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Dazed, I opened my eyes to find myself lying on the ground. The hovel itself was obliterated, only the concrete floor was left behind. Rachael rushed up to me and helped me up, "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I don't know," I answered, "Where's the others?"

"We're here!" said Papa Smurf as he Smurfette, and Handy regrouped with me. I examined them and realized they were covered in grime from the explosion, so I wasn't alone.

"That was one explosion," said Handy, "I didn't expect that."

"Did we win?" asked Smurfette.

A loud roar ripped through the still air, as if right on cue. "No," I said, "We didn't exactly destroy the Dark Presence, we broke it into pieces."

That's when a manuscript page drifts slowly to earth, it landed on the ground as I took notice. "Well here's the manuscript page," I said as I picked it up, "Let see what's in it."

The brightness of a million suns and more heat than the heart of Mother Earth, the blast rips across the land to purge all life at hand – its mushroom cloud stands over the masses like a shroud of darkness.

Let the inferior hear the thunder, of his voice.

"Its a poem," said Papa Smurf, "But what does it mean?"

"I don't know," I said, "But I think I may have a clue, where's Brainy by the way?"

"Brainy?" asked Papa Smurf as he looked around, "He was with us a moment ago."

"Tracker's gone," said Handy, "I saw him vanished in the tornado."

"We all did," said Papa Smurf, "But where could he be?"

As we all stood there puzzling over what happened to the two smurfs, we heard an unexpected scream of mercy. "Help!" cried a voice, "Smurf!"

"That sounds like Brainy," replied Smurfette, "Brainy!"

"Someone help!" he cried.

We followed his voice and managed to find him laying face down on the ground, amazingly his glasses didn't fall off his face when he was tossed aside by the explosion. "I smurfed my leg," he said, "And several ribs, I'm not bleeding though."

I examined Brainy's leg, it was bent the wrong way. "Don't worry Brainy," said Smurfette, "We'll get you help!"

As Smurfette helps Brainy sat upright, I heard a scuffle in the bushes. "What the?" I said.

That's when Tracker came out of the bushes, darkness had consumed him and is covered in a dark shroud. "I can smell a human a mile away." he said in a demonic voice as he held up an ax.

A flare shot him from behind and Tracker burst into static before disappearing, then Rick came out of the vegetation holding a smoking flare gun in his hand. "That is how you do it." he grinned.

"Rick," I said, "You and your dramatic appearances."

"I never get out much," he said, "Now what do we do?"

"Head back to the Smurf Village," I said, "And I'll end the story there, assuming that we'll might live."

We began to hear strong winds all of a sudden as we turned to see a black tornado, this one however is smaller than the one we had faced earlier. That's when it shot towards us and me and the smurfs jumped out of the way, that's when it sucked up the helpless Brainy and dragged him into the night. It all happened within seconds, the last thing we heard from Brainy was his screams."

"We gotta go," I said, "NOW!"

"Right behind you bro." said Rick.

As we ran towards the Smurf Village, I gave my rant to Rachael. "Its foolish of you to come find me Rachael," I told her, "But thanks for the save?"

"Are you mad at me Chernov?" she asked.

"No," I said, "I've written your rescue attempt into the story, so its my fault."

"You and the universe have one vague relationship." laughed Rachael.

"Looks like we got Taken." said Rick.

Several green smurf Taken showed themselves and held up their weapons, "Gargamel." one of them blurted out.

I tossed my last flash-bang grenade at them, it exploded and annihilated the Taken. "Well that sure takes care of that." I comment.

As we made our way through the forest, we began to hear Brainy's voice circle through the air. But it doesn't sound right, just as we turn around the corner we saw him up in a tree. A shroud of darkness covers him as his eyes were dark, wielding an ax in plain view, indicating that Brainy is now a Taken. "As I, Brainy SMURF!" he blabbered in a partial demonic voice, "Successor of Papa Smurf, do solemnly swear to run the Smurf Village as the way Papa Smurf runs IT!"

He jumped off the branch and onto another tree, we continued running trying our best to ignore him. "Have you received a copy of QUOTATIONS by Brainy Smurf?" he continues to blabber, "Made by yours truly, Brainy Smurf. Best smurfy copies made by the finest printer press in the whole forest, be the first to get one and you'll get my AUTOGRAPH!"

"Damn dead nerve twitches!" cursed Rick.

Brainy suddenly went quiet as more green smurf Taken showed up, "There are 7 billion Homo Sapiens in the world!" one of them roared.

We fought them hard, with Brainy's rambling still echoing through our heads. Somehow, it was getting more and more easier to fight them. As we approached a river, we began to hear Brainy blabbering again.

"The Smurf Village Is a great place to live! But these SMURFS show no RESPECT to me! Despite being the ASSISTANT and SUCCESSOR to the great Papa Smurf, I am treated UNSMURFLY!"

Just as we ran down the road, we heard the chopping sound of an ax before hearing wood began to splinter, "Timber!" we heard Brainy yelled.

I looked up and saw a tree just about to topple over us, I quickly got out of the tree's way before it came crashing down in a thud. "Papa Smurf says that all accidents can be prevented," blabbered Brainy, "And Papa Smurf is always right, and Papa Smurf-"

I caught sight of him just up on a tall hill, I grabbed a nearby stone and threw it at his face. The stone hit his cheek, cutting Brainy's sentence off and causing him to roar in a demonic voice. I didn't even hurt him, the darkness protects him. He just shook off the blow and stormed off into the woods, "Papa Smurf!" I called to the old smurf, "Are you and the gang okay!"

"We're fine Chernov," said Papa Smurf on the other side of the massive tree, "We can't seemed to smurf through!"

I got up and examined the tree, the trunk was thick and there's no visible way to pass through it. I realize I was now on my own and I've lost my flashlight and rifle, "Don't worry bro!" called out Rick, "I'll take care of Rachael, we'll meet up with you at the logging site!"

"There's a logging site near here?" asked Rachael.

"Just be careful!" I called out to them, "And watch your step."

I had no gun and more importantly a flashlight, but I had no choice. I must make it through the woods with no sort of protection whatsoever, I just hope the others are alright. With no fear, I took off down the trail and ran as fast as I can. Even though the Taken were spawning near me, I just ignored them and keep on going, managing to outrun them in the process. I hadn't heard Brainy's gibberish for quite awhile, even though he was nearby a minute ago.

I had no real plan, I'm pretty much winging it. The story no longer keeps me safe, now I must write an epilogue to it in order to end the nightmare. With Gargamel missing and the Book of Darkness destroyed, I was convinced that nobody is going to reverse the spell if I fail. If that happens, this forest will become dark and dead, like the unfortunate Taken who were possessed by the Dark Presence.

I ran for about several meters, I realized that travel will be difficult on foot. I recall that the green smurfs will often drive through the forest, looking for their next meal. With all these green smurf Taken around, I abound to find a vehicle somewhere. Sure enough, I found a smurfvee just down the trail as the elevation lowers. Ironically, the internal lights were on, making it look like a little child's toy.

"Nice to see you too." I said to it as I got into the smurfvee and started it up.

The headlights were a welcome bonus, it will strip the dark shroud off the Taken before I ran them over. I drove down the trail and soon encountered some Taken in my path, when I ran them over their bodies burst into static before vanishing. They didn't tumble over or under the vehicle, they just vanished within impact. That's when the forest gave way to a patch of open grassland, then Feathers showed himself.

The possessed crane came flying out of the horizon and started barreling towards me, I could easily still make out Flying Smurf still flying on the crane's back. I gotta take out that bird or it will cause collateral damage at the Smurf Village, I just missed Feather's talons by a hair's length. As Feather's fly away, I stopped the smurfvee and quickly got out.

"There's gotta be flare guns in the back," I said to myself as I went to the rear of the vehicle and opened up the trunk, "Just one and a mere handful of flare ammunition, better than nothing."

I have 10 shots, that should be enough for me to take out Feathers. I grabbed the flare gun and loaded a round into it, I quickly got back from the car and looked up into the stormy sky. First there was silence, then I managed to make out the melting shadow of Feathers flying out of the horizon again. He charged at me once more as I held up the flare gun, just as he's within range I fired the flare gun directly into his face.

The crane let out a deafening screamed as it burst into mad static before vanishing in a puff of smoke, I can smell the odor of burned feathers and chicken as the bright green light of the flare dances wildly into the night. I went back to my car and reload my flare gun, then I gathered up all the ammunition rounds and move them to the front seat. I then shut the trunk before climbing back behind the wheel and shut the driver door and locked it, just as I was putting my seat belt back on I glanced up and saw the smurf form rose out of the darkness.

I rolled down my driver side window and saw Flying Smurf coming out of the darkness welding an ax, he had no dark shroud protecting him but he had darkness in his eyes. "The smurfs rule the skies!" he blabbered.

Without saying anything, I held my flare gun out the window and fired straight at his torso. He quickly die as he burst into static before disappearing, I sat the flare gun aside before I drove off.

Rick said about a logging site near here, green smurfs sure like to log wood so close to their neighbor's home. They do that because the wood quality is the best in the region, I even get my firewood from them at times. I shall go there, I think there might be a chance for an ambush though.

I once again dove back into the dark vegetation of the forest, I ran over a few more Taken before I stumbled into the fenced off logging site. There's no way I could simply drive into the area due to the tall fence, so I was forced to abandoned the smurfvee, it served me well.

"Guys!" I called out as I pocketed the flare gun ammunition and reloaded the gun, "Guys are you here!"

No response, I must have beaten them. No matter, I'll wait for them to arrive. I climbed over the fence and jumped down into the logging site, I noticed signs of green smurf activity everywhere. The trash looked like they've been deposited there about a day prior, and since the site was abandoned then that means the Dark Presence must have taken them.

It seemed obvious, due to all the liquid darkness puddles lying around. I looked around for a weapon, but I didn't find one. I rushed towards the small modular office as fast as I can, ignoring Brainy as he appeared out of nowhere and nearly cut my tail off with his ax as I passed by him. "I'm Brainy," he yapped, "Friend to all the animals."

I rushed into the office and slammed the door right into Brainy's face, "Always listen to Papa Smurf!" he screams as he plunges the ax into the door, its blade sticking through with a thud. He removed the ax as I searched the place, looking for a weapon. I managed to find a flashlight and a pistol w/ ammunition, I grabbed the gun and then the flashlight before turning it on. The flashlight flickered to light, now I have a way to fight the Taken.

"In a village full of one hundred smurfs," rambled Brainy as it sounded like he's getting onto the roof of the office, "One aging smurf watches over them to make sure the village functions, that would be PAPA SMURF!"

I stood there in a WTF moment, and soon forgotten what I was here for. That's when I heard some machinery outside roared to life, its sound brought me back to focus. I looked a window and saw a bulldozer come rumbling towards me, assuming Brainy is gone I rushed up to the other door, kicked it down, and jumped out of it as the bulldozer struck the office, and pushed it off of a cliff. I don't know why would the modular office be built over a cliff, that would be a safety hazard due to earthquakes. I watch the bulldozer drive itself off the cliff with the modular office, disappearing into the darkness below.

"Now that's what I call a cliffhanger." I uttered out.

"Chernov!" I heard a voice.

I turned and saw the group approach, Rachael rushed up to me and gave me a big hug. "You're alright!" she cried.

"Just barely," I said, "Let's keep going!"

"How come I wasn't aware of this logging site?" wondered Papa Smurf.

"Green smurfs don't have a habit of telling you everything." said Rick.

Just before we left the logging site, I caught site of crates full of axes. Some crates appeared to be busted open and emptied of its contents awhile others lay untouched, "Now I know where the Taken are getting their axes." I said.

"Should we destroy them?" asked Rick.

I grabbed a nearby gas-can, dumped all the gasoline over the crates, then set it ablaze with a flare. "Let's go." I said as the crates go up in flames.

We left the axes to burn and continued our course straight towards the Smurf Village, we ran down the trail and fought several Taken in our path. After a few minutes, I could now see the Smurf Village up ahead. Just as we near, a destroyed tank came crashing straight down to earth and bars our way. The shadows clung to the tank greatly, it also spells ambush.

That's when Brainy Smurf appeared, climbing over the tank and stood on his springy legs, darkness covers him like a beast. "Papa Smurf is always right!" he rambled as he jumps down and prepares his ax.

"Now we fight him." I said.

Brainy of course is once of those Taken who zip around as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog, I can't believe anyone can move that fast. Getting a light source concentrated on him is difficult, but now impossible. Suddenly more Taken showed up, screaming gibberish. "There's no way anyone can move that fast!" cried Papa Smurf, "It's impossible!"

"Crossing a river is dangerous!" blabbered Brainy as he ran all over the place, "The River Smurf claims more human lives than their pesky wars! Always use a bridge when crossing a river!"

We managed to kill several Taken, Handy concentrates most of his efforts on the tank as I backed him up. "I will gladly share my smurfdom of knowledge to any smurf who seeks it," Brainy rambles on, "Everything I know is what Papa Smurf... KNOWS!"

Brainy shot to Papa Smurf and tried to strike him with his ax, Papa Smurf managed to dodge the blade as it plunged into the dirt. Brainy removed the ax's head from the ground and continued zipping around, "How ironic that Brainy tried to kill you despite saying all those great things about you!" laughed Rick.

"This is not a good time for death humor!" cried Papa Smurf.

"Only Chernov says its a good time," claimed Rick, "Is it a good time Chernov?"

"Hell no!" I barked at him.

I finally managed to pin Brainy to a corner with my flashlight, static light shot off of him like radioactivity as I burn away his protective darkness. In a flash of light, the darkness combust. Now unprotected by the Dark Presence, I proceed to gun Brainy down. I tried to fire my gun at him, only to discover that I ran out of ammo. "Aw crap." I said as Brainy started to march towards me, welding his ax up high.

Just before Brainy swung his ax at me, Rachael came from behind and grabbed the ax's neck. She pulled it out of Brainy's hands with all of her strength and kicked his back, knocking him to the ground before slamming the ax down onto his torso. The smurf burst into static before disappearing, along with the ax. "I think we're even now." said Rachael.

A flash of green light caught our attention, we discovered that Handy shot a flare at the possessed tank and managed to destroy it. It vanished, clearing the way to the Smurf Village. "Let's get this story done with." said Handy.

TO BE CONTINUED...