Sorry for the long delay in updating. A lot has been happening but is starting to calm down now so am back to uploading this story as well as some new ones for TAG. Hope you enjoy.

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SCOTT TRACY

Thunderbird One glided over the waves towards land, the water rippling in her wake.

As Scott reached land his eyes cast over the landscape, trying to pick up anything from his aerial advantage that remotely appeared yellow or submarine like. His eyes had not caught any movement as he'd soared over the devastating littered beach, but if anyone was injured or even buried under rubble it would be difficult to pick up on from up here. He continued his sweep of the coastline, his readings indicating numerous objects around the size of Four littered or buried along the coastline, but they were all too inconclusive to rule as his quarry or not.

Like a needle in a haystack.

Sky blue eyes flickered to the life sign readouts. So far there was not one blip.

Anxiety and frustration were rising inside of him again, along with another emotion. One he usually kept hidden, specially around little brothers….fear.

His fist came down angrily onto the control dash, the apparatus rattling.

Dammit.

What was the point of all this technology if he could not find his brothers amongst disaster sites they were specifically designed for?

"Commander,"

EOS's voice chirped up breaking through the fog that was swirling in his mind.

"Fab1 will be at your location in 10 minutes." The AI reported.

"Thank you, EOS. Instruct Lady P to start searching the bay the moment she arrives." He commanded. "Have you picked up anything yet with Five's sensors."

"Negative."

Of course. If she had picked up anything she'd had notified him by now but he had to ask. Even if it was for askings sake.

"FAB. Continue scanning and trying to contact on all frequencies."

"Understood."

The line went quiet and Scott let out a shaky breath. He needed to stay calm.

Natural disasters were always some of the worst cases but this was a rescue like countless he'd navigated before. Despite the two people missing from this disaster being his littlest brothers which scared the hell out of the big brother half of himself, the Commander portion voiced loud and clear they were also iR operatives. Both had been meticulously trained for situations such as this, he had to have faith in what he'd taught them along with Virgil and John. As well as faith in the two themselves. Despite whatever disagreement they'd been having recently he was sure that would have been put on the backburner once the wave hit and they'd plug it out together no matter what. That's what brothers did.

Scott looked down noting he'd already done a whole sweep of the bay with nothing to show for it.

His brows creased together.

If his sensors were picking up very little and he could not see from up here then the answer was simple, he would need to go down and take a look for himself.

Scott turned TB1 towards the bottom of the bay again, deploying the two drones beneath his bird when he reached the end of the beach. Setting commands for them to start sweeping the bottom end as he started on foot at the top. They'd meet somewhere in the middle, though he hoped he would find his brothers long before then.

It was as Scott was making his way back up the beach that he noticed four faint signals appear on his sensors in two different locations then disappear as if they had not be present at all. He prodded at the readouts trying to hone in on the signals again but nothing came up.

From what he had seen in that briefest of seconds, two had been towards the middle of the beach which he had just passed over and the other two further up. Either could be his quarry…or neither.

No. He pushed that last thought down with force. He knew his brothers were alive. As Grandma said 'trust your gut' and his was saying they were still here. He just had to find them.

Scott started to scouted for a place to land so he could investigate the previous readings.

A rocky outcrop just above the remains of the shipping harbour at the northern tip of the bay came into view. It looked stable enough to hold the weight of his bird and put his location very close to at least two of the life signs.

Scott brought his 'bird down, landing struts deployed as they touched the ground with a metallic clunk. Clicking the engines off, he pushed the shoulder restraints out of the way as he left his pilot seat to move into the main hold for the equipment he would need to assist him on his search.

He shrugged his jet pack on and ensured his grapple gun was secured firmly. With a flick of the hand he activated Mini Max while grabbing the portable first aid kit stored on board Thunderbird 1.

He punched the button to open the main hatch, the ramp sliding out.

"Scott."

The voice startled him as he looked down to his wrist com to see Lady Penelope looking up at him, fully dressed in her diving suit, Bertie perched on her lap. The suit had been a gift from Gordon when she had passed her diving exam. Scott recalled how thrilled Gordon had been to have someone else to explore the underwater depths with. Though he had a hunch his brothers joy was a little more to do with the who that someone was.

"We are arriving at your location now." She informed him. "Have you managed to find anything?"

"Nothing conclusive but I picked up on some faint life readings. I'm heading to investigate now." He answered as he started to walk down the ramp. "Continue with your search in the bay in case none of them are my brothers. I'll keep you posted on my progress."

"FAB."

As he stepped out of the underbelly of Thunderbird 1, he heard the distinct sound of a small engine as pink form of FAB1 appeared flying over the outcrop. Penelope gave a small wave as the wheels on the car changed position, Parker nosediving the car into the water. Within seconds they were out of his vision, lost in the gloomy depths.

He typed in a command on his wrist controls that had the ramp pull back inside of his bird, her hatch closing shut.

Scott moved to the edge of the outcrop, surveying the length of the beach below. Mini Max hovered beside him, a small aerial disk swirling around out off his back. He flared up his jetpack, taking a step off the cliff as he began his descent.

—

GORDON TRACY

Gordon had a dilemma.

Location.

He had no idea whether they were still submersed under water or had been washed ashore. If he was to hazard a guess he would say land given the amount of mud clinging to the outside of Four but he couldn't be 100% sure.

There was only one way to find out.

Gordon moved towards the rear compartment of Thunderbird 4, grasping the door as he began to pry it open. When there was enough of a gap he slid through allowing the door to slide shut behind him.

Suddenly the submarine began to rattle but just as soon as it started it stopped. Gordon waited with baited breath for a few moments. He hoped that was just an aftershock. The last thing he needed was another quake and possible second tsunami.

He began to move again, turning to check through the small round compartment window that Alan was relatively okay. His brother hadn't moved and seemed to have his eyes closed but luckily Gordon could see the faint rise of his shoulders indicating he was still breathing.

Turning back towards the main rear doors he could see that there was some damage on the starboard side of the hull as it was crumbled in-wards. Gordon prayed it was only some minor structural damage, last thing he needed was to have caused another submarine to be completely put out of operation. This was already his third version of his beloved bird. If it became a fourth he was beyond certain he'd never hear the end of it from Brains nor more annoyingly his brothers.

Alike the main section there was mud all over the glass here too but he spied a small faint glimmer of light from the side closest to the damaged section of the hull. He moved closer to inspect, his feet crunching underneath him. This had him halt and look down, lifting his foot up to see a couple small shards of glass. As his eyes trailed back towards the window he could see mud had oozed in through a gap where the light was coming from, a small clump deposited on the floor.

He pause in thought. No water, just mud. With such a gap if they were still submersed, water would be pouring in but it wasn't. He crouched down marginally as he peered through the gap. It took a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light. Soon he could make out the distinct form of a tree, its leaves fluttering in the breeze with blue skies behind. The earth around the base of the tree seemed to be a muddy mound of various assortments of debris, the remnants of a beech hut at its base.

Gordon felt relief, a fraction of the tension in his shoulders dissipating. They were on land. This would make rescue and recovery far easier.

He straightened his spine, assessing the rear hatch doors. With the systems down he would have to manually unlatch the door frame to release it open. He set to work, moving to the left first as he twisted a small dial, a panel opening to reveal a yellow leaver. He pulled it 90 degrees clockwise as the first latch released. He proceeded with the same procedure for the one above and the two on the other side of the door. The only two left being at the very top of the door out of his reach.

Gordon pulled a face. If there was ever a time he wished he had Scott and John's taller frames it was now.

He quickly glanced around him for anything he could stand on. It was then he spotted the tool box that was typical stashed in the larger storage cupboard of this section but had likely fallen out during the impact of the wave that had swept Thunderbird 4 to land.

Target acquired he positioned it below the first of the upper latches, stepping up as he gained the crucial inches he needed to reach the panel and subsequent leaver underneath. He stepped down, shuffling the box along to the next and final latch.

This one was a bit stiffer then the others, requiring him to use both hands to tug it down with a clunk. A second of silence and a loud groan resounded from the door as it started to give way to gravity. The sunlight that dawned through had Gordon wince with its intensity. This momentary blindness of light having him miss the mass of brown sludge falling through the gap, as it splattered all over the front of his uniform and face.

A large clatter rattled throughout the submarine as the hatch door hit the ground, it having him nearly lose his balance on top of the tool box.

When everything had seemed to settled he cautiously stepped down, moving to wipe the mud off his face when both feet were firmly planted on the ground. Once the sludge was off his face for the most part he looked out, the sun taking a couple minutes to get used to as his eyes fully adjusted.

He stepped out onto the lowered hatch door. Looking around at the damage of the wave. There was another beach hut to his left side that it appeared Four had surged into. The wood splintered into pieces. His eyes caught a hand visible underneath some of the debris.

He rushed forward, hand extending only to find the other lifelessly cold. It brought a gut-wrenching reality to the forefront of his mind. His submarine maybe small but she was by no means light.

How many others had been crushed in their wake as the wave had swept them in?

A shiver ran down his spine. It was a thought he did not wish to dwell on nor have answered. At least…not right now.

Gordon moved away with a heavy heart. He turned around to look at his bird to see the extent of the outer damage. He could see the starboard hull was crumpled in-wards as he'd noted from inside. This in account of a small row of trees that he concluded had halted her progress from moving further inland as she was plastered up against them. There were a few more bumps here and there, some scratches to the paintwork but they were easily fixable.

However moving her would be a challenge. He could see the front section was buried under a ton of mud and sand. He'd need Virgil and Thunderbird 2 to have a chance of hauling her out. But to do that he needed to be found.

The aquanaut headed the few yards to the small mound he had seen before through the small gap. He scrambled up, finding the mixture of mud and sand had his feet at times sinking in as he moved forward. He reached out for the trunk of the tree, using its stably rooted structure as an anchor for himself as he took the last couple of steps up. A couple of black dots appeared in his vision again having him leaned against the trunk to ensure he did not fall down. He breathed deeply, allowing his vision to clear before he looked out to survey the landscape around him.

Regrettable he could not see as much as he had hoped, the range limited due to larger mounds, outcrops and swathes of mangrove trees blocking him from seeing further up or down the coastline then he had hoped.

He would need to find a better advantage point.

Gordon cast his eyes over the landscape and spotted a crop of rocks just above the tree line to his right, they leading up to a cliff. If he could get there and climb up he'd have a good view of the whole bay. It would further help him to be spotted by any inbound brothers too.

There was just one problem to this plan.

Alan.

The astronaut couldn't move right now, he was far too injured and Gordon couldn't hike off to those rocks while leaving his little brother behind and alone in such a condition. If anything happened to him while he was away…his fists clenched. I'd never forgive myself.

Gordon turned around sliding carefully back down the muddy bank, as he headed towards his beached bird. He needed a solution. Staying put would take longer to be discovered and Alan needed medical attention as soon as possible. The best course of action was for them to move as to heighten their chances of rescue.

It did leave his 'bird and her technology exposed and vulnerable without a guard but as much as he loved his yellow submarine he loved his brother far more. When it came to what he was willing to sacrifice he'd always choose a thunderbird over a brother, and he was positive all his brothers would make the same decision.

But still how to move Alan without causing any further harm.

Gordon re-entered his bird, prying the doors open from the back hatch to the main compartment but this time wedging it open with the tool box he had stood on earlier.

Alan was where he had left him, resting up against the side, oxygen mask still in place with his eyes shut. Gordon swiftly moved to crouch down beside him. The astronauts breathing was still shallow and his complexion was noticeably paler then before. That wasn't a good sign.

Gordon gentle placed a hand on the side of Alan's face, he noticing blue eyes cracking open to his touch.

"Hey Allie." He said gently. "You'll be happy to know we are on land. Got the back all opened up, just going to figure out how to move you and we'll be on our way, okay?"

Glazed over eyes looked back at him.

Gordon wasn't sure if his brother had understood what he'd said but the astronaut leaned into the touch none the less indicating he at least knew he was there.

He'd need a stretcher to transport Alan.

Gordon moved to the medical hover bench that was nestled in place against the other side of TB4. All he had to do was unclasp it from the hinges and it was free. But instead of hovering like normal, it clattered to the floor landing on the aquanauts left foot a flurry of superlatives escaping him. He hobbled on the spot for a second, rubbing his hurt foot in indignation as he scowled down at the culprit.

Of course, it wouldn't be working.

Gordon suppressed the urge to eye roll. Things were really not going his way today. Whether it was damaged during the tousle of the wave or had short circuited when the power went out he did not know, but it added a slight complication to his plans. This would make transporting Alan more bumpy then smooth. He could only hope that the ensuing bumps would not aggravate the internal injuries of his brother too heavily.

Gordon started fishing through several of the compartment cupboards, he soon enough finding a rope. He looped it through the two handles at the top end of the sketcher, tying each end with a fisherman's knot to ensure they were secure. His idea was simple. He'd pull the hover bench along with Alan and the oxygen tank on it. Just like when they were kids, and Scott and Virgil would pull them along in the snow on the sledge.

He maneuverer the stretcher to beside his little brother, positioning it close to make the transfer take as little time as possible. He put the oxygen tank to the side before moving round to Alan, one arm going under his brothers knee caps as the other gripped round his shoulders.

"Sorry little bro, this might hurt." He warned softly as he started to lift him up.

Alan whimpered in pain, eye flying open wide. Gordon moved as quickly and gently as he could, having his brother on the stretcher within seconds.

"Sorry Allie." He soothed, checking him over. "It was the only way. Just hang in there for me, kay?"

Gordon immediately set to work without waiting for any response, he straightening his brothers limbs out gingerly as he latched the constraints across his legs and one across his shoulders, doing his best to avoid the area of his chest. He did not want to place any undue pressure there. Lastly he tucked the oxygen tank into his brothers side, ensuring the mask was still in place.

He stood, going to grab the medical kit as he lumped it at Alan's feet though making sure to loop it into one of the constraints so it wouldn't fall off and be lost along the journey.

His brother now secured and ready to go he took hold of the rope at the top end, hoisting it over his head like a harness.

Liquid brown eyes fixed on the sunlight outside he began to move.