Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A Joke Gone Wrong
By Rowena Zahnrei

Part I

It was the first day of spring, but it felt more like summer. The happy sounds of busy creatures filled the forest. Birds warbled, frogs croaked, insects buzzed and, in their brightly colored mushroom village, the Smurfs sang as they carried out their morning chores.

Well, most of the Smurfs were singing. The Smurflings were far from thrilled by the prospect of spending a perfect spring morning helping Farmer prepare his fields for planting.

"This stinks," Slouchy Smurfling complained, leaning against the handle of his rake.

Snappy scowled and stood up, stretching out the kinks his back had collected while he was bent over pulling weeds.

"Yeah," he agreed, the thundercloud on his shirt looking especially stormy. "We should be down by the River Smurf playing Smurfball, not clearing weeds from some dumb field."

"It's not fair," Sassette spoke up, brushing the dirt from the knees of her pink smurferalls. "You don't see the grown up Smurfs out here smurfin' weeds, do you? An' d'you know why?"

"Because they're all busy with their own jobs in the village?" Nat said, smiling a bit as his friend Flutterby the butterfly glided over to perch on his wide straw hat.

"Ha, that's a laugh," Sassette returned. "Have you ever seen Lazy smurf his own weight? Or Poet? And what about Brainy?"

"What about Brainy?" Slouchy yawned.

"All he ever does is boss us around! He scolds and lectures, but he never actually does anything. Unless you count writing those boring books."

Nat smirked.

"Quotations of Brainy Smurf; More Quotations of Brainy Smurf; Even Smurfier Quotations of Brainy Smurf…"

"Yeah, those." Sassette made a face. "If you ask me, the only reason Smurfs like that are able to smurf out of real work is because they're older and can smurf it off on us."

"You said it," Slouchy said, dropping his rake to the ground.

"Yeah," Snappy agreed. "I wish we were grown up. Then we could smurf the day off whenever we felt like it."

"Oh…"

Sassette suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"What's the matter?" asked Snappy.

"Well," she said, rather hesitantly. "Weren't you three grown up Smurfs once?"

Nat and Snappy looked blank.

"Huh?"

"What are you talkin' about, Sassette?" Slouchy asked.

"It's something Pappy Smurf said," Sassette said awkwardly. "I heard him talking once with Hefty and Smurfette. They were talking about Nat, but they mentioned the rest of you too."

"What did they say?" Snappy asked curiously.

"They said how they missed the way it was before Natural Smurf had his…accident."

"Accident?" Nat frowned, peering up from under his butterfly's wings. "I didn't have any accident."

"Well, you must have because Pappy Smurf said you did," Sassette asserted, her red braids bobbing. "He said it happened when he sent you and Snappy and Slouchy to Father Time's house to smurf an hourglass or something like that. And Hefty said it wasn't right that you three get to have a second childhood."

Snappy sniffed dismissively.

"Ah, you're smurfin' though your hat," he said. "That can't be true! Don't you think we'd know if we'd been grown up?"

"No," Sassette snapped back. "Pappy Smurf said that was part of the problem. That you couldn't remember."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence while the Smurflings processed this news.

Then, Snappy glared.

"If you knew all this, why didn't you say anything before?" he demanded angrily.

"Because," Sassette started tough but the wind quickly left her sails. "Because I was scared if you found out, you'd want to be grown up again. And leave me behind," she finished quietly, not meeting her friends' eyes.

"Oh…" said Snappy.

"Hm..." Slouchy frowned.

"But Sassette," Nat started, "even if all this is true, you can't think that we would—"

"Now now, youngins, the day's a wastin'!" Farmer's voice called over from the melon patch where the industrious Smurf was hoeing along a row of newly sprouted plants. "You kids can gab later, when you don't have weeds to clear away."

The four Smurflings shared a look.

"Yes, Farmer," they chorused, and obediently went back to weeding.

But, Sassette had raised some disturbing questions - questions that couldn't easily be pushed aside by chores. And so that night, after Papa Smurf had tucked them all into bed, the Smurflings decided to hatch a plan.

A plan designed to get the truth from Father Time himself.

"After all," Snappy said, "if Papa Smurf's been keeping something this big from us for this long, he must have a pretty big reason. That means the only way we're ever going to learn the whole truth is if we find it out for ourselves, without getting Papa Smurf and the other Smurfs involved. And the only other person who knows all the facts is—?"

"Father Time!" the others agreed, giggling and scheming together until, sometime after midnight, the four of them finally fell asleep.

*******

"So, you really think they'll go for it, Papa Smurf?" Brainy asked eagerly.

It was another beautiful morning, and Brainy Smurf had been up with the sun, busily researching his latest project with Papa Smurf. Unlike his other self-glorifying works, Brainy was planning this book to be about the constellations. Papa Smurf had willingly given him access to his library, and had even started pouring through the books himself, finding his own interest in the stars reignited by the young Smurf's enthusiasm.

"I think it's a wonderful idea, Brainy," the white-bearded wizard said, and smiled. "One of the smurfiest you've ever had."

Brainy's happy grin was nearly devoid of its usual smugness, which only made Papa Smurf's smile wider. Clapping the spectacled Smurf on the shoulder, he said, "I'm very proud of you, Brainy. I think you're finally beginning to understand what it means to consider the needs of other Smurfs before your own. That's one of the hallmarks of being a truly grown up Smurf."

Now Brainy did look smug.

"Losing my glasses to the Dark-Ness Monster was a bit humbling, I must admit," he said. "It was so hard having to depend on other Smurfs to get around the village. Without my glasses, I had trouble performing even the simplest tasks. I felt so stupid and clumsy all the time. But instead of mocking my mistakes, the other Smurfs went out of their way to help me - especially Clumsy. That's why I wanted to write this book, Papa Smurf. To give something back."

"Well, I think you're doing a splendid job, Brainy. I'm certain the other Smurfs will appreciate it. The Smurflings in particular could certainly benefit from a book like this."

Brainy's eyes widened behind his thick glasses.

"That's right, Papa Smurf!" he exclaimed. "This book could be just the thing to get the Smurflings to finally show me the respect I deserve! We can camp up in the mountains, just the five of us, and I, Brainy Smurf, will tell them everything I know about the moon and the stars. With my brilliance and my book to guide them, their little minds will swell with knowledge, and I—"

Papa Smurf gave an amused shake of his head.

"And he was doing so well..." he thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Brainy, Brainy! You seem to be forgetting something."

"I am?" Brainy looked shocked.

Papa Smurf sighed.

"Brainy, this project isn't about making yourself look good. It's about providing your fellow Smurfs with a useful guide to the stars. Isn't that what you were telling me all morning?"

Brainy nodded sagely.

"Of course you're right, Papa Smurf," he said. "I mustn't get ahead of myself. After all, I haven't even finished smurfing the book together yet!"

"Well, you know my library's open to you if you need to smurf any more information, Brainy," Papa Smurf said. "Oh—and Brainy," he added, catching the young Smurf just as he was turning to collect his notes from the table. "Grandpa Smurf will be stopping by in a few hours. The two of us have been planning an excursion to gather fresh glowberries from the far end of the forest. We'll be gone all day and probably into the night. I'd intended to leave you in charge here, but if you think it'll get in the way of your work I'm sure I could find another Smurf to—"

"Oh no, Papa Smurf, it would be no trouble at all!" Brainy said with a quick eagerness. "I'd be honored to keep an eye on things while you're away! Why, I'll have the village running so smoothly you won't even—"

"Brainy…" Papa Smurf warned. "What have I told you about going overboard?"

Brainy blinked, then sagged, looking slightly sheepish.

"You said I shouldn't try to enforce your rules so literally."

"And…?" Papa Smurf prompted.

"And other Smurfs have ways of smurfing things that are just as good as mine, and I should respect that."

The spectacled Smurf sighed, rolling his eyes a little.

"Even if my way is better," he mumbled under his breath.

"Very good, Brainy," Papa Smurf said. "You just remember that while I'm away and everything should smurf just smurfily."

"Yes, Papa Smurf," Brainy said, brightening. "You can smurf on me!"

"I know I can, Brainy."

Papa Smurf smiled kindly and opened the door for the notebook-laden Smurf.

"Good luck finishing your book. I look forward to reading it when I get back."

"I'm sure you won't be disappointed, Papa Smurf," Brainy said. "You and Grandpa have a smurfy trip. Don't worry about a thing. You can trust me, Brainy Smurf, to remember every word of your wise advice."

Papa Smurf waited until Brainy was well on his way home before he sighed and said, "Oh, I don't doubt you'll remember it. Whether you'll follow it…that's a different story."

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part II

Harmony's trumpet bleated from the center of the village, honking out notes so sour the sound caused six of the breakfast dishes stacked at the top of the dirty pile to shatter.

Responding to the call, Smurfs poured into the clearing from all directions, mumbling and moaning about the terrible racket. When enough Smurfs had gathered, Papa Smurf raised a hand for silence.

Harmony lowered his trumpet, and the Smurfs breathed a collective sigh of relief. Harmony took it as a sigh of contentment and graced them all with a dignified bow.

"Er, thank you, Harmony," Papa Smurf said, and turned to address the group. "My little Smurfs," he began. "I know you're all very busy so I'll keep this announcement short. I'm going away for the day to collect glowberries with Grandpa Smurf, and we'll probably be back very late. I'm leaving Brainy in charge here while I'm gone. I want you all to spread the word among your fellow Smurfs and remember to mind Brainy as you would me."

He glanced over to Brainy, who was standing beside him with his nose in the air and his chest puffed out like a pigeon's.

"Well," he qualified, "within reason, of course."

"Aww," the Smurfs moaned.

"Yay!" Brainy's friend Clumsy clapped.

Hefty wrinkled his nose.

"Does it have to be Brainy, Papa Smurf?" he complained.

Brainy glowered at the muscular Smurf through his glasses.

"Now now, Hefty," Papa Smurf said. "Brainy and I have had a long talk, and I'm sure he'll act responsibly. Isn't that right, Brainy?"

"Of course, Papa Smurf!" Brainy simpered. "Ask any Smurf around and I'm sure they'll all tell you I am Mr. Responsibility."

"Uh, really?" Clumsy tilted his head. "Funny, I thought you were Brainy!"

Brainy rolled his eyes and groaned.

Papa Smurf smiled, then looked up past the Smurfs' shaking heads to wave at a yellow-clad Smurf with a long, white beard who was beckoning to him from the edge of the village.

"We better get a move on, Papa, if we want to reach the cliffs by noon," the old Smurf called. "We're already runnin' a bit late."

"I'll be right there, Grandpa!" Papa Smurf called back, hefting his rucksack onto his back. "Good bye, my little Smurfs! Try not to get into any mischief while I'm away!"

"We will Papa Smurf," the Smurfs chorused.

"Have a good hike, Papa Smurf," Brainy said. "And, don't you worry about a thing. The village is in safe hands with me in charge."

"I know it is, Brainy. Just don't neglect your book, now. Remember, I want to read it when I get back."

"I'll have it ready and waiting," Brainy assured him confidently. "Bye!"

"Bye! Bye!" the other Smurfs chorused, the group already starting to shrink as they headed back to their chores.

Peeling away from the crowd, the four Smurflings huddled in the shade of a nearby mushroom house, their postures as slumped as their spirits.

"Babbling beavers, why does it have to be Brainy!" Sassette moaned. "This ruins everything!"

Slouchy scowled.

"It sure does," he said. "Our plan was for Sassette to get Papa Smurf to give us permission to pick wild smurfberries while the rest of us snuck into his lab to find his map to Father Time's cave. And it would have worked, too. She's got him totally smurfed around her little finger! Not Brainy, though."

"Yeah," Sassette said, and sighed. "Brainy's such a stickler for rules, he'll never let us go on our own!"

Snappy frowned a thoughtful frown, his sharp eyes fixed on Brainy's face as he talked with Clumsy on the other side of the clearing.

"Hm… Maybe not," he said, motioning the others nearer. "I have an idea."

"Oh yeah? What kind of idea?" Slouchy asked.

Snappy's eyes took on a wicked gleam, and he smiled.

"How are you guys at mimicking voices?" he asked.

"Mimicking voices?" Nat frowned.

"Yeah! Come closer and listen up."

The Smurflings did, and Snappy whispered his plan into their ears. By the time he finished, all four of them were shaking with giggles.

"Wow, what a smurfy prank!" Slouchy cheered.

"Are you sure Brainy will fall for it, though?" Nat asked.

"Sure I'm sure," Snappy assured them. "Just leave the smurfing to me."

*******

In his crumbling stone hovel at the edge of the forest, Gargamel woke with a start and immediately winced. Not only was the sun in his eyes, but the happy sound of birdsong assaulted his ears.

"Yeech!"

The cruel wizard scowled, calling to his cat as he slid out of bed to pull on his patched black rags and worn red shoes.

"Just look at it out there, Azrael! It's so green and…ick…" He shuddered. "Sunny. Just the sort of weather that would set those rotten blue Smurfs singing!"

"Mreah, mry mrow."

Azrael yawned from his sunny spot, lazily stretching out his skinny body from his neck to the tip of his crooked, brown tail.

"It's not fair, Azrael, that spring should come so soon," Gargamel whined. "Why, it seems only yesterday the forest was barren and the snow was piled high. I could just picture those miserable Smurfs starving in their little village, freezing their tiny blue tails off!"

"Mrat mwas mrus," Azrael griped, thinking back on those bleak, hungry times with an uncomfortable shiver.

But, the failed wizard was still ranting and didn't notice.

"Oooh, what I wouldn't give to be able to hold back time - or even speed it up to next winter! Why I - wait a minute…"

The balding wizard paused and rubbed his chin, his beady black eyes glittering. After a moment's deep thought, he snapped his fingers in triumph.

"Ha - that's it!"

"Mwah?" Azrael questioned, the manic gleam in his wizard's eyes starting to make him nervous.

"Time travel, Azrael! The ultimate answer to all our Smurf-catching troubles!"

Gargamel rubbed his hands together and grinned a wicked grin.

"Can't you picture it, Azrael! Why, if we could control Time, we would never again have to chase the Smurfs! We could hop backwards to where we know they'll be - or even hop forwards to get where they're going before they do! And then, with all the gold I'll make with my captured Smurfs, we can travel to the future, Azrael, and bask in a world where no one's ever heard the word 'smurf'!"

In a fit of gleeful excitement, Gargamel raced to his sagging bookshelf and began yanking out volumes, tossing those he rejected to the floor.

"There has to be some kind of formula or spell or— Ah ha! I knew it!"

Slamming the open book down on his cluttered work table, Gargamel ran his finger over the words, reading them out loud to his cat, who had jumped up on the table beside him.

"Hm, here it is… 'Time Locket,' " he read. " 'With these easy step-by-step instructions, you can make your own Time Locket at home. All you need is a metal-clasp locket and a generous pinch of the Sands of Time (see footnotes).' "

Gargamel frowned.

"See footnotes? See them where?"

"Mrown mrere." Azrael tapped a paw on the bottom of the page.

"Ah, right, of course..." Gargamel coughed a little. "Let's see…"

The aging wizard squinted at the tiny handwritten letters.

" 'One,' it says. 'Metal is recommended over twine for stringing your locket as it is less likely to break and land your Time Locket in the wrong hands.' Humph!"

Gargamel snorted, reflexively defensive.

"Wrong hands indeed. Who are they to say who— Actually…" he interrupted himself, "that's not a bad point. Imagine, Azrael, if the locket were to fall off somewhere in the forest and one of the Smurfs were to find it. The havoc they could wreak! Smurfberries and pretty flowers would grow everywhere! Cheerful laughter and happy songs would spread like an epidemic through the towns! Oh, Azrael, it's all too horrible to picture!"

"Mry mrow!" Azrael agreed, making a sour face.

"Well, that's settled, then," Gargamel said. "We'll make sure our locket has a metal chain. Now, what else does it say…?" Finding his place, he read, " 'Two: Concerning the Sands of Time. These fine grains of purest sand can be found only in one place: the magic hourglass of Father Time. It is impossible to obtain these grains without first petitioning, then being granted permission from Father Time himself."

Gargamel smirked and closed the book.

"Impossible, is it?" he scoffed. "As if I, Gargamel the Great, would need to beg permission from that old fossil. Come on, Azrael."

Grabbing a handy sack, the ragged failure slung it over his shoulder and marched to the hovel door.

"We've got a meeting with Time, and I don't want to be late!"

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part III

"Hum dum da dum dum dum, dum da dum dum dum…"

The sound of Brainy's humming leaked out the window.

Snappy snickered.

"Yep, he's in there all right," the Smurfling told his friends.

"What's he doing," Sassette whispered, crouched beside Nat and Slouchy under Brainy's windowsill. "Can you see?"

With the skill of a practiced spy, Snappy slid up the side of Brainy's house until he could just peer through the window's edge without being seen from the inside.

"Um, he's shuffling some papers around…now he's pouring ink into his inkpot…"

"Sounds like he's getting ready to write some more of that new book of his." Slouchy made a face. "He'll probably try to make us read it too."

"Gak!" Snappy pretended to choke. "Duller than dullsville!"

"Chattering chipmunks, Snappy, shush up! He'll hear us!" Sassette hissed. "Just tell us what he's smurfing now."

Snappy wrinkled his nose at her, but did as she said.

"OK, he's got his writing desk all set up. Now he's crossing the room… Duck!"

Slouchy, Nat, and Sassette bunched up to make room as Snappy dove for cover under the sill. Above their heads, they heard the sound of water pouring into a bowl, followed by soft splashes.

"Sounds like he's washing his hands," Nat said.

"Or his face…" Slouchy raised his eyebrows.

The others caught on at once.

"He'd have to take his glasses off!" they chorused.

"Perfect!" Snappy quietly crowed. Sliding once more up the wall, he risked a peek through the window. "Yes! Come on, guys, it's now or never!"

Crawling out from under the window, Sassette hopped onto Slouchy's shoulders and Snappy hopped onto Nat's. With only a cursory knock to announce themselves, the Smurflings burst into Brainy's house.

Brainy looked up in surprise, water dripping off his bare face.

"Hello? Who's there?" he asked, reaching blindly for a towel.

Slouchy nearly stumbled he was trying so hard not to laugh.

"Clumsy?" Brainy frowned and squinted. "Is that you?"

Sassette nudged Snappy, who immediately elbowed her back.

"Oof!" she grunted, glaring at Snappy as she struggled to put on her best Smurfette impression. "Um, oh no, no we're not Clumsy," she said, wondering if she should have unbraided her hair. But no, Brainy truly seemed unable to see them. "We're, um…"

"Hefty and Smurfette," Snappy broke in, doing his best to deepen his naturally raspy voice.

Brainy's frown grew longer.

"Hefty?" he asked. "You sound like you have a cold. Let me smurf on my glasses and I'll—"

"Oh, there's no time for that," Sassette interrupted, tapping Slouchy with her foot and pointing to the table.

Hampered a little by her weight, Slouchy scurried over and snatched the glasses away just before Brainy's fingertips brushed them.

The two Smurflings shared a silent high-five.

"Uh, yeah," Snappy said. "We just popped in to let you know we're taking the Smuflings out for a day in the forest."

Brainy furrowed his brow, smoothing his hands over the table.

"Hmm... I could have sworn I put my glasses down right here. Huh—what was that about the Smuflings?"

Holding a hand out in front of him, Brainy groped his way over to his writing desk.

"Could I have left them over here…?"

"We're taking the Smurflings on a nature hike in the forest," Sassette repeated. "I'm going to introduce them to all of Mother Nature's prettiest flowers."

Slouchy smirked. Her Smurfette impression was almost too good.

"Hm—a nature hike? What a smurfy idea, Smurfette!" Brainy grinned. "Just give me a chance to find my glasses and I'll go with you! I still have my nature guide book, Brainy Smurf: Friend to All the Animals, and I'd be only too happy to lead your little expedition if—"

Nat groaned.

Snappy kicked him.

"Er, uh, no—no, that's OK, Brainy," he said.

"You've got far more important responsibilities here in the village," Sassette added. "And don't forget, you still have to finish your new—oop!"

Sassette bit her lip as Brainy stumbled, tripping over his chair. His outstretched arm swept across the desk as he struggled to stop his fall, scattering papers and knocking over the big bottle he used to fill his ink pot.

Black ink spilled over everything.

"Oh dear!" Sassette exclaimed, still impersonating Smurfette. "Oh, Brainy, look what you've done!"

Brainy struggled to crawl out from under the desk without getting tangled in the chair, banging his head in the process.

"Ouch! Oof—what? Ugg, I'm soaking wet! What is all this stuff?"

"It's ink," Sassette told him.

"What!"

Brainy looked horrified. He tried to stand up, but hit the desk again and had to sit down.

Snappy snickered.

"You knocked over your ink bottle, Brainy," he said, as Hefty. "Spilled it all over your desk. Looks like you'll have to start over on that book of yours. Not that that's a bad thing…"

Slouchy smirked, deciding to try his own Hefty impression.

"Maybe this time you can write something fun! Something exciting, like Poet's epics."

"Something eversmurf would want to read!" Snappy agreed, nearly choking on his suppressed laughter. "Come on, Sa—Smurfette. Let's get out of here."

Slouchy followed Nat and Snappy out the door, carrying Sassette with him.

Sassette glanced back at Brainy, feeling a strange little tug in the middle of her chest. Looking down, she noticed that Slouchy still had Brainy's glasses sticking out of his pocket.

She snatched the glasses and tossed them onto the little table by the door. Hopping off Slouchy's shoulders, she said, "OK, we're set. Now run!"

*******

Once they were far enough away not to be heard, the Smurflings toppled into a heap on the ground, laughing for all they were worth.

"Ha ha! That was the best joke ever!" Snappy crowed. "I still can't believe he fell for it! He really thought we were Hefty and Smurfette!"

Slouchy shot his friends a wicked grin.

"So now Brainy thinks we're on a nature hike, we told Smurfette we'll be helping Farmer in his fields, and Farmer thinks we're working on the dam with Handy."

"And if we're lucky, Brainy'll be too busy cleaning up to even think to come looking for us," Nat pointed out.

Sassette smiled.

"What matters is our plan worked! Now we're free for the whole day!"

"Yeah," Nat said. "If we start now, we'll get to Father Time's cave before lunch."

"Sounds good to me," Snappy said. "Let's go!"

*******

"Brainy? Hey, Brainy!"

Clumsy Smurf knocked excitedly on Brainy's open door with his free hand. In his other hand, he held a sparkling gray rock about half the size of his head.

"Uh, Brainy, you in there? I want to show you this great new rock I found for my collection- Oh..."

Brainy stood in the middle of the room blinking through his glasses at the damp, blackened mess of ink and paper that littered his desk. More ink was splattered on his white hat and pants.

Clumsy stared.

"Um, gosh, Brainy, what happened to you?"

Brainy didn't answer. He just shook his head, his arms trembling above his fisted hands.

"Uh, Brainy?" Clumsy asked, moving a little closer. "Brainy, are you OK?"

Brainy didn't look at his friend. He just walked past him, out the door and to the left.

"Brainy? Uh, Brainy, where are you goin'? Brainy, what should I say if somesmurf comes lookin' for you?"

But, Brainy kept walking, out of the village and into the shade of the trees beyond.

Clumsy looked down at his rock, then back to his friend. Gently, he set the rock on the ground - then immediately tripped over it. Gathering himself up, Clumsy brushed the dirt from his knees and galloped after his friend.

He didn't know what was going on, but it was clear Brainy was very upset. And, Clumsy was going to be there for him, whether the spectacled Smurf wanted him around or not.

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part IV

Clumsy found Brainy sitting on a rock by the River Smurf, tossing pebbles into the water with all his might. Even from a distance, Clumsy could tell his friend was still in a very bad mood. In fact, now that he came to think about it, he didn't think he'd ever seen Brainy in such a terrible mood.

Taking a deep breath, Clumsy moved out from the shelter of the trees and walked to the river's sunny edge.

"Um, uh, hi Brainy," he said.

Brainy tossed another pebble into the water.

"Gosh, Brainy, you don't have'ta be mad at me," said Clumsy.

No response.

Clumsy offered the brooding Smurf a friendly smile

"Come on, Brainy," he coaxed. "You can't mope out here in the forest all day just 'cause you got some ink spilled on you. Uh, can you?"

Brainy crossed his arms, staring into space as if his friend wasn't there.

Clumsy frowned a little, but he was far from ready to give up. Trying a different tack, he said, "Uh, Greedy told me he's makin' his smurfy Swamproot Stew for lunch. Maybe if you had a bowl of that…?"

He shrugged hopefully.

Brainy didn't move.

Taking that as an invitation, the concerned Smurf climbed up onto the rock and slouched down into a comfortable slump beside him.

Brainy shot his friend an annoyed glance and scooted to the left.

Clumsy followed.

Brainy groaned and rolled his eyes, finally accepting that Clumsy wasn't going to go away.

At least, not without some prodding.

"Clumsy," he said impatiently, "I want you to listen to my words very carefully. I wouldn't be interested in Swamproot Stew even if it was Smurfberry Cream Pie. I am deep in thought and I don't want to be bothered. In other words: GO AWAY!"

Clumsy's eyes widened.

"Uh, gosh. So, uh, what are ya thinkin' about, Brainy?"

Brainy threw up his hands and jumped off the rock.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Clumsy called after him, sliding off the rock in his awkward fashion. "Where are ya goin', Brainy? Can I come?"

Brainy stopped in his tracks and spun around.

"You just can't take a hint, can you! How hopelessly thick-headed do you have to be to miss this simple, straightforward point? 'Go Away' is not an invitation to tag along. In fact, it means the very opposite. It means I don't want to see you. I don't want to hear you. I don't want to be within five hundred feet of you! I need to be alone. So, no! You can't come with me!"

Clumsy knew his friend better than to be offended by this brush-off. In fact, his friend's outburst actually made him feel a little better.

He'd seen Brainy like this many times before, usually just after he'd been kicked out of the village for his pompous pontification, or when the other Smurfs had been particularly harsh in their refusals to read his latest book. Since his books were usually dull journals filled with annoying advice on how the Smurfs should be doing their jobs or accounts of the Smurfs' adventures revised to make Brainy look like a hero, Clumsy could understand why none of the other Smurfs were interested in Brainy's writings.

But, Clumsy loved listening to Brainy's stories and often thought Brainy's advice might be useful if he ever took up gardening or architecture, cooking or tailoring instead of rock collecting.

Brainy knew Clumsy's interest was genuine, and over the years Clumsy had found he could usually snap Brainy out of his foulest moods by asking him to read to him out of his latest book.

He decided to try that approach now.

"Um, gosh, Brainy," he said, jogging to keep up with his fleeing friend. "Uh, I was thinkin'—"

"Really?" Brainy spoke with harsh sarcasm, neither turning nor slowing down his rapid march through the underbrush. "Amazing. This is a day that will smurf down in history! Clumsy Smurf has actually smurfed a thought!"

"Uh, yep!" Clumsy smiled, completely unoffended. "And, that thought is that I would really love to smurf one of your books, Brainy. Really, really. How about that new one, the one you were workin' on with Papa Smurf? Could you read me that?"

As he had expected, Brainy stopped short.

Clumsy tripped on a stick and bumped into him with a giggle.

But, his giggling faded when Brainy didn't move. He didn't scowl at him or even turn around.

He just stood there, stiff, staring blankly at the forest through his thick, round glasses.

Clumsy's worry for his friend surged up again, and he swallowed.

"Uh, Brainy?"

Brainy's shoulders tightened and he clenched his fists.

"Brainy?"

Brainy turned on him, his eyes brimming with furious tears.

Clumsy was shocked. Brainy seemed so hurt, so angry. He tried to stammer an apology, but Brainy was already talking over him.

"You too, Clumsy?" the spectacled Smurf croaked. "I thought you were my best friend!"

The tears that had been welling up in his bright eyes now began to spill down his cheeks. Brainy turned his head quickly and raced off the path, deep into the thick of the forest.

"Brainy—!"

Clumsy reached an arm out after him.

"Leave me alone!" Brainy cried. "Just go back to your real friends, Clumsy. Tell Smurfette and Hefty I never want to see any of you again!"

Clumsy blinked, positively stunned.

"But… But, Brainy!" he shouted in the direction his friend had gone. "Brainy, what happened!"

But, he was too late. Brainy was already out of sight.

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part V

The Smurf Village was bustling when Clumsy got back. Smurfs were running right and left between the houses and through the clearing urgently calling out the Smurflings' names.

Clumsy stared, disoriented by all the confusion, until he was spotted by Smurfette, Hefty, and Handy.

"Clumsy!" Smurfette exclaimed. "Oh, thank smurfness!"

"Uh, gee, Smurfette," Clumsy said, still starting wide-eyed at the frantic Smurfs all around them. "What's goin' on here?"

"Oh, Clumsy, it's terrible!" Smurfette said. "The Smurflings - we can't find them anywhere!"

"We've been looking for nearly half an hour," Handy told him. "See, the Smurflings told me they were going hiking with Smurfette and Hefty—"

"But we never promised them anything like that," Smurfette asserted, sounding as if she was continuing an old argument. "They told me they were spending the day with Farmer, helping in the fields!"

Handy nodded.

"Yep. But, when I went to ask Farmer if he could spare them for a few hours, he told me they'd already asked to spend the day with me at the dam!"

"Of course they weren't there," Hefty growled. "And, when we went to tell Brainy, we found his house is a mess, and he's gone too. It's almost as if he's been…smurfnapped!"

"Oh, oh, what could have happened to them?" Smurfette sobbed. "I don't think I've ever been so worried! Clumsy, do you have any ideas where they could have gone?"

"Well, uh, no," Clumsy said. "I don't know where they are now. But, I can tell you where Brainy used to be."

Handy squinted at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I just left Brainy," he told them. "Or, uh, actually, he sorta left me. See, I'd come over to Brainy's house to show him this great new rock I found for my collection. But, when I got there, he wouldn't even talk to me. He was too mad about all that ink spillin'."

"So, he wasn't smurfnapped!" Hefty said. "That's something, at least. Where'd you leave him, Clumsy?"

"Over by the River Smurf," Clumsy said helpfully. "He's just covered with ink. Er, but he won't want to talk to you, Hefty. Or even you, Smurfette."

"Why not?" Smurfette asked. "We didn't do anything to him."

"Uh, yup, but that's what he said," Clumsy told her. "Just before he ran away from me, he said: 'go back to your real friends, Clumsy. Tell Smurfette and Hefty I never want to see any of you again!'"

"Humph!" Smurfette straightened. "How very unsmurfy! But, why would Brainy be mad at us?"

Handy's eyes widened.

"Wait a minute," he said. "I think I'm starting to understand. And, if I'm right…"

The normally good-natured Smurf looked uncharacteristically angry.

Hefty frowned, not following.

"If you're right about what?" he demanded. "Smurf it out, already!"

Handy shook his head.

"Not yet. Let's go back to Brainy's house. I'll smurf you my idea there."

*******

Brainy's house was in the same chaotic state Clumsy remembered. The door was open and once neat stacks of ink-stained books and papers were scattered everywhere. Black ink spattered the desk and overturned chair and covered the floor beneath in slowly drying pools.

Handy didn't go over to the writing desk, though. He headed straight for Brainy's washbowl and pitcher.

"Just as I suspected," he said, poking the rumpled hand towel and the few water stained spots where the wood of the table was still wet.

"What is?" Smurfette asked as Handy stuck his head out the window, peering down at the ground below.

"Um hm," he said, pulling his head back in. He frowned and crossed his arms. "That's got to be it."

"What's got to be it?" Hefty demanded. "Will you just tell us already?"

"Brainy's towel," Handy said. "And the table around the wash basin. They're both wet."

"So?"

"And the dirt under Brainy's window," Handy continued. "It's all scuffed up. Almost as if four sneaky little Smurflings had been hiding out down there…waiting for Brainy to take off his glasses."

Hefty's eyes widened as Handy's words clicked.

"Why those little—! They planned this!" the muscular Smurf exclaimed. "They must have smurfed in here while Brainy was washing up after breakfast!"

"Oh, no!" Smurfette looked horrified. "Oh, surely you don't think the Smurflings smurfed all this! Of all the unsmurfy things to do! And look at all these ruined papers!"

She gingerly peeled a damp page off the floor.

"Why, these must be the pages of Brainy's new book!"

"That's it, then," Handy said. "I think those Smurflings went on that nature hike, but they went alone. They tricked Brainy and lied to all of us so they could smurf away behind our backs. We're going to have to smurf a search party."

Hefty gaped.

"And search the whole forest? Are you off your smurf?"

"Well, what else can we do?" Handy asked. "With Papa Smurf gone and Brainy off sulking somewhere, it's up to the rest of us to find the Smurflings before something terrible happens to them."

"Smurf them right if it did," Hefty grumbled.

"Oh, now, Hefty, that's no way to talk," Smurfette scolded. "I think Handy's right. Let's go smurf the others right away!"

Clumsy tilted his head.

"Um, but…" he started, then tried again. "But, uh, I don't get it. Why would the Smurflings want wreck Brainy's book?"

"Oh, I doubt they did it on purpose, Clumsy," Smurfette said.

"Yeah, they can be sneaky little scamps at times, but I've never known them to be malicious," Handy agreed. "This was probably an accident."

"Accident or not, what matters is the Smurflings lied to us and now they and Brainy are missing," Hefty snapped. "They can't get away with this. We have to find those kids, and now."

"Uh, and what do we do with them when we find them?" Clumsy asked.

Hefty scowled.

"We'll leave that to Papa Smurf when he gets back," he said. "Come on."

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part VI

"This is it, Azrael! Father Time's cave. Ooh...!" Gargamel shivered, shielding his eyes from the wind and sand that swirled around and past the cave's wooden door. "It certainly is chilly."

Azrael glared at him, his back arched and his fur puffed out in nervous agitation. There was something very strange about this cave. It felt…unnatural. Azrael shuddered and huddled behind his wizard's shoes.

Gargamel also seemed a little unnerved. He looked down at his cat.

"All right, Azrael, you know what to do," he said, shaking open the old burlap sack he'd been carrying over his shoulder, then scrunching it up like a knee sock. "When Father Time opens the door, you act as if you've been hurt. The old fossil will surely come out to help. That's when I'll pull this sack down over his head. Once he's tied up, he won't be able to stop us from collecting that magic sand for our Time Locket!"

"Mreah," Azreal said and tensed, ready for action.

Gargamel made a fist and gave the door a light tap. There was no sound from inside. He and Azrael shared a look, then Gargamel knocked harder.

Nothing.

"I don't think he's in, Azrael," the failed wizard said at last. "Shall we…?"

He gestured to the door.

Azrael backed away a few steps, deeply unnerved. But, seeing his cat's fear seemed to turn on Gargamel's stubborn switch. After some grumbling about good-for-nothing 'fraidy cats, he reached out a hand and tried the latch.

The heavy door swung open onto darkness.

Gargamel stepped in…and disappeared.

"Mrah!" Azrael cried.

The wind was picking up now, pulling and swirling all around him. Terrified, Azrael dashed through the doorway after his wizard—

Only to find himself in a warmly lit room crammed from floor to ceiling with clocks. A tall grandfather clock tocked against the wall while at least two dozen smaller clocks ticked away on a low wooden table. The dirt floor had been recently and conscientiously swept, and everything was neat, tidy, dusted, polished and in its rightful place.

Gargamel stood hunched over the table, working to pry the flat wooden top off a large hourglass.

"Yipe!" he cried as Azrael streaked past him.

The top of the hourglass popped off and flew across the room.

Gargamel gasped and fumbled the glass, catching it only just in time to keep the sparkling sand inside from spilling all over the floor.

"Useless fool of a cat!" he cried. "Watch where you're going!"

"Mrah!" Azrael snapped back, just relieved to be out of that creepy wind. He jumped up onto the table to watch what Gargamel was doing.

"We won't need much, Azrael," he said, sticking his fingers into the glass. "Just a pinch or two should be enough for our purposes. Although…"

He looked to his cat, his beady eyes gleaming.

"Consider this, Azrael. Why should I settle for a few mere grains of magic sand when I can possess the hourglass itself?" he asked. "Where's the lid to this thing...?"

Pressing the wooden cap back onto the dowels that held it in place, Gargamel tossed Father Time's hourglass into his sack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Well, Azrael, I'd say this was a successful trip. Time to go hom— Wait!"

Gargamel rushed across the room and pressed his back against the wall, just out of sight of the open door.

"Did you hear that, Azrael?" he whispered as his curious cat wove his way between his legs. "I thought I heard…"

He paused for a moment, a hand cupped to his ear. His greedy eyes brightened and he smiled.

"Yes! It's Smurfs, Azrael! I'd know those putrid little voices anywhere!"

Azrael tilted his head and pricked his ears, straining to pick up any sound.

Sure enough, the high-pitched tones of a Smurfling argument came through loud and clear.

The hungry cat smiled and flexed his claws, ready to pounce the instant the Smurflings crossed the threshold...

*******

Brainy's emotions were spinning all around and through his head. He'd been stomping through the forest for at least an hour, not really caring where he was going, and it hadn't helped calm him one bit. His arms were still shaking, and the ache in his chest was even worse now that the guilt from losing his temper and yelling at Clumsy had been dumped into the mix.

Brainy had never felt so hurt before, and he didn't know how to deal with it. Just the idea that Smurfette and Hefty would be so cruel as to take advantage of him like that… Not to mention the destruction of his book! All the time he'd put in, all the anticipation of finally getting to share something he'd planned out and researched and created just for them…

He'd been so proud of that work. And now it was all just…just…

He couldn't think. Tears kept leaking from his eyes, no matter how many times he wiped them away they just kept falling.

He wished he were small enough to curl up on Papa Smurf's lap and just fall asleep...but at the same time he didn't want Papa Smurf at all. He didn't want to have to run to him to fix his problems, he wanted to handle this hurt himself, like a real grown up Smurf.

But what could he do?

"I don't know what to do!" he yelled at the trees, the rocks, the cliff side above. "And I don't know how to go back," he added, more quietly. "I meant what I said to Clumsy. I don't think I could look at anysmurf right now…or ever again even! I'm just so…so angry! Does that mean I'm a terrible Smurf?"

Brainy sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. His hands came away wet and stained with ink. He growled and wiped them on his ink-smeared pants.

"Maybe I am a terrible Smurf," he moped. "Hefty and Smurfette wouldn't have pulled a prank like this on a Smurf they respected. Nosmurf would. That's probably why the other Smurfs always ignore me and make fun of me and kick me out of the Village. I—I'm just not smurfy enough. Nosmurf respects me, or even likes me. I'm a joke."

He sniffed again, still angry but now at himself.

"This is the proof. This, right here, what I'm smurfing now. Running away, abandoning my responsibilities at the Village."

He shook his head in disgust.

"They're all better than me. If one of Handy's inventions breaks down, he doesn't smurf about it. He fixes the problem. If Smurfette's flowers get broken or crushed or dry out in the sun, sure she's upset, but she plants new ones right away. The others don't smurf away when things get tough. They don't yell at their best friends. No, that's me. Ooohhh!" he groaned. "Oh, Papa Smurf, I'm glad you're not here to witness this moment! Never in the long history of Smurf has there ever lived a Smurf so petty and immature as I, Brainy Smurf! I'm not fit to bear the Smurf name!"

Sulking and slump-shouldered, the spectacled Smurf climbed up onto a rock and stood looking over the ridge and the cliffs above. After a long, silent time of blank staring, his puffy eyes began to focus and he gradually realized where he was.

"Wow," he said, "I smurfed farther than I thought. Isn't Father Time's cave somewhere in these cliffs?"

He sighed.

"Now that's a power worth having. Knowledge and control over Time. Hmm!" he exclaimed, and straightened. "Since I can't go back to the Village, I wonder if— Whoop, what's that!"

Brainy dove behind his rock just in time to miss being seen by the four Smurflings as they walked into the rocky clearing, their attention fully focused on Snappy's map. Brainy watched them until they'd turned the bend that led to the cliff face. Then he climbed back over the rock to the path.

"I wonder what those four are up to. And with Papa Smurf's map! Papa Smurf will be out with Grandpa until well after dark, so they can't have smurfed his permission," Brainy said, and frowned.

"Well, now I guess I'll have to go back. But, when I go, I'll be smurfing those sneaky map-smurfing Smurflings along with me!"

*******

"Looks like we're just about there," Snappy said, looking up at the dark, intimidating opening to Father Time's cave. He held up the wrinkled map and squinted. "At least, I think we are."

"Let me see that map, Snappy," Sassette said, poking her head over his shoulder. "Wallowing walruses—of course this is it! See, look! There's a little sundial carved into the ground here, right into the threshold of the cave, just like the map says!"

"Why is it so dark in there?" Slouchy asked, rubbing the goosebumps the eerily whistling wind had caused to rise on his arms. "Do you think he's home?"

"I don't know," Nat said. "But we've come this far. Shouldn't we at least give it a shot?"

"Oh no you don't!"

The Smurflings turned in alarm.

"Brainy!"

Brainy stepped forward, his arms crossed, his glasses gleaming, and his white clothes splotched with black ink.

"I don't know what you Smurflings are up to, but there's no way you're smurfing in that cave, or anywhere else. You four Smurflings are smurfing back to the Village with me. Right now!"

The Smurflings were still too stunned by his presence to react to his words. They backed themselves into a cluster and started whispering.

"It's Brainy!"

"How did he get here?"

"How should I know, you hickory nut! He must have tracked us from the Village!"

"But how could he track us? We took his glasses!"

"Well, obviously he found them again."

Brainy hesitated, his self-righteous attitude fading as he fell once again into a swirl of painful and conflicting emotions.

"Wait— You? You took my glasses? But I thought—"

"Now, Azrael!"

"Brainy, behind you!" Nat cried.

Brainy turned, only to find the cave entrance was now blocked by two all-too-familiar faces.

"Gargamel!" he shrieked. "Run for the trees!"

"Run all you like! You're not getting away!" Gargamel growled, digging into his sack. "Not this time!"

Brandishing Father Time's hourglass, he shouted, "I order you Smurfs to freeze!"

Nothing happened, but the racing Smurfs had almost reached the forest edge; Azrael close on their heels.

"Blast!" Gargamel grunted. "How does this fool thing work? Maybe if I…"

He pried the top off the glass and stuck his fingers into the sparkling sand. As he did, the howling wind picked up, swirling around him in ever-tightening whirls. Within moments, four tiny tornadoes had formed by the failed wizard's patched heels. As he watched in alarm, the four tornadoes became three, then two, then one mini storm of dust and rocks and wind, pelting and enveloping both him and the open hourglass.

"Nooo!" Gargamel cried. "No, my sand!"

As the wizard watched, helpless, the tunnel of wind pulled the magic sand into the air. There was a blinding flash, so bright and so powerful it stopped the Smurfs and Azrael in their tracks. The flash was immediately followed by a fierce BANG! Trees quaked, birds screamed, the cliffs rumbled...

And then, there was only silence.

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Part VII

Papa Smurf dropped another handful of ripe glowberries into his rucksack and glanced over at Grandpa. The independent old Smurf lay stretched out on the grass with his hands tucked under his head, chewing on an oat straw and staring up at the clouds.

"Smurfing a break?" Papa Smurf asked, walking over to join him.

"Nah, I'm done," Grandpa Smurf said, patting the bulging rucksack he'd propped against the tree beside him. "Sack's full to burstin'."

"What, already?"

"Sure." Grandpa sat up to face the younger Smurf. "You youngins always have to do things the hard way, checkin' berry after berry, bush after bush. Me, I watch the birds. It's an old trick. If you want to find the ripest berries, smurf the birds, and they'll smurf you straight to the best bushes!"

Papa Smurf frowned at his own rucksack.

"Well, you could have said something sooner," he said.

"Why?" Grandpa asked, stretching his arms out behind him as he lay back down in the cool grass. "I know you responsible types. Sooner you finished, the sooner you'd want to smurf back. An' I'd miss out on a lazy afternoon in the sun."

Papa Smurf shot him a look, but then he smiled and leaned his back against the rough bark of the tree, looking out over the cliff side to the leafy treetops spread out below. He could see practically the whole forest from up there, from the barren hills to the lush meadows to the curving path the River Smurf cut through the trees.

"This is a smurfy spot, isn't it," he said. "I wouldn't object to a few lazy hours just—"

A bright flash burst out from the forest's edge, followed closely by a deafening BANG!

Papa Smurf stopped in mid thought and jumped to his feet.

"Grandpa! Did you see—"

"Yes, I saw it, Papa," the old Smurf said, standing beside him. "That wasn't any natural flash. There was some powerful magic behind it."

"It came from the direction of Father Time's cave," Papa Smurf said, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder. "He might be in trouble."

"An' you think we can help? A couple o' tiny Smurfs like us?"

"Father Time is an old friend," Papa Smurf said. "If there is something wrong, even if there's nothing we can do for him ourselves, we can at least alert someone who can help. Let's go!"

"I knew it would come to this," Grandpa griped as he hefted his own sack. "That's the trouble travelin' around with you responsible types – you've always gotta 'get involved,' even if it ain't no Smurf's business. But you're right, Papa. If the old man is in trouble, we've got to lend what aid we can."

*******

Hefty, Smurfette, Handy and Clumsy were hiking along the bank of the River Smurf, calling out Brainy's name and the names of the Smurflings, when they were nearly blinded by a strange, white flash. Barely an instant later, there came a deep, resounding BANG!

"Oooh, oww! My ears!" Smurfette exclaimed. "What was that?"

"Whatever it was, it was pretty close," Handy said, blinking the spots from his eyes.

"Uh, do you think it could have been Brainy?" Clumsy asked nervously.

Hefty worked his jaw, trying to rub the ringing from his ears with the palms of his hands.

"I don't know what it was," he growled. "But I think we should smurf it out. A loud bang like that, someone might be in trouble!"

The four Smurfs ran along the river, past tree after tree, until they reached the rocky edge of the forest. Hefty brought a finger to his lips and led the group behind a large, lichen-crusted boulder. From there, the Smurfs could peer out at the sandy clearing beyond without being seen.

"Um, there's no one there," Clumsy said, and climbed up onto the top of the boulder before the others could stop him. "Oh no, wait, yes there is! And look—they're Smurfs! I didn't see 'em before 'cause they're all asleep."

"Asleep?" Hefty said, walking around the boulder to get a better look. "Hey, Clumsy's right. There are Smurfs out there. Five of them."

"But, who are they?" Smurfette asked. "I don't recognize any of them. And just smurf at their clothes! Those strange shoes, and those peculiar cloaks and neckties... Why, they hardly look like Smurfs at all dressed like that! "

"And who's that back there?" Handy asked, pointing out past the edge of the trees where another unconscious form lay sprawled in the sand. "That's no Smurf. In fact, I'd say it looks like—"

"Gargamel!" Smurfette gasped.

"Oooooowwwww…"

One of the unfamiliar Smurfs nearest the forest started to stir.

Acting on instinct, Clumsy, Smurfette, Handy, and Hefty dove back behind the boulder.

"Oh, my aching head. What— Where am I?"

The strange Smurf sat up and looked around, adjusting his thin spectacles on his nose. He looked middle-aged, his trim red beard just beginning to silver. He, like the others, was dressed strangely, in a style the Smurfs had never seen before.

As he climbed to his feet, the four other Smurfs began to wake up, moaning and holding their heads.

"Ow," one of the younger Smurfs groaned, his battered brown hat slipping over his eyes. Catching sight of the bearded Smurf, he got up and began barraging him with questions.

"Professor!" he exclaimed, his posture slightly slouched. "What are you doing here? Where are we? What happened?"

"I don't know," the older Smurf said, rubbing a sore spot on his hip. "But wherever we are, I'm pretty sure some Smurfs have been here recently. See all the tracks in the sand? And there's that smell…" He sniffed the air. "Sharp and electric, like lightning. I wouldn't be surprised if there was magic behind this."

Another of the Smurfs, a Smurfette with a long red braid, spoke up.

"If it was magic that brought us here, we might find some answers over there." She pointed toward the unconscious Gargamel. "I'll wager that human has something to do with how we got here."

"Possible," the spectacled professor said. "Strange that he would be unconscious too, though..."

He frowned thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the stranger.

"All right, let's go ask him. Do you all have your Guises with you?"

"Guises?" Handy mouthed to the other hidden Smurfs, crouching behind the boulder. They shrugged and turned back to the strange Smurfs in time to see them push up the arms of their cloaks, revealing the colored bands they each wore around their wrists.

"Yeah," the Smurfette said. "They look OK."

"But will they work?" the slouching Smurf asked.

"Let's find out," said the clean-cut Smurf beside him. Although he looked neater and stood straighter than his friend, there was a distinct hint of mischief in his expression that made the hidden Smurfs a little uneasy.

"What do you think they're up to?" Hefty asked, only to be cut off when Handy said:

"Shh! Look!"

As the four hidden Smurfs watched in slack-jawed amazement, the strangers began to change, growing and morphing until each had changed their form completely. Soon, five oddly dressed humans stood in place of the five oddly dressed Smurfs—humans who still wore those colored wrist bands.

Satisfied the colored bands had done their job, the disguised group strode over to the unconscious man.

"Wait, Professor," one of the disguised Smurfs said. He appeared to be a tall man with light blond hair. "Is it just me, or does this man look kind of familiar?"

The red-haired woman approached the wizard, but when she bent down to see his face, she gasped.

"No. No, I don't believe it! Is that Gargamel?" she exclaimed.

The professor frowned.

"Gargamel?" he said. "But, if he's here…"

The bearded man charged toward the unconscious wizard and crouched by his side.

"Something isn't right. Look at his clothes! If we've gone back in time, he should be wearing those black rags of his. But look here—does this suit look Victorian to you?"

The slouching man with the battered brown hat and a mop of shaggy brown hair peered down at the unconscious wizard.

"Yeah. Pretty well-off Victorian too," he said in his slow, deep voice. "He's even got a gold pocket watch."

The blond man shook his head.

"I don't get it," he said. "Why are we here? I mean, why us five in particular? And what is this monster from our childhood doing dressed up like a 19th century gentleman? Where exactly are we, anyway?"

The fourth man poked his head out of the nearby cave entrance. His hair was short, brown, and spiky, and he had a clipped, snappy way of speaking.

"Hey, guys, come look at this!" he called. "I think we landed next to Father Time's cave. But, there's no sign of Father Time!"

The hidden Smurfs shared a surprised look. These five strangers knew Gargamel and Father Time! But, just who in Smurfdom were they?

The professor ran a thoughtful hand over his beard.

"Right," he said, "it's time for some answers. Gargamel! Gargamel, wake up!"

The well-dressed wizard mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over.

The professor knelt down and shook him.

"Gargamel!" he insisted.

The wizard woke with a snort and sat up.

"What—who-! Get off me!" he exclaimed. "Just who do you think you are, waking a man up at this time of ni—ni—night?"

Gargamel's angry tirade faded into a nervous squeak as he gradually noticed where he was.

"This isn't my bedroom! This isn't my house! Where am I?"

"What did you do, Gargamel?" the professor demanded. "Tell me what's going on."

"How should I know?" the balding wizard snapped. "You're the ones who dragged me here!"

"Us?" said the slouching man with the messy hair. "We had nothing to do with this! We woke up here too!"

Gargamel seemed to deflate a little at that.

"Then...what—?"

"Uh, guys," the spiky-haired man called from the cave. "You really should get in here. There's a clock in here that's started glowing."

The professor and his friends gave Gargamel a withering glare, then turned and walked into the cave. After a moment, Gargamel followed them.

The hidden Smurfs shared a look.

"Should we go too?" Handy asked.

"I'll go," Hefty volunteered. "You Smurfs stay here and keep a look out."

"But—" Smurfette started, then nodded. "All right. But be careful, Hefty."

"I will," the muscular Smurf said, and dashed as quickly as he could from the boulder to the cave.

*******

Inside, Father Time's largest grandfather clock flashed and flickered with a strange, golden light. The six tall humans were so busy watching it, none of them noticed little Hefty climb up onto the table and inch his way behind one of Father Time's many, many clocks.

A loud crackle crinkled the air, and the light around the grandfather clock began to swirl and coalesce until it had taken the vague, blurry form of a thin, balding old man with a long, white beard. He seemed pale and exhausted, but his eyes were bright with concentration.

"Smurfs…"

The old man's voice sounded incredibly distant. Even Hefty had to strain to hear.

"It's Father Time!" the professor exclaimed. "Father Time, can you hear me? Where are you?"

"Smurfs, help me…" the old man said. "I'm being… as a prisoner… Gargamel… apparently he has…"

His voice faded out but his image remained, his mouth moving like he was still speaking.

"What was that?" the professor asked. "Father Time, we can't hear you!"

"….the Sand of Probability," they heard him say as the sound returned. "He must have mistaken that hourglass for the one I carry with me, the one in which the Sand of Time is kept. The sand he stole has the power of wish fulfillment. It can take the bearer to a probable future—to the life he wishes he had. If you can hear this message, Smurfs, please, you must set me free. Unless I can repair the damage he's done…"

The image in the mirror blurred, faded, and disappeared.

All eyes turned to Gargamel.

The stooped little man cringed and backed toward the wall.

"Don't look at me!" he cried. "I'm innocent! Why, I don't even know who that man is! Let alone any of you!"

The professor sighed and thoughtfully stroked his beard.

"The Sand of Probability," he mused. "Wish fulfillment… That could just explain it. If we were swapped in time with our former selves…"

The man with the spiky hair frowned.

"Swapped in— Wait," he said. "Does that mean there could be some little kid version of me wandering around the university right now? Because, if we've been transported back to Gargamel's time, we'd all be Smurflings! Well, except for you, Brainy." He nodded to the professor. "You were older."

The professor smiled.

"Not that much older," he said.

Hefty nearly fell off the table.

"Brainy? Oops!"

The muscular Smurf slapped a hand over his mouth - but too late.

"What was that?" the red-haired woman asked, glancing at the table.

Hefty held his breath, keeping as still as he could.

"Sounds like somesmurf's hiding in here," the blond man said. "Somesmurf who knows Brainy."

"Well, he's not likely to come out as long as we look like this," the professor said. "Slouchy, Snappy, you watch Gargamel while I drop this Guise for our friend."

The messy-haired man and the spiky-haired man nodded and each took firm hold of one of Gargamel's arms.

"Hey," the wizard protested. "Watch the suit!"

"Why should we?" Snappy snapped back. "If what Father Time said is true, it sounds like this whole mess is your fault! And if we find out you're the one holding Father Time prisoner—"

"It isn't me, I swear it!" the little man said. "It must be my alternate, the…the Gargamel who stole that sand and swapped us all! I'm as much a victim here as you! Honest! Please, what reason would I have to lie?"

"What reason wouldn't you have?" Snappy retorted.

The professor held up his hands.

"All right, Smurfs, that's enough. We can question Gargamel later. For now I suggest—"

Gargamel elbowed Snappy in the stomach and burst out of his captors' grip.

Nat and Sassette grabbed at his expensive coat, but he wriggled free and dashed for the door.

"Stop him!" Snappy gasped, rubbing his bruised stomach. "He's getting away!"

"Correction," said Slouchy, leaning out the cave entrance. "He got away. Oh, and hey, what's this!"

The slouching man in the battered hat crouched down and smiled kindly at something outside the cave. The others gathered around him as he said, "Hey, there. You Smurfs don't have to hide from us. Who's back there anyway?"

The bearded man gasped, then grinned as two small, blue heads peaked out from behind a rock.

"Papa Smurf! Grandpa!" he exclaimed happily. "We really have smurfed back in time!"

"Hey, you leave them alone!" came another small voice.

The group looked up to see Smurfette, Handy, and Clumsy running toward them from the direction of the forest, even as Hefty strode out of the cave behind them, leaving the five strangers surrounded.

"Yeah," Hefty said gruffly. "Just who are you people? There's no way I'll believe that you," he glared up at the bearded man, "are really Brainy Smurf."

"What?" the other Smurfs gasped.

The five strangers shared a long look.

"Why don't you Smurfs come inside and sit down," the professor said. "This could be a long story."

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Part VIII

Eleven Smurfs sat around an overturned clock on Father Time's cluttered table, six clustered together on one side, five on the other. They had been talking for several minutes and the shadows were starting to grow long outside the cave.

"So, you really expect us to believe that you five Smurfs are from more than three hundred fifty years in the future?"

Hefty crossed his arms and glared at the bearded blue impostor pretending to be Brainy Smurf.

"That would make you almost the same age as Papa Smurf!"

"Well..." the spectacled Smurf said, shooting a quick glance at his mentor. "Not quite. Look, I can't force you to believe me. But, it is true. We are the Smurfs we claim to be. Nat, Slouchy, Snappy, Sassette and I all grew up in Smurf Village. But, as the years went on and human civilization progressed, we Smurfs found that the only way to keep our community and our Village intact was to adapt to the times."

"So, you made these…what did you call them? Guises?" Papa Smurf said with a frown, staring warily at the colorful bands on the strangers' wrists.

"To help us blend in," Sassette said. "And still keep our Village a secret."

"But, why humans?" Grandpa demanded. "Great Smurfs, if you youngin's had to disguise yourselves at all, why couldn't you have chosen somethin' a little more smurfy? Like squirrels or…or chipmunks even? Takin' human form's just askin' for trouble. Not that I have anything against 'em, mind. Some of my best friends have been humans. But you can take it from an old Smurf: no matter how careful you are about it, livin' in the human world you're bound to pick up bad human habits. And that's not what we Smurfs are about."

"It was a risk," Slouchy said grumpily. "And it hasn't been easy. But we didn't have much choice. Our forest was sold off to developers. For a while, it looked like we'd have to abandon our homes and scatter, just to stay alive. But then, Brainy and Handy had an idea."

"And what idea was that?" asked Smurfette with a glance to Handy, who seemed a little uncomfortable.

"They decided to buy the land back," Nat said. "See, the humans who 'owned' it didn't value the land itself, only the money they thought it could bring them. So, the whole Village began to work together to earn money we could trade in return for our forest."

"And when that took too long, we even called on a few friendly kings for help," Snappy added. "Back then there were a lot of human wars going on around this area. The old-style kingdoms were becoming constitutional monarchies and kings were losing a lot of their power to elected parliaments and things. But our friends did what they could for us and in the end the forest and all the land around it, from these hills all the way to the River Smurf, was legally ours. But to make sure no one ever challenged our claim, or found out that it was really us Smurfs who 'owned' the land, King Theodore III suggested we build something here. Something that would benefit us Smurfs and the humans from the nearby city too."

"So, ol' Theo gave us a charter and enough money to fill a barn and we began work on our university," Sassette said. "We wanted it to be a place where humans could learn to value the forest just for being a forest. And now, it's become one of the top-ranked universities in Belgium!"

"Belgium?" Clumsy asked. "Uh, what's that?"

"It's here, where we are," Snappy told him. "At least it's what the humans will call this place in about two hundred years or so. I think it got its official independence in 1839. What was that, Slouch, the Treaty of London?"

Slouchy shrugged, hiding a yawn behind his hand.

"How should I know? History's your thing. I teach music."

Grandpa grunted.

"Human history. Human politics. Human money. And now you young whippersmurfers are smurfin' around disguised as humans." He shook his head. "Some future. Sounds to me like with all your human finagling, you've all lost sight of what it is to be a Smurf!"

"I don't see it that way," the Professor retorted, repositioning his glasses on his nose. "You spoke of humanity's bad habits. Some of the worst of these are greed, violence, exploitation. Through our university, we can address those problems directly and help our human students learn to overcome them. This has not made us human, Grandpa. Quite the contrary, we have been teaching them to be more like Smurfs."

"Here here!"

Sassette, Slouchy, Snappy, Nat, and Clumsy broke into a round of applause.

Brainy sat back and smugly stroked his beard.

Grandpa crossed his arms and grunted.

"Humph."

"Uh, Br- That is, Professor," said Papa Smurf, still struggling to equate this bearded Smurf with the Brainy he knew.

"Yes, Papa Smurf?"

"May I see your Guise?"

The temporally displaced Smurfs shared a leery glance, then shrugged.

"Well, I don't think there'd be any harm in that," the Professor said. "After all, the technology needed to make these things won't be available for several hundred years. Here."

He undid the buckle and reached across the clockface so Papa Smurf could take it.

A gasp rang out from the gathered Smurfs.

"What? What is it?" Papa Smurf asked, clutching the Guise in his hand.

"Papa Smurf! You look just like the Professor!" Handy exclaimed. "Wow, glasses and all! And you, Professor! You look just like—just like—"

"Just like Brainy…" Hefty gasped, his eyes as round as two robin eggs.

"Huh?" The Professor raised his hands to his suddenly smooth face, touching his chin and his thick black glasses. "Hey, what's happened to my beard? And what's this on my clothes? Black ink?"

"Of course!" said Handy. "Papa Smurf, put down that Guise."

Papa Smurf put the little band on the clock in front of him and was instantly back to normal.

Handy poked it a few times with his finger, causing his image to flicker from the Professor to Handy, the Professor to Handy, until Sassette started to giggle. It was a nervous giggle, more frightened than amused.

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh, babbling beavers I don't believe it."

Quickly, she undid the buckle of her own Guise and placed it on the table. As soon as the colorful band left her hand, the air around her shimmered. Instead of an attractive Smurfette with a sensible braid, the group saw a tiny Smurfling with red pigtails and pink overalls.

"Don't you see?" the little Smurfling piped. "Our Guises must have reset to default when we were transported here! All this time, they've been disguising us to look and sound like ourselves when, really, we've looked like this!"

"No way," Slouchy said, unbuckling his own Guise. Instantly, the messy-haired musician in the futuristic-looking clothing was replaced by a slouching Smurfling in a red shirt and a floppy white cap.

Snappy groaned and held the wrist with the Guise on it to his chest.

"Oh no, not again!" he said. "I don't want to have to grow up a third time! Two childhoods was more than enough for this Smurf."

"I agree," said Nat, taking off his own Guise. "But, I guess this answers our question about our counterparts in the future," his little Smurfling-voice peeped from under his large straw hat. "If we look like our past selves here, they must look like us back home!"

Snappy looked horrified.

"So, they're not just trapped in our time. They look like us too?"

"There's a disturbing thought," Brainy said. "But it brings up another question. If we truly have swapped bodies with our former selves, why do we still have our Guises? And why was Gargamel dressed so strangely?"

He paused and cleared his throat.

"Great Smurfs, Hefty was right! My voice really did sound whiny!"

"This is too much," Hefty said, rising to his feet. "Papa Smurf, what are we supposed to make of these Smurfs? I mean, do we believe them or is this all some kind of bizarre trick?"

"I wish it were a trick," Snappy grumbled, still refusing to unbuckle his Guise. "No way I'm going to be a Smurfling again."

Papa Smurf looked at Grandpa, then around the table at all the nervous, frightened Smurfs, and sighed.

"I'll admit this is a lot to take in," he said. "But I for one believe their story. For several reasons," he added firmly before Hefty could protest. "The main reason being that message from Father Time - the message you yourself told me about, Hefty. If Father Time is right and Gargamel has tampered with the Sands of Probability, it would explain just about all of this. Anyone who was touched by that sand – in this case Gargamel, the Smurflings, and Brainy – would have been smurfed to the life they wish they had. And, as we've seen, this is precisely what seems to have happened. Gargamel apparently has become a wealthy man, Brainy has become a wise and respected leader and you, my young Smurflings, have gained your independence."

"OK, fine," Snappy said. "But we want that independence back! Don't you have any idea how we can smurf back home to our own time? To our own lives?"

Papa Smurf sighed.

"That will be difficult," he said, and turned to Hefty. "You said Father Time was being held by Gargamel?"

"That's what it sounded like, Papa Smurf," the muscular Smurf said. "But Gargamel's somewhere in the future."

"No," Brainy spoke up. "He's here too! And if he's been displaced from his own time, as we have, I'll bet he'd be willing to do practically anything to regain his own life. Even help us track down his counterpart in the future!"

"Then we could free Father Time and fix this mess!" Sassette cheered. "Oh, what are we waiting for! Let's go find Pappy Gargamel!"

Snappy scowled.

"Good grief. Bad enough you look like a Smurfling. Do you have to act like one too?"

Sassette stuck out her tongue, then fastened her Guise back around her wrist. Appearing to be an adult again, she shot him a superior look and said, "Sourpuss. Happy now?"

"I won't be happy until we're all back at the university where we belong."

Papa Smurf nodded and glanced at the darkness beyond the cave door.

"Well, I'm afraid it's too late to do anything more tonight," he said. "As it is, it'll be past midnight by the time we make it back to the Village. I suggest you Smurfs spend the night in the Village with us and in the morning we'll see about smurfing an expedition to Gargamel's."

Snappy looked like he was about to protest, but Brainy shot him a look. Grabbing his guise, the Professor stood up, prompting the other Smurfs to get to their feet as well.

"Thank you, Papa Smurf," he said. "I know how difficult this must be for you, trying to make us feel welcome here while your own little Smurfs are trapped in our time. But, if it really was their wish to try our lives on for size, perhaps this experience won't be such a bad thing."

"What do you mean?" asked Handy curiously.

The Professor smirked.

"I mean that being responsible for running a university and a Village isn't always what it's cracked up to be. And neither is middle-age."

He laughed and began to climb down the table leg to the floor.

"My smurfness, I haven't felt this agile in years. Last one to the Village is a rotten Smurf!"

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Part IX

"Brainy? Uh, Brainy, are you all right?"

It was Clumsy's voice. At least, it was a voice that talked the way that Clumsy did.

Brainy lifted heavy eyelids and sat up slowly, feeling stiff and tired and achy all over. Had he fallen asleep at his writing desk? His head was pounding, making it hard to remember…

"Oh good! You're awake!" Clumsy's strangely deep, resonant voice boomed near his ear. "But, uh, where's your Guise?"

"Where's my what? Clumsy, what are you…"

Brainy trailed off, focusing on the speaker's face for the first time. Only, he didn't see Clumsy's familiar blue features. He didn't see Clumsy Smurf at all. Instead, a tall human hovered over him dressed in dusty work clothes the likes of which Brainy had never seen, his large blue eyes worried under his shaggy mop of silvering hair.

"YIIIPE!" Brainy squeaked, diving behind a stack of ponderous looking books.

"Uh, gee, what's the matter?" the strange man asked, looking alarmed himself. "Brainy, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"

"H-How do you know my name?" Brainy demanded, peering over a book's shiny cover. "Who are you? Did you bring me here?"

The rumpled man looked really worried now.

"Gosh, Brainy, don't you know me? Oh no, I don't like this. No, not one bit."

The man reached for him.

Brainy leaped away from his huge hands, but the man cut him off with a quick chopping motion and grabbed him by the tweed jacket.

"Gotcha!" the man said proudly.

Brainy kicked and wriggled and squirmed for all he was worth, noticing for the first time the brown trousers and polished shoes that had somehow replaced his ink-stained white Smurf clothes.

"Let go of me!" he exclaimed, worried that even his voice sounded strange to his ears. "What in Smurfdom is going on? And what - what - am I wearing?"

"Don't you worry, Professor," the strange man said, lowering the tiny Smurf carefully onto his palm. "I'm gonna take you straight to Handy. He'll know what to do."

"Professor? Handy? What—?"

Brainy would have asked more, but the man tripped himself on a chair leg and nearly crushed the disoriented Smurf in his attempt to stop his fall.

"YOW! Hey, watch where you're smurfing!"

"Uh, sorry," the man said sheepishly. "Uh, are you OK, Brainy?"

"No, I am not OK!" Brainy exclaimed. "I want to know where I am and what I'm doing here. And I don't want to get flattened by some clumsy great human!"

"But gee, Brainy, I'm not a human," the man said. "I'm a Smurf like you!"

Brainy stared, not comprehending.

"What?"

"Well, you see," the man started, then seemed to think better of it. "Nope, nope, I'd better let Handy do the explaining," he said. "Now, you just hold tight and try not to talk. We don't what the students to see you like this, now do we?"

"Students—?" Brainy started, but the tall man had already started walking, squeezing his way down crowded corridors with the terrified Smurf cupped carefully in his hands.

*******

Nat Smurfling woke to a shrill, piercing scream. He was up and out the door so fast, he'd nearly made it to the Village center before he realized he didn't recognize anything…or anyone…around him.

The Village he knew was a small community of individual mushroom houses, most with only one or two rooms. The buildings Nat saw now were tall, multi-story structures, many joined together in long rows with shops at street level and residences above. The roofs and awnings still had a mushroom look, but the streets that branched off from the central square were paved with cobblestones and lined on both sides with broad, brick sidewalks.

Nat had never seen anything like it. He was so lost in disoriented wonder, he walked straight into a Smurf running from the opposite direction.

"Oof!" the middle-aged stranger exclaimed. "Oh, Nat! So you heard that scream too?"

Nat still felt lost, but the strange Smurf's question jogged his brain back into something close to working order.

"Uh, yeah… Yeah, I did," he said, and coughed a little. His voice sounded peculiar. "Do you know who it was?"

"It sounded like Sassette," the strange Smurf said worriedly. "Come on, let's smurf if she's all right."

Nat nodded and followed the older Smurf up a long street to one of the taller buildings where a large crowd of concerned Smurfs had gathered.

Nat's companion walked up to the nearest group.

"What happened?" he asked them. "Is Sassette OK?"

"We're not sure yet," one of them answered. "Smurfette, Dreamy, and Vanity are in there with her now."

"Nat! Hey, Nat!"

Nat turned at the unfamiliar voice, scanning the crowd. A blue hand shot up from the far side and Nat started making his way toward it.

The hand belonged to yet another unfamiliar Smurf, this one a little younger than the Smurf he'd bumped into but still older than most of the grown-up Smurfs he knew.

Nat stopped short, cold panic slowly rising inside him.

Who were these Smurfs? How did they know his name? Where was he, anyway?

"Nat, thank Smurfness you're here too! I was so scared I was all alone!"

Nat backed away as the Smurf approached him.

The Smurf's relieved smile fell.

"Come on, Nat, don't do this to me. You've gotta know who I am. You just gotta!"

"I don't!" Nat exclaimed in his strange-sounding voice. "I don't know anysmurf here!"

"Well, I know you. I'd know you anywhere in that ratty straw hat of yours," the Smurf said. "Even if you are a grown-up."

Nat felt a jolt go through him. He looked down at himself, then back at the other Smurf, who was wearing a very familiar scowl.

He blinked, then stared in disbelief.

"Snappy?" he asked in a weak voice. "Snappy, is…is that you? What's happened to you? To both of us?"

"What do you think?" Snappy snapped. "We've been smurfed to the future, that's what's happened to us! Gargamel must have done it with that hourglass he stole from Father Time's cave."

Nat brought a hand to his forehead, his muddled mind slowly coming back into focus.

"Yeah, I remember that!" he said. "He and Azrael were chasing us…there was this powerful wind and then…then…"

"Then we woke up here," a deep, sluggish voice broke in.

Snappy and Nat looked up in surprise to see a tall, slouching Smurf approach them, his hands in the pockets of his baggy trousers.

"Bet that's why Sassette screamed. If we three look like this…"

Snappy nodded.

"Right," he said. "She'll be grown-up too."

"Oh, poor Sassette," Nat said, his nervous eyes darting from one transformed friend to the other. "She's probably terrified. We should go in there. It might help if she knew we were here too."

"You think they'd let us?" Slouchy asked, looking out at the crowd.

"What reason would they have to stop us?" Snappy asked. "It's not like we're Smurflings."

"Hey, yeah," Slouchy said, a slow grin spreading across his face. "We're equals now. Grown-ups like them!"

"Yeah," Snappy said, returning his grin. "And grown-up Smurfs don't get bossed around and told what to do like Smurflings. They can smurf whatever they like. Come on, let's go inside."

Snappy and Slouchy moved through the crowd with smug confidence, but Nat still felt uncertain. None of this seemed real to him. It was more like a dream, a nightmare that could snap to an end at any moment...

*******

The sound of soft sobs quieted Slouchy and Snappy as they entered the building and climbed the stairs.

Sassette's door stood open. The three Smurfs peered past it into the neat little room beyond, feeling much more like spying Smurflings than any of them wanted to admit.

Smurfette and Vanity were in there, looking familiar and strange at the same time. Vanity had aged well, maturing into a dapper, elegant Smurf in a dove-gray suit with a silver-topped walking stick polished to a highly reflective sheen. Smurfette looked as lovely as ever, only now her golden hair was streaked with gray and piled into a loose bun. Free wisps of hair fell over the shoulders of her long rose-pink dress.

She was the first one to notice the three Smurfs huddled in the doorway.

"Oh Nat, Snappy, Slouchy!" she exclaimed, rushing to welcome them in. "I am glad you're here. You three have always been close to Sassette. Maybe she'll talk to you. She hasn't smurfed more than three words to us."

"Where is she?" Nat asked.

"In her room," Vanity said. "Dreamy's been trying to find out what's wrong, but he hasn't smurfed much luck so far."

He rapped his mirror-topped cane against a half-open white door.

"Sassette?" he called. "Three friends have come to see you."

Dreamy stepped out of the room, his large eyes deep with worry.

"Oh, thank Smurfness it's you three," he said when he saw them. "I was just thinking of smurfing for you. Come in, come in!"

Nat, Slouchy, and Snappy shared a look, then shuffled after him.

Sassette sat on her bed with her back to them, her red hair tied back in a single tight braid that fell to her waist. Like most of the Smurfs they'd seen in this future Village, Sassette was dressed strangely, wearing a fitted plaid shirt and denim trousers.

"Sassette?" Nat said gently. "Sassette, it's us. Are you OK?"

Sassette shivered a little and turned to face them. Her eyes widened and she shot to her feet.

"Nat? Snappy? Slouchy? Are - are you…?" she stammered.

"Yeah, it's us, Sassette," Slouchy said. "Really us."

Snappy couldn't seem to stop staring.

Sassette blushed and glared at him.

"What are you smurfing at?" she said.

Snappy swallowed and straightened.

"Uh, nothing."

"It better be nothing! Babbling beavers, what kind of crazy dream am I smurfing?"

"It's not a dream, Sassette," Nat said. "I thought it was too, at first. But…"

He glanced over at Dreamy, Vanity, and Smurfette, who were watching them curiously.

"Um, would you mind if we smurfed to Sassette alone for a few minutes?" he asked.

"Can't you four just tell us what's smurfing on without all the silly coded secrecy?" Vanity asked petulantly. "Honestly, I thought your little 'Smurfling club' broke up years ago."

"It's nothing important, really," Snappy said, putting his hand on the door. "Everything's fine, and you can smurf that to the others outside."

The three older Smurfs looked annoyed at this obvious dismissal, but they gave in.

Snappy closed the bedroom door behind them, then turned a sly smirk to Sassette.

"Well?" he said, holding his arms out and turning full circle. "What do you think?"

"What do I think of what?" she asked grumpily.

"Sassette, don't you get it?" he said. "We're grown-ups! Grown-ups!"

"Yeah? And what's so great about that?" she retorted. "We still don't have the answers we were looking for at Father Time's cave. And just look at me! I feel so…so…!"

She growled and threw herself onto the bed.

"I'm not ready for this," she mumbled into the quilt. "I want to be me again."

"What, an awkward little Smurfling?" Snappy said. "Why? Sassette, you're beautiful!"

"Well, maybe I don't want to be beautiful," she mumbled. "Maybe I like being an awkward little Smurfling. At least then no Smurf looks at me like…like you! Smurf it off, Snappy!"

She threw a pillow at him, which he deflected. He did avert his eyes, though.

"Sorry," he said. "I don't mean to, honest. But…but just consider the possibilities! We're free now. No Smurf can tell us what to do!"

"I guess," Sassette said mulishly, pulling herself up into a mopey hunch. "But how did we get here, like this? Last thing I remember, we were running away from Azrael."

"Snappy thinks it was Gargamel," Nat said. "He stole something from Father Time's cave. Some sort of hourglass that sent us all to the future."

"Great," Sassette grunted. "So is he here too, then? And what about Brainy?"

Snappy's expression fell.

"See?" Sassette said. "We're not so free after all. We've got all sorts of problems. And with everyone here thinking we're grown-ups, there's no one we can tell, no one we can smurf to for help! They'll be sure to think we're crazy if we do."

"We don't need their help anyway," Snappy said.

Nat was about to protest when a knock came on the door and Vanity poked his head into the room.

"If you four are done chatting," he said in his haughtiest voice, "the rest of us have to smurf to work. And, unless I'm mistaken, all four of you have classes to teach today. Do you need a lift to the University?"

Sassette, Nat, and Slouchy looked completely lost, but Snappy slipped quickly into a mask of cocky confidence.

"Sure," he said. "we could smurf a lift."

"Will you be coming too?" Sassette asked.

Vanity gave her a suspicious look.

"I wouldn't have offered to drive you if I wasn't," he said. "Are you sure you're all right, Sassette?"

"She's fine," Snappy said, grabbing her hand and hefting her to her feet.

She pushed him away and glared.

"Don't do that," she said, and turned to Vanity. "I'm starting to feel better," she told him. "It was a nightmare, that was all. A bad one. It really shook me up. I'm sorry if I made you worry."

Vanity looked enlightened.

"Well, as long as you're feeling better," he said. "I'll wait for you outside. Do you all have your Guises?"

He gestured to a colored band on his wrist.

"Uh…" Sassette said, looking around the room.

"We lost them," Snappy said.

Vanity wrinkled his nose.

"All four of you?"

They shrugged.

"But that's impossible!" the middle-aged Smurf exclaimed. "By all that's Smurfy, you Smurfs are supposed to be adults! How could you possibly—"

He cut himself off mid-tirade and took a deep, calming breath.

"Fine. Fine. Getting angry over this will only lead to wrinkles. I'll drop you off at Handy's office and you can explain to him how you managed to misplace four Guises all at once. I'm late enough as it is, thanks to this morning's rigmarole. I just hope you all snap out of whatever strange humor you've smurfed into before we get to the University. This peculiar behavior isn't like you at all. Any of you."

When they didn't reply, he sighed, his expression softening.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get smurfing before you make me miss my first class all together."

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part X

Handy's 'office' was really an enormous engineering laboratory located in the basement of one of the university's many picturesque stone buildings.

Brainy stared around in open amazement as the tall man with Clumsy's voice carried him past shelf after shelf of intricate architectural models on his way toward a small computer station at the back of the room.

"Wow, what is all this?" Brainy asked. "All these bridges and buildings and what is that?" He pointed excitedly toward a half-constructed robot. "A clockwork man? And what are those things hanging from the ceiling?" He gestured to a cluster of aircraft models. "I've never seen anything like them. Do they actually fly? I have so many questions!"

"Oh, uh, these are just some projects Handy's been smurfin' with his students," Clumsy said.

"Handy has students? Human students?"

"Well, uh, yeah they're human. Just about everysmurf has students, Professor— I-I mean, Brainy. Even me. I smurf classes here too, you know."

"Really?" Brainy looked him over, taking in his dirt-stained clothes and messy hair. "What do you smurf?"

"Rock gardening and landscape design." He giggled proudly. "I also help out with grounds maintenance, along with Farmer, Smurfette, Nat, and a few others. Oh - and here's Handy now! Hi, Handy - whoa, whoops!"

Brainy yelped as Clumsy tripped on the leg of one of the lab tables, sending the poor Smurf flying toward a whiteboard covered in red, green, blue, and black scrawl.

He was caught just in time to avoid becoming a permanent punctuation mark by another tall human, this one in a welder's apron and a smurf-blue baseball cap, with a yellow pencil tucked behind his ear.

"I got you, Professor!" the man said in a voice Brainy didn't recognize as Handy's…at least, until he scolded, "You've got to be more careful, Clumsy!"

"Uh, gosh, Handy, I'm really sorry," the disguised Smurf said, picking himself up off the rubber-coated floor. "I didn't mean to trip like that. Is Brainy OK?"

Handy carefully set the little Smurf down on his computer desk, where Brainy staggered unsteadily before collapsing in a dizzy pile.

"He seems to be," Handy said worriedly. "What are you two doing here anyway? And why isn't the Professor wearing his Guise? Classes are about to begin!"

"Hellooo! Haaandy! Are you in here?"

Brainy blinked blearily up as yet another human approached, twirling a cane and striding down the aisle between the lab tables as if it were a catwalk at Paris Fashion Week. This man was dressed to the nines in a fancy dove gray suit, and he kept glancing at his reflection in his cane's polished top.

Brainy adjusted his glasses and squinted.

"But surely that can't be...Vanity?"

"Great Smurfs, I am popular today," Handy commented dryly. "And what brings you here, Vanity?"

"I have a little delivery to make before I smurf to my classes," Vanity said, setting his briefcase down on Handy's computer desk and undoing the latches.

Brainy stood on his tiptoes to try to peer inside.

"Oh, hello, Professor," Vanity said. "I almost didn't see you there. Anyway..."

He reached into the briefcase and lifted Sassette, Nat, Slouchy, and Snappy out onto the table beside Brainy.

"These four young Smurfs seem to have misplaced their Guises, Handy, and I was hoping you could rustle them up a few spares. Preferably before they have to call their department offices and cancel their classes for the day."

Handy looked thoroughly harassed.

"Well, it's not that simple, Vanity—"

"Oh good, I knew you could handle this," the dapper Smurf said, snapping his briefcase closed and swinging it gracefully off the desk. "I've really got to dash before I cross the line from fashionably late to downright tardy. Ciao, Smurfs."

Handy scowled after Vanity's back as he strutted back up the aisle and out the door, leaving a scented cologne trail in his wake.

Handy batted it away.

"OK, so let me get this straight," he said. "You four," he gestured to Nat, Snappy, Slouchy, and Sassette, huddled behind the back of Handy's laptop, "All of you. You all lost your Guises?"

"It's not so much that we lost them," Snappy said, taking a few steps out from behind the computer. "It's more like we never had them. What are Guises, anyway? And what's going on here? Why are Smurfs disguising themselves as humans? What proof do we have that you really are Smurfs? You don't even look like Handy."

"Yeah," Slouchy spoke up. "I mean, it's one thing to smurf to the future, but I don't get any of this."

He stared around the laboratory tables and equipment with some wonder.

"Um, gosh," Clumsy said, his eyes wide. "Sounds like you Smurfs lost your memories too, just like the Professor!"

"I never said I lost my memory!" Brainy protested, standing up and straightening his glasses. "If you want to know the whole story, it all began this morning, when four conniving Smurflings conspired to—"

"Hey, who are you calling conniving," Snappy snapped, starting everyone talking at once.

Handy listened for a moment, trying to piece together the argument, but before too long he'd had enough.

"Wait, wait, hold it everysmurf!" he said, holding up his hands.

The quarreling Smurfs stopped their noise and looked up at him.

"I think I'm starting to smurf the picture," he said. "And if I'm right, I might be able to help you. But for now, I going to need you all to slow down and tell me exactly what happened. Clumsy?"

"Yeah, Handy?"

"Run to the office upstairs and put in a few calls to the music, history, and science departments, will you? And tell the Professor's secretary to reschedule any meetings he might have had today. We're going to be here for a while."

"Sure thing, Handy. Uh, do you want me to cancel your classes too?"

"Well, all my classes for today are in the afternoon. Then again…"

Handy glanced up at his wall clock and sighed.

"Yeah, better tell Marina to cancel my classes too. Oh, and Clumsy—"

Clumsy stopped short halfway through the door.

"Yeah, Handy?"

"Send word to the Village. We'll probably need to call an assembly tonight and I want to be sure everysmurf gets the message to show up."

"Right," Clumsy said, counting his tasks on his fingers as he climbed the stairs. "OK, got to remember…cancel classes, reschedule meetings, call assembly…"

"Now," Handy said, turning back to the displaced Smurfs. "Tell me everything, in order, from the top."

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part XI

The first rays of the morning sun spread out through the forest, lighting the way for the short procession of Smurfs marching toward Gargamel's hovel.

Papa Smurf took the lead, chatting animatedly with the bearded Professor and his oddly dressed companions. Hefty, Smurfette, Clumsy, and Handy - all of whom had been present at Father Time's cave the night before - trailed some distance behind, still unsure quite what to make of their visitors from the future.

"I don't know about you Smurfs, but I couldn't smurf a wink last night," Handy said, covering a wide yawn with his hand.

"Yeah, me neither," Hefty said. "I smurfed the strangest dream."

"Gosh, you too?" said Clumsy. "I dreamed about a great big river, and this river kept wearin' away and wearin' away at this great big rock until it was just a little pebble I could put in my pocket for my rock collection. And then, when I looked up, the river was at the bottom of a huge canyon and the whole forest had changed and I didn't know where I was, or how to get back to the Village. What was yours about?"

"Well..." Hefty squirmed, looking as if he wished he hadn't mentioned it. "I dreamed I heard Father Time calling for help. He was locked up in a cage, somewhere dark - underground, I think, and there weren't any windows. So, a few of us Smurfs volunteered to help him, but it seemed the closer we smurfed to the old man, the older we got, until…well…"

"Well, what?" Handy asked.

"Well, nothing," Hefty said irritably. "It was just a dream, that's all. Nothing a few dozen pushups couldn't smurf."

"I had a nightmare too," Smurfette said, "only, in my dream, all my pretty flowers withered, and no matter how much I watered them, I couldn't get them to bloom again. What about you, Handy? Did you have bad dreams last night?"

"No. I didn't sleep long enough for bad dreams," Handy said. "I couldn't stop thinking about what that Professor Smurf said last night."

"Uh, what'd he say?" Clumsy asked.

"He talked about a future version of me, about things I haven't even smurfed yet. Like those strange Guises they all wear. It gave me such an unsmurfy feeling."

Handy shivered.

"I never really thought much about the future before," he said. "I just smurfed my job and worked on my inventions. But now, I find myself wondering… What will I be like in the future? Will I still be me? Or will I become somebody else, some Smurf I wouldn't recognize if I saw him…like what's happened to Brainy and the Smurflings..."

The Smurfs shared an uncomfortable look.

Handy turned his thoughtful gaze toward the Professor and his companions.

"If you ask me," he said, "I think we've all been smurfing nightmares because seeing Brainy and the Smurflings all grown up like that made us realize we're not going to stay like this forever. We're, all of us, going to grow older and change - just like they did. It's a scary thought."

Hefty scowled.

"Ah, you're bein' ridiculous," he said. "Those strange Smurfs don't scare me. And neither does Father Time."

"Father Time?" Smurfette said.

Hefty gave a start.

"Did I say Father Time? I meant—"

"No - that makes sense," Handy said. "Think about your nightmare, Hefty. Clumsy and Smurfette smurfed bad dreams about the effects of time. But you actually smurfed a dream about Father Time. You're afraid of Father Time, aren't you, Hefty."

"What? Me, afraid of that old man?" Hefty scoffed. "You're talking through your smurf, Handy. I'm not afraid of anything!"

"It's OK, Hefty," Clumsy said. "Father Time has always made me nervous too. He's so tall, and has such a long beard, and sometimes he carries that great big sickle with him, like it's a walking stick!"

"I tell you, I'm not afraid of Father Time!" Hefty protested.

"Then why do you think you smurfed that nightmare?" Smurfette challenged.

Hefty scowled again.

"Oh, come on, you Smurfs," he said. "You know what happens whenever some Smurf gets mixed up with Father Time! Remember when Papa Smurf sent Nat, Snappy, and Slouchy to Father Time's cave? They were a bunch of regular Smurfs like us, just heading out to return an hourglass for Papa Smurf, and they came back as Smurflings! They didn't even remember being grown up. And when Father Time found out, what did he do to help them? Nothing, that's what. And we've been stuck with them like that ever since. Now, look—look!"

He pointed to the oddly dressed Smurfs up ahead.

"Those same Smurfs are older than any Smurf in the Village, except for Papa - again, because they went to Father Time's cave! And as for Brainy…''

"What about Brainy?" Clumsy said.

"Well, look at him up there," Hefty said. "He's not even Brainy anymore! He's some stranger called the Professor. And what about Gargamel? What's happened to him?"

Handy shook his head.

"I know all this is strange, Hefty, but I don't think what happened to Brainy and the others is really Father Time's fault."

"He's in charge of Time, isn't he?" Hefty pointed out. "It was his clock and his sand that caused this unsmurfy mess. And now he's trapped in the future, our Brainy, Slouchy, Snappy, Nat, and Sassette are Smurf knows where, and we're stuck with a bunch of weird doubles who seem to spend more time being humans than they do being Smurfs!"

"That's not very fair, Hefty," Smurfette said. "You heard what they said last night. It sounded to me like starting up that university of theirs was the only way to save the Village. They were trying to preserve what it means to be a Smurf, not abandon it."

"Maybe," Hefty allowed. "But if you ask me, it's not right to smurf around with Time. No Smurf should have two childhoods, and no Smurf should grow old before his smurf!"

"And there it is again," Handy said.

"There what is?" Clumsy asked.

"Time!" said Handy, and his expression turned somber. "The only snare even a Smurf can't escape."

"I don't want to talk about this," Hefty grumbled. "I'm not afraid of Time and I'm not afraid of the future! We smurfed some bad dreams, that's all. It's got nothing to do with why we're out here. Father Time is in trouble, and it's up to us to help him. We should be smurfing about that, not smurfing on about things we can't smurf anything about!"

"Hefty's right," Smurfette said. "We should concentrate on rescuing Father Time. We can smurf about the future when it gets here."

Clumsy and Handy nodded their agreement, and for a few moments the four Smurfs walked in silence, listening to the sounds of the slowly awakening forest…and the snatches of conversation they caught from the Smurfs up ahead.

"It's so beautiful here," the Professor was saying to Papa Smurf. "Where I come from, everything moves so fast… Sometimes, we forget how important it is stop and smurf the sunrise."

He sighed and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"When I get home, I'll have to think of a way to remind my fellow Smurfs just how smurfy things used to be. Perhaps I'll smurf a book: Professor Brainy's Adventures in Time. I could smurf the manuscript to my publisher in Brussels - masquerading as a work of fiction, of course…"

Clumsy giggled behind his hand.

"Gosh, that Professor Smurf sure talks like Brainy."

Smurfette giggled too.

"He kind of does."

"So, you really think we'll be able to smurf out of this, Professor?" Snappy said in his gruff voice. "That we'll be able to rescue Father Time and smurf things back to normal?"

"Oh, absosmurfly, my dear Snappy, and I'll tell you why," the Professor said, taking up a lecturing pose that was so patently Brainy, it sent Smurfette and Clumsy giggling all over again.

Handy shushed them and moved closer so he could hear better.

"It's basic time travel theory," the Professor said as Handy approached. "Think about it: if this adventure didn't smurf out to our advantage, the Brainy who belongs in this time would not have been here to grow up and help to found our university, don't you see? And if he never grew up and helped found the university, then I wouldn't have been stuck in my office going over those boring budget reports when he and I were swapped in time by Gargamel…which I clearly was, since I'm here now talking with all of you. Therefore, it follows that everything will smurf out in the end. It's a simple, if roundabout concept commonly known as a 'paradox.' So, there's no need to worry, Snappy. We'll smurf back home soon enough - and I'm sure Papa Smurf will back me up on this."

Hefty grunted.

"OK, I'm convinced," he muttered to his friends. "Beard or no beard, only Brainy could spout that much blathersmurf."

Clumsy grinned.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "Guess he didn't really change all that much after all!"

Papa Smurf turned his head.

"Clumsy? Hefty? Smurfette? What are you Smurfs doing, lagging all the way back there?" he said. "Why don't you smurf up here with the rest of us?"

"Sure. OK, Papa Smurf," the stragglers chorused, scurrying to close the gap.

Handy raised a tentative hand for attention.

"Um, excuse me, uh, Professor Smurf…"

"Handy, it's me, Brainy," the Professor said. "Just call me Brainy."

Handy cleared his throat.

"Yeah, um, Brainy," he said. "I just want to make sure I'm smurfectly clear on what you're saying. Are you saying that your presence here, now, in this time, is proof that we're going to be able to rescue Father Time?"

"That's the basic gist, yes," the Professor said.

"Because the other Brainy you replaced had to be here in order to become you in the future?" Handy said.

"Correct."

"But," Handy said, "but, what if it doesn't smurf that way? What if Time's not as straightforward as a simple loop? What if it's more like…well…"

"Go on, Handy," Papa Smurf encouraged.

"Well, Papa Smurf, remember when I wanted to build a Time Smurfing Machine, and you said smurfing in time was very dangerous, if not impossible, because the very act of smurfing to the past changes it, and because the future hasn't been smurfed yet?"

"Well, I may have—"

"And, didn't you also say, Papa Smurf," Handy went on, "that each Smurf makes his own path? That his choices and decisions help to smurf his destiny?"

"Yes, I do believe I said something of the kind."

"You did, Papa Smurf," the Professor confirmed. "In fact, it's still one of the most popular of Brainy's Quotations from Papa Smurf!"

"Oh… Well then, there you have it," Papa Smurf said with a self-conscious chuckle.

"For Smurf's sake, Brainy," Sassette muttered. "More than five hundred years old and still a suck-up."

Smurfette giggled, and Sassette grinned at her.

The Professor narrowed his eyes at them.

"Yeah..." Handy said. "Well, anyway, when you said that, Papa Smurf, it gave me this idea that each Smurf walks a sort of destiny line, like a road. And these roads all have forks and branches, just like a real road. And sometimes the way is marked, and sometimes it's hard to tell which path is right. So, I was thinking…no, this isn't working. I need to draw it out."

Snatching his pencil from behind his ear, Handy pulled a small pad of handmade paper from his pocket and drew a straight line across the first page, then added one small x to the bottom and one to the top of the line.

"Let's say this line represents the time between where we are now, and where you come from in the future," he said, holding his sketch out for the Professor to see. "We can call it your Time Line. This x down here at the bottom is our time, and the one at the top is the future. Now, what if, when Gargamel used that Probability Sand and swapped you and our Brainy, that swap didn't form a loop, but a sort of crisscross?"

Starting from each x, he drew a pair of dotted lines across the page, making them cross in the middle.

"That leaves you and our Brainy both at loose ends, doesn't it?" he said. "There's no line here in the middle that connects past to future anymore. You're both smurfing your own, brand new Time Lines toward a brand new future. And, if that's the case, then anything could happen. Anything at all. And your being here isn't proof of anything except that Father Time's magic works."

Most of the other Smurfs looked completely bewildered by Handy's diagram, and a little scared, but the Professor took the pad in his hands and inspected it closely, raising his eyebrows so high they vanished under the brim of his cap.

"Handy, this is incredible!" he exclaimed.

"It is?"

"Yes! This idea of yours is centuries ahead of its time!" he said. "Of course, it's very sketchy and imprecise, but only last week, I was reading a book by a human physicist called Brian Greene in which he described a theory of parallel universes, or alternate realities, that is not entirely dissimilar from this rather rough theory you just—"

"Stop! Stop, it's too much!" Snappy exclaimed, clapping his hands over his ears. "We don't have time to smurf into quantum theory and alternate universes and all the rest of that astrophysics sci-fi mumbo-jumbo gobbledygook you and Dreamy and Handy are always smurfing on about! What's the difference if we're all looped in a paradox or traveling some alternate timeline? We're stuck either way!"

"Yeah! Here, here!" the other Smurfs agreed.

Snappy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Now, here's what I know," he said. "Gargamel got us here. Gargamel trapped Father Time in the future. And only Father Time can smurf us all back to where and when we belong! So, let's stop all this smurfing around and smurf to Gargamel's like we planned, right now, before the unsmurfy creep wakes up!"

"I'm with Snappy on this," Nat said. "To Gargamel's!"

"To Gargamel's!"

The other Smurfs cheered and picked up the pace. Before long, the forest thinned, the land began to slope upwards, and Gargamel's barren, tumble-down hovel came into view.

"Let's smurf to that window," Papa Smurf said, pointing. "And remember, my little Smurfs, keep your eyes smurfed for Azrael."

"Oh, right. I almost forgot about Azrael," Slouchy groaned.

"Where is Azrael?" Nat asked. "Has any Smurf seen him since the accident?"

"There he is!" Sassette whispered from the window ledge. "Curled up on the hearth."

"OK, Smurfs," the Professor said, hopping down from the window ledge to the floor. "Let's do this like we planned. Ready?"

"Ready," Hefty grunted. "Let's get this started."

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part XII

Gargamel woke from a restless sleep to find himself surrounded by five tall, oddly dressed strangers.

To the disguised Smurfs staring down at him, the balding wizard looked much older in the sunlight than he had the night before; his face wrinkled and his black, greasy hair streaked with gray.

"Ooooh, my back!" Gargamel groaned, struggling to sit up on his thin, lumpy cot. "What... What is this? Who are you?" he demanded. "Where am I?"

"You're in the same boat we are, Gargamel," Slouchy said.

"Remember us?" Snappy asked. "You ran away from us last night at Father Time's cave. But you don't belong here any more than we do."

"Wha-what do you want from me?" Gargamel asked, wincing as he strained to stretch the kinks from his shoulders.

"Your help," Sassette said. "Father Time's been captured by your double. That means you're the only one who can tell us where he might be!"

Gargamel squinted up at her, looking as if he was trying to place her. After a long, blank moment, he shook his head and buried his tired face in his palms.

"Oh, go away," he grunted. "I need to get some sleep. Then, when I wake up, I'll be back in my great big house in my great big bed and my servants will have my breakfast waiting for me. Yes, let me sleep..."

"Oh, no. You're getting up right now, Gargamel," the Professor said, taking the aging wizard by the shoulders and hefting him upright. "Come on, upsy daisy!"

Slouchy, Snappy and Nat helped force the stooped old man to his feet. The commotion woke Azrael, who had aged almost as badly as Gargamel. The bony cat extended his claws, but before he could gather himself to pounce, a large wicker cage dropped over him from above, where the rest of the Smurfs had been waiting among the rafters. Azrael gave a plaintive yowl, but the cage held despite his scratching.

Gargamel stared, then scowled, his pale face deepening to an angry red.

"Smurfs!" he growled. "I should have known you wretched blue schemers would be behind this! Let me go, all of you, or I'll destroy you all like I did the first time around!"

"What are you talking about, Gargamel?" Slouchy demanded.

"You fools! Don't you know who I am?" the aging wizard snarled. "I am Gargamel the Great! The celebrated wizard who used Father Time's sand to trap the Smurfs and turn them all to gold!"

"Why you—" Sassette gasped. "How could you! Oh, no wonder those Sands of Probability swapped Gargamel with you! You killed the Smurfs and used the gold to get rich in the future!"

"Quite right, my dear, quite right!" the wicked little man cackled. "And I can do it again. Let me go now, or I'll—"

"You'll nothing," Snappy snapped. "You don't have Father Time's sand. The Gargamel that lives here does."

"That's right, Gargamel," the Professor said. "And right now, he also has your big house, your big bed, your servants, and your breakfast. All while you're stuck here in his ramshackle little hovel...with us."

He smiled.

Gargamel glared at the bearded man, then up at the Smurfs gathered in the rafters, and he slowly deflated.

"Oh, drat," he moaned. "So this drafty nightmare of a shack really isn't a bad dream after all?"

"'Fraid not, Gargy," Sassette teased.

The wizard shrank away from her.

"And you five…you really are…?"

"Smurfs, yes," the Professor said.

"Yeech!" Gargamel shuddered. He looked bleakly around the cluttered stone room, seeming to consider his options, then sighed.

"Oh, all right, I'll help," he grunted. "But if I do, can you guarantee I'll be able to return home, to my time, and never have to look upon another miserable Smurf for as long as I live?"

"There are no guarantees in life, Gargamel," the Professor lectured. "But, I think your chances of getting home are pretty good if you tell us where you think your counterpart would have stashed Father Time."

"Well, if that other Gargamel really has taken over my house, as you all seem to think, I'd say he probably has the old fool locked in the wine cellar," the old man said. "That's where I would keep a whiny pest like Father Time if I had him."

"That's a start," the Professor said, glancing toward Papa Smurf, who was making his way over to Gargamel's shelf of spell books. "Now tell us where you live, and what time period you come from."

"I live at 666 Waterloo Court in Brussels, in the year 1892."

"1892!" Snappy exclaimed. "I guess that explains those clothes."

"Yes," Gargamel said. "I used Father Time's Sands of Time spell to get me there after I used it to help me turn all of you rotten blue wretches into glittering gold!"

"So, Gargamel, you really did it," Nat said, his kindly face drawn with pity. "You finally got all the things you ever dreamed of. But at what cost?"

"Nothing I couldn't live with," Gargamel said smugly. "And quite comfortably too."

"Why, you wicked old meanie! You don't deserve that big house!" Smurfette cried.

"I deserve everything I had coming to me, and more!" Gargamel declared. "I wasted the better part of my life chasing after you worthless blue baboons! Now, in my new time, my name has been vindicated! No longer am I a laughingstock, a starving failure for all the other trumped up witches and wizards to scoff at and mock! For, I alone possess not only the Sands of Time, but also the secret of the Philosopher's Stone! Ha ha!"

"Ah ha - I've found it!" Papa Smurf called from Gargamel's worktable.

"Keep a close eye on him," the Professor said to Slouchy, Snappy, Nat, and Sassette, casting a cold glare toward Gargamel before joining Papa Smurf. Smurfette, Hefty, Handy, and Clumsy also gathered around Papa Smurf as he ran his finger over the page.

"This Time-Smurfing Spell should get us to Gargamel's home in the future," Papa Smurf said. "I only hope the Gargamel of this time has all the ingredients on hand. Professor - could you check the shelves for me? The list of ingredients is right here."

"Sure thing, Papa Smurf," the disguised Smurf said, scanning through the list, then heading for the wizard's roughly made shelves to pick out the needed bottles and vials, and a heavy, cast-iron kettle in which to mix their contents together.

"Hey," Gargamel said, "Hey, what are you Smurfs doing over there? I can't see!"

"You don't need to see, Gargamel," Snappy said, blocking his view even more. "Papa and the Professor know what they're doing."

As Papa Smurf read out the spell, the Professor carefully measured out the ingredients and stirred the kettle.

"Just like old times, isn't it, Papa Smurf," he said, grinning broadly.

"Uh, quite," Papa Smurf said with a slightly awkward chuckle. "Would you care to speak the chant, Professor?"

"I would consider it an honor, Papa Smurf," the Professor said. "In fact - and you wouldn't know this, Papa Smurf - but I was voted Wizard of the Year by the Wizard's Association last year for my spell to—"

"Will you just smurf on with the spell already, Brainy," Snappy snapped. "You can tell Papa Smurf about your award after we've freed Father Time."

"Right, right, of course," the Professor said, raising his finger in a lecturing pose. "As I always say, there's a time and a place for everything, and this certainly is not the time to—"

"Brainy!" his companions chorused.

The Professor giggled slightly, then cleared his throat, pulled back his sleeves, and read out the chant. Instantly, the room around them began to swirl and warp, sending the motley group hurtling through space and time...

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Part XIII

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this," Brainy complained, peering past his long legs to his shoes far below. "And this holosmurfic image, or whatever you call it, still doesn't look anything like me!"

"That's because I have to make the final adjustments," Handy said. "At least we know the Professor's perspective-shifting spell worked. If you hadn't smurfed it properly, the holosmurfic image would appear above you, but you'd be looking through its shoes, not its eyes."

"Of course the spell worked!" Brainy said pompously. "I may be just an assistant, Handy Smurf, but I am Papa Smurf's assistant, so you shouldn't be surprised that I know how to smurf magic. And furthermore—!"

"Good grief," Handy muttered. "I forgot what a pain in the butt you used to be."

The Smurflings giggled.

Brainy opened his mouth to protest, but Handy slipped the Guise from Brainy's wrist and the spectacled Smurf instantly shrank back to his normal size.

Disoriented, Brainy straightened his glasses with a huff and climbed back up onto Handy's lab table.

"Oof," he panted once he reached the top, his heart thumping like a drum in his chest. "Oh, my Smurfs! This is ridiculous. I really have to remember to smurf myself in better condition when I get older."

Handy chuckled.

"You and me both," he said. "But don't worry, Professor, this time should smurf it."

"Hey, Handy. Why do you keep calling him 'Professor'?" Slouchy asked.

The four Smurflings lay sprawled in a bored cluster at the center of the lab table, waiting for Handy to finish with Brainy's Guise and get to theirs.

"Yeah," said Snappy, who was playing with a rubber band. "He's no professor. He's just Brainy."

The Smurflings giggled again.

Brainy shot them a scathing glare and sat up.

"Obviously," he said, "in the future, my natural genius and talents have finally gained the respect and appreciation of the Smurf community!"

"Well, actually, Brainy," Handy said, his attention focused on his tools, "the Smurflings have a point. It took the Professor a lot of years and a lot of hard work to get as far as he has. Our Professor earned every one of his credentials…usually the hard way, thanks to that insufferable arrogant streak of his… Still, every Smurf has his flaws. The Professor's really made an effort these past few centuries to learn how to put those natural gifts you talked about to good use, giving speeches at fundraisers and handling bureaucrats, rules and red tape. He's worked harder than anysmurf to make this university a reality. In fact, it took the pair of us nearly a full year of work to perfect these Guises. The perfect blend of technology and magic, he called them. There, that should smurf it."

Handy passed Brainy the Guise.

Brainy dangled his legs off the edge of the lab table and buckled the colored strap loosely around his wrist. The mini holosmurfic imager surrounded the little Smurf with a flash of light, and when it faded, a slender, slightly stooped, intellectual-looking man sat in his place. He had round, Smurf-like ears, a neatly trimmed beard mostly hid his small chin and rounded face, and he peeped out at the world through large, round glasses that seemed to magnify his blue eyes.

Brainy slid off the table and sidled up to the dusty mirror Handy kept propped against the wall.

"Great Smurfs!" he exclaimed, touching the lines around his mouth, the bags under his eyes. "Do I really look like that? Why, I look so...so old!"

"Well, you have crossed the big 500. But, don't look so upset. So have I," Handy said, turning him around to give him an appraising look.

"Hm. You'll pass for the Professor, I guess," he said. "But just remember, you've got a long way to go before you can fill his shoes, Brainy Smurf. And that goes for you Smurflings, too," the inventor warned. "If this little deception is going to work, you've all got a lot of growing up to do, and not a lot of time to do it in."

"Oh, come on, Handy. What's the big deal?" Snappy said. "You said yourself we can't just keep canceling classes. Besides, it's only until you can contact Father Time and get him to smurf us back home."

"Just tell us what to do, Handy," Sassette said. "If our grown-up selves can smurf these jobs, then so can we! After all, we are the same Smurfs, aren't we? We just look a little different."

Handy sighed and shook his head.

"Well, we'll see how the tour goes first," he said. "If you kids can make it around the campus without attracting attention, then I'll consider talking with the other Smurfs about letting you take on more responsibilities. Just remember: if the students get suspicious, they'll start asking questions. And that kind of curiosity is very dangerous for us, for our Village, and for every imp, sprite, dragon, pixie, wartmonger, ogre, and elf that smurfs shelter in our forest. So far, with a mixture of magic and common sense, we've managed to keep a tight handle on things, but there's always a danger that—"

A clattering crash rang out from the direction of the stairwell.

The Smurfs turned just in time to see Clumsy stumble into the lab.

"Uh, oops! Sorry, Handy, I didn't mean to— Oh, wow!" he exclaimed, loping down the aisle to stare at the newly disguised Brainy. "Gosh, Professor, if I didn't know it wasn't really you, I'd swear it was really you!"

"Ah, Clumsy!" Handy said. "I'm glad you're back. I just finished the Prof— I mean, Brainy's Guise, and it'll take me another hour or so to finish with the Smurflings. Are you going to be free for a few hours?"

"Well, sure, Handy," Clumsy said.

"Oh, good. Why don't you take Brainy to the Professor's office and explain the Professor's duties to him?"

"But, wait," Brainy protested. "I wanted to smurf that campus tour too!"

"Gosh, that's no problem, Brainy," Clumsy said. "I'll smurf you a tour! You just come with me, and I'll show you the whole university!"

"Does that include the library?"

Clumsy smiled.

"Why, I'll smurf you there first, if you want."

Brainy grinned and clapped his lanky friend on the shoulder.

"You lead the way, Clumsy! Oh, and as for you Smurflings, don't forget that this is not our time and you all must be on your very best behavior because, as Handy said—"

"Aw, just go, Brainy," Snappy said.

"We'll be fine with Handy, Brainy," Nat said. "You don't have to worry about us."

Brainy cast the group a suspicious glance.

"Somehow, I smurf the feeling that I'm going to worry anyway…" he said.

Handy chuckled.

"Now you're sounding like the Professor," he said. "Go on with Clumsy, Brainy. I can handle the Smurflings."

Brainy hesitated a moment longer, as if unsure of his responsibilities. Then he nodded, and strode toward the stairs.

"Very well, Handy. They're all yours," he said. "Come on, Clumsy! I want to see that library!"

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part XIV

The steps to the library rose like a ziggurat from the shady stone path. Brainy stared wide-eyed at the marble columns, the imposing facade, the book-shaped weathervane that crowned the building's highest spire.

"It looks like a temple," the awed Smurf said. "A temple to books!"

Brainy's awe grew as he and Clumsy climbed past clusters of students reading, chatting, and talking into flat, plastic rectangles that they held to their ears.

"What are those things?" he asked Clumsy.

"What things? —Oh! Why, those are mobile phones!"

"Mobile phones?"

Brainy squinted in confusion.

"Well, uh, yeah! You can use phones like that to talk to your friends anywhere in the world!"

"Amazing," Brainy said, with real wonder.

The little cluster of students whose phones he was admiring noticed they were being stared at. They looked up.

"Oh, hi, Professor!"

"Hey, Professor! That essay's due on Thursday, right?"

The group looked at him expectantly.

Brainy cleared his throat. He had no idea what they were talking about, but he felt pressured to make some kind of response.

"The...uh...the essay? Yes, yes. Er, Thursday would be fine. Or, um, you know...whenever you're ready."

The students shared a startled glance.

"You feeling OK, Professor?"

Brainy smiled awkwardly.

"I'm blowing this, aren't I," he whispered to Clumsy through his teeth.

"Tell them that, as college students, they should be responsible enough to know when their assignments are due," Clumsy whispered back. "Say 'punctuality plus responsibility equals employability.'"

"Employability? But—"

"It's something the Professor always says!"

Brainy made a face, but even though he was skeptical, he did as Clumsy suggested. It seemed to be what was expected. The students' concerned looks faded, and a few laughed.

"Right, Professor!"

"Well, see you, kids," Clumsy said. "Enjoy the sunshine!"

That little encounter with the students had shaken Brainy's confidence. He felt a strong urge to run, as if every human on the broad stairway could suddenly see straight through his Guise to the terrified little Smurf inside. He grabbed Clumsy's arm and practically dragged him across the wide landing to the sliding doors.

But, if he'd hoped to find an escape, he soon discovered there were even more humans inside the building than outside!

"Clumsy..." he winced, fighting to control a surge of panic as they strode past the library's security system, the circulation desk, a crowded cafeteria, and a huge bay of computers, all of them occupied by busy, bustling students. Brainy felt overwhelmed – he had never seen so many humans in one place before.

"Oh..." he groaned.

Pulling his friend into an empty alcove, he hissed, "Clumsy, I don't think I can do this! There's too many of them! Besides, you saw what happened out on those stairs! If those humans don't believe I'm really the Professor, they'll start asking questions like Handy said, and then—"

"Don't worry, Brainy," Clumsy said. "Think of it like this. As far as they all know, you're a human too – just like them!"

"But—"

"It's all in the attitude," Clumsy said. "It's like you always say: act confident and they won't have any reason to suspect how nervous you really are. In fact, you might even convince yourself."

"I said that?" Brainy asked.

Clumsy smiled.

"Yep! You've said that to me lots of times!"

"And, does it really work?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

Clumsy nodded toward a pair of doors that led to a curving staircase.

"Ready to start the tour?" he asked.

Brainy swallowed hard, but he straightened his glasses, and his posture.

"Lead on, Clumsy," he said. "Take me to the books!"

*******

"And, this is the music department," Handy said, leading the four disguised Smurflings past a line of heavy wooden doors. The ivy-covered stone building they belonged to looked old and imposing, as if it had grown out of the ground.

"Can we see where they keep the instruments?" Slouchy asked.

"Well, I'm not sure if we have time to go in. Not if you want to see the Athletic Center and—"

"Aw, c'mon, Handy," Snappy said. "Just a quick peek?"

"Well..."

The Smurflings took his hesitation as consent.

"Smurfaroo!" they cheered, and burst through the doors into a long, carpeted corridor.

Handy chased after them, urging them to slow down and keep quiet. But he was too late. The Smurflings had found an open practice room and were already claiming instruments.

"And a-one, and a-two, and a-," Slouchy said.

As the Smurflings broke into their jazzed-up version of the classic Smurf song, Handy cradled his head in his hands. Keeping these kids from attracting suspicion was going to take a lot more than a few Guises. He could only wonder how Brainy was getting on...

*******

"Great Smurfs, Clumsy! Are you saying all these books are mine? This whole huge shelf?"

"This is the section where we keep all the books by our university's published authors," Clumsy said. "But yeah, most of them are yours. Well, uh, the Professor's. See - all his books are here, under B.S."

"B.S.?" Brainy repeated. "Oh - of course! B.S. stands for Brainy Smurf! How very fitting!"

Clumsy laughed.

"That's what Hefty said! But, I should tell you, Brainy, we generally don't use our real names when we're wearing our Guises. Instead—"

"Brian! Brian, there you are! I went to your office a while ago, but your secretary said she hadn't seen you."

A balding, heavy-set man strode up to the disguised Smurfs and clapped Brainy on the shoulder.

Brainy ducked away.

"Wha—?"

"Oh, uh, look!" Clumsy said quickly. "It's Professor McKenny! Uh, how are you, Patrick?"

"Fine, Clem. Just fine," the man said. "Actually, I was hoping to talk with Brian, here, about tomorrow's postgraduate seminar. If you have a minute, Professor...?"

Brainy turned a desperate look to Clumsy.

"Uh, gosh, Pat," Clumsy said. "Actually, the Professor and I are late for a meeting, so—"

"Oh, no bother if you're busy," McKenny said. "I'll just pop you an e-mail later on. See you at the seminar, Bri."

The man strode off, and Brainy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh my Smurfness," he said, pressing a hand over his thumping heart. "If I keep freezing like that every time some strange human smurfs up to me, they'll figure out I'm not who I'm supposed to be in no time! And what was all that 'Brian' business? Who's Brian? And what's an e-mail? Oh, Clumsy, there's so much I don't know about this place, these people... What can I do?"

"Well..."

"If only I had a book...something I could read and study, that would tell me all about the university, its history, its faculty, how it operates..."

"Oh, gosh, Brainy! We've got something just like that!" Clumsy exclaimed.

"You do? Well, where is it? Can I read it?''

"Uh, sure, Brainy! In fact, you can read it right in your office. Come on, I'll show you!"

Brainy followed Clumsy out of the crowded library and past the student union to the main administration building, where the Professor's office took up most of the top floor.

The Professor's secretary - whose name was Ann Kaminsky judging from the nameplate on her desk - stood up when they walked through the glass doors to the outer office, a pile of mail in her hands, but Clumsy shook his head.

"Sorry, Ann, but the Professor doesn't have time for that stuff right now."

"But, Professor, Dr. McKenny came by looking for you—"

"We met him in the library. Everything's all set," Clumsy assured her, herding Brainy into his office. "No calls, no meetings, OK? Sorry, Ann, but it's really important that the Professor not be disturbed," he said, and shut the door.

"Whew!" Clumsy wiped a hand across his brow and loped over to the Professor's computer, shaking the mouse to wake it up. "That was really close. Ann's been the Professor's secretary for years and years. If anyone would figure out you're not you, it would be her!"

He leaned over the keyboard and, using only one finger, began to type.

"Here we go, Brainy," he said.

Brainy sidled behind him to look over his shoulder.

"This is the University's main website."

"Website?"

Brainy's tongue stumbled slightly on the unfamiliar word.

"Yeah," Clumsy said. "It'll tell you everything you want to know about the university and all the people who work here. Now, you just sit down and take as long as you want. An' if you've got any questions, I'll be right here!"

Clumsy sank down onto the Professor's plush couch and put his feet up on the armrest.

Brainy sat down in the Professor's swivel chair and began to read.

"Uh...one more thing, Clumsy," he said.

"Yeah, Brainy?"

"What's a seminar?"

Clumsy shook his head and smiled. All his life, more than five hundred years, Brainy had been the knowledgeable one, always giving advice. Now, for the first time, the shoe was on the other foot. Clumsy found it was a wonderful feeling to be needed like this, and to be able to help.

"Well, a seminar's sort of like a lecture, only lots of different people talk and share their research and ideas. You're gonna be expected to show up at lots of these seminars, and to give lectures too."

"What will I have to do?" Brainy asked.

"Well...just what you've always done, really. Talk!" Clumsy said. "You stand up in front of the students for about an hour and talk about some subject or other, and they write down what you say."

Brainy tilted his head.

"You mean, I give a speech, and the students actually come to listen?"

Clumsy laughed.

"They don't just come to listen," he said. "They come to learn. That's why they pay tuition!"

"Wait... Are you saying these humans pay to listen to me talk?"

"Yup!" Clumsy chuckled.

Brainy sat back in his chair.

"Amazing," he said, a slow grin creeping across his features. "All those young minds, eager for information...and they're mine to mold..."

"It's a lot of work, Brainy," Clumsy warned, not quite liking that gleam in his friend's eyes. "You've really got to know your stuff. And it's more than just the lectures. There's essays and papers and presentations and grades and advising and recommendations, and then there's all the administrative stuff you have to do, like organizing conferences and finding funding and—"

"Details, Clumsy. Mere details!" Brainy said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I want you to tell me more about these lectures." He chuckled. "I'm getting the feeling I might just get to like it here after all!"

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part XV

"No, no, no!" Gargamel yelled. "I told you worthless morons I wanted a feast! Is this what you call a feast? Twelve measly platters of food?"

The stooped little man waved an arm to indicate the stacks of fresh, warm bread and newly churned butter, the mountains of potatoes - baked, roasted, and mashed - the heaps of steaming vegetables, the two whole poached salmon stuffed with lemon and herbs, and the four juicy, succulent roasts (chicken, duck, pork, and beef) that crowded the polished dining table.

"If you please, Great Wizard," Tim the butler simpered, "there is more food prepared here than any one man could hope to eat on his own—"

"But, I'm not on my own, am I?" Gargamel snapped. "There's also Azrael to consider."

"Mreah!" said the scruffy cat.

The butler bowed.

"Very well, Greatness," he said. "Then, shall I order your cook to prepare a third salmon?"

"Yes, do that," Gargamel said. "And while he's at it, tell him to make another roast. Venison this time, I think. Oh - and bring more potatoes! And candied carrots! I never did like turnips. Yech!"

Gargamel tucked his cloth napkin into his pressed white collar and rubbed his hands together over his porcelain plate.

The butler swallowed nervously.

"But...but, your Wizardlyness..." he said, "to do that, we would have to dip into our winter stores, and—"

"How is that my problem?" Gargamel said.

The butler cringed.

"Well, I..."

"Am I not the greatest wizard in Europe?" Gargamel snapped. "Am I not entitled to the best food, the best wine, the best service my glittering gold can buy?"

"Yes... Of course, your Greatness."

"Then go! Do as I say, before you find yourself looking for a new employer!"

"Sir."

The skinny butler bowed low and scurried from the dining room.

Gargamel cackled and tore a chunk off of a loaf of bread.

"Ah, this is the life we deserve, Azrael," he said, slathering the bread with butter, then topping it with a hunk of chicken. He wiped his greasy fingers on another chunk of bread, then stuffed it in his mouth.

Azrael glanced up from his investigation of the nearest salmon and licked his chops.

"Mrey mrow!"

"No more scrounging through the forest scraping for the merest sustenance. No more ridicule from those idiotic, close-minded peasants in the town. And best of all, Azrael - no more Smurfs!"

"Mreaw!"

"Somehow, some way, it seems the Fates have finally gotten it right. I don't know how that blasted sand got us here, Azrael, but I do know that I don't intend to let a single morsel of this excellent food go to waste. From this day forward, we eat like kings!"

He raised a jeweled goblet.

"To me!" he cried. "The most fortunate wizard in all the world!"

*******

A wizard, a cat, and ten Smurfs tumbled out of the swirling vortex and landed in a groaning pile on the cold, stone floor.

The older Gargamel and his elderly cat pulled themselves to their feet with a loud creaking of joints, shot through with irritable yowls and muttered profanities.

"Blast it all," the aging wizard snarled. "I should have known better than to go along with this. Where the blazes have you rotten Smurfs landed us?"

"You mean, you don't know?" Sassette said. "I thought that time-smurfing spell was supposed to smurf us straight to your house in the future!"

"Well, if it did, it's brought us to some freezing root cellar," Gargamel grumbled, squinting through the dimness at the sacks and barrels that lined the curving, cave-like walls. "Where are the blasted stairs?"

"And what's up with our Guises?" Snappy said. "We had them set to look human before that vortex thing smurfed us here. Now we look...well, like us."

"They've reset to default once again," the Professor said, tapping his Guise. "It must be the interference from all that temporal energy. They should still be in working order, but I'll have to remember to bring this up with Handy, next time I see him."

Handy Smurf glanced at the bearded professor, but didn't say anything. Instead, he wandered over to a somewhat less-dim corner and tilted his head curiously.

The little Smurf could just make out a curving flight of stone stairs. At the top, a thin line of light outlined what seemed to be a heavy, wooden door. And beyond that...

"Um, excuse me," he said, "but does anysmurf hear voices?"

"Voices?" Smurfette said. She had been running her fingers through her long hair, trying to untangle some of the snarls the wind in the vortex had caused, but now she strode over to Handy and cupped a hand to her ear.

"Why, yes," she said. "Someone is talking in the room above us. It sounds like..."

"It sounds like Gargamel," Hefty said gruffly. "And, judging from all that cackling, he seems to be in a pretty good mood."

The Smurfs turned a glare on the aging wizard.

The graying Gargamel scowled down at them.

"Well, of course he'd be in a good mood," he snarled. "If that is my conniving counterpart up there, he must think he's made it to the top of the world. Not only has he captured your precious Father Time, he's probably been ordering around my servants and gobbling up my food! Just let me at him, and I'll teach that gluttonous ingrate to stuff his face at my expense!"

"Your expense!" Sassette exclaimed. "You can talk, you wicked wizard! You killed and you stole to get your wealth. Everything you have, you owe to us Smurfs!"

"Shut your face, you little blue troll," the elder Gargamel growled. "You're in my time now, and in my house. If you want my help releasing your dear friend Father Time, you had better start showing me some respect, or I might just have a change of heart and tell my servants to render the lot of you down into decorative little bars of blue soap!"

The Smurfs glanced at each other and shuddered.

"Eeeewww!"

"Not a very nice picture, is it," Gargamel said. "So, what do you say?"

Sassette pursed her lips, then met Papa Smurf's eyes. She sighed.

"Oh, all right. I'm sorry I was rude," she said, though her expression was anything but apologetic. "Will you help us?"

Gargamel smirked.

"Come along, Azrael," he said, and tramped arthritically up the stairs. "It's time we showed this time-swapped imposter who's the real master of this house!"

"Uh, gosh," said Clumsy. "Uh, does that mean he is gonna help us?"

"It means he plans only to help himself, Clumsy," the Professor said. "I never did trust that scheming wizard. If we're to find Father Time, we'll have to do it ourselves."

"We set our Guises to human, then?" said Snappy.

The Professor nodded.

"That would be the prudent course of action."

"Hey, what about us?" said Hefty, gesturing to Handy, Clumsy, Smurfette, and Papa Smurf. "We don't have Guises."

"All the better," the Professor said. "While we use our Guises to distract the two Gargamels and their servants, you can take advantage of your smurfy stature to search for Father Time, unseen."

"A very good idea, Professor," Papa Smurf said.

The Professor practically glowed at the praise from his mentor.

Nat shook his head, and set his Guise.

"I'll try to keep the two Azraels busy," the blond man said. "Is everysmurf ready?"

"Ready," his companions said.

The Professor, Snappy, Slouchy, and Sassette set their Guises and gently carried the rest of the Smurfs up the steep stairs.

They set them down on the smooth flagstones that covered the floor of the cavernous dining room.

While Papa and his little Smurfs scurried off to find the wine cellar, the five disguised Smurfs headed for the loaded table, where the two Gargamels were already in the middle of a shouting match that seemed on the verge of coming to blows.

The disguised Smurfs rushed to break up the fight, but stopped in their tracks when they heard the sharp, distinctive click of a gun being cocked behind them. Then, they heard another, and another, and another.

The two Gargamels stopped their fighting and began to laugh.

The disguised Smurfs glanced over their shoulders to see the elder Gargamel's servants standing in a threatening row, each with a pistol pointed in their direction. They shared an uncomfortable look.

"Somehow, I get the feeling we've been double-crossed," the Professor said wryly.

"You said a mouthful," Slouchy said with a scowl.

"You really don't need those guns," Nat told the servants. "We're not going anywhere."

"That's where you're wrong, you contemptible blue pretender," the elder Gargamel said. "You wanted me to take you to your precious Father Time, didn't you? Well, now you can join him - as my prisoners! Take them away. Oh," the graying wizard said, taking his seat at the head of the table, "take this sniveling imposter too. And don't forget his cat!"

"What!" the younger Gargamel exclaimed. "But—but-but you—! You're me! How could you lock me up with those vile, odious, miserable little—"

"I told you before, Gargamel, when you first blew into my sitting room in a flurry of wind and sand. This world isn't big enough for two Gargamels. And since I'm the one who imprisoned Father Time and turned the Smurfs into gold, it's only fitting that I'm the one who gets to reap the benefits! Tie him up," he ordered the stern-faced servants. "Tie them all up! Azrael and I will be down to check on them later. After we've finished this feast!"

*******

"This has to be where he's stashed Father Time, Papa Smurf," Handy said. "It's the only door that's sealed air-tight."

"You're probably right, Handy," Papa Smurf said, his eyes darting around the crowded kitchen at the busy cooks and cleaning staff. "But, since it is air-tight, we can't squeeze under the door. We'll have to wait for one of these humans to open it, then follow him inside."

"How long will that take, Papa Smurf?" asked Clumsy.

"Not long at all. Look!" Smurfette said, pointing to a tall man in a black suit who unlocked the door and slipped inside.

The Smurfs shared a quick glance, then followed him through the door and down the stairs.

Rows and stacks and columns of bottles lined the walls, casting eerie shadows in the dimness. The air was chilly and thick with dust.

As the Smurfs watched, huddled in the shadows, the tall man lit a lantern, chose a bottle, and jogged back up the stairs. Fortunately for the Smurfs, he left the lantern lit and the door open.

"Well, this looks like a wine cellar, all right," Hefty whispered. "But, where's Father Time?"

"Shh," said Handy. "What's that?"

A clamor of footsteps echoed on the stairs, and soon the small space was filled with black-suited men pointing pistols at the younger Gargamel, Azrael, the Professor, and his companions. All of them, except Azrael, had their hands tied behind their backs.

"You - you can't do this to me!" Gargamel stammered. "I'm much to young to die! Oh, Mummy! Mummy!"

"Smurf up, Gargamel!" Snappy snapped. "They're not going to kill us. Are they?"

One of the black-suited men strode up to the shelf of wine bottles that lined the far wall and pushed three of the less-dusty bottles further into their slots.

There was a low rumbling and the wall swung aside like a giant door, shelf and all.

Beyond it, the Smurfs could see a small, furnished room crammed with a rug, two armchairs, a low, round table, a bookshelf, a tall grandfather clock, and a fireplace.

The gun-wielding men prodded their prisoners into the cramped room, then untied their bonds.

The hidden Smurfs hesitated a moment, then followed them in.

"Master Gargamel's compliments: You shall each receive two meals a day, plus coal for the fire," said the man who'd opened the secret door. "Enjoy your stay."

"Hey, wait!" Slouchy cried, trying to head the man off before he and his companions could leave. "Just how long does your 'Master Gargamel' expect to keep us here?"

The man looked at him coolly, then turned on his heel and marched back up the stairs. The rest of the men followed with military-like precision.

Snappy started after them, but the wall slid back into place with alarming speed and force, causing him to stumble back onto the rug.

"Great," Slouchy groaned. "This is just great!"

"Calm down, Slouchy," said Nat.

"Calm down!" Slouchy exclaimed. "Calm down! How do you expect me to calm down when I'm stuck in this tiny cell of a room - with him!"

He glared at Gargamel.

"Why you—" Gargamel growled.

Azrael arched his back and hissed.

"OK, stop it right there, you guys," Sassette said. "This place is way too small for fighting."

"It's way to small for breathing, if you ask me," Snappy said, and crossed his arms.

"But, Sassette," Slouchy protested. "This sleaze—"

"Look, if you fight, we'll all get hurt, and how will that help us get home, huh?" Sassette said. "If you boys want something to do, try concentrating on figuring out a way to find Father Time! 'Cause, the sooner we find him, the sooner we'll all be out of each other's hair."

Slouchy, Azrael, and Gargamel glared for a long, lingering moment, then slowly backed down.

Azrael jumped to the top of the book case and curled up into a sly ball with sharp, surveying eyes.

"Hmph," Snappy grunted, shooting the cat a suspicious look. "So, where is Father Time, anyway? Weren't those pistol-packing mercenaries supposed to take us to him? And where's Papa Smurf and the other Smurfs from the past?"

"Uh, gee," said Clumsy, as he and his companions stepped out onto the rug. "I thought we were the Smurfs from the present!"

"Oh, terrific!" Snappy groaned. "So, we're all trapped in here! And we still haven't found the one guy we came here for!"

"Erm, actually, Snappy, I don't think that's quite accurate."

"What do you mean, Professor?" asked Nat.

"Look here, at this clock," the Professor said, stepping back to give the others room. "Its shape and form. Doesn't it remind you of..."

"Great Smurfs," Handy said. "I don't believe it! Surely even Gargamel's not capable of...of..."

"Of what?" the younger Gargamel demanded. "What's wrong with this clock?"

"Can't you see it, Gargamel?" the Professor said, his bearded face drawn and pale.

"See what! What are you misguided morons blathering about?"

"I believe..." Papa Smurf said, his voice choked and hoarse. "I believe that this clock was once our dear friend Father Time."

"Wailing woodpeckers!" Sassette cried. "But, if that's true, then can't you change him back?"

"This isn't an ordinary transfiguration spell, Sassette," the Professor said. "Don't you see? That dirty, double-dealing excuse for a wizard has smurfed a living man into an inanimate object - effectively rendering him non-living! Putting us in the same room with this clock is clearly that villain's way of taunting us. After all, while it is relatively simple to enact the spell to take life, it is next to impossible to smurf life back into a lifeless object, even for the most talented and experienced of wizards!"

"But surely, Professor, if you and Pappy Smurf work together..."

Sassette looked at them both with wide, hopeful eyes.

The Professor and Papa Smurf both seemed to shrink into themselves.

"Without my lab—/Without my books—" they chorused, then shared a meaningful glance.

"We can try, Sassette," Papa Smurf said, but he didn't sound very hopeful. "We can try..."

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part XVI

The Professor's secretary had left for home by the time Brainy and Clumsy finally left the Professor's office.

"It's gettin' dark already," Clumsy said, peering out the window behind the secretary's desk. "We'd better get moving, or we'll be late for supper!"

"Do we eat here, at the university?" Brainy asked.

"Oh, no, Brainy," Clumsy said. "We Smurfs always eat supper at home. As a family!"

"And when you say 'home'..." Brainy said. "You mean..."

"Why, Smurf Village, of course!" Clumsy said, and smiled. "Come on, Brainy. We should be just in time to catch the last bus."

"Bus?"

Clumsy shook his head.

"I'll explain on the way. Just hurry. If we miss the bus, we'll have to walk home, an' it's a pretty long way to smurf in the dark..."

*******

The Smurf Village Clumsy led him to was a far cry from the tiny, close-knit community Brainy knew. This was a bustling city set in the middle of the forest; a city of multistory shops and apartments. The only thing he recognized was the mushroom-shaped roofs.

Brainy looked around, aghast and awestruck by the sheer scale of the place. Everywhere, unfamiliar Smurfs ranging from Brainy's real age to Clumsy's current age streamed in and out of the brightly colored shops and up and down the broad, paved streets. All the movement and hurry and chatter made the displaced Smurf feel quite disoriented.

"Who are these strange Smurfs?" Brainy asked as they maneuvered the crowded sidewalk. "Where did they all come from?"

"Well, gosh, Brainy," Clumsy said. "They come from right here! See, the Blue Moon's come twice since your time. Once when our Baby Smurf turned three hundred, and again when he turned four hundred. We've got a whole new generation of young Smurfs now, and about a hundred little Smurflings too. That means there's about..."

He paused to count on his fingers.

"Oh, gosh. Maybe some three hundred an' four Smurfs livin' in Smurf Village right now!"

He giggled.

Brainy stared.

"Amazing," he said. "And am I in charge of all of this, as well as the University?"

Clumsy laughed.

"Oh, gosh no, Brainy," he said. "Runnin' a village this size would be far too big a job for just one Smurf. No, we smurf a committee for that."

"A committee?"

"Yeah. The Committee of the Hundred Smurfs. Aside from the five Smurfs who smurf permanent seats, every Smurf over the age of one hundred and one takes it in turns to smurf their smurfic duty in a rotating schedule. That way every Smurf has a turn to represent the district where they live, every Smurf has a voice shaping Smurfland festivals, laws, and policies, and no Smurf feels left out!"

Brainy groaned.

"Oh my Smurf," he said, clapping a hand to his forehead. "Everything here is so confusing! Which Smurfs smurf the permanent seats?"

"Well, it's supposed to be the five elder Smurfs who most represent all smurfy interests. Our Founding Smurfs, the younger Smurfs like to call them."

Clumsy chuckled.

"They're the ones every Smurf smurfs to for help when the Committee gets stuck on a problem. So, there's Grandpa – he represents the interests of all Smurfs. Then, Papa – he speaks up for the Smurflings. Smurfette respresents the Smurfettes. Handy, Greedy, Tailor, Miner – they share a seat and smurf up for the Working Smurf. Then, you represent the interests of the University community."

"Me?" Brainy said, his eyes lighting up behind his glasses. "You mean, I have a permanent seat?"

"Uh, well, uh... The Professor does, sure," Clumsy said. "He is a Founding Smurf, after all."

"A Founding Smurf!"

Brainy practically glowed.

"You know, Clumsy? I'm getting to like this future better all the time!"

"Uh, well, that's great, Brainy. I guess. But, I'm hungry. Whaddya say we—"

"Evenin', Smurfs!" a chipper voice called out.

A happy looking Smurf, maybe about four hundred years old, waved from across the street and started to cross over. As he worked his way through the crowd, Clumsy leaned over to Brainy.

"Brainy, this is Papa Smurf," he whispered. "He an' his smurfy helpers take care of all the Smurflings."

Brainy squinted.

"What? That Smurf isn't Papa Smurf! Where's the real Papa Smurf?"

"If you mean Grandpa, he's probably already at dinner. Oh, hi, Smiley Smurf!" Clumsy greeted the approaching stranger.

The stranger laughed, warm and bright.

"Smiley," he said. "That's one I haven't heard in a while. At least you didn't call me Baby! Still get that one now and then."

Brainy stared.

"B-Baby...?"

"I know, ridiculous isn't it?" the grown Smurf said. "Four centuries old, and the Founding Hundred still see me as a little baby. None of you Smurfs ever do call me Papa."

He laughed that warm, happy laugh.

"I get it, though. I feel the same way about my first group of Smurflings. Have to keep reminding myself they're all grown up! You ever feel that way about your students, Professor?"

"Uh...well..." Brainy stammered, unable to take his eyes from the Smurf's round, clean-shaven face.

"Yes indeed, it sure is hard seeing the time go by," the Smurf said. "Well, I'll say 'bye for now. Got to smurf the little ones their dinner."

He shook Brainy's hand, then Clumsy's, then brought two fingers to his mouth and whistled, loud and shrill.

A laughing, tumbling, skipping group of Smurflings poured out from among the crowd and arranged themselves into twenty neat rows of five. The grown Smurf did a quick head count. Then, with a shout, the giggling group started moving.

Brainy stared at the way the crowds of shopping Smurfs made space for them, laughing themselves and waving to the little Smurflings as they passed.

"Great Smurfs," Brainy said. "It's like smurfing the Pied Piper!"

Clumsy chuckled.

"Uh, yeah. I guess it is!" he said, and took Brainy's hand, pulling him through the crowd. "But now we really do have to hurry. If we don't get to dinner soon, those little Smurflings will smurf up everything in sight!"

*******

Slouchy, Snappy, Nat, and Sassette left the cavernous dining hall with their minds and their stomachs full to bursting. Although they weren't activated at the moment, the displaced Smurflings still wore their Guises, and they'd been warned repeatedly by both Handy and Marina that they had to keep wearing their Guises no matter what because there was no way he'd make them another batch.

"That Handy," Slouchy said, scratching the blue skin under the Guise's colorful band. "He sure didn't let us smurf out of his sight for a second!"

"Yeah," Snappy agreed. "How were we supposed to really explore that huge University place with him smurfing over our shoulders the whole time!"

"Well, we'll get to smurf there again tomorrow," Sassette said.

"Yeah, but tomorrow we'll have to do classes," Nat said. "Well, smurf the students some tests, anyway. That fuddy-duddy Handy doesn't trust us to actually smurf them any lessons."

"I don't know," Slouchy said, looking around at the moonlit market street. Most of the Smurfs had gone to dinner, and the shops were closed and dark. "Maybe that's a good thing. I mean, do you Smurfs really want to have to get up in front of all those humans tomorrow and talk?"

"Why not?" Snappy said. "I've got plenty to say! And Nat, here, knows everything there is to know about nature and all that stuff. What more do they want? Those grown-ups just refuse to see that we Smurflings are just as smart and as capable as they are. And that's because they never smurf us a chance to prove it!"

Sassette crossed her arms.

"Galloping gophers!" she said. "What does it take for them to smurf us seriously? Even looking like this, they still think we're a bunch of babies."

She dug in her pocket of her jeans and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.

"I mean, look at these schedules they gave us. It's just one class after another. There's no time to play!"

"Grown-ups don't play. They just work. Didn't you know that, Sassette?" Nat said grumpily.

"They do so play," Sassette said. "Remember back in our own Village? All those Smurfball games they'd never let us join? If you ask me, these unsmurfy schedules are just a trick to keep us out of trouble."

Snappy shot her an admiring glance. The way she stood just then, looking so determined, the moonlight shining on her braid... For some reason, the sight made his heart skip in his chest.

A stray thought crossed his mind - a thought he didn't feel comfortable dwelling on. How could his tough, grubby little friend have grown up to look so... So smurfy?

"I think Sassette's right," he said, his blue cheeks flushing slightly when she smiled at him.

"Me too," Slouchy said. "Only babies take orders from grown-ups. Real grown-ups make their own schedules!"

"Yeah," Snappy spoke again, not to be outdone. "No one tells them when to do chores or when they can eat lunch. They decide for themselves!"

Sassette nodded.

"You're right, Snappy! If we want to be like real grown-ups, we're going to have to take charge of ourselves, not let the older Smurfs take charge of us."

"But how, Sassette?" Nat asked. "We don't know the first thing about teaching humans!"

"What's to know?" Sassette said. "We're the ones in charge of them, aren't we? If we want, we can just tell them to smurf the work themselves and let them leave the class early. That way, we'll have the whole rest of the day to play!"

"Yeah! Sounds good!" the Smurflings cheered. "Let's smurf it!"

Tossing their crumpled schedules in the street, the four displaced Smurflings ran back to Sassette's apartment to plan a new list of fun activities for tomorrow.

*******

"This place truly is amazing, Clumsy," Brainy said as the pair of them strolled down the path away from the shiny new city toward the original site of Smurf Village. All around them, traditional mushroom houses lined the dirt street, bordered by pretty lawns and gardens.

Brainy took in a deep breath of warm, nighttime air.

"It's a little more built-up than I remember, but I think I'll always prefer these charming houses to those stacked-up apartments you have back in town."

"Oh, me too, Brainy!" Clumsy said. "Gosh, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my rock garden to take care of. Look, you can see it now."

Brainy looked where his friend pointed, and his eyes widened behind his glasses.

A little brown mushroom house perched on the gentle slope of a terraced hill, surrounded by an eye-catching rock garden. Colorful flowers climbed the stone walls, and artfully arranged geodes twinkled in the moonlight.

"Clumsy!" he said. "That— That's really beautiful. Did you design that?"

"Sure did, Brainy," Clumsy said proudly. "An' I make sure I weed and water those rocks every day."

"Uh, yes," Brainy said. "I'm sure you do. Where do I live?"

"Right over there, Brainy," Clumsy said, and pointed to a two-story mushroom house with a red and white spotted roof. "The Professor had that top floor smurfed up special a few years ago. Now, instead of havin' everything all crammed together, he's got his laboratory downstairs and his library and bedroom upstairs!"

"Amazing," Brainy gasped. "Can I see it?"

"Well, uh, sure, Brainy," Clumsy said. "The Professor always keeps some smurfberry candy in this special drawer he doesn't think I know about. If you want, we can smurf some for dessert, an' I can help you smurf your notes for that seminar tomorrow!"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Brainy said. "But first... Clumsy, who's that Smurf, standing up on that hill? It's like he's looking at us."

Clumsy glanced up and smiled.

"Oh, that's just Papa Smurf. We call him Grandpa now. He's been smurfing up to that hill every night since I can remember. His thinking time, he calls it. We don't bother him."

"Hm," Brainy said, and rubbed his bearded chin. "How curious. I wonder why he—"

Clumsy had walked ahead, and now he called over his shoulder: "So, uh, you comin' Brainy?"

"Huh? Oh, right behind you, Clumsy!" he called back.

Casting a final glance up at that lone silhouette, Brainy turned and trotted down the path after his friend.

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part XVII

The moon shone big and bright through the Professor's second story window, its pale white light pooling across the overstuffed bookshelves. Brainy turned and tossed in the Professor's feather bed, but couldn't get to sleep. He missed his own bed, his own village...

Grabbing his glasses from the bedside table, Brainy kicked off the blanket and headed down the stairs.

Clumsy's light snores droned from the couch. Brainy tiptoed past him and out the door, where the cool night air met him like a sigh of relief. The big house was like a monument to the Professor's great accomplishments. Sitting inside it made the young Smurf feel very small. Inadequate. He wondered how Clumsy could stand it.

Brainy didn't really have anywhere he wanted to go, besides home, and he had no way to get there. So, he pointed his feet toward the hill where he had seen the old Smurf and started walking.

The middle aged body he wore huffed and puffed, sweat trickled down from under his hat, but Brainy kept up a quick, steady pace until he'd made it to the top. From there, he could see the whole of what Clumsy had called Smurfland spread out before him like a living map of patchwork fields, sparkling lakes and streams, and gently rolling hills. For a long time, Brainy just stood there, awed by the peace and beauty of the landscape the Smurfs had carved for themselves. Then, a chilly wind blew across the hill's bare brow and the little Smurf turned to go.

"Stop! Who goes there!"

Brainy jumped about a foot and clasped a hand to his pounding heart.

"It's me!" he blurted. "Brainy Smur—uh, I mean…"

"Brainy?" the voice queried. "Not the Professor?"

"Well, that too, I suppose," Brainy said, straining to see through the dark shadows. "Who are you?"

"Brainy Smurf… Yes, of course, you've come from the past… I have been waiting such a long time… Such a long time to tell you..."

A form detached itself from the shadows and shuffled closer, becoming more distinct as it moved toward the light. Before long, Brainy could make out a Smurf's long, white beard, his bright eyes, his large half-moon glasses…

He squinted.

"Papa Smurf? Is that you?"

The aged Smurf smiled and clasped the younger Smurf's shoulders with his wrinkled hands.

Brainy stepped back, out of reach, very uncomfortable with the old Smurf's touch. This wasn't the Papa Smurf he knew. His Papa Smurf was a strong, vibrant, confident Smurf at the height of his powers. This Smurf was stooped, fragile, his voice just a whisper of Papa Smurf's familiar tones...

"My dear Brainy," the old Smurf said. "I knew you would come. There is something very important I must tell you. A message I have kept safe for so many, many years…"

"What message?" Brainy asked eagerly. "Do you know what happened to me? To the Smurflings? Can you smurf us home?"

The old Smurf blinked up at him.

"Home? Yes…of course, you were smurfing me home…"

"What? No, I was asking if you knew how to smurf me home! Me and the Smurflings!"

The old Smurf shook his head.

"It's far too late for the Smurflings to be out and about, my boy," he said. "They should all be tucked into their beds by now. But, tell me, what was your name again, young Smurf?"

Brainy stared in horror.

"I'm Brainy Smurf, don't you remember!" he exclaimed. "You just said you had a message for me!"

"Message..."

"Yes, a message! There was an accident back where I come from, in the past. Gargamel was chasing me and the Smurflings from Father Time's cave. There was a terrible, blinding flash, and the five of us ended up here, looking like ourselves from the future! Please, please tell me you remember!"

"Remember?"

It was clear the old Smurf was fading. Brainy clenched his fists in frustration, but forced himself to keep his temper.

"Come on, Papa Smurf," he said, taking the old Smurf by the arm. "You're smurfing home with me. Maybe Clumsy will know how to smurf your memory."

*******

The next morning, the Smurflings were woken up by Handy and his wife, Marina, who led them to breakfast. The pretty, green-skinned mermaid navigated nimbly through the early morning crowds in a sleek mechanical aquarium/wheelchair Handy had designed specifically for her. When they'd stacked their trays with fresh juice and morning muffins, Marina led the way to a corner table and pulled four slender, rectangular devices from a bag she'd slung over the back of her chair.

"These are called Tablets," she said, handing one to each Smurfling. "Handy and I were up all night filling these things with everything you'll need to survive your first day of teaching: your schedules and room numbers, attendance lists, maps of the campus, lecture notes, quizzes, and answer sheets. You can also use them to contact me or Handy in case you have any questions or problems."

The Smurflings shared a glum look, but took the strange machines and listened while Handy and Marina demonstrated how to use them. Despite themselves, the Smurflings were soon fascinated by the touch screen, the colorful, orderly icons, and the scrolling lists of neatly printed notes.

"You know that we're smurfing a great deal of trust in you Smurflings," Handy said, his eyes sharp. "We have our own classes to teach, and we can't be there to smurf over you every moment. I need to know I can count on you to smurf yourselves like responsible adults. Can I smurf on you to take this seriously and to smurf your duty like grown-up Smurfs?"

The Smurflings shared a few glances, as if engaging in some secret, silent conversation. Finally, Sassette said, "You don't need to worry about us, Handy. We'll smurf charge of those classes, just like real grown-up Smurfs!"

Handy and Marina grimaced, then sighed.

"All right then," the mermaid said, pushing back her long, lavender hair. "But remember: our safety, and the security of all Smurfland, depends on your behavior today. If you let our secret slip..."

"You don't have to talk to us like we're stupid," Snappy snapped. "We've been smurfing together to keep our Village a secret from the humans our whole lives! Besides, we've got these Guise things to keep us hidden, don't we? What could possibly go wrong?"

"Yeah," Slouchy said. "We know what we're doing. Smurfs' honor."

*******

It was late in the afternoon before Brainy managed to scrape out a moment to contact Handy. The exhausted young Smurf had had no idea so many activities could be squeezed into a single day! The hours had passed in a disorienting blur of lectures, tutorials, conference calls, and a host of other funding, promotional, and publication-related duties that required him to make important decisions fast. Clumsy managed to help him through much of it, but Brainy always had to play the front man, and it wasn't easy to keep from crumbling under the constant pressure to keep the Professor's human colleagues - and especially his secretary - from realizing he wasn't the man he appeared to be.

Fortunately, the day passed so quickly, he just didn't have the time to panic.

Life at the university didn't stop at five o'clock. There were evening and night classes to teach, lab work to perform, athletic, band, and orchestra practices, dorm life and student parties, and two libraries that stayed open twenty-four hours a day. Yet, somehow, after Brainy's hurried request, Handy managed to call together a senior faculty meeting in the main conference room, just a floor below the Professor's office.

Marina made a lovely human, with large, green eyes, alabaster-pale skin, and silky black hair streaked with vibrant purple. Once the invited Smurfs had filed past her, each concealed by their Guises, she locked the conference room door behind them and skilfully maneuvered her electronic wheelchair to the main table. Handy and Hefty scooted aside to make room for her, and Handy took her hand with a smile.

"So, what did he say Prof-I mean, Brainy?" Smurfette was asking.

Brainy sat at the head of the table, with Clumsy beside him. He'd taken off his glasses to rub his tired eyes, but now he slid them back over his nose and straightened his stiff shoulders.

"Well, it took a while to get any sense out of him," Brainy said. "It was really awful seeing Papa Smurf so confused like that. Why didn't any of you Smurfs tell me he was sick?"

"He's not exactly sick, Brainy," Dreamy said. "He's just getting old. Old age is a fate that awaits every Smurf who lives long enough to face it down."

Brainy frowned.

"Yeah, well, I don't like it. When I smurf back home, I'm going to smurf it a priority to smurf a way to keep him from forgetting things in the future!"

"That's all very well," Vanity said, sneaking a glance at his reflection in his polished cane top, "but, in the meantime, none of us is getting any younger. Why don't you skip along to the point?"

Brainy shot him a look, but was too exhausted to deliver another lecture. So, he swallowed his annoyance and took the direct approach.

"According to Papa Smurf," he said, "your Professor and I really did switch places in time. Back where I come from, my Papa Smurf and your Professor teamed up to smurf an expedition of Smurfs to confront Gargamel and get him to swap us all back where we belong."

"Let me guess," Hefty growled, "the bald creep double-smurfed 'em."

"It's worse than that," Brainy said. "It turns out there's another Gargamel - a Gargamel who stole Father Time's sand and used it to travel to the nineteenth century, where he's smurfed himself up as a great wizard with a big, fancy house and servants and everything! He kidnapped Father Time and is holding him, Papa Smurf and the Professor captive right now!"

"Well, uh, it's not really right now if it's in the nineteenth century, is it?" Clumsy asked, a deeply puzzled look on his face. "I mean, the nineteenth century's the past. Isn't it?"

"It's the future to me," Brainy said.

"Stop, stop, please!" Hefty exclaimed, clapping his hands over his ears. "Time travel talk always smurfs me a headache! Besides, how can we even trust any of this information is real and not just a product of Papa Smurf's confused imagination?"

"That's a good point," Handy said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "And even if Papa Smurf is right, how are we supposed to track down this Gargamel without Father Time's help?"

Brainy and Clumsy shared a glance.

"Well, we were sort of hoping you could smurf up a time machine," Brainy said.

Handy laughed so hard and so long, Brainy started to sink in his chair.

"Ooh, hoo, sorry," Handy gasped. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed like that. It's just, looking like you do, it's easy to forget how young you really are. I'm flattered you think I'd be able to smurf such a device, Brainy, but I'm afraid inventing a time machine is far beyond my abilities."

"Then, what about magic?" Smurfette suggested. "Could there be anything in the Professor's library that might help?"

"Even if there was, how would we know where to look?" Dreamy asked. "The nineteenth century spans...well...a whole century. And then there's the problem of finding this Gargamel's lair."

"Papa Smurf mentioned something about that," Brainy said. "It wasn't really clear, but I remember, he said that we - that is the Smurflings and me - we belong in the past and that we are somehow connected to our future selves - the Smurfs we will become. He said there's a sort of smurfy bond between us, like an imaginary string, and, if we can identify that string, we can trace all its loops and twists and curves until it smurfs us straight to our missing Smurfs!"

"OK," Hefty said, his brow a mass of wrinkles as he struggled to follow what Brainy had said. "So, how do we find that string?"

"Uh, with magic!" Clumsy exclaimed. "That's what Papa Smurf said. We've got to find the right spell, gather all the right ingredients, then smurf all the displaced Smurfs together in a circle. If the spell works, we'll be able to smurf exactly where and when the Professor and the others are being held prisoner!"

"But the problem still remains," Handy said. "Just smurfing where and when they are isn't enough. No one can smurf back through time without Father Time's sand, and Gargamel's got that."

"Well, maybe he didn't smurf all of it," Brainy said. "Do you Smurfs know if Father Time's cave is still around in this time period?"

"Are you suggesting a smurfpedition?" Dreamy asked eagerly.

"Why not?" Brainy said.

"Yes, why not," Hefty said. "Even a few stray grains of sand might be enough to smurf the trick. Heck, if we can smurf that spell and find that kidnapping lowlife Gargamel tonight, we might be able to smurf this whole crazy mess right by morning!"

The gathered Smurfs cheered and started hammering out the details of the proposed expedition to Father Time's cave and the method for seeking out the right spell (fortunately the Professor maintained a meticulous and easily searchable digital catalog for his library), until their enthusiasm was stilled by a sudden, disturbing observation.

"Hey, Smurfs," Handy said, glancing from face to face, "I just realized... We summoned those Smurflings to this meeting, and they never showed up. Can any of you remember the last time you saw Sassette, Snappy, Slouchy, and Nat?"

To Be Continued...

Chapter Text

Part XVIII

The air in the big human city had a coarse, metallic taste, unlike anything in Nat's experience. Along with the foul taste, there was a dark, bitter smell that burned in Nat's nose and dried out his throat. The disguised Smurfling coughed a little and made a face.

"I don't think I like this place," he said to his companions.

"Just 'cause it was built instead of grown," Snappy scoffed. "Why don't you give it a chance? You didn't like King Gerard's capital either first time you smurfed it, and that was nothing like as smurftastic as this place."

He spread his arms wide and grinned at the hustling crowds, whizzing traffic, and looming buildings, seeming to expand with the energy and movement of the place.

Sassette shook her head, her shoulders hunched against the press of the noisy, jostling throng surging up and down the sidewalk.

"I don't know, Snappy," she said. "I think I'm with Nat on this one. This place… It's…it's not…"

"It's not Smurfy, that's what it's not," Slouchy rumbled, slouching so deeply into himself that all they could see of his face were his eyes, squinting out from under his hat. "All these humans… I never imagined there could be so many in the whole world, let along crammed together in one street. One part of one street. And the noise here, and the smell—! Nat's right: this place isn't for us."

"Then let's go back," Nat urged, inching closer to the bus station they'd just exited.

"You can't be serious!" Snappy exclaimed. "After all these years of being told to be patient and smurf what we're told we finally have a chance to smurf what we want when we want, and you want to smurf back after barely taking a step! What way is that for grown-up Smurfs to behave? I mean, smurf where we are – what we're doing. We smurfed all this way on that stinking bus thing to smurf the big city! Where's your adventuresmurf spirit!"

"I left it back home, with the trees and the waterfalls and the winding River Smurf," Nat said. "Slouchy, I don't want to be a grown-up Smurf anymore. I want to go home. I want to smurf my friends Flutterby and Puppy and Squirrel. I want Papa Smurf!"

"Yeah… You said it," Slouchy mumbled into his chest.

Snappy looked hurt, and a little torn. He turned to Sassette, who was playing with the paintbush end of her long, red braid.

"And you?" he said. "Do you smurf with them?"

Sassette twisted her braid around and between her fingers, squeezed it tight, then let it go with a sigh.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I do. But I smurf with you too, Snappy."

She turned to the others.

"We did smurf all this way," she said, "and Snappy's right. Galloping gophers, can you imagine how we'd feel if we were all suddenly smurfed home right now, without exploring even a little bit of this city? If we missed our chance to find out what being a grown-up was really like?"

Nat shrugged and Slouchy shifted his feet.

Sensing they were weakening, Snappy said, "I know. We've all still got those weird money cards Handy smurfed us so we could smurf meals at the university, right? Well, let's use them here instead. Let's use them to smurf something we'd never be allowed to smurf back home. Something we could only smurf as grown-ups."

"Like what?" Nat asked.

Snappy's eyes zoned in on a narrow, cartoon-colored shop across the street, and the others caught on immediately.

"All the ice cream we can smurf!" they chorused, and dashed after Snappy shouting, "Last one there's a rotten smurfberry!"

*******

A disguised Hefty, Brainy, Clumsy, and Handy piled out of the bus terminal and scanned the bustling street outside for any sign of the four delinquent Smurflings. Brainy stared with wide eyes and a slack jaw, overwhelmed by the noise and movement all around him.

"Great!" Hefty snapped, frowning at the dense, rushing crowds. "How are we supposed to find four disguised Smurflings in a city this huge?"

"They've gotta be close," Handy said, tapping his Guise. "I made sure the Tablets I gave them were linked in with my GPS. I just need a second…" he tapped some more, "…and here we are! According to the readout, our reckless runaways should be just across the street. In that shop."

He pointed to a small, brightly painted storefront with a window plastered thickly with university event fliers.

"Uh, gosh! I know that place," Clumsy said. "They make really great banana splits."

"What's a banana split?" Brainy asked curiously.

"Well, gee, Brainy. It's a big dish of ice cream with bananas and nuts and all sorts of berries, big enough to split with your friends. That's why so many students like to go there on the weekends."

"Then what are we smurfing for," Hefty said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's grab those kids and smurf 'em back to Smurfland before they smurf something stupid."

"You mean like smurfing us away to all these humans by saying 'smurf' every other word?" Handy said pointedly.

Hefty growled.

"You watch your language, I'll smurf mine," he said. "Let's move."

*******

Far from the dismayed surprise the adult Smurfs had expected to see when they showed up to crash the runaways' little party, the Smurflings seemed excited, even delighted, when they spotted the little search party clustered just inside the ice cream shop door. They waved the four Smurfs over to their table – a table they shared with three human students and at least two dozen empty sundae glasses.

Hefty strode up to them and started at once on his prepared lecture, but Sassette interjected before he could get out more than a few words.

"Stop, stop, stop, you've gotta hear this!" she said, clapping her hands in a rush of sugar-fueled enthusiasm.

"These students have been telling us a very interesting story," Slouchy said. "It has to do with the history of this very building."

"Yeah," Snappy said. "So you guys better sit down and listen good, because I've got a feeling this is really important."

The disguised Smurfs were rather put out by Snappy's attitude, but rather than cause a scene in a restaurant crammed with humans, the four of them filed away their irritation, squeezed into the booth, and gave their attention to the suddenly self-conscious students.

"Well, it's not all that important, Professors," one of them said, a young man Clumsy recognized as Trevor Thibault, one of his first year geology students. The other two, Antoine and Charlotte, he'd met while tending the university gardens. "Heck, I don't even know if it's true. I heard it from my flatmate, who heard it from an upperclassman. You've probably heard it yourselves a million times already."

"We won't mind hearing it again," Handy assured him. "Go ahead."

Trevor squirmed a little, then said, "Well, I was just saying how it's said this whole building was constructed over the site of what used to be the castle of an evil wizard. It's said this wizard could control time and destiny, and that he had a vast store of gold he kept in his basement that no one's ever been able to find."

Brainy and Clumsy shared a startled look.

"Would you know the name of this wizard?" Brainy asked.

"I think it started with a 'G'," Charlotte said. "Gar- Garble-something?"

"No, it was Gargle," Antoine said. "Remember Nate dancing around with that mouthwash? 'Always remember to Gargle-Well.'"

Handy wrinkled his nose.

"Gargle-Well? Could this wizard's name have been Gargamel?"

"Yeah!" Trevor said. "That sounds right. Gargamel - the evil wizard who made Time his prisoner. The owner here backs the story up, too. He says he bought this place new, shortly after they demolished the old castle to put up these shops and flats. There's a picture, there, of what it used to look like."

He pointed to a framed drawing on the wall, done painstakingly in ink on paper now yellowing with age. The picture showed an enormous, bleak, dark stone palace with tall spires and barely any windows.

Hefty frowned.

"Yeah, that looks like a place Gargamel would live," he said. "It has 'overcompensation' written all over it."

"Then, you think the stories might be true?" Charlotte asked.

Hefty started to answer, but Handy put a hand on his arm.

"Why don't you kids finish your ice cream," he said, and climbed to his feet. "The rest of us have to be going now. Isn't that right?"

He stared directly at Snappy, Slouchy, Sassette, and Nat until they averted their eyes.

"Yeah, we better be going," Snappy said, following the others out of the booth. "Thanks, you guys."

"See you around, Professors," the students said, looking quite relieved that the sudden crowd of teachers and administrators was leaving.

*******

Back out on the sidewalk, Snappy stopped short and crossed his arms, forcing the others to turn around to face him.

"Well?" he said.

"Well what?" Hefty retorted.

"Well, how about a thank you," Snappy said. "If I'm not mistaken, we just found a gigantic clue about what happened to us back when Gargamel and Azrael were chasing us from Father Time's cave with that weird sand. Somehow, Gargamel must have captured Father Time and used his sand to make himself rich enough to build that ugly old castle!"

"That's mostly supposition," Handy said, "but it's a good guess. If that legend is true, it meshes pretty well with the story Papa Smurf told you last night, Brainy."

"Then, we've found the right place?" Brainy said. "The nineteenth century castle where that other Gargamel is keeping Father Time, my Papa Smurf, and your Professor?"

Handy nodded thoughtfully.

"It's possible," he said. "But knowing where Gargamel's castle used to be isn't enough. We still need to find out if the spells in the Professor's library can help us track down the right time."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Brainy said. "Let's smurf back to the Village right away!"

"Right," Handy said, and turned his sharpest gaze to the Smurflings. "But don't think any of this lets you four off the hook. After what you did—"

"Uh, Handy," Clumsy said, nodding toward the ice cream shop's glass door, where they could still see - and be seen by - the students inside, "uh, maybe you could save the yellin' for when we're back home?"

"Good point, Clumsy," Handy said, and scowled at the Smurflings. "Later," he said. "We're going to have a long talk."

Snappy rolled his eyes, but the others nodded their understanding as they all trooped across the street, heading for the bus station and, hopefully, some real answers.

To Be Concluded...!

Chapter Text

Chapter XIX

Sassette watched nervously while Papa Smurf and the Professor argued in front of the grandfather clock that had once been their good friend, Father Time. The tension in their cramped little cell was rising higher by the minute, and the two expert wizards still didn't seem any closer to figuring out how to free Father Time from his terrible enchantment.

"Guys, it's getting really stuffy in here," the adult Slouchy mumbled from the depths of one of the prison room's overstuffed armchairs. "I don't want anysmurf to panic, but what if this room really is air-tight?"

"Slouchy's got a point," Nat said, running his fingers over the edges of the wall that had sealed them in so tightly. "I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded myself. Maybe we should smurf out the fire…just in case…"

"If you blue nitwits douse that fire, we'll all freeze to death," Gargamel growled from the other armchair.

"Well, if it's a choice between freezing and suffocating, I'll take the cold," Hefty said. "There's rugs and blankets here and, if things get really bad, we could huddle together for warmth. But once the air's been smurfed, it's smurfed."

"That's right," Handy agreed. "And a fire sure smurfs up a lot of air."

"You're not touching that fire," Gargamel snapped, and lurched to his feet.

Hefty, tiny as he was, put up his fists in a boxing stance, positioning himself between Gargamel and the fireplace.

"Go on, Nat, smurf it out," he said. "I'll keep this big brute out of your way."

Azrael perked up his ears, roused from his nap on top of the bookshelf by the prospect of crunching a Smurf or two between his teeth.

Gargamel bristled.

"You think you can stop me, you simpering little—"

"Stop it! Stop it all of you!" Sassette shouted, stepping out into the arena. "If we really are running low on air, what do you think a fight's going to do? Let's all sit down, and when those creepy henchmen come back with our supper they'll open the door and we'll have all the air we need."

"If they come back," Snappy said. "For all we know, this was that rotten Gargamel's plan from the start. Trap us all in this death box and wait for the oxygen to run out. Poof – all his enemies gone, like that, and that lazy wizard doesn't have to lift a finger."

"Hm. That would be clever," Gargamel mused. "Despicable, but clever. Now I wish I'd thought of it first!"

"You can't be serious," Sassette said in disgust.

"Uh, gosh," Clumsy said, his eyes wide with horror. "Would a human really do somethin' that awful?"

"You better believe it, kid," Slouchy grumbled from his chair. "Humans have done way worse to each other throughout history."

"Oh, how unsmurfy!" Smurfette exclaimed. "I wouldn't have thought even Gargamel could stoop so low."

"But, this doesn't make sense," Nat spoke up. "If killing us really is that older Gargamel's intention…by trapping his younger self in here with us, isn't he essentially killing himself too? Not to mention poor Azrael."

"Mreah," Azreal huffed from the bookcase.

"Well, maybe it's like Handy and the Professor were sayin'," Clumsy said. "Maybe the two Gargamels aren't exactly the same person, but alternates from different timelines."

"Ooh, this nonsense is making my head hurt," Hefty snarled. "Are we going to smurf out this fire or what?"

"Yes!" the Smurfs chorused.

"No!" roared Gargamel. "I'd rather suffocate than be reduced to huddling for warmth with a pack of revolting Smurfs!"

"Mreah, mreah!" Azrael said, climbing to his feet and stretching out his claws.

"Well, we're not going to just stand here and let that fire smurf up all our air!" Hefty retorted. "Come on, you Smurfs, let's—"

Hefty's noble charge was cut short by strange, creaking roar. The eerie sound rattled down the chimney and burst from the fireplace like a hurricane gust, blowing out the fire, scattering ash and charcoal, and hurling the Smurfs across the room. The wind was so powerful, it even blew Gargamel off his feet to land on his rump on the carpet.

"Mwah?" Azrael queried once the dust and wind had settled.

"Ooeerrgghh," a familiar voice groaned. "Where are we?"

Slowly, the prisoners stood up and brushed themselves off, their eyes widening at the sight of seven disoriented newcomers batting ash and soot from their clothes.

"As if this room wasn't crowded enough already," Snappy said, but he was smiling, his arms spread out to embrace an older-looking Smurf wearing blue coveralls, a blue cap, and a mustache that was just starting to silver.

"Handy Smurf!" Slouchy greeted warmly as he and Nat happily joined in the hug. "I knew you'd be coming to our rescue sooner or later."

"Oh, Handy!" Sassette squealed, throwing her arms around the rest of the huddle. "Oh, please say you've smurfed a way to smurf us all back home! Please, please, pretty please!"

The younger Handy stepped away, looking deeply uncomfortable as his older self laughed and clapped his grown-up friends on the back.

"Well, almost," the mustached Smurf said. "I must say I am glad to find you Smurfs here and well – and to see your Guises are still working! We've been having a terrible time with your alternates from the past."

"Hey! We haven't been that bad," peeped a raspy little voice, drawing the prisoners' attention to the rest of the newcomers.

Sassette, Nat, Slouchy and Snappy Smurfling all stood in front of the fireplace, still looking like their adult selves, while Brainy kept close to the older Clumsy, his wide, nervous eyes making him look surprisingly young despite the Professor's beard, suit and glasses.

"Criminy, it's us! I mean, they're us!" the adult Slouchy gasped.

"More specifically, they're us from the past – the ones who took our places back at the university!" the Professor said, stepping out from where he and Papa Smurf had been crouching behind the grandfather clock and striding up to his younger alternate, shooting him an appraising glance through his spectacles.

"Hmm," the wizard said. "It seems this situation is as complicated as we feared, Papa Smurf. Not only are we - " he gestured to himself and his adult companions – "stuck looking like our younger selves from the past, our alternates have apparently aged to fit in with their future surroundings at the university. A querulous quantum quandary if I've ever heard of one."

"Indeed," Papa Smurf agreed, his dark eyes deep with concern as he peered around the room at all his little Smurfs. "Which makes it all the more imperative that we find a way to save Father Time from his enchantment."

"What's happened to Father Time, Papa Smurf?" Brainy asked, looking nervously at the Professor.

"The Gargamel from this time period smurfed him into a grandfather clock!" the younger Clumsy said, loping over to grin at his future counterpart. "Uh, wow," he said to the older Smurf. "Are you really me?"

"Gosh," the older Clumsy said with a giggle. "I guess I am. Great to meet you, Clumsy Smurf."

"Yeah! Great to meet me too!" the younger Clumsy said, and warmly shook the older Smurf's hand.

"I wish we had time to greet everysmurf," the older Handy said. "But we're here on a time limit."

"What do you mean?" the younger Handy asked, peering warily at his older self from across the room.

"It's the spell we used to get here," Brainy said, still unable to unlock his eyes from his future self. "We found it in the Professor's – that is your – library, back in the Village. It brought us here, to you, but without Father Time's sand to stabilize our time portal, we'll be pulled back to the future in less than half an hour."

"Oh, dear," Smurfette cried.

"And what about us?" Snappy demanded. "Can't you take us back with you? We're the ones who belong in the future anyway!"

"Not without Father Time," the adult Handy said apologetically. "Without him to help us, we're lucky we were able to use the spell to find you."

"But now we have found them – and we've found Father Time too," Brainy said. "So, what are we waiting for? If that grandfather clock there is Father Time, let's just turn him back!"

"It's not that simple, Brainy," Papa Smurf said, still uncomfortable equating the bearded wizard he saw with the young Smurf he knew. "Gargamel's wicked spell has transformed our friend, Father Time, into an inanimate object, and I'm afraid that restoring life to an unliving object is nearly impossible."

The Professor nodded sadly. Even the older Handy seemed to dim.

"But…" Brainy said, a memory beginning to spark and flicker, growing brighter when his gaze fell on Smurfette, standing between the younger Handy and Hefty at the far end of the room.

"That's it!" he said. "Smurfette!"

"Who, me?" she asked. "What can I do?"

"It's not what you can do, it's what you did!" Brainy said. "Papa Smurf, do you remember last year – the last time Greedy made his famous smurfberry candy?"

"Yes, of course," Papa Smurf said. "But—"

"Oh!" Smurfette exclaimed, bringing her hands to her mouth. "Oh, Papa Smurf, I think I know what he means! Oh my, and I still feel so badly about this…"

"About what, Smurfette?" the older Sassette asked. "What's going on?"

"Well," Smurfette confessed, "last year, after I ate all my smurfberry candy, I still wanted more so… So I snuck into Papa Smurf's lab and… And I gave myself the Smurfy Touch!"

"The Smurfy Touch!" gasped the Smurfs from the future.

"Everything I touched turned into Smurfberry candy," Smurfette explained miserably. "Whether I wanted it to or not. My favorite chair, my flowers – even my beautiful house! But the worst part came when I accidentally touched Brainy's hand…"

"Poof!" Brainy exclaimed. "I was gone! Smurfed into a candy Smurf for most of the day. In fact, I wouldn't be here now, except Papa Smurf found a way to smurf me back to the living!"

"That's right, Papa Smurf," the younger Handy said. "I remember that day as if it were yesterday. You sprinkled a special powder over Brainy, and you said the magic words."

"Ipso facto, bring Brainy back-o!" Papa Smurf recited, and the younger Smurfs let out a cheer.

"That's it! That's it, Papa Smurf!"

"If that spell could smurf me back into a living Smurf after being turned into a candy statue, couldn't it work on Father Time just as well, Papa Smurf," Brainy asked hopefully. "Couldn't we use it to bring him back to life?"

Papa Smurf stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"I don't know…" he said slowly. "It never would have occurred to me to adapt a spell meant to counteract the effects of the Smurfy Touch to bring an enchanted object back to life… Professor?" he said. "What do you think?"

"It is highly unorthodox," the Professor said warily, "but with the situation as it is… I say it's worth a try," he said. "Do you remember what was in that smurfy powder you used on Brainy, Papa Smurf?"

"Of course I do," the older wizard said. "A little conjuring should do the trick. But, I'll need your help, Professor."

"You've got it, Papa Smurf," the Professor said.

"Can I watch you work?" Brainy asked.

The Professor grinned.

"Of course you can, kid," he said. "Step over here, and we'll show you how it's done."

Within minutes, the spell was ready. The Professor handed the little pot of powder they'd conjured together over to Papa Smurf, but the older wizard shook his head.

"You do the honors, Professor."

The spectacled wizard beamed.

"Thank you, Papa Smurf."

Reaching into the little pot, the Professor pulled out a pinch of powder and sprinkled it on the grandfather clock.

"All right, everyone, all together," he called to the others. "We're going to need past and future working together if we're going to pull this off. That means you too, Gargamel."

"Why should I help you?" the balding wizard growled.

"You want to get out of here, don't you?" Hefty snapped.

Gargamel grumbled and grunted, but finally gave in.

"Oh, all right," he muttered. "What were the stupid words again?"

"Ipso Facto, Bring Father Time Back-o!" the whole group chorused.

"Nothing's happening," Gargamel complained. "I should have known you ridiculous Smurfs would—"

"Shut-up, Gargamel, and watch!" the older Sassette said.

"Oh my Smurfness!" Smurfette exclaimed. "The wood – it's changing, moving. Why, it's starting to look like cloth!"

"It's working!" the Professor cried, hugging Brainy and Clumsy tight. "Look, Papa Smurf, it's actually working! Brainy Smurf, you're a genius!"

"I know, I know," Brainy said, struggling to loosen his future self's grasp. "I just need some air…"

"Papa Smurf?"

Father Time's voice boomed from high above them. The tall man knelt down to smile at his Smurf rescuers, his long, grey beard pooling on the floor.

"You saved me," Father Time said. "How can I ever thank you?"

"You can start by putting us all back in our own time," Gargamel snapped. "That's supposed to be your job, isn't it? Making sure time flows the way it should, instead of getting itself all tied up in knots?"

"And whose fault is that, Gargamel?" the powerful man demanded, advancing on the smaller wizard in a way that made the balding human cringe. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll put Time back to rights. But don't think this lets you off the hook. Or you."

Father Time turned his deep, dark eyes on the young Smurflings.

"Us?" Snappy squeaked. "What did we do?"

"Weren't you the ones who pranked Brainy Smurf and lied to your friends before running off and breaking into my cave?" Father Time boomed.

"Well…sort of," Slouchy allowed. "But we had a good reason!"

"And what reason is good enough to excuse what you did?" Father Time demanded.

"Well…we're not trying to excuse our actions, sir," Nat said. "Just explain. You see…"

"Yes?"

"We…that is…" Nat peeped.

"All the grown-up Smurfs treat us Smurflings like we're a bunch of babies," Snappy snapped, unable to keep his bottled up frustrations locked inside any longer. "They're always ordering us around and telling us what to do and when to do it. Even when we got smurfed to the future, it was still the same thing. Smurf this, not that. Be responsible. None of the older Smurfs ever ask us what we want to do. It's like what we want doesn't matter, just because we're kids! I bet they didn't treat us like that back when we were grown-up Smurfs too! And that's why we ran away, Father Time. We wanted to find out what happened to make us the way we are, and we wanted to know why you left us as Smurflings instead of turning us back into the Smurfs we used to be."

"You sure said a mouthful," Slouchy mumbled, looking nervously at Father Time's sandaled feet.

"Is that what you want, Snappy?" Father Time asked. "To be returned to the way you were before you and Slouchy and Nat ran into my clock?"

"Is that what happened?" Sassette whispered, wringing her hands with worry.

"Well, I…" Snappy hesitated. He hadn't expected to be put on the spot like that. But now that the question was out there…

"Why didn't you ask us?" Snappy said in a small voice. "Why didn't you fix things right then and there, as soon as you realized what had happened to us?"

"You seemed happy with the situation at the time," Father Time said, "and, since none of you could remember anything of your former lives, your Papa Smurf and I both agreed it would be less jarring to just let you grow up all over again. We never meant you any harm or distress. But if you are unhappy, I could change you back."

"Oh," Nat said, "could you really?"

"Absolutely, I could," Father Time assured him, "if that's what you really want."

Nat, Slouchy, and Snappy shared a long, searching look, then turned it to Sassette.

Sassette stood very still, struggling to breathe normally even as tears streamed down her flushed blue cheeks.

"It's all right with me," she said, keeping her voice strong and steady. "I'll be all right, whatever you decide to do."

The three Smurflings looked back at each other and shared a determined nod. Then, together, they strode up to Father Time and whispered in his ear.

The old man listened carefully, and nodded his understanding. Rising to his feet, he said, "Well everyone, it's been fun, but it's time for me to get back to work. I'll be around to see you soon, Papa Smurf. As for you, Gargamel…"

The tall man grabbed Gargamel by the back of his patched, black collar.

"You're coming with me. I have a few chores I need done, and you're just the drip to do 'em. Thanks again, Smurfs!"

Sassette rushed over to her friends, desperate to know what they'd whispered to Father Time. But, before she could reach them, the room began to swim and sway, swirling and fracturing and spinning until, suddenly, she found herself blinking up at the sky.

Sassette sat up and looked around. She was lying in Farmer's fields, and she was back to her old familiar self – pigtails, pink smurferalls and all.

"Snappy?" she called out, delighted to hear her own Smurfling voice again. She got up and started running, scanning the fields for any sign of her friends.

"Slouchy? Nat? Where are you guys? You'll never believe the weird dream I just…smurfed…?

Three long, Smurf-shaped shadows stretched out from the shed up ahead.

Sassette swallowed hard, slowing her run to a tip-toe crouch as she slowly peered through the open window, knowing in the deepest, darkest place in her heart that her friends had decided to grow up without her. That she had been left behind...

"Oh!" she cried, once she caught sight of their faces. "Oh, Snappy!"

Sassette ran into the shed and slammed into the frowning Smurfling so hard the pair of them fell crashing to the floor.

"Snappy, you're you!" she cried, too happy to care that her bear hug was squeezing all the air out of his lungs. "And you, Slouchy, and you, Nat!" She crushed each of them in turn.

"Of course I'm me," Snappy said, once he'd managed to catch his breath. "What's gotten into you, Sassette?"

"I was just…I was so scared," she gasped, too overwhelmed to keep her feelings in check. "I was so afraid you'd tell Father Time you didn't want to be Smurflings anymore. That…that you'd decided to be grown up Smurfs again and…and…and…"

"Aw, Sassette," Snappy said. "We wouldn't wanna grow up without you. If we've all got to grow up again, we're gonna do it together. As a family."

"A family?" Sassette smiled, blinking away her tears.

"Yeah," Snappy said. "And that means the other Smurfs too."

"Yeah," Nat agreed. "Even Brainy."

"Yeah," Slouchy said. "It's all for us and us for all."

"That's why we asked Father Time to make sure he put us back before we pranked Brainy and messed up his book," Snappy told her. "After all, if there's one thing we learned during our time in the future, it's that we've all got a lot of growing up to do."

"Brainy included," Slouchy said with a smirk. "But not for a while yet. I intend to enjoy being a Smurfling as long as I can!"

"Me too," Nat said.

"Me three!" Snappy said.

"Me four!" Sassette said, and giggled brightly. "But, hey! If Father Time's reset Time, and everything's back to normal, does that mean Pappy Gargamel won't get that huge castle in the future?"

"That'd be my guess," Slouchy said. "And serves him right."

"But, what about the university, and all the rest of the things we saw in the future?" Sassette asked. "Are those things still going to happen, or was it all like a big, confusing dream?"

"Beats me," Snappy said, and tilted his head toward the Village. "Hey, I think I hear Greedy's bell," he said. "Must be time for lunch! You coming, Sassette?" he asked, and held out his hand.

Sassette smiled and took it.

"You bet," she said. "Last one there weeds the turnip bed!"

"You're on!" the Smurflings cried, and the four of them raced for home.

The End