HEY I'M BACK! :D :D :D And better than ever! WOO!
Hefty: *Pops out of the screen* They're mad at you because of what you are doing to the other smurfs.
Hey, quiet! I know what I'm doing! Now get back in the screen, you're supposed to be ill!
Hefty: In the story, yeah, but not out here. Oh and by the way, everyone hates the character you own, er, Greta.
Uh, Duh, that's the whole idea. Anyways, I don't own the smurfs, but I do own Greta!
Hefty: Do you have to say that EVERY time?
Smurfettes POV
I'm so excited. This is the happiest day of my life! I'm all dressed in white. The Pussy Willow pixies have come to help me with my dress. One of them is just finishing fixing up the ruffles on the bottom of my dress. I glance at the mirror. A princess stares back at me. Her long, golden hair, flows down her back. Her eyes sparkle with happiness. A bit of red rests on her blue cheeks. She touches a white flower that is attached to her white hat.
"You're all done!" The pixie says. The princess in the mirror twirls around, and smiles.
"You look so beautiful!" Another pixie exclaims. "Oh, He's so lucky to have someone like you!"
"Well, I am the only adult Smurfette in the village, er, besides Nanny Smurf," I reply, not looking away from the mirror.
A knock on the door gets my attention. There stands Papa Smurf, with a white suit, with a smile on his face, and tears rest on his eyes. "You look so beautiful, Smurfette," He says, and walks in. I grab his hands.
"Oh, Papa, thank you! And you look great too!"
"Are...are you ready for this?"
I nod. "Yes...Papa. I've been waiting for this day for a long time. And now it's here!"
"Then lets go. Let's not keep Hefty waiting!"
I grab a bouquet of flowers from the table, and put an arm around Papa's right arm. We walk to the forest. A hundred Smurfs stand on the sides of a red carpet, that stretches for what seems forever. Other creatures are there as well. Even wartmongers. My heart begins to beat fast as I take my first step onto the carpet, with flower petals. Wedding music starts from nowhere. Sassette and Snappy grab the back of my dress. A pixie carries the wedding rings.
Thousands of eyes stare at me. I hear weepy cry with his handkerchief, and see Scaredy flinch when I pass by. A few smurfs sniffle. Grouchy tries to hide a sniffle, and a tear, and I hear him mutter, "I hate weddings," with Baby in his arm, babbling away.
As I approach the front of the carpet. I see him, Hefty, in a gorgeous suit that makes him look handsome. Tailor did a great job on it. Hefty waits for me, hands behind his back, looking at me with a smile I never saw before. I blush. We reach the front. Hefty takes my hand. He stares into my eyes, smiles, and then-
I wake up, my head on the pillow that Hefty is lying on, and my body sitting in a chair. My tired eyes focus on the real Hefty, in the bed, sick. Just a dream. Always just a dream. Many times, I have dreamed of marrying Hefty, but it always turns out as just a dream. I wipe a hot tear away. I mustn't cry anymore. I won't cry anymore . I'm not a smurfling.
A strange tension fills the air, as if Hefty is trying to tell me not to cry. I grab his hand, and kiss it. I promise I won't cry anymore, Hefty. I'll have faith.
The tension in the room goes away. I smile.
OoO
Dreamy's POV
"Four of us...that's all that's left..." I say. I kick a pebble, and it scuttles to a far away corner. It echoes throughout the hall. I wear Gutsy's pouch around my shoulder, along with his other bag, and mine.
"We need to stick together, so nothing will happen," Handy replies, without turning around.
"We've been doing that for a long time, you know!" Brainy cuts in. "And we do that, yet one of us always gets left behind!"
"We only did that a few times, but we can't do that when that Greta does something to us so we can't smurf close to each other, or we have to smurf for our own lives, not someone else's."
"You know what I think? It's hopeless. Tracker, Harmony, and Gutsy are all lost! We should just give up. We won't make it to the end. We'll never-"
Handy whirls around angrily, and jabs a finger in Brainy's chest. "Are you going to go back to your old ways, when you think that we have to do everything you say?!"
"My ways were always-"
"NO! They weren't, and they never will! Do you really think I want to give up, to not try to save Hefty, MY best friend?!"
"I know he's your best friend, but-"
"BUT YOU don't care!" Handy snarls and throws his hands up in the air. He's never snapped like that before. "What if Papa Smurf didn't care when you needed a transplant. What if he just gave up? What if Clumsy didn't care about you?"
"But they did care-"
"EXACTLY! And I care about saving Hefty. I chose you to come along because I thought you were different. You had changed for a few days. But no, now you have to go back to your old self, and possibly even worse. If I had foreseen this...I wouldn't have brought you along. If you want to give up..." Handy's voice quivers a bit. "Then just stay here, and...a-and wait for something to get you...a-and perish! I'll see you at the end again...IF me, Dreamy, and Clumsy make it, with no thanks to you." With that, Handy turns around, and continues walking.
Brainy stares at Handy in shock. "I-If that's what you want...then I will! Besides, you won't be able to decipher anything without my amazing reading skills!" Brainy shouts at Handy, and sits on a rock. Tiny, angry tears border his eyes. I look at Clumsy. He shrugs. "I can't leave my friend alone," He whispers. I sigh, but smile a bit. "Alright then."
" Good luck, then," Clumsy smiles, and grins at me. "But I'll try t' convince Brainy t' keep goin'!"
I nod, and catch up to Handy. Wow, he got pretty far in that little moment. Handy suddenly sighs.
"That was mean, wasn't it?" He asks me.
Sure it was, but I don't blame him. "Well, I'm not going to lie, but it kind of was. Still, what Brainy said, to give up...I can imagine how you must have felt when he said that."
He sighs again. "Clumsy is staying?"
"Y-yeah." I don't think it's necessary to tell him the last thing Clumsy told me.
"Then I guess it's up to us..."
OoO
Brainy's POV
"Aww, C'mon, Brainy! Ya can't give up!" Clumsy tells me. He sits down on the same rock I am, in the tiny space left. I don't move a muscle.
"Y'know, I thought your heart was always in th' right place. Sure, ya always want everysmurf t' smurf what ya have t' say, and ya want things your way, but, Brainy, where's your heart now?"
It's still In my chest I think sarcastically, and roll my eyes. But I know what he means. And he's right. I'm not usually like this. I know saving Hefty is important. Just like saving Clumsy was important to me.
What Handy told me still plays in my head. What if Papa Smurf didn't care when you needed a transplant. What if he just gave up? What if Clumsy didn't care about you?
If they didn't care, I wouldn't be here today. I would be gone. And here I am, acting all heartless on not caring to save Hefty only because I want to give up already. Seriously, I can't take much more of this. But we have to keep going. I have to keep going.
A pain goes through my heart. But a mental pain of guilt. Hefty's been like my big brother. Sure, always to toss me out of the village, but also the one to protect me. I can't believe that for an instant there, I didn't care for him.
"'Member when ya didn' give up that one time, when we were smurflings?" Clumsy says. "When those mean ol' gargoyles took us t' make gold? Even when we were right at th' edge o' fallin' into that pool o' stuff, ya didn' give up t' save us."
"But I had my book," I remind him. "I easily thought of an idea to use with it. If I hadn't had the book, who knows what would have happened."
"But ya had th' book. An' ya thought hard t' think o' a way t' save us. If ya were jus gonna give up on us, ya wouldn't have done what ya did. Also, 'member that one time when we were also smurflings?"
"You mean when-"
"Yep, that's 'xactly what I mean!"
Yes, I remember that day so well...
Flashback(ish)
"Alright, now tie it nice and tight!" Handy commanded. He had just finished telling Clumsy to tie a rope to a branch. We were about 42 years old then. Papa Smurf went into the forest to collect some things he needed, and he brought me, Handy, and Clumsy along. We sort of lost Papa smurf on the way, but just as we were looking for him, I found an ingredient he needed. It was a rare flower, that grew in the center of a rushing stream, that led to a waterfall. I said that we should get it, and surprise Papa Smurf. Handy agreed, and got a rope from who knows where, and told Clumsy to smurf it onto a branch. Handy then smurfed the other end to his leg.
Handy then jumped onto a rock, and balanced so he wouldn't fall. He jumped onto another rock. When he jumped to a third rock, he lost his balance and fell into the rushing waters. Luckily though, the rope prevented him from going any further. Unluckily, though, Clumsy didn't tie the rope tight enough, and the knot came loose.
Clumsy reacted quickly, and grabbed Handys hand, but he tripped, and fell into the water as well, holding on to Handy.
They cried out for help, just as they neared the edge of the waterfall. I grabbed onto the rope, and pulled with all my might. But as a smurfling, I was terribly weak. And the rapids were too strong. My feet got dragged across to the water, until I almost fell in. Clumsy and Handy were now dangling.
Gravity was too strong. And I was so weak. I could feel the rope slipping through my hands. I could hear Clumsy and Handy crying. I could have given up. I mean, My arms were hurting, my hands were burning, and I was almost going to fall in. I could have let go of the rope, let my friends fall to their doom. Yet when all hope seemed lost. I gave a powerful tug to the rope, and miraculously, I was able to pull up both smurfs to safety.
End of Flashback
"And ya didn't give up, 'cause ya cared," Clumsy tells me. "Your heart was in th' right place. Good things happen, when ya don' give up. See Brainy? So don' give up now."
I nod, and don't stop nodding until Clumsy touches my head. I look at him, and smile. Sheesh, such a Klutz yet he can convince you to do so many things. I stand up abruptly, causing Clumsy to fall off the rock.
"Alright, Clumsy, Let's catch up to Dreamy and Handy!"
OoO
Handy's POV
"Wow, did you ever imagine how ruins could be?" Dreamy asks as we eat a smurfberry muffin and sit on the cold floor. I miss warm muffins.
"No," I say. "But I never imagined them to be like this. So awful, so-" I shudder. I finish up my muffin. "You done?" I ask, anxious to get going.
Dreamy eats the last piece and nods. We stand up. "Take out Trackers feather, so we can know where we have to go next."
Dreamy nods and smurfs the feather onto his hat, makes a face, pulls out his captain's hat, puts it over his usual one, and smurfs the feather on there.
"Why are you wearing your captain hat?" I ask. He shrugs. "I don't know. I just felt like putting it on," He admits and cracks a smile.
"O...kay, um, so lead the way, Dreamy, er, captain Dreamy...?" I reply, unsure what to say.
"Just call me Dreamy. We're not on the ship, so it's just Dreamy. Okay, follow me Handy!"
I follow closely behind. Water drips from somewhere. A drop lands on my hat.
"We seem to be nearing a lake," Dreamy says. "A lake that somehow is in these ruins. Won't it be spectacular to see something so beautiful like a lake?"
"I guess...but in here?" Seems impossible. These ruins are so dry. So old. So crusty.
We come across an almost dead end. There's only a rock blocking the way, and not inscriptions.
"This doesn't look too hard to push!" Dreamy says and pushes on the rock. I can't help it but laugh a little. That rock is the size of a human. Of course we can't push it open.
"Dreamy," I say, and put a hand on his shoulder. He looks at me with a sweaty face. Somehow, that face of determination he has, seems so familiar. "Dreamy, you're not strong enough to push it open, even with the both of us combined."
Dreamy exhales hard and slumps against the rock. "S-so...what...do we do?" He pants.
I'm not sure actually. There isn't something for me to make an invention to break down this rock. Unless...
Quickly, I reach into Gutsy's bag, which Dreamy has, and pull out Harmony's trumpet, and also some earmuffs. HEH! Papa Smurf either packed them for the ice flower, or for Harmony's trumpet sound. Either way, they're useful. I hand one to Dreamy, and put on mine. I lick my lips, pucker them, and play as loud as I can. I can feel the vibration in my heart, and all around me. The rock begins to shake. I play a higher note. The rock begins to crack.
I stop to catch my breath, take a deep breath, and play the loudest I can. The rock surrenders, and crumbles to pieces. Dreamy gives me a high five.
"Ya did it lad!" Dreamy says and quickly covers his mouth. I look at him in confusion. "Did you just..."
Dreamy laughs. "I don't know, that just came out." I smile.
We climb over the pieces of rock, into the next room. Sure enough, a huge lake lies in the center of the next room. A light rests at the bottom of that lake. The water looks so fresh, it makes me thirsty. I pull out my water sack, only to find it empty. I watch Dreamy do the same, and he gets the same results. My mouth begins to get drier, and drier by the minute. I lick my lips to wet them, but my mouth is too dry. My throat is burning.
"Oh, you can drink," Greta says. I can hear hope in her voice. Not a good sign.
I look at the clear, crispy waters. "But, there's a price, isn't there?" I murmur.
"I never said there was, I never said there wasn't."
"Knowing you, there is. C'mon, Dreamy, we can make it across this huge room...Dreamy?"
I turn to look at him. The poor smurf is looking at the water with huge eyes. He must be feeling as thirsty as I am, but there's something in this room that's doing that, for sure.
"Dreamy..." I grab his arm, and pull him along. But every step I take makes me thirstier, and thirstier, and thirstier. I can feel myself dehydrating, but the room is cold! My vision becomes blurry. My grip on Dreamy's arm loosens, and he bolts right to the water. I gasp.
Fighting the thirst, I run after Dreamy, and stop him right before his hands can touch the water. "Dreamy, no!" I scold him. "You have to fight the thirst!"
"But I'm-" He whimpers.
"So am I!" I say, and shake him hard. "If you drink..." I look around the room and point at a skeleton in the far corner of the room. "That will happen to you!" Dreamy looks at the skeleton and yelps. Terror flares up in his eyes.
"Let's smurf out of this room, now. I can't stand the thirst any longer!" He pleads. I nod. Quickly, I grab his arm, and run as fast as my smurf legs will carry me. The thirst becomes unbearable. My throat feels like sand. I can't run anymore, but my legs act without command. Dreamy whimpers. I can imagine how he is feeling.
My glance goes to the water. The sparkling...refreshing water, is calling me...
No! Handy! Don't! You can't!
But I'm so thirsty...
You're almost to the door...everything will be fine after that...
Suddenly, I feel power. Something that keeps me going. My legs speed up, even though they hurt so bad...
I pass through the door. Success!
"We did it, DREAMY! WE-"
I glance back. Dreamy somehow got out of my grasp. He's on the floor, unconscious. His captain's hat his bag, Tracker's feather and Gutsy's pouch and bag, on my side. Dreamy on the other side of the door.
"Dreamy..." I say and reach for him. Suddenly, the door slides shut, almost squishing my arm. I yelp and fall backwards. Panting, I touch the shut door, and pound on it. "Dreamy! GRETA! HOW COULD YOU?!" I bark in anger. "Dreamy wasn't gone yet!"
"Hm, hm sweetie, didn't I tell you? There was a time limit to get across. Unfortunately, you made it. Unfortunately for you, Dreamy didn't So he's stuck there."
I pound the door hard again. I play Harmony's trumpet loud, to see if the door will break down. Greta laughs.
"You can't do anything. So just move along."
For once, I don't cry. I don't feel the need to cry. Sure, I feel sad, but not enough to cry. I pick up Dreamy's bag, get some supplies from there, and smurf the stuff into my bag. I smurf the hat and feather in there as well. I put Gutsy's bag around one shoulder, and mine on the other, and Gutsy's pouch around my neck. Fully loaded, I continue alone, determined to get to the end.
OoO
Brainy's POV
"LOOK CLUMSY! WATER!" I shout in joy. A lake in a ruins. Who would have smurfed?
"YEAH! Uh, but it don't look safe t' drink!" Clumsy replies.
"Clumsy, Clumsy, Clumsy, how could a lake so clear not be safe to drink? If it was covered with scum and stuff, it wouldn't be safe!" I walk over to the lake, and feel my thirst increase. Just as I kneel down to get a drink, Clumsy pulls me back, and holds me tight.
"NO, Brainy!" He scolds. "Don't! I kno ya are thirsty, 'cause I am too, but it's jus' somethin' from this room! Fight it! There wouldn't be a lake in th' middle o' a ruins for no price, now would there!"
I open my mouth to speak, but Clumsy is right. Again. I swallow and lick my lips. "Okay, okay! Just let me go!" I squirm around. Clumsy lets me go, but not my arm. "I'm not gonna let go o' your arm though! I don't wan't ya t' bolt off t' the water again."
I sigh. WE walk to the door. The thirst becoming unbearable. Once in a while, I look back at the water. It looks soooo goooood...
"Hey look! It's Dreamy!" Clumsy suddenly says. He lets go of my arm. I forget about my thirst when I see Dreamy. "DREAMY!"
He doesn't move. I try to touch him, but there's something that prevents me from doing that. Clumsy tries to touch him also. Nothing. It's like a forcefield is preventing us from grabbing him. But he's still breathing...
"I can't grab him, Brainy!" Clumsy tells me. I nod. "I know, I can't either. Something doesn't want us to grab him. Must be Greta."
"Brainy! Th' door is closin'!"
I look at the door. It IS closing, and fast! I stand up, but glance back at Dreamy. Clumsy looks at me with sad eyes.
"We can't do anything. We have to save ourselves!" I tell him, and extend my arm. Clumsy's lip quivers, but he grabs my arm. We barely make it through the door. It shuts closed.
"Hey, Brainy?" Clumsy says.
"Yeah?"
"Did ya notice that there was another door that was closed, next t' this one?"
"Yeah, and?"
"Well, I think that, maybe Handy went through there. Do ya think this path 'nd that one goes t' the same place at th' end?"
Can it? " I think so. Because everyone has to end up with Greta at the end." I emphasize the word 'Greta' with hatred.
Clumsy smiles. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's catch up t' him!"
"Okay!" The thirst goes away. Sure I still feel thirsty, but not the same as in that room.
We approach another door in no time. Inscriptions. I fix my glasses, and read:
"So close to the end, yet so far
open up door, to the blazing star!" Blazing star?
The door opens up. A heat wave suddenly hits my face. I gag a little. Clumsy coughs. "GOSH! It sure is hot in there!"
Lava...wow... I knew there would be something like this in here. I step into the room with Clumsy. A weird sensation fills my body again, but I ignore it. Immediately, I begin to sweat. Lava occasionally spurts out of the ground from nowhere. Steam does too. So all we have to do is get across the room? Hah! So easy!
"This will be a piece of smurfberry cake!" I say.
"Careful Brainy!" Clumsy warns. Too late. A jet of hot steam comes up behind me and burns my tail. "YEOWW!" I jump five smurfs high. My hands go to my backside and hold my tail."IT BURNS!"
"Well, 'course it does, it's hot steam!" Clumsy laughs. "Woah!" He topples backwards to avoid some steam.
"Okay, come on!"I say.
"Uh, Brainy, are your glasses getting bigger, or is your face getting smaller?"
Huh? I blink, and look at him. His hat is bigger, too. Or is he getting smaller? "Clumsy, your hat...your pants-"
"YOU TOO!"
I look down. My pants are getting too big for me. So is my hat. So are my glasses. But are they getting bigger, or are we getting smaller?
"We're turnin' into smurflings again!" Clumsy answers. I gasp.
"Clumsy! We have to get out of this room, and fast! Or else we'll turn into one day old smurflings again and we will lack the intelligence needed to solve a simple thing such as getting across this room without getting burned, and then we'll toast in here!"
Clumsy nods vigorously, his now huge hat covering his whole head. He takes it off. I do the same thing.
The room suddenly vibrates. The ground begins to open up. Pieces of the floor begin to fall down into the bright lava.
"LET'S GO!" I shout desperately. Grabbing onto my pants, I run. Clumsy does the same. He leaps over a gap, but then falls. "Ungh! These pants get in th' way!"
"Then take them off! That doesn't matter right now! What matters is our lives!" I follow my own advice, and take off my pants. I leap over another gap, and roll aside as a spurt of lava comes up. My nose begins to get pushed down by the weight of the glasses.
"Brainy! Help!" Clumsy screams. I turn around and find him on a toppling piece of floor, breaking off to fall into the lava.
"JUMP CLUMSY! JUMP!" I shout, and dodge a shower of lava. Clumsy prepares to jump, he trips,
and he falls.
My heart stops. "CLUMSY!" I run over to the edge, and my heart begins beating again when I see him holding onto a piece of rock. I extend my arm, and he grabs it. I pull him up.
Panting, he tells me, "Thanks."
I make a small "Hm" noise and resume going to the door. Steam spits out of nowhere, stinging my eyes. I stagger backwards, and blink fast. Everything looks so blurry.
"Brainy! Ya okay?!" Clumsy asks. His voice sounds younger. Much younger.
I blink rapidly, and nod. "Y-yeah. Keep going!"
My vision becomes clear once again, and I wipe the fogginess from the glasses. Then I catch up to Clumsy.
A loud groan from somewhere makes us stop in our tracks.
"What was that?" Clumsy whispers.
"Shh..." I say, straining my ears to listen. The groaning stops, then returns louder. I look behind me, and see the floor breaking off , and falling into the hot depths, at an alarming rate. The floor beneath me begins to crack.
"RUN, CLUMSY! SMURF LIKE THE WIND!" I holler. "Smurf like you never have before!"
Clumsy stumbles, but runs with all his might. I wonder how many times we've been smurfing for our lives in here? So many that I've lost count.
The door is close. SO close. We're going to make it, I just know it.
I hear Clumsy laugh. Why would he laugh? This isn't funny!
"Gosh, who...who woulda known...that it would end like this?" He pants. "You 'nd me together once again, like all other times."
"Down't say that Cwumsy!" I say, and gasp at my own voice. Am I really that young already? I can feel the lack of intelligence in my brain already! "We'wre not gowing to pewish hewe!"
"Gosh, Brainy! You're voice!" Clumsy says in alarm. "Haha, won't be long now 'till i'm talkin' like that!"
I push Clumsy out of the way as another jet of steam pops up. He staggers. I help him regain his balance, and we continue to smurf.
Handy's POV
Huh, so far no inscriptions. Weird. Every door I approach, just opens up for me.
"GO CWUMSY! GO! HURRY!" A voice shouts. Weird. Sounds just like Brainy when he was younger. When I was younger. But did that voice just say 'Clumsy'?
"UNH! I'm TWYIN'!" Another voice that sounds like Clumsy smurfling. Weird. Why am I hearing these things. Another door opens up, and a wave of heat stings my face. I see two smurfs running for their lives as the ground crumbles up. Wait, two smurf...lings...?
"Brainy! Clumsy!" I shout without thinking. The smurflings turn to look at me from far away. "HANDY! HANDY! HEWLP!" They shout. How can I help them? Theres no floor for me to step on in that room. Unless...
My eyes wander to the ceiling again. There, a rod, perfect for a hook to grab onto. I take my bag off my shoulders and search for another rope and hook. I tie the rope to the hook, and throw the hook as hard as I can to the hook. A miracle! It latches on in the first try!
"Hang on!" I shout to them. Putting on my bag back on my shoulders, I grab onto the rope. Courage fills up my body. I take a few steps back, and then swing myself across the lava filled room. A strange sensation fills me up, but I push that aside.
Mysteriously, I don't close my eyes from the height. Usually I would. I extend my hand towards Brainy. How did they ever get turned into smurflings?
Brainy grabs my foot, and Clumsy grabs onto Brainy's foot, just as the last of the ground falls into the lava.
I feel Brainy let go of my foot and grab the rope. I can hear their frightened pants. I can feel my own heart beat in my ear. I sigh in relief. "How did you two ever turn into smurflings. And what happened to your pants and hat?" I ask.
"Thewes something in this woom, that made us tuwn intwo smurflings!" Brainy says. "So we had two loose owr clothes. Wou awe tuwning intwo a smurfling two!"
I can feel it. The pencil in my ear is getting heavier for my ear. My overalls are getting more loose by the minute.
"Okay! Um, listen! The door to advance from this room has inscriptions to read. Since we're dangling in the middle of the room, I will swing the rope back and forth. Brainy, when we get close to the door to the next room, read the inscriptions silently, then say them out loud every time we get near the door, okay?"
"Yes!" Brainy shouts from below. I begin to move back and forth. "And hold on tight, Clumsy!" I remind him. We swing close by the door, then away, close, then away.
"GOT IT!" Brainy shouts. I nod, even though he can't see me. When we approach the door, Brainy recites:
"Wone last doowr two gewt acwoss..."
WE swing away from the door, then to it.
"time two meet the final boss!"
The door doesn't budge.
"It didn't work!" Brainy cries out. I shake my hat out of my face.
"It probably didn't work because of how your voice sounds!" I tell him. "I'll give it a try! uh, One last door to get across, time to meet the final boss!" Wait, so this is the last door?! Or is there still one more?
The door slides open. WE cheer. "Okay, listen, I'm going to swing harder. Everytime I get close to the door, one of you will smurf inside. First Clumsy! Jump inside the next door when you are close enough!"
"OKWAY!" Clumsy replies. I swing back and forth. Suddenly, a jet of Lava comes up, and showers me and the smurflings in hot lava. I cry out. So do they.
"A-are you two okay?" I ask. I hear whimpers of yes.
"The wrope is on fire!" Brainy suddenly yells. I look up. Sure enough, the rope is on fire. And it's burning fast.
"Thewe will be no time fowr all of us two swing acwoss!" Brainy says. "So go, Handy!"
My eyes widen. WHAT? "NO OF COURSE WE CAN ALL MAKE IT! JUST-"
"No..." I look down at Brainy. He has tears in his eyes, behind those colossal glasses. "WE wown't make it, Handy. Wou have two be the wone two go, becawse, well, look at how showrt me and Cwumsy awe. And look at how we speak. If thewe is something else two deci—deci-deco—ugh, I cawn't even say that word any mowe. But wou know what I mean. And I'm loosing the ability two think wike a gwown up smurf. But Befowe wou go, I awso want two say that I'm sowwy, for what I said back thewe...I'm so sowwy..."
I blink, yet no tears come out. "No, I'm sorry, for saying that you should have just stayed there. You actually came, to try to make it to the end. And now look..."
Brainy smiles cutely. "That down't matter. But go! Owr ewse no wone will save Hefty! But Thawnk wou fow twying two save us! Wou awe a gweat fwiend!"
"Y-you too...both of you..." I look back up at the rope. It's almost all burnt up.
"HEWE!" Brainy says and hands me his glasses, and a rock. Probably from Clumsy. "That is my gwasses and Cwumsy's lucky wrock, that was lucky enough two lead us up two hewe. And wou might need my gwasses, wou never know."
I grab the things and squeeze them in my hand.
"NOW GWO!" Brainy and Clumsy shout together. Brainy literally grabs me, and hurls me towards the open door. Sheesh, where did he ever smurf that strength. I look back in time to see the rope break, and Brainy and Clumsy fall down, together. Like they always have traveled, together. And one tear, just one, falls down my cheek. It's all up to me now. I mustn't, I cannot fail.
OoO
Smurfettes POV
I feel horrible...I'm sweating too much. Just like Hefty is. But I feel soooo cold. I can't stop shivering. My head hurts so bad, worse than a migraine. I lay shivering on the floor. I have no strength in me left for anything. I glance at the bowl of soup Papa Smurf left for me to eat, but I haven't touched it.
Papa Smurf comes in with another bowl. When he sees me on the floor, he gasps, and the bowl falls out of his hands. More soup.
Papa lifts me up. "S-Smurfette! Are you okay?! SAY SOMETHING!"
All I can do is stare at him. The words get stuck in my throat. I really have no strength for anything. Papa smurf gets the worried look again. His mouth is set into a firm line. And without a word, he just leaves the room. Just like that...
Handy's POV
Here I am, at the final door. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. All those Smurfs who came with me, to help me, are now gone. And If I fail, they will be gone, forever. I open my eyes again. OH NO! There are inscriptions to read! And Brainy isn't here...
I bang my head against the wall. Now what. Is this the end for me? To be stuck here? I look at my hand. Brainy's glasses and Clumsy's rock are still in my grip. Wait...could it be?
I lower Clumsy's rock to the floor, and look at Brainy's glasses. They're all dirty and cracked. What if I put them on...could that...nah...or could it?
I hesitate, and put on the glasses. OH SMURFS WHAT TERRIBLE EYESIGHT HE HAD! I remove them quickly. That made me feel dizzy. Frowning, I put them on again. I look at the inscriptions. And mysteriously, I can understand what they say. I smile.
"Congratulations, you have reached the end
Now to your final challenge, on you go," I read. Heh, they didn't even rhyme this time. The door crumbles open. I remove the glasses, pick up the rock, and walk in.
It's so quiet and damp, and dark. I take a cautious step. It echoes all around the room. Sounds pretty big. Once I step all the way inside, the door behind me closes. This is it.
"Impressive..." Greta says. She doesn't sound happy. Haha. "No one has ever really made it to here, except for one. But he never made it out."
My heart thumps in my ears. "You did a terrible job on rhyming, for this door," I say. I can imagine Greta scowling.
"...If you win this challenge...you are free to go, with your other smurfs as well," Greta continues, having had ignored what I said. "And you will also get what you need."
"Can I ask one question first, though?" I tell her, er, wherever she is in this dark room. "Why, exactly do you do this? Why do you put challenges? Why do you like to see others suffer? Why do you want no one to leave alive? And why does it please you to see others die?"
"That was five questions, to be exact," Greta says. "I don't like to chit chat, but I'll answer your questions, as your final wish." I tense up at those words.
"You see, thousands of years ago, I was tortured in many ways, by people, and things of all kind. I hated all those who did it, and I promised I would get my revenge. One day, by some torture, I became a ghost, a spirit. But I kept my promise, that I would seek revenge on those who did that to me. And so when I found out that the fairy from here had moved on, I took my place here. I set up challenges of all kinds, challenges that I knew no one would ever survive. I knew that ruins would attract tourists of all kinds, and that made me happy. I just loved to see them suffer. And I still do. Does that answer your questions, sweetie?"
I make a face of disbelief. "But it was only people of many years ago who did that, not the ones from now!"
"All people, all living things are the same. And that is why...I do what I do."
"You don't have to! You can move on and be free! Be a free spirit!"
The light turns on. I blink and squint. In the middle of the room, is a beautiful young lady, with long, black hair, that flows all the way to the floor. Her blue eyes stare at me, with long, black eyelashes. Her smooth red lips stand out against her white smooth skin. A long, simple, silky blue dress she wears goes from her shoulders, all the way to the ground.
"See this?" The woman whispers, with Greta's voice. "This is what I once was. A beautiful young witch. This is what I looked like, before I was tortured. Only something in this room, lets me take this form. If I hadn't been tortured...if I hadn't been tortured to death...I-I would have married a handsome young man. I would have had beautiful children. I would have brightened the Earth with my beauty..."
Her face gets sad. I can't help it but feel a little broken hearted.
"And you see...I don't want to be a free spirit, not yet...until I get my revenge on every single living thing...every organism...even if they are culpable, or not culpable..."
A sudden smack to my face by something sends me backwards. My bags fall off my shoulders, and my pencil falls out of my ear.
"You don't have to!" I gasp. I get another smack to the face by that same something.
"Of course I have to..." She sneers. The room goes pitch black again. I get hit repeatedly by the same something. I roll out of the way, just as that something pounds on the ground, where I was. Where's my bag...my bag...
I feel around for the bags just as I feel a rush of air beside me. Something missed me completely. Then I hear it. A low hiss... No, not one, two...No thr—FOUR!
"S-snakes?!" I squeak.
"Not just snakes... Coastal Taipans. Four of them," Greta tells me.
"But I thought that they're not usually aggressive, unless-"
"Unless they are cornered, they usually hunt in the day, blah, blah, blah. That's what the last guy said as well. You see, I command these snakes. You see, I have a magic flute here, that I can play. It is soundless to you, but the snakes can hear it. I know exactly where you are. When I play the flute, it gives them the direction where you are, even in the dark. It tells them to attack. And, well, you can also pass as a mouse, and these snakes haven't eaten in a few days..."
I swallow. Quickly, I keep searching for my bag. Maybe something in there will help me.
A snake strikes in my direction, barely above me. I scream, and run from there. If only I could get Greta to have the lights turned on.
"Greta! I know you know where I am and all, but don't you want to see what's going on?" I shout.
"I CAN see what is going on," She informs me.
"But, your snakes keep missing me by a smurf!" I shout. Greta seems to smurf it over, and suddenly the lights turn on. I can see her eyes twinkling, as she plays the silver flute. If only I could smurf that flute away from her...
A snake lunges at me. I fall backwards on time, just as it gets a mouthful of dirt. It turns angrily at me. Another one hurls its whole body at me. I jump out of the way.
I spot my bags, and go over to them. I grab Harmony's trumpet from there, and play as loud as I can. The snakes tense up, and seem to shrivel. Greta shrieks and covers her ears. Man I play worse than Harmony.
A Coastal Taipan hisses in anger, and smacks me with its tail. The horn goes out of my hands, and another snake crushes it. I grunt. How am I supposed to defeat these snakes? Its impossible! And four of them!
My brain begins to work as I think of something I can do. Some kind of invention to help me defeat these snakes. Quickly, I begin to climb up the wall. The stones are sturdy, and a little out of place. One Taipan rushes at me, and smashes its head against the wall. The other snakes seem to get the idea, and the smash the wall with their heads. That is not smart of them to do...But I can feel myself loosing my grip as I climb up. Sweat falls down my face as I try to grab onto another stone. The wall suddenly collapses. I fall, screaming. A heavy rock hits one of the snakes hard on the head. It falls to the floor, and gets buried by the falling wall.
I hit the ground with a loud OOF! And a hard THUD! Well, that took care of one snake. But as I try to stand up, my leg collapses, and a pain sears through my leg. I shout out, and fall. I must have hurt it badly with the fall. I just hope it's not broken.
Something warm kisses my face, and I squint at it. When the wall toppled in, it opened up the ruins back to the fresh air, and back to the sunlight. I smile a little. I could just leave... But I can't leave. What good will it do to just leave empty handed and with a pain in my heart?
I stand back up. Ow, it hurts, but at least my leg isn't broken.
One snake down, three to go...? No, two snakes down. Another snake is on the floor, either unconscious or..the other thing. It must have gotten hit hard by the rocks also.
I rush back to my bags,wincing, and grab Brainy's glasses. I catch sunlight on them, and blind the two advancing snakes momentarily. They hiss and wiggle in anger, while their eyesight returns.
Frantically I look around, looking for a plan. BUT NOTHING COMES! NOTHING GETS TO ME! I shoot a glance at Greta. She has stopped playing the flute, but has an angry look in her eyes, while mumbling something. I wonder what...
"AHH!" I scream, and dodge a falling purple blob of something. The blob hits the floor, and the ground begins to sizzle. I do not want to get hit by that.
More of that stuff rains down. I hide behind a pile of rocks, just as one blob of stuff hits the ground, and splashes the rocks protecting me. They begin to sizzle and melt.
Rushing out of my hiding place, I catch a glimpse of one of the still blinded snakes getting hit by the acid-like thing. And boy, it isn't pretty.
Finally, one snake left to go. How easy this is! The stuff has stopped falling. Heh, guess Greta doesn't want her last snake to be defeated so easily.
The open wall closes back up. The lights disappear. Once again, I am left in total darkness. A slither somewhere in the dark. A hiss. Silence. I stay as still as I can, trying to control my breathing. One strap of the overalls slides a little over my shoulder. I forgot that I was turning into a smurfling in the other room. Good thing This room doesn't continue that.
I know the snake can feel my heat. Even without the flute, I'm sure it would know where I am.
A rush of wind next to me makes me jump. I cry out a little, and run away from the spot. I reach a corner. I'm sure it's a corner. I whirl around to get out of the corner, but a hiss right in front of me stops me. I back up against the wall as much as I can. It can feel me, and it can hear my breathing, I'm sure of that. My heart beats frantically in my chest.
The snakes tongue tickles my face. I wrinkle my nose. It's tongue flickers again but this time on my chest, right where my heart is. I hear it back up a little. It's ready to strike! I cry out and jump away from the corner just as hear the Taipan smurf the wall. I roll on the ground, and stay there, on my stomach, breathing rapidly. I don't hear anything. No slithering. Nothing.
I wipe a bead of sweat from my brow. Smurfs, I feel tired. If we make it back to save Hefty on time, I should go work out with him. Sure, I have sometimes, but working out is usually not my thing.
I strain my ears for a sound. Nothing. A small pebble skitters somewhere in the darkness. Then, out of nowhere, the snake strikes, sinking its long fang into my small leg. I cry out in pain. I grab it when the snake takes its fang out. Its warm and wet. Oh smurfs...it bit me...
"Poor smurf...you're hurt!" Greta says, although her voice sounds more like happy than concerned. "Now, I'll give you a choice...do you want the snake to finish you off now, or do you want to die slowly. I don't mind either. But because you're small, compared to a human...I''d say you'll be finished very quickly either way."
I know what this snakes venom does, and because I'm smaller, it will act fast. I try to stand up, but feel very dizzy already. My head is beginning to hurt.
"I-I'm n-not going to g-give up-p..." I stutter, holding my leg. Great, first one leg is hurt, now the other. I can't stand up, though...My head hurts so bad...I can't think of anything to get myself to win...
"So you choose the slower death, do you?" Greta asks. I can hear her smile. "Fine by me. But, are you sure that you don't want to just give up."
I roll on the floor, my mouth gaping like a fish without water. Ugh, now I feel nauseous...
"I-I'm s-sure..." I say. Struggling, I force myself to stand up, despite all the pain. I didn't come all this way just to die. My smurfberry muffin threatens to come out, but I hold it in. But what can I do?
I touch my head, and feel something hard in my hat. Clumsy's lucky rock. I forgot I had that. But, it's not lucky to me. But maybe, I should hang on to it till the end.
Like a miracle, the lights turn back on. It's no use, my vision is blurry, though. I see the snake, lying next to Greta. I can hear it hiss angrily. Sounds like it wanted to finish me off.
My vision comes back momentarily. I look at the wall again. The stones look sturdy to smurf on again. I have a plan.
"H-hey, Greta!" Shout, as bravely as I can. " W-when I said I wasn't g-going t-to give up...I n-never said I wasn't going t-to keep o-on-n fighting to w-win!"
I hear the Taipan hiss happily. "So now you choose the fast death? Okay then, fine by me." Greta says and I see her raise something to her lips, the flute, for sure. The snake hurls forward, just what I was hoping for. I run dizzily over to the wall, and crash into it first. My stomach begins to hurt bad, but I'll try to ignore it.
I climb up the first stone, ignoring all the pain I feel. I grope around for the next stone. The snake strikes below me. I squeeze my eyes, trying to hold on.
I raise my bitten foot up to another rock, and climb higher. The pain Is beginning to overtake me...I-I don't think I will be able to climb much higher! I try to raise my other injured foot up, but it won't respond. I give another cry of surprise when the snake strikes right to the side of me. its going to get me...its going to get me...
I can hear voices...in my head...the voices of the smurfs who came with me...
Don't give up lad! Ya can make it! I know ya can! I hear Gutsy's voice shout at me.
Come on, Handy! Dreamy tells me. Do it for Hefty!
Yes, he's right, I have to do this for Hefty...
And do it for us too! Harmony adds in.
You didn't make it this far for nothing! You know you can do it, just believe! Tracker says.
And Handy, when you smurf to the top, theres a special rock thats holding most of these ruins up. I don't know how...but when you smurf to the top—Brainy begins.
Ya smurf my lucky rock t' the snake, and you'll see what I mean! Clumsy finishes.
Is this for real, or is Greta just making me hear this as a trick? My heart says that I must do what I heard. And like they said, I mustn't give up.
I jump a little to reach the other rock. My vision is still a little blurry, but I can see a little better. My head is still pounding like mad, I still feel dizzy, my stomach still hurts, and my legs still hurt...
Once at the top, I step on a little ledge. I can see the blurry snake, watching me.
NOW SMURF THE ROCK! The six smurfs shout at me. I take out Clumsy's rock, and smurf the rock as hard as I can into the snakes face. It hisses angrily, and lunges forward, at an incredible speed. I move out of the way. The snake hits the wall hard, making a big rock fall out of place. Then, the room begins to vibrate.
"N-no..." Greta whispers. "NO!"
The whole room begins to collapse. I fall with the collapsing wall, and hit the ground hard. I grasp my bitten leg. I may have beaten the challenge...but I don't think I will smurf out of here on time...
I watch as the whole ceiling begins to collapse. Tears fill my eyes. "I-I'm sorry, P-papa...I-I couldn't make it..." I whisper.
I watch as the ceiling smurfs the snake hard on the head, and then it falls to the floor, motionless. I'm next.
Like in slow motion...I watch the ceiling approach me. I blink. Hot tears spill out. My vision blanks out just as the ceiling was about to smurf me...
And I'm...
I'm...
…...
OoO
I open my eyes and find myself alive, outside of the ruins, with my bags, and the other six smurfs lying unconscious, next to me.
Longest chapter, I think.
Hefty: When you say that, you sound dumb. And I think you could have added more stuff to it.
Hey, did I give you permission to come out of the story? And maybe I could have but I didn't! SO HAH!
Hefty: I don't need permission.
Whatever. Okay peoplez, please review!
Hefty: Are you trying to be funny?
PFFT! Uh, does this look like a funny story to you?!
Hefty:...
Exactly!