Disclaimer - Don't own the Ducks and I never will own them. Patrick/Thief au Combat, Sanyo, Rene and Alicia belong to me.

Summary – Patrick starts to have nightmares and hallucinations and he pushes away the one duck he always trusted. Rene's health is beginning to show while Falcone escapes from jail, releasing anger from Duke that had been brewing beneath the surface for years. As the others wonder what happened, secrets buried in the past begin to surface.

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Past Problems

Patrick slept restlessly in his bed. He tossed and turned around, hoping to finally fall asleep when he felt a breeze surrounding him.

"Combat," a soft voice whispered. "Combat, can you hear me? Are you there? I know you're here somewhere."

It sounded as if it were on the wind. Patrick bolted to his feet for he knew he heard it before on Puckworld.

"W…who's there?" he demanded, frantically looking around.

"Oh, it's nobody important. It's just little old me. Remember that we met each other seventeen years ago when you killed me," the voice said, a figure coming into view.

Alicia floated down into his view and stood before the male duck. Patrick backed away from her, total fear in his face and actions.

"Hello handsome. Did you miss me?" she asked in a sweet voice.

"What are you doing here? Why are you back to torment me again?" he replied, obviously shocked.

"I'm simply here as a reminder of your deadly past, as always. Yes, I have indeed come back. Did you think I really left?" she innocently replied.

"No! You can't be here! Rene too much reminds me of that already! She looks so much like you! Leave me alone! I had thought I'd gotten rid of you when I came here!" he screamed.

"Rene reminds you of everybody who either lived or died; Duke of those few who managed to survive your rampages and me, of those who didn't and died," explained Alicia.

She lunged for him, causing him to scream and place his arms over his head. Patrick bolted up in bed, the sweat pouring down his face. With a hand on his head, he was gasping for air. Patrick walked over to the washroom to splash cold water over his face. He leaned over the sink, his entire body trembling.

"Why now? Why - again? For a while, I thought they had stopped a long time before we arrived here on Earth," he asked, appearing as if he was going to have cry.

He went back to bed and laid down yet knowing he wouldn't be able to fall asleep.

When daylight rose over the horizon, Patrick got out of bed and left his quarters. He met up with Wildwing and Sanyo in the kitchen, who glanced over in his direction.

"Hey, Patrick, you look worn out. I've never seen you like this before," Sanyo said with a worried look on his face.

"It's nothing important, really. I just had a really rough night," he replied with a yawn.

"I heard a scream last night which came from your quarters. Did something happen?" Wildwing asked.

"N…no, nothing's wrong. Just a bad dream," he replied.

"Of course it is. It always is," a sarcastic voice called from the doorway.

The three looked to see Rene standing in the doorway, arms crossed with Duke and Mallory standing behind her. Rene walked up to Patrick, carefully watching him.

"It's true Rene. It was just a bad dream. Just like before," Patrick told her.

"Patrick, you know what I've told you…" Rene angrily started.

"And you keep telling me that!" Patrick retorted. "You know I'd rather not talk about it! I don't care what you have to say about it. It's my life, not yours!"

Rene shook her head as she watched him storm out of the room. She sighed as a worried look crossed her face.

"Do you know what's wrong?" asked Mallory.

"No, I don't. He's had them for as long as I can remember but has never told me what they're about. They've been very frightening on many occasions. Many times, he woken up screaming and has even run away from me before. There have even been times where I thought he would hurt me," Rene explained.

Duke watched Rene as she unconsciously rubbed her arm. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if anything was truly wrong. He watched her as she continued on with getting her breakfast.

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Patrick stormed through the hallway, barely taking any notice of anyone or anything he passed along the way. Grin stepped out of his quarters only to be pushed aside by the smaller duck. The giant duck carefully eyed Patrick, unsure what was happening now or going to happen next.

"Patrick, wait up!" he called after the thief.

Patrick stopped and turned his head enough to see who was behind him. He gave an exasperated sigh before continuing on. Grin hurried after him, hoping to talk to the troubled duck. He managed to grab Patrick by the elbow and twirl him around.

"Patrick, what is the matter?" wondered Grin.

"It's nothing that's none of your business. Now leave me alone!" he snarled at him.

"Whatever is wrong, I can help you with it. You don't have to deal with this alone," Grin told him.

Patrick narrowed his eyes, wondering what the duck's angle was moving towards. He began to back away from Grin; he was unsure he wanted any help at all. He glanced around the hall, his eyes frantically searching for something that Grin obviously couldn't see.

"She's nearby, isn't she? Where are you hiding her? I know she's here!" demanded Patrick.

"Who are you talking about? Are you talking about Mallory, Tanya or Rene?" Grin questioned.

Patrick placed his hands on the side of his head, as if trying to block some terrible noise out. His eyes were tightly shut as he began to back away from Grin, who was becoming increasingly worried. Patrick opened his eyes to see Alisia standing before him right next to Grin.

"You'll never escape me, no matter how hard you try," she whispered to him in a ghostly voice.

"Not you again," groaned Patrick.

Patrick turned and ran out of the hallway, making Grin wonder what was going on through his mind.

TBC…