Hanging on a platform from his airship, Sportacus looked out over Lazytown for the last time; ant-sized figures meandered to and fro, going about their everyday lives.

It was a world he didn't belong in anymore.

Sportacus had figured it would be best to leave without talking to anyone, so his pleasant memories of the townsfolk wouldn't be tainted by their fear of him.

"I just wish I could have said goodbye to—"

A loud beep interrupted his musings. Sportacus looked down to see his crystal flashing wildly.

"The kids! They're in trouble!"

The elf went to leap into the town, but stopped himself at the last second. His instincts screamed at him for resisting.

"I'm not a hero anymore, I shouldn't...but what if they're in real danger? What if the skogsfru is still alive—or if it's something even worse?!"

He took a deep breath and jumped off the airship. The backpack he wore automatically converted into a glider, and within seconds Sportacus had landed in Lazytown. He dug his back claws into the ground and turned to face whatever was terrorizing his kids.

Robbie Rotten in a blatantly fake mustache stared back at him. The villain held the end of a rope, the rest of which was wrapped around the kids of Lazytown, dangling them in midair over a guppy in a fishbowl. Seeing the elf, Ziggy wriggled one of his hands out of the rope and waved excitedly.

Sportacus stared at the scene blankly.

"Robbie...what is this?"

"I couldn't get piranhas at such short notice, this is the best I could do!"

A moment of silence passed. Then, the elf let out a small snort. Robbie and the kids watched as Sportacus's amusement grew until he was laughing outright.

"Robbie, I—pfft, I thought something terrible was happening! And it's just THIS!"

He gestured broadly at the scene in front of him. The kids, seeing the funny side of the situation as well, started laughing too. Even Robbie cracked a smile, knocking his fake mustache to the ground.

"Alright, it's not my best scheme, but it worked!"

"What were you trying to do?"

"Keep you from leaving Lazytown."

The laughter abruptly stopped. Sportacus cringed as he felt the eyes of the children shift to him. Stephanie slipped out of the ropes and ran over to the elf, tears running down her cheeks.

"You...you were going to leave? Without even saying goodbye?"

"Stephanie—"

"Why?"

She tried to wrap her arms around the hero, but he stepped away.

"I just can't risk hurting any of you kids! I've already scared you all so much—"

"No you haven't!"

Stingy, Pixel, Trixie, and Ziggy dropped to the ground and ran to Sportacus's side. Trixie poked him hard in the side.

"None of us are afraid of you! Why would you even think that?"

"But you should be! After what I did..."

"Sportacus, all you did was lick Ziggy."

Ziggy nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! It was gross! Not scary though."

Sportacus couldn't help but give the boy a small smile. It faded quickly, however.

"What about the mayor? I spoke to him, and he wasn't sure if I should stay in Lazytown."

Stephanie piped up next to him.

"Uncle Milford always listens to you, Sportacus! If he thought you shouldn't stay, it's because of what you told him. Trust me, he would never want you to go otherwise!"

Robbie appeared at the elf's other side and gently placed his hand on Sportacus's shoulder.

"Sportacus, the only person who's scared of you is you."

He stared at Robbie for a moment, looking lost. Suddenly, his eyes became misty, and his gaze fell to the ground.

"When I lost control, I felt like I was a different person, not even close to human. Even now, I'm still not the same as I was before the skogsfru. How can I trust myself like this?"

"Because even then, you were still a hero."

Robbie trailed his arm down to clutch Sportacus's hand as he continued.

"You protected the town, you recognized the kids, and you saved my life. The one person you haven't taken care of is yourself—maybe all you need is to take some time to recover."

"What if I never fully change back? Or if I fully lose myself again?"

Sportacus's voice was soft and tentative.

"Then I promise I'll always be there to snap you out of it. You've always been around to save me, so I'll be here to save you."

Robbie used his free hand to stroke the elf's warm cheek, and Sportacus met his eyes again.

"Sportacus, let me be your hero."

For a moment, no one spoke. Suddenly, with a sob, Sportacus rushed forward and planted his lips against Robbie's. After getting over the shock, Robbie happily kissed back, and the children whooped and cheered. When they separated at last, Sportacus had tears running down his cheeks but was smiling widely.

No matter what the future held, Lazytown would always be his home.