Chi: Hullo!~ Be warned, this chapter has some unsmurfy language, and is a SAD chapter. SAD, SAD, SAD, SAD…. *goes into a corner and starts planting little mushrooms like Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club* Why so freaking sad…? Why cant this damn author be happy and fluffy for once… why sad…?

Aiko: Quit your moping and keep on introducing, Chi-Chi!

Chi: I don't wanna. YOU do it! T_T

Aiko: *rolls eyes* I swear, I'm working with a five year old…

Jokey and Brainy walked through the village, on their way to Papa smurf's lab. They happened to pass by Greedy's kitchen, where Sassette and Snappy were enjoying ice cream. "HER." Tobias hissed in Jokey's ear. "SHE needs to learn to be appreciative."

"Yeah," Jokey smirked slightly. "How, though...?"

Brainy's eyes darted between Jokey's and the smurflings. "Jokey, you can't be serious!" his voice was low, panicky. "They're just smurflings! You can't do something like that to one of them!"

"Hmm... Maybe he's right," Jokey murmured to Tobias. "Maybe someone else..."

"NO." Tobias's voice was deadly, terrifying. "HER. Or ELSE."

"You don't have to do this, Jokey!" Brainy said, grabbing the other's arm. "They're just KIDS!"

"Well, how, though...?" Jokey asked. "It doesn't have to be TOO painful, right...?"

Just as Tobias was about to answer, Sassette rose from her seat and started towards the door, murmuring something about an upset stomach and going back to the bunkhouse. "NOW" Tobias growled, digging a sharp fingernail in Jokey's shoulder.

Jokey didn't think twice; he lunged for Sassette, pinning the red haired Smurfling to the wall. "Now what?" He growled to Tobias, holding the surprised Smurfling by her shoulders.

"J-Jumpin' Junebugs! W-What's going on?!" Sassette's eyes were wide and terrified, struggling slightly. "Th-this isn't funny, let me go!"

"I don't care how, just get her somewhere else and shut her up!" Tobias growled poisonously, "She's going to ruin EVERYTHING!"

Brainy stood there, knees shaking slightly, unsure what to do, lest he risk his throat being next on the chopping block. Jokey grabbed Sassette by her throat and began dragging her away. "Shut up, Sassy, shut up!"

Sassette shook and fought as Jokey dragged her, trying to pry his large hands from her throat. "Wh-WHY Jokey?!" she squeaked, her desperate eyes welling up with tears. "P-Please, let me go!"

"NO, Sassy," Jokey spat coldly. "You need to learn just how precious your life is!"

"W-Wha'd'you mean, Jokey?!" Sassette looked confused and terrified, "W-w-what're you going t' do t' me...?!"

"Don't worry, Sassette," Jokey sneered, throwing her to the ground and ripping off her hair ribbons, tying them into a sort of makeshift noose, "it's just a little prank..."

"Th-This prank isn't funny, Jokey!" Sassette cried, trying to scramble away, holding her hair gingerly. "B-Brainy, H-help me!"

Brainy stood there, hands shaking wildly, eyes wide. "I-I-!"

Jokey expertly wrapped the noose around Sassette's neck and began to pull on the end of one of the ribbons, much the way one would to untie a shoelace, causing the loop to get smaller and begin to constrict around her throat.

Sassette's eyes were wide as she desperately tried to claw the ribbons from her throat. "AACK- P-PLEASE J-JOKEY-!" her voice was squeaky as her face started changing colors. "W-WHATEVER I WAS S-S-SPOSED T' LEARN, I LEARNED IT NOW, P-P-PLEASE-"

"No, Sassette, you haven't," Jokey spat, pulling the noose still tighter, cutting off er air supply and making it impossible for her to breathe.

Sassette squirmed and fought, desperately clawing at the ribbons around her neck, her face dark purple. Brainy turned around, not wanting to see a moment more. sickening moments ticked by, and at last the young smurfling's desperate struggles ceased to nothing.

Brainy turned back around slowly, walking quickly to where Sassette laid. "Sassy..." he murmured, kneeling down to the ground, smoothing her hair out of her face. "Oh, Sassy..."

Jokey was laughing like a loon. "You were right; that WAS funny!"

"What is WRONG with you?!" Brainy finally spoke up, glaring right at Jokey. "You just KILLED a smurfling! A smurfling whose only crime was not understanding WHY!"

Brainy quickly stood, gently placing Sassette's head down. "I'm not going to smurf by and watch you do this for a second longer!" he said firmly, eyes glinting underneath his dark rimmed glasses. "I'm telling Papa smurf... NOW."

Jokey's far became hard again, and he held up the letter opener. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Brainy."

"So kill me then!" Brainy replied bravely, shaking slightly, "I-I'm not going to watch another second of this! Haven't you no conscious?! Do you feel sorry for ANY of this!?"

"If it weren't for those potions, I'd say to kill him now," Tobias mumbled, "His preachiness is getting SO annoying."

"I can't prank you yet," Jokey spat. "I still need those potions of yours, Geeky."

"Then DON'T prank me!" Brainy said plainly, "Come on, Jokey... This doesn't have to be this way. There's something wrong with you, maybe Papa can help!"

"The letter opener!" Tobias used his nails to scratch Jokey's side where the blade was hidden, "For god's sake, you idiot! Threaten him with that damn thing!"

Jokey winced, then took out the letter opener, advancing on the brainiac. "I think," Jokey hissed softly, "you should just do as you're told."

Brainy was very still for a minute. but his eyes quickly went to Sassette's body. "O-Okay..." he murmured softly. "I-I will..."

There was a slight pause between them. "Can I at least... just... have a minute first...?" he said quietly, kneeling next to the child again.

"I guess it's okay," Jokey decided. "It's not like I have a deadline!" He began cackling madly; this was so much fun!

Brainy averted his eyes from Jokey's, and used one hand to smooth Sassette's long red hair out of her face. "I'm sorry, Sassette," he murmured softly, "I wish I could've helped you... I wish I wasn't such a coward..." Brainy gently closed her eyes, and folded her hands over her stomach, making her look as respectable as he could. "Alright... Fine..." Brainy stood slowly, wiping his glasses on his pants to clean the dust from them. "Let's go, then..."

Jokey nodded, still holding the letter opener and giving the brilliant Smurf a cold glare.

Even after searching nearly the entire village as well as the forest just behind the village, the smurfling boys found neither hide nor smurf of Brainy. This, therefore, left them right back at square one: no suspect, and no motive. "I'm getting hungry..." Slouchy muttered, "How about we go get a snack at Greedy's, and we'll figure things out a little from there?"

"Sounds good to me," Nat agreed. "Man, I hate this; I keep expecting the smurfing killer to jump out and try to slit our throats!"

"I dunno." Slouchy shook his head and watched the forest ground as they walked back to the village, "Assuming that Gargamel and Azrael were killed by the same killer as Harmony and Painter, These kills all seem... Opportunistic, I guess... I don't think the killer is gonna go back to the forest for some time... Plus on top of that, I don't think that this killer would come at the TWO of us. Except for Gargamel and Azrael, all these kills have been with nobody else around presumably... I don't think he'd try and come after us BOTH."

"Yeah, I guess there's strength in numbers. We should probably find Snappy and Sassy, make sure they don't get caught by him."

"Yeah." Slouchy nodded. "I'd feel a lot better knowing they're out of this guy's sights."

They soon reached the village, and Greedy's kitchen. Snappy was still in the kitchen, munching away at a large chocolate chip cookie when Slouchy and Nat found him. "Snappy?" Slouchy felt his heart drop into his stomach, "Where's Sassette? Wasn't she with you?

"No," said Snappy, looking confused. "She said she was tired and that she had a headache, and that she was going to lie down in the bunkhouse. Why?"

"Am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this?" Nat asked, whimpering.

Slouchy shook his head, the lump in his throat not letting him say anything. As if his feet had a mind of their own, Slouchy dashed out the door, calling her name. "Sassette! Sassette! Where are you?!" He went behind Greedy's kitchen- there was a shortcut to the bunk house from there- and his heart practically froze in his chest. "S-Sassette..."

"N-no," Snappy choked. "She... She can't be... She can't be-!"

"Oh, Sassy... Oh, Sassy, I'm so sorry this happened to you..."

Slouchy's breath stuttered as he neared the body of the girl he used to call one of his best friends, and fell to his knees. His words were laced with tears and sadness as he gently hugged her around her shoulders, half-holding her over his lap. "G-Go get Papa smurf!" he wailed. "N-No, Sassy, no, no, no, no, no...!"

Nat turned, dashing back toward the infirmary, leaving Slouchy and Snappy with Sassette. "PAPA SMURF!" He wailed loudly, "PAPA SMURF! SASSY'S DEAD! SASSY'S DEAD!"

Papa smurf turned around sharply, seeing Nat standing in the doorway in a panic. quickly his nurturing instincts took over, and he wrapped the distressed smurfling in a tight hug. "Calm down a little, Nat!" he said softly, "It's okay, shh... shh... just calmly tell me where she is now."

"B-behind Greedy's kitchen, on th-the way to the b-bunkhouse," Nat managed, before breaking down into distressed sobs.

"Stay here with Dabbler." Papa told him, rushing off in the direction of Greedy's kitchen, soon finding the smurflings. "Oh, Sassette..."

Slouchy did not even look up at the sound of Papa smurf's voice. He kept his eyes down, down at Sassette's lifeless little body, shaking slightly, voice reduced to breathy sobs.

"Sh-she was just going to go sleep in the bunkhouse cause'a her headache... If I-I'd known she was gonna get hurt, I wouldn't have let her go by herself, Papa!"

Papa smurf wrapped Snappy in a comforting hug, fighting his own tears. "I know, my little smurf...But there was no way you could've known, Snappy...there was no way ANYsmurf could've known..." his voice hitched slightly, "B-but... at least, she isn't in any pain anymore..."

Snappy whimpered. "I still coulda helped... I didn't mean ta let her die, Papa!"

"It wasn't your fault, Snappy." Papa told him firmly, "There's nothing we could have done to prevent this..."

"No..."

Papa smurf looked over at the smurfling that had spoken at last. "There WAS something that could've been done." Slouchy's voice sounded pained and filled with a certain kind of resentment none of them could name. "If you'd just let me n' Nat in on what's going on, maybe we could've found th' killer BEFORE he came after Sassy!"

"Slouchy..." Snappy murmured, staring at his friend in shock, "you don't know that..."

"I DO!" The grief struck smurfling's anger resounded in his voice. "H-He tried t' keep us in the dark about all this, and now Sassy's DEAD because of it!" Slouchy kept his face over the younger smurfling's unmoving body. "I... I c-could've figgered out who it was quicker...I c-could've saved her... S-Sassette..."

"It's not Papa's fault Sassy's dead," Snappy said firmly, "it's whoever killed her! It's whoever was sick enough to choke her with her hair ribbons... Sassy died because of that Smurf, not Papa!"

The smurfling in the red shirt wanted to fight more. He wanted to point a finger at somebody, right then, right there. He wanted a face to hate, a name to curse, a being to receive damnation right then and there. But unfortunately, there was no one Slouchy knew to blame then. No one except for Papa, and himself. "Sassette..." the smurfling whimpered, "God, Sassette..."

Cautiously at first, Papa smurf stepped towards the mourning smurfling, and put a hand to his shoulder. "She wouldn't want you to be so angry with yourself, Slouchy." He spoke softly, "It's not your fault. It's not your fault, it's not mine, or Snappy's. It's whoever did this. No one else is to blame for this."

Snappy turned to Papa with tear-filled eyes. "You hafta hav SOME idea'a who did this, don'tcha, Papa?"

Papa smurf tensed noticeably. "I can't tell for sure yet, Snappy." The leader smurf shook his head. "In the meantime, let's get Sassette to the infirmary with the others."

It was many hours before Slouchy and the smurflings were calm enough to speak about the case again. "S-Sassette..." Slouchy murmured softly, running a hand over the smurfling's pale face, "H-her body... it was different from the rest... Almost like... Whoever did this had r-remorse, or something..."

"What do you mean?" Snappy asked, seeing as he hadn't seen the other corpses.

"Gargamel... Azrael... Painter... Harmony..." Slouchy murmured, eyes dull, "the way they were when we found them, it looked like the killer didn't have a shred of remorse, or anything. Like they were all just garbage or something." Slouchy forced himself to look at Snappy and Nat. "Sassette... she was different... she was placed all neat, hands over her stomach, eyes closed... it was like, the killer had a change of heart, or something... like he actually felt SORRY about killing her..."

"You're right," said Nat, realizing. "I didn't notice at the time, but you're right!"

"I don't know how it's supposed to help from here..." Slouchy murmured gloomily, "But it's something, at least..."

"It's better than nothing," Nat agreed. "This person has SOME conscience."

"I don't know about that." Slouchy replied, "Besides, it doesn't really help us find whoever did this..."

"True," Nat said. "I was going to suggest a soft spot for Sassette, or Smurflings in general, but that's just about everysmurf here." He shuddered. "Except Architect."

"Yeah, I guess..." Slouchy shook his head, "Architect doesn't fit the profile though... He's an unsmurfy jerkface, but he's not the smurf that'd do something like this. Besides, I remember seeing him working on Smurfette's house when Papa said the killer was killing Gargamel and Azrael."

"I know," Nat said quickly. "He doesn't seem like the type to make Sassette look nice after killing her; that's what I meant."

"Hmm..." Slouchy put a hand to his chin and scrunched his eyebrows in thought. "Going off the soft spot theory, I can only think of a couple smurfs: Farmer, Smurfette, Handy, and Jokey. but he doesn't really count, because he just likes getting us to help him with pranks." Slouchy stood from the seat next to Sassette, and turned to Nat and Snappy completely, "Here's another question, though. Why kill Sassette at all? if this killer has a soft spot for us smurflings, why would he go after one of us at all?"

"Maybe he was doing something that proved he was the killer," Snappy suggested. "Like she saw him with the knife that killed Painter, maybe."

Slouchy looked back at Sassette. "What if they're just... Fer no reason whatsoever?" the red-shirted smurfling shivered. "Or worse just... Fer fun...?"

"I don't like the idea, but I think you're right... Whoever s doing this is crazy," Nat whispered.

"Crazy... or maybe affected by magic!" Slouchy made the realization, "Snappy, didn't Gargamel have a potion with him?"

"I think so," said Snappy, trying to remember. "I'm not sure..."

"I think we need to investigate more..." Slouchy murmured, looking down at the ground. "Snappy, you sit vigil for Sassette... Dabbler's probably going to be around all day, so you won't be alone. Nat n' I are going back to the forest to see if Gargamel did have a potion."

"If you say so," Snappy replied, grateful for a reason to be left out of the whole mess.

Slouchy hesitated for a moment, keeping his gaze on Sassette. "I... I'm sorry..." he murmured, walking out the door, Nat following close behind.

"It wasn't your fault, Slouchy," he said. "We realized too late Smurfs alone were in danger. Sassy wouldn't blame you."

"Yeah... I know..." the red-shirted smurfling shook his head quietly, "I just... I wish I cou'da said goodbye... the last time we ever saw her 'live, we had no idea..." his voice choked slightly with tears. "Jus' like we didn' know we'd never see Harmony or Painter 'live again..."

"Y-yeah," Nat agreed, feeling a pang as he remembered that Slouchy felt something a bit stronger than friendship for the Smurfling Smurfette. "Come on, let's go see what we can find."

Jokey was snickering. "It was too funny, the way she squirmed around! Great idea!"

Brainy shivered as he listened to Jokey. He felt absolutely sick to his stomach. He'd just watched somesmurf be KILLED. a SMURFLING, even! Brainy wondered to himself how he would ever be forgiven for not helping... "Th-the potions are almost ready..." Brainy spoke quietly, "Jokey... this isn't you... something's really not right with you, let me HELP you!"

"NO," Jokey spat darkly. "Finish them. Now."

Brainy cringed noticeably, but finished the potions, pouring them into small vials. "H-here. Two paralyzers and an acidic potion..."

"He's holding out on us!" Tobias hissed in Jokey's ear, "Get more out of him!"

"I NEED MORE," Jokey spat, glaring at him in an intimidating manner.

Brainy put his hands up defensively, "That's all the ingredients I had!" he said, "There ISN'T any more!"

"He's LYING!" Tobias dug his fingernails in Jokey's shoulder, "He's just trying to get you unaware so he can prank YOU!"

"TELL THE TRUTH," Jokey snarled fiercely.

"I AM!" Brainy insisted loudly.

"HE'S LYING!" Tobias growled loudly, digging his talon-like fingernails into Jokey's shoulder, hard enough to make him bleed. "HE'S WITH THAT FUCKING PAPA SMURF! HE'S GOING TO TATTLE ON US JOKEY! YOU CAN'T TRUST HIM!"

Jokey growled. "You can't be trusted," he snarled, grabbing the book Brainy had been reading from. "Time for me to prank YOU, Brainy..."

"N-NO PLEASE!" Brainy's voice was a desperate squeak. "I d-don't wanna die!"

"Too late!" Jokey backed Brainy into a wall, forcing his mouth open with one hand and shoving pages torn out of the spell book into his mouth. Brainy fought and squirmed, desperately trying to get away, or at least spit out the papers in his mouth. Jokey glared at the apprentice. "Bye bye, Brainy," hissed the prankster gone mad, shoving him into a closet of potions ingredients and locking the door.

There was a loud crash and clatter behind the door, which sounded something like a small landslide of some sort. "Run!" Tobias squeaked, sounding anxious, though excited at the same time.

Jokey turned, grabbing the three potions and dashing out the front door.

Once they had gotten a good distance away from the lab, Tobias spoke again. "That was close," he said, a certain dark tone in his voice. "That was TOO close. if you'd let him get away, you would've been TOAST."

"Yeah, he almost convinced me," Jokey panted. "Good thing you were there. Who should we prank next?"

Tracker smiled at Tailor and kissed his mate's head. "I gotta go, Tai," he smiled. "Got a few chores to do. I'll be back soon, okay?"

Tailor smiled tiredly up at his mate. "Arright, Ahuvi." He said, sticking a pin in the cushion around his wrist. "I might not see you at dinner, I have to get these done before tomorrow, I'll have to smoif an all-nighter t' finish 'em." he looked down at the suits and smurfling sized summer dress. "I just... I can't believe it's really happening..."

Tracker nodded as well. "Me either, Tai... But they aren't hurting anymore." He kissed Tailor's temple. "I'll bring you dinner; you can't smurf an all-nighter with an empty stomach, Tai!"

Tailor sighed quietly and smiled up at Tracker. "Thanks, Ahuvi. You're really too good to me, you know that?"

"Heh, naw," Tracker disagreed playfully. "It's YOU who's too good to ME!"

"Well, you're the one that's helping me quit smoking," Tailor smirked, tapping him on the nose playfully. "Therefore, you're better t'me than I am t'you."

"Yeah, well," Tracker smiled sheepishly, "you're the one who gave the village homophobe a chance, remember?"

"I did," Tailor hummed slightly, plucking a pin from his hat and sticking it in the sleeve of one of the suits. "and if YOU remember right, I turned you down flat the first three times... until you could prove you weren't just going t' smoif me in the back n' smoif a fool outta me."

"Yeah," Tracker agreed. "I deserved it, though. And now look!" He nuzzled Tailor playfully. "You WUV me~!"

Tailor smirked a little and rolled his eyes. "Don't you have chores to finish, Chamoole?" he asked playfully.

"Yeah, I do, don't I?" Tracker grinned. "I will see you here at dinner time. And no smoking; we want that habit broken before the baby comes!" The Smurf added, walking to the door.

"Aw, cut me a little slack, Ahuvi!" Tailor sighed slightly, plucking another pin from his hat and placing it in the same sleeve as the last. "We agreed we were going to wait a couple months..." His eyes had a certain fear in them "And besides, the killer might not even be found by then! I don't want to bring our baby girl into a world with a ruthless killer on the loose!"

"I know, I know, and we won't do that to her," Tracker said quickly. "But pretty soon, whoever's smurfing this will mess up and she'll be safe to come in a few months. But fine, I limit you to two smokes. No more!"

"Oy vai!" Tailor put a hand to his heart in a joking manner, "Two cigarettes for an all nighter? Are you TRYIN' t' kill me?"

"Whaaaat? No, never! Then who would put up with me and my 'let have a little girl' talk?" Tracker asked jokingly as he left. "See you, Tai!"

"Bye, Ahuvi!" Tailor rubbed his forehead slightly, shaking a cigarette from the pack sitting on the table. "What am I gonna DO with him...?"

Tobias made a disgusted noise. "Egh! It smells like smoke over here!"

"Ick, what is it, anyway?" Jokey asked.

"Agreed," Jokey nodded. "Ugh, Tailor. Definitely! I heard him and Tracker talking about having a baby girl! But no way if he's gonna poison her!"

"There's no way he should be allowed to bring a KID into that!" Tobias huffed.

"No kidding," Jokey spat. "Why bring kid into the world then torture it by poisoning it with that filth all the time?!"

"Yeah, two guys can't have a friggin' Kid!" Tobias snorted indignantly. "It just ain't natural!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Jokey asked, cocking his head to the side and giving the imp a quizzical look.

"Tracker's a guy right?" Tobias asked, disgust in his voice. "Tailor, as much of a wuss as he is, he's a guy too. Two guys is just- gross. It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Little queer deserves exactly what's comin' to him."

"I guess you're right," Jokey agreed, sneaking into Tailor's shop.

"Of course I'm right, Jokey," Tobias replied matter of factly. "I'm ALWAYS right."

Tailor hadn't even noticed their entrance. He simply took a long breath from his cigarette- the first and only he'd had since he spoke with Tracker- and continued working on the suits and dress.

"You shouldn't do that," Jokey said softly. "It's like everything else about you- WRONG."

Tailor jumped out of surprise, instinctively squashing his cigarette in the ashtray across the table. "Oh, it's just you, Jokey." he breathed a slight sigh of relief. "What on Eoith are ya smoifin' about, 'everythin' else about me'?"

"Like you having a boyfriend, and wanting a baby... Why a girl?" He added softly, glaring at Tailor. "Why do you want a Smurfette so badly?"

Tailor's heart felt heavy in his chest. He knew to expect those kinds of comments. About loving another smurf, about wanting a baby. But that didn't make them hurt any less. "T-Tracker's idea," he mumbled, "H-he said he'd always wanted a little girl... b-because he wants someone he can absosmoifly spoil... P-plus, Papa's told us a million times how much more work raisin' boys kin' be..."

"It's sick," Jokey spat. "Girls should have a MOTHER, not just a wuss of a father."

Tailor cringed visibly, fighting tears. "I-I'm s-sorry you feel that way." He said, trying to keep his voice even, "B-but it's not your decision. It's mine and Tracker's decision whether or not we have our daughter."

"It's about time someone taught you a lesson," Jokey spat, his glare becoming colder and more demonic. "But just how to teach it..."

"T-teach me a lesson?" Tailor looked up at him, feeling an odd pain in his gut, "What're you smoifin' about?"

"He's going to try and get away," Tobias warned him, "You'd better do something, fast."

Jokey jumped, grabbing Tailor's shoulder and dragging him to the ground before glancing in the direction of the evil imp's voice. "Now what?" He demanded. "What should I do to him?"

"He's a tailor," the imp replied, "well, I've heard of people having to be sewn into their clothes...if you get my drift?"

Tailor's eyes widened and his face grew pale. "Oh my god." he almost whispered, "YOU'RE the killer!" he began struggling and fighting with all his might, "H-HELP! S-SOMEBODY! THE KILLER HAS ME, SOMEBODY PLEASE!"

Jokey clamped a hand over Tailor's mouth and sat on him so his knees were on his chest. "Sounds like a plan... Think this calls for a paralysis potion? He's fighting too much to really start."

Tailor tried desperately to be heard behind Jokey's hand, kicking, clawing, trying anything to get away. "Yeah, little fag's never gonna sit still." Tobias rolled his eyes. "Man, I wonder if he's getting some kind of a sick pleasure having you on his chest right now? What a freak!"

"Smurf, I hope not," Jokey hissed, taking the paralysis potion and quickly moving his hand to pour it down Tailor's throat. "Heh, wonder how your queer mate will react when he sees what we have planned for you!"

Tailor gagged on the potion, trying unsuccessfully to spit it out. All at once, his joints seemed to lock straight, making it so he couldn't move a muscle. "W-w-what're you going t-to do to me?" Tailor's voice squeaked in fear, body trembling slightly.

Jokey glanced at the suit for Harmony, which was about Tailor's size. "I'm going to sew you up," he cackled evilly.

Tailor's face paled significantly, until he was as white as the dress shirt that went with the suit. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was just supposed to finish the suits for Harmony and Painter, and the dress for Sassette, then go to bed with his love, his Ahuvi. He wasn't supposed to be another one of his victims. He wasn't supposed to be another add to the body count. He was supposed to be a father. He was supposed to quit smoking and raise a family. He wasn't supposed to die like this, at the hands of some maniac!

Tailor's breath stuttered, and tears threatened behind his closed eyelids as he silently prayed Tracker would come through that door and save him, come be his hero, save him from this terrible fate.

Jokey selected a needle and began sewing Tailor's arm to the sleeve of Harmony's coat. "This is what you get for having a Smurf for a mate, and for wanting a baby girl," Jokey sneered.

The sewing smurf's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. It hurt to stick yourself with a needle. But it was something unbearable when it actually went through the skin. Jokey wasn't being merciful about it, either. He was sewing deep. Deep enough that the marks bled slightly.

Tailor screamed. He screamed like he'd never screamed before. Enough that eventually he even passed out. "Fucking queer," Tobias shook his head and gave Jokey a syringe. "Adrenaline. Use it to wake him up. He has to feel everything for the lesson to work."

Jokey nodded, quickly sticking the stings in a vein on Tailor's arm and reading the plunger down. "Ah, ah, ah," he said as Tailor's eyes opened. "You don't want to sleep through all our fun, do you?"

At first, Tailor was absolutely energized. His heart pounded wildly, he felt as though he could escape. That fear was quickly replaced with the terrible fear and realization of his fate. "Why, J-Jokey?" he whimpered sadly, close to tears, "I never did anything to you... S-Sewin' me up like this ain't g-gonna s-smoif me straight..."

"That's fine," Jokey purred. "At least it teaches you that the rest of us don't want to see you two hold hands or kiss and get lovey dovey. And it gives you a taste of what's coming to you after all this, and what you would have put that little girl through."

Jokey began sewing the other arm into the jacket and smirked. "You wouldn't want to put HER through this hell, would you, Tailor?"

Tailor stared sadly, his eyes wide. "Y-you bastard! Y-you-!" Tailor sucked a hard breath, tears streaming from his eyes.

"You're the bastard," Joke retorted smoothly. "You were going to bring her into this evil world, weren't you, Tailor?"

Tailor fought the surge of pain with every deep jab of the needle and tried to lock eyes with Jokey. "Th-The only th-thing evil about th-this w-world right now," he said, pausing only to cringe in pain when the prankster-turned-sociopath dug the needle particularly deep, "Is that you're s-still in it."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Jokey sneered. "Just think of it this way, Tai... You're doing this so your wittle daughter doesn't. It's a good thing you and Tracker haven't had her yet or I'd be forced to be doing this to HER."

Tailor stared at him, pure, unadulterated fear in his eyes. He was serious. Dead serious. If Tailor wasn't the one to die today, his unborn daughter would have been. "Y-you-!" he cringed from pain, still trying to get free of the paralysis potion, then tried to look at him with as much hate as he could muster, "I h-hope when you s-s-smoif Judgement, He sentences you t-to the deepest, hottest part'a He'll for what y-you've done."

"Oh no," Jokey growled. "I'm sure that place is reserved for Smurfs like you and Tracker."

Tailor just screamed in reply. For one, he was terrified, but two, he wondered if someone on the outside might hear him. But fear was the main reason. Now not just from what was happening to him, but because of the prospect of going to hell.

For as much as he smoked and swore, and "smurfed", and took his Lord's name in vain, he was mostly very devout in his faith. "Stitch his mouth, and hurry up!" Tobias half shouted, covering his ears, "Someone's gonna hear him!"

Jokey bit the thread he had been using and then stung a new one through the eye of the needle, beginning to stitch Tailor's mouth shut and causing him more pain.

"Should have stayed quiet, you stupid queer," he spat fiercely.

Tailor screamed even louder than before, trying to jerk his face away, do ANYTHING to stop this maniac. It was all for naught though, Tailor's mouth was quickly stitched, and the only thing that could be heard was muffled screams from the poor smurf fearing for his life. "Hurry up and finish already!" Tobias hissed, "It's only a matter of time before someone comes, Stitch up the pants and his eyes, and kill the little faggot already!"

Jokey nodded, quickly sewing Tailor to the pants and stitching his eyes shut. But before he could kill the Smurf before him, he heard the sound of somesmurf opening the door.

"Someone's coming!" He hissed to Tobias, opening the window so he could flee. He had just managed to get outside when Tracker came in.

The Smurf with the red feather dropped the tray of food he'd brought for his mate, horrified. "TAI!" He yelled, running to the Smurf's side, "TAILOR! Tai, no!"

In his heightened state of fear and adrenaline, the terrified smurf could barely differentiate the voice of his would-have-been murderer and his own beloved mate. Tailor screamed-still muffled by the stitches on his mouth-and desperately tried to get away from his mate's gentle touches and horrified voice.

"Tai..." Tracker was shocked; his mate was still alive!

"Tai, it's going to be okay!" Tracker didn't want to leave in case the killer came back to finish his work. Instead, he saw Camper strolling back to his mushroom and yelled, "CAMPER! Camper, get Papa, the killer attacked Tailor!"

Camper jumped slightly, and made a mad dash for Papa's lab. Tailor still struggled and screamed, desperately trying to get away. "DMM KLL MMM!" his voice was muffled, tears seeped from behind the stitches over his eyes, "PLEE DMM KLL MMM!"

Tracker stared down at Tailor in horror; didn't he realize he was about to be rescued?! "Tai, it's Tracker," he said soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt you. Papa's on his way, he's going to help you. Don't worry, Tailor, you're going to be okay..."

"Dnn kll mmm..." Tailor begged, his voice broken into terrified sobs, "Plee dnn kll mmm..."

"I'm not," Tracker insisted, "I'm not going to kill you, you aren't going to die. I promise, Tai, I'm not going to kill you."

"Wn' Ahvi," Tailor sobbed, "Hs gnna get Ahvi...!"

Right at that moment, Papa smurf burst through the door, medical bag tucked under his arm. "Give him some room, Tracker!" the smurf half-shouted, "He can't tell who's who right now, you're scaring him more!"

Tracker jumped out of the elder's way, looking down at his mate worriedly. "He's going to be okay, isn't he?" He begged. "He's got to be okay, he's just got to!"

"He should be alright." Papa smurf assured him, preparing a syringe filled a quarter of the way with some kind if medicine, "Shaken up for quite some time, but otherwise alright."

The elder quickly eased the needle under Tailor's skin, causing the smurf to scream again, trying desperately to be heard. "Quiet, Shh, quiet, my little smurf," Papa smurf hushed the panicking smurf gently, "You're safe now, he can't harm you any more."

There was another few moments, and Tailor's cries became softer and softer, until they were nothing more than a muffled mumble. "Tracker, I need you to get my surgical scissors from my bag." Papa spoke softly, "quickly, now, before the tranquilizer starts to smurf off!"

Tracker quickly retrieved the scissors for Papa, gazing down at his mate with worry. "You're going to be okay, Tai," he whispered softly. "I promise you're going to be okay."

Papa smurf took the scissors from Tracker, snipping the knot of one of the threads and unstringing the whole stitch. He did the same for the pants and the rest of the shirt, leaving the eyes and mouth for last. "Ahuvi," Tailor whimpered, once his mouth was freed, "Ahuvi..."

"I'm right here, Tai," Tracker said soothingly, looking at his mate lovingly but cautious to touch him. "You're going to be okay, he can't hurt you anymore..."

Tailor simply closed his bloodshot eyes, and sobbed quietly, unable to speak another word.

Aiko: *smacking Chi* WHAT THE SMURF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Chi: I'M SORRYYY! I DON'T FIGHT IT WHEN INSPIRATION STRIKES!

Aiko: WELL YOU SHOULD! DEAR GOD, EVEN RIVER WAS KINDA CREEPED OUT BY ALL THAT!

Chi: are you serious?

Aiko: Yeah, true. But after that Criminal Minds episode, I bet she worries about you.

Chi: *opens her mouth as if to speak, but says nothing at first* Yeah, you're probably right.

Aiko: ANYWAYS, review, comment, favorite, all that jazz.

Chi: We'll see you soon! Sooner than you'd like, probably! ^^;