Hey guys, I wanna thank all of you who reviewed. You all rock my socks! Lol but I especially want to thank moonlightbear and TangledPencils for helping me try to improve my story. That's so awesome, thanks for the support. Now, on with the story :D Oh, and a warning: there is slight language in this chapter.

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Nearly five hours had passed without a sign of their youngest brother. 1 A.M. was rapidly approaching, and the remnants of daylight had long since faded. Finally and reluctantly, they turned for home, agreeing to begin the search again in the morning.

When they stepped into the house, they were immediately greeted with a pale, stricken, Scott. "What happened? Did you find him?"

Silently, the three shook their heads, each facing downward as they slowly made their way to the living room.

"But he's still out there!" Scott cried. "We need to find him!"

"I'm surprised you care," Gordon growled under his breath, though Scott had caught his words. Gordon sent a glare in Scott's direction and continued with Jeff and Virgil toward the living room.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scott nearly yelled. Gordon scoffed at his reaction and plopped onto the couch next to Virgil.

"I'm surprised you asked about Alan first," Gordon shouted. "I mean, who were you more worried about when we left? Alan or your 'bird?"

Even though it seemed impossible, Scott paled further, and then began to turn a bright shade of red in his anger. He was about to snap back, but was immediately cut off by Gordon once more.

"And who did you ask about first when we returned?" Gordon continued to scream at Scott. Both standing, they came face to face. Though Scott would normally use his superior height to overcome his brother, his crutches prevented him from doing so. Jeff sat with his face buried in his hands while Virgil did the same across the room.

"Damn it, Gordon! You know I care about Alan more than my bird!" Scott bellowed.

"Could have fooled me," Gordon retorted loudly.

When Scott looked as though he were going to hit Gordon- and vice-versa – Jeff finally stood himself. Shaking, he roared, "Stop it, the both of you! It's no one's fault, nor should any blame be given."

"But, Dad," Gordon began, before he was cut off.

"No! I don't want to hear another threatening or spiteful words from either of you, got that?" he growled.

Virgil, who had been silent throughout the dispute finally broke into silent tears and ran from the room. Gordon made a move to go after him, but Jeff, who also had new tears rolling down his cheeks, shook his head in disapproval.

Reluctantly, he settled into a nearby chair, attempting to keep his gaze as far from Scott as he could. Scott decided to hobble to the other side of the room and also take a seat, keeping his gaze distant as well.

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Virgil ran through the halls, tears streaming down his face. How could they fight at a time like this? His brother was missing and they were blaming each other. Slowly, he came to a stop in front of a certain door. Alan's name was crafted into a metal sign that hung on the front. After a moment of hesitating, he gradually opened the door; half hoping his brother's figure would be peacefully sleeping under the covers of his bed. However, when he the door slid open, it revealed an empty room. Letting a sob escape his throat, Virgil slowly ambled towards the bed.

Gingerly, he sat on the edge of the mattress, running his hands over the comforter. Looking to Alan's nightstand, he found a picture of himself and Alan, his arm wrapped around his brother's neck in a joking choke hold. Each of the brothers had large smiles splitting across their faces. Taking the picture in his hand, he let more sobs escape his throat as his memories came flowing back to him.

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"Virgil!" a 6-year-old Alan cried from the kitchen. Virgil came running into the room, worried by his brother's sudden shout. What he found, though, wasn't danger, but a large pool of milk and chocolate syrup covering the kitchen floor.

"What did you do?" Virgil asked in awe and fright. What would their father do when he found this mess?

"I tried to make chocolate milk," Alan squeaked. The now-empty gallon of milk rested on the floor, the chocolate syrup bottle also nearby.

"Oh…my," Virgil began, working his way into the kitchen, but was cut off as his feet flew out from under him and he landed on his butt into the milk. Alan looked scared as he tried to walk towards his brother, but his feet soon slipped beneath him as well. The two brothers stared at each other in shock for a moment, and then suddenly burst out laughing.

"You want chocolate milk?" Virgil asked slyly, picking up the empty chocolate bottle next to him and filling it with some milk from the floor. "Here you go!" he laughed, tossing the milk at a stunned Alan. His brother then picked up the empty milk gallon and flinging more milk at Virgil. Soon, most of the kitchen was covered in a thin layer of milk and chocolate.

Moments later, Jeff turned the corner and stood in shock. "VIRGIL! ALAN!"

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As a 12-year-old Virgil strolled down the hall, he heard a faint sobbing coming from Alan's room. Turning, he opened the door to find Alan on his bed. Even though the lights were out, he could tell Alan was shaking with sobs in the dim moonlight coming from the window.

"Hey, Sprout, what's wrong?" he said, making his way to the bed and sitting next to his brother and gently rubbing his shoulder.

"I-I miss Mo-Mom" Alan murmured between his crying. Virgil stiffened at his brother's words, but quickly recovered and enveloped his brother in a large hug. Alan clutched to Virgil's shirt, letting more sobs rack his small frame.

"It's ok, Sprout, we all miss her," Virgil cooed, trying to sound comforting, though he had no clue what to tell his brother.

Sniffing, Alan quietly asked, "Will we ever see her again?"

Pausing, Virgil told him, "Yes we will, Alan. Someday..."

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Virgil let more sobs escape as he thought of his words to Alan that night. At least he was with his mother now. But why did he have to leave so young? His brothers and father still needed him. Hell, he needed Alan. Tears dripped onto the glass of the picture frame as they flowed down Virgil's face. Placing the picture back to its original spot, he fell back onto the bed, grabbing one of Alan's pillows and curling into a ball around it.

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Jeff sat in silence as Scott and Gordon stared dejectedly in opposite directions. A few minutes passed in complete silence until Kyrano came into the room with four steaming cups of hot chocolate. Setting the platter of mugs on the coffee table, he handed one to each of the men.

"Where's Virgil?" he asked quietly. Scott and Gordon merely stared at their mugs, while Jeff finally replied.

"He's in his room, Kyrano. I don't think he'll want that just now," he said. "But thank you." Nodding, Kyrano replaced the mug onto the platter. "How's Tin-Tin?" Jeff asked gently.

"In her room, I haven't seen her for hours," Kyrano said glumly. Sighing, he picked up the platter. "I'd better get back to the kitchen." With that, he left the room. Jeff knew that Kyrano, like Brains, worked to distract themselves. He also guessed that Fermat would most likely be working on another model or puzzle in his room.

Staring dismally into his mug, Gordon finally spoke. "Hey Scott?" he asked for his brother's attention. A grunt was his only response. "I'm sorry about what I said…I knew it wasn't true, but I was just so upset…" he trailed off.

Scott sighed, "It's alright. I'm sorry too," he smiled weakly at Gordon, and also received one in response. With that, they fell into silence again. That is, until the computer's automated voice broke the still air.

"Warning, unidentified individual present on the island," it droned.

The three Tracy's immediately stood to their feet, unanimously saying, "The Hood!" Grabbing their guns from their belts, they raced out the door- Scott having trouble with his crutches- to the place the computer had confirmed the person was. In the distance, they could see a figure slowly making its way up the hill.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch for what he did to Alan!" Gordon cried, aiming his weapon directly at the person.

"No, wait!" Jeff quietly told his son, pushing Gordon's gun away from the path of the man. Just then, the figure stumbled onto the ground and lay motionless. Daring to hope, Jeff made his way toward the figure.

"But, Dad!" Scott exclaimed, following his father. Gordon also followed Jeff to the figure, and gasped in shock as they realized who it was.

"Alan!"

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After an hour of tireless swimming- with the assistance of the seat cushion- Alan finally fell onto the shores of Tracy Island. Panting, he fell onto the shore, relishing the comfort of solid ground. Once he'd regained his breath, he shifted weakly onto his feet and stumbled across the beach and onto the pathway towards their house. He could hear voices coming from the house, and weakly whispered, "Dad…" before he fell to the ground unconscious.

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Yay! My longest chapter yet! Please let me know what you think of it! Luvs u all :D

Megz McGizzle