Hey everyone! Sorry this has once again taken so long. College once again caught up with Katya and I. This is the first we've been able to revise the chapters in a while. Hope you enjoy this one, and I can safely promise another chapter at the beginning of the next week. Please continue to let us know what you think of the story, it means a great deal to both of us to know that you enjoy the story. Have fun!

Miss Elizabeth Bennett

Battles

John and Gordon flew with all speed to Kota Kinabalu's airport. On the way, John radioed the head of the airport and explained as much of the situation as they could. By the time they had landed, all traffic near them had been put on hold. Quickly with the security, John and Gordon had THUNDERBIRD 2 out of the hanger and in liftoff position. John ran through the preflight checklist in record time, and then turned on the address system.

"Your men need to move to a safe distance. And thank you." The head of the security detail saluted and started moving his men. When everyone was cleared to a safe distance, John activated the VOTL rockets. The massive machine rose unsteadily off the tarmac, and then settled to a smooth vertical lift. When John had gained enough height, he pushed the steering column forward and the giant green ship started in the direction towards his father, brother, and friend. Both men were desperately praying that time would not run out on them.

Jeff, Kyrano, and Virgil were moving quickly to an open field a slight distance from their last campsite. There, THUNDERBIRD 2 was to meet them so they could proceed to Tracy Island. Virgil, though he had not voiced his concerns, was discontented about leaving. He begrudged even one minute away from the search for Scott, but he realized he was needed back at base. Besides, what would Scott say if Virgil let the Hood get away with attacking the family again? Virgil had to grin; it was a very amusing picture.

THUNDERBIRD 2 landed three minutes after its takeoff from the airport. As the three IR men raced on board, John moved just in time for Virgil to take the pilot's chair. If anyone could coax more speed out of the transport ship, it was Virgil. When the ship gained the necessary height, Virgil rammed the steering column forward as hard as he could. The large machine shot off towards the island home, while each member of the organization, founded only for aiding fellow humans in need, had to sit and worry about a brother and a son.

Alan tried to make himself smaller in his hideout/lookout spot. The boats were drawing up to the shore, and the young boy could see the assault rifles the men were carrying. The first boat landed, and five men jumped out. The last grounded the boat and then joined his comrades. The other boat landed and five more men came ashore. One big, tall, oriental man gestured half of the group to scale the mountain towards the round house. The other half was directed to the main house. Brains glanced towards the youngest Tracy and nodded when he caught his attention. The older man flipped a switch on his remote control device and saw the reassuring green light turn on. The traps around the Round House were set and Tin-tin and Fermat could knock the intruders unconscious with the gas capsules. Then he turned his attention to the more eminent problem: the group of men coming straight towards Alan's position!

Alan was not sure whether he should leave his position or stay put and hope every one of the men were stone blind. Not likely knowing the Hood. Alan's jaw tightened when he thought of the evil man who had almost destroyed the Thunderbirds just a year earlier. He was determined to foil the Hood's plan once again. Alan gauged the distance left between his hiding place and the Hood's men. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He slowly raised his watch to his mouth. Turning the volume down to the lowest audible level, he whispered his plan to Brains. Brains reluctantly agreed; it was a risk but a lesser one then the alternative.

Gheat lead the group ordered to infiltrate the main house. He hoped to be the one to capture the Tracy most hated by his master. The young man had caused more trouble then could be believed, but Gheat felt prepared to face him. After all, he was only a child. Movement in front and slightly to his left caused him to pause. Unexpectedly, the young Tracy boy shot out from behind a screen of bushes and raced towards the house. Gheat ran a short ways until he came to a clear stretch. Then he leveled his rifle, not to kill but only to incapacitate. Before he could squeeze the trigger, he felt one of his men stiffen, then fall to the ground. Looking around, he noticed several of his men lying still on the ground. Quickly he threw himself on the ground. He was now the only member of the team left. He watched as the one his master hated the most scanned the area and then waved to someone. Gheat watched as a man stood up not two meters from him, with a laser pistol in his hand. He raised his hand, but before he could do anything, Gheat raised his rifle and fired.

Alan watched as Brains slumped to the ground. He couldn't tell if he was wounded or… A blind fury seized Alan and without thought, without reason, he attacked the man who had shot his friend. The oriental man was well trained in hand-to-hand combat, but Alan had grown up with four older brothers. For what seemed like hours, the two traded blows until Alan found himself under the older man. A blow to the head rendered him semi unconscious. As his world turned black, he felt the great weight of the unknown man lifted from his body. Then he knew no more.

Light blinded him for a moment, so he squeezed his eyes shut.

He heard someone say, "Turn the lights low," and the light dimmed. Slowly the young boy opened his eyes. Someone was leaning close; he could feel them checking his head and winced when their fingers made contact with an open cut. Slowly, his eyes came into focus. There was his father, gently binding the cut on his forehead.

He croaked out, "Dad?" He could see the smile the Tracy boys loved the most.

"It's ok, son. Lie still. You had a rough time, but you sure gave him one hell of a fight." A tired grin crossed Alan's face before he lapsed back into unconsciousness.

Virgil came up beside his father in time to see Alan loose consciousness. Though his father had tried to be upbeat so he would not upset his son, Virgil could tell Jeff was extremely worried. And angry. The Hood had attacked another one of his sons, and Jeff had once again been absent and had not been able to protect one of his beloved sons. Virgil glanced over his shoulder where a large group of people was working diligently around another bed. Squeezing his father's shoulder, he walked over and watched as John wrapped the last bit of bandage around Brains shoulder. Luckily, the shot had passed right through, though he had lost a great deal of blood. The scientist lay unconscious on the bed with an IV replenishing his dwindled supply of blood. His young son Fermot was checking his blood pressure while Tin-Tin was disposing of the bloody cloths used to clean the wound. Virgil sighed and offered a silent thank you to God. His brother and friend were safe. Then his feeling of peace left him as quickly as it had come. He could not say the same about Scott.

Lona peered around the doorpost. Their way was clear. Grabbing Scott's left hand with her right, she began to lead him quietly down the corridor. In her left, she carried the metal pole used to free Scott; Scott carried the guard's rifle. She knew they would have need of them soon enough. Reaching an open area, she stopped and signaled him to halt as well. Cautiously, she glanced around the corner. Silently she cursed. Suddenly, she jumped when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Turning around, she looked with amazement on a grinning Scott. He quickly signed.

You need to wash your mouth, or should I say hand, with soap. You may not have known it, but you signed as you cursed. He ended the sentence with the hand signal she had done. After all of the stress, it felt good to joke about something. Lona threw her head back and laughed, which made Scott both glad and saddened, for no sound came out. Mentally shaking himself, he quickly questioned her on their situation.

How many are there? She grimaced.

Three. Two face away from us while one is looking in our direction.

What are we going to do?

I think…I think we need a diversion. They think you are still chained up, so it makes sense for me to do it. Let's see… Unknowingly, she had stopped signing as her right hand found it's way to her loosened hair. Grasping a handful, she would pull at it and then repeat the process. Scott watched her as a memory stirred in the back of his mind. He pushed it down; right now was not the time. He had to focus on others things. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he nearly jumped when he felt a small, delicate yet strong hand rest on his arm. Quickly, Lona outlined her plan.

Jin-ton and the other men were bored. They had relieved the night guards early in the morning, and it was now past noon. They still had several hours to look forward to, and Jin-ton was fed up. He did not understand why he could not be a part of one of his master's units or serve him in some other way. A sudden noise alerted him and caused him to look down the corridor. He saw the young girl, the one his master had been working on for many years, coming down the corridor towards him. Her hair was undone and disheveled. Her jacket/cloak was torn in multiple places, and her skirt had huge tears in it. She was stumbling incoherently and moving her lips as if trying to speak. Without a thought, Jin-ton dropped his rifle and ran towards her. He watched as she began to fall; luckily, he got there just in time to catch her. The other guards came up and circled round him so they could help him, for she had begun to convulse in his arms. Quickly, they helped him lower her to the ground, and one helped him hold her down. The other quickly ran down the hallway to get medical help.

Jin-ton was so busy looking after the young woman that he did not notice the disappearance of his fellow guard until it was too late. He glanced up and saw the THUNDERBIRDS operative tying him up. He looked down at the beautiful girl and saw her grinning at him. She thrust her hand palm up and made contact with his chin; it was the last thing he saw for quite some time. Jumping quickly up, she dusted herself off and helped Scott drag the three unconscious, and now bound, guards into a nearby closet. Throwing them in there, they quickly locked the door and continued their search for the way out.

Lona carefully peered around yet another corner, then signed that the coast was clear. She and Scott walked quickly down this new hallway, but she stopped him midway. Cautiously, Lona opened a door marked STORAGE. Letting Scott in, she quietly closed the door behind them. Switching on a light, Scott beheld boxes stacked to the ceiling. Lona quickly went to one and pulled out two packs. She handed one to Scott, then stepped over to boxes in one corner of the room. Two first-aid packs were pulled out, followed by two flashlights. For several minutes, Lona loaded up both of their packs and then motioned Scott to the door. Before leaving the room, she pulled one more item from a box; a pair of hiking boots. Looking down at her feet, Scott realized how smart that was; her silk slippers would not have lasted ten minutes. She switched off the light and shut the door. Motioning him to another door a little ways down the hallway, she started moving towards it. Lona carefully opened the door, and Scott saw a room full of pre-packaged food that was ideal for surviving in the wilderness. Quickly, they packed every remaining space in their packs with the food. Lona also grabbed two canteens for each of them, and they filled them with the water stored in the room. As she was about to leave, Scott placed his hand on her shoulder.

We will need more water then this. Does the Hood have any aquasanitas capsules?

I would think so, but I don't know where. We'll have to look. The aquasanitas capsule was a wonder of modern chemistry. All you had to do was drop it in a canister of water, and it would kill any harmful bacteria or viruses that might be contaminating the water. This was very helpful for people who ran into polluted drinking water because of their jobs. It had also cleared up all polluted rivers and wells in third world countries. The scientist, who had wished to remain anonymous when the capsule was introduced, and his employer had footed the bill for the clearing up of the world's drinking water. Scott knew the capsule well, since Brains had been that scientist.

Looking around, he finally spotted the familiar symbol and container. His father had insisted that all the THUNDERBIRDS carry the capsules, and it had saved more than one Tracy life. He quickly picked up a couple containers for each of them, and they crammed the boxes into their full packs. Lona cautiously opened the door and looked outside. There was no one around. They went down several more hallways until they could see the main entrance, heavily guarded of course. Scott rested his back against the stone wall and closed his eyes. They had come so close, but he now realized it was impossible. They would never escape; they would die here. His breathing became erratic, and his heart thudded harder and harder against his chest. His world was caving in around him; he was hyperventilating and could not stop himself. Suddenly in the darkness of his despair, he felt another human's touch, kindly but strong and sure. The hands grasped his face and wiped the sweat off it. Then the hands turned him around and began slowly kneading his shoulder muscles, which currently had the properties of steel. When he started to gasp for breath, the hands were there, helping him pause then take a deep breath. Pause, breath, pause, breath. Finally his panic ended, and he could open his eyes. He found himself looking into Lona's eyes, so full of understanding. Taking one hand from his shoulder, she signed what he needed to hear the most.

We will get out. Somehow, someway, we will get out. But I need your help, otherwise we are lost. Scott nodded. They would get out; together, they could do anything.

Now, we won't go out the main entrance; it is never unguarded. However, this is an old temple, and I have heard stories told at the parties of secret passages and trap doors. There must be another way out of here, and we will find it. As she finished saying this, she took Scott's hand and began leading him in another direction. After what seemed like hours, during which they felt every square inch of what Lona was sure were outer walls, Scott found a crack. He traced the unnaturally straight crack until the outline of a door appeared. Grabbing one of Lona's hands, he quickly signed his discovery.

I think I found a doorway out of here. Lona traced the outline, then turned and grinned at her friend.

I think your right. Let's find a way to open it. After more costly time spent searching, Lona motioned to Scott to come stand beside her. When he reached her side, he instantly saw what she had found. A small, invisible, except from their exact position, switch was staring at him innocently. Lona flipped the switch up and their action was instantly rewarded when the door swung open. They both stared at the open door, then into each other eyes. Here was their gateway to freedom, but they had a long hard road before they could get true freedom from the devil who had tortured them body and soul. Neither was sure if they could take the first step.

It was as if they had read each other's minds. For at the same instant they asked the identical question to each other.

Shall we go together? Scott quickly tried to stifle a giggle, while Lona had no such compulsion. She threw her head back and laughed uproariously, yet silently. Scott grabbed her hand, getting her attention immediately.

We'll go together. So saying, he pulled her into the opening, and they began the journey through the dark, damp, stone walls.