Hello, everyone! I know it's been a long time since my last update and I'm sorry. Things very VERY hectic. Two deaths in the family in the past six months plus I kind of lost my passion for the Smurfs for a while, but I'm back! And I even have a Smurf's parody of 'Frozen' which I plan to update next.
Now, before we begin, the first Smurf of the Chapter request came in and it is none other than our very own, Sweepy Smurf!
Sweepy: (walks in while waving to the loud audience) It's nice ta see you all, too!
Now, let's go onto the reviews.
Zinka17- Yes, believe it or not, Vanity was my favorite. I don't know what it was exactly, but there was just something about him that I loved. I know, it was sad not seeing Gutsy all that much, but at least he was there.
Don't waste all of your sadness on Gutsy and Crafty. Believe me, you'll need it for when we get to a specific point in the story. You'll know it when you see it.
Sweepy: (smiles grimly) I know, Frosty. I don't like it, either.
Neither do I, but it's all part of the story. Chloe- Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough.
SmallSunshine- First of all, I hope you see the movie if you haven't already. Second, no duh! Gutsy's too big hearted to want to break up with Crafty.
spannerette- Mainly because Sailor Smurf will do anything to try to stop any sort of wedding or binding ceremony from happening and Benevolent is the only one powerful enough to stop him.
A Drama Queen- Hey, be my guest. I'm willing to take requests into consideration. There may not be any solid guarantees, but believe me when I say that the worst thing I can do is say 'No, thank you.'
Candy Girl- Don't worry. You'll be getting a speech.
Sweepy: Yes. A long and violent speech.
Miss Punk Star- Thanks. I love writing about Crafty's wit and Wittette's spunk.
FrittzyCrazy- Well, Era is a powerful sorceress. She can do things like that.
FlameStarter- I'll just relieve you now. Crafty is the older of her and Pridette. As for the others, only about two are older than Crafty since she was one of the first Smurfettes to go to Mama Smurfette. And can you blame the Smurfettes? Smurfs are practically a whole other species to them. Good thing the Smurfs already are accustomed to Smurfettes.
Sweepy: Oh, I know I am, Frosty.
Benny- First off, I'm not the party kind of girl XD. Second, correct. Sailor Smurf adopted her many years ago and taught her magic. Don't be too hard on Gutsy, though. He's just upset.
Sapphire777- Haha! Sweepy! I don't think anybody's ever going to let this thing with you and Charmette go!
Sweepy: (blushing harshly) I-I don't know what you're talking about!
JOMW- Yeah…about that. I don't think I was too clear the first time I gave the clue, so I'm going to clarify and then that's it!
What I meant by the last clue was that one of Crafty's sisters' (not one of her closest friends. That was my bad) voice actress (that is the voice actress of one of Crafty's sisters) voiced the animal Crafty is going to be. That's all.
Other than that, thanks! I do my best.
loverandafighter1300- Uh…okay. In this story, though, the only one to be concerned with biting is Ipati and Bronzo.
Okay, I only own all my characters (if you don't know them, then count! I have too many to name!). I don't own the Smurfs as they belong to Peyo. Noctuma belongs to Benny, Misty belongs to Sapphire777, CartoonCaster21 owns Jo, and flowerpower71 owns Livy and Nanu. Have a nice day!
"Okay, I'm only going to explain this one more time!" Era irritably said, acknowledging the very confused and shocked faces of the Smurfs and Creatugos. "My dad is Sailor Smurf. He hates it when his laws are disobeyed, especially the one about marriage, so he disguised himself as Gutsy and broke them up. What about that can you not possibly understand?"
Brainy raised a hand and Era nodded, "I do, but with all do respect, I can hardly believe that any Smurf of any level of wizardry would be able to pull off that kind of transformation spell."
All of the Smurfs rolled their eyes in annoyance and Era raised an eyebrow, "It's really not that hard. Sailor taught me that and I mastered it in only three years."
"Well," Brainy fixed his glasses. "There were obviously flaws in that plan that Crafty just did not pick up on. If you're really telling the truth."
Era crossed her arms, "All right, then."
She closed her eyes and, much like Benevolent, her body glowed a golden color as she shrunk down. Five fingers became four and her peachy skin turning blue. The flash went away and there stood one less human and one more Smurf. One more Gutsy Smurf to be exact.
"What de…?" Gutsy gaped at his doppelganger. 'Era' opened 'his' eyes and smirked at Gutsy, crossing 'his' now masculine arms.
"Ye see?" She even had Gutsy's voice down. It was like she was Gutsy's clone, which was kind of disturbing. "If I can do it, so can me Da. Believe me, he protects dat law like…like a Scottsmurf protectin' 'is lassie."
"B-but…" Gutsy was speechless, but only on the outside.
On the inside, he was outraged, hurt, and worried all at the same time. If what Era had said was true, then that means that this "Sailor Smurf" had driven Crafty to run away, mad with him for something he didn't even do, and their relationship in complete shambles because of a stupid law.
Man, this is going to kill Cupid…
The whinny of a horse and the bleat of a goat caught all of their attention again as their four favorite human friends rode up next to the village.
"Hey, we saw a big flash of light all the way from the castle. Everything all right?" Livy asked.
"I wish I could say so, Livy," Papa Smurf replied sadly. "We have a serious situation. Crafty is gone."
"What?! When?" Johan asked aloud.
"We think sometime yesterday. Though, I still don't trust this sorceress," Cyrus answered, pointing a flipper at the look-alike Gutsy, who scowled at him and crossed 'his' arms.
"Ah-! Oh…That would explain some things…" Jo said.
"That would explain what some things?" Livy turned to her with an arched eyebrow.
"Uh…well," Jo rubbed the back of her neck. "Crafty was…kinda at the castle yesterday…she said something about visiting Peewit and Biquette and then going to Homnibus's. Kinda weird, though. She looked pretty upset, but when she's like that she usually just locks herself in her mushroom. But why didn't she come back?"
With a heavy sigh and running a hand down her face, Era answered, "Because she's not anywhere near here anymore! She must be at the Isle of Drakoi by now!"
"Wow, she really must hate you right now," Wittette said in the most casual of manners to Gutsy.
"Hey! When did you get a twin anyway, Gutsy?" Peewit asked, scratching his head.
Gutsy arched a rusty eyebrow at something peculiar as well, "When did Biquette get better, lad?"
Peewit let out an ecstatic smile as he explained, "Just this morning. I slept with her in the stable last night and then today, she's just as good as new!"
"Baah!" Biquette bleated, sounding as happy and healthy as ever, although, it was completely oblivious to Peewit that Biquette's eyes went from brown to a bright smurfy blue.
"Dat's because of de Life Giver magic, ye ninny!" 'Gutsy' threw 'his' arms up in the air. "Ye know what? Dat's it! I ain' gonna be taken seriously as a Smurf!"
The same golden glow filled the area and flashed again, Era crossing her arms as she narrowed her eyes at the penguin when she was human once again.
"That was awesome," Jo grinned. "Can you show me how to do that?"
"That would take time that we really do not have," Era said.
"Well, at least we know where that bright flash came from a while ago," Johan said.
"Oh no. He can take all the credit for that," Era jabbed a thumb down on Benevolent, who was sat cross-legged and seemed to have a good bit of space between himself and the other Smurfs.
The only one who was with him at all was Oddette, who was sitting in his lap and pressing up against his chest adoringly. He didn't seem to mind, though. In fact, he was smiling very fondly at her, though he was still in tune with the current discussion.
"Uh…Wha?" Jo asked, tilting her head at the new Smurf.
"Thank you, Era, for that special introduction," Benevolent calmly responded, not looking away from Oddette. His tone didn't sound it, it was clear that he was being sarcastic.
"You…made that light?" Livy asked, directing her question at the new Smurf as the four of them dismounted.
"Indeed, I did," the kind Smurf said looking up at the four humans. "It's always a pleasure to see you four."
"Pardon me?" Johan asked, all four of them giving each other perplexed stares before turning back to the Smurf. That's not to say that the Smurfs had a better idea of what he was implying. "You know who we are?"
"But of course," Benevolent replied, pulling Oddette into a hug, which made her giggle. "I've seen all who have come in contact with the Smurfs over the generations. You four are my favorites by far."
"Generations?" Peewit exclaimed. "How old are you, anyway?"
Benevolent put a hand to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. He brightened and nonchalantly replied, "Four hundred sixty-six thousand, seven hundred and ninety-eight years old."
"Is it me, or are we meetin' a lot of grade-A, young lookin' relics more and more often?" Wooly asked Sweepy and Hefty.
"I can smurf with that," Hefty said, Sweepy nodding in agreement. He then voiced to the mysterious Smurf, "How in blue blazes can you be that old? Ya don't look it!"
Benevolent seemed to tense and hesitate for a moment, but before he could give an answer, Oddette giddily shouted out,
"It's because he's an angel!"
All eyes, surprised or otherwise, went to the young Smurfling in Benevolent's arms. Benevolent also seemed surprised, but immediately relaxed and let his signature, good-natured smile cross on his face once again.
"Come now, Oddette," Mama chided. "You don't really believe he's an angel-"
"But he is, Mama! Crafty said so!" The red-headed Smurfling defended.
Noctuma, perched upon one of the closest mushroom houses, arched a non-existent eyebrow at her, "Crafty said that? I highly doubt that."
"But she did!"
"Oddette, calm down," Benevolent soothed, stroking her hair.
"He can't be an angel! It's impossible!" Brainy pointed out.
Livy arched an eyebrow at him, "So we live in a world with Smurfs, evil warlocks, and dragon people, but there can't be any angels?"
"Dude, that's just wrong," Jo shook her head.
"All right, all right! I know how to settle this!" Peewit said, pointing at Benevolent as he challenged, "If you're an angel, then show us your wings!"
Everyone, especially the Smurfs closest to Benevolent, jumped back in surprise as a pair of ivory white wings shot out of his back, straightening themselves to a nine apple wing-span. They tucked in slightly, the feathers having not one speck of dirt on them. They were utterly perfect and pure in color and form.
"Satisfied?" Benevolent asked, opening his eyes and settling them on the gazes of the crowd. True, he was anxious about showing his true form to the rest of them, but it was bound to happen sooner or later.
"I don't believe it…" Noctuma whispered, his greenish-yellow eyes wide.
"Neither do I," Brainy frowned. "Any Smurf could smurf up a spell to give themselves wings! That doesn't prove he's an angel!"
"Oh, I say! What's going on here?" Favian asked, he and Ipati breaking (and slithering) through the crowd. The two stopped as they both got a look at Benevolent and his wings. "Wh-what? Benevolent? Benevolent Smurf, is that you?"
Benevolent smiled at the tortoise, "Favian, my friend. How nice to see you again."
Ipati suddenly hissed, lurching back and startling a good majority of the Smurfs as his hood lashed out, "You little blue monster!"
In the blink of an eye and especially before he could be stopped, the violet-eyed cobra struck. One second Benevolent and Oddette was there, and the next Ipati hand his snout buried into the ground.
Benevolent sighed, his wings tucking back in as he crouched down on a mushroom roof, "Really, Ipati? Must you strike at me when I'm holding onto an innocent Smurfling?"
The cobra hissed, his body scrunching together as he tensed, "Don't you dare play innocent child card with ME! You may have wings, but you are no angel!"
"I never said I was an angel," Benevolent replied. He opened his wings and glided down to the ground. "I'm an archangel. I'm a fighting angel."
"Okay, this is just gettin' too confusin'!" Gutsy suddenly exclaimed, his fingers rubbing his temples as he tried to pull himself together. Perhaps all the Smurfs and Smurfettes felt this way but hadn't brought it up yet. "I don' even get it! What is it that Sailor has against marriage, anyhow?! Huh!?"
Everyone looked to Era, and only she and Benevolent seemed to know the answer as they shared looks of sadness and startle.
The blonde-haired girl sighed, "It's not my place to tell where one half of that came from, but the other half I'd be glad to. You see, my dad had discovered that when a Life Giver marries, they share..."
The eyebrows of just about everyone furrowed as they looked at each other. Xavier, who had shared glances with Misty, then asked, "Share? Share what?"
Era shrugged, "Everything. Their lives, their time, their powers."
Greedy, whom was happily snacking on a cupcake, gagged a bit before swallowing, "Say what?! You mean-"
"What Era means is that when a Life Giver marries, he or she shares his or her powers with their mate and they become Life Givers as well," Benevolent explained. Gutsy's eyebrows arched and he looked down at his hands in thought as he continued, "Basically, Sailor doesn't want just anyone to gain those powers if they aren't going to be used for the right reasons."
"Okay, considering its Gutsy, I can see why he wouldn't want that," Jo said, making Livy jab her elbow into her side.
"But that still doesn't make sense!" Pridette interrupted. "If it's the law that she can't marry, why go so far to break them up?"
"Uh…" Era turned to Benevolent for help, but he merely put up his hand as if to say 'don't look at me.' She gulped and said, "Well…Crafty is actually…isn't enforced under that law…yet."
"I beg your pardon?" Favian asked. "I thought all the Life Givers were bound by Sailor's Laws! How can Crafty be exempt?"
"Well, she hasn't gained her Life Giving creature form yet and even when she does, she doesn't become a legitimate Life Giver until her two-hundred and fiftieth birthday. So, pretty much if she were to marry before she turns two hundred, she won't be penalized."
Jo clapped her hands, "Then it's settled! We just bring Crafty back, get these two love birds hitched, and bam! We've got nothing to worry about."
The Archangel Smurf chuckled fondly, setting Oddette down, "I love your abundant yet slightly unstable enthusiasm, Jo, but I'm afraid it won't be as simple as all that-"
Wittette looked around and shrugged her shoulders, "Why not? We know where she's going and we've got the time. Crafty doesn't even turn two-hundred fifty for another three months."
"Are you smurfing me?!" Pridette asked offended and completely ticked. "Our birthday's not in three months! It's in three weeks!"
"Three weeks?!" Gutsy pulled down on the sides of his hat. "No, no, no! I gotta find'er! I gotta make dis right!
"Oh, I don't think so," Cyrus halted Gutsy with the help of his flipper. "I still don't trust that sorceress, I don't trust that little winged-Smurf, and frankly, I don't trust you. You're not going anywhere near Crafty."
"Cyrus!" Favian scolded.
"Wha…? Dat's insane!" Gutsy glowered. He didn't care if the penguin was being protective of Crafty or not. Whatever happened had happened and he needed to make sure Crafty wouldn't do something stupid or dangerous…not that he wouldn't do something like that himself, but Crafty doing something like that usually ends in disastrous consequences.
"Ye don't even know how much we mean to each other! Ye've got no right te be interferin'!"
"Gutsy, please! Calm down!" Papa tried to hush.
"Oh, right! I'm sure the black eye is such a sure sign that Crafty loved all the things you said to her!" Cyrus suddenly stopped at the sound of chuckling. He turned his glare to Benevolent and narrowed his eyes, "What's so funny?"
"You are," he answered simply. He folded his hands together and strode forward as he explained, "I'm afraid you have your facts mixed up. Near the edge of the River Smurf yesterday, Crafty had indeed threw a punch at Gutsy's face-"
"Exactly!"
"Ah, but in case you weren't paying attention, Crafty had hit that Gutsy in the jaw," Benevolent stopped in front of Gutsy, swiftly bringing his hand across his face with the Scottish Smurf only feeling the rush of the air. "Not the eye."
Cyrus' non-existent eyebrows arched suddenly. The black and blue mark around Gutsy's eye had somehow vanished like it never was there.
Benevolent brought his hand down, "Satisfied? Good. Then we should really prepare to go to the Isle of Drakoi. Johan, would you and your friends be able to provide us with a ship? Despite the inevitable obstacles, I'm afraid the fastest and safest way is to travel by sea."
"Oh! Of course! I'll reserve a ship right away!" Johan jumped back onto his horse's back and urged him to go. Bayard reared back and neighed before taking off.
"We'll go, too," Livy said for both her and Jo, they climbing back onto their steeds. "Maybe we can ask Morgana and Ichabod if there's a secret way to get into their palace without getting noticed."
"Sneaky! I like that! Wait for me!" Jo urged her horse to chase after Livy and Brownie.
"Oh boy! After what Crafty did for Biquette, no problem! Let's ride, girl!"
"BAAAH!" Biquette bleated and ran off after the three friends.
"Favian?" Benevolent inquired, his wings now disappearing from sight. "Perhaps we should leave behind some of the Creatugos to watch the Smurf Village while we're gone. In case the Drakonus decide to pay another visit."
Favian nodded, "Of course. Cyrus! Noctuma! Nanu!"
The snowy owl and the white wolf flew/ran to stand at attention in front of the Creatugo Elder, "I will be taking Misty, Xavier, and Ipati with me to the Isle of Drakoi. I need you three to bring in more of the CPPF and keep this Smurf village under guard while we're gone."
"Of course, Favian," Nanu bowed her head. "We'll call in some more back-up right away."
Noctuma nodded in confirmation. Cyrus, on the other hand, was a bit more hesitant, but complied anyway.
"And of course, I'll be joining you guys," Era shrugged with a sigh. "I haven't seen my dad in a while. This'll be an interesting little reunion."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Aurora waved her flippers frantically. "That makes no sense! Sailor Smurf would really come to us and help us?!"
"Come? Yes. Help? Not so much," she shook her head.
Benevolent sighed, turning his gaze onto Gutsy, "This is why you're going to have to trust me, Gutsy. Now that you have this knowledge, Sailor will come at you with everything he has to make sure that Crafty never finds out what really happened. Once we're out on the open sea, he will come to us. There's no doubt."
Gutsy's rusty eyebrows furrowed as he and Benevolent shared intensely serious stares as the ancient Smurf continued, "I am the only one who can keep him at bay if he ever tries to come at you. And once we leave the here, there's no going back. Will you still go?"
The Scottish Smurf's fists clenched to the point of whitening, "Aye. An' Sailor or no Sailor, I ain' stoppin' until she's back home where she belongs."
"I should warn you guys, I get seasick real easy," Peewit said uneasily, holding onto the mast as the ship rocked on the open ocean. Biquette was resting quite comfortably next to him, sleeping away with the gentle rocking of the ship, which had set sail earlier that morning. Now it was about late afternoon.
"We know, Peewit," Jo said, she and Livy leaning over the edge, getting a good whiff of the ocean from there.
The Smurfs and Smurfettes were making themselves comfortable on the decks as they knew it would be a long trip to the Isle of Drakoi. Many of the other Smurfs and Smurfettes had stayed back in the village to start the winter chores. In fact, the only Smurfs and Smurfettes who came were Benevolent, Papa, Mama, Gutsy, Hefty, Wooly, Smurfette, Affectionette, Meditette, Scaredy, Sweepy, Brainy, Clumsy, Charmette, Greedy, Grouchy, Wittette, Weepy, Miner, Explorette, Pridette, and surprisingly, Vanity.
As for the non-Smurf creatures, Hummer had come, along with Favian, Ipati Misty, Xavier, Monty, and Aurora (much to her father's dismay).
"Okay, so we're about right here," Era pointed on a map, a little bit away from the coast from where they set sail. She then pointed to a small cluster of islands further southwest, "and right there is where the Isle of Drakoi and the old Smurfette Village is. If the weather's good and the wind's blowing right, we should make it there in the next three or four days."
"All right," Johan nodded from the wheel of the ship. "I'll keep it going southwest, then."
"I must say that this book on the Life Givers is very informative," Papa said, he and Mama skipping through the pages of the large book. "It was very kind of Ichabod to lend it to us."
"Well, he said it would be useful to us if we ever ran into Sailor," Livy said.
"You mean when we do run into Sailor," Jo corrected. "That guy's got some real issues if all he does is go after the people that break his precious little rules."
Era stiffened, slowly lifting her head and looking at the two girls. Benevolent sighed and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Excuse me?"
Both Livy and Jo leaned back up and looked back at Era, who had left the map and was now looking at the both of them intensely. Even Johan and Peewit stopped what they were doing to watch.
"You know, my dad might not be exactly 'smurfy' and I know that some of his rules are pretty uncalled for, but he didn't just make them up to make the Life Givers miserable! He has his reasons!"
"Okay, okay! Sheesh!" Jo put her hands up in defense. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you flip your lid."
Era's eyebrows arched, "Flip my what now?"
Livy put her hand up, "Never mind."
"I don' care," Gutsy shook his head, pacing restlessly along the decks of the ship. "I don' care what dat Sailor has ta say about me and me lassie. He ain' got a right ta tell'er if she can marry or not."
"I empathize," Era said, sitting back down on the deck. "I've never been married. He would never let me."
"Really? I would've thought it was because you would just outlive him," Jo said bluntly. Livy elbowed her roughly in the side, giving her a harsh glare.
"Oh my gosh, Jo, you don't just say that in public!"
Jo shrugged, "What? She's over a billion years old!"
Era blinked at the two girls blandly, "Anyway…I realize this is a hard time, Gutsy, but it isn't what he'll say that you should worry about. It's what he might do. Believe me, I know what he did wasn't right, but he's a very powerful Smurf. It's not really a good idea to mess with him."
"I still don' care! Let'im come!" Gutsy snapped, stomping a foot firmly on the wooden boards. "He can' be that powerful if he can' even show his face ta me! So come on, Sailor! Wherever ye are, come out so ye can face me now!"
Era's smurfy blue eyes widened. She instantly got to her feet and put her hand up, "Gutsy! Stop it!"
"No! If ye think I'm afraid of yer daddy, yer wrong! If anythin', he should be afraid of what I'm gonna do ta him when I smurf me hands on'im!"
"Gutsy, that's enough! Calm down!" Papa gently ordered. "I know you're upset, but saying those things won't help us get to Crafty any more quickly."
"It's no use trying to calm him now," Benevolent calmly said, he being sat down cross-legged on top of a crate. "It's too late."
Livy blinked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Suddenly, the ship rocked violently. The sea was calm and clear not moments ago, but now it was as if they were in a terrible storm with a clear sky. The Smurfs and Smurfettes cried out as they were thrown side to side and slid down the decks.
"This is really not helping my seasickness!" Peewit shouted out, clinging onto the middle mast of the ship.
Then, as quickly as the rocking had started, it stopped. The water was no longer rough and there appeared to be no injuries among the creatures or the humans.
"What was that?" Xavier asked, getting back onto his paws as he panted.
Era smiled grimly, "My dad."
"Era. You're with the Creatugos again. Why doesn't that surprise me?"
Everyone looked around, all except for Era and Benevolent, for a voice that seemed to come from everywhere. Clumsy shyly stepped to the side and asked, "Brainy? Hefty? Where did that come from?"
"I…I don't know," Brainy answered, frantically looking side to side.
"Of course you don't. The ocean carries my voice so that you don't even know where it's coming from."
That time, the voice seemed to come from a much more precise direction. Livy and Jo snapped their heads up to see Sailor Smurf himself. He was casually standing among the shrouds of the ship (in case you don't know, the shrouds of the ship are the rope ladders). In a way, they were half surprised, and half confused.
It was true they didn't expect him to be there of all places and it surprised them that Sailor could sneak up there so quietly. But what really surprised them was that he, in a way, looked worse than the picture they saw in the Life Giver's book. He basically looked the same, but he was definitely much more battered and aged then the picture had described.
Sailor jumped down onto the wooden boards, making anybody that was in his way recoil. He stood up and scanned the surprised crowd with his aged eyes that looked smurfy in color yet…very unsmurfy in attitude.
"Dad," Era greeted stiffly, not necessarily being hospitable yet not showing any hostility.
The father Life Giver turned his eyes on the blonde girl, "Era."
"I can see you haven't changed a bit," she replied, her voice sounding just a little bit spiteful.
"I can say the same for you," Sailor countered. "You do remember why I don't like the Creatugos, don't you?"
The blonde girl closed her eyes, then opened them back up in a narrow-eyed glare, "It wasn't their fault."
"What wasn't our fault?!" Xavier growled with bared teeth. "What's your problem, anyway?!"
"Javier, silencio!" Misty hushed him, coming in between the Creatugo and the Smurf.
With a heavy sign and sliding his hand down his face, Sailor then asked, "Favian? You haven't forgotten our agreement, have you? You keep your children in line, and I'll do the same with mine."
Favian, quivering a bit, nodded, "Hush now, Xavier. Keep out of this."
Misty, Xavier, and Ipati raised their heads in surprise. Favian was always known to hold his ground in any confrontation. Why was he holding back now?
"You're children?" Jo asked in a bit of a sassy way. "I thought Era was your only kid!"
"Jo!" Livy scolded in a whisper. "Shut up!"
"If you must know, human," Sailor started, the very word 'human' coming out as if there were a bad taste in his mouth, "all the Life Givers that had ever lived are my children. Even Crafty, the biggest disgrace of a Life Giver of them all."
There was a collective series of gasps and murmurs among the Smurfs. Some with confusion, and some with great anger and irritation. Gutsy was not part of the murmuring, but his anger and irritation showed with the narrowed eyes and clenched fists quivering with his ever growing rage.
"A…A disgrace! How so?" Favian asked indignantly.
"How isn't she?" Sailor paced along the deck. "All the rules she's broken, for one. Associating herself with humans…"
Livy, Jo, and Peewit showed their shocked faces when he gestured to them as if they were animals. He ignored them if he even cared, and continued, "Befriending Creatugos and healing them as well…"
"So what?! You know, I'm really getting sick of your attitude, Mr. Sailor Smurf!" Aurora angrily stepped forward, pointing an accusing flipper at Sailor. The aged Smurf acknowledged her and looked up as she continued, "What have the Creatugos ever done to you, anyway?! Give me one good reason why you could possibly hate us so much!"
Sailor didn't deter, however, he did turn to Favian and asked, "Yes, Favian. Why don't you tell them all right now. What did you and the Creatugos do to us? To me and my children."
All eyes went to Favian then. The Galapagos tortoise opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then closed it. His green eyes filled with regret as he turned away.
Sailor nodded, "Just as I thought, but enough of that. I haven't even gotten to the biggest disgrace of all."
He took a few more steps and stopped, lifting his head to come face to face with Gutsy. The Scottish Smurf's anger and hostility was sensed by Sailor, but was nowhere near afraid of him.
"You know, I've had cases when one of my children thought of marriage, but the least Crafty could've done was to pick a Smurf other than you," he said distastefully.
"Gutsy!" Sweepy cried out as he and Wooly grabbed Gutsy by his arms as he tried to lash out at Sailor.
"Unhand me! Let me at'im!"
Sailor shook his head, "Scotsmen. Loyal and protective, but they're the most foolhardy creatures on the face of the Earth."
"Dad, that's not fair!" Era snapped at him. "At least he's looking out for her best interests! You're just too paranoid to give anyone a real chance!"
"Be quiet!" Sailor turned sharply to her. "Keep out of this, Era! Don't you remember what happened the last time?"
Era gasped, clearly offended, "I don't regret it either! What you did to Suave and Violette was wrong! I thought you couldn't do worse, but you really proved me wrong when you did that to Crafty and made Gutsy the bad Smurf!"
"Are any of you guys following this?" Jo asked, gesturing to the two. Everyone, Smurf and Creatugo alike, shook their heads.
"Who the smurf are Suave and Violette, anyway? They sound like Smurf names," Charmette whispered to her sisters.
"Aye, and ye've got a lot'a nerve ta do so!" Gutsy managed to get out of Sweepy and Wooly's grip, but made no advancement towards the Smurf. "I'm gonna find me lassie and when I do, I'll tell'er everythin' about what ye did."
The entire time, Sailor's face was quite neutral, but for the first time, he smirked and replied, "Good luck with that. Even if you manage to find her before she comes of age, she won't bother listening to a word you say."
Gutsy jerked back a bit in surprise, but he knew in a way, that Sailor was right. If he were Crafty, he wouldn't want to listen to himself either after what he said. Whatever it was he said.
"It's nothing personal, by the way," Sailor turned on his heel and walked away. "Crafty needs to go back, anyway. It's her turn to face Zorathix, anyhow."
"What?!" Favian and Era stood erect, clear horror and shock shown on their faces. "Tha-That can't be! Zorathix was put to sleep hundreds of thousands of years ago-!"
"-until Crafty, and her so-called friends woke him up. And now it's her turn to face him."
Favian approached him slowly and actually begged, "Sailor, please! Don't do this to Crafty! No Life Giver that's gone to fight him has ever returned."
Gutsy gasped, his eyes turning wide and his negative feelings toward Sailor vanished, "No…"
"Crafty's clever, she'll find a way," Sailor casually responded, turning his back on the elder Creatugo.
"And if she refuses to fight him…?" Era asked sharply.
Sailor stopped, turning to his human daughter and saying, "Well then, if she refuses, I'll have to persuade her to see things my way."
"Don't smurf on it, Sailor," Benevolent spoke, jumping down from the crate. He boldly strode forward as he said, "Crafty isn't one to bend to another's will. Don't you think she's too much of a wild card to do what you've trained the other Life Givers to do?"
Sailor gave out a heavy sigh, turning to the Archangel Smurf, "For the last time, Benevolent, stay out of my way. Haven't you been taught to respect your elder Smurfs?"
Benevolent didn't faze under Sailor's glare, "Being older doesn't necessarily mean being wiser, Sailor. Really, why must you be so difficult when it comes to love?"
Sailor scrunched his nose in distaste, "There's no such thing as true love. That's something I've learned over the centuries."
Every single Smurf and Smurfette gasped. Never had anything more unsmurfy been said by a Smurf and/or Smurfette. Even their human friends looked more than surprised.
Benevolent frowned a bit, "Once upon a time, what you just said would never have crossed your mind at all."
The Life Giver said nothing, but turned on his heel and jumped onto the edge of the ship. Without looking back, he said, "Turn back now if you know what's good for you all. She's already facing some steep odds as it is. You all will only distract her."
With that, Sailor jumped over the edge of the ship. Livy and Jo rushed up to the side to look over.
"He's gone," Livy said, looking over her shoulder as she said so. "He just disappeared."
"Thank smurfness," Grouchy scoffed, crossing his arms as he continued, "I hated that guy."
"For once, Grouchy, I agree," Hefty said. "What's that guy's problem, anyway? And who the heck is this Zorathix?"
Favian sighed, "A terrible, ancient, and evil Drakonus and a deadly enemy of the Smurfs. I'm not quite acquainted with the tale, but I do know that it was thanks to a council of Smurfs that he was put to sleep. How he awoke, I don't know how…"
Suddenly, Aurora's eyes widened, "Uh oh…"
"Uh oh? I hate 'uh oh'. Why are you 'uh oh'ing?" Grouchy half asked, half demanded.
"Uh…I think I know what he's talking about now. It was about twenty years ago when it happened. Right around the time when Noa started losing it…"
"Have you guys ever seen a more unsmurfy place?" Crafty asked, a small torch in her hand as she, Aurora, and Noa explored the dark tunnels underneath the Drakonus palace. It was completely unknown to them until a secret entrance was found.
"I'm pretty sure 'unsmurfy' means 'creepy' and/or 'bad', so yes, I'm going to say it's very 'unsmurfy' down here," Noa replied, his amber eyes glowing from the fire he created in his clawed hands.
"Seriously, don't you guys think that if this place was sealed off, the people who did it probably did it for a good reason?" Aurora said uneasily, waddling behind them at a steady pace.
"Yeah," Crafty shrugged.
"I guess so," Noa said.
The emperor penguin glowered at them, "Then…don't you guys think we should, you know, go?!"
"Why?" Crafty asked, now stopping that they came upon what looked like a room. "Come on, let's just smurf through this one room and then we'll go back!"
Right after Crafty ran inside, Noa did the same, "Wait for me!"
"Hey! Don't leave me out here alone!" Aurora called out, rushing in after them.
Crafty held up a torch, Noa doing the same as they looked around the room. It appeared to be nothing entirely special. Just an abandoned old room in a sort of basement.
That was, of course, until they spotted the stone slap in the middle of the room. The three of them approached it warily, Noa helping Crafty onto the table as the came across a lone scroll sitting in the middle.
"What is that thing?" Aurora tilted her head as Crafty unrolled it.
"I don't know," the Smurfette squinted at the thing, "but I can understand what it says. Listen to this:
Disperse, the insidious storm clouds.
Let the light of day vanquish the evil in scales and blood."
Noa leaned down, and began reading aloud as well. Aurora joined as well, and together, they read the strange writing on the strange scroll.
"Let the scars of the land heal
From the wounds of battle and tears.
May this abomination stay forever asleep
So not to spread fear nor pain again.
May his awakening never come."
...
"I don't get it," Crafty shook her head and looked at her two friends. "Whose awakening?"
"Maybe it's an incomplete scroll-" Aurora was cut off when the scroll suddenly took on an eerily black glow and, before any of them could react, it lashed out at them, knocking them all back.
The black mist swerved through the room until it reached Noa, where it seemed to absorb into his scales. He hissed and scratched at his face as he seemed to be fighting off some evil force within him.
"Ouch…You guys okay?" Aurora groaned a bit as she rubbed her head with her flipper.
"I'm smurfy over here," Crafty waved, dusting off her overalls. "How about you, Noa? Are you all right?"
Noa opened his eyes, now being pitch black instead of his normal amber eyes with the special ring of smurfy blue around his slited pupils.
"Fine…I'm just fine."
"…and ever since then, Noa's really been going downhill. I guess that explains some things."
"Yes…yes!" Mama said, her eyes seeming to focus greatly on a page in the Life Giver's book. "Here! It says that the one named Zorathix was too powerful to be defeated, so in order to end his reign, the Smurfs and Smurfettes had separated his spirit from his body…"
The Smurfs and Smurfettes gasped. Brainy asked, "Papa? Can that really happen?"
Papa nodded, "It is a most difficult spell, but it can be done. It also says that the two were separated and sealed away so that they could never combine again. Zorathix must have been a great and powerful sorcerer to be able to-! Oh my!"
"What? What is it?" Mama rushed to the page Papa was on.
"Crafty is in grave danger! It says here that the reason he became so great and powerful is that with every fallen Life Giver, Zorathix had absorbed the powers of the Smurfs and Smurfettes and took them as his own. He's absorbed all magic from any poor, unfortunate creature to ever cross his path as well."
"Okay, if there were any way to use your magical powers to do anything to get us there faster, I think now would be the time to do it," Livy said, sounding just a little frantic as she talked to Era and Benevolent.
"Let me at dat book!" Gutsy rushed up to the book, Papa and Mama stepping to the side as he went through the pages.
"Well, there is one spell I know that would really help. It would cut our trip by about half the time, but I'm not sure if that would help with your friend's seasickness…" Era gestured to Peewit, who was still holding onto the mast of the ship.
"How long would it last?" Peewit asked uneasily.
Era shrugged her shoulders, "Only a few seconds."
The blonde jester nodded and griped the mast harder, "Do it, then."
"Hold on! Papa, ye've got ta read dis," Gutsy waved for Papa and Mama to come over. When they did, Gutsy began to read aloud, "It was rumored that Sailor Smurf could sense a Life Giver at birth and would actually kidnap said Smurf or Smurfette before they could ever reach their village…"
"What?!" Wooly exclaimed, he and a good majority of the other Smurfs and Smurfettes gathering around as Gutsy continued.
"It was Sailor's way of raising and training de Life Givers without any distractions. Unfortunately, dat didn' stop the brothers and sisters that they could've known from looking for them. Even more unfortunately, a great deal of them followed the Life Givers into their battle with Zorathix…"
Everyone looked to each other apprehensively when Gutsy paused, his tone going from full of spite to full of sadness, "Many were caught by the guards to do with as they wished. Others were at the mercy of the Shadow Hounds, but the unluckiest few were captured by Zorathix himself. Only one Smurf was able to ever escape his clutches of death. And dat Smurf was…was…"
Gutsy stopped and slowly looked over his shoulder, "Benevolent Smurf…"
All eyes went to Benevolent, whose face remained neutral. He sighed and turned his back to them, waving his hand down it and making something very ghastly appear. Two thick gashes ran down his back, now only scars, but it almost looked so fresh.
"Eww…" Jo cringed back a bit in disgust.
"Jo! Don't be so rude!" Livy whisper-shouted. She looked back at the scars and winced a bit as well. "Eww…"
"Yeesh. I thought he give me bad beating before," Ipati commented, scrunching his snout.
Benevolent waved his hand down, cloaking the scars on his back and said, "I was lucky that my Life Giver brother, Chivalry, was there to protect me when I got there. He gave his life for my own. I died recently after that under…special circumstances, hence why it looks very new…"
Gutsy nodded, "Okay, Benevolent. Get me to me lassie, and I'll make sure Zorathix gets what's comin' ta him. Fer you, and yer brother."
"But not for vengeance," Benevolent answered. "I don't want revenge, I want justice."
"Deal," and the two Smurfs grasped hands tightly, sealing the promise.
Okay, let's give a warm hand for Nicholas Cage who was the voice of Sailor Smurf! I just wanted to say that so you guys wouldn't trouble yourselves by going back and looking for his name.
Anyway, I have to say that I had to reread all of my Smurf stories and the reviews, and now I remember why I loved writing these stories so much: I love the Smurfs and I love you guys. I wanted to say thank you for all the patience, and all the kind words you guys have to say about my stories. I'll do my best to be more frequent with these updates, so I bid you all farewell for now.