Chapter Nine: Brainy's Brainstorm

Nolk had resumed the large, purple form of a Zhra'Bet. The gigantic crystal pyramid with Smurf filling was now nearly completed. There were only three empty crystals left.

"Nolk!" called Molk, hopping into the mushroom clearing. "Nolk, this is Molk! You must stop what you are doing!"

Nolk turned his vast, purple head and grinned. "So, you found me after all," he said. "I felt for sure those glasses would have you stuck. But, I suppose I underestimated my lesser half."

"Nolk," Molk tried again. "You must listen to me. There is still time to find a better way to save our people! You cannot continue with this attempted genocide!"

"Since when is survival genocide?" Nolk demanded, turning from his crystal structure. As soon as his back was turned, Papa Smurf, Brainy, and the two Smurfs from this particular present hurried to the gigantic pyramid of trapped Smurfs, leaving the two aliens to continue their fight.

"Hmmm," said Papa Smurf, examining the lower crystals thoughtfully. "Apparently, this structure will not begin to work until all its pieces are in place. If we can shatter these crystals before Nolk has a chance to complete its construction, these Smurfs should suffer no ill effects from their imprisonment."

"Papa Smurf!" Brainy gasped, peering into one of the crystals. "The Smurf in this one is just a baby!"

"He really is out to kill all the Smurfs, isn't he," said Smurf the younger, positively aghast at the sight of the trapped baby Smurf.

There was a sudden flash. The Smurfs turned from the pyramid in surprise. Molk had just changed his shape. He was now flying towards the pyramid as a giant golden bird, obviously intending to collide with it, scattering the crystals and destroying the structure. Nolk, however, was too fast for him. He transformed into a wall of energy. The golden bird was going too fast to avoid it. He slammed into it head first, tumbling to the ground in a flurry of feathers. There was another flash and Nolk had turned back into a Zhra'Bet. Reaching down with his long, purple fingers, Nolk plucked his dazed brother from the ground and, drawing back his arm, tossed Molk over the treetops and out of sight. The Smurfs froze. Nolk was now turning his attention back to the crystal pyramid. Papa Smurf turned to his companions.

"Quick, everysmurf! Into the forest!"

The Smurfs were only just in time. Nolk sat down and picked up the empty crystal he had dropped. Reaching into a deep pit beside him, he lifted out a struggling baby Smurfling with his thin, powerful fingers. The Smurfling was screaming and fussing at the top of its little lungs. It shot out burst after burst of magic from its tiny hands, trying in vain to free itself from the purple giant's steel-like grip. It was horrible to see, but for all that, the Smurfling was acting as a very effective distraction.

"We must take advantage of this opportunity," said Papa Smurf, "now, while he's still struggling with that poor little Smurfling. Smurf," he said turning to Smurf the younger, "smurf that whistle!"

Smurf took a deep breath and blew into the whistle with all his might. The shrill sound was so loud that the other Smurfs had to cover their ears with their hands.

As Smurf blew, the crystal structure began to tremble. "I think it's working, Papa Smurf!" Brainy called over the noise. "It's shaking!"

Smurf paused in his whistle blowing to draw in another breath. As he did, the Smurfs became aware that the Smurfling was no longer crying. Looking up, they found Nolk had succeeded in trapping the tiny Smurf in his crystal and was now peering angrily down at them.

"Smurf," cried Papa Smurf. "Smurf that whistle again! Quickly!"

Smurf brought the whistle to his lips in preparation for a really terrific blow. However, before anything more than the slightest squeak emerged from the tiny metal instrument, Nolk's long fingers had descended.

"Run!" ordered Smurf the elder. But it was too late. Nolk had gathered up Papa Smurf and Smurf the elder in one hand and Brainy and Smurf the younger in the other. Despite this, though, Smurf the younger still blew his whistle.

"Yagh!" exclaimed Nolk. "Stop that, you little blue twit! It's right in my ear!"

Brainy had the same sentiment, but his attention was more taken up with the trembling structure. "Smurf it again, Smurf!" he exclaimed, turning his head to face him. "I think one more should smurf it!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Nolk said, shaking the two Smurfs violently. Just then, the sun came out from behind a cloud. One of its rays gleamed off of Brainy's glasses and shot directly into Nolk's segmented, red eye.

"Youch!" Nolk screamed, dropping the two Smurfs and pressing his hand to his eye. "The energy from this sun is so revolting! It's like drinking mud!"

"Run, Brainy!" shouted Papa Smurf from Nolk's other hand. "Run, Smurf! You've still got to smurf that whistle!"

"He'll do nothing of the kind, you meddling Smurf!" said Nolk. "I've only got two more crystals to fill to make my structure complete. You two will do quite nicely. I don't need them." With a wide grin, the malevolent alien raised one clawed foot, aiming to bring it down on the dazed Smurfs' heads.

Brainy, who had landed on Smurf, was the first to recover. Jumping to his feet, he grabbed Smurf's arm and pulled him away from the danger. Smurf's whistle, however, was crushed beneath Nolk's clawed foot.

"Oh, no!" he gasped. Nolk laughed triumphantly.

"Ha! Now that you are no longer a threat to me, you worthless scraps, I believe I'll be magnanimous and let you go. That should make my soft-headed brother feel better. At least there'll be two Smurfs left on this world. After all, this is not genocide. It's what is necessary for survival."

Brainy and Smurf watched helplessly as Nolk shoved their struggling companions into separate crystals, then arranged them carefully at the peak of the pyramid.

"I think I'll give this troublesome little Smurfling the honor of sitting at the tip of my structure," Nolk giggled as he completed his pyramid. "He was the most difficult to trap. Now, all the energy of the five hundred Smurfs will be carried up and focused through his crystal! A fitting end for such a bothersome little energy morsel."

The two free Smurfs watched with wide, hopeless eyes as the crystalline pyramid began to function. There was a low hum as all the sparks and flashes of blue and pink that shot through the spaces between the crystals stopped flashing and became steady beams. The higher up the pyramid they went, the thicker the energy beams became until, at the very peak, the lavender ray was so thick and so bright that the Smurfs, hiding in the nearby underbrush, had to shield their eyes from it. Through it all, they imagined they could hear the tortured screams of the little Smurfling in the top crystal. If the light was painfully bright from a distance, it must have been absolutely blinding from within.

As the beam gathered in strength and intensity, Nolk transformed himself into a shimmering cloud. As a cloud, he rose until he was situated directly above the energy beam. He twitched and squirmed in pleasure as he absorbed the pure, concentrated energy of five hundred dying Smurfs.

"Oh, Brainy!" whispered Smurf, awed and horrified at the sight. "What can we possibly do to stop him?"

Brainy had never felt to utterly helpless and wretched in his whole life. Papa Smurf was in there, his energy being sucked up by that horrid cloud. The whistle was broken, smashed beyond all hope of repair. It seemed they were doomed to sit by helplessly and watch as all that was Smurf was slowly destroyed. To his surprise, he found himself wishing he was there, with Papa Smurf. He found himself mentally cursing his glasses for shining that beam in Nolk's face and dooming him to the torture of utter impotence.

Suddenly, his head snapped up. "Smurf!" he exclaimed, a gleam of hope growing in his eyes. "I believe I have smurfed up with a plan!"

Even that tiny gleam of hope was contagious. Smurf brightened. "What is it, Brainy?" he asked.

"My glasses! It's so simple, why didn't I see it before?"

"See what, Brainy?"

"Nolk is a creature of energy, right? He needs to smurf pure energy to survive."

"So?"

"So, if he smurfs energy that isn't totally pure he gets sick. That's the problem with the people on his planet. So, all we have to do is get him to absorb energy that isn't pure."

Smurf was confused. "How do we do that? He's smurfing himself with pure energy right now. How could we get him to take in impure energy instead."

"No, not instead, as well. If I use my glasses to focus the sun's energy on Nolk, the impurities he smurfs from that should taint the pure energy he's getting from the Smurfs! If I'm right, Nolk will end up with the cloud equivalent of a huge tummy ache. He'll think Smurf energy really isn't pure enough for him, so he'll stop absorbing it!"

"Amazing," Smurf exclaimed in admiration. "What should I do?"

"You'll be helping me," said Brainy, reaching into his pocket and pulling out Molk's glasses. "Here, take these. We've got to go catch some rays!"