Change of Destiny
Chapter Two
"So I heard that you'll be going home soon, too bad" An elderly man said with a grin looking at the chess board in front of him.
The young man nodded as he studied the board, "Doctor Willis told me that the burns have healed enough while I've learn enough from Nicola that I can go home" He said before making a move and nodded.
The older man frowned as he continued to study the board, "Here I thought you were going to let me win this time" He said with a small smile and sighed, he moved the piece and waited for the two words that ended another game.
"Check mate Edward" The young man replied with a grin leaning back into the plush armchair, the light damp breeze played across his face from an open window nearby.
"Nice play John and I am sad to hear that you'll be going back to your family, and it's just Ed" Edward said with a smile leaning back in his own chair, he wore a think black shirt and casual black trousers. His right hand was formed by some sort of metal, while his left leg was the same.
"I'll miss hearing your stories and the long science talks, but I'll definitely miss these chess matches!" John Tracy replied with a smile.
Since being cleared from the hospital in London, John had moved to a private hospital in the Lake District. It was highly recommended by Doctor Ross, it was from 'Rainbow Circles' Hospital that the designs and research for the artificial limbs came from.
His family emailed and called him either daily or monthly but only his father, Jeff Tracy, visited him. Jeff checked on how John was handling on learning how to use his left arm after loosing it in the Hood incident.
Edward Elric grinned and coughed harshly before reaching for his drink to sooth his throat, "I want to give you something, it's in my room" He said rising up from the table slowly, letting his legs stretch out until he was standing straight.
"Are you sure you're allowed out of here?" John replied with a smile nodding to a young brunette woman, dressed in a pale blue suit who returned the smile with a soft frown to her grandfather before leading one of the residents out of the room.
"You're not afraid of my granddaughter are you?" Edward asked watching his granddaughter leave the room.
"Even flirting with the others is a little strange for you but it's not every day that we have a Tracy here" He said leaning against the chair slightly, waiting for John to get up. He was happy to see that the young man felt more comfortable in his skin and with his new arm.
"I'm not afraid of Nikki, just of your wife but if you want to get into trouble standing like that then let's go… Dad won't be here till tomorrow anyway" John replied with a slight frown as he rose up on his feet and stretched hearing the soft clanking of his arm as he did so.
"I've told you before about being a Tracy, Ed…" He broke away thinking about the nightmares he once had before talking about them, letting them fade to bad memories.
Ed nodded, "I know John but Nikki does keep telling me about the publicity for the hospital but I'm reminded of Rush Valley, and how Automail is treated like a rich man's toy" He said before shaking his head clear.
"Enough of that though, come on while she's still busy" Ed added with a grin and led the way to the main house, through the reception and out into the main gardens.
The air smelt fresh and renewed thanks to the morning showers, letting the large blooming flowers to feel the life giving water amongst the soil through their roots. Letting more water gather in pools amongst the leaves and petals.
John was always breathtaking in the amount of scents and colour the garden held, the gardeners had designed the garden for everyone to enjoy and use. There were scented plants and herbs, highly scented roses decorating the walkways, which spread the scents further.
"I can't imagine being back on a tropical island after this and visiting those gardens" John said softly as they got to the large three story house.
Ed stepped forward and entered the code to get in, "If they change this again…" He muttered before groaning as the machine denied his code.
John shook his head and moved past Ed entering a different code and the machine accepted it, "Seems that they like changing the codes around but keep it in the same area of coding" He said holding the door open.
"We started this hospital, Al and myself but now that we passed the jobs over to be with our families then its just becoming too much" Ed said softly as he led the way up the stairs to where his exclusive suite was located.
"It's similar for us but with Dad dealing a lot of the main business while going to my brothers for help in special areas they specialize in… he occasionally emails me or called me if something came up but most of the time I'm alone in space" John said following Ed up the stairs.
"I remember reading something about that in your file but I'm glad that you're telling me, you don't have to go back but it is obvious that you… oh no" Ed broke away when they arrived on the right floor and found a older version of his granddaughter.
This woman wore a long dark green skirt with a light green shirt, her hair a messy blonde tied up in a long braid while her light green eyes were flashing with anger.
John flinched and backed away, "Think I'll go and check on my room, and make sure that I got everything!" He said with a grin and dived back to the stairs.
"Coward, Crystal I'm sorry… I didn't want to use it because I don't need it" Ed called after John before turning to face his daughter, she hit him on the head with his metallic walking stick.
"Well that's everything Dad" John said with a soft sigh as he put the bag down and adjusted the dark gloves he was wearing, even though he had been out in public without any protection but in typical Scottish tradition it had started to rain during breakfast that morning and hasn't stopped since.
"Are you sure you're ready to go back John?" Jeff asked looking at his son carefully; he could see that his son had improved a lot in the past five months, recovering not only from being held captive in the satellite along with his family but from loosing his arm.
"As ready as I can be, just wonder how will my brothers will react to when they see me… all of me" John said looking down at his left glove, at the gap between his jacket and glove seeing the metal of his artificial arm shining through.
"If they truly love you as a brother then they will truly accept you John, that is what family is for" A voice close by said.
"Ed, where's Alphonse?" John asked with a smile on his face crossing over to the oldest founder seeing that he was using the walking stick today.
"He went on that coach trip with Nicola and Crystal today so a couple of the agency nurses are here but the other residents know better than they do" Ed replied with a grin and held out the bag around his left hand.
"Al wanted to give you this, got something special in there too… might keep you busy for a while" He said with a smile.
John took the bag and peered inside seeing two thick books inside, "Alphonse was always better at telling stories than you" He said pulling out the novel, 'The Search for the Philosopher's Stone by Alphonse and Edward Elric'.
"Yeah well I went into politics briefly while he became an author, then well you know the rest" Ed explained with a shrug.
"Yeah I know, but I better go… Dad's waiting for me" John said glancing back at his father with a smile, who was leaning against the rental car.
Ed smiled and nodded, "I can see that, the nurse said that I should get in soon because of this mist as it won't do any of my joints any good" He said glancing back seeing a nurse dressed in black trousers and a light purple tunic glance at him before carrying on with her job.
John nodded and pulled his own jacket up tighter around his neck, "Won't do any of us any good" He said with a shrug pushing his dampening hair away from his face, he had let it grow our becoming longer and a little unruly.
"Then I better let you go, you will stay in contact with me won't you?" Ed asked with a soft sigh and slight smile leaning on his stick.
"Of course, I'll email you once we get back safely to the island" John replied with a smile and looked at his father, who had placed a hand on his right arm.
"That's great John but for now you're released from our captivity unless you don't look after yourself" Ed replied with a grin, "For now we have to say well… see you later!" He added holding out his right hand.
John shook it grinning, "Yeah, I'll see you later" He said and once he let go, he followed his father to the car.
Glasgow International Airport was busy as always, passengers arriving and departing every few minutes making the busy airport seem like a miniature city.
It was busier in one terminal; a flight was preparing to fly back to the United States with a plane loading up quickly meanwhile in the main terminal building there was a group of people gathered around two Americans.
"Rangers I can get a last 'Red Dawn'?" The blonde male American yelled over the group of fans, there were a few men while the others were all females of different ages. Some of the fans were dressed in black suits and long red jackets that were close to sweeping the floor.
"RED DAWN" The fan club called the 'Risembool Rangers' yelled out making the other passengers and family members look around in confusion or thinking that the group were crazy.
Two men were also looking at the fan club and obviously its leader, the younger man was grinning while the older was confused.
"What are they?" He asked the younger man, "They are nuts" He added before turning back to face the airport staff that wanted his attention.
"They're an anime fan club called the Risembool Rangers, their leader is called Vic Mignogna" The younger man explained watching the fan club with interest, tugging his dark gloves on subconsciously.
"I don't even want to know John, but I am almost done with these forms and –"Jeff stopped abruptly when there was another yell but closer to them.
"John! Hey, what are you doing here?" A female voice said calling loudly waving an arm high over her head.
"Rose! I'm heading back home, back to the family" John replied with a grin as the young dark haired woman freed herself from the crowd.
"Are you serious? That's cool; you're going to be missed! But come on you've got to meet Vic before he goes" Rose said in an unusually hyper way, hugging the surprised man before dragging him off into the crowd, the gift from Ed swinging in the bag on his wrist.
"B-but Rose" John protested fighting against the volunteer helper's pull on his right arm.
His protests stopped when Rose stopped in front of a man, who was grinning widely hugging one of the other members of the fan club.
"Vic, this is John! We converted him into a ranger" Rose announced loudly, John could see that Nicola had joined them from somewhere in the crowd.
"Nice to meet you John and welcome to the greatest fandom on the planet" Vic replied with a grin and held out of his right hand.
The man looked so young, yet John could see that he was older than how he acted, with his brown hair spiked up but showing blonde in the light like he had highlights put in. His light blue eyes danced with amusement and excitement in being surrounded by his fan club.
John shook it with his left hand, grateful for the gloves hiding the different between his real arm and his artificial one. "Thanks I think that your work in Full Metal Alchemist was great, as well as your music" He said with a smile, Rose dancing on her toes at his side.
"Thanks I'm glad that you enjoyed them and I'm happy to tell you that I'm bringing out a new CD soon" Vic replied as the fan club broke away into smaller groups.
"Nice to hear that, but I better get back to my father, we're getting ready to go back home" John said letting go of Vic's hand and moved the bag from around his wrist.
"I see, I'm off home myself after spending time with all these great rangers" Vic replied loudly over the groups screams.
John winced at the loudness, "That's great Vic, I'm just glad that I got to meet you but I haven't got anything you can sign unless…" He stopped and opened the bag pulling out one of the books.
Vic raised his eyebrows at the book's title before grinning taking the book and pen, "Well John is it? I hope you enjoy reading this and hope we meet again in the future" He said as he signed the inside cover of the book before giving it back to John.
"Thanks I will" John replied with a smile putting the novel back into the bag before looking over his shoulder towards where his father was. He could see Jeff leaning against the counter looking somewhere between amusement and confusion.
"I better go now, it was nice meeting everyone" John said with a smile taking Vic's offered hand again.
"I know, it was nice to meet you and hope you will have a safe journey" Vic replied with a grin letting go of John's hand to let him go.
"Thank you control" Jeff replied while John watched from the co-pilot's chair quietly as his father focused on getting the private jet 'Tracy One' into the air.
Soon they were rising up leaving Glasgow Airport far behind them, John watched through the window until they rose up above the dull grey clouds.
"Want to explain to me what that was about in the airport?" Jeff asked as he set the course back to Tracy Island as John undid his seatbelt.
"You wouldn't understand, I can only say that was a star and his fan club to keep it simple" John replied before sighing and stretching.
Jeff could see that over the last few months that his son had recovered from his life changing experience and adjusted to his new arm.
"I see so then I guess while you were away, you were educated on this" He said softly glancing at his son from the corner of his vision, John had changed over the past few months with no signs of the burns he had received through the fires that had engulfed parts of the satellite.
He had healed and Jeff hoped by more ways than just the physical injuries that John had received when the satellite known as Thunderbird Five or his second born son's second home.
"I was, watched the entire animated series, otherwise known as anime and the Elric brothers different stories" John replied with a smile. "The anime missed out so much in the adventures that they had" He said leaning back deeper into the chair and pulled his gloves off to scratch his right hand.
"I'll trust that you know what you are talking about John, so let's just leave it at that" Jeff said smiling softly glancing at his son before focusing on flying the plane.
John smiled then laughed at hearing the hidden tone in his father's voice.
"Quick! Here he comes, everyone quiet!" Scott told everyone in a hushed tone taking his place behind an armchair close by.
The Tracy family and the members of their extended family; the Belegants and Hackenbackers had hidden all around the room with the setting sun casting the whole area of the main lounge in a bright orange almost fiery red.
Gordon and Alan had spent all day decorating the area ready for their brother's return after spending four months at a special clinic recovering from the traumatic experience of the Hood incident.
But now the Tracy family was now reunited and whole once more, their secret organisation temporarily suspended pending upgrades to the rescue equipment and protection of the Thunderbirds.
They all waited for the sound of Jeff and John Tracy to enter the room, their father was in on the surprise part and was to give them a key word to say when to spring the surprise.
"I guess so Dad, just want something to eat, a shower then get some sleep" John's voice drifted on the wind as they got up onto the sundeck.
"Your brothers will want to welcome you back you know, and they won't leave you alone until they do" Jeff's voice replied as they entered the main lounge.
"You mean they're –"John started to say before jumping back as everyone jumped out, yelling "Surprise" in one loud roar.
"Having a surprise party" He managed to finish before getting caught up in a huge brotherly hug, feeling various pats on his back.
"We couldn't resist Johnny! Four months without you here, I'm surprised the island's still in one piece" Scott said as Virgil pressed a glass into John's hand with a grin.
"We promised Dad to keep off the alcohol even though we're off duty" Virgil told John as they all broke away as Onaha revealed the food on a large table in the middle of the lounge.
John sipped the drink to discover it was homemade lemonade, "This is great! What has been happening here?" He asked as he got led to the table revealing a cake earning a small laugh from him.
The cake resembled Thunderbird Five in all of her shinning glory; it reminded John of how he first saw her on their first day online, their first day as International Rescue.
"Like it John?" Onaha asked with a smile offering a plate to Gordon, who accepted it gratefully before working on filling it up.
"It's great Onaha, it looks really great" John replied with a grin and looked around the room, at his family all around him celebrating his return.
Jeff smiled as he watched John interact with his brothers, grinning at their jokes and pushing his younger siblings away that were trying to get him to wear silly party badges and hats.
It was this interaction that Jeff knew that they were reunited at last; they could now slowly become a proper family they once were and would be again.
The weeks soon flew by and work begun on the rebuilding of the rescue organisation, each of the boys were studying the original blue prints and the programming of the birds hoping to change the flaws that appeared as they created them.
Scott and Virgil worked together down in the hangers to take apart a few of the engines on Thunderbirds One and Two with Alan helping at different days.
Brains worked around the clock with Jeff and John, designing new parts and safety features or programming and upgrading any current systems.
Weeks just flew by leaving them all exhausted but accomplished with all the work put into their rescue organisation even though they were still waiting on new parts or reassemble the engines. Their home felt save once again with the new upgraded security systems and new alarms to warn them of any trouble.
The sun had set a few hours ago, its fading light disappearing over the sea making the sky turn into a darker blue. The sky was changing slowly as the sun continued its slow path around the planet.
Moaning and stretching John stared up at his star patterned ceiling before rising up his left hand, flexing it slightly and groaned as he felt the seal near his shoulder. It was this same ache John had felt over the past few weeks, as he was concerned and still in contact with Edward Elric, he emailed his friend for advice.
Edward had replied with a suggestion of using a mixture of warm and cold compresses on his shoulder when the ache started thinking that it could be just the humidity of the jungle affecting him. Even though he himself had never had trouble with it before, yet he never actually lived on a tropical island before.
Getting up out of the bed and stretching with a small groan, John left the room and walked down the slope into the main complex wearing just his shorts.
"- seeing him like that, it's just too weird!" Alan's voice drifted out of the dining room.
"I know Alan, it reminds me of something out of those old science fiction films" Gordon replied as John crept closer to the kitchen.
John could feel his stomach churning uncomfortably as he listened to his brothers' talk about him, the throbbing pain in his shoulder forgotten.
A small thud from the kitchen was heard making John jump, "It's all thanks to that damned Hood's fault" Scott said before a clunk of a glass being placed on the table was heard.
"It was my fault too" Virgil added, "I should have checked his wound better but he's coping! He said standing up for his older brother, making the young man smile softly.
"I know Virg and no one blames you, we were all stressed out up there… not knowing if we were going to survive up there but we did" Gordon spoke softly making John strain to hear him.
"We all changed… but John, he's changed more than all of us!" Alan said loudly.
A small spell of silence filled the room; John could just picture his brothers in his head. They could all be sat around the table either looking at each other or down into their drinks reflecting what had happened over the last few months.
"After what happened out there, up in the satellite was traumatic for him and then loosing his left arm because of our careless actions when we were worried for your safety Alan, I guess that we all have been put into blame" Scott spoke up, breaking the silence.
"I-I guess so Scott but John…" Alan said sounding strained and unsure how to word himself.
"John's what Alan?" Gordon prompted.
John frowned wondering what was going through their youngest brother's mind, a cold sweat had formed on his right palm.
"I understand what you've guys have seen out there or what you have had to deal with but listening to John's stories of the people behind the voices I just can't stand now how John's became one of those people…" Alan said breaking away, anger rising up his voice.
"He's become a freak" He yelled loudly.
"He's become a freak!" Alan's voice rang loudly in John's mind as he looked down at his artificial arm; he had heard this before and had much counselling in how to deal with it.
They were just strangers, not my own brother John thought to himself, not realizing that his feet were moving automatically only stopping briefly for a pair of sandals he had left by the pool before running into the jungle.
John continued to run, run away form the echoes of his brothers' conversation, away from Alan's angry yell and away from the truth.
He closed his eyes as angry hot tears formed paying no attention to the path ahead until he gasped painfully then knew nothing.
John had slipped off the path and fallen through the jungle foliage, landing hard on a hidden cave floor hidden by the tropical jungle that formed most of the island.
Into the darkness.
To be continued!!
-Phew, thanks for being patient for this everyone! And I'm sorry FullMetalWing for taking so long, but it does take a long time to write these sort of fiction. Amongst the others of course - and the new HP book!
So please everyone, think about the time it takes between updates for long stories such as this before saying 'write more soon'
Thanks for reading!