Thorn rubbed her aching temple with a thin, delicate hand, as though that action alone would ease her discomfort. She was tired of the debating, tired of the arguing, and she was dead tired of sitting around and doing nothing. This Council meeting was taking far too long. Far too long for her liking. Or Gran'ma Ben's. The older woman seemed just as uncomfortable and fidgety as she did, the only difference being that Gran'ma followed the rules of etiquette due to the Council.

Thorn, however, couldn't have cared less at the moment.

"But we have to do something," she broke in, interrupting her grandmother's old Teacher in the middle of his long-winded speech. He gave a start at her intrusion, his thick eyebrows journeying up to his hairline. "Something's wrong; I can feel it! If we don't act now, and something bad happens, what good would our help be?!"

The elderly man, his cloak hood blocking most of his expression from her view, seemed to take his Queen's words into serious consideration before he spoke. "Your Highness, it is foolish to run into a battle unarmed. If we do not know the strength or intentions of our foe, how can we be of any help at all?"

"He's right, dear," Gran'ma spoke up, standing to move closer to her granddaughter's side. "What we felt last night was strong. Very strong. If a danger exists, we need to know more about it before we can fight it."

"But, you said yourself that it came from across the desert!" Thorn blurted, eyes showing true concern. "That's the direction Fone Bone's home is, isn't it? What if they're in trouble?!" She didn't think she could stand that. A day didn't go by when she didn't think of her friend and his cousins. After all, the Bones had practically lived with them in the Valley for nearly two, whole years. They had become almost like family during that time. The glint of concern that flashed in Gran'ma's eyes told Thorn that she shared a similar unease about the whole affair.

"Yes, Thorn; I know," the kindly woman answered, her expression softening. She could see the anxiety this was causing the young girl, and she hated being part of the reason that burden was there. Thorn was a great Queen, mature and fair, never once straying from the true and right path that befitted the Awakened One. But she was still a child. At least, in comparison to most. She was young and, despite her wisdom and power, still very much governed by her emotions. It often worked in her favor, but, at times such as this, it worked against her.

"I may have spoken in haste," she soothed, hoping her words would calm Thorn down rather than upset her. "I don't know for certain as to the direction the feeling came, Thorn. It was...it was all around us. I couldn't tell from where exactly."

"You were very certain last night," Thorn countered.

"Yes, and that was because...I was worried. You felt it, probably a lot stronger than I. Where did you think it was coming from?"

The Council, gathered around them in the throne room, was made up of many of the elders of the city, along with a fair amount of Veni-Yan Warriors. Ever since the fall of the Dark Lord, peace had reigned with the borders of the Valley, even as far as Pawa. Representatives, ambassadors of commerce and trade, and a few privileged friends made up the assembly. Trusted advisers all. Men and women Thorn trusted with her life. But they had not felt the disturbance from the night before. They were at a loss as to just what they should do. And so, in silence, they watched as the discussion went on.

Thorn lowered her eyes to the floor at her feet. She suddenly felt very hypocritical. She had sensed very much the same thing as Gran'ma Ben had, only, as her grandmother pointed out, much stronger. It had been almost stifling. And extremely sinister. "It...it reminded me of...you know, back when we were crossing the wasteland. Like when the Valley was full of Ghost Circles. It just...seemed to come from everywhere at once. But with tides and ripples, like the sea. I...I don't know, but I think it came from across the desert too, but...I'm not certain." It was frustrating. All her powers, and she couldn't even locate where the threat was coming from. It there even was a threat. And, if so, what?

Gran'ma's old Teacher raised a shaggy brow in question. "You relate this feeling you experienced to a feeling you had during our fight against the Locust? That is a serious claim, my Queen. Is it the same power?" His voice carried an edge to it, as though he were either extremely worried, or was holding back a stern retort.

Thorn blinked, feeling an uncomfortable churn in the pit of her stomach. "I don't know..." She wanted to say it was, at the same time that her brain screamed 'no'. Of all the nightmares she had ever faced, the Dark Lord had been the worst. A disembodied voice of hostility in her dreams, a clawing feeling at her mind; he was nothing but a memory now.

"But he was destroyed," a Veni-Yan Warrior broke in, his face hidden completely within the folds of his hood. "He possessed the Queen Dragon, Mim, and was swarmed by the legions of Tanen Gard. You yourself touched the Crown of Horns and demolished his very essence. He is no more."

A tense silence followed his statement. A growing unease had spread through the room, freezing everyone in place. Images of the past battle came to all their minds. Of those they fought, and those they had lost. Of the terrors and fears that had accompanied the days of the Ghost Circles, and the relief at the Dark Lord's defeat. But now, as questions were raised, they began to wonder if their celebration had been too short in coming.

He was destroyed. The sentence repeated itself in all their minds, like a never ending echo. He was destroyed. When Thorn had destroyed the fragment of his essence within her, it had caused a reaction that wiped all other fragments from existence. He should have been no more, as the Warrior had said. Too much had been at stake. Too many lives had been lost. It must have worked. It couldn't have been all null and void.

Mermie, who, as a level seven Dreaming Master, was also allowed within the confines of the Council, tilted her head to the side. "You think it is the Dark Lord?" Her question was calm, more of a statement than anything else. Her eyes bore into Thorn, despite their gentleness.

Thorn sighed, straightening in her seat. "Yes." As the room erupted into a loud chorus of many voices, some taking her side and others not, Thorn raised her own to be heard among them. "But I am uncertain! It's just a feeling, and, in the past, my feelings have guided me well." She took a deep breath. "I don't know if it was the Locust...And I hope for the love of this Valley and all that is good that it is not. But something evil lurks in the darkness...I can sense it even now." Her eyes closed, taking in the presence with a air of caution. She re-opened them, glancing back at the Teacher. "You are right. We should not charge into a fight we know nothing about. But neither will I stand by and wait for the enemy, whoever or whatever they may be, to strike first." She stood to her full height, rising out of her chair with purpose. "Ready my horse," she instructed, authority in her tone and stance. "I am riding to the edge of Tanen Gard."

"B-but, Your Highness," an official stuttered, standing as well, with the rest of the Council following suit. "That place is forbidden. Only you, and a select few have ever gone there and returned. What will you do there that will help our situation?"

Thorn gathered the hem of her dress, preparing to depart the Council Chamber in a rush. Her eyes were full of determination, but with just a hint of that wide-eyed fear. "If we must know what is happening, than it would be wise to go to one who may know more than we do." She headed through the archway, throwing the last part of her answer over her shoulder.

"I'm going to see the Great Red Dragon."

"F-Fone Bone...I don't think this is going to work..."

Smiley was the very picture of misery. He sat on the sofa, almost in the same position he had been before, hands held fisted in his lap. Bartleby had moved closer, offering as much comfort as he could. The rat creature could feel his friend shaking, and his heart sank. Smiley had calmed down considerably since earlier...since that strange incident with the bug. Phoney had dispatched off the insect carcass, but that didn't erase the fact from their minds that it had been there. But, even now, Smiley still seemed a lot more keyed up than Bartleby liked. He was normally such a happy, go lucky character that, to see him anything less was heartbreaking.

"I know, Smiley...Just...Just try to relax, okay?"

Fone Bone's voice held a balanced mix of worry and exhaustion. It was very late now, and darkness had long since fallen on the city. Fone and Phoney had taken permanent residence beside their taller cousin, deciding that they would all just spend the night in the living room. It seemed the easiest place to keep an eye on Smiley...If they could just get him to sleep.

In a way, Fone Bone was glad Smiley couldn't sleep. He had no wish to see his cousin endure whatever might happen once he closed his eyes in slumber. But, then again, there was a mystery to be solved. Questions needed to be answered, and this was the only way.

"O-okay." Smiley's voice shook. His voice wasn't supposed to do that. He was supposed to be the smile that never died, the fountain of endless enthusiasm that couldn't be extinguished. And yet, here he was, tired, worn, and, to be honest, scared out of his wits. Which wasn't an easy thing to do. Smiley was brave, that much had been seen during their adventures. He had handled monsters, war, and even death like a pro. But now that his mind was under...attack? How was he supposed to keep smiling?

"Well, it doesn't help that you keep talking," Phoney grumped from his perch on the over-stuffed chair in the corner. It was actually quite uncomfortable, old and smelling of mildew. A lump in the back made his spine ache, and a spring somewhere was obviously loose, since it was digging into his hip. Tired from the whole fiasco with the Council in Upper Boneville, and then their current predicament, left him cranky and short tempered. He yawned. "I bet I could fall asleep in a blink." He yawned again, as if to prove his point.

Fone Bone sent him a glare from the stool he sat on by the window. Outside, the lights of the city glowed like a hive of never stilling stars. "Phoney, the point is for us not to fall asleep." He stifled a yawn of his own. Shaking his head to dispatch of any residual cobwebs that had gathered in his mind. "We have to watch after Smiley."

Phoney glowered. "Well, what's the use if he can't fall asleep in the first place?!" he snapped.

"He will."

Smiley wished he could share Fone's confidence in that respect. He was tired beyond belief. A week or more of sleepless nights will do that to you. But, for some odd reason, he just couldn't seem to close his eyes. Blinking, sure; even a long one, but he just couldn't drift off. It was frustrating. He wanted to, for his cousins' sake, he wanted to help figure out what was wrong. It filled him with despair that he couldn't even be of enough use to do that.

"I-I don't think this is going to work," he repeated sadly.

Fone Bone sighed, shifting his attention back to Smiley. "Alright," he said patiently, "We'll try talking for a little while. That might help."

Smiley preferred that idea. "What about?"

"How about the Valley?" Fone ignored the groan that came from Phoney's direction. "Remember when we first met Bartleby?" Of course, he knew Smiley remembered. But it was something he knew would grab his cousin's attention. Something with a pleasant memory behind it. Not all their memories of the Valley were good ones, and, at the moment, many of them would not do to help their situation.

Smiley chuckled, absently reaching out for the thick, purple fur of his closest friend. "Sure do. You were a tiny, little thing." He smiled, the emotion actually reaching his eyes. "Even smaller than Fone Bone." He turned his gaze to the great lump of rat creature beside him. "Man, did you grow!"

Fone Bone shared a smile at that. He never would have thought that a creature Bartleby's size could start so small. He had been able to pick the rat creature up when he had first found him, and now he was sufficiently large enough to carry all three of the Bone cousins...maybe more. Bartleby had taken to Smiley so quickly. As had Smiley to him. They were inseparable. To see one without the other seemed wrong. In fact, Fone found it hard to picture what Smiley had been like before the creature's friendship. Smiley had always been a bit of a loner. No, that wasn't right. He loved people, and being around people, but before the Valley, he had never really had anyone. Besides him and Phoney. But that was family. Not the same. But the friendship Bartleby and Smiley shared was a healthy one, and both cousins had seen a change in Smiley because of it. He was more responsible; more concrete. It was a good thing, Fone was sure.

"You really gave me a scare or two, you know," Smiley confided in his friend, his smile slipping a little. "When I thought you were going to...go off with the other rat creatures..." He took a steadying breath. "Turning away was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

Wrong choice of discussion, Fone's mind scolded. He hadn't meant the conversation to drift to that. He wanted to cheer Smiley up, not bring him down. Fone remembered the broken look on Smiley's face when they had had to leave Bartleby behind. He had thought that they had done what they had needed to. After all, what could they do with a baby rat creature? But that expression on his cousin's face; that heartrending gaze that had looked as though Smiley's soul had just been torn in two. It hadn't been easy, for Smiley or him. "But he came back," Fone inserted quickly.

Smiley's smile returned. "Yup. Sure did." He yawned, his eyes blinking slower than before. "He always has." There was a long pause in which Fone Bone thought his cousin had actually fallen asleep. But then, softly, Smiley spoke up.

"Fone Bone, what do you think is wrong with me?"

The question caught the shorter Bone off guard. "I...I'm not sure."

Smiley nodded slowly. He tried to act like that didn't bother him. "That's alright. I'm sure we'll figure it out...eventually." He gave a chuckle, but it was forced. It barely sounded like Smiley at all.

Fone Bone watched as Smiley turned back to stroking Bartleby's fur, sleep still evading the taller cousin completely. It was a sad, melancholy motion, so drastically different from his usual, lively movements. Fone's heart sank even lower, countless worries and possibilities flowing through his mind.

"I hope so."

Darkness.

Terrible, lonely darkness.

An endless, suffocating darkness that was almost like a physical substance, flowing all around, getting in his eyes and nose. He kept his mouth shut, so that he wouldn't swallow any by accident. It crushed in on him, making him feel trapped, held by an invisible force. He panicked for a moment, but the struggle seemed to tire him immensely. He felt weak, drained of all strength, until all he could do was stand there...or float...Helpless.

Voices.

Loud.

Too many voices.

Too loud.

It hurt.

He could hear each individual voice, but muffled, some clearer than others. A few were soft, and some rocked the very air around him. Words, some in a deep voice that suddenly filled him with guilt, others in a needling whine that filled his heart with fear. All wound together in a cacophony that trembled and pierced and dug into his very soul. None of it made sense. He couldn't feel anything other then the darkness, and the wild beating of his own heart. He wanted to struggle. He wanted to break free...But he could not.

Chaos.

Confusion.

Too much.

Pain.

Too much.

TOO MUCH!

"STOP!"

"Phoney! Stop! Stop, it's okay! Stop!"

Phoney jolted back to reality with a gasp. He was drenched in a cold sweat, and shivering so violently that it was making his teeth chatter. It took a moment for his vision to clear, and, for a second, he panicked even more. Someone had a hold of him, holding him in place. Trapping him. It brought the feeling of darkness and terror and pain all flooding back, and he struggled harder. He managed to free his arm from the hold and struck out with a desperate punch, only to swing at empty air. Someone gripped his wrist, preventing him from trying a second time.

"Phoney, for cry'n out loud! Snap out of it!"

His confusion deepened. That was Fone Bone's voice. But what was Fone Bone doing here? In the darkness? In the- All at once, the dizzying blurriness that had blinded his eyes lifted, and the darkness gave way to the artificial light of a bulb in the ceiling. Dim though it was, it was the most beautiful thing he could have imagined at the present time.

He was lying on his back, he realized. And someone had him pinned, a little too roughly, to the floor. Following the pale, white arms that were pressing down on his own, Phoney's gaze shifted to the face of his attacker.

"...F-Fone...F-Fone B-Bone...?" Why was it so gosh darn hard to get that simple name out of his mouth? His teeth were still chattering as he trembled, and the sound of ragged breathing, punctuated with a loud wheeze every now and then, assaulted his ears. It took Phoney a good, long fifteen seconds or so before he realized the dreadful sound was coming from him.

Fone was also breathing heavily. His eyes wide, he was throwing all his weight, which didn't amount to much, into keeping Phoney from thrashing about. Relief flooded him when he saw that Phoney had broken free of...whatever had taken hold of him. Fone didn't like the unfocused gaze, trembling, and heaving chest his cousin was displaying. Behind him, Smiley and Bartleby stood, anxious to help but kept at bay by Fone's command for them to keep back.

Phoney was not one to have nightmares. Oh, he had one from time to time, like anyone might, but it usually only consisted of a bit of whimpering, and maybe a few mumbled words. Never had he been sent into a desperate frenzy of kicking, squirming, and crying out in, what sounded like, pain. Agony. It broke Fone's heart to see it, and even more so as the image burned a permanent residence in his memory. But now, thankfully, Phoney was coming out of it. The frightened and confused eyes were now replaced with ones of recognition. Still frightened, but less than a moment before.

Phoney licked his dry lips, trying to muster the strength to sit up the moment Fone Bone let him. Though, for the moment, he was perfectly content with staying where he was. His muscles ached, and a headache was forming. "...What...W-what happened?"

Fone Bone forced himself to let go of the slightly smaller Bone. Sitting back on his heels, he sent a glance over his shoulder to the other two watching behind him before returning his gaze to Phoney. "Things are a little more...complicated now, Phoney. It seems that whatever's bothering Smiley...has got a hold of you too."

Here we are, another chapter! Whoohoo! Sorry it took me so long, I was away on a camping trip with my family. :)

I just wanted to say that this story takes place in a timeline that does not include "The Quest for the Spark" series. Don't get me wrong, I read them and enjoyed them a lot, but I don't count it as canon for my story. So, there ya are. :)