Chapter Ten: Smurf's Village
Molk had been flung a great distance from Nolk and the mushroom clearing. On top of that, he had been terribly dazed when he flew headfirst into Nolk's energy wall. By the time he had recovered enough to shape shift into his natural energy cloud form, Nolk had already initiated the Smurf energy beam. Molk knew that even at his top speed, he would still be too late to help his little Smurf friends. Many of the older or weaker ones would inevitably die. But, with luck, he could still be in time to stop Nolk from destroying the Smurfs completely.
When he reached the mushroom clearing, Molk was surprised to see Nolk wriggling and writhing in discomfort above the lavender energy beam. Then, Molk noticed two much weaker beams of sunlight were being aimed at Nolk. This impure energy, so roughly and imprecisely focused, was contaminating the pure energy Nolk was trying to absorb. Molk searched for the sources of those tiny beams. To his surprised delight, he saw that two of his little Smurf friends were free, and that they were using two pairs of glasses to harness the sun's rays.
Molk decided he would help them out. Transforming himself into a much more powerful lens, Molk saw to it that his brother was positively saturated with impure Earth sunlight. Nolk was now obviously sickening. The once shimmering cloud became dull and wispy. In an effort to save himself, he drifted away from the lavender energy beam, clearly believing that the impurities it had absorbed came from there. Molk took full advantage of his second half's weakened state. Transforming himself back into an energy cloud, Molk shot over to his brother as quick as lightening, and proceeded to re absorb him.
Smurf looked up at the two clouds in amazement. Then, realizing Brainy was unaware of what was going on, he nudged him. Replacing his glasses over his eyes, Brainy stood beside Smurf and stared in wonder as the two clouds of brilliant energy merged together to form one. As they watched, the glimmering cloud swooped over to the crystal pyramid of Smurfs. To their dismay, the Smurfs noticed that more than half of the crystals that had once held Smurfs were now empty. The cloud formed itself into a tuning fork, then struck itself against a tree. A sharp, pulsing sound that was felt more than heard echoed throughout the entire forest. The crystal pyramid shattered into shards so small they were virtually invisible. The surviving Smurfs fell to the ground in a heap, then started struggling weakly to their feet.
Smurf and Brainy searched the all too thin crowd of weakened, confused Smurfs for the familiar, white bearded faces of Papa Smurf and Smurf the elder. Finally, they saw them. They were standing at the far end of the crowd, surrounded by tiny, crawling baby Smurflings.
"Papa Smurf!" Brainy cried, pushing through the confused crowd towards his mentor and leader. "Are you all right?"
Papa Smurf grinned and clapped his anxious little Smurf proudly on the shoulder. "I don't think I've ever been better," he said. "Your quick thinking in a time of utter hopelessness has saved all that is Smurf! When Nolk forced me into that crystal, I truly believed we were all going to die. But, thanks to your glasses, our village is saved. Look here, Brainy."
Papa Smurf gestured to the dozens of exhausted Smurflings teeming about their feet. "Thanks to you, the Smurfs will go on."
For once in his life, Brainy Smurf was speechless. He had truly been the hero he was always writing himself to be in his books. And, now it was over, he felt no need or even a desire to brag about it. He'd done what had to be done. He knew that he was the only Smurf in the entire history of Smurfdom who could have pulled it off, because of his glasses. But, this knowledge did not fill him with the need to point himself out to everysmurf as their savior. Rather, it filled him with a kind of humbling pride and a gladness that he had been able to put his uniqueness to good use.
Brainy looked down at his feet, unsure how he should reply to Papa Smurf's praise.
"Well," he said softly, "Smurf helped."
Papa Smurf looked at him, concerned at his un-Brainy-like behavior. "Brainy," he said, "are you all right?"
Brainy smiled and felt his eyes welling up with tears behind his glasses. Before he quite realized it, he had embraced Papa Smurf in a tearful hug. "I'm just glad to have you safe, Papa Smurf," he said. Papa Smurf was surprised and pleased at this astonishing behavior from the most pompous of his little Smurfs. He returned Brainy's heartfelt hug, then looked him in the eye.
"I'd say it's about time we were smurfing home, wouldn't you, Brainy?" he asked with a smile.
"Of course, Papa Smurf," Brainy replied. "But how?"
"Father Time," Papa Smurf called. At once, a tall, elderly man with a bald head and a long, white beard appeared out of thin air. He was carrying a sickle and was dressed in white.
"Ah, Papa Smurf," the old man smiled. "I see you've managed to save the timeline. Congratulations."
"Who me?" said Papa Smurf. "I got myself captured! The congratulations goes to Brainy here. He used his glasses to pollute the energy Nolk was absorbing from the rest of us Smurfs. If it hadn't been for him, none of us would have survived."
"I think you'll be pleased to know that none of the baby Smurflings were absorbed," said Father Time. "Their protective magic saved them from the fate of too many of their elders. However, most of that protective magic was absorbed. I'm afraid if I were to return these baby Smurflings to their homes around the world, they would be completely unable to defend themselves. Can you think of anysmurf who is responsible enough, and willing enough to take on the responsibility of raising one hundred vulnerable little Smurfs, Papa Smurf?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
Papa Smurf smiled at him with a knowing twinkle in his eye. "I'd try asking that young Smurf over there to take the job," he said, pointing to Smurf the younger, who was busy explaining to Smurf the elder how Brainy had used his glasses to save the day. "I'm certain there's nothing he'll like better."
Father Time nodded. "Very well then. Ready to go back home?"
Brainy and Papa Smurf looked at each other, then back to Father Time. "Ready," they chorused.
"Then I'll see you Smurfs later. Drop by my cave some time. We'll have tea."
"I'd enjoy that very much, Father Time," said Papa Smurf.
"Me too," said Brainy.
And with that, the two Smurfs from the future were gone, returned to their own village.
Many of the Smurf survivors had already left on their way back to their distant, isolated homes. A few lay stretched out, napping on the ground, still too exhausted from their ordeal to start on their home trips. Only two seemed to be taking any notice of the hoard of crawling, giggling, napping, crying baby Smurflings that had been left behind.
Father Time strode up to them. "Young Smurf," he said. Smurf looked up in surprise.
"Hello, Father Time! What are you doing here?"
"I came to restore Papa Smurf and Brainy to their proper time, and to deal with Mnoollkk."
"Who in Smurfnation is Mnoollkk?" asked the older Smurf.
"You'll see," said Father Time airily. The younger Smurf spoke up.
"So, Papa Smurf and Brainy are already gone. That's too bad, I really wanted to thank them. Especially Brainy."
"Don't worry about it too much," Father Time smiled. "I'm sure you'll get your chance in the future. For now, I have a question to ask you."
"Smurf away," said Smurf.
"These little Smurflings can no longer survive on their own. They were brought here from nearly every corner of the globe. They're going to need caring, responsible guidance and protection if they're to live to grow up."
"Oh, my Smurfness!" Smurf exclaimed. "You mean that none of these little Smurflings have their protective powers?"
"They were all absorbed by Nolk. On top of that, all these Smurfs are far too concerned with getting back to their own homes to bother with these Smurflings. They have no smurf to care for them."
The young Smurf looked up, nervous but determined. "I'll do it, Father Time," he said staunchly. "I'll watch over these little ones."
"Are you sure you understand the implications of this decision, young Smurf," Father Time asked seriously, though he already knew the answer, better than Smurf himself did.
"I believe so," Smurf answered hesitantly. "But, we'll need somewhere to live. My old home's been swallowed up by its own tree. Besides, it's far too small to fit all these Smurflings. How many are there anyway, Father Time?"
"One hundred."
The young Smurf looked staggered. "One hundred! Amazing."
"Do you still want the job?"
The young Smurf looked Father Time straight in the eye. "Yes, Father Time," he said. "I do."
Father Time smiled warmly. "Then, it's yours." The old man turned to the shimmering cloud that had been hovering at the edge of the clearing all this time and said, "I believe you mentioned you needed homes for these little Smurflings," said Father Time.
"I did," confirmed Smurf.
"Then, I believe I know someone who will be only too willing to assist you, young Smurf. Mnoollkk!" he called out. Instantly, the cloud was at his side. The Smurfs recognized it at once as the combined form of Molk and Nolk.
"You have found a way for us to make up to the Smurfs for the pain we have caused them?" the cloud inquired eagerly. Its voice had a strange, dual echo to it, almost like two tape recorders playing the same message slightly out of sync.
"I have. This brave young Smurf and these defenseless little Smurflings need good, long-lasting homes to live in. Do you think you could think of something?"
"We could construct stable homes by altering the structures of these mushrooms," the cloud echoed. "They would afford good camouflage as well."
"What do you think, young Smurf?" asked Father Time.
Smurf looked thoughtful. "Houses smurfed out of mushrooms? Well, I suppose that will be all right, as long as they're dry and sturdy."
"They will be perfect to suit your needs, Smurf," the cloud echoed. "We must construct a village for you as an expression of our sorrow for the lives we have stolen and of thanks for the insight you have given us into a way to save our people from eminent starvation."
"We did?" asked the older Smurf, completely baffled. "How in Smurfnation did we do that?"
"The Smurf with the glasses showed us the answer. We will amplify and focus the waning energy of our sun to bathe our moon in its energy. This should sustain us until our sun recovers. We can never thank you enough, or apologize enough."
"Oh," was all the older Smurf could think of to say.
"Well, Mnoollkk," said Father Time, "you get busy. I'll send you back home once you've finished. You'll have plenty of time to save your people, I promise you."
"We thank you, Father Time," echoed the cloud. Then it drifted off to get to work.
"Well, it's time I was getting along too," said Father Time, pulling out an hourglass. "Oh, one last thing before I go."
He turned to Smurf the younger. "You might want to do something about that little Smurfling before he hurts himself."
With that, Father Time flipped the hourglass and vanished. The two remaining adult Smurfs looked in the direction Father Time had indicated. There, crawling along as best he could, was the most accident prone little Smurfling that could be imagined. If there was a pebble in his path, he banged his knee against it. If there was a slight dip in the grass, he slipped and fell. He crashed into the side of every mushroom he came across, and even crawled right into the other Smurflings.
"I'm afraid there might be something wrong with this Smurfling," the younger Smurf said, watching with concern as the infant crawled straight into a tree, then simply sat there, crying. Immediately, he rushed over and picked him up. The little Smurfling stopped crying and snuggled into his arms. The older Smurf came over to look at him.
"Hmm," he said. "Wasn't he the Smurfling Nolk put in the top crystal?"
"I think so."
He held up a hand with one finger extended and moved that finger back and forth in front of the baby's face. The baby reached hesitantly out for it, but always in the wrong place, even when the older Smurf held his hand perfectly still.
"Do you think being in the top crystal, where all the harnessed energy was concentrated, has had some effect on him?" Smurf the younger asked anxiously.
"It's possible," said the older Smurf, stroking his neatly trimmed beard. "That energy beam was incredibly bright. Maybe his little eyes were dazzled."
The younger Smurf snapped his head up. "His eyes!" he exclaimed. "That's it! This poor little Smurfling must have been blinded by the concentrated energy of five hundred Smurfs!"
Clutching the giggling baby in his arms, the Smurf ran across the half-finished village to where Mnoollkk was still transforming the natural mushrooms that grew in the clearing into spacious, comfortable little homes.
"Mnoollkk!" the Smurf cried. The sparkling energy cloud paused in its work.
"Yes?" came its strange, echoy voice.
"Would you mind taking a look at this Smurfling," he said. "He was in the top crystal when the pyramid was destroyed. I'm afraid the concentrated energy beam may have damaged his eyes. Do you think there's anything you can do to help him?"
Mnoollkk hovered over the pair for a few moments, then moved away. "We are very sorry to have been the cause of this," the cloud echoed. "We are afraid the damage inflicted by the beam is irreversible."
"Is there nothing you can do?" asked the Smurf desperately.
"There is something you can do," the cloud replied. The Smurf looked up.
"Anything," he said.
"You must gather the finest sand and melt it down into glass," echoed the cloud. "If you do this, we will do the rest. We will also leave you instructions when we go home so you can perform the operation yourself when necessary in the future. Again, we apologize for the harm we have inflicted on this Smurf."
The young Smurf thought hard for a few moments, then looked up at the cloud. "I believe my old friend the Sandman possesses the finest sand in the world. But, it's a long journey to his home on foot. I'll have to leave these little Smurflings in the hands of poor old Smurf. I hope he won't mind delaying his departure for a few days."
"What was that about delaying my departure?" came a familiar voice from behind them. The Smurf turned around.
"Smurf," he said, "Mnoollkk says the damage done to this Smurfling's eyes is irreversible. But, they can help him. I'm going to have to leave the village for a few days to gather the ingredients they require. Would you mind very much smurfing over the Smurflings while I'm gone?"
The older Smurf looked uncomfortable for a few moments, then sighed. "All right, Smurf. I'll do my best. But, I'm really not cut out to be a Smurfling-sitter."
"I know you'll do fine," the younger Smurf grinned. "I really can't thank you enough. I should be back in a few days."
He held out the blind Smurfling and the older Smurf gathered him up in his arms. "Smurf special attention on him," he said. The older Smurf nodded. "I will. Don't you worry about a thing. Just smurf back here super quick!"
The younger Smurf grinned, then hurried away, eager to start out on his mission.