Smurfocalypse chapter 103: The Search for the Savant Cure Part 7: Smurfblossom blooms! The warrior that fights with a smile!
Smurfstorm was completely beside herself as she held onto Hefty who was unresponsive even after the healing powder had sealed his wounds. She was just sitting there on the forest floor holding him close and staring down at him.
"Stormy… I'm sorry I did everything I know how to do." Smurfblossom said.
Smurfstorm's emotions were quickly getting the best of her. She hated to be seen this way and it was wounding her pride more than perhaps anybody could understand. She looks up at Smurfblossom and tears begin to stream down her face as she could no longer contain them and remain strong despite her best efforts.
"I never got to tell him how I feel about him…" Smurfstorm said.
"Stormy…" Smurfblossom said.
"Smurfblossom what are we going to do without him?" Smurfstorm asked.
"Don't give up hope Stormy! He could still wake up, and when he does he's going to need someone strong who cares about him very much to help him." Smurfblossom said.
Smurfstorm held Hefty as close as she possibly could as tears still went down her face.
"I-I love you… You complete and utter nincomsmurf… Please come back to us. Come back and lead us to greatness." Smurfstorm said.
Hefty still just laid there in her arms completely unresponsive. They knew he wasn't dead because his Smurf essence was still protecting his body. Had his body returned to its default form that would have been a sure sign he was gone, but Smurfblossom was right. She shouldn't give up hope. Hefty was in terrible shape, but if they could get their hands on a bloodstone they could grind it down to a fine powder and prevent Hefty from dying of blood loss. After all the powder of a bloodstone was literal blood from a stone as explained to them by Grandpa Smurf before they left. Nobody among Hefty's forces was an alchemist, but they trusted the wisdom of Grandpa Smurf. Apparently it was as easy as grinding up a bloodstone, mixing it with water, and consuming it as though it were a health potion of sorts.
"I'm sorry you have to see me like this Smurfblossom… Please don't tell anyone." Smurfstorm said.
"I wouldn't dream of it Stormy…" Smurfblossom said.
"We need to keep moving. Help me carry him." Smurfstorm said.
"There's no need to carry him anywhere. He's right where he needs to be for the moment." A voice said from down the dark path.
"Who goes there?" Smurfblossom asked turning around.
A figure stepped into the moonlit path revealing himself from the shadows. A Smurf wearing bone armor resembling the tyrannosaurus rex steps into view wielding a crossbow in both hands.
"Rex Smurf, warrior of the Raptors of Blood Mountain." Rex Said.
Rex casually reaches for a bolt in his quiver and loads his weapon as he speaks.
"This is the end of the line for Hefty Smurf girls… Stand aside." Rex said.
Smurfblossom's eyes narrowed as she glared at Rex. However Smurfstorm in her vulnerable state found her eyes widening as Rex aimed down his sights at Hefty who lay unconscious on the floor.
"Please no! You can't! Hefty can't even defend himself anymore!" Smurfstorm said.
Rex's serious expression was unchanging and uncaring as he aimed at Hefty.
"If you don't get away from him I can't guarantee you won't be shot." Rex said.
"Have mercy on him! Take me instead!" Smurfstorm shouts.
"Stormy! Never beg for mercy! Remember what you taught me? We are the proud Grove knights!" Smurfblossom said.
Smurfblossom draws her bow and retrieves an arrow from her quiver loading her bow with it.
"We protect, and we serve! We ARE the Grove Knights!" Smurfblossom said.
"Very well then… It seems I have no choice but to fight although I'll admit, fighting Smurfette is not something I am comfortable with." Rex said.
"I don't want to hurt you either, but I can't allow you to hurt Hefty!" Smurfblossom said.
"Hefty Smurf is a criminal who's killed several of his own kind for the sake of maintaining a meaningless title. You call yourself a knight, and you claim to protect and serve. However all I see is a criminal defending a criminal." Rex said.
"You have no idea who Hefty even is if you truly believe that!" Smurfstorm said.
"Hefty Smurf is a selfless hero… He's MY hero, and my best friend loves him and wants to spend the rest of her life with him. You're clueless Rex Smurf, and I will fight you to the death to defend Hefty Smurf." Smurfblossom said.
Rex scowls and aims his crossbow at Smurfblossom.
"Fine then. You will die first!" Rex shouts as he fires his crossbow.
Smurfblossom skillfully dodges the bolt and leaps high into the air towards Rex. As she soars through the air she generates her Smurf essence, her aura glowing blue as she lands in the middle of the trail.
"Crystalline Atmosphere!" Smurfblossom shouts.
Just then all around them a colorful sparkling fog emanates the battlefield illuminating the surrounding area. Rex quickly reloaded his crossbow as Smurfblossom executes her next attack.
"Crystal splash!" Smurfblossom yells.
From the sparkling fog surrounding them came jagged sharp crystal shards which targeted Rex and quickly flew towards him. As the crystals closed in Rex generated his own Smurf essence and as he did his entire body became metallic protecting his form in a metal casing which caused the crystals to shatter against his form upon impact littering the floor with colorful crystal shards. As quickly as his new metallic form appeared it disappeared granting him mobility again. It was similar to Triceratops Smurf's Statue Point, but with a metal type Smurf essence. Rex aimed his crossbow at Smurfblossom and fired only for Smurfblossom to cancel out the attack entirely with an arrow tipped with crystal generated from her Smurf essence. Smurfblossom grinned widely as she realized her opponent's strength was limited to the power of metal which she assumed she could easily overpower since she's defeated armored warriors before.
Smurfblossom leaps into the air and fires three crystal tipped arrows at Rex. Rex disappears in a blur and reappears in front of her where he aims his crossbow at her at close range and fires a bolt at her stomach. Smurfblossom tries her best to dodge, but the bolt enters her left side and completely tears a chunk out of her skin as the bolt flies into the darkness of the woods behind her. Smurfblossom shrieks and doubles over to grasp her wound.
"Smurfblossom!" Smurfstorm shouts.
"I'm ok Stormy!" Smurfblossom shouts.
"That's what you think!" Rex replies.
Rex then lunges his head towards Smurfblossom's right arm which was grasping her bow. The large teeth on his helmet became encased in metal generated from his Smurf essence making it the equivalent of a steel trap. Before Smurfblossom could react Rex chomped down on her entire right arm the jaws of his helmet sinking into her flesh as she screamed. Blood flowed down the grisly wound and began to form a puddle on the forest floor. Smurfblossom screamed in agony as her right arm was being mangled by the jaws of Rex's helmet. Rex aimed his loaded crossbow for Smurfblossom's face and was about to fire when large crystal shards materialized from the Crystalline Atmosphere surrounding them and bombarded Rex from behind. Sharp jagged crystals penetrated Rex's armor and lodged themselves into his back causing him to scream out and let go of Smurfblossom's arm. By this time though Smurfblossom's arm was rendered useless. Her mangled arm was profusely bleeding all over her dress and the forest floor as it just dangled uselessly at her side. Smurfblossom winced and was whimpering in between breaths, but her smile quickly returned as though she were content with her fate.
"Smurfblossom you're bleeding all over!" Smurfstorm shouts.
"D-Don't you worry about me Stormy. I'm not going anywhere." Smurfblossom said.
"Stop smiling like a fool! I have mortally wounded you! Do you not fear death?" Rex said.
"I don't… But more importantly I don't fear you Rex Smurf." Smurfblossom said with a smile.
The hand of her mangled right arm involuntarily dropped her bow. Smurfblossom's weapon was a two handed weapon that she could no longer use, but what Rex wasn't aware of was that Smurfblossom hardly needed her weapon at all. So long as he was inside her Crystalline Atmosphere she controlled the battle. Rex reloaded his crossbow and as he was reloading a stalagmite of pure crystal shot up from the ground under his feet and threatened to skewer him. Rex leaped into the air only for crystals to shoot out of the sparkling fog and rip into his bone armor and flesh. His armor was shredded by the crystals and fell apart revealing a normal male Smurf wearing white. If not for the situation they were in he'd appear and seem as normal as any other Smurf to them.
"Now that I've removed your armor all you have is your Smurf essence to protect you." Smurfblossom said.
Rex scowled as he aimed his crossbow at Smurfblossom and fired, but the efficiency of his weapon was dictated by how close he actually was to Smurfblossom and he was a distance away granting Smurfblossom enough time to leap into the air. With a flip she completely jumped over him and landed on the trail behind him. Smurfblossom quickly turns around and lifts her free hand which was glowing with Smurf essence.
"Crystal Splash!" Smurfblossom shouted.
Crystals materialized from Smurfblossom's palm and shot out of her aura in a cone towards Rex. Rex used his Smurf essence to protect himself by assuming that metallic form again. Smurfblossom's crystals shattered into fragments upon contact with Rex's metallic form. Smurfblossom patiently waited and once Rex's form returned to normal she snapped her fingers causing another crystal stalagmite to shoot out from under Rex. Rex tries to dodge by dashing out of range of the attack but the stalagmite completely destroyed his crossbow in the process. Rex was a close ranged fighter fighting in a controlled atmosphere against a ranged fighter. It was no wonder how Smurfblossom was able to fight him while practically standing still at this point. Now Rex had no weapon, no armor, and seemingly no way to fight. Smurfblossom had whittled away at him until he had absolutely nothing. However her injury was starting to get to her and she was losing so much blood that she was beginning to feel woozy. Smurfblossom had to think quickly and destroy Rex Smurf so she could take her potion before she bled to death.
Rex charged at Smurfblossom, his hands glowing with blue Smurf essence. From his fingers came razor sharp metal claws which he attempted to swing at Smurfblossom, but Smurfblossom skillfully dodged every attack by simply standing still and bobbing and weaving in place. When Rex's combo ended she thrusted his left arm forward after hardening and sharpening it in a layer of Smurf essence generated crystal, and the battle was over. Rex's chest was penetrated by Smurfblossom's entire arm. She destroyed his heart in the process and Rex fell dead without even having any last words. In the end Smurfblossom was able to take full control of the entire battle from within her Crystalline Atmosphere where she held complete power. She didn't even give Rex the opportunity to catch onto the fact that had he simply left the confines of her atmosphere that her powers would have been greatly weakened.
"Smurfblossom! Are you ok?! You don't look so good!" Smurfstorm said.
Smurfblossom had never lost this much blood before and she was looking pale and visibly sick, but she found the strength to retrieve her Addicting Potion of Instant Health from within her bag and drink it. Her right arm was mangled, but not severed therefore it fully healed and she had full control over it again.
"This potion is everything Alchemist said it would be." Smurfblossom said to herself.
"Smurfblossom? Are you alright?" Smurfstorm asked again.
Smurfblossom smiled warmly at Smurfstorm.
"I'm fine Stormy. Let's get Hefty to the mountain so we can make him better." Smurfblossom said.
Smurfstorm nodded and stood with Hefty's right arm over her shoulder. Smurfblossom put his left arm over her shoulder and together they continued to carry Hefty through the forest.