Hefty, The Luckiest Smurf/Part 3

Empath watched with Traveler as his counterpart in this alternate timeline was placed back in Psychelia. "Great Ancestors, Traveler...that is a terrible thing that would have happened to this smurf," Empath said with a great deal of disbelief in his voice.

"This one would have to agree with you on that, Empath," Traveler said. "This one does not see how things will be better from this point onward."

"Let's see what happens in the Smurf Village after this smurf has been returned to Psychelia," Empath requested.

Traveler took Empath a little further ahead into the following morning, where in the Smurf Village Papa Smurf had awakened and saw on his doorstep Empath's star-patterned suit and blue shirt neatly folded with a note attached to the bundle. It read: "To Papa Smurf: it is my regret that your son will no longer be able to return to the Smurf Village. He will forever remain in Psychelia to be trained in the manner of the Psyche Master. From the Psyche Master."

Hefty was just passing by Papa Smurf's house on his morning jog when he saw Papa Smurf reading the note that was left with Empath's clothes. He could see that Papa Smurf was getting really upset from what he was reading. "Of all the unsmurfy things to...who does that Psyche Master think that he..."

"What's the problem, Papa Smurf?" Hefty asked, sounding curious.

"It's the smurfed Psyche Master," Papa Smurf answered quite angrily. "He smurfed back on his promise to me that Empath would be released from Psychelia upon his 150th smurfday, and now he has the smurfs to say that Empath isn't going to be smurfing back to the village anymore."

"That sounds terrible, Papa Smurf," Hefty said. "What do you intend to smurf about it?"

"I wish there was something I could smurf about it, but I'm not going to endanger the entire Smurf Village just to rescue Empath from the Psyche Master," Papa Smurf said. "As much as I don't like having to smurf this, I'm afraid that the assistant leader position will now be yours from this day on."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Papa Smurf," Hefty said. "I wish I could smurf something to make Smurfette feel better once she smurfs the news, but I don't think it will make it any easier if it's smurfing from me."

"I'll smurf the entire village this news, just so we can all share in the grief we may be feeling from this news, Hefty," Papa Smurf said. "But however Smurfette may feel after this, be very careful with trying to comfort her. She may not be ready to accept what you may be smurfing her knowing that Empath is gone."

Hefty nodded. "I understand, Papa Smurf." - As Empath and Traveler watched together, Papa Smurf shared the news that Empath will no longer return with the entire Smurf Village, which made most of the other Smurfs upset and angry knowing that this will be the last they will ever see of Empath. Smurfette broke into tears and ran off, while some others started sobbing greatly, including Grouchy, who didn't like the thought of never seeing Empath again. Tapper comforted his fellow Smurfs in his tavern the best that he knew how, but even his heart felt rather heavy with the painful realization that he had lost a good friend. Duncan shaved his sideburns and mourned for the loss of his friend at the memorial park where Empath's statue used to be before it was destroyed, planting a sword next to the new statue of Empath which had Empath's name engraved on the handle. "Rest well, my brother Smurf," he said to the new statue before he arose and left the park.

Some days later, Hefty was overseeing the activities in the Smurf Village in the same manner that Empath once had in the assistant leader position, when Narrator approached him carrying Baby Smurf. "Ah, there you are, Hefty," Narrator said. "I was hoping to smurf you down so I could smurf to you."

"No problem, Narrator," Hefty said. "By the way, where's Smurfette?"

"That's what I was hoping to smurf to you about," Narrator said. "Now I don't mind taking care of Baby Smurf, but over the past few days, even Baby Smurf is beginning to wonder where she is. Most of what I know is that she's last been smurfing with Duncan, and though I'm not sure why she would be smurfing her time with him, I'm starting to worry that she may be smurfing something very unsmurfy."

"Maybe she's just angry and Gutsy is just helping her smurf out all her anger by training her or something," Hefty suggested.

"You may be right, Hefty, but all the same, I think that you should go and smurf with her about what she's smurfing," Narrator said.

Hefty decided that he would go and talk with Smurfette, to find out why she's spending most of her time with Duncan. He found her out near the edge of the village wearing workout clothes, punching and kicking a training bag that was set up hanging from a tree, working up a sweat. Hefty saw a fierce determination in Smurfette's eyes that he had hardly ever seen in her before.

"Smurfette, are you all right?" Hefty politely asked as he approached her. But he got no response from Smurfette, as her mind was completely focused on her hitting the training bag with all the fury built up inside her. He went up and gently grabbed her by the arm. "Smurfette, will you please--"

Smurfette suddenly turned around and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick that knocked Hefty on his back. She then saw who it was that she had kicked. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Hefty, I didn't mean to smurf that," she apologized.

"Don't worry about that, Smurfette...I've been smurfed by far worse than you," Hefty said as he picked himself up from the ground. "I just smurfed by because I was wondering what was smurfing on with you that you would no longer be smurfing care of Baby Smurf and all that."

"I'm just so angry at the Psyche Master for smurfing Empath away from me like that, Hefty, and I wish that there was something that I could do to smurf him back to me," Smurfette said. "I didn't think it would take losing Empath to make me ever think of smurfing up exercises and learning to fight smurf-to-smurf."

Hefty noticed something. "So that explains the heart tattoo that you're now smurfing on your arms, Smurfette. For a moment there I was thinking that you were smurfing that for another reason."

"That I was ever going to fall in love with you, Hefty?" Smurfette asked. "My heart is smurfed, and I can't really think of smurfing in love with anybody else now. All I really want now is to be like you, so I would never be the helpless damsel that I used to be."

"I never thought of you as being entirely helpless, Smurfette," Hefty said. "But if wanting to smurf like me is going to make you happy with yourself again, then I would be willing to help you be that type of Smurf."

"You would, Hefty?" Smurfette asked. "I didn't think you would like me to smurf anything besides who and what I am before now."

"Maybe this is just to help you smurf over losing Empath, I don't know," Hefty said. "But if you're really serious about this, I could help smurf you with some routines that you might find useful in smurfing yourself in great shape...well, for a Smurfette, that is."

"I don't care how hard you push me, Hefty," Smurfette said. "I feel that I need to smurf myself to the utmost and be the Smurf who isn't going to be a pushover or a helpless damsel."

Hefty thought about this for a minute. Then he said, "I'll do this for you, Smurfette...though I'll understand if you decide to smurf out of the program for whatever reason."

Smurfette smiled. "You really think that I have what it smurfs to become a strong Smurf like you, Hefty?"

"A strong Smurfette, more likely, if that kick you smurfed me is any indication," Hefty said.