It took Benson and Stabler some time to recover from the shock of seeing the creature. This must have been one of those "Smurfs" that Emily had been talking about, but of course they never imagined it could be real. Children who'd been through horrific events like Emily had were prone to retreating into fantasy worlds, inventing imaginary friends, and the like. But they'd never actually met one of the victims' imaginary friends - until now.
The creature continued to stare at them, afraid.
"Please, don't turn me over to Gargamel," it pleaded in a high-pitched voice. "He'll make me into Smurf-stew!"
"Relax," said Benson. Although inside she was freaking out, on the outside she fought to keep her professional and soothing demeanor. This creature was clearly intelligent, and could potentially help them find out who had assaulted Emily.
Briefly, she wondered if the creature had done it himself, but she quickly dismissed the thought. It would take over 100 of the creatures to even knock a human being down. The notion that one or even 100 of them attacked Emily so savagely seemed preposterous. Besides, both Benson and Stabler noticed that the creature seemed friendly - in fact, it seemed to exude good cheer.
"We're not going to harm you," said Olivia, reassuringly. "Who is that person you mentioned? Gargamel?"
The Smurf shuddered at the mere mention of the name.
"Gargamel is the enemy of all Smurf-kind," he said. "And, he's the one who attacked Emily."
"Wait a minute," said Stabler. "Smurf-kind? Just how many of you are there in the world?"
"Millions," said the Smurf. "We live in every country across the world. We seldom show ourselves to humans, because, well, we've had bad experiences with them. Gargamel, for example. He's an evil wizard, who's been trying for centuries to wipe out all Smurfs on Earth!"
The creature paused to let this sink in.
"And, he's the one who attacked Emily!"
Benson and Stabler were agape.
"Do you know where this 'Gargamel' is right now?" Benson asked.
"No," said the Smurf. "But if you let me free, I'll return to my village and see if anyone has any ideas. And I bet Papa Smurf will know what to do!"
Benson and Stabler exchanged a glace. Was the creature genuinely trying to be helpful, or did he just want to escape?
Stabler decided.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Smurf," he began.
"My name is Lucky Smurf," said the creature.
"Okay, Lucky," said Elliot. "Listen, I'm afraid we're gonna have to take you downtown for questioning.
Upon hearing this, the Smurf started shaking and waving his tiny hands about.
"Sir, you can't! If the world at large were to learn of our existence, we'd be destroyed!"
"Why is that?" asked Benson.
"Because, when mixed with certain chemicals, Smurfs can be transformed into gold!" said the creature, in terror.
Though this freaked Benson and Stabler out greatly, they could tell by the creature's mannerism that he was being completely honest with them.
"Don't worry, Lucky," said Olivia. "We just want to help Emily. We won't tell anyone you exist. In fact, we'll bring you to see her. Would you like that?"
When he heard that, the Smurf brightened considerably.
"Oh, yes! That'd be just Smurfy!" he cried, happily.
"Stay right here, okay?" said Benson.
The Smurf nodded. The 2 detectives walked into the hall, keeping their eyes on the creature at all times.
"Olivia," said Stabler, "Why don't you take the Smurf to see Emily. Maybe he can get her to talk, get some details out of her."
"Good idea," Benson said. "Where will you go?"
"I'm gonna take a walk over to the Major Case Squad. I've got a friend over there who needs to hear about this. I've got a feeling that this case will be much bigger than Emily, too big for just the two of us to handle."
"Are you talking about Bobby Goren?" Olivia asked.
"Exactly," said Elliot. "Until you hear from me, don't tell anyone except Emily about our discovery. Not even Munch and Fin."
Olivia nodded in understanding. The two detectives walked back into the room, where the Smurf was still waiting.
"Alright, Lucky! Ready to go see Emily?" asked Olivia.
The Smurf nodded, joyfully.
Benson held out her hand, and the Smurf hopped on. She carefully placed him in her jacket pocket, and the two SVU detectives headed downstairs.