Polaris spent the rest of the day showing Elatia all around the Smurf Village, introducing her to the various Smurfs they came in contact with.  Some of them were curious as to why Smurfette (or at least her physical form) was now hanging around with Polaris, when they normally would associate her appearing with Empath.  Elatia didn’t seem bothered by the confusion this being together with Polaris in this fashion was engendering.  But Polaris was ever mindful that Elatia was in a host body that didn’t belong to her, and he had to make sure his physical actions wouldn’t violate the host body in any way.  Nevertheless, she enjoyed everything that she saw and experienced being in the Smurf Village among real people.

At the end of the day, Polaris and Elatia spent the evening with the other Smurfs at Tapper’s tavern, enjoying a quiet bit of private conversation with each other over glasses of seltzer.  Empath, meanwhile, sat at the counter talking with Tapper, keeping his eye on both his friend Polaris and on Elatia inhabiting Smurfette’s body.

“Whatever is your friend Polaris doing with the likes of Smurfette?” Tapper queried.  “Has his fascination with females moved from this Elatia in the Imaginarium to the one female Smurf every male Smurf wants to be with?”

“Elatia’s in Smurfette’s body, Tapper,” Empath replied. “This smurf knows that he won’t do anything to harm her, but right now Elatia’s doing more harm to Smurfette than she would care to know.”

“I sure wouldn’t want to be in Smurfette’s shoes right now, whatever she’s smurfing through,” Tapper commented.

Meanwhile, Polaris was busy ignoring the crowd and the talk going on about the two of them being seen together. “What were you like, Elatia, before you were trapped inside the crystal?” Polaris asked, curious to know more about Elatia.

“I was a free-roaming spirit among my people,” Elatia answered, “always eager to explore the world around me and outside the village where my people lived.  My father was always so protective of me, believing that I should be spending my time preparing myself for the day of being betrothed to someone.  The person that I was supposed to marry was kind and gentle, though he was nothing like you.  He would do anything in the world that would make me happy.  But I wanted to go my own way, to find someone of my own to love, even if he wasn’t one of my people.  One day I ran away from home, and I never saw my people or the one I was to be betrothed to ever again.  But I was unprepared for what the world had in store when I set out into it, and one day I wound up in a cave that was full of these crystals that were like the ones used in your Imaginarium.  I was only in there to escape from the rain, and before I knew it I found myself in a place that I couldn’t escape from.  It was like…being in paradise, a world that I could imagine anything I wanted to, anything that would make me happy.”

“Why did you want to leave being inside such a place, if it made you happy?” Polaris asked.

“I started feeling so lonely,” Elatia replied, her voice now sounding sad. “Paradise eventually became a prison when I realized I couldn’t escape and return to my people.  I tried to imagine that they were there with me in paradise, but they never seemed as real as you and the Smurfs are.  If it hadn’t been for them removing the crystal that contained my body and placing it in their Imaginarium, I would have sought a way to end my life.”

Just then, a song began to play on Tapper’s record machine – a slow soft song that made Elatia get up from the table.  “Please dance with me, Polaris,” Elatia invited. “I haven’t had the opportunity to dance with anyone in a long time.”

“This one has never danced before, Elatia, not to any music this one has ever heard,” Polaris confessed.

“I’ll be your guide,” Elatia promised.

Polaris got up and held her hand with one of his hands and placed his other hand gently on her back.  They softly swayed to the beat of the song, both of them looking into each other’s eyes.  Polaris felt uncomfortable being so close to Smurfette’s body that he feared that he was going to lose all control and composure.

“You’re an excellent dancer,” Elatia complimented as she rested her head on Polaris’ shoulder. “I want to remember this moment together for as long as I live – however long we have together like this.”

Polaris admittedly wanted this moment with Elatia to last forever as well.  The two of them were about to kiss each other when Elatia collapsed in his arms, with Smurfette’s body being limp and lifeless.  Polaris sensed that the two warring personalities were putting such a strain on her body that Smurfette’s life was in danger.

“Empath!” Polaris shouted. “Help me get Smurfette to Papa Smurf’s laboratory! Hurry!”

Empath came over to where Polaris was and helped carry Smurfette’s body back to Papa Smurf’s laboratory.

Papa Smurf watched as Polaris and Empath laid Smurfette on a comfortable chair and scanned her with their minds-eyes.  “What’s happened to her?” he asked concernedly.

“Smurfette’s dying,” Empath answered. “The two personalities inside her are causing her life signs to fail.  We have to purge Smurfette of this other personality before it takes Smurfette’s personality with her.”

“Polaris,” Elatia’s voice whispered, her eyes opening slightly, “don’t leave me alone.”

“Elatia,” Polaris responded, “this one is here.  This one will always be here for you.”

“Thank you for showing me again what real life is,” Elatia mumbled. “I can’t stay here with you like this.”

“You can always return to the Imaginarium,” Polaris offered, his voice breaking. “Then you’ll always live forever.”

“No,” Elatia said faintly, raising her hand to point at his chest. “In your heart. That’s where I will always be…in your heart!” She then closed her eyes.

“Polaris!” Empath shouted. “We need to purge her now!”

Polaris held her hand in his hands, feeling like this would be the last time he would do so with a female.  Then he joined his minds-eye with Empath’s and helped purge Elatia’s personality from Smurfette’s body. Meanwhile, Papa Smurf watched, hoping and praying for a miracle to happen.

After what seemed like an hour of silence, Empath said, “We did it, Papa Smurf! Elatia’s personality is gone. Smurfette’s life signs and personality are returning to normal.”

Smurfette opened her eyes again.  "Papa Smurf!" she exclaimed as she recognized the village leader, smiling.

"How are you feeling now, Smurfette?" Papa Smurf asked, smiling back.

"I feel like I'm back to smurfing the only person smurfing in my own body again," Smurfette replied, sounding relieved. "I don't think I want to smurf through that again."

"Smurfette, this one wishes to apologize to you for taking advantage of you in that fashion, forcibly transferring Elatia's spirit into your body," Polaris said, feeling humbled.

"Polaris, I know you enough from what Empath smurfed me about you that I can forgive you of what you smurfed to me," Smurfette replied.  "I know you should've asked me first, but I know you were only trying to help someone in need and someone you truly have loved."  She reached out to hold Polaris' hand and smiled.  "I knew from Elatia smurfing inside me how much she had loved you."

Empath watched as Smurfette gave Polaris a hug.

Shortly afterward, Papa Smurf had Empath check out the Imaginarium with some of his fellow Smurfs while Smurfette rested in Papa Smurf’s laboratory.  An hour later, Empath returned to give his report.

"This smurf found something in one of the Imaginarium crystals that this smurf hadn't previously discovered,” Empath reported. “There was a deceased body that belonged to a female being of some sort that lived almost 7 centuries ago trapped in that crystal.  Her body was well-preserved for being crystallized for that long, and her physical form matched that of how Elatia appeared in the Imaginarium fantasy setting.  However, it is no longer capable of living since it has been removed from the crystal that it was encased inside."

"Hmmm...maybe the magic of those crystals when they were activated inside the Imaginarium caused Elatia's soul to be smurfed out of her body from where it was smurfed," Papa Smurf guessed.

"I feel sorry for Elatia being smurfed like that, Papa Smurf," Smurfette heartfully said. "I could only wonder who would have smurfed that to her and why."

"That may be something no Smurf will ever know, Smurfette," Papa Smurf answered. He then turned to Polaris. "However, since it is the first time you have disobeyed my orders and used your abilities unsmurfly, I am going to have to resmurf you from using the Imaginarium for about a month and assign you to smurfing menial tasks until my trust in you is restored."

"This one acknowledges and accepts your disciplinary actions and the responsibility of my own misdeeds, Papa Smurf," Polaris responded seriously. "This one promises not to let something like this happen again."