Hey people :) Ive never had such a popular fic :) Sorry it took so long, again. I had major block. Anyway, here it is, the penultimate chapter, yes, the next chapter will be the finale. Please review, it'll make me write faster because of the motivation, even if it is just a few words :) Thank you and enjoy. x

The Grand Canyon

"John! You cant just rush out! We know nothing about the location of the mine yet, going there prematurely could ruin the whole operation." Jeff was getting acutely angry, slamming his coffee mug onto the kitchen side and jogging after John. The other Tracy boys were still recovering from the Propetyroline Gas effects, and the girls were making them feel as comfortable as possible, watching a DVD and eating popcorn with hot chocolate.

"I know what I'm doing, Dad! All I'm going to do is take the Helicopter licensed to the tour of the canyon and fly about, that way I'll be able to see if there really is a mine there." John ran down a small set of steps and out to the poolside, pulling on his shoes and fluffing his hair up.

"What makes you think that there isn't, John?" Jeff held John's arm, stopping him from moving, wanting to talk to him further. "All right, John. Just be careful, and don't give yourself away. You going to fly that thing yourself?" Jeff was curious, he leant his head towards his son.

"No, im going to go on the tour and ask, dress up a bit, more casual, hopefully nobody will recognise me. If I don't get any answers, ill take the chopper out myself." John was slowly walking towards Thunderbird 2's docking station.

There was a loud bang, and both men swirled around at great velocity. Kya was stood in the corner, helping Brains, trying to figure out the formula for the Propetyroline Gas. There was a horrible smell in the air and a musky green fog.

"O-oh My." Brains said, pulling Kya by the arm away from the gas.

"What's going on Brains?" Jeff asked, also taking a few steps back from the green gas.

"Kya and myself are trying to reformulate the Propetyroline Gas, that way, I shall know how to treat the nausea."

"All right, any help would be great. John's going to do some research in the Canyon."

"Isn't that a little risky?" Kya asked, almost backing off in shame for asking.

"Indeed it is," Jeff spoke, smiling at Kya, "Which is why you are going too, if you wouldn't mind of coarse, that way, you can both pose as a couple." Kya stood there in complete silence, taking it all in. John smiled and held out his hand, gesturing for Kya to follow him. Not wanting to disrespect him, she did.

The flight to the Grand Canyon was one travelled in silence. Upon arrival, Kya linked arms with John and both walked towards the queue for the helicopter tour.

"If you see anything, say." John said, stepping onto the helicopter, lifting Kya up. 20 Minutes passed, and nothing was seen apart from the masses of rock that was the Canyon.

"Can you see that?" John whispered into Kya's ear, so nobody else could hear the secretive conversation. She merely nodded. John had been on this tour many a time with his father and brothers, but never had he seen the darkened entrance into one of the rocks.

"I see they've opened a mine." John said, hoping to get more information.

"Don't be silly, lad." the pilot began. "There aren't any mines in the Canyon.

"That's what I thought." He muttered, trailing off into a world of thought.

"Can you hear that?"

"Yes, sounds like rotor blades."

"What?"

"A helicopter, Alan."

The helicopter was silent. Nobody was speaking, excited children were gawking out of the window and their parents smiling at their amusement. John sat with his head on Kya's shoulder, he had done what he had come to do. The Mine in which he knew he saw, was in fact, unknown. The pilot seemed very reluctant to give any information on it, and passed it off as an hallucination on John's part. This confused the both of them, they knew what they saw.

The deep thought was suddenly interrupted by hysterical laughter from the pilot. John lifted up is head and looked at Kya, concerned. Unstrapping his seatbelt, he walked towards the pilots seat, behind the division. To john's horror, there was no pilot, only the residue from a green gas... Panicking, John shouted for Kya and leaped into the pilots seat, attempting to land the aircraft safely without any passengers suspecting a thing. Kya sat beside him and attempted to identify a safe place to land. The wind was picking up, causing the aircraft to sway slightly. After ten minutes of struggling against the wind, John finally managed to land in one of the deepest parts of the Canyon. All passengers stepped out of the aircraft and onto the ancient stone beneath their feet.

"What happened. Where's the pilot?" One passenger asked, obviously irritated and concerned for his children. All of the tourists looked towards John and Kya, expecting some sort of answer or explanation.

"I have no... plausible idea for you to baffle your minds with at this moment in time," John began, "But what I do know is we are not in the safest of places, and getting out of here is going to be tricky."

"Well Done!" Another passenger stated sarcasticly, "Who do you think you are?" Kya merely looked up towards John, nervous. The staring passengers were growing increasingly angry and anxious.

"My name is John Tracy, and..." He cut himself off. Kya nudged him in the ribs in order to try and get him to finish his sentence, but it had no result. John had his eyes fixed upon a rather large titanium box that was positioned not 10 meters in front of the tourists. Coincidence? In turn the passengers turned around and stared at the box themselves, backing away slowly. John, curious, walked towards it, only to see through a small glass square, a putrid green gas. Immediately, John turned around and began to walk back, gesturing to Kya to meet him halfway.

"The box is filled with the Propetyroline Gas you've been researching with Brains." He said, looking around for some shelter or barrier.

"Great," She started, "If there's enough in there, it could spread throughout the entire Canyon, and if the wind picks up any more, the residue could be over town in a matter of hours."

"Eric, how are you?" Jeff spoke down the phone.

"Not too bad. What about you, you old git?" He joked back.

"Cause for concern actually." Jeff's tone took on a more formal state, " I have reason to believe that The Opal is going to strike your headquarters in a matter of hours," He began, "He intends to use Alan and Fermat to get to us, in which case we will, of coarse, go to their aid. It is our understanding that they will then use the Thunderbirds to fly out towards you and take hold of one of the Rockets, therefore causing all-sorts of trouble."

"I see..." Eric muttered... drifting into thought. "Well all we can do is wait I suppose, old chap. We'll be waiting for them." A few moments later, the phone was put down, and Jeff went to join the remainder of his family in front of the television.

"That's all we know right now,George, back to the studio."

"Thanks Karen. It appears the thick green smoke is in fact some sort of poisonous gas and local scientists and decontamination experts have been called to the scene. It is now acknowledged that a touring helicopter recently made an emergency landing into the Canyon itself, but the whereabouts of its passengers are still unknown at this time. Stay tuned for more breaking news."

There was a small flash as Jeff switched off the television.

"What about John?" Virgil asked, knowing already of the answer that awaited his ears.

"I don't know." Jeff replied, "But what I do know is that it gives us an excuse to go into the Canyon. Brains has finished the analysis on the Gas and it can be counteracted with a magnesium compound. Boys get ready and meet me in the Thunderbird 2 silo, Virgil, Scott, you two take Thunderbird one and start to spray the magnesium compound over the effected area of the Canyon. The rest of us will drop Brains off with the scientists and be ready for when the gas is cleared, looks like we'll have to go and find them on foot." It didn't take much for Jeff to make the boys spring up onto their feet and rush to get ready. Within a matter of minuets they were in the air and on their way. Jeff called NASA in advance to warn them of their progress and then the investigators on the scene.

"So. John." Kya started, staring out of the small hole, "What now?" There was hushed talking and children crying. John had lead the convoy of people into the entrance of the Mine, minutes before the box had exploded, letting out masses of the Propetyroline Gas. In a genius moment, the group of people had placed their coats up against the Mines entrance, stopping any of the gas from entering. It was a matter of waiting now. But John was itching to walk down into the mine, he knew that Alan and Fermat could be just meters away.

"Can you hear that?" One passenger asked, looking towards John.

"Yes, it sounds like rain." He replied, waling over to their make-shift door and, holding his breath, poked his head out. It was raining a milky coloured solution, which was causing the gas to disperse and dissolve into the air. Thunderbird 2 landed in the Canyon and Kya helped move the people towards it, at least they would get out. Jeff met them there and helped everyone aboard, everyone that is, except John. He was walking back towards the mines opening.

"John!" Kya called out, running after him, watching him walk into the entrance. Within seconds both of them disappeared into the mine. Jeff decided to take the passengers up onto the higher ground to get checked out, then pick them up afterwards, it would be easier.

"John?" Kya asked in a voice close to a whisper.

"Yeah?" He replied, just as she walked into him. It was pitch black in the mine tunnel, and walking into each other and rocks seemed to be in a growing frequency. There was a sudden shout and John shouted back: "Alan?"

"John!" Replied two voices at the same time. But before anything else could be said, there was a rumbling beneath their feet and both Kya and John fell.