Disclaimer: I Do Not own The Smurfs. The Smurfs is the property of Peyo and Hanna-Barbara.

Author's Note: Here's chapter 2. I hope I get some reviews for this one; I'm always interested to get feedback.

Trouble on the Horizon

Unbeknownst to the Smurfs, they were not alone in the woods that day. As it turned out Azrael was lurking in the forest. Suddenly, the cats' eyes landed on some moving blue dots. Upon inspection, Azrael was able to see that those blue dots were Smurfs. Figuring that his master would be pleased with such a find, the cat stayed on them.

"Smurfette, is Brainy gonna be okay?" Sassette asked the older female Smurf.

"Of course he is, Sassette," said Smurfette. "We just have to get him back to the village. Papa Smurf will know what to do."

"Yeah. Everything's going to be alright," Hefty assured the Smurflings, though he was more trying to convince himself if he was being honest.

"Does anyone remember the way back?" Slouchy asked.

"That's why I'm here. I can find our way back easily," said Tracker while sniffing the ground. "This way!"

The group started walking back in the direction where Tracker was pointing. As they went, Brainy started to stir. He opened his eyes slowly. At first his vision was blurry, but he was soon able to make out the shapes of his friends. He soon realized that he was moving yet he was not walking. Thankfully, he realized right away that he was on Hefty's back.

"Hefty?" he moaned.

"Brainy!" Hefty said in shock. "You're awake!"

"How do you feel?" Snappy asked.

"Lousy," he said.

"We're on our way back to the village now. And with Tracker leading the way, we'll be there in no time," said Hefty. "And I'm sorry about not believing you before."

"Me too," said Smurfette. "We should've realized that you were really sick earlier."

"No kidding," Brainy weakly replied.

"Rub it in, why don't cha," said Hefty, rolling his eyes.

"You can't really blame him," said Nat. "He was obviously sick before and you ignored him."

"And you accused him of lying," said Sassette.

"You can't really blame us for that. He's not exactly the most willing participant of Smurfling related activities," said Hefty.

"Hey," Brainy moaned.

"What? It's true," said Hefty.

"But I never went….. So far as to….. Fake being sick…. To get out of anything," Brainy argued.

"That is a good point," said Tracker. "Why do you all think I kept an eye on him the whole time we were out here?"

"Everyone, please! We have to focus on the task at hand!" Smurfette said.

"You're right, Smurfette. Keep leading the way, Tracker," said Hefty as they continued.

As they continued their way, Sassette glanced up at the sick Smurf. Her eyes blinked when she looked at his back and noticed something. It looked like red lines were going up his lower back; and the marks looked almost like cracks or thorns.

"Brainy, what's that on your back?" Sassette asked.

"What's….. What?" Brainy asked.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Nat asked.

"Brainy has lines on his lower back. It looks like he had thorns on him," said Sassette while pointing at his back. "Right here, above his tail."

Smurffette looked there and said, "She's right. I almost didn't notice it."

"Is it….. Serious?" Brainy asked in concern, though still weak.

"It might be nothing," said Smurfette. "And, if anything, Papa Smurf will surely be able to fix it. Everything will be okay."

Brainy smiled a bit and nodded as they continued.

"This way," said Tracker while pointing left. "We're sure to arrive before nightfall and before anything bad happens."

"What bad could happen out here?" Snappy asked. "With Tracker, we won't get lost."

"True, but we could still run into wild animals that eat smaller things like hawks, snakes or-" Nat explained until Snappy looked back and freaked out.

"Azrael!" Snappy screamed.

"Yeah, that's a perfect example," said Hefty.

"No! I mean he's here! Run!" Snappy screamed as he ran ahead.

Everyone slowly turned around and saw the cat grinning at them. They all screamed and ran behind Snappy. Azrael meowed and started chasing them, determined to catch the Smurfs.

Hefty knew he had to do something, but he could do nothing with the sick Smurf on his back. His eyes fell on a hollow tree and he made a dash for it. He carried Brainy inside the hollow and set him down.

"Stay inside while I help the others take care of that cat," said Hefty.

"W-What are you gonna do?" Brainy asked, still weak.

"You know, mess with him a bit like we always do," said Hefty. "Don't worry, you'll be safe here."

Before Brainy could protest, Hefty jumped outside to take on Azrael. He jumped on the cat's back and started pulling his ears. Azrael shrieked and started running around like a bull in a rodeo.

"How do you like this, fleabag!?" Hefty said while laughing.

"Hefty! Get off of that cat!" Smurfette screamed.

"Once he takes off!" Hefty shouted as the cat ran with him on his back. "Smurf away!"

Azrael kept running around like crazy.

"Tracker, take the Smurflings to the village! I'm gonna help Hefty!" Smurfette said as she ran after Azrael.

"But what about Brainy?!" Nat asked Tracker.

"Hefty seems to have hidden him somewhere. I'm sure he'll be okay," Tracker said as he took the Smurflings and ran away.

After the Smurfs were gone, footsteps could be heard coming towards the area. As luck would have it, the owner of the footsteps was none other than Gargamel.

"Azrael! Where are you, you stupid cat?!" Gargamel shouted. "Azrael!"

He suddenly heard a moaning sound. Gargamel started looking around for the source until he realized it was coming from a hollow tree. He looked inside the hole and saw something quite pleasing, while the occupant was quite scared.

"A Smurf!" the wizard said.

"Ga-Ga-Gargamel!" Brainy weakly said as he tried to back away.

"What luck. One little Smurf all alone and defenseless," Gargamel said as he reached inside.

Brainy tried to get away, but he was still too weak to move very fast. As a result, Gargamel was able to grab Brainy and pull him out. Brainy tried to struggle, but he was too weak and Gargamel had a tight grip on him. He wanted to call out for help, but Brainy suddenly felt dizzy and he passed out in Gargamel's hand.

"Like taking candy from a baby," said Gargamel with a laugh. "It might only be one, but more are sure to come later once they realize they're missing one."

Gargamel laughed as he left with unconscious Brainy clutched in his hand.

At the same time, Hefty was still riding on Azrael when Smurfette caught up to them. She immediately saw that they were getting close to the creek.

"Hefty! Get off of there, now!" Smurfette screamed.

"In a minute!" Hefty said as they came closer to the water.

Azrael meowed and tried to shake off the Smurf some more, unaware that he was heading right for the water. Hefty jumped off just as Azrael fell into the water. Azrael freaked out when he hit the water and ran for his life. Hefty laughed as Smurfette joined his side.

"How do you like that, nasty cat?! Probably not too well!" Hefty taunted while laughing.

"Hefty, that was very reckless of you!" Smurfette scolded him.

"At least I got rid of Azrael," said Hefty as he stood up. "Come on, let's get Brainy and Smurf up to the others."

"I agree with the last part. I just wanna get back home and rest," said Smurfette as they walked.

Hefty found the tree where he left Brainy and climbed up to the hollow. "Come on, Brainy. Time to go," he said as he went inside. He froze when he got in there. "Brainy? Brainy?!"

"Hefty, what's wrong?!" Smurfette called.

"Brainy's not in here!" Hefty called back as he came out. "Brainy?! Brainy, where'd you go?!"

"Brainy, where are you?!" Smurfette called. She froze when she saw the ground. "Hefty! Look! Human tracks!"

Hefty looked at the tracks. "It must've been Gargamel!" he concluded. "He took Brainy!"

"Oh no! What'll we do?!" Smurfette cried. "We have to save him!"

"We will, but we'll need help! Come on! Back to the village!" Hefty said as he and Smurfette ran back to the village.

-Smurf Village-

After returning to the village with the Smurflings, Tracker told Papa Smurf and the others about Azrael and about Brainy being sick.

"I told you all he wasn't faking!" Clumsy said.

"I guessed as much. That's why I kept an eye on him," said Tracker.

"Even I suspected that he might have something wrong with him," said Papa Smurf. "But don't worry, I'll look him over once Smurfette and Hefty return with him."

"Thanks, Pappy Smurf," said Sassette. "Uh, by the way, is it normal for Smurfs to have red lines on their backs?"

Papa Smurf froze when he heard that. "Why do you ask that, Sassette?"

"Brainy had these red marks on his lower back that looked like thorns," said Sassette.

"Huh, that's weird," said Clumsy.

"Never heard of that before," said Handy. "Papa Smurf, do you recognize that symptom?"

Papa Smurf looked very scared now. "I'm afraid I do," he said. "My little Smurfs, Brainy doesn't simply have a cold."

"Then what is it, the flu? Smurfmonia?" Greedy asked.

"No, I'm afraid," Papa Smurf fearfully said. "It's called the Thorn."

"The Thorn?" the Smurfs asked.

"I hate the Thorn!" Grouchy shouted. "What's the Thorn?"

"The Thorn is a dangerous illness, recognizable by the red marks that appear on the host's body," Papa Smurf sadly said. "If left untreated, I'm afraid Brainy could be in grave danger."

The other Smurfs went pale, Clumsy especially. Seeing their despair, Papa Smurf quickly added to his statement.

"Fortunately, there is a cure," he said, much to the relief of the others. "I need to get a few ingredients, but as long as he remains in the village while I do so, I'm sure he'll be safe."

"What a relief," said Clumsy.

"Papa Smurf! Papa Smurf!" the heard Hefty and Smurfette screaming as they arrived, to everyone's shock, without Brainy.

"Hefty! Smurfette! What's wrong?! And where's Brainy?" he asked.

"Oh, Papa Smurf, it's horrible!" Smurfette cried. "Gargamel Smurf-napped Brainy!"

"What?!" the smurfs yelled.

"After I took care of Azrael, Smurfette and I went to go get Brainy but he was gone!" Hefty said. "There were human tracks near the tree where I hid him, and the only human we know that could've been in the same place as Azrael is Gargamel."

"You left Brainy alone?!" Clumsy asked. "In his condition?!"

"I hid him in a hollow tree! I thought he'd be safe there! I thought he'd be fine!" Hefty said.

"I should've stayed with him! Oh poor Brainy!" Smurfette cried.

"We gotta get him back!" Jokey said, not kidding at all.

"And quickly!" Tracker added. "According to Papa Smurf, this is worse than we thought."

"What are you saying?" Hefty asked nervously.

"The others will explain everything. I need to go get some herbs for the cure," said Papa Smurf as he ran into his house and grabbed his bag. "The rest of you, get Brainy back as soon as possible."

"You got it, Papa Smurf. We won't let you or Brainy down," said Handy.

Papa Smurf took to the air on Feathers while the other Smurfs explained the situation to Hefty and Smurette. Now they only hoped that they were not too late to save their fellow Smurf.