GORDON was livid when John informed them about Parker's distress call. "I KNEW SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAPPEN!" he roared. "I NEED TO GET OUT THERE!"

"And you are, Gordon!" said Jeff sternly. "Scott, Virgil, launch Thunderbirds 1 and 2. Take Thunderbird 4 as well."

"What's Thunderbird 4 going to be able to do?" asked Scott.

"No questions, Scott!" barked Jeff. "Just get going!"

With that, the three brothers hurried off with Scott and Gordon taking their respective express elevators down whilst Virgil headed down his launch tunnel to Thunderbird 2. Scott arrived at Thunderbird 1 first and as soon as he was aboard began to head up to the launching bay underneath the pool which started to open as it got near. Meanwhile, Virgil arrived in the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 and selected Module 4, lowering the main body down over the top and locking it securely into place. Gordon arrived shortly after and once in his seat, the green giant taxied out onto the runway, passing the palm trees and onto the launching ramp where the wings folded and the ramp hoisted them into position.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 fired both their mighty engines and soared off their respective launching stands to climb up and away from Tracy Island before setting course for Scotland.

"Thunderbirds are GO!" declared Scott.

Penelope wiggled her wrists and feet that were tightly bound as she rocked the chair from side to side, trying to break free.

"Struggle all you want, Lady Penelope," said Jamie. "Those will hold you tight."

"These are the first bonds to restrain me, Mr McGregor," Penelope said. "And I highly doubt they will be the last. I'm pretty good at getting out of tight spots."

"Hmph! I highly doubt that," said Jamie. "Come on, brother."

Andy sighed, still feeling hurt at the revelation behind Penelope and Parker's true intentions. He reached over to the nearby table and picked up a piece of cloth.

"What are you doing?" demanded Jamie.

"I was going to put this in her mouth," Andy replied.

"Dingbat!" snorted Jamie. "What's the point? Nobody will hear her anyway. Now come on! That boat will be on its way by now!"

Andy sighed, gave Penelope a sad look and dropped the cloth to the floor before following his brother out of the bedroom. Penelope watched them go and listened carefully as they closed the door. There was no sound of a key being turned meaning she wasn't locked in. "Sloppy," she said quietly to herself. She then tugged at the bonds again. "Now, how am I going to get myself out of this. I hope Parker's okay."

Penelope couldn't have known that her situation was actually a lot better than Parker's was right now. He dived behind a wall to avoid getting blasted by the weapon of Gibbons - who seemed to have every intention of ending his life in an instant.

"COME OUT, NOSEY!" bellowed Gibbons. "I'VE WAITED A LONG TIME FOR THIS!"

It was then that Parker realised who it was he was dealing with. He saw a chunk of broken concrete from the wall beside him where one of the shots had hit and grabbed hold of it. He then decided to clarify a few things. "'Umphrey Gibbons? Is h'it really you?" He stood up so he could be seen.

The butler whirled around and aimed his weapon directly at Parker's chest. "You…!" he snarled.

"Cor blimey! It is h'and all!" said Parker. "'Umphrey 'The 'orse' Gibbons. H'I 'aven't seen you for a very long time."

"And you know why that is, don't you?" growled Gibbons.

"Do h'I?"

"YOU BETRAYED US!" screeched Gibbons. He pulled the trigger, firing the weapon.

Parker ducked down and narrowly avoided getting hit. He scrambled around before Gibbons could get him in his sights again.

"WE WERE ABOUT TO MAKE THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY HAPPEN!" thundered Gibbons. "IT WAS PERFECT! FOOLPROOF! AND YOU HAD A CHANGE OF HEART!"

"You gave me no choice, Gibbons!" Parker called from his hiding place. "Taking the vault manager's children to be used as leverage is going too far!"

"Too far? TOO FAR?!" bellowed Gibbons. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, NOSEY? YOU'RE WEAK!" He then spotted a shadow as Parker darted between hiding positions. He fired another shot and ran to the area only to find Parker had hidden himself again, which only fueled his frustration. "You turning on us put me in prison for twenty years! TWENTY…YEARS! I spent every single second of my time there plotting how I would end you whenever our paths next crossed. I would have succeeded yesterday if your damn lady hadn't saved you!"

Parker then realised what this meant. "That was you?" he called out. "You h'are the one who shot the old geezer yesterday?"

"I was instructed to take care of him for almost exposing my master's secret!" snarled Gibbons. "They don't want anyone to learn the truth. And nobody ever will."

"Secret?" Parker said. "H'Are your masters behind the monster?"

"Yes!" Gibbons then stopped, suddenly realising what he'd said. "NO! GAAAH! DAMN YOU!" He began to run around the battlements, desperately trying to find Parker. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" he bellowed.

"'Ere!"

Gibbons jumped at the sound of Parker's voice whispering in his ear. He spun around with a yelp and seeing his rifle was now pointing at Parker's chest at point-blank range, pulled the trigger to end his life. But all he got was a click-click-click from the rifle. It was empty.

"That kind h'of weapon holds only five rounds h'if I'm not mistaken?" Parker said smugly. "I counted five times that you fired it whilst chasing me. I believe you're h'out."

Gibbons roared in a rage, throwing the sniper rifle down to the ground and lunging at Parker only for Parker to step back, stick his left foot out and trip Gibbons up, causing him to fall flat on his face and break his nose on the concrete floor.

After a few moments of pained screeching and growling, Gibbons lifted his head up and looked at Parker with a look of pure hatred in his eyes. Parker braced himself as he watched the injured and vengeful butler rise to his feet once more. "No more lies," he hissed. "It's time the world learned your real name. It isn't Parker. It's not even Nosey. It's JUDAS!" He then lunged at Parker again. Parker moved again. Gibbons missed and ran straight into one of the side walls of the battlements, which turned out to be one of the weakened areas following Parker's previous missile attack on the castle the year before. Gibbons' momentum caused him to crash straight through the wall. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHH!" he screamed as he plummeted down to the ground below.

Parker ran to the hole in the wall and stared down in shock. His gaze met the lifeless body of Gibbons seconds after it had landed on top of the vintage car that the McGregors owned.

Jamie and Andy stared in complete shock and horror at the video screen linked to the CCTV camera outside the front of the castle. It showed the body of Gibbons on top of the car and soon they became enraged.

"The murderous SCOUNDREL!" roared Andy, punching the wall, which he immediately regretted. "He killed Gibbons."

"Now do you believe their intentions are bad, brother?" asked Jamie.

Andy nodded. "Aye. I do," he said darkly.

Jamie grabbed their late father's old crossbow and handed it to his brother. "Take it. Use it," he said. "Go and kill Lady Penelope first. Make him see what it's like to lose someone important. And then, once he sees what his actions have done - kill him too."

Andy took the crossbow with vengeance in his eyes. "Och. I will do more than that," he said, vowing to avenge the death of their butler.

The time had come for Trevor Evans's passengers to board their boat ride. But Trevor had last minute thoughts and decided to stay behind.

"Aren't you coming, Trevor?" asked Dillys.

"Oh, no, Dillys," replied Trevor. "Someone needs to look after the bus in case it gets vandalised."

"Oh, Trevor, you're so brave!" said Dillys, swooning.

"Nah, he's just frightened about seeing the monster up close," snickered Norman.

"I know I am," whimpered James, causing Sarah to take his hand.

"There, there, James. I'll protect you," Sarah said.

"Honestly, James, you have nothing to be scared about," added Mandy. "I doubt that the monster is even real."

"Yes, it is!" objected Norman. "I know full well that it is."

"Yeah? How?" demanded Mandy.

Derek produced the photo on the front of the newspaper showing the image of the monster's head in the fog, taken by the now deceased Old Jock. James whimpered and covered his eyes at the sight of it.

"Oh, please!" said Mandy, rolling her eyes. "That doesn't prove anything!"

"It's probably just a robot," added Hannah.

Norman seethed with fury. "It's NOT A ROBOT, IT IS REAL!" he shrieked. "We are going to find the monster and when we do, I will become Norman Price - the first person to ever video the LOCH NESS-"

"NORMAN, KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN!" shouted Dillys. She then turned to the other passengers who were scowling at the group. "I am so sorry everyone. My little Norman gets rather excitable." She rubbed the top of his head.

"Get off, Mum!" complained Norman.

Bronwyn and Helen stood at the side of the boat as it headed out onto open water.

"Do you really think we'll see it?" Helen asked.

"I doubt it, Helen," replied Bronwyn. "But I'm not here to see a monster. I just love the Scottish scenery. It's as beautiful as the Welsh Valleys."

Thunderbird 1 reached the British Coastline first and made its way up the Irish Sea towards Scotland. "Thunderbird 5 from Thunderbird 1 - any word from Penelope or Parker?"

"Negative, Thunderbird 1. Still nothing," said John.

Scott gave a small sigh. "I hope we're not too late," he said.

"This wouldn't have happened if I'd been there," Gordon butted in.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Gordon, why do you have to get so worked up whenever Penelope gets into any kind of difficulty?" he asked.

"Because she's his girl, that's why," said Virgil simply.

Scott and John were somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected Virgil to be the one to say that.

"It's no different to me and Hayley or Alan and Sophie," Virgil continued. "We worry about our girls and want them to be safe."

"You boys never seem this concerned for each other whenever you're out on assignment," Jeff now cut in.

The brothers looked at each other. Now he'd mentioned it, they very seldom showed any fear for the safety of each unless there was any major danger like when things went wrong. Very rarely did they head off on a mission not worrying that it could be their last.

"I…guess that comes with the job?" Scott said, finally being able to break the silence.

"Of course we worry about each other, Dad," said Gordon. "We just…don't tend to show it."

"And you think I don't worry about you all when you're out?" Jeff asked. "Every second! But as Scott said, it's the nature of the job - and Lady Penelope's role is no different to yours. Yes, I too am worried about her and Parker and hope they're okay. But we cannot let it cloud your judgements. Whatever you boys have to do when you get there, you do it to the best of your abilities. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Dad."

"F-A-B."

Jeff smiled. "Attaboys," he said after the others had signed off.

Alan and Sophie had just come in from the kitchen having caught the tail-end of what had been said.

"Virgil's not wrong, Dad," Alan said. "I lost it when Sophie fell into that crater on Victory Day Island."

"A natural reaction, son," replied Jeff. "Although we could have done without you attacking Virgil in a rage."

Alan looked at his trainers guiltily. "Yeah…I shouldn't have done that," he admitted.

"That's what love does to you," Sophie said. "It can make people do strange things."

Alan then changed the subject, to one that seemed rather out of the blue. "Do you think they'll find the monster?" he asked Jeff.

Jeff frowned. "They're going to rescue Lady Penelope and Parker, Alan. they're not monster-hunting!"

A beeping sound came as John's hologram appeared once more, just as Jeff had been speaking. "Actually, they might have to," he said.

Jeff, Alan and Sophie jumped, having not heard the beeper go off.

"John! Gee!" exclaimed Jeff. "You gave me a start! And what do you mean?"

"When Lady P asked me to make a scan of Loch Ness, I detected two strange signals," John explained. "The first was in Loch Ness itself but wasn't clear enough to be identifiable. The second was coming from the castle. Now both are registering again. I think there's a connection."

Jeff tapped his fingers on the desk. "Maybe they can go and look afterwards, John," he said. "Right now, I want to make sure that Lady Penelope and Parker are safe and sound and whoever is keeping them captive is taken into custody."

Penelope's situation hadn't improved much. She continued to rock the chair as she tried to loosen the ropes that bound her to it. "Why do I get myself into these messes?" she asked herself out loud. She glanced out of the window upon having shuffled the chair over to it and observed Loch Ness. as she did so, something caught her eye. There was a long, black shape moving through the water, just below the surface. She blinked in surprise. It seemed to have come out from under the edge of the loch near to where the castle was, and now it was heading out into the deeper waters. In the very far distance, she could see some tourist boats moving about, and it looked as though whatever it was seemed to be heading straight for them. "Oh, lord," she remarked. "Looks like the monster is back. I need to find out the truth behind this." Shuffling the chair around, she now had her back to the wall and began to rub the rope tying her wrists together against the sharp side of the radiator. It took a few moments but eventually she began to feel them loosen.

Parker had been making his way back down through the castle. Any hopes of trying to locate Penelope without being seen were proving very hard as he kept having to conceal himself from the other members of staff who'd now been ordered by the McGregor brothers to be on the lookout for Gibbons' murderer. On occasion he would cause a distraction by deliberately throwing a light ornament in a direction to make a noise for them to go and investigate, allowing him to move on without being spotted.

Andy was also on the hunt, armed with his crossbow - loaded with an arrow and ready to fire the split second he found his target. He was determined to avenge Gibbons no matter what.

Norman was filming anything and everything, running back and forth across the boat desperate to ensure that he didn't miss anything - especially if the monster happened to be nearby. Eventually this began to get on Derek's nerves. "Please stop, Norman. You're making me giddy!" he complained.

"Quiet please!" hissed Norman. "I need to catch the monster…wherever it may be."

"Maybe it knew you were coming and decided to go back to sleep?" suggested Sarah cheekily.

"I do hope it has," quivered James.

Mandy then let out a gasp. "LOOK!" she cried excitedly.

Everyone on the boat was suddenly on alert.

Norman came running. "Do you see it? DO YOU SEE IT?!" he cried. "WHERE IS IT?! WHERE IS IT?!"

"Not the monster, silly!" said Mandy. "Something real!"

"Eh?!" said Norman. "What?!"

"THUNDERBIRD!" Mandy cried, pointing up into the sky.

Everyone looked up just in time to see Thunderbird 1 zooming overhead. This resulted in some excitable chatter amongst the entire boat - except for Norman who let out a disappointed groan.

"What's the matter, Norman?" asked Bronwyn. "You always talk about the day International Rescue saved us. Thought you'd be very excited to see them again?"

Norman grunted. "I want the monster," he said bitterly and sulked off.

Dillys sighed and facepalmed. "There's no pleasing him, is there?" she said to Helen and Bronwyn.

Getting Thunderbird 1 into position near to McCullen Castle, Scott used the ship's scanners to see inside of the building. Almost immediately he spotted a lone figure contact in the master bedroom looking like they were trying to free themselves from a chair. "Base from Thunderbird 1. I've arrived at the castle - and I think I've just located Lady Penelope. She's imprisoned in the master bedroom by the look of it."

"Can you get to her, Scott?" asked Jeff over the radio.

Scott put Thunderbird 1 onto autopilot and grabbed his helmet before putting it on his head. "I think I can," he said. "It does mean breaking a window though."

"The window can be replaced," Jeff reminded him. "Go help her, son."

"F-A-B."

The hatch underneath Thunderbird 1's cockpit opened and the seat was lowered so Scott was outside. He jumped out and activated his jetpack before shooting towards the window, bracing himself and then dived at the window of the master bedroom. He smashed through the window and did a forward roll across the floor before standing up again.

"Gracious! That was an entrance and a half, Scott."

Scott turned to see Penelope still sitting on the chair but with most of the bonds now removed having been able to free her hands. "Lady Penelope!" said Scott. "Are you okay?"

"I am now you're here," said Penelope as she bent down to untie her boots. Then she stood up. "How did you know we were in trouble?"

"Parker alerted John," Scott replied as he came over. "Do you need a hand?"

"Oh, no, I can manage, thank you," said Penelope with a smile as she stood up. "Where is Parker?"

"No idea," said Scott. "The transmission ended abruptly. "John thought he heard a gunshot."

Penelope went pale. "Oh, God, no!" she cried and ran towards the door. "We've got to find him!"

Scott stopped her. "Woah, careful. We don't know where the villains are," he said. "Go rushing out there and you might end up in an ambush again."

"I wasn't ambushed last time," Penelope said. "Andy was already showing me around when Jamie came in and said he'd somehow found out we were supposedly spies and they then tied me up."

"Who are these people?" asked Scott.

"Andy and Jamie McGregor," said Penelope. "We were warned about them by the villagers and-" She broke off, suddenly remembering something. "Oh, my. The shadow in the water!"

"Shadow? What shadow?" asked Scott, confused.

"When I was trying to free myself I saw a dark shadow moving through the water. It was heading for the tourist boats," said Penelope. "Are Virgil and Gordon coming?"

"They are, yes," said Scott. "They shouldn't be far away."

"Then get them to investigate," said Penelope. "Gordon needs to stop the monster if it's going after the tourists."

Scott frowned. "You don't seriously believe there's a monster out there, do you?"

Penelope gave him a stern look. "Scott….last night I overheard the demise of a Police Inspector over the radio. The last words he said were 'Monster'! There really is something out there."

Scott shifted uncomfortably. "Very well," he said. "I'll tell them to investigate, then we go and find Parker? Deal?"

"Deal," agreed Penelope.

Scott tapped the side of his helmet. "Thunderbird 2 from Thunderbird 1. Good news, I have found Lady Penelope and she's safe."

"Oh, thank God," Gordon said with relief. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, Gordon," answered Scott.

"What about Parker?" asked Virgil.

"We're about to go and find him," said Scott. "However we have another situation that you two need to attend to. Lady P saw a dark shape moving in the loch heading towards some tourist boats. Gordon, we need you to launch Thunderbird 4 and go and investigate. Think it could be the monster."

Virgil and Gordon exchanged startled looks. "Is the monster actually real?!" said Virgil.

"Virgil, four people were killed last night out on the loch," Penelope said. "They said the monster was attacking. Highly professional people like that wouldn't make it up. Now there are several tourists out there that could be in danger if it decides to attack them. You need to make sure that it doesn't."

Gordon unfastened himself for the seat and began to run back towards the doorway leading out of the cockpit. "We're approaching Loch Ness now," he said. "I'll get Thunderbird 4 ready."

"Okay, Scott. We'll check it out," said Virgil. "Watch your step finding Parker."

"F-A-B," said Scott. "And same goes for you, Gordon. We don't know what this monster is capable of."

"F-A-B!"

Scott then activated an x-ray scanner in his helmet allowing him to see through walls. "This will alert us if anyone is coming," he said. "Do you have your stun-weapon?"

"Sure," Penelope replied, taking it out from inside her coat. "Lucky they didn't check me before I was tied."

"Good," said Scott. "Keep close to me. Let's go."

As Thunderbird 2 swooped down over the loch, its arrival also drew attention from the people on the boats. The sight of Thunderbird 1 had initially caused excitement, but the arrival of Thunderbird 2 brought a mixture of both excitement and concern.

"This cannot be a good thing," Helen said to Bronwyn and Dillys. "Why are they here? Who is in trouble?"

"Not us this time, thankfully," said Bronwyn. "But there must be something going on."

"Thunderbird 1's flying by that castle," Mandy said, pointing to the sleek silver rocket that was just visible at the side of the loch. "Maybe there's something going on there?"

They all watched as Thunderbird 2 began to circle around.

Virgil gritted his teeth. "There's a lot of people on the nearby boats probably wondering what the hell is going on," he said to Jeff. "Do I fly to a quiet spot to drop Thunderbird 4?"

"Witnesses don't need to know why you're there, Virgil," answered Jeff. "Just drop the module at a distance and then once Thunderbird 4 has launched, retrieve it again. Then be ready to assist either Gordon or Scott if need be."

"F-A-B," Virgil said as he moved Thunderbird 2 away from the boats to a quieter area. "How are you getting on, Thunderbird 4?"

"In position, Thunderbird 2," answered Gordon. "Ready for deployment."

"Okay, Gordon," said Virgil. "Releasing module - now!" He pulled a lever that released the docking clamp.

Module 4 dropped out from within Thunderbird 2 and landed with a splash on the surface of Loch Ness. The door opened and the ramp that held Thunderbird 4 tilted upwards so that it was facing downwards. The motors were activated and the yellow submersible slipped down into the water. "Thunderbird 4 is GO!" said Gordon. He turned on the powerful lights on the front of the craft and began to make his way down into the depths. "Wow - it sure is dark down here," he remarked. "Thunderbird 5 - I'm now in the loch. Did you say you picked up a mysterious signal?"

"Yes, and I still have it," said John. "It's moved East of your location but has now turned around and is heading West. there's a boat right in its path as well. You might want to intercept it before it gets to them."

"On my way," said Gordon as he set Thunderbird 4's course. "Let's hope it isn't hungry."

Parker ran into one of the castle's lounges having managed to evade the staff. But he soon discovered he wasn't alone.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Parker ducked as an arrow from Andy's crossbow was fired directly at him. The arrow instead hit a valuable vase and shattered.

"NO!" bellowed Andy in a rage. "YOU ABSOLUTE-"

"LANGUAGE!"

Andy stopped dead and turned around, seeing Penelope standing there. He stared in disbelief. "What?" he said. "How did you-"

Scott then appeared from behind the door. "Unlike you, she has friends," he said.

Their distraction allowed Parker to move from behind the sofa where he'd ducked down and managed to get behind Andy. He then hit him across the head with a silver tray that he'd found and it knocked him out.

"Parker!" said Penelope happily. "Thank goodness you're okay."

"M'lady!" said Parker with equal relief. Then his face fell. "Forgive me. This h'is all my fault."

"What do you mean?" asked Scott.

"H'I knew I recognised the butler from somewhere," Parker explained. "'E and h'I were part of a gang back in the day. But when they planned a big robbery that involved the kidnapping of children - I turned against them and got them all thrown h'in prison. Gibbons chased me to the battlements h'and we fought. Then 'e fell off and landed on their car below. I'm h'afraid 'e's dead."

Penelope grabbed Parker's arm. "Oh, Parker. This isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"It was 'im though, m'lady," Parker went on. "Gibbons was the one who shot h'at us yesterday. Under the orders of h'is masters. The gentleman we spoke to was 'is target for photographing the monster."

Scott stared down at the unconscious Andy. "These guys ordered his murder just because he took a photo of the monster? But why?"

Thunderbird 4 was moving through the dark depths of Loch Ness in search of the monster. Gordon felt uneasy as everything around him seemed somewhat spooky.

"How's it going, Thunderbird 4?" Virgil asked over the radio.

"Nothing so far," replied Gordon. "There's so many places that this monster could hide in. it could get the drop on me very easily."

John then spoke up. "Gordon, you're getting closer to that mystery signal," he said. "Are your scanners picking anything up?"

Gordon looked at the control screens in front of him. "Nothing so far," he said. "Only there's a vessel up above." Then a new contact appeared. "Hold on. Maybe I do have something after all, John! Range - 3,000 yards and closing."

"That's it!" said John. "It matches my monitor. Whatever it is, you're converging on its position."

Gordon looked out into the darkness. Large rocks stood all around as he made his way along near to the bottom of the loch. He could feel his stomach tensing up as he looked for any sign of the supposed elusive creature. He kept checking between the view in front and the radar screen. "2,000 yards," he said. "It's getting closer."

Jeff was also listening in. He, Alan and Sophie along with Virgil and John waited apprehensively for the word that he had visual contact.

"1,000 yards," Gordon said over the radio.

Sophie and Alan held hands. Even though they weren't there, the tension was very strong.

Gordon kept his eyes peeled. Still there was no sign of it. "Five-hundred yards."

"You should be able to see it any second," John said.

No sooner had he said it when Gordon caught sight of two glowing white lights out in the darkness. He let out a gasp. "I SEE IT!" he cried and brought Thunderbird 4 to a stop. He then allowed the approaching object to glide forwards into the beams of Thunderbird 4's lights."

"Turn on your cameras, Gordon!" urged Jeff. "I need to see this!"

Gordon did so, relaying the live footage from the camera on the front of Thunderbird 4 to Thunderbird 2 and Tracy Island via Thunderbird 5. They all watched with stunned expressions as the large head of the monster slowly came into view. But the amazement soon turned to shock when the rest of the body was revealed. Instead of a twisty, snake-like body that everyone was expecting, it had a long and straight body with a few spine-like fins along its back. It had no organic legs, fins or flippers either. Instead, it had two sets of straight fins poking out the sides and a pair of thrusters at the tail.

"Are you KIDDING ME?!" exclaimed Gordon. "IT'S A GODDAMN SUBMARINE!"

"With a fake monster head attached to its front!" added Virgil.

"This is what's been scaring the people around the loch?" asked Alan.

Jeff's expression turned to anger. "Men have been killed because of THIS?!" he thundered, slamming his fist on the desk. "Someone needs to be brought to account!"

Scott then radioed in. "Base from Thunderbird 1. I've found Lady Penelope and Parker. They are safe. Any news on the monster yet?"

"Yeah, I've found it, Scott," said Gordon bitterly. "Would you believe it really is fake!"

"How so?" asked Scott.

"It's a submarine with a monster's head on the front!" said Gordon.

"So that's the secret!" Parker said.

"Parker?" said Penelope.

"Gibbons let slip that his masters had a secret," Parker said. "One that he swore to make sure nobody would ever find out. They h'are the ones behind the monster."

"The mystery of the monster has lured people here for years," Scott realised. "And if it was revealed that it really is a fake all along."

"It would ruin tourism for the area," finished Penelope.

"And these people are willing to have people killed to protect that?" asked Virgil. "That's sick!"

"We've got one of them," said Scott. "We need to find the other one."

"I'll alert the local Police and have them come to you," said John. "The GDF are busy elsewhere."

"Er, guys?" interrupted Gordon. "Not to alarm anyone but I think it's spotted me."

The monster-shaped submarine had now turned and was directly facing Thunderbird 4. And it was then that a voice rang out over Thunderbird 4's radio - one that was also heard by the others. "International Rescue! I have you in my sights. Stay exactly where you are! If you try anything. I will blow you out of the water!"

"Jamie!" hissed Penelope. "I recognise the voice."

"He must be controlling the sub remotely," said Scott. "John, can you trace where the message is coming from?"

"I can try, but it'd help if he keeps talking," said John.

Gordon smirked. "Allow me," he said. "Hello there, Mr Monster, is it? Or do I call you Loch Ness?"

"Mockery will get you nowhere!" snapped Jamie. "I don't know why you are here, but if you think I am going to let you go, you are mistaken. You have laid eyes on our creation, and as such cannot be allowed to reveal it."

"Is that why you had those people killed yesterday?" asked Gordon.

"Yes! They'd have exposed the truth, and that cannot be allowed," snarled Jamie.

"You're insane, McGregor," said Gordon. "You will be brought to justice."

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"

"Um, because we've just happened to trace your voice to the castle on the banks of the loch and you have given yourself away," Gordon said with a smirk.

"What?!" exclaimed Jamie. "DAMN YOU! DIE!"

Gordon then noticed the monster's mouth begin to open to reveal a pair of sleek missiles inside of it. "Oh, no, you don't!" he said and pushed a button, launching one of Thunderbird 4's own missiles instead. It streaked through the water and struck the left-side of the monster's hull. The explosion caused a rupture and water began flooding into it.

Jamie, in a secret room inside the castle, was horrified when alarms began wailing all around him as a message appeared on the screen telling him about the rupture. "What?! NO!" he cried, trying desperately to control the flooding. "THIS CANNAE BE HAPPENING?!"

He was so busy shouting that he failed to notice the door open to allow Scott, Penelope and Parker to enter along with a captive Andy.

"Having trouble, Mr McGregor?"

Jamie spun his chair around. "WHAT?!" he screeched. Then he saw Parker holding a weary Andy. "MURDERER!" he screamed and reached for a gun. But Scott fired his stun gun, hitting Jamie's gun and throwing it aside. It also inadvertently caused damage to the controls. Sparks flew and then a fire broke out.

"Er, whoops," said Scott.

"No! NO!" cried Jamie. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Gordon then noticed something. A huge burst of bubbles had just been blown out from the sides of the monster-sub and it then began to rise rapidly upwards. "Er, guys, problem!" he said. "The ballast tanks have blown. It's heading for the surface!"

Virgil looked out from Thunderbird 2. "And there's a boat of people right above where it's going to be!" he exclaimed. "I have to save them!" He activated Thunderbird 2's thrusters and headed towards the boat - which happened to be the one with Norman and the others onboard.

"NO!" screeched Jamie. "IF IT SURFACES, EVERYONE WILL SEE IT!"

Penelope grabbed Scott's arm. "That machine cannot be allowed to survive," she said. "We have to destroy it."

Scott nodded in agreement. He rushed over and grabbed Jamie by the scruff of the neck. "Where's the self-destruct button?" he demanded.

Jamie, realising he couldn't fight them all, pointed defeatedly at a red button on the desk. "There," he said miserably.

"Good man," said Scott. "You've done something right for once. Thunderbird 2, get that boat clear and I'll destroy the monster."

"F-A-B!"

Everyone aboard the boat watched in surprise as Thunderbird 2 flew directly overhead. "Sorry, everyone!" Virgil called out over the tannoy. "Monster coming up!"

"Monster?!" exclaimed several people on the boat as grapples were dropped from Thunderbird 2. Virgil then lifted the vessel up out of the water and began to carry it away. "Boat is clear, Scott," he said. "Blow it."

Scott pushed the red button and waited for the explosion. But instead, a thirty-second timer appeared on the screen instead. "Damn it!" he cursed. "It's gonna break the surface before it blows."

"I'll try and missile it again," Gordon said. He moved Thunderbird 4 around and pointed upwards. Then he fired another missile at the submarine. It scored a direct hit but wasn't enough to destroy it. "Uh-oh," Gordon said.

Virgil had put the boat back down in the water roughly fifty metres away from where it had been. It was as he released the grapples that the water erupted as the monster's head emerged from the water. This caused a huge amount of kerfuffle aboard the boat as the passengers and crew watched on in shock at the sight of it.

"Good heavens!" exclaimed Bronwyn. "IT'S REAL!"

James wailed in terror and tried to hide behind Sarah.

Norman, who'd been on the opposite side of the boat at the time, tried desperately to push his way through. "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" he said rudely, shoving people out of the way as he went.

Everyone else was trying to get their cameras trained on the monster which was facing directly at them. But before anyone could get a photo, a massive explosion erupted from within the monster's hull, ripping it apart and starting a massive fire. By the time Norman got through and aimed his camera, all he managed to get was the burning monster as it sank back beneath the surface before exploding again as the self-destruct finally activated. He and the rest of the passengers watched on in disbelief as they saw the stern-end of the monster tilt upwards and then slip back beneath the surface, disappearing for good.

"Errr, what just happened?" asked Norman.

"It would appear," said a man a few passengers along from where he was, "that the so-called monster was just a robotic fake. That was clearly a submarine with a monster's head on the front."

"Yeah!" said another man. "I didn't pay to see a fake monster! I want my money back!"

"Ha! You see!" Mandy said triumphantly to Norman. "I told you it wasn't real."

Norman threw down his camera, breaking it and jumped up and down in a massive tantrum.

Scott, Penelope and Parker watched outside the front of the castle as the local Police arrested the McGregor brothers and their staff members and took them away into custody. None of them said a word. Even the brothers were silent - especially when they saw the body bag that contained Gibbons. Penelope and Parker had been expecting to get abuse and threats of revenge like they often did when they foiled people's plots. But not this time.

"What a mess," remarked Virgil once he and Gordon had joined them. "Whenever I think of sick and twisted people, I think of people like The Hood and The Cabal. I sometimes forget how regular people can still cause such atrocities."

"H'I am all too familiar with people like that, Master Virgil," said Parker. "Don't forget - I used to be one meself."

"But you reformed, Parker," said Scott. "And you're the perfect proof that it can be done."

"Maybe so," said Parker. "But it's not something h'I will ever forget. Or forgive meself for."

"It's okay, Parker," said Penelope. "Showing regret for your past actions is a good thing. It means you know that you did wrong and want to do all you can to make up for it."

Parker nodded with a slight smile. "H'Indeed, m'lady," he said. "H'Indeed."

"So…what are we going to do about this place?" Gordon asked, looking up at the now empty McCullen Castle. "That's twice you've been imprisoned in there, Pen. Surely you want to make sure it won't happen again?"

"If you're implying what I think you are, Gordon, no," said Penelope firmly. "It's a listed building, and as much as I'd like to see the back of it, we cannot touch it."

"Wish h'I 'ad known that when I did that then," remarked Parker, looking at the section covered in the scaffolding.

"Come on, guys," said Scott. "The best way to forget about this place is to simply leave and hopefully not come back," he said. "Come back to the island with us, Lady P? Grandma will have dinner laid on for you."

Parker shuddered. Penelope smiled. "Of course," she said. "Anything to spend a night with a squid."

Gordon's cheeks went pink.