Part 2

Alan sat alone on his bed. They had just returned from his first rescue since becoming an official Thunderbird and he had rescued hundreds of people from a forest fire, alongside his big brothers.

When they had finished, Scott had gathered everyone by Thunderbird 1.

"Great job boys, you all did brilliant today," He told them with a smile, "Now let's get packed up and get these birds home."

Back in his room, Alan frowned as he remembered how Scott had said it. It had sounded like Scott was addressing all of them. But he had never looked at Alan, only Gordon and Virgil. Alan suddenly felt ignored.

The youngest Tracy lay back on his bed. Had Scott purposely ignored him? Was Alan not a good Thunderbird? Had he disappointed his eldest brother?

Alan was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the man in question silently enter the room.

"Hey Sprout…whoa! What's up?" Scott exclaimed when Alan jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Sorry…I…I was just thinking…" Alan replied quietly.

"Uh-oh, that sounds dangerous." Scott teased. When Alan gave a weak smile without looking at him, Scott frowned.

"Alan…is something up? You know you can tell me if there is…" Alan numbly shook his head, his eyes staying on the blank wall ahead of him. Scott wanted to press him, but decided against it.

"Anyway…I came up to tell you something…Dad and I have been discussing your roll in International Rescue and we've decided-"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry if I let you down today! If I messed up, if I didn't try hard enough, I'll do better next time, I promise!" Alan had spun round to face Scott and was now begging him desperately, "Please Scott! Give me another chance! Don't take my IR badge away! I promise I'll do better next time!" Scott looked completely baffled.

"What…are…you…talking…about?" He asked quietly, "Did you think that's what I came up here to do?" The relief of that not being the case was suddenly replaced by utter embarrassment. Red flooded Alan's cheeks and he immediately spun back round to try and hide it. His amused older brother pretended not to notice.

"Well…anyway…what I really came up here to tell you was that Dad and I have decided to list you as the official pilot of Thunderbird 4." He said it calmly and in a matter-of-fact tone. Alan's reaction was quite the opposite.

"Really?! Pilot of Thunderbird 4?!" Alan gasped in happiness, "That's…I mean…that's just…"

"The least of what you deserve after what you did today, you were really brilliant out there……………………I'm proud of you Alan."

Alan frowned slightly. The last five words had been his brother's voice but Scott's lips hadn't moved. And the words had sounded distant…as if they had come from somewhere far away.

"It's true…I am proud of you Alan……………and I always will be." Alan didn't know where his brother's voice was coming from but his heart filled pride at the sound of the words…

Slowly, the scene before him disappeared like the thin morning mist and eventually he was back in the cage. He looked up and saw his brother standing outside, calmly, waiting for him.

"You okay Sprout?" Scott asked him with a hint of a grin. Alan grinned back.

"I'm okay now…thanks Scott." Scott gave him a wink.

Gordon sat on the cold stone floor, holding his legs to his chest and resting his forehead on his knees. He was inside a sort of dome. The snow didn't touch him; it just surrounded him, kept him trapped, latched onto his fear like a net of thorns…slowly dragging him to defeat…to death.

He could feel the last of his hope slipping away like grains of sand in an hourglass. Gordon knew he could just simply give up. Nothing would be easier……to just lie back and die………

Gordon…

Gordon's head didn't lift up yet but his eyes opened.

"Gordon…it's just your fear…" Scott stood outside the cage, calling softly to his brother. Alan looked around for the Hood but couldn't see him anywhere.

At the mention of the word 'fear' Gordon immediately shut his eyes again.

Gordon, listen to me…touch the snow!

"I can't!" Gordon cried.

Yes you can Gordon, you're one of the strongest people I know, you can do it!

"But I can't…I…I can't touch it."

"You can, Gordon, I'm here…I won't let anything happen to you, okay?" Scott softened his tone again, putting all his faith in the strength of his second youngest brother.

Gordon swallowed nervously and nodded. He moved onto his knees and shuffled towards the snow so he was in reach of it. When he looked at it, to him, it seemed so terrifying, like it would devour his soul if he went any closer. Because of this fear, Gordon hesitated.

Its okay Gordon, take your time, I know you can do it.

The confident voice partly reassured Gordon. He lifted a trembling hand and swallowed as it edged closer and closer towards the snow.

The shadow that surrounded Gordon's unmoving form seemed to lift a little.

One more inch…Gordon told himself as his hand kept moving towards the snow.

The shadow lifted even more. Alan still couldn't see the Hood and was becoming increasingly nervous. Scott's calm and reassuring voice continued to guide his brother.

Almost there, Gords, you're almost there……

With a determined nod, Gordon plunged his fingers through the remaining distance and into the snow. To his surprise, the snow felt warm and calming under his fingertips. It melted outwards from his touch until it had all disappeared…

The darkness lifted and Gordon saw that he was back in the cage with his eldest brother watching him with a smile.

"It'll be alright now, Gords." Scott assured him. Gordon nodded with a nervous but sincere smile.

"Virgil?" Alan's nervous voice drew their attention. Scott turned to see his middle brother sitting in the corner of the cage with his back on the metal bars. Scott sighed with guilt and then went around the outside of the cage to sit as close to his brother as he could, so that, despite the bars, their shoulders were touching.

Daylight was beginning to pour into the basement through the large tunnel. In the distance, the fighting between the Hood's men and Penny's men could still be heard.

Alan went to sit with Gordon at the opposite side of the cage so that they couldn't hear or see the other two brothers, thus giving Scott the privacy he needed to say what he was going to say.

"I'm sorry, Virg………… I had no idea that you had felt so alone when Mum died………I guess we sort of…drifted apart, didn't we? Ever since you were barely a toddler we had always been close, then when she was gone it was as if those years when she had been there had never happened." Scott spoke softly, tears were beginning to form in his eyes, "What made us close again after those two years? Was it Dad feeling better? John starting to speak again? Or me actually having the time to be with you since I didn't have to look after Gordon and Alan so much anymore? ………I'm so sorry…I………I wish I could turn back the clock……I wish I could make things better…I………I wish I could bring her back……" The tears began to fall and Scott did nothing to hide them. He had finally realised that he needed to let them fall…he needed to grieve…

"I miss her so much…when she died, looking after Gordon and Alan was a distraction from grief, and then International Rescue………when she was in hospital, Dad brought us all to say goodbye, do you remember? You all said goodbye to her in your own ways but I…I…I couldn't," Scott could hear his voice beginning to break, "…so instead I made a promise…I promised her I would look after you boys………I broke that promise…I didn't look after you…or John……sure I made sure you got enough sleep, that you ate all of Onaha's cooking, that you did your homework and kept your grades up…I even went to your parent-teacher conference when you were fourteen…your teacher looked completely baffled." Scott almost smiled at the memory but regret singed his heart.

"Two years isn't a long time to most people…but those two years…they felt like a century……it was over twelve years ago now but the pain of her not being here hurts me just as bad as it did back then……sometimes I wish I had said goodbye…then I wouldn't still be hanging on like I am now………I understand how you felt back then…I felt that way too…I was just too distracted to realise it……………" Scott's tears continued to fall as he sat back in silence.

"But we weren't alone though…" Scott's head snapped round to see his brother facing forwards, his eyes watching the front of the cage. His voice had been quiet but certain.

"I can see that now…we weren't alone……we never have been and we never will be……we have each other, even if we don't always realise it……back when I was alone, I wasn't…you were there…sure you couldn't give me much attention but you were there and that's what mattered…I think John felt the same." A small smile emerged at the corner of Virgil's lips. He turned to face Scott. No more tears were falling.

"I'm sorry Virgil." He said quietly.

"Me too." The middle brother replied. They smiled weakly at each other.

"Scott look out!" Gordon yelled. Scott looked up and ducked just in time to avoid the steel bar aimed at his head.

"You really are becoming a nuisance Scott Tracy!" The Hood's voice seemed to surround them. What had once been arrogant calm was now furious rage. Scott looked around but couldn't find him. He picked up a brick and poised to throw it the moment the Hood appeared.

"You honestly think that will hit me Scott Tracy?!" The Hood appeared out of the darkness four metres in front of them. Scott tried to throw but the Hood used his mind powers to grab Scott's throat.

"No!" Alan cried out after seeing the familiar attack.

"Yes Alan, only this time I won't get weaker." The three youngest Tracys could only watch in horror as the Hood began to choke their eldest brother to death.

Scott tried to breath but the Hood was stopping him from reaching the air he so desperately needed.

As tiny glowing lights began to appear in his darkening vision, Scott seemed to thrown back into memories old and new he treasured in the depths of his mind…

"That was beautiful, Virg"

"I knew something was wrong and I was……I thought I might lose you."

"This'll sound crazy but I heard your voice…it was almost as if you were calling out to me."

"…it still works."

"I'm proud of you Alan."

"It'll be alright now, Gords…"

…

"…we weren't alone……we never have been and we never will be……"

…

"…I promised her…"

"…I promised I would look after you boys…"

As he dropped to his knees, the brick still in his hand, Scott thought about his promise.

There was only a glimmer of light left now…the darkness was closing in on him…

But his brothers still needed him.

So even if there was only one tiny spark of strength left in him, that was still enough to hold on to.

Alan looked up and couldn't believe his eyes. The Hood was struggling. He was actually struggling, as if there was another force working against him. When he heard Gordon gasp, Alan looked round and saw his eldest brother. He was lifting himself up…one foot…then the other…he was standing up. He was still visibly struggling but he was winning the battle over control of his body. He gradually lifted his left arm…higher…and higher.

"C'mon Scott…" Virgil whispered. The Hood snarled in fury. Despite his earlier claim, he was getting weaker. Alan watched his movements carefully, waiting for an opening and the right moment to-

"Now!" He yelled to Scott, who, with the last ounce of his strength, hurled the brick at the Hood.

It soared through the air and, with a crack, hit the Hood on his left temple.

As if a sign of his suddenly weakened state, the cage the Hood had created disappeared. The three didn't get up fast enough to grab the Hood before he staggered into the shadows, so they went straight to Scott instead. Virgil tried to get Scott's arm around his shoulders but the eldest insisted he didn't need it.

"Where did he go? …I can't see him…" Alan looked around the immediate area.

"That brick hit him hard, he couldn't have got far." Gordon noted. The four walked into different directions, looking for the Hood behind walls and pillars.

Scott went to the left of the large room. He couldn't see him but was sure the Hood was still there.

The flash of the knife was not enough to warn Scott.

Before he could do anything, he felt the cool sting of the knife slash at his stomach.

He must have cried out in pain because the next thing he felt was Virgil's arms around him. Scott's hand reached to his shirt and he found it warm and soaked with blood.

"Vir-…Virg?" Scott called out weakly.

"I'm here Scott…you're going to be okay…" Virgil was obviously trying to reassure him but he couldn't fool Scott. Not even on Thunderbird 5 six months ago had his brother sounded this scared.

This was bad…really bad.

"Virg…tell John that…I…I'm sorry……I'm sorry that I wasn't there…"

"He won't have held it against you Scott, I never did." Virgil insisted.

"Please…just…tell him…" Scott breathed more than spoke.

"I'll tell him Scott, you hear me? I promise I'll tell him." Virgil told his brother desperately just before Scott's unseeing eyes drifted close……