Chapter Ten
Mor'du made the first move, slamming his paw down with the express intent of crushing Angel underneath it. But Angel moved faster, spreading his wings and flying up above the demon bear's head. He shot around and near the bear's head. Every time Mor'du swung a paw towards the spirit, he missed by a mile; and became angrier every time. Angel launched a few blasts from his palms, but they hardly left a dent in the bear. He kept attacking and whizzing about the bear's head like a hyperactive fly.
"Come on, you stupid bear!" Angel shouted, launching a few more blasts at the bear's snout. "Come and get me!" He blew a raspberry. Mor'du snarled and lunged for the spirit, who ducked away and shot into the forest. The demon bear stampeded after Angel, but stopped about twenty feet away. He turned and snarled back at Smurf Village. He ran to the village with a roar, halting Angel in his tracks.
Angel groaned in frustration. "Of course he's drawn to the village." He flew after the bear. "Okay. Okay think. How do I beat a giant bear?" He thought for a moment while he flew, but drew a blank. "This is not going to end well."
Brainy jumped and cowered under a table in Papa's lab. "Papa! That thing's gonna kill us! How can we just sit here and trust that Smurf with wings will save us?"
"Better him than us!" Alchemist snapped.
"Alchemist, that's not very smurfy. Besides that, we don't have much of a choice." Papa said, flipping through one of his books. "But I'm looking for something to smurf him a hand."
Brainy nibbled his fingernails nervously. Then, something clicked. "Papa! What about that spell that smurfed the Howlibird?"
"I don't know." Papa's focus remained mostly on his book. "That was made specifically for the Howlibird. I don't know if—" His eyes widened. "Wait, I think I got it!"
"What?" Brainy asked, crawling over to Papa. Alchemist joined them as well.
"This." Papa said, pointing to his book. "It's a simple shrinking spell. Then at least we can smurf it into a cage or something until we find out where it came from."
"Then let's get smurfing." Brainy said hurriedly. Papa joined him at the cauldron, working quickly. Alchemist ran to get the ingredients.
Outside, Angel struggled to couple protecting himself and stopping Mor'du from smashing mushroom houses to pieces and otherwise destroy the village. Every time Angel paused to put up a protective barrier around a mushroom house, Mor'du would smack the spirit aside. Angel felt his energy dissolving, little by little, with every smack. His hat almost slipped off his head and the feathers on his wings became ruffled. One particularly hard swipe sent Angel into the ground like a meteor, leaving a small ditch when he bounced and rolled.
"Come on, come on Devil!" He groaned, pushing himself to his feet. "Where's Archer and her arrows when you need them?" He let out a surprised, muffled yelp when someone's hand covered his mouth and yanked him backwards behind a mushroom house. He tried to wrench the person off him, but paused when he saw Brainy and Alchemist with tight grips on his arms. Alchemist had a hand over Angel's mouth, keeping him quiet as Mor'du stalked about the village, searching for them. Angel noticed Papa Smurf, with a potion in hand. Angel tried to protest, but his words came in quiet muffles. Papa ignored the struggling spirit and moved around the side of the mushroom house, ready to throw the potion in his hand at the bear that dared to attack his home. He stayed low, ducking down once or twice to stay out of the bear's sight. Mor'du growled in his throat, sniffing around for his dinner.
"Hey you overgrown fuzz ball!"
Mor'du turned with a snarl to see Papa on the roof of a nearby mushroom house. The demon bear roared, opening his mouth wide enough for Papa to throw the flask into the black maw. Mor'du gagged a little, blinking in surprise. Papa carefully slid down a nearby ladder to the ground. Alchemist, Brainy, and Angel walked up to join Papa, the four of them staring as Mor'du choked a little but then swallowed the potion. Two seconds later, the demon bear began to glow green.
"It's working!" Alchemist breathed. "It's working!"
"Yeah, this might actually smurf the trick!" Brainy chimed.
Mor'du made a couple snort-like sounds, raspy and airy. His breathing came heavy and almost like growls. Then, in a few deep gasps, Mor'du let out a booming sneeze and the flask with the shrinking potion flew up and disappeared into the sky. The Smurfs craned their necks to stare after the potion.
"Hmm…" Angel cocked his head. "That didn't work."
Brainy deadpanned. "Really? Didn't notice."
"Watch out!" Alchemist shouted, spurring everysmurf to jump aside when the bear's paw nearly smashed them to paste.
"You have smurf out of here!" Angel urged, shoving Papa, Brainy, and Alchemist towards the nearest mushroom house. "Before—" Suddenly, the demon bear's paw wrapped around Angel and yanked him off the ground. Angel struggled to break free, his ears assaulted by the snarling of Mor'du and the Smurfs' shouts. Mor'du roared in Angel Smurf's face, ready to tear the spirit Smurf's head off. Angel didn't feel fear very often, but the bear's glowing green eye and bloodied eye that made it feel like his heart wanted to tear from his chest and run away screaming. Not only that, but the demon bear's breath really stunk to high heaven.
Right before Mor'du could eat Angel for a snack, the bear roared in pain and Angel felt the grip around him tighten. Angel only needed to look around for a moment before his eyes caught the white rod in Mor'du's arm. The rod suddenly flew out, revealing a two-pronged pitchfork. Angel's head whipped to one side, following the pitchfork's path to its owner.
"Hey bear." Devil growled. "Nobody beats up that goody-goody except me."
Mor'du snarled, only to earn a red sphere of energy at his head, courtesy of Devil's palm. The evil spirit didn't stop there; he continued to assault the demon bear, launching more red blasts and stabbing Mor'du a few times with his pitchfork. Mor'du roared fiercely, but Devil just gathered more energy in his palms, the sphere getting larger and larger before it became twice the size of a mushroom house. Devil threw it with all his strength, sending Mor'du into the trees. Devil nodded in satisfaction and floated down to Angel on the ground.
Angel smiled warmly as he approached his negative counterpart. "You came back."
Devil smirked. "Yeah, well I kinda didn't want to die."
Angel chuckled, but then his smile disappeared. "Where's Archer?"
Devil's smirk shrunk a little. "She ain't coming. I swear, I tried my best. I even had to admit you were right and I threw up. Twice."
Angel smiled softly. "Way to take one for the Smurf."
Devil rolled his eyes. "Don't get used to it." The demon bear's roar caught their attention, and the fleeing birds indicated a charging ursine came their way. Devil looked to Papa. "We'll take care of the bear. But we need it distracted to find its weak spot."
"Leave it to us." Papa assured. "Brainy, Alchemist. Gather up the Smurfs. Find Gutsy and Handy and tell them to prepare the catapults."
"Yes Papa Smurf!" the two apprentices nodded and hurried off.
Papa turned to Devil and Angel. "I'll try and smurf up a potion to help, but I sincerely hope you have a plan."
"I got a plan." Devil assured. "Just keep that bear distracted." Papa nodded and jogged to his lab. It felt a little strange to take orders instead of give them, but desperate moments called for desperate measures.
Angel raised an eyebrow at Devil. "You have a plan?"
"Yep." Devil nodded. The two spirits turned to face Mor'du and his thundering gallop. "Just leave it to me."
"The evil conscience saving the day." Angel smirked, stretching his wings a little. "Who would've guessed it?"
Devil mirrored his positive counterpart. "Hey, I can be a hero and still be nasty."
"We'll see." Angel said.
Mor'du burst from the trees with a roar, and the two spirits met him head-on.
Angel threw the first blast from his palms, forcing Mor'du to stop his charge. Devil came in next, swiping his pitchfork across the bear's head and leaving scratches. The spirits buzzed around the demon bear's head like flies, and Mor'du could only snarl and swipe his large paws at them. It only got worse for the bear when someone shouted, "Fire!" and he became bombarded by rocks and sweets. The Smurfs, a newfound will to fight inside them, set up a ring of catapults around Mor'du and slammed the bear with as much (and any kind of) ammo they could find. The assault from the spirits and the Smurfs weakened Mor'du greatly, but it also made him angry. He suddenly crushed a catapult under one of his back paws, hardly giving the Smurfs in control time to scatter.
"Back off fuzz brains!" Devil snapped, stabbing his pitchfork into the bear's shoulder. Mor'du responded with a backhand….er, paw…that sent Devil crashing into the ground and narrowly missing Papa. The elder helped the spirit to his feet.
"I have this." Papa said, showing Devil a flask with a red-colored potion inside. "It's powerful and a little dark, but it's the only shot we have."
"What'll it do?" Devil asked.
"I'm going to smurf it into one of the catapults." Papa explained. "Once Mor'du swallows it, it'll turn him to ashes."
"I got a better idea." Devil snatched the potion from Papa's hand and flew up towards Mor'du just as the bear smacked Angel to the ground. "Hey bear!" Mor'du turned and roared at Devil, opening his jaws wide enough for Devil to suddenly shoot inside and go down the bear's esophagus.
"Devil!" Angel shouted, surprised. The Smurfs only stared, stunned. Mor'du seemed surprised as well, coughing a couple times from forcibly swallowing the red Smurf. Everysmurf stared for a moment, waiting anxiously for the bear to attack again. But then, the bear's body began smoking. White-hot singe marks, like polka dots, appeared all over his fur. Mor'du roared in pain, writhing and trying to rub the spots away. The Smurfs all backed up, watching in shock and awe. Mor'du's back foot caught fire, the flames small but powerful. Desperately, the bear tried to stamp the fire out, but the enchanted fire couldn't be stopped. The tiny wildfire spread to the rest of the demon bear's body, turning everything to ash while the bear seemed to scream in pain and terror. First his pitch black fur, then his skin and all the meat and organs, leaving only a skeleton. That, too, soon crumbled to ashes. Everysmurf stepped towards the ashes, not sure how to react. Then, something moved beneath the ashes, causing everysmurf to jump back. Angel and Gutsy stepped forward, Angel creating a ball of white energy and Gutsy lofting up his sword.
In a bust of ash, a red Smurf head popped up. "Oh for badness sakes!" Devil coughed. "What the smurf was I thinking?"
Angel laughed, helping the evil conscience from the ashes. "Are you okay?"
Devil shoved Angel off. "I'm fine. Singed, but fine."
Angel laughed again. "Devil, you did it. You saved the Smurfs."
Devil smirked. "Yeah. I guess I did. Now how's about we get outta here? There's nothin' more we can do here."
"What about Archer?" Angel asked, casting a look towards Papa and Gutsy.
Devil rolled his eyes. "Goody-goody." He stepped towards Papa. "Don't worry about your eldest daughter. She's fine. And she has a message: I'll be back soon, I promise."
Papa blinked in surprise, but then smiled. "Thank you. Both of you." Inside, he wished for his daughter's return. Although he grew accustomed to her disappearances in times of internal distress, he was close to reaching his breaking point. For now, he kept a calm demeanor; but a plan began to form in his mind of how he would teach his daughter a lesson.
"Farewell, Smurfs." Angel bowed. "I'm sure we'll meet again."
"Yeah, and then we can have some fun." Devil chuckled. Angel only rolled his eyes. Things will never really change. He thought. But I suppose there must be some evil where there is good. The spirits disappeared, leaving only a white cloud and a red cloud that developed into a wind that blew away Mor'du's ashes.
When Angel and Devil finally disappeared, the air became quiet for a moment. Then, the Smurfs erupted into cheers. The first time they actually won against Balthazar. Luna was safe! Balthazar will think twice before attacking them again. Maybe he'll stop his attacks. Wistful thinking, maybe, a victory like this rose their hopes to the stars as their cheers erupted to the skies.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Everysmurf stopped cheering as Panicky sprinted through the crowd, tripping and shouting all the way. The Smurfs quickly parted for their brother, unsure what to do or how to react. The poor, panicked Smurf ran in circles, letting out another frightened scream now and then.
"Panicky!" Papa called, desperately trying to calm the terrified Smurf. But Panicky kept running around like crazy. Papa finally managed to grab the Smurf by the shoulders and turn him so they were almost nose to nose. "Panicky! What the smurf is wrong?"
"I was….and Scaredy and I…and then….and it…and I…" Panicky couldn't stop stuttering in fear. He seemed to be sweating more than normal. "It was scary…..we couldn't…I never…..I wanted…"
"Panicky!" Papa snapped, causing the freaked-out Smurf to shut his mouth. "Pay close attention: deep breath in."
Panicky breathed in.
"Now smurf it out."
Panicky let out his breath in a rush.
"Good." Papa nodded. "Now tell us what happened."
Panicky let it out so loudly it rattled Papa's eardrums. "GARGOYLES! GARGOYLES IN GUTSY AND ARCHER'S MUSHROOM!"
Gutsy's eyes widened. "Luna!" He and Papa took off, the other Smurfs following them as they charged for Gutsy and Archer's home. Gutsy put on a burst of speed and rammed through the door, breaking it down and tearing it from its hinges. Many of the Smurfs jumped in surprise at the burst of strength and anger from Gutsy. The Scotsmurf didn't stop running, charging up the stairs with Farmer close behind him. The burst through the doors of the bedroom. It took only two seconds for them to register the two gargoyles, Scaredy, Luna, and an unconscious Gourdy in the room. Gutsy leaped onto the back of the nearest gargoyle, wrestling with the creature while Farmer hurried to Gourdy's side.
"Gourdy!" Farmer shook the genie gently. "Are ya awright?" Gourdy only moaned, his turban slipping a little to reveal a large bruise on his head. "Aw, Gourdy. What'd ya do?"
Suddenly, the gargoyle grabbed Gutsy and threw him right through a window. Gutsy hit the ground hard, bouncing a little and crashing into a couple other Smurfs. The two gargoyles burst through the roof of the mushroom, one of them carrying Luna in a basket. And clinging to the basket…
"P-Papa Smurf!" Scaredy shouted. "H-help!"
"Scaredy!" Papa called.
"Hang on to that basket!" Tracker chimed in.
"Don't let go!" Narrator added.
"Why would I let go?!" Scaredy demanded, the stutter temporarily leaving his voice.
"We'll follow you!" Farmer called, running from the mushroom. "C'mon, Smurfs!"
"Tracker, Farmer, Greedy, and Hunter!" Papa ordered. "You two fly on the storks and trail those gargoyles! We'll follow on the ground!"
"Yes Papa Smurf!" the four mentioned Smurfs saluted and took off.
"Come on!" Gutsy urged, standing a little unsteadily. "We can't let 'em get away!"
With that, everysmurf jumped to action. Farmer and Hunter jumped onto Feathers while Tracker and Greedy mounted onto the other stork, Belle Star. Many of the Smurfs, either wounded or tired, chose to stay behind. Papa put Smurfette and Dabbler in charge of looking after Hefty, the most wounded of them all. The Smurfs on the ground ran fast, keeping their eyes on the storks flying above them. Minutes after getting up into the air, the Smurfs on storks could see the gargoyles flying ahead of them. Scaredy climbed into the basket with Luna, but then he didn't appear again.
"Poor Smurf mus' be scared ta death." Farmer realized.
"We'll get him out of there." Tracker assured. "Come on, Belle Star! You can do it, girl!" The stork cawed and flapped her wings, propelling herself forward. Feathers followed close behind, Farmer readying the pitchfork in his hands.
"What are you doing?" Hunter demanded.
"Ah'm gunna take out tha' Smurflin' snatcher!" Farmer growled.
"You can't!" Hunter pulled the pitchfork back. "You might hit Luna!"
Farmer growled in frustration. "Awright, then we go fir th' more direct approach."
"How so?" Hunter asked a bit worriedly. Farmer spurred Feathers to fly faster, going higher into the sky. The stork pushed forward, flying just ahead of the gargoyle carrying the basket. Farmer held his pitchfork in a firm grip, standing on Feathers' neck. In seconds, Hunter knew what Farmer would do next, but the country Smurf already jumped before his brother could stop him. Farmer landed right on the gargoyle's back, hooking the handle of his pitchfork around the creature's neck. The gargoyle gagged and screeched, trying to buck the Smurf off him.
Farmer looked into the basket and saw Scaredy trembling more than usual as he lay curled in a ball. "Dun worrei, Scardei!" Farmer called. "Hang on!"
"F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F—" Scaredy tried to speak, but his stutter and stammer produced no legible words.
"What?" Farmer asked.
"L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L—" Again, words failed Scaredy. But it didn't matter; Farmer felt something grab his overalls and yank him off the gargoyle.
"Nice try!" the second gargoyle laughed. "See you next fall!" He suddenly threw Farmer into open air, straight for the ground. Farmer shouted in fear, his mind running through every possible method of stopping or at least slowing down his fall.
Papa looked up at the shout, and his eyes widened. "Farmer!"
Farmer braced himself for the hard forest floor, still shouting, when suddenly a shadow shot out from nowhere and tackled him.
"Archer!" Gutsy cheered.
The tomboy Smurfette pulled a dagger from her hip and stabbed it into the wood of a nearby tree, rapidly slowing their descent. She held Farmer in one arm, keeping him close with all her strength. She pushed off the tree and the two Smurfs crash-landed onto the ground, bouncing and rolling until they hit some bushes. The Smurfs hurried over, staring worriedly but jumping when the two Smurfs popped up. They were covered in twigs, leaves, and a little dirt, but alive and well.
"Wow." Archer blinked, seeming surprised. "That legitimately hurt. A lot."
"Archer!" Gutsy grabbed his mate and hugged her tightly, swinging her around.
"I told Devil Smurf to tell you that I would smurf back." Archer said, wiggling from Gutsy's grip. "And I will. I promise."
"No time for that!" Nosy shouted, running past Archer and forcing everysmurf to follow. "Gargoyles got your kid!"
Archer's eyes widened. "What?!"
"Way to abandon your kid!" Grouchy snapped.
"Way to uphold the position of a good uncle!" Archer snapped back sarcastically.
"Maybe if you hadn't smurfed off this wouldn't happen!" Grouchy shouted. "What kinda mom are you?"
"GROUCHY!" Everysmurf shouted.
"Let's just go!" Gutsy urged.
Archer looked up, scanning the air for the gargoyles that snatched her daughter. She saw two, one with a basket in his claws and a companion flying beside him. Archer loaded her bow and took aim, still keeping her smooth sprint. She fired, and the sharp projectile pierced the second gargoyle's leg.
He screeched in pain. "Oh great! It's the kid's mother!"
"Archer Smurfette?" the gargoyle carrying the basket asked. "Oh that's just brilliant!"
"What do we do?" the second gargoyle demanded.
"You go down and distract them! Start with the Smurfs in the sky and then hold them off!" the first gargoyle ordered. "I'll continue on to the meeting place!"
"Right!" the second gargoyle suddenly shot backwards to Feathers and Belle Star. The first gargoyle tossed his companion a length of rope, which the second gargoyle used to make two loop knots out of either ends. He looped one knot around Feathers' legs and the other knot around Belle Star's. The loops tightened as the second gargoyle yanked the rope down. Tracker, Greedy, and Hunter yelped and their steeds cawed in surprise. The two storks crashed into each other, stunned and buying the gargoyle just enough time to drag the birds into the trees. Feathers, Belle Star, and their riders yelped and winced in pain as they hit branch after branch before the rope caught a final tree limb and they ended up upside-down.
"Are you all okay?" Papa called worriedly.
"We're okay, Papa!" Greedy assured. "Keep smurfing!"
But the second gargoyle suddenly dropped down, hissing at the group of Smurfs who were forced to skid to a halt. The gargoyle snarled, but Archer's bow suddenly met his face.
"Go!" Archer ordered, hitting the gargoyle a few more times. "Go!" Papa and Gutsy led the way as they ran around the gargoyle to follow the second gargoyle in the sky. A group of the Smurfs joined Archer in the assault on the gargoyle.
Meanwhile, the gargoyle carrying the basket finally found the rendezvous point: a cliff edge that dropped off about 200 feet to the rocks below. Two wartmongers waited on the cliff edge with a hot-air balloon.
"Here's the kid!" the gargoyle said, handing the basket to the wartmongers.
"What's this other Smurf doing in there?" one of the wartmongers demanded.
"He's scared stiff, literally." The gargoyle shrugged. "I figured the extra hostage would please Balthazar."
"Good enough for us." The second wartmonger stowed their catch in the hot air balloon basket.
"Just hurry up!" the gargoyle warned. "The Smurfs are right behind me!"
They jumped when a pitchfork pierced the ground beside them. "Already here!" the first wartmonger yelped. "Let's get out of here!"
"Faster, Smurfs!" Gutsy urged. "Faster!"
"We're not gonna make it!" Grouchy protested.
"Oh yes we will!" Gutsy growled, putting on a burst of speed. But the gargoyle long since flew off to safety while the wartmongers prepared the balloon. Gutsy and Farmer, the fastest of the group, ran ahead of the other Smurfs to catch the balloon before it took off. Unfortunately, the second wartmonger cut the line and the balloon started floating away. Gutsy almost jumped after the balloon, but Farmer pulled him back. The rest of the Smurfs skidded to a halt.
"Now what?" Baker asked worriedly.
"Incoming!" somesmurf called. The crowd parted like the Red Sea, and Archer ran up the path towards the cliff. Gutsy and Farmer shared a look and nodded in understanding. They grabbed each other's wrists, bending their knees to prepare for what would come up next.
"Lass!" Gutsy shouted. "Jump!"
Archer nodded, putting all her strength in her run. She jumped up, balancing perfectly onto Farmer and Gutsy's arms. The combined force of Archer's next jump and the boys' throw sent Archer soaring, similarly to her arrows, and she grabbed a loose rope hanging from the basket. She swung under the basket and back up to the wartmongers, kicking one in the face.
"Nobody smurfs with my family." She snarled.
The second wartmonger, instead of looking scared, actually smirked. "You think you're so tough. But we came prepared." He pulled out a pouch and swiftly tossed its contents at Archer. The Smurfette coughed, trying to brush the dust away. But suddenly, she felt white-hot electric pain coursing through her veins, like extreme static shocks right in her bloodstream. "Courtesy of Lord Balthazar!" the wartmonger laughed as he and his companion shoved Archer out of the basket.
"She's falling!" Brainy yelped.
"No duh Brainiac." Grouchy snapped.
Wooly suddenly sprinted up, rope in his hands. He made a loop a spun it around and threw it, praying it would work. Thankfully for everysmurf, the loop caught Archer's ankle and tightened, abruptly halting her fall. Wooly dug his heels into the ground, pulling on the rope and gently hauling his sister onto solid ground. Papa hurried to Archer and looked her over.
"She's been hit with a paralyzing dust." Papa realized.
"Hold on!" Alchemist hurriedly knelt beside Archer, pulling out a small bushel of red berries and leaves. "I've got some ginseng; it's a muscle relaxer. It should smurf the trick." He pressed the berries to Archer's mouth, but she wouldn't open. "Oh, I hope she doesn't punch me for this." Alchemist groaned. He gently pried Archer's mouth open and pushed the berries in and down her esophagus. When he finally pulled his hand out, Archer coughed a few times, making some choking sounds before forcibly swallowing the berries. She bolted upright, panting a little. Then, she glared at Alchemist and grabbed him by the collar of his purple cape.
"Don't ever stick your hand in my mouth again." Archer snarled. "Or I'll bite it off."
Alchemist gulped, but then smiled. "Good to have you back."
Archer rolled her eyes and shoved her brother aside. Then her eyes widened in realization and she hurried to the edge of the cliff. But nosmurf saw the hot-air balloon with its precious cargo. "Where'd they go?"
"They disappeared out of thin air." Clumsy breathed. "But how?"
"Who knows?" Brainy shrugged. "Invisibility potion? Smurfed into the tree line on the other side? All we know is that they're gone, and they got Scaredy and Luna."
All eyes went to Archer, who continued to stare after the balloon. Everysmurf knew Balthazar won. They couldn't do anything more. None of them knew where Balthazar lived; Feathers and Belle Star might be too hurt to do any flying anytime soon. The Smurfs waited with baited breath, wondering how Archer would react. Would she scream in despair and anger? Collapse from exhaustion and pain? Burst into heart-wrenching sobs?
Instead, Archer just took a shaky breath, turned on her heel, and walked into the forest heading home. Papa and Gutsy hurried after her, keeping by her side but not saying a word. The rest of the Smurfs followed en masse, silently and mournfully.