RESCUE Helicopter A-42 was making its way through the fierce storm. Its two-man crew were all too aware of the danger they were putting themselves in, but they got on with it as it was their job. Lightning continued to flash and the thunder rumbled as the torrential rain and fierce winds battered the Helicopter, but it continued to press on regardless.

In the cockpit, the pilot made an update call. "A-42 to Base. Approaching the area that transmission was received. Visibility is two miles. Current heading - Vector Three-One. Still no sign of the vessel - or anyone in need of rescue."

"Roger, A-42."

A few miles away from where the Helicopter was searching, a frantic Goose was continuing her own search for Brandon. There was no sign of him or his surfboard. She cried out in alarm as another wave broke overhead and crashed down onto her and the boat. She coughed and spluttered. The taste of salt water in her mouth was vile. "Brandon?!" Goose called out into the storm whilst beeping the horn on the steering wheel. "BRAAAAAAAAANDON?!"

"GOOSE!"

Goose spun around in the direction that the voice had come from. She gasped to see Brandon had reappeared - only a few metres off the stern of the boat. Without hesitating, she grabbed a lifebelt and threw it to him. He grabbed it and she pulled him back to the boat using the rope attached to the lifebelt. She then grabbed Brandon by the arms and used all the strength she had to pull him up and into the boat. He collapsed onto the floor, coughing up water. "Brandon!" Goose cried, tears of relief pouring from her eyes. "Oh, thank God!" She began to smother his face in kisses. "I was starting to lose hope."

Brandon chuckled. "Yeah…well…" he said between shivers due to the cold water. "I was getting tired of waiting for you."

Goose playfully slapped him on the arm. "So much for a quiet weekend of surfing, huh?" she said.

Brandon laughed again. "What, you're not having fun?" he asked.

Suddenly another enormous wave appeared overhead and plunged down towards them. "HANG ON!" yelled Goose as the boat was almost swamped by the wave. Goose knew they had to get back to land as quickly as possible. But as she pushed the throttle up to full, she suddenly realised a problem. She had absolutely no idea where the land was. They were now so far off shore that it made pinpointing their location next to impossible. The boat had no working navigational equipment either after it had been drowned by a previous wave. However, she decided not to tell Brandon that.

Thunderbird 1 had by now reached India and was heading to the mountains. The weather wasn't that much better than it was in Hawaii. The issue here wasn't rain, but high winds. Scott began to use his radar to search for the missing balloon. "Thunderbird 5, I'm in the area," Scott reported. "I don't suppose you have a fix on where this balloon is?"

"Actually I do," replied John. "It's about twenty miles to the East of your current position."

"East?!" repeated Scott after checking his instruments. "Damn, I'm going the wrong way." He yanked at the controls and pulled what looked like a handbrake turn before shooting off in the opposite direction.

It wasn't long before he spotted a bright yellow ball of canvas on the horizon. It was the balloon along with its basket carrying four rather frightened people inside. One pilot and three passengers. A mother, father and their young son. When they saw Thunderbird 1, they waved and shouted frantically hoping they'd get seen.

"I see them!" Scott said. "Going in for retrieval."

"Don't get too close, Scott," warned John. "Thunderbird 1's wings or fins might rip the canopy apart. Or the thrusters could set it ablaze."

"Yeah….I don't intend on doing either of those things, John," replied Scott. "Although, I cannot see any other way of getting them out, unless I airlift each person out one by one?"

"That'd take too long," John said. "Plus the balloon's trajectory is taking it right towards that mountain. According to my calculations, you've got about six minutes before it crashes."

"F-A-B," said Scott. He brought Thunderbird 1 as close as he dared to the balloon and put it onto autopilot. He then put on his helmet and lowered his seat before firing up his jetpack and moving across to the balloon. "Hi, there," he said to the startled occupants. "International Rescue, at your service."

"Cool!" the young boy said, suddenly forgetting the danger they were in.

"Thank heavens!" said the father. "This moron here said everything was under control!"

Scott looked at the rather abashed pilot who seemed to have gotten a black eye. Scott frowned, but now wasn't the time to be asking questions. "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of here. All of you."

"No, us! Not him!" the father said. He pointed at the pilot. "He can stay behind."

Scott ignored him. "One at a time," he said. "I'll attach a-"

But then a strong gust of wind pushed the balloon further towards the rocks causing the family to cry out in a panic.

"HURRY, PLEASE!" squealed the mother.

Scott gritted his teeth as he looked at the mountain that was coming up on them fast. He realised that he would have no time to get each of them out one by one. He therefore made a decision. "Change of plan," he said. "Everyone sit on the floor of the basket and hold onto a rope as tightly as you can."

The family weren't sure why he was asking this but they did as they were told. Whilst they did this, Scott remotely used Thunderbird 1's targeting computer to lock onto the top of the frame that held the basket to the burner that had been keeping the balloon aloft. He pressed a button and the grapple cable was fired out to attach itself to the frame. Scott then climbed up the frame and began to use his laser to cut through the ropes that secured the frame to the balloon's canopy.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" cried the mother as she held her son tightly.

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, MA'AM!" Scott called back down. "JUST HANG ON!" He then cut the last of the ropes and the basket and frame swung away from the canopy of the balloon. They wailed in terror as it swung side to side like a pendulum. Without the basket to weigh it down, the canopy was now simply blown up and away into the sky.

"Passengers are safe, Thunderbird 5," Scott reported.

"Well done, Scott," said John. "But you might want to destroy that canopy before it causes any problems for nature or anything else."

"Can I burn it?" asked Scott.

"Not ideal, but it's the fastest option," said John.

Scott returned to his seat and was raised back into Thunderbird 1. "Then burn it I shall," he said, taking the controls. He lifted Thunderbird 1 higher in altitude until he was level with the escaping canopy. He then fired the laser into the canopy and set it ablaze. It took about a minute for it to burn right through and then for it to disintegrate entirely into nothingness. "Canopy destroyed and passengers saved," Scott said. "Now to get them safely back on the ground."

John reported Scott's success back to Tracy Island. "Thunderbird 1 mission successful," he was saying. "Once he's dropped them off, he'll be on his way back."

"Good to hear, John," said Virgil who had taken over from Kayo at the desk so she could have a game of digital chess with Alan. "Are the balloon's occupants okay?"

"From what Scott was saying they're shaken but not hurt," John said. "Although I feel the father of the family is going to have some explaining to do to the authorities for punching the pilot."

"Yeah, not ideal in a situation like that," remarked Kayo.

Just then, a beeping sound startled John. "Hold up. Looks like I've got an incoming call," he said. "Stand-by whilst I take it."

Virgil, Alan and Kayo waited with keen interest in what this latest situation could be.

John pressed a button to receive the call. "This is International Rescue. Please state your situation?"

The hologram of a Coastguard Officer appeared in front of him. "International Rescue, this is Hawaii Coastguard. We're currently being battered by a fierce storm and have numerous people in need of rescue. We could use some help if you're available?"

"Of course, sir," said John. "I'll have Thunderbird 2 head your way imminently."

"Excellent!' said the Officer. "Many thanks." He then signed off.

John wasted no time in calling the island back. "Better suit up, guys," he said. "That was the Hawaiian Coastguard. They're overrun with emergencies due to that heavy storm and need our help."

Alan was suddenly very stern. "If it's Him in need of help, I'm not going!" he said firmly.

Virgil, Kayo and John all gave him hard stares.

"Alan, we don't get to choose who we rescue," Virgil said.

"Brandon's name wasn't mentioned," John added. "But there are several people out there in trouble who could need our help. Even yours. You need to be ready to give it."

Alan gave in. "Other people, not a problem," he said.

"Good," said Virgil as he got up from the desk. "As Scott's still occupied, you two had better come with me. Suit up!" He leant against the rocket painting which tilted back to send him down the tunnel towards the vast hangar of Thunderbird 2.

Kayo and Alan went to the chairs and sat down. They were then lowered down into the floor and taken to the changing rooms where they were given their uniforms. Virgil soon arrived in Thunderbird 2 and selected Module 2. They had no idea what they'd be up against so needed to be prepared. After the main body lowered and locked into place, Kayo and Alan joined Virgil in the cockpit with Kayo sitting in the co-pilot seat and Alan in the one behind Virgil. The rock covering the hangar opened to allow the green goliath to taxi out onto the runway as the palm trees folded back to let it pass. Soon it was on the ramp with the wings folded out and the ramp raised into position.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Thunderbird 2's engines fired and it soared up off the ramp and climbed away from Tracy Island.

"Thunderbird 2 is GO!" said Virgil.

The boat carrying Goose and Brandon was still getting battered by the elements. Despite Goose's best efforts, it was still proving to be a challenge to know where they were going. They found themselves riding up and over a wave that was going in the same direction as they were. "WoooAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" they both cried out as they raced down the front of it with it threatening to break over the top of them.

Then Goose heard a sound she didn't want to hear. It was the sound of a choking engine. She glanced at the fuel gauge and saw that it was showing as 'empty'. "Oh, no!" she cried as the engine spluttered before finally conking out as the wave crashed down all around them.

They shook themselves in a vain attempt to try and dry off but it was futile thanks to the continuous heavy rain. Brandon then stood up. "Hey! I thought I heard something!" he said. "Sounded like a helicopter!"

"No, that was the engine cutting out," Goose said. "Check the boxes at the back. There might be a spare fuel can."

"O-Okay," shivered Brandon and he went to the back of the boat to check the supply boxes by the stern. A gasp from Goose made him look back around. Another giant wave had sprung up out of nowhere and this time it was directly in front of them and was at least three times larger than the previous one had been. With no fuel, they were unable to do anything to try and escape it. Goose ran to Brandon and they huddled together as they waited for the end to come. The wave caught the boat and swept it up with it before it broke and came crashing down around them, swamping them and the boat and almost sinking it. Miraculously they burst back through the other side and were left coughing and spluttering once more.

"Still with me, sweetie?" Goose asked.

"J-J-Just about," Brandon answered. "Hey, I think I saw flares in that box."

Goose looked into the box. Sure enough there were some flares. They were drenched from the water but she hoped they were still usable. She took two out and gave one to Brandon. "Let's launch together," she said. "One. Two. Three."

Together they both pushed the buttons on the bottom of the sticks, launching the flares up into the sky. All they could do was hope someone would notice them.

As luck would have it, Helicopter A-42 wasn't far away. "Over there!" shouted the co-pilot.

The pilot looked to his left and saw the flares. "That has to be them," he said as he turned the aircraft round to Port. "A-42 to Base. have sighted two flares. Going to investigate. Hopefully its Mr Berrenger and Miss Gosling."

"Roger, A-42. Copy that," came the response from control over the radio.

Thunderbird 2 was now approaching the area from the South-West. From their positions in the cockpit, Virgil, Kayo and Alan could see the nasty black storm clouds on the horizon. Every few seconds they saw white flashes of light coming from within telling them that the lightning was very strong.

"This is going to be a tough one," Virgil remarked. "Let's hope Thunderbird 2's conductor rods can take the hits."

"Yeah," agreed Kayo. "At least this lightning isn't man-made like at Fischler's tower."

Just then John called in from Thunderbird 5. "Just a head's up, Thunderbird 2, and you're not going to like this, Alan. I just intercepted a radio transmission from a Rescue Helicopter. It would seem our, um, friend is indeed one of the ones out in the storm. And he's not alone either."

Alan grimaced.

"Wait, who else could he be with?" asked Kayo. "I thought he was a loner?"

"Could be the girl he was with last time?" suggested Virgil. "Can't say I remember her name though."

"Goose," Alan said. "She was nice. But why she would hang out with him is beyond me."

"The helicopter said a Miss Gosling so that would add up," said John. "I've scanned the area but the weather is making it hard to locate them."

Alan opened his mouth to speak but Kayo cut him off. "Let's hope the Helicopter guys can find them."

"And so long as they don't get into trouble themselves," added Virgil. "This weather can be unforgiving to even the strongest of aircraft." He gripped harder on the control wheel. "Brace yourselves. We're going in!"

Thunderbird 2 had now reached the edge of the storm and flew straight in without hesitation. A normal aircraft would have felt the full impact of the strong winds and heavy rain immediately and would take a few moments to adjust. To Thunderbird 2, it was only a minor wobble but its sheer size and strength helped it pass through with relative ease.

Thunderbird 1 had just dropped off the family and pilot of the balloon and had decided to leave due to a bitter argument having broken out between the father and the company director of the balloon. The father wanted the pilot arrested for endangering his family whilst the director was demanding that the father be arrested for causing physical and visible harm to the young man's face.

"I want no part of this," Scott decided and began to head back to Thunderbird 1.

"Excuse me?"

Scott stopped and turned back around to see the young Indian son of the family coming up with his mother. "Yes?"

"Thank you for saving our lives," the boy said.

Scott smiled. "You're welcome," he said. He then opened up a concealed compartment of his sash and pulled out a small model of Thunderbird 1. "Here, kid. Take this," he said. "Have it as a souvenir."

The young boy's eyes lit up. He was so thrilled that he couldn't find anything to say as he took the model.

This brought a smile and a small tear to the mother's eye. "That's very kind of you," she said to Scott. "And I must thank you as well for saving my family."

"Not at all," replied Scott. He then looked over at the father and the director whose argument seemed to be getting out of hand. "I hope that gets resolved peacefully," he said.

The mother looked back and her face fell. "So do I," she agreed before taking her son's hand and walking him away from Scott.

Scott watched them for a moment before returning to Thunderbird 1. Seeing the look on the little boy's face had made his day worthwhile.

More waves were tossing the little boat about and there was nothing that Brandon or Goose could do about it. Goose held tightly onto the wheel whilst Brandon continued to search the boxes for another fuel bottle.

"Oh, God! We're drifting sideways!" Goose wailed.

Brandon didn't seem to hear, for he'd just spotted what he was looking for. "Ha-ha! Found one!" he said as he pulled the fuel canister out of the box. "Here you are, Goooooooooo-" he'd begun to say but trailed off.

Goose saw Brandon's eyes widen and his mouth drop as he looked up at something. Anxiously, she turned to look and almost screamed at the sight of yet another colossal wave about to sweep them up. "HANG ON!" she cried. "THIS IS A BIG ONE!"

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

SPLASH! This time the sea showed no mercy. The boat and its occupants were pushed underneath the surface. It then bounced back up along with Brandon who managed to grab a piece of floating wreckage that had broken off during the impact.

"GOOSE?!" Brandon called out desperately. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Goose had momentarily been sucked down beneath the surface. However she managed to recover herself and swim back up. She burst out gasping for air a few metres from where Brandon was. Coughing and spluttering, she saw Brandon and then swam over to him. He helped her grab onto it and together they held on to it as tightly as they could. Both then watched on in dismay as their damaged boat finally gave up and slipped beneath the waves.

"This is bad," Goose said.

"I know right?" agreed Brandon. "Also, no offence, darling. But you're rubbish at rescues!"

Goose spat some more water out of her mouth and sighed. "Yeah. I guess I am," she said. "You and your damn thrill-seeking. When are you going to learn to stop it?"

"Stop what?" Brandon asked.

"Oh, for GOD'S SAKE, BRANDON!" Goose suddenly exploded in a rage. "YOU ARE ALWAYS PUTTING YOURSELF IN DANGER, JUST TO BRING ENTERTAINMENT TO OTHERS! WHAT IS THE POINT?! SERIOUSLY - WHAT IS THE POINT?!"

For once, Brandon had no response. He tried to think of a reason, but try as he might, he could not. Now that he was thinking about it, danger and potentially losing his life had come about more than he'd actually realised. "I…I…I…I got nothing," he said, defeated.

Just then another wave broke over them and almost pushed them underwater again.

"I guess this is it then?" Brandon said.

"What is?"

"Just when I thought we were finally getting serious about things, too."

"Hey, stop that!" snapped Goose. "This isn't over!"

Brandon sighed. "I'm serious, Gabby," he said. "Me, and you. I thought we could both bring entertainment to millions. But then Alan Tracy had to ruin everything!"

"And what exactly did he ruin?" Goose asked. "He saved both our lives that day. You from your ball in the snow and me from the ravine. Then you thank him by blocking him out of the vlog! I'd say that was all on you, Brandon! Your ego is what caused that."

Brandon began to think again. "I was jealous," he said. "Alan Tracy is way, way cooler than I could ever be. In fact, all the Thunderbirds are. Nobody's better than them. I just can't compete with them." He looked back at Goose. "You're right, Gabs. This is all my fault. I'm sorry."

Goose wasn't sure if Brandon was shedding tears or whether it was just splashes of water from the ocean. She reached out and grabbed Brandon by the hand. "We'll get out of this, sweetheart. I promise," she said.

Brandon perked up as he felt Goose squeeze his hand. "Really?" he asked.

"Of course," smiled Goose. "I mean for all we know, rescue could arrive at any moment."

The words had barely left Goose's lips when they suddenly caught in the glare of a searchlight. Startled, they looked up to see the outline of a Helicopter coming to hover right above them. They cheered and waved, relief now flowing through their veins.

"You see?" Goose said with a grin.

The pilot of the Helicopter radioed back to base. "A-42 to Control. We have located them. Starting retrieval." He then nodded to the co-pilot who opened the starboard side door and extended the winch arm before lowering a harness down towards the sea. It was very difficult trying to keep the Helicopter in place due to the strong winds but the pilot managed to keep it as steady as he could.

The white harness on the end of the cable reached Goose and Brandon. Goose grabbed it and slipped it over Brandon's head and tucked it under his arms. "You've been in the water the longest," she said. "You're going up first."

"But…" Brandon tried to protest.

"No, buts, my love!" Goose said firmly. "I said I'd get you safe and I'm making sure you are." She then gave a thumbs-up to the co-pilot. He pressed a button and the winch began to reel back in, lifting Brandon up out of the water. "Woo-HOO!" he cheered as he swung about in the wind. "Way EXTREEEEEEEEEEEME!"

Goose smiled and shook her head as she watched Brandon continue to rise towards the Helicopter. It really seemed at last that everything was going to be okay.

And then…disaster! Lightning had been flashing quite regularly around the area ever since the storm had first broken, but at no point had it presented any danger to Goose and Brandon. They'd kind of gotten used to the many flashes and therefore forgot about it almost. That was until one came out of nowhere and struck the tail-rotor of the Helicopter.

There was a loud BANG as the motor of the tail-rotor exploded, ripping the tail completely off. The co-pilot was thrown back into the Helicopter. The pilot's eyes darted all over the control console as several red lights flashed accompanying the wail of warning alarms. "MAYDAY! MAYDAY! THIS IS A-42! WE'RE HIT! LOSING POWER!" The Helicopter began to weave about from side to side as the pilot valiantly thought for control. But it was no good. Without the tail-rotor to help keep its position, it couldn't stay airborne and began to drop down towards the sea, taking Brandon with it.

"BRANDON!" screamed Goose.

"Oh, hell!" Brandon cried. "WOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"