feel her too, if he had bonded to her, which only happened once in an elf's life.
Stephanie suddenly stood back up.
" What do you feel from me?" she asked.
Sportacus looked shocked, then slowly shook his head.
" My Elvin senses are muddled do to grief." He answered quietly.
Stephanie sat back down, and Robbie scribbled something on a pad of paper.
He stood up.
" Why?" he asked.
Sportacus did not answer, and soon Robbie gave up and sat back down.
Then the mayor cleared his throat and announced that Sportacus could say something to them all before they decided what to do with him.
Sportacus looked each one in his or her eyes, resting longest on Stephanie, before saying what his heart told him to.
" No matter what you decide to do with me, I want you all to know I have spent the best part of my life here. I know this is my home, and I have greatly enjoyed saving and playing with you all here. It has been a very great privilege to be your friend, and I-I want you to know I love you all. Have a good life." Sportacus broke down in to tears, and stood there, trying to choke back the sobs that shook his muscular frame.
There was a long silence as Sportacus cried openly, then Ziggy rushed out and threw himself at Sportacus, hugging his leg tightly, crying as well.
" I don't want you to leave!" he wailed. " I love you Sportacus!"
Sportacus tried to calm himself so he could comfort Ziggy, when Trixie ran up and attached herself to his other leg.
" I am sorry Sportacus." She sniffled. " I don't want you to leave either."
Then Stingy wrapped his arms around his waist as far as he could.
" You are not mine, but you are mine, and I don't want you gone." He cried.
Sportacus had not gotten control of himself yet, and he could hear the mayor and Ms. Busybody start crying behind him.
" Yes, Sportacus." They both said. " We want you to stay as well."
Pixel walked up and grabbed both of Sportacus's bound hands.
" I like you too. I want you to stay." He said quietly.
Then Robbie walked over behind him and placed both hands on his shoulders.
" I need you to stay also, I need to study you more, and maybe we really can become real friend as well." Robbie rubbed Sportacus's shoulders and every one glanced at Stephanie, who was frozen in her seat.
Slowly she stood up and walked over.
Sportacus was surprised to see tears glittering in her eyes.
" Sportacus." She said, then sniffed. " Sportacus, I never wanted you to leave. I just wanted to be sure you are who you said you are. If you had to leave, I would have went with you. You are more then just my best friend." She smiled up at him, and Sportacus was so happy he thought he might float away.
Quickly, he broke the handcuffs and chains and hugged all of them at once.
Trixie reached up and fingered one of his pointy ears thoughtfully.
" Well," she said, " I guess so long as you've got your elf, nothing else really matters."