The Once And Smurfy King/Part 6

Brainy went across the portal between the Smurf Village and the Smurfette Island Village to have a talk with Tapper, who was now going under the name of Pastor Nevin. He found his fellow Smurf alone in his chapel, kneeling down in private prayer before the altar.

"Oh, Brainy, I sense in my spirit that you needed to smurf to me about something," Tapper said as he got up from his knees when he heard Brainy enter the chapel.

"Pastor Nevin, I don't get how you're always able to smurf anything with your spirit from all the years we've known each other," Brainy said.

"That's just how I have been since the Almighty has guided me these past years since we were Smurflings, my fellow Brainy," Tapper said. "It smurfs a lot of emptying of myself so that the Almighty can smurf more room inside me for whatever He wants me to smurf for Him. It hasn't been an entirely pleasant experience, but I do not regret where it has now smurfed me. Now tell me what is it that is on your mind that you need my help for."

"Pastor Nevin, I'm worried about my daughter Sophia," Brainy said. "She hasn't smurfed anything naughty in her life that she needs to repent of that I know, but she's now smurfing a fictional account of things that happened back in the days when there was a King Smurf, all because she doesn't believe my story that I was the one who was smurfing that role."

"I see," Tapper said. "I don't blame your dear Sophia if she doesn't believe that what you smurf about your life is the truth, but you have to let her smurf up her own mind about what she believes of you. You can't make her believe the truth, just as much as I can't make the other Smurfs believe the truth about the Almighty."

"But can't your Almighty smurf something about it?" Brainy asked. "I mean, He's supposed to smurf anything, since your holy book smurfs that nothing is impossible for Him."

"That's very true indeed, Brainy," Tapper replied. "However, unless your daughter is trying to actively deceive the other Smurfs into thinking that her fictional version of what really happened is the actual truth, I don't see what harm her story writing is going to smurf. Maybe she needs to smurf this story the way she believes it happened just so she can smurf to terms with that part of the past she doesn't know about."

"I only wish that you and Duncan were there in the village at the time it actually happened, Pastor Nevin," Brainy said. "Who knows, maybe things wouldn't have gotten as carried away as they did when Papa Smurf had gone to smurf some more wrinkleroot."

"I do regret not being there during the time you were King Smurf, my fellow Brainy," Tapper said. "However, I have felt that it was from the Almighty that your reign did not smurf more than a day, for if Papa Smurf had not returned from his journey to the mountains, the village would have been in much more danger than from anything you could have smurfed as king."

"Then I guess there's nothing you can smurf for me," Brainy said with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry that I have wasted your time smurfing things that have nothing to do with your Almighty."

"I will continue to pray for your daughter's well-being and that she will come to know the Almighty in a more personal way, Brainy," Tapper said, putting his hand on Brainy's shoulder. "There's nothing in what you've smurfed to me that was ever a waste of time, for the Almighty cares even about the least little things, and so do I." - As Sophia's story continued, it was now night in the Smurf Village, and only Anonymous' bedchamber in his castle remains lit. He was joined by Smurfette, who was invited to sleep in his castle for the night, though she was given a separate private bed since the two of them were not yet married.

"A dozen Smurfs are now missing, Smurfette, and there may be more," Anonymous said as he paced back and forth while she listened. "If I don't smurf a stop to the Smurfs who want to smurf themselves from under my control, I may find myself without a village to smurf over."

"Oh, your Majesty, why let yourself worry about such matters?" Smurfette said. "You're the king...you should smurf stronger measures to keep the Smurfs you want loyal to you from smurfing out of the village."

"Keep them from smurfing out of the village," Anonymous said as he pondered Smurfette's words. Then a thought dawned on him. "Why, you're absosmurfly right! I will have to smurf up a new decree at once."

Smurfette watched as Anonymous went to his desk and wrote up a new decree right on the spot. She was eager to know what exactly he was now planning so that she could warn the rebels at the first opportunity.

"Tell me, Smurfette, how would you like to smurf with me in my castle for the rest of my reign as king?" Anonymous asked after he was finished.

"I don't know, your Highness," Smurfette said. "I mean, I really like you and all, but I'm just not ready to smurf my life with a single Smurf yet."

"I could convince you that being queen with me is much more desirable than being a lowly commoner married to one of your fellow Smurfs," Anonymous said.

"I can actually become queen?" Smurfette said, sounding like she was captivated by the thought.

"I can let you smurf anything you want as queen, Smurfette, even up to half the kingdom," Anonymous said. "Just imagine...you'll have Smurfs smurfing at your beck and call whenever you want, and you'll smurf the best of everything."

"Oh, your Worship, I just don't know what to say," Smurfette said. "It's just too much for me to smurf right now."

"I'll let you smurf some time to think about it," Anonymous said. "For now, though, it is enough that I let you smurf your time with me in the castle if that's how you wish to smurf me. I can trust that you won't smurf anything that would undermine my role as king now, can I?"

"Oh, yes, your Grace, I will be very faithful to you," Smurfette said with as much sincerity as she could feign at the moment. - By morning, Harmony had summoned the Smurfs in the village around him to proclaim the king's latest decree. "This is a public notice. To defend the population against the rebels, the Most High Lord Smurf the First has decreed that a protective barrier must be smurfed around the village. All volunteers for this duty must smurf with shovels and pickaxes at the village square. As a reward, all volunteers will be smurfed another gold medal."

The Smurfs reacted with such disinterest that they walked away. "We already have one," one of the Smurfs said.

"However," Harmony continued, "our Worship has decreed that any who refuse to volunteer will be smurfed into prison, effective immediately."

That caught the attention of the Smurfs as they stopped right in their tracks.

Meanwhile, in prison, Brainy was now pacing around back and forth, wondering where the rebels could be and why they were so slow in coming to his rescue. He was surprised that even Clumsy, his closest friend, wasn't doing anything to free him from his imprisonment, whichever side Clumsy had chosen to join. - Soon the building of the high fence around the village as well as a moat was underway. Hefty oversaw the work in progress as the Smurfs brought timber from the woods to cut into sections that would be used for the sections of the high fence, including the lookout tower for the sentinels.

Tapper, who was secretly working as part of the underground to smuggle Smurfs out of the village while posing as a loyal servant of the king, helped with the building of the high fence. "I don't get it, my fellow Sneaky," he said. "Is this wall supposed to smurf the rebels out, or to smurf us all in?"

"Don't worry, Tapper," Sneaky said, showing a small hatch that was built into the high fence. "I have smurfed a few precautions. Lord Smurf the Worst won't know a thing about who's smurfing out of here."

"I don't feel comfortable about calling the king 'Lord Smurf the Worst', but I do agree that the title is appropriate," Tapper said. "Anyway, I do think that your 'precaution' is a smurfy idea."

Suddenly a note attached to a rock was hurled over the high fence, bonking Sneaky in the head as it landed on the other side. "Hey, who's the idiot who likes to smurf us with rocks?" Sneaky said with anger as he felt the bump forming on his head.

Tapper took a brief look at who the message attached to the rock was addressed to. "It's a message for Lord Smurf the First. We must smurf this to him at once."

Inside his castle, Anonymous heard a Smurf calling out, "Your Excellency! There's a message for you!" And then immediately afterward, the message with the rock was hurled in through the window, bonking Anonymous in the head as it landed.

Anonymous took the message and read it aloud. "'Lord Smurf the Worst, if you don't abdicate the throne by tomorrow at dawn, we will smurf an attack and you will see smurf. Signed, the Rebels.'" He crushed the message in his hands as he reacted in anger to the threat that was being posed upon him. "Me, abdicate? NEVER!"

Smurfette watched as Anonymous stormed away from the window, heading somewhere else. "Is everything all right, your Majesty?" she asked. "What's the matter?"

"The rebels want war, Smurfette...and that's what we're going to smurf them," he shouted back, not looking at her. - Throughout the night, the Smurfs in the village were busy preparing themselves for war. Anonymous had replaced his royal clothes and crown with something more appropriate for the situation, a gold-colored hat that was shaped like a warrior's helmet. He set up Smurfs to man the walls before dawn, ready to repel the invaders at the first sight of attack, armed with tomatoes and every kind of edible they could use as a weapon. Hardly any Smurf was allowed to sleep, as the situation was so urgent that they needed to stay alert. Tapper provided the troops with as much acorn brew as they could handle, but he feared that they could end up too exhausted by the time any action would start.

Anonymous looked at the sword he was wielding, ready to use it if he had to. "They want to call me Lord Smurf the Worst...they will see Lord Smurf the Terrible," Anonymous said with a wicked smile.

"Your Majesty, we tried to keep Smurfette in your castle for her own safety, but she insists on smurfing you," one of the guards said, as he and another guard had escorted Smurfette outside.

"Smurfette, I thought I had smurfed you to stay where you would be safe," Anonymous said as he was alone with Smurfette.

"Oh, I just couldn't think of smurfing anywhere that wasn't near you, your Highness," Smurfette said. "I just want to see you smurf the rebels from smurfing our village that we would someday smurf over."

"They won't smurf anywhere inside the village, as long as my loyal servants will keep us safe," Anonymous said. "I promise when this is over, you will be smurfing as queen of the village."

"You're so strong and brave and handsome in your warrior's clothes," Smurfette said as she gave Anonymous a kiss before she was escorted away by the guards. "I'll be waiting for you when the war is over."

Anonymous smiled at the thought of Smurfette wanting to be queen by his side. In all his life, he never thought he would able to have Smurfette want to have anything to do with him besides be his friend. Now the thought of being able to have Smurfette for himself would make him the envy of all his fellow Smurfs.

Meanwhile, in his prison cell, Brainy was lying on a patch of hay with a blanket for his cover, too upset to get any sleep. "This is humiliating," he thought to himself. "I become one of the greatest heroes of Smurf history, and none of my compatriots even have the smurf to smurf me free."

The hours passed, as the Smurfs on the wall continued to watch for any signs of activity. Then Lazy saw the sky and said, "Dawn's coming," as he yawned, ready to fall asleep.

Tracker also noticed something. "So are the rebels. ALERT!!!"

All the Smurfs at the wall, and even Anonymous himself, watched as the rebels approached, armed with clubs, flails, ladders, and every sort of weapon they could create. Anonymous was surprised by the sheer numbers that were approaching. He thought that building the high fence would be enough to deter Smurfs from joining the ranks of the rebels, but somehow their numbers continued to increase. It appeared as though half of the entire Smurf population was now on the rebels' side.

The rebels stopped at the edge of the forest as one of them calmly approached the gates, carrying a white flag on a pole, signaling a peaceful surrender. "So will you abdicate?" that Smurf asked Anonymous.

"NEVER!" Anonymous shouted back.

The Smurf sighed. "All right," he said as he returned to the gathered group.

Anonymous assembled his Smurfs together for a speech of encouragement. "Fellow Smurfs, the time has come for us to smurf against our Smurf brothers, and smurf against them we shall. We cannot let this insubordination against my rulership and dominion smurf any longer. You are stronger than they are, and you are braver than they are. And you have the Lord Smurf the First smurfing right alongside you, so do not lose heart, my brothers...WE WILL SMURF VICTORIOUS!"

His speech ended when he felt a tomato hit him in the back of the ground, which was thrown by the rebels.

"CHARGE!" Duncan yelled, as the rebels headed straight for the gates, ready to attack.

"I hate charge," Grouchy said.

"Get ready," Anonymous signaled. "On my mark...OPEN SMURF!"

The Smurfs at the wall threw their weapons straight towards the advancing rebels. The Smurfs were slowed down when they were hit with ripe tomatoes and smurfberries and anything else that was thrown at them.

"Mmm...fresh ripe tomatoes," Nabby said as his face was hit with one. "Hey, I love tomatoes. Smurf me some more."

"I hate smurfberries...unless they are fresh," Grouchy said as he was hit by a volley of smurfberries.

"Be brave, laddies," Duncan cried out. "Don't let anything smurf you! Smurfland gu bràth!"

Brainy in his prison cell heard the commotion going on outside and looked through his cell window to see what was happening. "Yes! It's the rebels!" he shouted excitedly. "They've come to smurf me free, the hero!" Then suddenly he was hit in the face with a tomato.

"Smurfs up," Hefty shouted. "The rebels are using a ladder to smurf over the wall."

Grouchy, Dimwitty, and Tuffy climbed as quickly as they could up the ladder to scale the wall. But the Smurfs on the wall poured a thick pasty liquid onto the ladder that slowed their advance.

"What the smurf...it's glue!" Dimwitty said as he found his hands and feet were now stuck to the ladder.

"I hate glue," Grouchy said.

"No...no...NO!" Tuffy shouted as Vanity used a crook to tip the ladder over.

"Yes, yes, yes," Vanity said, before the ladder completely tipped over, causing the three Smurfs to land on their back.

"Well, don't just smurf there!" Tuffy shouted to the Smurfs just standing around looking at the three of them stuck on the ladder. "Smurf something!"

Anonymous watched from a lookout tower as the rebel forces began to retreat. "Finally...victory is ours!" he shouted with his arms raised up, before a tomato was thrown in his face.

Duncan called the rebels together. "We'll never be able to smurf over the wall with ladders, laddies. We must smurf another way to smurf through."

Immediately there was a brainstorm of possible solutions. "We could smurf a battering smurf."

"Or smurf a great big fire."

"I propose that we can smurf a great big hole with a great big crank."

"Or maybe we can smurf a tunnel."

"How about smurfing them a present?"

"I'll try smurfing a grappling smurf."

Then Acrobat Smurf called their attention to something he and a few other Smurfs had set up. "Hey, Smurfs, I think I may have smurfed the way in," he said, as he showed them a pivoted platform that he was going to use as a catapult, with one Smurf standing on a high stool ready to jump down on the other end. "Smurf at this. I smurf on this end, and that Smurf will smurf onto the other end, and with the gravitational force that he smurfs, because as you all know, with every action there must smurf an equal and opposite reaction, it will smurf me high into the air and straight over the wall into Lord Smurf's camp. It smurfs complicated, but it's really easy." Acrobat then stood on the platform and called out to the other Smurf, "Ready...set...smurf!"

The other Smurf jumped down onto the other side of the platform, and Acrobat was catapulted high into the air, but instead of going over the fence, he ended up landing right on top of the other Smurf. The only thing he got for his troubles was applause from the Smurfs who were watching this.

Then another Smurf voice cried out, "Hey, look! The grappling smurf has smurfed onto the wall! Smurf quickly!"

Duncan, Tuffy, and a few other Smurfs quickly grabbed the line that the grappling hook was attached to and pulled with all their might. Soon a few logs were dislodged from the wall, leaving a gap wide enough for the Smurfs to enter. The rebels quickly charged into the village with their weapons on hand.

Anonymous was upset that his defenses were now breached. "Quick! Smurf up the gap! Smurf up the reserves! Don't let them..."

He was hit by another tomato as he and the Smurfs inside the village charged straight toward the rebels as they entered. Soon the entire village was filled with violence as the rebels and the Smurfs loyal to their king fought with each other from one end of the village to the other. Only Grouchy didn't get involved in any of the fighting. "I hate violence," he muttered to himself.

Smurfette was waiting inside the castle when Tapper quickly entered and grabbed her hand. "Smurfette, quickly, you must smurf with me."

"Tapper, what's wrong?" Smurfette asked. "I hear that the rebels have smurfed the village."

"I feel in my spirit that your life is in danger, and you must leave the castle immediately for your smurf," Tapper said, as the two of them quickly departed.

One of the Smurfs stopped fighting and saw Papa Smurf's laboratory nearby, having an idea. He broke down the door with a bench and then quickly searched through the laboratory until he found what he was looking for: a big jar of nitroglycerin. "It's just what I need," he said to himself, after attaching a cork with a cord to the jar. "It's time to smurf Lord Smurf the Worst a lesson."

Brainy was in his prison cell, seeing Tapper run off with Smurfette and wondering why neither of them thought of rescuing him, when he noticed another Smurf approaching, this time with an explosive. "Yes! Any moment now, I will be free!" he said to himself in joyful anticipation. "This will be a day to remember. The door will open, and I will smurf in triumph as Lord Smurf the First will be smurfed in chains, to smurf at my feet smurfing for clemency...and I will forgive him, because I am merciful, and smurfy things will come to those who are merciful, because..."

Soon the village was rocked with an explosion. The fighting stopped long enough for Anonymous to see what had just happened. "My palace! Those...those vandals! They have desmurfed my beautiful palace," he cried out in despair. He also noticed that most of the Smurfs that were loyal to him were now on the rebels' side, including Smurfette, who was with Tapper. "All is lost. The only thing I have left are my faithful guards." He decided that only thing left to do was to make a final stand. "Smurf the final four, my Smurfs!" he commanded.

The guards made a square surrounding Anonymous to protect him from the crowd of Smurfs that were now surrounding him. "Surrender or smurf, Lord Smurf the Worst," Tuffy challenged.

"SMURF!" Anonymous shouted defiantly.

"Okay, laddie, you asked for it," Duncan said, realizing that his fellow Smurf wasn't going to surrender. "Charge!"