Well guys, I think the days of me posting a new chapter daily are coming to an end. I'm running out of time/dedication to doing so. I will keep posting on this, don't worry. Maybe even consistently for a couple more days. When it gets to the point where I'm not going to, though, I'll mark it as complete. Have no fear, though, as I will post more chapters as the inspiration comes.

Chapter Thirteen

"Hello world," Penelope said, seated primly on a chair in the theater room. "The next video is a little chaotic," she explained, looking a mix of amused and exasperated. "The boys were having some fun, it seems." She shook her head and flipped some of her hair over her shoulder. "It should be amusing at least. I hope you enjoy."

The screen faded to black, but it didn't take long for a picture to come back up.

"Hey Gordon! The floor is lava!" It was Alan yelling, but the camera, placed in pretty much the same place as it had been for the Week in the Lounge video, picked up Gordon suddenly jumping up onto the desk, scattering pencils and pens.

Scott, sitting at the desk, flung himself backwards in shock and then groaned, dropping his head to his hand. "Oh please, not this again."

Gordon turned, grinning at his older brother. "Oh Scotty," he sung, "This is only the beginning."

The view changed. It was a view no one had seen and was definitely not at Tracy Villa. It was clean, white and gray with a few colors thrown in. Outside the glass was the vastness of space. This had to be Thunderbird Five, especially as John was seen walking down the hall. He startled a bit when Alan's voice came over the com. "Hey John!"

"Yes, Alan?"

"The floor is lava!"

John paused and then simply lifted his feet, crossing his legs and floating in the middle of the hall. The gravity was apparently off, and his suit was somehow able to keep him connected to the ground before. "Really, Sprout? I live in space."

"Huh. Gotta get you land, Space-Face," Alan muttered. John rolled his eyes and flipped the communicator off.

The view was the kitchen, where Scott was seen drinking a mug of what was presumably coffee. Alan wandered in, yawning widely and still wearing pajamas. He absently wrapped an arm around Scott, leaning into his back in a tired hug. Scott turned and squeezed his shoulders with one arm, still drinking his coffee. "Morning," the older muttered.

"Morning," Alan mumbled. He detached himself from his brother and slid around the kitchen island. "Oh. The floor is lava."

Scott, without skipping a beat, jumped up to sit on the counter, still drinking his coffee. He'd managed the move without even spilling a drop. Alan just smirked at him.

"Scott Carpenter Tracy! You better not be sitting on the counter young man!" Grandma's voice called down the stairs.

Scott, startled, stared wide-eyed at Alan. "How does she do that?!" he whispered.

They were outside the Villa, on the deck. The camera was in someone's hand and swung around to land on Gordon. The aquanaut was fully clothed in board shorts and a garish Hawaiian shirt, holding a drink of some kind in one hand. He looked to just be quietly enjoying the rather epic sunset.

"The floor is lava!" Alan yelled, as he was the one holding the camera.

Gordon dropped the drink he was holding and dove straight into the pool. His drink splattered against the ground and Gordon surfaced, glaring. "Really, Allie?" he grumbled. He pulled himself out of the pool and started wringing out his shirt.

They were in uniform, in what had to be the Hanger of Thunderbird Two, as you could just barely see the giant machine in the side of the view. Whoever was holding the camera was being incredibly careful to keep anything that could be classified from being seen, but was training the camera on Virgil, Gordon and Scott. The three were quietly discussing something at what had to be the tail end of a rescue.

While all three were in uniform, both Gordon and Scott were muddy and dirty while Virgil was still clean. He was holding himself as though he were a little pained, but it was clear that he hadn't participated in the physical side of the rescue. He'd probably only been flying Two, in fact, as it was still far too soon for his injuries to have fully healed.

"Hey, Virge!" Alan called from behind the camera. "The floor is lava!"

Virgil paused and then sank to lie on the ground. He stretched out as much as he comfortably could and then sighed. "Oh, thank heaven!" he groaned. "Let me burn."

Alan and Gordon burst out laughing while Scott face palmed. "Virgil," the eldest grumbled. Virgil, for his part didn't reply other than to shift slightly and relax even more. "You gonna get back up?"

"The floor is cold," Virgil mumbled, barely audible above Gordon and Alan's laughter.

Scott raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"It feels good."

The scene changed to the lounge, where Alan was standing, arguing quietly with Scott about schoolwork. The person holding the camera snuck a little closer. "Allie! The floor is lava!"

Alan immediately jumped up onto Scott's back, nearly knocking the elder to the floor. He wrapped his arms and legs around his brother like a koala and stared into the camera, eyebrow raised smugly.

"Alan," Scott groaned, although his hands had automatically placed themselves under Alan's thighs, holding his brother more securely on his back. "Really guys?"

Gordon laughed and the camera jostled. "He started it," the aquanaut stated before wandering off.

Brains and Virgil were seen, heads close together as they bent over a desk, conversely softly. It was in an unknown location, but that didn't seem to matter. John popped up as a hologram near the two of them, watching silently. Neither noticed his presences, and John grinned.

"Brains! The floor is lava!"

Brains, for his part, was completely startled. He jumped, dropping a screwdriver and giving a yelp. And then he jumped up onto his desk. His reaction was a little slower than the brothers', who had all apparently been so well trained in this game that their reactions were more like instinct. However, despite that, he still managed to make Virgil laugh by knocking all their work to the floor.

Brains glared at John's hologram. "Really, John?" he asked. "I would have, uh, thought you'd b-be better than that."

"Thought wrong," John sang with an eyebrow wiggle before signing off.

They were in the lounge, Virgil standing in front of the desk. Kayo, her back to the camera, was seated on the desk and Scott was standing nearby, not part of the conversation but listening in all the same. The camera crept closer and Scott eyed it, having a clear view unlike the other two. And then Scott smirked.

"Virgil," he calmly interrupted the discussion taking place. "The floor is lava."

Virgil didn't move from his spot, but promptly shoved Kayo off the desk. She hit the ground with a startled squawk, and Scott's eyes widened. The person behind the camera choked. "Well, I'm not going down alone," Virgil muttered, turning around and placidly walking off.

Kayo gave a little growl and Scott hurriedly turned and walked away.

"What the heck?" the person behind the camera whispered and it went black just as Kayo turned on him.

John was on Earth, walking down the hallway outside the bedrooms, talking to Scott. "John! Floor is lava!" Alan called, jostling the camera a little.

John moved, knocking Scott's feet out from under him and promptly sitting on his older brother, as though the man were a raft. Alan nearly dropped the camera he was laughing so hard, and Scott was wheezing, the breath having been knocked out of him by the fall and subsequent squishing by the next oldest.

John gazed calmly at Alan. "You were saying?" he asked, shifting to pin Scott down a little better when the elder moved to try and flip him off.

"Oh my gosh," Alan wheezed, still laughing. "What on Earth?"

"Mm-hmm," John hummed, turning his attention to Scott, who was glaring up at him. "Something wrong, Scotty?"

"Get off."

John shifted, leaning forward and being sure to jab Scott with his elbows. "I dunno," he said thoughtfully. "This is kinda comfortable. Might just take a nap."

"John," Scott growled.

John blinked, glancing at Alan, who was choking on his laughter. "Do you hear something, Sprout?" The camera shook, but Alan was laughing too hard to actually answer. "Didn't think so."

Scott's eyes narrowed. "John," he warned. He didn't say anything else but suddenly twisted, flinging John off him and moving to pin the man down. Alan, still laughing, dropped the camera to join in the wrestling match. Just before the camera went black, you could see him tackling Scott.

All five boys were in the theater room, and Mario Kart was being projected on the wall. They hadn't started playing the game yet, gathering snacks and supplies as they were. The person behind the camera slipped further into the room. "Boys," Grandma stated. "The floor is lava."

There was a sudden scrabbling as four of the five dove for beanbags, chairs and couches. Alan ended up almost upside down in his chair, and John nearly missed his beanbag. Virgil, though, just sat down where he stood, calmly watching the chaos.

"Virgil, darling," Grandma stated from behind the camera. "I don't think you get the concept of the game."

"Oh no," he replied, grinning up at her. "I get it."

Scott rolled his eyes. "He wants to burn," he said, stretching out a leg to nudge Virgil's shoulder gently.

Gordon snickered, getting more comfortable on his couch. "If I didn't know him, I'd be worried," he laughed, grabbing his controller. "You guys ready to play?" he asked.

There was another, shorter and calmer scramble as everyone reached for their controllers. Grandma, still behind the camera, gave a sigh.

"The floor is lava," Virgil serenely stated as all five brothers stood on the ramp of Thunderbird Two. They were all in uniform, and John was actually down from Five and on whatever rescue this was. There was silence from all four of Virgil's brothers at his comment, all of them staring at the end of the ramp.

The camera, what had to be a security camera for the Bird, turned and focused on the ground.

About six feet from the metal ramp, there was a flow of lava running down the mountain.

"Huh," Alan grunted. "I say we end the game now."

"Agreed," Gordon replied. And the other three nodded, still staring at the lava as it calmly flowed past.

And the screen faded to black, only to come back up with Lady Penelope in the theater room, smiling at the camera. "What you saw was only the filmed portions of that game," she explained. "Something you need to understand about the Tracy boys is that they're a very competitive bunch, and take games like these seriously."

She gave a soft sigh, shaking her head. "The game lasted for two weeks before they were called out to a volcano rescue. The casualties included two lamps, a tablet, six mugs and one entire platter of roast chicken. Scott nearly sprained an ankle, Alan nearly got a concussion, Gordon twisted his wrist, and John quite nearly broke an arm. Virgil remained unscathed because he refused to participate."

Penny smiled at the camera, eyebrow raised. "Please, for the love of all things holy, don't suggest another game like this. The island is at risk."

And the screen went black for good.

ThankfulForU9 10 hours ago
OMG. The fact that they all just automatically respond. It's like it's ingrained or something.
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Henry Marksmith 9 hours ago
Did we just see Thunderbird Five? And the elusive Hanger? Because of a children's game?!
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GrandmaJones72 8 hours ago
Virgil, honey, are you okay?
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Priscilla Perkins 7 hours ago
But John just full on taking down Scott! I mean honestly! No wonder they nearly broke the island with this game!
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0028372198kat 6 hours ago
Hah! They even got Brains in on it!
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NakiriSaysHi 5 hours ago
But what other games can we get them playing on camera?
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