Disclaimer: I may not own City of Ember, but I do know enough to know that I don't like the names of Lina and Doon's future children - thank you very much.

"Dad?"

He stopped his work, turning to look at his ten-year-old son. "Yes, Doon?"

"Have we always lived here?"

"In this house? Of –"

"No, in Ember. Did people ever live anywhere else? Somewhere where there was light?"

His father looked pensive. "I don't believe so."

"But what if we did," Doon was excited. "What if we lived somewhere before? And the lights failed? So they came here," His smile dropped. "What if the same thing happens here, what if the lights run out here too?"

"Doon…"

"We need to look for somewhere to go, before it's too late. We need to send out someone into the dark to search for a new home. Dad –"

His father turned away, "Enough, Doon."

He lowered his head. "Sorry, Dad."

A/N: I really, really liked City of Ember, but I thought that People of Sparks was strange and the Diamonds book just didn't agree with me (I didn't eat it, though, I swear) and the Prophet of Yonwood I never read because the cover looked boring. The movie was really odd, but I do like Doon and Lina a lot.