Chapter Twelve
Scaredy earned his name for a number of reasons:
1. His first word was "fear"
2. Even as a baby, he had a deer-in-the-headlights look whenever his eyes opened
And, for the most obvious reason,
3. He was scared of everything.
But even Scaredy Smurf had to admit that right here, right now, this was more terrifying than any other moment in his entire life. For the longest time, the fear put him into shock and gave literal meaning to the phrase "scared stiff". Balthazar sounded and looked happy to have the extra captive, but Scaredy wouldn't say the slightest word, so it would give the warlock no pleasure to torture him….yet.
So Balthazar tossed Scaredy into a cell in his dungeon and left the stiff Smurf on a pile of dirty hay. Eventually, Scaredy found the will to move, but only after Luna's wails and screams echoed throughout the chamber. The ear-splitting sounds made Scaredy curl up into a ball and cover his ears, desperate to block it all out. He shut his eyes, imagining that he lay in his warm, comfortable bed back home. But even though he could cover his ears and shut his eyes, he couldn't stop his skin from feeling the cold stones and he didn't have a free hand to plug his nose to shield it from the terrible smell of the old hay. He begged and pleaded to no one in particular, willing to give anything to be home with Papa comforting him.
There it was. That terrible screaming. What joy could Balthazar possibly get from causing a young baby such pain? Didn't he get a headache from all the noise?
For the longest time, Scaredy thought for sure that the Smurfs would come and rescue him. That any minute now Archer would swing in from the window and save the day, as usual. After all, Archer always ran away from home in situations like this, to take care of things her way. She would find them; she had to find them. Scaredy couldn't fight, he never could. Even if he came up with a clever idea on how to escape, he didn't have even the slightest iota of bravery to spur him into action, either to escape or to save Luna or both.
The screaming. The screaming. Tears squeezed through Scaredy's eyelids and down to the hay. Make it stop. He whimpered a few times, curling into a tighter ball. Please make it stop. Just stop.
As the hours passed and turned into a few days, Scaredy soon realized that nosmurf would come for him. Nosmurf knew where he was; they didn't know how to find him. Tracker could only follow scents on the ground, not the air. No other creature in the entire forest, magical or otherwise, would help them.
The screaming.
Make it stop.
How much time passed since the screaming started that day? An hour, perhaps. Or maybe two hours, maybe three or four or even seven. Scaredy didn't know anymore. Everything around him overwhelmed his senses, driving him to madness and more tears.
Screaming.
Just stop.
He resigned to his fate. Nosmurf could rescue him now. He and Luna will be Balthazar's prisoners for the rest of their days. And when Balthazar became too old or when he tired of them, he will kill them.
Screaming.
Stop.
He'll never see his Papa again. He'll never see his brothers or sisters. He'll never taste Chef's, Baker's, and Greedy's cooking. Never feel the sun the same way or the warmth of grass on a summer day.
Screaming.
STOP.
Smurfette will never comfort him again. Archer will never stay with him on stormy nights to protect him.
Screaming.
STOP!
He'll never see Papa's warm smile, assuring him everything will be smurfy.
The screaming!
And in that moment, Scaredy's voice wrenched forth from his mouth, and never before had it resonated with such strength and fury.
"BALTHAZAR! JUST STOP HURTING HER YOU SMURFING SMURFSTARD!"
Brainy gasped as he bolted upright, his hands smacking his desk to steady himself. He stared at his book in front of him with wild eyes, his dream…or perhaps vision…replaying over and over in his head.
"Scaredy…" he breathed.
Balthazar marched up to the cell door, throwing it open and glaring murderously at Scaredy. Luna, caught in his fist, wailed to no end.
"What did you say you little blue imp?" Balthazar snarled.
That fleeting moment of anger and bravery couldn't have left quicker. Scaredy's glare went back to "deer-in-the-headlights" and his straightened spine curved as he cowered.
"Uh…..w-well….I-I j-j-j-just…" Scaredy's stutter stumped his voice.
"You've interrupted me you wretched beast." Balthazar sneered. "But, thankfully for you, I can make up that time tomorrow." He released Luna from his grip, and Scaredy snapped out of it long enough to dive forward and catch the babe. "Until tomorrow, Smurf. Perhaps I'll try out a few new spells on you tomorrow."
Scaredy flinched as Balthazar slammed the door shut and laughed cruelly. He shook and whimpered, Luna's screams assaulting his eardrums. His first instinct: jump and scream himself. But he experienced enough terror in the past few days to be used to it by now. So he straightened up in a sitting position, crossing his legs and cradling Luna in his arms. He rocked her gently, speaking in a soothing voice that somehow lost the stutter. Th-third time in a f-few days. Scaredy smiled a little. His soft voice began to calm Luna, whose screams dwindled down to pitiful whimpers. Scaredy stared at the baby girl, his smile disappearing at the sight of her wounds from the tortures: small cuts, some shallow and some not so much, littered her body like claw marks; burn marks gave her splotchy purple polka dots. Three diagonal claw marks, courtesy of Balthazar's raven, went from her left temple to the right side of her jawbone. The dried blood stained her white onesie reddish-brown. Scaredy shared similar claw marks from the raven using him as a plaything; dried blood and scratches covered his arms and torso, long since gone numb or scabbed over.
Scaredy moved to the hay and readjusted Luna to one arm and used his free one to rearrange the hay. But the movement suddenly caused Luna to scream again, and Scaredy almost dropped her when he jumped. He hurriedly made a little bed for Luna and slowly laid her down on it. As he did, he felt something in her back, close to her tail; a sort of indent in her spine that shouldn't be there. Biting his lower lip, Scaredy pulled some hay over the crying infant to keep her warm and spoke to her again, despite a slight stutter.
"It's o-okay." He murmured softly, lying beside Luna and rubbing her stomach the way Gutsy showed him. "D-don't cry, L-Luna. I'm h-here."
Even though he stuttered, the calmness of his voice and the soothing rubbing stopped the baby's cries. She sniffled and whimpered, tears still pouring forth like twin waterfalls. Being so young, she could not understand why she felt so much pain; she only knew it hurt. But being with one of her own gave her a sense of calm and peace, and she slowly began to ignore most of the pain.
Scaredy smiled as Luna's breathing slowed to normal and her eyelids started to close. Soon, she slept peacefully, whimpering once or twice from the pain. Scaredy curled up close to Luna, tears dripping down onto her forehead yet somehow not waking her up.
I h-have you, L-Luna. Scaredy thought as he drifted to uneasy sleep. As l-long as I h-have you, it d-d-doesn't seem s-s-so b-bad.
Papa pushed his food back and forth across his plate, not feeling too hungry. His broken hand throbbed; it would take quite a while for it to fully heal since Papa didn't have the mental strength to find a spell to fix it sooner. He looked up from his half-eaten food and glanced around table, counting the Smurfs that joined him at the table. After a few days of mourning and sadness, it would seem his family finally decided to gather together for dinner. It was a welcome change from the nights he would sit alone in the dining hall. But he knew it would take a long, long, long, long, time before they could truly get over this loss.
Ninety-five….ninety-six…ninety-seven…ninety-eight…and Smartette's at Gerard's…. Papa's eyebrows furrowed. "Say, Gutsy. Where are Brainy, Clumsy, and Alchemist?"
Gutsy looked up tiredly from his food. He glanced around the room, but couldn't see his klutzy and know-it-all brothers. "Alchemist said he wasn't hungry; somethin' about organizin' his library. Haven't seen Brainy or Clumsy. But dey're probably just in deir rooms."
Papa frowned a little. "I think I'll go check on them. Just in case." He rose from his seat and journeyed off to Brainy's mushroom. I know I promised myself I'd leave them alone to grieve, but I can't ignore it anymore. His pace remained slow as he journeyed through the village. Brainy's mushroom was close to the dining hall, so it only took a few minutes to reach the door. Papa knocked briskly.
Silence.
"Brainy?" Papa called softly. "You're skipping dinner again."
Silence.
"Listen, I know you're upset. We all are. But we can't smurf around the village like ghosts. We have to move on. As painful as it sounds, it's the only option."
Silence.
"Brainy, please open the door. You can't keep me locked out forever." Papa pushed on the door gently…..and it opened without the slightest bit of resistance. Papa blinked in surprise and walked inside the dark mushroom. "Brainy?" Only silence and the moonlight through the windows replied. Papa's heart rate suddenly spiked and his breathing quickened. "Brainy!" He ran all through the mushroom, from the kitchen to the bedroom to Brainy's personal library. "Brainy! Where are you?" Papa struggled to stop hyperventilating, sprinting down the stairs and almost tripping out the door. He practically ran into Clumsy's door and pounded on hit hurriedly. "Clumsy! Please tell me Brainy's in there with you!"
Silence.
"Clumsy! Brainy!" Papa pushed the door open, again without resistance. "Please, my little Smurfs! Answer me!" He looked all around the living room, which looked terrifyingly similar to Brainy's. He ran about the entire mushroom, searching high and low but not seeing any sign of his two missing sons. Papa's heart nearly pumped itself right out of his chest. "Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no." He took a few breaths. "Okay, calm down and think. Where would they go? Why would they go?" His eyes widened. He turned on his heel and ran back to the dining hall. "Smurfs! Smurfs!"
Everysmurf jumped when the door swung open and Papa appeared, panting. "Smurfs! Brainy and Clumsy are gone! I think they've smurfed after Luna!"
"What?" Archer yelped.
"Are you sure, Papa?" Hefty asked.
"Brainy and Clumsy aren't the kind of Smurfs to just leave because they're upset." Papa assured, casting a pointed look at Archer. The Smurfette just crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"Well what're we waitin' for?" Sweepy stood from his spot. "Let's smurf after them!"
In a flash, all the energy returned to the Smurf Village as they charged out of the dining hall, broke into groups, and darted into the forest, calling for their brothers.
Archer scurried up a tree and stood in its topmost branches, turning in a full circle to gaze at everything. But only bats flew overheard, and she knew for a fact that neither Brainy nor Clumsy would be caught dead riding one of those. Biting her lower lip, she slid down the tree and met with Papa at the bottom.
"No sign of them." Archer reported.
"Nothing that I can see either." Papa said. "Come on."
Archer followed Papa deeper into the forest, weaving through trees and jumping over roots like hurdles. The eldest daughter of the Smurfs didn't really take into account their surroundings until she and her father reached a familiar bridge.
"Whoa, whoa!" Archer skidded to a halt. "You don't really think they'd smurf into Smurfy Hollow?"
"Just come on!" Papa urged.
"That doesn't answer my question." Archer said to no one in particular. But not wanting to be left behind, she hurried after Papa and into the creepier part of the forest.
Tracker and Hunter paused on a tree branch, the former inhaling deeply while keeping his nose on the rough bark.
"Anything?" Hunter asked urgently.
"Nope." Tracker shook his head. "Only the scent of the tree and some birds. With a hint of butterfly."
"That's not helpful." Hunter droned. "Come on, let's keep going." The two of them hurried off, disappearing into the woods. Seconds later, a familiar, bespectacled blue head popped out from the hole in the tree.
"We're clear." Brainy whispered. "Let's smurf, Clumsy."
"Okie dokie, Brainy!" Clumsy whispered excitedly. The two young Smurfs gently spurred their steeds forward, and the small owls they rode took off into the sky. "Are you sure we shouldn't tell the other Smurfs about this?"
"I'm positive." Brainy assured. "I can't believe they found out we left so fast."
"Well, they have been watching Archer for a while." Clumsy pointed out. "I bet they all thought she would smurf off by now."
"And because she hasn't, we can step in and be the heroes!" Brainy cheered. "Come on! Let's smurf this!"
Clumsy smiled wide and urged his owl faster, following Brainy as they soared through the night skies. He couldn't have been happier that Brainy asked him to join the brave quest to find Luna and Scaredy. More surprising to believe that a vision came to the smart Smurf about their loved one's whereabouts, which meant that hope existed to save them. After all this depression hanging over the village, Clumsy would go for anything that could bring back the cheer so accustomed to their home. He didn't care about the danger of confronting Balthazar (Brainy declared he had a brilliant plan that didn't involve confrontation); he only cared about everything going back to normal.
"Whoa!" Clumsy yelped, almost slipping off his bird.
"Be careful, Clumsy!" Brainy warned.
"Sorry, Brainy." Clumsy chuckled nervously. "I don't ride owls very much."
Brainy rolled his eyes good naturedly, also feeling a little shaky on his owl. But he and Clumsy continued on, Brainy following the mental map that came in his dream.
I only hope this works. Brainy mentally gulped.
"Papa, where are we going?" Archer demanded.
"You'll see." Papa replied simply.
"Papa, I get the strangest feeling that you're smurfing me someplace dangerous." Archer said.
"It's not dangerous." Papa assured. "Just trust me."
Archer sighed, but continued to follow Papa through the woods. Normally, the tomboy Smurfette wouldn't be afraid of anything, especially the forest. But there was a reason most people, Smurfs, and animals avoided Smurfy Hollow; the place radiated with spookiness. Still, Archer didn't feel disobeying Papa would be a good idea. However, she couldn't ignore that feeling in the back of her head that told her something wasn't right. Or maybe it was just the forest's aura getting to her.
"We're here."
Papa's sudden stop and voice made Archer stumble a little from shock. She paused beside Papa and followed his gaze, cocking her head to one side like a confused puppy. "Um, what's this?"
"Home." Papa replied simply.
Archer stared at the shabby-looking mushroom house with a dismal garden beside it. Even if it didn't look gray and brown in color, the house seemed abandoned; in fact, it appeared nosmurf lived there for many years. "Uh…what?"
"You'll be staying here until further notice." Papa said, turning and walking back towards the woods.
"Why?" Archer demanded.
"Because I've decided you can't go smurfing off whenever something's bothering you." Papa said firmly. "You need to understand how your actions affect the people around you."
"So you're going to leave me here in the middle of Smurfy Hollow?" Archer summarized.
"You'll figure it out soon enough, I'm sure." Those were Papa's final words before he disappeared into the trees. When Archer ran to catch up, she found he vanished completely.
"Does he not realize I can easily smurf my way back?" Archer asked no one in particular, walking through the trees to the bridge. "Honestly, sometimes I think Papa's going senile. Ouch!" She grunted in pain and stumbled back, rubbing her now-sore nose. She held up her hands and pressed forward, only to hit an invisible barrier. She pushed against it, kicked it, pounded her fists on it, and even threw a couple blasts of magic. But the wall remained firm.
"Papa!" Archer screamed. "You can't leave me here! Papa! Let me out! Do you hear me? LET. ME. OUT!"
Already at the bridge to the hollow, Papa could hear Archer's screams faintly in the night. She's so much like her mother. He thought sadly, his feet dragging a little as he walked across the bridge. So strong, so brave, with a voice to match the strength. A voice that can be soft like a nightingale, or powerful like a lion's roar. Papa felt tears heating up behind his eyes, but he held them back. I only hope she'll forgive me after this.
Brainy and Clumsy held on tight to their owls, staring straight ahead as a tall, dark castle came into view. Though small and looking quite abandoned, the lights coming from one of the towers indicated a resident. Brainy narrowed his eyes, identifying the castle as the one from his vision. That's it. He thought. That's where the monster took my family.
"Uh, B-Brainy?" Clumsy called.
"What is it, Clumsy?" Brainy asked.
"Are you sure you didn't ask another Smurf to come with us?"
"I'm positive, Clumsy."
"Oh, okay."
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, maybe it's just me, but I think I see Alchemist riding a bat right behind us."
Brainy whipped around and his jaw dropped. Clumsy's words rang true; a bat flew through the air behind them, and Alchemist rode atop its back. Brainy groaned and steered his owl to the tree line, Clumsy and Alchemist close behind. Clumsy's and Brainy's owls rested gently on a tree branch while Alchemist flew his bat close and jumped to his brothers.
"Thank you my friend!" Alchemist waved to the bat, who screeched and disappeared into the night.
"Alchemist, what are you doing here?" Brainy demanded.
"I could ask you the same thing." Alchemist huffed.
"Brainy and I are gonna save Luna and Scaredy!" Clumsy declared happily.
"I figured as much." Alchemist nodded. "Which is why I followed you. I intended to smurf after you in secret, but it seems Clumsy is more perceptive than I assumed."
"We don't need your help." Brainy snapped. "Smurf home."
"Can't do that." Alchemist said. "As your older brother, I have to protect you."
"Says who?" Brainy scoffed. "We can handle it now smurf out of here."
"Brainy." Clumsy piped up. "Maybe Alchemist should come. A little extra muscle wouldn't hurt." Brainy crossed his arms and frowned, not even looking at his brothers. Clumsy brought up another point. "We don't really have much muscle between the two of us you know."
Brainy's frown deepened, but he sighed. "Fine. But you follow my orders." With that he spurred his owl into the air and left his kin in the dust.
"Whatever you say brother dearest." Alchemist sighed, accepting Clumsy's hand to help him onto the owl. Clumsy gently kicked his owl and the bird of prey took off.
"Don't worry, Alchemist." Clumsy assured. "Brainy's got a plan. We're gonna save Luna and Scaredy and everything's going to be smurfy like usual."
Alchemist smiled. "I love your optimism, Clumsy. I think we're going to succeed."
Clumsy smiled broadly, his eyes shining. Alchemist focused on those shining eyes, ignoring the fear and depression that threatened to consume his spirit. He needed hope; they were Smurfs after all. When the going gets tough the tough keep going, and that's what Papa always instilled in them from birth. They were a happy and positive population of creatures and nothing could change that.
Nothing can change that. Alchemist reminded himself. We will succeed and everything that's happened can be put behind us.
Gutsy scanned the area around him twice through, but not a speck of blue besides Hefty and Grouchy beside him. The latter sighed. "It's getting late."
Hefty repeated Grouchy's actions. "Yeah. Gutsy, we should really get home."
"Ye go on ahead, lads." Gutsy said. "I'm stayin' out 'ere ta find my brothers."
"Gutsy, we've been smurfing around the forest for three hours." Grouchy protested. "In this case, I don't wanna live up to my name and be a downer, but I don't think we're gonna find them."
"We will find them." Hefty assured. "But not tonight."
"I won' stop lookin'." Gutsy insisted. Something caught his eye, but he didn't show. "Ye smurf ahead. I'll be home soon."
Grouchy opened his mouth to protest, but Hefty put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Together they cast Gutsy one final look before turning and heading home. Gutsy made sure he could see them no longer before going towards the thing that caught his eye: a solitary, red-clad Smurf standing on some rocks overlooking the land. The Scotsmurf approached his father and stood beside him.
"You smurf on home Gutsy." Papa encouraged. "I'm going to keep searching."
"I'll come with ye, Papa." Gutsy assured. "I want ta help ye."
"As your father it is my responsibility to smurf forward and keep searching." Papa said. "You don't need to worry about it because that's my job."
Gutsy smiled. "But it is also de responsibility of de leader ta do de same. I am de first born and de heir ta yer responsibilities." He chuckled a bit. "I suppose I could get a head start."
Papa looked to his son and smiled softly. "All right then."
They took off to renew the search, vanishing seemingly without a trace in the trees. A raven watched from the branches of a nearby tree, its eyes capturing everything. Being an abnormal raven, created through magic, its vision traveled to a hollow deep in the trees, where the resident watched through a looking glass.
"So brave and strong, despite everything he's gone through." The resident sighed, her white hair indicating age but her voice cheery and strong. "And his son is almost an exact copy of him, minus the hair of course." She giggled softly, tracing the edge of the looking glass with her fingers. "I'm afraid I cannot stand and watch any longer. I have failed in my duties to this forest and the creatures in it by allowing Luna and Scaredy to be captured; by allowing the creatures to be controlled by Balthazar."
A great horned owl flew in and landed on her looking glass, hooting.
"Really? By themselves? Even with their brother knowing alchemy that won't be enough." She thought for a moment, then smiled. "I have it! I know how to help!"
A/N: Here ya go! I realize I haven't updated in a while, but I'm back! I finally finished my TMNT story and I can devote my time to finishing this one. Because after this I'm putting Archer in Smurfs 2!