Soon the team of Hefty, Tuffy,
Willpower, and Century had entered the land of Pussywillow Hollow,
led by Duncan McSmurf. The land hidden behind the fog on the other
side of Toad River hasn't changed much since the last time they
visited this dangerous land.
"Smurf on your toes, laddies," Duncan
warned his companions. "Everything in this area's much bigger than
what's in the rest of the forest. Plus we have those nasty
Wartmongers who are out to smurf anything that moves, which
includes us and the Pussywillow Pixies."
"Well, I'm not afraid of what smurfs
on in here," Tuffy said.
"Just keep your smurf down and be
very careful, or else we won't smurf out of here alive," Hefty
told Tuffy.
"I wish Tracker were here on this
journey," Century said. "I don't know where to begin to look for
the Pussywillow Pixies."
"We'll find them, Century," Willpower
said. "We may have to smurf through every part of the hollow, but
we'll find them."
"Shhh," Duncan said. "I hear
something smurfing through the bullrushes up ahead."
They hid themselves behind the
bullrushes and watched quietly as the three known Wartmonger
hunters -- Sludge, Slop, and Slime -- made their way past them,
talking among themselves about what they and King Bullrush is
going to do with the Pussywillow Pixies.
"One would figure those imbeciles
would have given up on the lassies by now," Duncan said.
"Oh dear," Century said.
"I'd like to smurf those three what
they can smurf with their bubble guns," Tuffy said, eager for a
fight.
"We're trying to avoid a fight with
them, Tuffy," Hefty said, muffling Tuffy. "Not that I wouldn't
like to smurf them a good smurfing myself."
"The coast is clear, Smurfs,"
Willpower said, as he peered out of the bullrushes and saw no sign
of the three Wartmongers.
"Stay alert, laddies," Duncan McSmurf
said. "They may smurf back for us if we're not careful."
The five of them continued on their
way through the mysterious region filled with large creatures and
flowers. None of them liked the idea of staying in such a place
for too long.
"I hope Empath and Smurfette
appreciate what we're smurfing here," Hefty said, again sounding
like he didn't want to be on this particular mission.
"Me, I'm only hoping that the
Pussywillow Pixies would attend such a grand ceremony," Century
said. "I certainly wouldn't miss it for the world."
"There they are!" Willpower
exclaimed, spotting the group they were after.
The Pussywillow Pixies saw who was
approaching them. "Oh, I do declare, it's the Smurfs," Lilac said.
"My child, what brings you and your
friends out into this dangerous place?" Elderberry asked,
addressing Duncan.
"We're here on behalf of our friends
in the Smurf Village to deliver you this invite," Duncan said,
handing Elderberry the message, which she opened to read.
"'Dear friends, you are smurfially
invited to attend the wedding of Empath Smurf and Smurfette',"
Elderberry read from the letter. "Oh, dear, your friends are
getting married?"
"A wedding?" Acorn said, sounding all
excited. "Can we go to it, Elderberry? Please?"
The other four young Pussywillow
Pixies sounded like they were so eager to attend the wedding as
well.
"Now, now, my little pixies,"
Elderberry said. "Let's not rush things." She then turned to
Duncan. "We do appreciate the honor of this invite being sent to
us. The thing is, is that we have never dared to venture beyond
Pussywillow Hollow apart from the time that we helped to deliver invitations for Woody and Laconia's wedding, and we can't stay in your world for too long."
"Surely there must be a way for your
clan to do so, since you know some things about magic," Duncan
said.
"Even the magic that I know has its
limits, my child," Elderberry said. "When is this wedding supposed
to smurf place?"
"Within a week," Hefty said. "If you
can't smurf in our world for more than a week, it smurfs like
we're going to have to smurf here until that day smurfs."
"Smurf here for a week?" Century
said. "Oh, my, and I was smurfing of a relaxing facial treatment
when we smurf back to the village."
"I'm not afraid of Wartmongers or
anything that smurfs around here," Tuffy said.
"We can smurf this, can we?"
Willpower said. "If it's worth Empath and Smurfette's happiness,
I'd say we smurf here and keep the Wartmongers from smurfing us
and the pixies until the day before the wedding."
"Smurfs like we don't have a choice,"
Duncan said. "Century, you smurf back to the village and tell Papa
Smurf that we'll be smurfing here and escorting the pixies to the
wedding the day before."
"Good smurf, Duncan," Century said.
He then turned to leave the hollow.
"Well, it's such a pleasure to have
some fine gentlemen escorting us to a wedding," Lilac said.
"I wonder what Smurfette would look
like in a wedding dress," Acorn said.
"I wonder if I'll meet Clumsy at the
wedding," Pansy said, sighing at the thought.
"You're very brave Smurfs to stay
with us for such an event," Elderberry said. "The bride and groom
will surely be pleased to know that you risked your lives to have
us along as your guests."
"Yeah, they'll be pleased, all
right," Hefty said, again with the sound of disappointment.
"Come on, laddie, this is no time to
be smurfing about things on your mind," Duncan said to Hefty.
"Let's smurf with the pixies and make sure we don't get smurfed by
the Wartmongers."
"Whatever you smurf, Gutsy," Hefty
said.
Meanwhile, out on the open sea,
Dreamy sailed the S.S. Smurf II to the coordinates on the map
where Atlantica should be. With him as part of his crew are Handy,
Marco, Swimmer, and Surfer, plus a few others. Handy was outfitted
with his deep-sea diving suit, which he first used to rescue
Marina years ago in the River Smurf and then later used to rescue
her father King Aquarius when he fell ill and Marina tried to go
to the Pool of Avalon to get some lilyroot.
"This should be the smurf on the map
where we need to smurf anchor," Marco said.
"Ahoy, there," Dreamy called out to
the crew. "Smurf anchor!" Some Smurfs threw the anchor overboard.
"It's a good thing Papa Smurf had
this message be smurfed with waterproof paper and ink," Handy
said. "Otherwise, Marina wouldn't be able to smurf the message."
"Now, remember, Handy, we can't smurf
in this spot for too long," Marco said. "We know how much you love
Marina and all, and Swimmer and Surfer will smurf the smurferator
to make sure you're smurfing enough air. But we're only here to
deliver a message. If there's any smurf of trouble down there,
smurf on the line and we'll smurf you up. And if we smurf into any
trouble, we'll smurf on the line to signal you."
"I know what I'm smurfing, Marco,"
Handy said, eager to get on with the dive. "Well, here smurfs!"
Handy put on his helmet and jumped
off the ship, lowering himself into the depths of the sea while
Swimmer and Surfer operated the smurferator to make sure Handy had
enough air.
"What I wouldn't give to be smurfing
down there to see Atlantica for myself," Swimmer said.
"How can you surf in such a place
like that?" Surfer said.
"Generally, you wouldn't," Swimmer
said. "You'd be smurfing around on seahorses."
"Seahorses?" Surfer said. "That would
be more like what Wooly would like to smurf."
"Wooly isn't much of a sea Smurf,
Surfer," Swimmer said. "He tried smurfing around on dolphins, but
he still prefers wild toads."
"Whatever smurfs his board," Surfer
said with a sigh. "I hope Handy has smurfed over the fact that
this Marina has smurfed her heart to this Snorkelian that he
smurfed several years ago."
"Yeah, those creatures are really
weird," Swimmer said. "They look like us, but they smurf those
snorkels on their heads."
"Imagine an entire village of those
Snorkelians, smurfing underwater like we smurf on land," Surfer
said.
"Come on, you two, let's keep
smurfing the pump," Dreamy said, noticing that their minds are
drifting away from the job.
Meanwhile, Handy had reached the
bottom of the sea. He could see Marina swimming about with her
boyfriend Dylan the Snorkelian. He remembered how he met this
strange being who looked like a Smurf yet had a snorkel on his
head that allowed him to breathe. He remembered building a
submarine so that he, Marco, and Empath could help Dylan rescue
his people and Marina from a menace that lived in the oceans
called Leviathan. He remembered how heartbroken he felt when
Marina fell in love with Dylan, realizing at last that he and
Marina could never be together.
"Marina, look who's here," Dylan said
as he noticed Handy in his deep-sea diving suit.
"Hello again, Handy," Marina said as
she swam toward him. "I trust that everything's going well on land
with you."
"I see that you're happy with Dylan,
Marina," Handy said. "I have come to deliver a message to you."
"A message?" Dylan wondered. "Are
your Smurfs in any trouble?"
"No, of course not," Handy said.
"It's just that my friends, Empath and Smurfette, are getting
married."
"Oh, that just sounds so romantic,"
Marina said after she read the message. "I would like with my very
being to be there."
"I know you have trouble smurfing on
land for very long, Marina," Handy said. "Fortunately we still
have the smurferator."
"I would also like to attend this
wedding just so I can be with Marina," Dylan said. "I'm pretty
capable of being on land as well as in the sea, and I can watch
over her in case there's any problems."
"I can't think of going anywhere
without you, my sweet Dylan," Marina said, looking into her
boyfriend's eyes.
"We don't mean you any disrespect,
Handy," Dylan said. "Marina has told me so much about you. I know
you've been a very good friend to her and her father. And I
appreciate that you've saved my people and brought us two
together."
"I just wish I could be in your
smurfs right about now, Dylan," Handy said.
"We appreciate the message you have
sent us, Handy," Marina said, kissing him on his helmet. "If my
father King Aquarius permits, we will be there the day before the
wedding."
"That's great," Handy said, sounding
like he really didn't know what to say. "It may not be like old
times, but at least we could smurf together one last time."
Papa Smurf decided to deliver this
particular message himself to Flowerbell, the woodnymph whom he
fell in love with about four years before Empath's final return
from Psychelia. He didn't like how she used him just so she could
be set free from Lord Balthazar's clutches, and he was less
enthused by the idea of having to marry her so that Avarice the
greedy treasure hunting imp wouldn't be able to use her to get his
hands on the ancient Treasure of the Trolls. But he wasn't going
to continue holding a grudge against her. Apparently Smurfette
liked Flowerbell enough to think about having her attend the
wedding as a matron of honor.
He reached the hole in the tree where
she said that she was staying in. He knocked on the door and
waited.
"Hello! Who is it?" a familiar female
voice called from inside.
"It's me, Papa Smurf, your old
friend," he replied.
The door opened, and Flowerbell
appeared. "Oh, it's you, Pops," she greeted. "You look different
from the last time we were together. What happened to that smurfy
beard you used to wear?"
Papa Smurf chuckled. "Well, I figured
that it was time to smurf for a more comfortable look,
Flowerbell."
Flowerbell giggled. "You sure look
like you're years younger, Pops. Is there anything I can do for
you?"
"Just a little message that I wanted
to smurf to you from some friends," Papa Smurf said, handing her
the message.
Flowerbell opened the envelope and
read the message. "It's from Smurfette! She wants me to be the
matron of honor! Oh, this is just too much for me to take!"
"Smurfette still thinks highly of you
to smurf you such an honor," Papa Smurf said.
"And I would be glad to become her
matron of honor, Pops," Flowerbell said. "It's just that I won't
be attending this wedding alone."
"Oh?" Papa Smurf wondered. "Is there
someone you wish to smurf along to the wedding?"
"Oh, yes, there is," Flowerbell
answered. "He's someone very special that I have met since that
time you saved me from Avarice. This is my boyfriend Glonk."
Then Glonk appeared at the door, and
Papa Smurf was rather surprised by his appearance. It was like
this creature was all head and hair, and looked rather fearsome.
"Glonk glonk," he said to Papa Smurf.
"Oh, don't mind him, Pops,"
Flowerbell said. "He may look rather scary, but he's a real
sweetheart. I couldn't be more happier having him around."
Papa Smurf chuckled. "Well,
Flowerbell, you certainly have interesting tastes."
"Glonk, this is Papa Smurf,"
Flowerbell said. "He's come here to invite us to a wedding for two
of his little Smurfs, and I'm going to be the matron of honor."
"How do you do, Glonk," Papa Smurf
said, extending his hand toward him in friendship, expecting a
handshake.
"Glonk glonk," Glonk said, grabbing
Papa Smurf's hand and strongly shaking him so hard it made Papa
feel rather dizzy.
"Oh my," Papa Smurf said, trying to
recover from the handshake. "That Glonk sure smurfs a strong
grip!"
"That's how I like them, Pops...big,
strong, and hairy," Flowerbell said. "Anyway, you can expect us to
be there as soon as possible. I would love to show Glonk to the
other Smurfs in the village."
"I'll make sure my little Smurfs will
be expecting you and this...uh, Glonk," Papa Smurf said.
Meanwhile, the Smurflings were heading out into the forest with Puppy to deliver an invite. "Isn't it smurftastic, that we could have Mother Nature and Father Time attend the wedding of the century?" Sassette asked.
"Why wouldn't they, Sassy, unless they're just too busy with what they smurf throughout the whole world?" Nat replied.
"I just hope that they would attend my wedding sometime in the future," Snappy said.
"But who are you going to marry, Snap?" Slouchy asked with a tease in his voice. "Sassette?"
"You want me to marry her?" Snappy answered, sounding a bit disgusted. "I'd rather marry a slimy Wartmonger than the likes of her."
"Well, don't you worry about that, Snap, because you're the last Smurfling that I would ever want to think about marrying," Sassette said.
"Maybe we should consult the Tome of Tomorrow and see who it will be for any of us down the road," Slouchy said.
"Sorry, Slouchy, but Father Time said that that book is off-limits," Nat said.
Slouchy sighed. "It was just an idea, Nat. It would have been fun if we could find out."
Soon the four Smurflings reached the beautiful cottage out in the forest where they saw Mother Nature at work tending to the flowers she was growing outside. "Why, hello there, my little Smurflings," Mother Nature greeted. "And how are you this lovely day?"
"We're fine, Mother Nature," Sassette answered. "We came from the village smurfing an invite for both you and Father Time to attend the wedding of Empath and Smurfette."
"A wedding, eh?" Mother Nature said as she received the invite and used her magic wand to enlarge it so that she could read it for herself. "Why, nothing would please me more than to see my children of the forest uniting together as husband and wife so that they can continue to bless others with love and family."
"What about Father Time?" Nat asked. "Will he be able to attend the wedding?"
"I won't make any promises, my child, but I'm sure with a little motherly persuasion that he will make the time necessary to grant his blessings in person upon this lucky couple," Mother Nature replied.
"Smurfabunga!" the four Smurflings shouted together.
Also at the same time, Empath and
Smurfette made a personal visit to Laconia the wood elf at Woody's
house. Poet had joined them for this visit.
"Laconia, Woody...it's your friends,
the Smurfs," Smurfette announced at the door.
The door opened. It was Woody.
"Greetings, my friends," Woody announced. "Everything going well
with you?"
"We were wondering the same about you
and Laconia," Poet said. "How are you two doing?"
Woody laughed. "Laconia's so busy
with being a mother, it's hard for her to get around doing what
she does best."
"Laconia's a mother?" Smurfette said,
sounding surprised. "I never thought that would happen."
"Frankly, neither did we, but you
know how mysteriously Mother Nature works," Woody said. "We
couldn't be more happier, and Laconia...well, let's face it, she
was at a loss for words...not that she ever needs to say
anything."
"That makes this smurf wonder how
Laconia ever gets the child to sleep, Woody," Empath said.
"She leaves that duty to me,
unfortunately," Woody said. "I don't mind doing it, as I love to
sing. It just makes me feel bad for her, like she's missing a part
of being a mother that others would take for granted."
"This smurf is certain that Laconia
would make an excellent mother nonetheless," Empath said.
"That reminds me, Woody...we've came
here to smurf her a message," Smurfette said, handing it to him.
"Oh, it's a wedding invite!" Woody
said after he opened it and read it. "And it's for the both of
us!"
"We were hoping that you would repay
the kindness we smurfed you of smurfing your wedding by attending
Smurfette's wedding," Poet said.
"You're getting married, Smurfette?"
Woody said. "Well, I would like to congratulate you. And this
Smurf with the star suit, I believe he will be your husband?"
"That is correct, Woody," Empath
said.
"That sounds interesting, and we
would like to attend," Woody said. "However, we will also have to
take along our child, if that's not a problem."
"We would like to meet the child, if
we have the chance," Smurfette said.
"Sure, let me get Laconia," Woody
said as he went back into the house for a bit. Soon Laconia
appeared with Woody, very happy and satisfied as she is carrying a
baby girl with her.
"Oh, look at that," Poet said as
Laconia handed him the child.
"She's absosmurfly adorable,"
Smurfette said. "I would like to smurf a child just like her."
"She appears to have Woody's hair
color and Laconia's facial features," Empath commented as he got a
closer look at the child.
Woody was astounded. "You can
actually tell that? Amazing. Laconia says that she takes more
after me."
Laconia signed a private message to
Poet, which made him giggle. "I'm sure that he does, Laconia."
At King Gerard's castle, the king is
having a private picnic with his wife Queen Guinevere while they
watch their son Jared at play with the Clockwork Smurfs.
"It's not every boy that gets to have
such wonderful mechanical toys to play with, Gerard," Guinevere
said as they continue to watch. "It's like your friends the Smurfs
are always with us, watching over the boy, helping him grow into
the young man he will someday become."
"I only wish I had those toys when I
was his age, Guinevere," Gerard said. "That single Clockwork Smurf
has been such an inspiration to me all those years that he served
me as an advisor."
"And now he's the leader of an entire
village of these same creations," Guinevere said. "It's just
amusing to watch them all with their own unique personalities,
even though they all look alike."
"I wonder what's been going on with
our friends, the Smurfs," Gerard said. "It's been years since they
have attended our wedding."
"Mummy, Daddy, look up in the sky,"
Jared shouted.
Gerard and Guinevere turned their
attention to the sky and saw a stork carrying a message in its
beak. Gerard had a feeling that this came from the Smurfs.
"'Dear friends, you are smurfially
invited to attend the wedding of Empath Smurf and Smurfette',"
Gerard read. "It's from the Smurfs. Their wedding is going to be
within a week."
"The Smurfs are having a wedding?"
Jared said. "Are we going to it?"
Gerard chuckled. "The way to the
Smurf Village is rather difficult for humans to find, my young
son. But I'm betting Papa and Mama Clockwork would like to attend
it, if you would have them join me."
"Right away, Daddy," Jared said. He
then turned to the Clockwork Smurfs. "Papa Clockwork! Mama
Clockwork!"
"Yes, my young child?" Papa Clockwork
said. "What does our king want?"
"Your fellow Smurfs have invited us
to a wedding, and Daddy says that you should be the ones to attend
it," Jared said.
"Really?" Papa Clockwork said. "Mama
Clockwork, we'd better talk to our king to find out."
The two Clockwork Smurfs went over to
King Gerard, where he repeated what the message had said.
"Empath Smurf and Smurfette?" Mama
Clockwork said. "That sounds absosmurfly wonderful."
"If you want to attend this wedding,
my son will watch over your little Clockwork Smurfs during your
absence," King Gerard said.
"I'm sure he will smurf very good
care of them, my Lordship," Papa Clockwork said.
"Wait a minute," Mama Clockwork said.
"I think we should smurf along Baby Clockwork."
"Why Baby Clockwork?" Papa Clockwork
asked.
"Your father Handy Smurf," Mama
Clockwork answered. "He would like to smurf his own grandson."
"Oh," Papa Clockwork said, realizing
that Handy hasn't yet seen Baby Clockwork. "I figure that I would
smurf him the chance."
Gerard turned to his son. "Now,
Jared, be a good boy and watch over your Clockwork Smurfs for Papa
and Mama while they are gone, okay? They are counting on you to do
that."
"Yes, Daddy, I'll make sure the
Clockwork Smurfs are safe," Jared said. "I hope you have a good
time at the wedding, Papa and Mama."
"I'm certain that we will, Jared,"
Papa Clockwork said. With Mama Clockwork carrying Baby Clockwork,
they hopped onto the stork and flew off toward the village while
King Gerard and his family waved them goodbye.