PERCHANCE TO DREAM by TB's LMC RATED FRT

Alan and Tin-Tin go exploring in one of the caves on Tracy Island. But when a new tunnel is discovered, it leads the residents of Tracy Island on a journey they will never forget.
 

The quotes at the beginning and end of this story are from Shakespeare's Hamlet:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream...

"I've never been this far in," Tin-Tin commented as she picked her way along the uneven cave floor.

"Me either. I didn't even know there was another tunnel in this cave."

"I'll bet the cave wall has only recently fallen to make it visible. It's amazing that it's big enough for us to walk upright."

Alan nodded as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I can't understand why it's so hot down here. Usually these caves are much cooler than this. What could be causing it?"

"Don't know. Possibly a hot spring further along?"

"Guess so. You sure you don't mind if we keep going?"

She flashed him a grin. "Not at all. I enjoy exploring new places. Who'd have thought there'd be one right here on the island?"

"Yeah, wait'll we tell Scott and Virg. They're gonna be sorry they decided not to come with us!"

"I sure wish we'd gone with Alan and Tin-Tin."

"Oh, stop complaining, Virg, it's not that bad."

"This from the man not hanging upside-down."

Scott chuckled as he looked down and eyed his brother's flushed face. Virgil reached out and grasped a piece of rock jutting out from the cliff face. Hanging from his harness, he thanked the heavens again for the fact that he'd put it on to begin with. He hadn't been rock climbing in ages and had readily agreed to Scott's suggestion that they wear safety harnesses. For he'd just lost his footing and free-fallen over six feet, the harness catching him in mid-fall.

As he finally righted himself, he rubbed the bottom of his ribcage and grumbled, "That's gonna leave a bruise."

"You okay, softie?"

His face darkened. "Softie?" Then his eyes narrowed as he began his ascent again. "I'll show you softie."

Scott's eyes lit up as he reached out and grabbed the next outcropping. Muscles strained beneath tanned skin covered with a thin sheen of sweat as he hoisted himself up to the next foothold.

"Better hurry it up, old man, I'm gainin' on ya!"

"Fat chance!"

Virgil grinned as he continued up the side of the cliff. He was about halfway up and only a few feet lower than his older brother. Healthy competition was always invigorating, especially when things on the island were dead.

And dead they'd been. Dead as a doornail. International Rescue hadn't seen any action in nearly six weeks. Everyone was going crazy. So crazy that their father, who rarely left Tracy Island, had decided to take Gordon to New York City for a visit to Tracy Corporation's headquarters. Gordon had jumped at the chance. Which told everyone else precisely how bored he truly was.

"Hurry it up, Virg, you're slowin' down!" Scott called out as he neared the peak.

"Hurry this up, big brother!" Virgil yelled. Scott's eyes grew big as he watched Virgil's hand reach out to the length of rope trailing beneath him. He knew what he was going to do and knew there was no way to keep him from doing it. He let out a small yelp as Virgil yanked the rope, forcing Scott to lose his grip and fall toward him.

Virgil gracefully sidestepped on a tiny ledge as Scott whooshed past him. He was laughing at the grimace on his brother's face when it suddenly dawned on him...Scott wasn't stopping.

The eldest Tracy son had realized as much a split-second later and cried out, "VIRG!"

Virgil let go of the rock face and lunged at the rope, whose tail end was rapidly approaching him. He successfully grabbed it with both hands, but gravity and Scott's weight continued pulling it down, down, down. The rope slipped through his hands and he cried out as it burned his palms raw. His own fall, which had begun as soon as he'd grabbed the rope, meant that Scott was still falling, and fast.

"Virgil!"

"Scott!"

"Oof!" Scott grunted as he jerked to a stop. When he opened his eyes, he found himself upside-down, the rock-strewn sand merely a foot from his face. "God, that was close," he whispered. He righted himself and planted his feet firmly on the ground before looking up to see what state his brother was in. "Virg? You all right?"

Just then something fell from the sky, something that felt like a warm drop of rain. It landed on Scott's hand and when he lifted it up to look at it, he was surprised to see that in spite of the gathering storm clouds, it wasn't rain at all. It was blood.

"Virgil! Virgil, are you all right?"

Grimacing at the pain coming from his hands, Virgil nodded as he fingered the release on his harness. Slowly it propelled him downward until at last he was on terra firma. "Sorry about that," he ground out as Scott unfastened his harness for him.

"Not your fault. I obviously didn't stake my tether in well enough up top. Are you bleeding?"

Feeling like a horse's ass, Virgil nodded and held his hands out for Scott to see.

"Jesus, man. Rope burn?"

"Yep. Guess that'll teach me."

"We should get you back to the house so Brains can fix you up. Hey, at least you got injured for a good cause."

"I did?"

"Yeah. You kept me from breaking my neck."

In spite of the pain, Virgil smiled wickedly. "And that's a good thing?"

"It's getting hotter, Alan."

"I know. I'm sweatin' buckets here. Jesus."

"How much further do you think this goes?"

"I don't know, but it's been a downward slope the entire way. We must be at least two miles below sea level by now." Alan could tell his companion was fatigued, so he stopped and turned to face her. "What say we rest for a bit?"

She nodded gratefully and sank onto the cave floor. But as soon as her bare legs hit it, she howled and sprang to her feet.

"What is it?"

"The floor! It's as hot as an iron! I burned my legs!"

Alan came around behind her to inspect the damage with his flashlight. Sure enough, two red welts began to appear on the backs of her thighs. Frowning, he crouched down and touched his fingertips to the floor. He hissed and jerked his hand back. It was like touching a hot stove burner.

"What the hell?"

"Alan, I don't understand this. The rock in this cave shouldn't be anything but cold and clammy." Tin-Tin winced as she touched the back of one leg.

"You wanna go back?"

"Are you kidding? This is incredible! I have to find out what's at the end of this tunnel!"

"What if it doesn't end?"

She flashed him a quick smile. "Then we'll spend forever down here. Alone. Together."

He raised his eyebrows. "I think I could handle that. Are you sure you're all right, though?" He shined his flashlight on her legs again. "Those don't look so good."

"I'm fine. Let's keep going."

"A-And how did you say this happened a-again?"

"I fell. Virg caught me," Scott replied quickly. A little too quickly, he realized, as Brains eyed him suspiciously. The engineer had just finished wrapping gauze around both of Virgil's hands and cocked his head first at one brother then the other.

"We could really u-use a rescue," Brains said simply. "You two a-are gonna end up with broken, uh, bones if it stays this quiet a-around here."

Virgil chuckled as he got up off the hospital bed. "Right you are. Thanks, Brains. Any word from John?"

"No, 'fraid not," he replied as he began returning various tubes of burn gel and packages of gauze to a nearby cabinet. "I-I spoke to him briefly a-about the array, but Earth's pretty safe of late."

"Well, I'm hungry," Scott announced.

"You're always hungry," Virgil replied.

"Taking care of you is a full-time job. Gives a guy an appetite."

"Very funny," Virgil nearly pouted as he followed Scott out of Tracy Island's hospital ward. "And I suppose saving your ass isn't even gonna be mentioned."

"God, we need something to happen around here!" Brains said as he watched them go.

Sweat poured down Alan's face and into the fabric of his gray muscle shirt. Finally he couldn't stand the discomfort anymore. He stopped and Tin-Tin almost ran right into him.

"Warn a girl before you do that!" she chided.

"Sorry," he replied, sliding his backpack off his shoulders. "I've gotta take this shirt off. I'm dying here!"

"At least you can."

"At least I can what?" he queried as he pulled the shirt off over his head.

"Take your shirt off."

"Well, you could too, you know."

"Alan..."

"What? It's darker than night down here except for our flashlights. Honestly, who's gonna see you?"

"Uh...you."

He wiggled his eyebrows as she shined her light in his face. "I know," he grinned.

"Alan Tracy, you are hopeless."

"And you're beautiful. Even soaking wet with sweat."

"Shut up and let's keep going before I melt."

He sighed as he stuffed the shirt into his bag and swung it over one shoulder. "Yes, ma'am. Can't blame a guy for trying."

She smiled secretly as they continued their trek. Truth be told, Tin-Tin Kyrano wouldn't have minded one bit taking her tank top off just now, but she enjoyed this game she and Alan had been playing for so long. She knew his brothers considered her a big tease, but that's just how their relationship was. They teased each other, mercilessly sometimes. And sometimes they fought like cats and dogs. But neither of them had ever taken that one little step that would move them across the line from flirtation to love.

As she picked her way along the gravelly floor, Tin-Tin watched Alan's strong, well-toned legs stride confidently along in front of her. She raised her flashlight up until it reached his firm behind then up along the well-tanned muscular back until at last the light reached his very blonde hair. He sure was gorgeous. All of the Tracys were, though, so Tin-Tin knew there had to be more to the fluttering in her stomach than Alan's looks. But at this point, she wasn't quite ready to stop and think about it enough to discover what exactly it was. No, for now she was content to remain just the way they were -- best friends. For now.

Scott couldn't help but laugh. His grandmother frowned good-naturedly at him as Kyrano turned his face away to hide an inappropriate smile. There was poor Virgil, doing his best to manage a fork and knife with his two hands looking like something from a mummy movie.

"Aww, want me to feed you, honey?" Scott drawled sweetly, scooting his chair closer to his brother's.

Virgil shot him a death look before returning his concentration to the tasty meal he couldn't seem to get from the plate to his mouth to save his life.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Kyrano offered. It wasn't unusual for these men to act like high school boys sometimes, but Kyrano truly felt bad for the injured brother trying valiantly to restore his dignity by getting a spoonful of peas to his mouth.

Virgil sighed and let the spoon clatter down onto the plate. "How?" he asked, turning hopeful eyes toward his father's old friend, and doing his best to ignore his brother's amused countenance.

Kyrano reached into his soft gray robes and pulled out a long beige handkerchief. "If I may," he said quietly, reaching out to take Virgil's hand. The younger man nodded and placed one bandaged hand into Kyrano's.

He reached down and picked up the spoon. Everyone watched as he slowly and carefully wrapped the handkerchief round and round Virgil's hand, entwining the spoon in it until at last he fastened it by tying a knot at the back of his hand. When he finished, Virgil found the utensil securely strapped to his hand. He grinned like a little kid and scooped up a mound of peas then shoved them into his mouth.

"Good one, Kyrano," Grandma smiled as they turned to leave the room.

"Thanks, Kyrano!" Virgil called out through a mouthful of food.

Kyrano stopped, turned to face him, nodded silently then continued on his way.

"You still can't cut your steak," Scott reminded him as he made a great show of doing just that on his own plate.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to eat yours!" Virgil crowed, scooping two bits of steak off Scott's plate and into his mouth.

"Hey! Give that back!" Scott cried, hopping out of his chair.

Virgil stopped in mid-chew and looked right into his brother's eyes. "You really want 'em back?" Then he opened his mouth wide to reveal the half-mauled pieces of beef.

He made a face. "Not after they've been in your mouth." Scott sat back down and shoved his plate over to Virgil then picked Virgil's plate up and took it for himself.

Virgil batted his eyes and leaned his head dramatically on Scott's shoulder. "Awww, thank you, baby."

Scott jerked away in mock disgust then burst out laughing. "You know, if Dad were here, he'd be frowning right now."

"No, he'd be sending us to our rooms for acting so juvenile."

"Speaking of juvenile, I wonder where Al is."

Virgil laughed out loud. "Oh, he'd kill you if he heard you say that."

"I know. But he's not here, so what the hell. Seriously, I don't like the look of those clouds. He and Tin-Tin should've been back by now."

"There you go again with that big brother worry wart shit."

"Oh, shut up," Scott growled as he shoved a piece of steak into his mouth.

"You're right, though. Who knows with those two. They're probably exploring each other instead of the cave."

"Shhh!" Scott hissed, throwing his brother a warning glance. "Tin-Tin's father is just in the next room!"

"Whoops. But really, you can't tell me he doesn't know about them."

"Know what about them?"

Virgil just shook his head. "Duh, Scott."

"Duh what? They haven't done anything."

"Oh, really? And how do you know that?"

"Damn. You did it to me again."

"I can get anything out of anybody. It's my guile, wit and unbelievable charm."

"I'll buy guile, and even wit. But I plead the fifth on charm."

"You don't find me charming?"

"Not in the least," Scott replied haughtily as he finished the food on his plate.

"Hm. Well, at least Linda found me charming."

Scott's mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "You didn't!"

Virgil winked and smiled as he rose from his seat.

"Holy shit! You told me you two just talked when we got back from the mainland!"

"No, I said we talked. I didn't say we just talked."

"Sonofabitch. You're a male ho', you know that?"

Virgil perched in the doorway leading to the Lounge. "I learned from the best!" he laughed then took off at lightning speed.

Scott contemplated his options. If he knew his brother, he was headed for his suite. And if Scott went through the door on the other side of the kitchen, he'd cut him off at the pass. He darted into the kitchen, past his surprised grandmother, past a stunned Kyrano, and through the opposite door.

"Those boys," Grandma clucked, shaking her head. "Won't they ever grow up?"

"I hope not," Kyrano replied, smiling. "They keep us young."

"Ah, that they do. That they do."

"Alan, wait."

He stopped and turned, shining his flashlight just to the right of her face. "What is it?"

Tin-Tin was panting from the heat as she replied, "I've got to put my hair up. Hold on while I get a scrunchie out of my bag."

"Here, I'll help."

Within a few minutes, Tin-Tin had tied her hair back into a ponytail. Both she and Alan were drenched with sweat and wondering whether turning back might not be a good idea. Just as she opened her mouth to suggest as much, her flashlight went out. "Oh, man!" she complained, shaking it and slapping it against her hand. "My luck."

"Well, at least we've still got--" Alan was cut off in mid-sentence as his flashlight, too, blinked out.

"Famous last words."

Alan groaned. "Unbelievable. How are we supposed to find our way outta here?"

Tin-Tin squinted into the distance in front of them. "Alan," she said softly, "Look."

"Hm?" he mumbled as he turned toward the sound of her voice. Then he realized what she was looking at. Not more than three hundred yards in front of them there was a small pinkish glow. "What is that?"

"I don't know. Maybe if we find out, it'll help explain why it's so hot down here."

"No, Tin-Tin," he said, grabbing her arm. "We don't have lights. There could be anything between us and that glow...loose rock, a chasm. We can't possibly be certain it's safe."

"Alan Tracy, since when did you think about safety when faced with a challenge?"

"You have a point. I'll admit it, I'm as curious as you are. Okay, we'll check it out. But I go first."

"Deal."

Alan took the lead and, Tin-Tin's hand clasped firmly in his own, began inching along the wall. Closer and closer they came, their eyes never leaving the pinpoint of light that drew them to it. Suddenly Alan cried out and pushed himself backward right into Tin-Tin. The two tumbled to the floor as Tin-Tin yelled, "OUCH! ALAN!"

He quickly rolled off her then helped her to her feet. "Sorry."

"What did you do that for?"

"Just what I was afraid of. I almost walked off the edge."

"The edge?"

"Yes. Here, listen." Alan picked up a pebble and tossed it in front of them. Neither of them heard it hit anything.

"Ohhhh," she breathed. "But Alan, we can't stop now! We've almost reached it!"

"How do you propose we get across a gorge without flashlights?"

"Can you tell how wide it is?"

Alan picked up a handful of small rocks and began throwing them, listening to the sound of them falling or not falling to earth. After doing this about twenty times he finally said, "Best I can figure it's only about five feet across."

"Good. Then you can lay down and be my bridge."

"Funny, Tin-Tin."

"You think I'm kidding?"

"You'd better be."

She laughed. Then something occurred to her. "Alan!"

"What?"

"When we fell to the floor just now...it didn't burn us!"

"You're right. It didn't. And you know...it's much cooler here. I'm not sweating anymore."

"Me either. I didn't even notice when it happened."

"No. How odd."

"That still doesn't solve the chasm issue."

"No, it doesn't. I wonder what the walls are like. Maybe we could climb up and over."

"I sure wish we could see well enough to figure it out."

As if on cue, Alan's backpack began to glow. "What the-" He slid it off his shoulder and opened it to find both of their flashlights operating perfectly. They just looked at one another as they each palmed a light. "I'm not even gonna ask."

Tin-Tin shone her light toward the chasm. "Doesn't look like there's a way across," she said dejectedly.

"Damn!" Alan said, kicking rocks and sand with his foot. To both of their amazement, one larger rock skidded to a stop...right in the middle of the gorge! It just sat there as though suspended in mid-air. "My eyes can't be seeing this."

Tin-Tin crouched down and grabbed another rock. She and Alan looked at each other then she tossed the rock ahead. It landed right next to the other one, seemingly atop nothing at all, and yet sitting there as though something solid were beneath it. "That must be the way across."

"Are you kidding? There's nothing there!"

"There must be! The rocks aren't sitting on nothing!"

Alan kicked some sand ahead. Some of it skittered over the edge into the void below, but some landed on what now seemed to be an invisible bridge.

"I'm gonna try it," Tin-Tin said, determination written all over her face.

"Tin-Tin! No!" Alan grabbed her as she began to take a step forward.

"Let go of me."

"No. Even if there is something there, how do you know it'll hold you? I was right, the thing's only five feet across. We can jump it."

"You might be able to, but I'm a lot shorter than you are. I'm trying the bridge."

"You're insane."

She reached down and took two handfuls of sand. Placing one tentative foot out, she tossed some sand further in front of her, and then some more and some more. She walked slowly across, following the trail of sand and not daring to look beyond. Alan held his breath as she crossed. God, if something happened to her...if that stupid invisible bridge gave way beneath her, if it ended...if anything...he'd never forgive himself.

At last she reached the other side, and turned to face him, smiling broadly. "See? Nothing to it. Come on!"

Alan breathed in deeply then followed the trail of sand. Luckily whatever the thing was made out of, it supported his much heavier body and he was soon standing next to Tin-Tin on the other side of the gap. They both turned their flashlights down to it one more time. Tin-Tin gasped as the bridge suddenly seemed to collapse, sending the sand, rocks and pebbles clattering along the walls of the chasm into the nothingness below.

"Shit," Alan swore. "Now we'll never get back across."

"Sure we will. You can jump it, remember? Come on, it can't be far now."

The two continued ahead, both noticing that the air was now growing progressively colder, much more like a cave this deep really should be. At last they reached a dead end. There was nothing but a wall in front of them. But the pink glow had disappeared. They didn't see anything anywhere. Just rock.

"I don't get it," Alan said.

"Turn off your flashlight. We probably can't see it because of them."

They both clicked their lights off. Sure enough, the pink glow was right in the center of the wall. It was coming from behind it, that much they could tell, through a hole no larger than the circumference of a pen.

Without really thinking about it, both of them began to claw at the wall and discovered it was no more than hardened dirt. It fell away fairly easily beneath their efforts. Before long they'd widened the hole to the size of a basketball. Tin-Tin shoved her face into it but could see nothing except a bright pink glow coming from the center of what seemed to be a large cavern.

"Keep digging," Alan said. She nodded and the two continued scraping at the dirt, alternately using their fingers and nearby rocks.

At last it looked big enough for Tin-Tin to squeeze through and, despite Alan's protests, she did just that. The glow was so bright it hurt her eyes. Shading them with her arm, she advanced upon the source of the pink light as Alan frantically tried to widen the hole enough so he could get his larger frame through.

"Don't go any closer 'til I get in there!" he panted as he tore at the dirt. But she didn't respond. He watched as her arm came down from her face and rested limply at her side. "Tin-Tin?" Still no response. "Tin-Tin! Dammit!" Alan shoved himself into the hole, wriggling and grunting as he forced himself through. "Tin-Tin, wait!"

But Tin-Tin wasn't hearing Alan's pleas. She wasn't hearing or seeing anything at all. A blank stare upon her face, she drew closer and closer to the glow, as though being pulled by some invisible force.

Finally Alan popped out of the hole and into the cavern. He scrambled to his feet and rushed toward her just as the pink glow enveloped her. "Tin-Tin!" he cried. Just as he reached the spot where he'd last seen her, he slammed into something that felt like a brick wall. Blood trickled down his forehead as he landed on his back with a thump. He groaned in agony as his head began to pound. Sharp rocks dug into his back...but they felt sharper than just plain, ordinary rocks.

He came to a sitting position and looked down at the floor. No wonder his back hurt so much...the floor wasn't littered with rocks, it was littered with shards of...what? Alan picked one of them up and examined it. "Crystal," he breathed. "Shards of crystal." He looked up toward the object from which the glow emanated. Slowly the light began to fade, almost retreat. As it grew dimmer within the cavern, the object itself finally became visible. It was a huge pink crystal standing at least eight feet tall. One pointed end rested on the cavern floor while the other seemed to be attached to the ceiling.

"Tin-Tin?" he called out. She was nowhere to be seen. "Tin-Tin, where are you?"

He began walking around the crystal, keeping one hand out in front of him so as not to have another run-in with whatever had knocked him on his ass. As he circled the crystal, it began to rotate. Slowly at first, the top and bottom grinding against the rock. Then it began to spin faster. Faster and faster and faster, grinding and scraping, almost like the sound made when you scrape your fingernails down a chalkboard. Alan's hands flew to his ears as the sound grew louder and louder.

The pink glow had almost completely disappeared, and Alan could see the center of the pale pink crystal. What he saw stopped his heart. For within the crystal, inside its walls, was none other than...

"TIN-TIN!"

It was whirling rapidly now. Suddenly something seemed to come out of it, something that made the air shimmer, and before Alan knew it, a shockwave slammed into him, hurtling his body into the cavern wall. All he knew next was darkness.

Kyrano stood out on the beach as large drops of rain began to fall. He was concerned that Alan and his daughter had not returned. The sun had set over an hour ago, and the storm, it seemed, was upon them. He knew both of the young adults could take care of themselves, but it was never beyond a father's place to worry, and worry he did.

Something just wasn't right. This went beyond standard concern, and deep down Kyrano knew that. The special insight he had into the world, into the minds and hearts of man...and the connection he had to his daughter...told him something was definitely wrong. What, he didn't know. And Jeff wasn't here to talk to.

True, Jefferson Tracy had never really been one to believe in the things Kyrano believed in, but he always listened to what Kyrano had to say, and in many cases he would follow his friend's advice, even if he didn't really understand where his wisdom came from. As he headed back to the house, Kyrano decided that Jeff's oldest son would have to do. He just hoped Scott would take him as seriously as his father did.

Alan moaned as he slowly came back to the land of the living. For a moment, he hadn't a clue what was going on and wondered if he'd been injured during a rescue or something. Then his eyes blinked open and he realized he couldn't see a thing. He was surrounded by pitch black. And it all came back to him.

"Tin-Tin!" he cried out, struggling to his feet. He winced as various parts of his body protested the sudden and violent movement, but he couldn't think about the pain right now. Where was she? "Tin-Tin!"

He crouched down and felt along the floor for his flashlight. He vaguely recalled having dropped it when the shockwave hit him, but had no idea where he was now in relation to where he'd been standing at the time. He kept calling out for Tin-Tin but received only silence in response. Finally after ten long minutes of searching, his hand bumped into the flashlight and he grabbed it, quickly turning it on.

The crystal still stood before him, but in stark contrast to its previous appearance, it looked dull and dirty now and no light at all shone from what had once seemed to be a brilliant star. Worst of all, Tin-Tin was nowhere to be found.

"My God," Alan whispered in disbelief. "Tin-Tin. Where'd you go? Tin-Tin!" he called out again in vain. Although the cavern was gigantic, there was nothing in it save the large crystal in the middle of the room. There wasn't anyplace Tin -Tin could've gone other than, perhaps, back out the way they'd entered.

Alan raced to the hole in the wall, grabbing both his and Tin-Tin's backpacks on the way. He shoved them out in front of him then wiggled his own way through. When he popped out the other side, there was still no sign of her. "TIN-TIN!" he hollered. Only his own voice echoed back to him.

When he reached the chasm, a sudden terrible thought twisted his stomach like a wrung cloth. He peered over the edge, shining his light down into it. "Please no," he breathed. "Please tell me she didn't..."

He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the terrifying vision away. Tin-Tin was smarter than that. If she had come back out this way, perhaps to get help after being unable to rouse him, she would've remembered the chasm. She would've.

"She would've," he said aloud, trying desperately to convince himself of it.

There was no sign of the invisible bridge which had been their path on the way into this nightmare, so Alan backed up, got a good running start and leapt across the five-foot gap, landing on the other side in a crouched position. Without taking the time to breathe a sigh of relief, he began to run. His body ached, and dried blood lined his back and was caked onto his forehead and face. But Alan took no heed of his own distress. All he could think about was Tin-Tin. For all intents and purposes, and to the best of his knowledge, she had disappeared. How would he ever find her?

Since he hadn't been able to find Scott in his suite, the game room, the gym, or Thunderbird 1's hangar, Kyrano decided to head for the laboratory to speak to Brains. He hadn't seen Virgil in his travels either, and assumed the two were together. Hopefully Brains would be able to tell him where.

For his part, Brains didn't even know it was storming outside. He was buried in paperwork, putting different ideas together and trying to work out a page-long formula for one or another of his chemical inventions. Kyrano found him thus entangled in his work. He had chimed a few times at the door, but when Brains hadn't answered, Kyrano just let himself in.

He chanced upon him sitting at a desk in the near corner of the lab's first room. He smiled as the engineer pored over his papers, and for a brief moment, admired once again how the young man looked without those horrid glasses he had worn not too long ago. Thankfully he'd gotten himself corrective surgery in spite of his dislike for doctors "working" on him, as he'd put it. Yes, Brains did indeed look much better without them.

"Brains," Kyrano said softly so as not to startle him.

But Brains didn't answer. He didn't even look up.

Kyrano cleared his throat and approached him. It never ceased to amaze him how the man could block out the entire world when he was really involved in what he was doing. It was like he was in his own little place, somewhere no one could reach him. And Kyrano didn't doubt that he truly was. He reached his hand out and placed it upon a slender shoulder.

"Brains."

This got his attention. He blinked several times and looked up at the older man. "Oh, uh, hello, Kyrano. I-I didn't hear you come in."

"I know. That is all right. I am sorry for the intrusion, but I need to speak with Scott and cannot seem to locate him. You wouldn't by any chance know where I might find him?"

"Uh, no, I-I'm afraid I haven't seen them since I, uh, fixed up Virgil's hands earlier. I-Is everything o-okay?"

"I do not believe so," Kyrano replied, his eyes darkening. "Tin-Tin and Alan have not yet returned from their expedition."

"They haven't? But they left this morning!"

Kyrano was vaguely aware that Brains hadn't stuttered, but he was busy trying to find his daughter's mind, trying to connect to her, trying to discover her whereabouts, and if she was okay. Brains watched him, ever fascinated by his special abilities. Fascinated and somewhat envious at times. If only he could see, hear and feel things the way Kyrano did...it would make for fantastic scientific study.

Brains nearly fell out of his chair when Kyrano gasped, grabbing the back of the chair to keep upright. The engineer hurried to his feet, his hand upon Kyrano's arm, his brow furrowed with concern. "What...what is it? What's wrong?" he asked.

Kyrano's eyes closed then snapped open. "Tin-Tin," he whispered. "My God, Tin-Tin!"

"What about her? Where is she?"

Kyrano let go of the chair and staggered out of Brains' grasp. He backed into a workbench and slid down against it to the floor. His eyes were wide, his jaw hung open. Brains rushed to his side and knelt next to him, hands upon his arm and leg. He looked into Kyrano's eyes, but could tell his friend wasn't quite all there with him.

"Kyrano," he whispered. "Where are you?"

But Kyrano didn't answer.

Alan ran and ran. He ran forever, it seemed, stumbling and falling a couple of times, but didn't feel like he was getting anywhere. He was aware that there was no heat in the cave, not like there had been as he and Tin-Tin had made their way down toward the crystal cavern. The cave seemed colder and damper than it ever had, a fact not lost upon Alan, who'd seen a beautifully glowing pink crystal change into something that looked like nothing more than a cheap bauble.

Finally he reached the place where the new tunnel intersected with the old one. With a cry of relief, he pushed his way through the opening and headed back up toward the surface. He knew it was only another mile until he reached the entrance out on the side of the island. And then it'd be another twenty-minute sprint back to the villa. With any luck, he'd find Tin-Tin somewhere along the way. With any luck, she'd turn out to be just fine. With any luck, he wouldn't have to tell her father he'd lost her.

No matter what Brains tried, nothing he did woke Kyrano out of the trance-like state he'd slipped into. More than a little frightened, Brains raised his watch to his face and spoke. "This is Brains calling Scott. Brains to Scott, come in, please."

"Scott here," the dark-haired man replied as his face appeared in Brains' watch. "What's up, Brains?"

"I-I need you in the lab, uh, right away! Something's wrong with Kyrano!"

"We're on our way!"

"What did he mean, something's wrong with Kyrano?" Virgil asked as he and Scott rode the elevator up from Thunderbird 2's hangar.

"Don't know, but he looked a little scared."

"Scared? Brains?"

"I know. That's what worries me." When the elevator reached the lab level, the door slid open. "Come on!" Scott said as they raced toward the laboratory.

They skidded to a halt outside the door. Scott quickly keyed in the entry code and the door swished open. Brains was still kneeling at Kyrano's side. Scott fell to his knees on the older man's other side, while Virgil crouched at his feet.

"What happened?" Virgil asked as Scott took Kyrano's pulse.

"I don't know. He, uh, came in here looking for you, Scott. Then he voiced concern o-over the fact that, uh, Alan and Tin -Tin hadn't yet returned from their hike."

"They haven't returned?" Scott repeated, looking Brains right in the eye.

"That's what he, uh, said. A-And then he called out Tin-Tin's name and fell back against the, uh, workbench here. He's been like this e-ever since."

"Oh, God, I wonder if something happened to them." Scott lifted his watch to his face. "Scott to Alan, Scott to Alan. Come in, Alan."

There was no reply.

"I-If they're in the caves, the, uh, signal won't reach them," Brains offered.

"Scott calling Tin-Tin. Tin-Tin, can you read me?"

Again, nothing.

"Virgil, get Thunderbird 2 in the air and around to the cave entrance. I'll help Brains get Kyrano to the hospital ward then I'll grab a hover bike. And keep trying to contact them on their com watches."

"F.A.B."

"Come on, Brains, let's get Kyrano out of here."

"O-Okay."

Brains took Kyrano's feet as Scott grasped him under his armpits. Together they made their way to the elevator and up to the hospital ward. Once they got Kyrano settled into a bed, Scott said, "Okay, Brains, now look after Kyrano, and see if you can't get John to pick up something on thermal imaging from Thunderbird 5."

"F.A.B."

Scott raced out of the ward and headed for Thunderbird 2’s hangar. "Scott calling Thunderbird 2."

"I read you."

"Where are you?"

"Just about to take off."

"Okay, hang on, I'm on my way out of the hangar now. I'll join you instead of taking a bike."

"F.A.B."

Scott sprinted down the runway and up the ramp alongside the gigantic hulk of Thunderbird 2. Soaking wet from the pouring rain, he hoisted himself up into a hatch midway back on her nose and took the turbo lift up to the cockpit. He strapped himself into a passenger seat just as Virgil fired the ship's booster rockets. "Any luck raising either of them yet?" he asked.

"No, nothing." Virgil hadn't bothered to put on his uniform and neither did Scott.

"I've got Brains contacting John to see if he can pick anything up on his scanners."

"Good idea," Virgil replied as 2 began moving up the ramp. "Boy, it feels good to be in here again. I just wish it weren't because Alan and Tin-Tin are missing."

"If this is them being stupid kids, I'll kill 'em. I'll kill 'em both."

"I don't know, Scott," Virgil replied as he watched his instruments. It was raining so hard they couldn't see through the cockpit windows. "Somehow I doubt even Alan would stay down there this long. Especially not when Tin-Tin's with him."

"Yeah, you've got a point."

"Don't worry. I'm sure they're fine. Maybe they just got carried away and didn't realize how much time had passed."

"Six hours, Virgil? Six hours?"

Virgil sighed as he tried to raise their youngest brother again. There was still no response. He circled Thunderbird 2 around and headed for the area a quarter of the way around the island from the villa. Just as he began easing out of the turn, a voice came through the com.

"Thunderbird 5 calling Thunderbird 2. Come in."

"Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 5, reading you loud and clear."

"Virgil, what the hell's goin' on down there? Brains is stammering so bad I can barely understand him!"

Scott piped up. "Did you find any trace of Alan or Tin-Tin?"

"No, nothing yet, but if they're in that set of caves Alan likes so much, I wouldn't get anything unless they were about a half-mile from the...hang on, wait a minute...I think I'm getting something."

"What? Is it Alan? Tin-Tin?"

"I've got one life form, guys! Seems to be moving pretty fast. Just appeared on my scope, whoever it is must have just passed the half-mile point in the entry tunnel."

"Only one?" Virgil asked.

"Yeah, Virg. Only one."

Virgil turned to his older brother. Scott's expression matched his own. If there was only one person running out of the cave, that meant the other one...Virgil closed his eyes for a moment then opened them as he came to the spot near the cave entrance. He hovered overhead and slowly lowered altitude. He flipped on the external camera, and the video screen in front of them sprang to life.

The darkness of the night and the torrential downpour made visibility close to zero. Virgil turned on the ship's floodlights, illuminating the area enough that if there had been a person down there, they would've been able to see them.

"Okay, I'm picking them up on my thermal scanner now," Virgil said. "They're nearly at the entrance."

"Lower me in the rescue cage," Scott said as he rose to his feet.

"All right, but you'd better hang on tight. That wind's picking up, it's bound to be a rough ride."

"F.A.B. Just hold her steady."

By this time, Alan was fighting tears. He hurt so badly he could barely put one foot in front of the other. But he pushed himself, pushed himself hard...harder than he could ever remember having done, even back during astronaut training. Not only that, but he was nearly at the cave entrance and hadn't encountered hide nor hair of Tin-Tin. That meant that she truly had disappeared. Unless...unless he'd been unconscious for longer than he thought and she'd had time to make it out of the cave altogether.

A sound came to his ears, a sound he couldn't quite place at first. And then he realized what it was: rain and wind. There was a storm. He'd been down in the caves for so long, he hadn't even realized the weather had changed so drastically from the clear sunshine of the morning when he and Tin-Tin had hiked together around the island to the cave, laughing and joking, carrying on, flirting, having a marvelous time.

How things had changed. How things had so awfully, terribly changed.

And what was that other sound? Could it be...? Was it...? It was! He knew that sound like the back of his hand. It was Thunderbird 2! That could only mean that Tin-Tin had made it out and back to the villa! She must've told Scott and Virgil he'd passed out in the cavern, and they'd brought Thunderbird 2 over to find him! They were probably just about to land and haul out the Mole.

Tears of relief escaped his eyes and made tracks through the dirt and dust covering his chubby cheeks. He was near hysteria as wild laughter rang from his mouth. He could see the light outside the cave entrance, light undoubtedly being produced by Thunderbird 2. He was almost there. At any moment, Tin-Tin would appear before him. At first she would hug him, relieved to find him alive and more or less well. Then she'd get angry with him for frightening her, and she'd scold him.

He didn't care. She could scold him for a week and he would enjoy every minute, for it would mean she was safe and sound as she should be. He could even swallow his older brothers being pissed off at him. Anything was better than Tin-Tin being gone. Anything.

But as Alan reached the mouth of the cave, the arms he fell into weren't those of Tin-Tin Kyrano.

"God! Alan!" Scott cried. He barely recognized his little brother. The man was covered in filth from head to toe, and dried blood seemed to be everywhere. As Alan collapsed into his arms, Scott raised his wristwatch to his face. "Virgil! I'm getting Al into the rescue cage then you've gotta hightail it back to the house!"

"F.A.B. Let me know when to raise him. Any sign of Tin-Tin?"

"No." Scott lifted his brother into his arms and ran back to the cage. As he laid him inside it, he said, "Alan. Alan, can you hear me? What happened? Where's Tin-Tin?"

Alan's baby blue eyes opened wide, his incoherence morphing into clarity. "She's not...with you?"

"No, Alan! She was with you!"

All things considered, this news was more than Alan could bear and he dissolved into a babbling mess, the words 'crystal' and 'pink' being the only things Scott could understand as fresh tears appeared.

"Virgil, drop me down a rescue pack and get back here on the double with the Mole. I'm going in on foot. Alan thought Tin -Tin was with us!"

"What? Oh, God. All right. Let me get the cage up and I'll drop the pack through the hatch."

"F.A.B."

Scott waited impatiently as the rescue cage rose into the air, the strong wind buffeting it about like a yo-yo at the end of a string. Finally it disappeared into Thunderbird 2's nose. Moments later an oversized backpack thunked to the ground next to him.

"Got the pack, Virg," he said into his watch. "Now hurry it up. We have no idea what's going on with Tin-Tin!"

"F.A.B.!"

As Scott pulled a flashlight out of the backpack and headed for the cave entrance, Thunderbird 2's VTOL rockets fired. He slipped the pack onto his shoulders and shone the light into the cave. He was now soaked to the bone, but barely noticed, so intent was he on finding his target.

"Scott to Thunderbird 5."

"I'm here, Scott, what's going on?"

"Alan's a mess, John. I couldn't get anything out of him except he thought Tin-Tin was with us for some reason. Virgil's taking him back to the house. I'm heading into the cave. I've got a homing beacon in my pack. I want you to keep track of me as far in as you can. And keep scanning to see if you can pick up Tin-Tin."

"F.A.B. All I'm picking up on the island so far are you, Virg and Alan, and then three people in the house."

"That'll be Kyrano, Grandma and Brains. Dammit!"

"Is Virg coming back to join you?"

"Yeah, I told him to bring the Mole. If there was a cave in or something, we'll need it."

"Should I...call Dad?"

Scott stopped dead in his tracks. Their father. He hadn't even stopped to think about that aspect of it. "Yeah, I guess you'd better. He'll get royally pissed off if he finds out we didn't call him right away."

"F.A.B. Scott, be careful."

"I will. Scott out."

"Kyrano, can you hear me?" Brains said softly. Kyrano blinked once and looked into his eyes. "Kyrano?"

The older man grabbed Brains' hand. "She's not here."

"What? Who isn't here?"

"Tin-Tin," he replied, his grip on the engineer's hand tightening. "She's not even on this plane."

"Where is she?"

"I don't...I can't...I'm not certain," he gasped. It was taking everything in him to try and reach his daughter, but although he could sense her, he couldn't establish a firm link no matter what he tried. "Brains, she is not here!"

Brains shook his head, about to say he didn't understand, when his watch com beeped. Extricating his hand from Kyrano's, he lifted his wrist to his face. "This is Brains."

"Brains, it's Virgil. Meet me in the hangar with a hover stretcher. Alan's hurt bad, and I've gotta get back to the cave to help Scott."

"I'm on my way," Brains replied. He laid a hand on Kyrano's arm. "You just stay put. I-I'll be right back." He fetched a stretcher then put it on full speed as he raced out of the hospital ward.

Kyrano squeezed his eyes shut. Why couldn't he communicate with his daughter? Why? And where was she? There was only one thing he knew for sure: Tin-Tin was no longer on Tracy Island. Or beneath it.

Scott ran deeper and deeper into the cave. He kept yelling Tin-Tin's name, but never received a response. He knew this set of caves like the back of his hand. There was one main tunnel, and about two miles in there was another, smaller one that led to a tiny cavern. He assumed that's where Alan had taken Tin-Tin. It had long been a favorite hideout for his youngest brother, a place Alan would go when he wanted to get away from his brothers or the house in general; a place he would go to be alone.

He knew Alan had taken Tin-Tin there once before. Alan had confessed to him that it felt like he was letting her into a part of himself nobody else ever got to see. Scott recalled advising his brother that was a good thing, letting Tin-Tin in like that. He'd tried to ease the younger man's nervousness over how it had made him feel. At the time, he'd found it quite funny that something as simple as a small cavern could be such a big deal to Mr. Self-Centered GQ himself, but at this point, Scott was finding no humor at all in the situation.

Best he could figure, they must've been caught in a cave in. Alan had made it out, but Tin-Tin was probably trapped. He only hoped they found her in time. Of all the rescues they'd been on, this one made Scott move with more urgency than he ever had before. The person in danger this time was someone very close to all of them. She was family. Scott's gut churned as neared the one-mile mark. Tin-Tin had to be okay. She just had to.

"Virgil! What happened?" Brains cried as he took in the state of the youngest Tracy brother.

Virgil laid Alan on the stretcher and helped Brains strap him down. Alan was mumbling incoherently and literally looked like he'd been through the wringer. "I'm not sure. He came charging out of the cave and Scott couldn't get much out of him. I'm taking the Mole out through the secondary door. There isn't a spot big enough near the cave to land Thunderbird 2. Keep in touch with me, okay?"

Brains opened his mouth and then closed it again.

"Brains? What is it?"

"Kyrano...he came to just a few minutes ago. He...well, I-I don't quite understand it, but he said that, uh, Tin-Tin wasn't here."

"Right, he probably meant she wasn't in the house because she's still in the cave."

"No, Virgil. He said she was on a-a different plane."

"Plane? Like an airplane?"

"No, I don't think he meant a-an airplane. I-I think he meant a plane of existence."

Virgil's face scrunched up in confusion. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"I-I don't know, but for some reason, I don't think you and Scott will, uh, find Tin-Tin in those caves."

"Brains, all I know is Alan and Tin-Tin went into that cave together and only Alan came out. That means Tin-Tin has to still be down there! Now I've gotta get going!"

Brains nodded as he took the stretcher toward the elevator. How on earth could he ever hope to explain something to Virgil that he didn't know how to explain to himself? Whatever the reason, though, he was almost certain they wouldn't find Tin-Tin where they thought they would. As he and Alan rode the elevator up to the main level, he looked down at the stricken man and whispered, "What happened down there, Alan? What happened to you?"

"This is Jeff Tracy speaking."

"Father, it's John."

"Oh, hi, John," Jeff smiled into his wrist com. But his smile quickly faded as he saw the look on his middle son's face. "What is it?"

"Father, I'm not really sure what's going on. Alan and Tin-Tin went to Alan's cave this morning and so far only Alan's returned."

"What? Where's Tin-Tin?"

"I don't know, Father. I'm not picking her up on my thermal scans of the island. Alan's pretty beat up from what Scott tells me. Virgil's taken him back to the house and is returning to the cave to help Scott search for Tin-Tin."

"My God, was there a cave in? What does Alan say?"

"We don't know what happened, Dad. Scott said Alan thought Tin-Tin was with them, and when Scott told him she wasn't, he just started babbling incoherently."

"Does Kyrano know she's missing?"

"Well, that's the other thing. Last time I talked to Brains, he said Kyrano was in some sort of trance and calling out to Tin-Tin."

"That's not good. John, Gordon and I are heading home. Find out what's going on and update me as soon as we're in the air."

"F.A.B., Father."

Jeff banged on the door that connected his motel suite to that of his ginger-haired son. "Gordon! Gordon, get over here!"

The door opened to reveal Gordon clad only in his boxer shorts. He'd been relaxing on the bed watching a movie when his father had started pounding on the door. "What the--what's goin' on, Dad?"

"Alan's been hurt and Tin-Tin's missing. We have to get home now. Get dressed, we're leaving here in five minutes!"

Gordon sprang into action and, true to his father's word, five minutes later they were seated in a Tracy Corporation limo and headed for the airport. After giving Gordon what little information he'd received from John, Jeff sat fidgeting in his seat as the limousine wove its way through Manhattan traffic.

"You see?" Jeff finally said. "This is why I never leave the island!"

Gordon nodded silently. He was beginning to see his father's point. Being this far away from home when something went wrong sucked. He felt helpless and just wished he could blink his eyes and be back there helping his brothers look for Tin- Tin and making sure Alan was okay.

Of all his brothers, Gordon was closest to Alan. They'd always been quite the pair, getting themselves into mischief together, taking the blame together, spending their punishment time together. They were the only two who had no recollection of their mother, although John's memories were sketchy at best. They'd always leaned on each other through thick and thin, and although they sometimes fought like hell, they always knew they could turn to one another in times of crisis and need.

And now, as they sped toward the airport, Gordon could do nothing but think about his brother. He had no idea what shape he was in. And Tin-Tin. How could she be missing? What could've happened to her? Oh, God, if anything did happen to her, Alan would never forgive himself. He'd never be able to live without her. Although he hadn't ever put it into words, Gordon knew that deep down Alan really did love Tin-Tin in his own way, even though he didn't know it yet.

"Dad..."

"I know, Gordon. I know."

Scott frowned as he spied a hole in the cave wall. A hole he'd never seen before. "Where'd that come from?" he asked aloud. He approached the entrance and stepped through into a new tunnel, one he never knew existed. "Oh, my God," he breathed. "They found a new branch."

This could mean a whole mess of things, not the least of which was Scott's cave-in theory which wouldn't leave the forefront of his mind no matter how hard he tried to push it away. Tin-Tin and Alan had discovered a new tunnel down here and had followed it. It was probably unstable. But as Scott advanced through it, the walls looked extremely stable and the cave showed no signs of trauma that you'd see if there had been a cave in.

"What the hell did you two get yourselves into?"

Brains pushed the hover stretcher into the hospital ward and struggled to move Alan onto a bed. It was only after he'd shoved the now-empty stretcher to the side that he realized Kyrano was no longer in Bed 2 where he'd left him.

"Kyrano?" he called out as turned on the life monitor above Alan's bed. "Kyrano, a-are you here?"

When he received no response, he cursed under his breath. But he couldn't take time right now to find his wandering patient. He had more immediate concerns. Alan had stopped babbling halfway to the ward and was clearly in shock. His pulse was racing and his eyes were glassy, not to mention the myriad of lacerations covering his face and every other piece of exposed flesh on his body. Brains had to concentrate on the task at hand. He only hoped Kyrano wasn't doing anything foolish.

And indeed he wasn't. Well, at least not outwardly, anyway.

Kyrano had retreated to his suite and now sat cross-legged on the floor in the middle of the sparsely furnished sitting room. To his right was a red pillar candle with three flames flickering from the top. To his left was a similar candle, only white in color. A mixture of sandalwood and myrrh incense permeated the air. Kyrano brought his hands together, palms flat. He took a deep breath, forcing his fears to the furthest recesses of his mind. Exhaling slowly, he began to reach out with his mind, to ask for assistance in his quest to find his daughter.

I ask you, Masters of all that is seen and unseen, I beseech you in my time of need, help me find her. I know she is not with me here. I know she has left this plane. But I alone cannot find her. I ask that the barriers to your realm be removed, if for only a moment in time, if only long enough for me to see that she is well.

He took another deep breath and felt the duality of human existence begin to fall away. It had been a long, long time since he had taken this journey. So long that he had doubted whether the Masters would allow him to again. He drifted up and looked down upon his surroundings. He saw himself sitting in the center of the room. He was leaving the confines of his earthly body, leaving that which bound him to this existence.

I must find my daughter. I feel you, Masters, I feel you strongly. You know where she is. You know.

Suddenly the air around him began to sparkle. White lights flashed in rapid succession, like strobe lights of sonic booms surrounding him, engulfing him, deafening him. He felt himself moving through the planes, in and out of reality and dimensions, into a place where time did not exist, where the soul had no form. Into a realm of disincarnation, of such intelligence that it could only be the place where the Masters dwelt.

Kyrano was in awe. He had never been this close to them before. He had traveled to other less evolved states of being but had never gained access to this most sacred of realms. He felt ashamed to have asked for their help in a matter as trite as this, ashamed of the fact that he had insinuated himself upon them with no regard for the triviality of the situation.

My greatest apologies to you, my Masters. I pray that you will forgive this transgression. I only sought to discover the fate of my precious child, my Tin-Tin. Please forgive this humble soul for the indignity of my request.

All at once Kyrano found himself standing in a place all of white. There were no floors or walls or ceilings. It was a place that just was. He looked down, expecting to see his body, but saw nothing. He raised his hand in front of his face, but saw nothing. He was not in attendance even as an apparition of himself. He was, in essence at this very moment, only his soul.

Kyrano, wise one and friend to the Masters.

If Kyrano had been inside his body, he would have jumped clear out of his skin. The voice was not audible, not heard as through ears. But it surrounded him and felt like it was coming from within him.

Master!

You have asked for our assistance. Your request will not be denied. For your daughter is with us here in this place.

Tin-Tin is here?

Yes.

I do not understand. What has happened?

Our sacred cornerstones upon planet Earth have been breached. Your daughter and her companion found the rose quartz hidden deep within your planet hundreds of thousands of your years past. The power of the rose quartz has been unleashed. It brought your daughter to us.

Is she all right?

Yes. She is not aware of her surroundings. Her soul was not ready for the journey. We have suspended her until she can be returned to Earth.

What must I do?

The imbalance of our cornerstones has upset the balance of energy on Earth. They are the physical manifestation of what must be. If the power of the rose quartz is not restored, the shift in the fabric of the Universe will be too great for those souls bound to Earth to bear. Millions will die and their consciousness will be lost forever.

I do not understand. What are these four cornerstones?

The first, the rose quartz, unlocks the heart for both giving and receiving love. The second is the shaft of kyanite, which opens the channel between Earth-bound souls and their guides. The third is the amethyst sphere, which tunes certain higher souls into an awareness of knowing. The fourth and final cornerstone is the crescent jade, placed for its serene and calming energy. Each of the millions of realms inhabited by souls throughout the Universe contain cornerstones specific to that realm, cornerstones that must be maintained for energies to remain in balance, to allow souls who refuse to evolve and leave their physical confines to remain in existence. Without them, these souls would cease to exist. They would be no more.

What do we have to do to rebalance the energy on Earth?

Because the rose quartz was disturbed, it is the power of giving and receiving love selflessly and without question that has fled. There will be great turmoil on your planet unless one gives themselves over to the greatest act of love that can be performed.

I will do so! I love my daughter more than anything! What must I do? Please, tell me!

The sacrifice can be made by only one. The most you can do is to make that soul open its eyes to something beyond that which it has ever contemplated. For it is an earthly soul, one which harbors negative energy, which cannot see past its current existence.

Who? Who is it? Who can save Tin-Tin?

I cannot tell you more. I have already revealed too much. Return with the knowledge I shall give you now. Return and find the one who must learn to love.

What knowledge? What knowledge?!?

But before Kyrano could think another thought, he snapped back through the white flashing lights, back through the sparkling air, back into his sitting room, slamming into his body with a force so strong that it flung him across the room and into the front door of his suite. He crumpled to the floor and whispered, "Tin-Tin," just as he lost consciousness.

"Mole calling Scott. Come in, Scott."

"I'm here, Virg, I can hear you."

"What's this secondary tunnel? I've never seen it before."

"No, me either. Bring the Mole in, but carefully. You'll have to go around me so I can get in the back, the tunnel's not wide enough for both of us."

"F.A.B. You think Tin-Tin's down there?"

"I only hope she is, Virg. What's the word on Al?"

"I just talked to Brains. He said Alan's stabilized, but he's lost consciousness."

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"Brains is certain it's just the shock of whatever he experienced combined with his physical injuries. He assures me Alan will be back to normal in no time."

"Jesus, I sure hope so."

"I'm making an arc around your position now. I should be in front of you in approximately four minutes."

"Okay, I'll hang tight. Anything on the Mole's scanners?"

"Well, that's just it, Scott. I'm not picking anyone up down here but you."

"How far off can you see?"

"I'm hitting eleven miles in all directions with this baby on full-power scan."

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"No, Scott, I'm serious. And John still can't pick up anyone other than the three at the house."

"My God, if you're reaching out eleven miles and you still can't find her, they must've gone deeper than that. I had no idea these tunnels went that far out!"

"I don't think anyone did. Al and Tin-Tin must've found this new one and went exploring. All right, I'll be breaking through the cave wall. Take cover."

"Under what, Virg? It's a cave!"

"Well then, back up, 'cause I'm comin' through!"

Scott took a few steps backward just as the tip of the Mole's drill bit poked through the rock. Bits of cave flew in every direction as he hunkered down, covering his head with his arms. Before long, the great roar and whine that were the familiar sounds of the 60-foot rescue vehicle ground to a halt. The rear exit hatch slid open and Scott shook the dirt and dust from his t-shirt and shorts before stepping inside.

"God, you're a mess!" Virgil exclaimed as Scott strapped into a chair behind him.

"Yeah, well, you get caught in a downpour and then get covered in dirt thanks to a reckless brother and see how you look."

Virgil just shook his head as he put the vehicle in gear and continued on down the tunnel.

"I told John to contact Dad."

"Oh, boy," Virgil breathed.

"Yeah. We've got to find Tin-Tin before he gets back, Virg. We've just got to."

"I wish this were Thunderbird 1," Jeff said, voice taut. "We're going too damn slow for my liking."

Gordon turned his head slightly to look at his father. Jeff's face was drawn, his eyes staring straight ahead as the jet streaked through the sky. His hands gripped the steering yoke so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Gordon turned back to look out the window at the blue expanse in front of them. He felt as tense as his father looked. So tense, in fact, that he jumped when John's voice came over the airwaves.

"Thunderbird 5 to Tracy One."

"Tracy One here. What's the latest? Have they found Tin-Tin?"

"No, Father. Virgil's taken the Mole into the cave and picked up Scott. There's a new tunnel that neither of them knew was there. They're going that route on the assumption it's where Alan and Tin-Tin headed."

"A new tunnel? Oh, God."

"Scott says it looks pretty stable and there was no evidence of a cave in."

Gordon and Jeff both breathed a sigh of relief. "Are they picking Tin-Tin up on the Mole's scanners?"

"No, Father. Virgil's got an eleven-mile radius and he's getting nothing at all."

Gordon's face went white. "How long is this tunnel exactly?"

"I don't know. I can't read that far down from up here."

"How's Alan?" Jeff asked.

"Brains says he's stable but unconscious. He's pretty torn up, but Brains says he'll be okay."

The men in the jet breathed a second sigh of relief.

"But where the hell is Tin-Tin?" Jeff barked, willing Tracy One to move faster.

"We don't know, Dad," John replied quietly. "We just don't know."

Brains had just finished sponging Alan's body down and dressing his wounds. Certain he was fine for the moment, the engineer turned his attention to locating Kyrano. He went to a computer panel on the wall and keyed in the command Activate Voice Interaction.

"Voice Interaction activated," came a voice that sounded an awful lot like that of Brains' android robot Braman.

"Recognize voice pattern: Brains."

"Voice pattern verified as Brains."

"Computer, locate Kyrano."

"Kyrano is located in TI-22."

"TI-22. His suite. Computer, continue Voice Interaction and link to my watch communicator. Maintain open line, external communication override."

"Control switched to watch communicator W-1. External communication override activated."

Brains ran out of the ward and headed through the hall to the main floor bedrooms. When he reached the door to Kyrano's suite, he tried to open it but found it had been locked. "Computer, emergency override, TI-22. Authorization beta three- three-six."

"Authorization accepted."

The door swished open. Kyrano fell backwards through the door. Brains just barely caught him before he hit the floor. "Kyrano!" he cried, kneeling as he cradled the older man's head in his arms. "Kyrano, are you okay? Answer me! Wake up!"

But Kyrano didn't respond.

"Damn!" Brains swore softly. "Computer, navigate S-1 from H-1 to TI-22."

"Acknowledged. S-1 activated and en route."

"Hurry it up, hurry it up," he whispered. "Computer, external link, Thunderbird 5."

"Channel open."

"This is Brains calling Thunderbird 5. John, come in!"

"I'm here, Brains, what's going on?"

"I just found Kyrano in his suite. He's u-unconscious. I've got a stretcher on the way so I-I can get him to the hospital ward."

"Shit, what the hell is happening?"

"I-It must have something to do with the o-other plane."

"Plane?"

Brains explained to John what Kyrano had said earlier about Tin-Tin not being 'here.' As he did so, a hover stretcher glided down the hall toward him, coming to a rest just five inches from where he knelt. Brains struggled to get the older man onto the stretcher then strapped him in.

"O-Okay, John, I'm taking him to the ward. Anything o-on Tin-Tin yet?"

"No. Brains, all this stuff about another plane of existence. You believe what Kyrano said?"

"I-I've known Kyrano too long not to," Brains replied as he pushed the stretcher along in front of him.

"Maybe I should tell Dad."

"I-I don't suppose it'd hurt anything. I know he a-and Kyrano sometimes talk a-about these things."

"Right. I'll call him. Keep me updated."

"F.A.B."

Kyrano felt like he was plugged into cable wire. A myriad of thoughts and images poured into his mind at a speed so fast he couldn't hope to process it. It was as though his brain were a computer receiving a download from a much more powerful supercomputer. He had no concept of his location or state of being. All he could do was hang helplessly trapped within a place no one outside him could reach. If only he could wake up. If only he could tell everyone what he needed to tell them. If only.

Gordon listened silently as John explained to their father what Brains had told him. When John finished, no one spoke for long moments. Finally, Jeff said, "And Kyrano's unconscious now?"

"Yes. Brains is taking him to the ward. He found him unconscious in his suite."

"This happened once before," Jeff said, his voice almost a monotone.

"It did?" Gordon asked.

"Yes. Once, when Kyrano...attempted to reach..." Jeff's voice faltered. He cleared his throat as his sons waited expectantly. "When he attempted to find your mother."

"What?" John and Gordon gasped in unison.

"What do you mean when he attempted to find Mom?" John asked.

Jeff closed his eyes then reopened them. "He tried to find her soul. He wanted to help me."

And that was all he'd say. Gordon and John knew better than to pry, but they both knew there must be much more to the story than that.

"Dad?"

"It's okay, Gordon. When he tried, he, uh...he later told me he'd left his body, that he'd gone somewhere, to another plane. I sat there and watched his body fly across the room. He said that was his soul returning violently to his body, that he'd been...what did he call it...blocked and returned by the Masters. He told me he wasn't meant to contact Lucy, that...that..."

"What, Dad?" John inquired.

"He told me the Masters said only I was to contact her. That was why he'd been rejected." Jeff stopped as the rest of the memory unfolded within his mind, but he wasn't about to share that part of it with his boys. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Kyrano remained unconscious for over twelve hours."

"So you think he's been to another plane of existence and that's why he's unconscious now?" John asked.

"I don't know, but from what you say, it sounds like a possibility."

Gordon let out a low whistle. "So maybe Tin-Tin isn't in the cave after all?"

Jeff's hand passed from his forehead down over his eyes and nose, ending at his chin, which he rubbed briefly before returning his hand to the steering yoke. "I don't know, Gordon. I don't even know if I believe in this stuff."

"You know, Father," John said from his spot high above the Earth, "maybe it's time we all start believing."

"Maybe you're right, son. Maybe you're right."

"Dammit, she can't have just disappeared off the face of the Earth!" Scott growled as he watched the screen in front of him.

"It appears she has, Scott. We've nearly reached the end of this tunnel. You know, Brains mentioned something about her not being here."

"What are you talkin' about?"

"He said Kyrano woke up and told him Tin-Tin wasn't here. Brains didn't think we'd find her."

"Well, where the hell did he think she was then?"

Virgil opened his mouth then shut it then opened it again. "Kyrano told him she was on another plane of existence."

Scott rolled his eyes. "I don't...I don't believe this. That doesn't make any sense. She can't just go from being here in a cave to being...somewhere...out there!" he finished, waving his hand in the air around his head.

Virgil ground the Mole to a halt then shut the motors down altogether as he turned to his brother. "I've broken through into the cavern we saw on the geo-scanner. Let's go out and take a look. Maybe our thermals are just malfunctioning and she's right there waiting to be found."

"Maybe," Scott replied, although given what Virgil had said, he was beginning to have his doubts. Like his father, he'd never believed in all of what Kyrano believed, but he had his father's respect for the Malaysian man and would listen whenever he spoke. As he and Virgil now exited the Mole, his mind wandered back to a time when Kyrano had talked with him about the thread that tied each person living on Tracy Island to one another, tied them as surely as earthly ropes would.

But those thoughts fell away as Scott and Virgil rounded the side of their drilling machine and entered a large cavern, where they came face-to-face with what looked like a dirty pink crystal standing eight feet tall from ceiling to floor. "My God!" Scott cried, shining his flashlight up and down the great shard. "Alan said the words 'pink' and 'crystal' just after he said he thought Tin-Tin was with us! This must've been where they were!"

"All right, let's search the room," Virgil said, heading off to the right. Scott nodded and moved to the left. They shone their lights all around, but there wasn't a single nook or cranny where anyone could be hiding. And there was no sign of Tin -Tin. The two met on the other side of the crystal. Scott looked on as Virgil approached the object, his hand outstretched.

"Careful, Virg. We don't know for sure what that thing is."

"It's a quartz," Virgil said as his fingertips touched the cool, smooth surface. "A rose quartz."

"And that's significant how?" Scott asked, walking forward to stand next to his brother.

"Silicon dioxide. It's the most common mineral on Earth. But a spear this large...I don't think one bigger than about four feet long has ever been found. This is unbelievable!"

"Geology aside, Virg, we still don't know where Tin-Tin is."

"You know," Virgil continued, ignoring his brother's remark, "Kyrano has a shard of this."

Scott quirked an eyebrow. "So what?"

"It means something. He told me once. He was showing me his collection of gemstones. He said he collected specific ones for the healing properties they held."

Scott continued to stare at him, wondering where he was going with this train of thought.

"Let's see, fluorite was the one that guarded against negativity; turquoise helped with meditation; topaz was for optimism...ah, that's it! The rose quartz..." He turned to face his brother. "...it was for opening your heart."

"Opening your heart? In what way?"

"To love. That's right, I remember now. Kyrano said that long ago an elder in his village presented him with that shard of rose quartz, and that it served to open his heart and mind to Serena."

"Tin-Tin's mother?"

Virgil nodded. "The rose quartz is one of his most prized possessions. It reminds him of her. I remember the look he got in his eyes..."

"I've never heard him talk about her before. What little I know came from Dad and Tin-Tin."

"Yeah, he didn't really say much about her, but he kind of got that look on his face that Dad gets when he thinks about Mom."

Scott swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Thinking about his mother right now was not something he wanted to do. But it was difficult when you were standing next to a man that resembled her so, especially in the shadows created by their flashlights. He turned his attention back to the quartz as Virgil removed his hand from it surface.

"So you think this thing has something to do with magical properties?"

"I don't know," Virgil replied. "All I know is that Tin-Tin's not here and this quartz is. Kyrano's unconscious, Alan looked like he'd gotten the shit kicked outta him, and Brains is spouting something about Tin-Tin being on a different plane. What do you think it all adds up to?"

"Something I don't understand. Come on, let's try the main tunnel and the secondary further down. Maybe Tin-Tin wasn't in this room at all. Maybe it was only Alan."

"Yeah, you're right. She might be further along the main line. Let's go."

Virgil headed back to the Mole, but Scott remained rooted to the spot, staring up at the dirty looking shaft in front of him. His mind was beginning to turn to things that, quite frankly, scared the hell out of him. Things he had never really allowed himself to contemplate because they were so far beyond his realm of comprehension, yet things he was now being forced to confront.

"Scott?" Virgil said softly from near the Mole's giant bore. "You coming?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm coming," Scott replied as he tore his eyes from the quartz. He followed Virgil back into the Mole and without a word they continued on their way.

Brains checked on Alan. His vital signs were returning to normal and color was returning to his face. He decreased the saline solution IV drip rate before heading back to Bed 2, where Kyrano laid as still as a statue. "I wish I knew where you were right now," he whispered, reaching out to smooth a stray lock of hair away from the older man's forehead. Then a thought occurred to him.

He went to the other end of the large room and wheeled a machine back over with him to Kyrano. He pulled the bed away from the wall and lowered the bar then pushed the machine so it was flush with the bed. He pressed a button and a circular tube extended. Brains slid Kyrano's head into it as it came to a stop. He then turned on the monitor and pressed another button. The machine began to whir, a red laser light moving from the top of Kyrano's head down over his face to his neck then back.

Slowly an image of Kyrano's brain began to appear on the monitor. What the color CT scan showed Brains was alarming. The entire frontal lobe was an angry red...a color it shouldn't be. Then, as the scan continued, the right portion began to change slightly, morphing from red into a darker color...more purplish.

"Oh, no!" Brains cried. He rushed to a nearby mini-refrigerator and pulled out a small vial of clear liquid. Racing to a nearby cabinet, he grabbed a syringe, removed it from its protective packaging and poked it into the top of the vial. Slowly he drew out half the amount of the liquid then returned to Kyrano's bedside. The CT image continued to change, the darkened red area looking more and more as though it were turning purple.

"Shit!" he cursed, removing the plastic cover from the needle and tossing it to the floor. He checked the scan one more time and then positioned the needle at Kyrano's right temple, just at the edge of his eye socket.

"Thunderbird 5 to Brains."

"Not now, John!"

Brains pressed the plunger down into the body of the syringe, emptying the liquid directly into Kyrano's brain. He then withdrew the needle and went back to the monitor. The next pass over the right frontal lobe showed the purple color fading and returning to red. "Oh, thank God!" Brains breathed, his shoulders sagging. "Jesus Christ."

"Brains, what the hell?"

"Sorry, uh, John. I was in the middle of...Kyrano started having a stroke."

"He what? Is he okay?"

"Yes, I-I think he'll be fine. I a-administered a dose of heparin. It looks like the clot has broken up."

"Well, I was gonna ask if he'd regained consciousness, but my guess now is the answer to that would be no."

"That's, uh, correct," Brains replied as he continued to watch the CT image refresh. "But John, the electrical impulses from his frontal lobe...it's off the scale! I've never seen such a-astronomical activity in the brain. Ever!"

"What's it mean, Brains?"

"I-I can't be sure. It's almost as though...like he's on overload."

"On that other plane?"

Brains moved slightly to the right and stared down at Kyrano's prone form. "That's the o-only thing that makes sense a-at this point, John. I know it sounds crazy, but--"

"No, it doesn't sound crazy. Not really. I talked to Dad. He said something like this happened once before, that Kyrano was trying to contact a soul and got rejected, and that it left him unconscious for twelve hours."

"When did that happen?"

"I don't know, he didn't say too much more about it. You think he's found Tin-Tin?"

"I wish I knew. I wish there was some way I-I could get inside his head and find out."

"How's Alan?"

Brains turned to look at the life signs monitor above Bed 1. "Back to normal. He hasn't come to yet, but a-all vitals are good."

"That's great. Good work on Kyrano, Brains."

"Uh, thanks, John. I-I take it Virgil and Scott's search for Tin-Tin hasn't, uh, produced any results."

"I haven't heard anything from the Mole. I'll give them a call now. Dad and Gordon should hit the island in about three hours."

"O-Okay. Let me know i-if Scott and Virgil find anything."

"I will. Thunderbird 5 out."

Brains leaned back against the wall, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "For God's sake, Kyrano," he said quietly, "don't ever do that to me again."

"Thunderbird 5 calling the Mole."

"Mole here."

"Scott, anything on Tin-Tin yet?"

"No, John." Scott proceeded to explain what he and Virgil had found in the cavern at the end of the new tunnel as well as brief him on what they were now doing to continue their search.

In return, John relayed the conversation he'd had with Gordon and their father. He told his brothers what Jeff had said about Kyrano trying to contact their mother.

"When was this?" Virgil asked.

"I don't know, Virg. Dad didn't say exactly when it happened, and he wouldn't give us anything more than what I've told you. I'm surprised he said as much as he did about the whole thing."

"Me, too," Scott replied as he and Virgil frowned at one another. "Virg, you'd better tell John about the rose quartz...about what Kyrano told you."

Virgil nodded and told John about the quartz's healing properties as he remembered from his talk with Kyrano. When he finished, John said, "You know, guys, we're really outside the scope of our knowledge here."

"I know," Scott replied. "We need Kyrano for this."

"But Dad said last time it happened he was out for twelve hours."

"Virg, we don't have twelve hours! We have to find Tin-Tin!"

"Maybe Brains should try to wake him up," John offered. "Although I don't know that that's such a good idea at this point."

"Why not?" Scott asked.

"I just spoke with him. He said Kyrano nearly had a stroke. He was able to stop it and dissolve the clot just in time."

"For Chrissakes, this just keeps getting worse!" Scott yelled, slamming his fist down on the console in front of him. "There has to be something more we can do than burrow around down here in futility!"

Virgil turned to look at him. "You don't think she's down here. Do you?"

"I don't know what to think, Virg! You can't tell me the Mole's scanners have functioned perfectly ever since Brains brought them on line seven years ago and all of a sudden aren't working! If the Mole says Tin-Tin isn't down here, I say we believe it." Off Virgil's puzzled look, Scott continued, "I'm just sick of sitting here doing nothing but hoping to find someone that's not down here."

"So you do believe Brains and Kyrano," John said.

Scott looked Virgil right in the eyes as he replied, "I guess maybe I do."

That admission from their older brother startled both John and Virgil. They'd never known Scott to acquiesce to the supernatural explanation when other, more tangible theories existed.

"Then let's get back to the house," Virgil said, throwing the Mole into reverse. "Maybe we can help Brains bring Kyrano around. At the very least, we'll be up there when Dad and Gordon arrive."

Scott averted his gaze and just nodded in silent agreement.

"Okay, guys. I'll let Brains know you're on your way. And I'll inform Dad that you're breaking off the search."

"We're not breaking off the search," Scott said, his voice barely audible. "We're just going to start looking somewhere else."

Virgil's mouth quirked into a half-smile. "I never thought I'd see the day, Scott."

Scott half-chuckled, half-snorted. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, Virg. Now get this baby back to Base on the double."

"Yes, Sir!"

John couldn't help but smile as he said, "Thunderbird 5 out."

"Whaddya mean they're breaking off the search?!?" Jeff roared. Seated next to him, Gordon cringed, suddenly wishing he were anywhere but sitting this close to his angry father.

"They're not really breaking it off, Dad, they're just...they're going to look for her in a...different way." John told him about his conversation with Scott and Virgil, and how they'd decided to turn to Kyrano for help in locating Tin-Tin. He reiterated that the Mole's scanners hadn't shown anyone in any of the tunnels, and told them about the gigantic rose quartz his brothers had found in the newly discovered cavern.

Now it was Jeff who was being forced to think along lines he'd refused to let himself think along ever since that incident with Kyrano trying to contact Lucille. "And Scott agreed to this course of action."

"Actually, it was his idea, Dad."

"Well, Scott's my field commander. If he says this is the right thing to do then it's the right thing to do."

Gordon looked over at his father. He'd always known Jeff trusted his oldest brother...hell, he trusted all of them. But never before had he realized how implicitly he respected Scott's judgment. Within the space of a couple of hours, Gordon had found out more about his father's mind and heart than he had in all his previous twenty-nine years.

"Keep us informed, John. If Kyrano wakes up, I want to be patched through to the island immediately."

"F.A.B., Father. Thunderbird 5 out."

The shackles of your earthly confines fall away, revealing a place long dreamt of by those who have forgotten its very existence. The fabric of the universe has never wavered, it has never left you. You have left it. Until now. You are returning. Like children returning home after millions of years on the run. Man thought he knew a better way, and set off alone to find it, to forge his own path. To create his own reality. To sever his connection with that from which he came.

But now you are coming back. One by one. You are the children of those who fought to free themselves from your creators, from the one true consciousness which bore your very soul. But now...you want to go home. You want to live again, live as you were meant to live, unburdened by man-made cares and concerns, by that misery which you have of our own free will created. You have lost the language of your ancestors. You have lost the ability to express the infinite beauty and wonder of that from which you came.

See it. See it again now. See it and understand, Kyrano.

Within his mind, Kyrano cried out against the images flashing around him, against the anguish of all the Earth-bound souls had lost, against the knowledge that man himself had severed such an exquisite connection to the collective soul from which he came.

You see now the importance of the cornerstones, for without their power, there is no hope for those who dwell upon Earth. No hope of returning home, of returning to us. No hope of regaining that which has fled the planet's consciousness. The rose quartz must be restored. It must, or all will be lost!

Brains started as Kyrano moaned. He leapt to his feet and crossed the ward, coming to stand next to Bed 2. Just then his watch communicator beeped.

"Thunderbird 5 to Brains."

"Here, John."

"How's Kyrano?"

"Not sure." Brains went around to the CT monitor and was surprised to find the red area in the frontal lobe fading rapidly. It paled to an almost pink color then morphed into dark yellow and finally into bright yellow. "I don't believe it."

"What?"

"Kyrano's brain activity...i-it's returned to normal! Just now!"

"Does that mean whatever was happening to him is over?"

"I don't know. Just a moment ago he moaned, but he hasn't displayed any other signs of waking."

"Hey, Brains?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you realize you didn't stutter once just now?"

Brains blinked. "I-I didn't?"

"No. You didn't."

Suddenly shy and nervous, Brains replied, "Well, I-I don't know why, uh, John."

"Never mind, don't think about it. Listen, Scott and Virgil are heading back to the house. I've spoken to Dad, too. They all seem to be in agreement that you guys need to get Kyrano back with us. We think it's the only way we're gonna find Tin- Tin."

"Really? A-And Mr. Tracy a-agreed?"

"Yeah, surprisingly enough, he did."

"Moreover, Scott agreed?"

John chuckled. "No one was more surprised by that than me, Brains, but yes. In fact, it was his idea."

"I'll be damned. Well, I-I'll start trying to rouse him. How long until Tracy One a-arrives?"

"One hour, fifty-three minutes."

"F.A.B. Brains out."

A wry smile upon his face, Brains contemplated the man lying on the bed before him. "Well, Kyrano, it looks like you're going to make converts of the Tracys after all. Of all of us."

Ruth Tracy had retreated to her suite shortly after she and Kyrano had finished cleaning up in the kitchen. Now, however, she found herself lying in bed wide-awake and not having any idea why. Resigning herself to her fate for the evening, she got out of bed, donned her robe and slippers and exited her suite. To her surprise, the lights were blazing as though they were in the middle of a rescue. Wondering if she'd missed the klaxon, Ruth headed for the Lounge. But instead of seeing Scott seated behind the desk, she found the room empty.

Well, perhaps Scott himself went out on the rescue. But then wouldn't Brains or Tin-Tin be manning Base Control? She walked up to the panel behind Jeff's desk and tried to open a channel, but the computer displayed a message saying it was on Voice Interaction mode only. Now Ruth knew something big was going on. She raised her wrist to her face. "Ruth Tracy calling Brains."

"Brains here, uh, Mrs. Tracy."

"Where are you? Why is the computer set to voice command?"

"I-I'm in the hospital ward. Maybe you should, uh, come down here so I can explain."

"I'm on my way."

Virgil and Scott were silent all the way back to the tarmac. Just as the secondary hangar door opened, Virgil finally spoke. "Scott, you okay with all this?"

"No, not really. But I don't see where I really have any choice in the matter."

"You know, I'm really proud of you."

"For what? Calling off a rescue before we even determined our victim wasn't present?"

"Like you said, Scott, you didn't call off the rescue. You just...decided to change venues."

"I think I'm losing my mind. In fact, I'm convinced of it." Scott eyed his brother for a minute. "Why did you say you were proud of me?"

"Because of your willingness to look beyond the here and now. I know it's not something that comes easy to you."

"I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. Nothing makes sense...nothing except something that shouldn't."

"We'll find Tin-Tin, Scott. We'll wake Kyrano, and he'll know what to do. He'll tell us what we have to do."

"I hope you're right, Virg," Scott replied as the Mole ground to a halt. Virgil cut the motors then made his way to the rear exit hatch, Scott right behind. "I just hope I'm not making the biggest mistake of my life. And of Tin-Tin's."

"Dad, Brains is reporting that the activity in Kyrano's frontal lobe has returned to normal. He thought he was coming around, but hasn't been able to bring him out of it yet. Scott and Virgil just returned to the hangar and are on their way to the ward now to see if they can help."

"F.A.B. We'll be there in about an hour-and-a-half. John, does Grandma know what's going on?"

"Oh. I don't know. Brains hasn't mentioned her. I guess she's been asleep this whole time."

"You'd better have the boys wake her. She'll be furious when she finds out this has all been going on without her."

"Why didn't you come and get me, Brains? For God's sake!"

Brains cringed. As mad as he'd seen some of the Tracy men get, nothing compared to the wrath of eighty-two year old Ruth Tracy, matriarch of the clan. "I-I'm sorry, Mrs., uh, Tracy, I-I guess I was so, uh, caught up in making sure A-Alan and Kyrano were o-okay that I-I--"

"Oh, hush, Brains, just tell me what's going on around here!"

Brains did his best to do so, stammering his way through as much of an explanation as he could. As he spoke, Ruth fussed over her grandson and her good friend, flitting between beds, checking monitors, holding hands, touching cheeks and arms. When at last Brains finished, she turned to face him.

"Don't you ever leave me out of the loop again, young man," she admonished.

Brains folded his hands behind his back and looked down at the floor. "I-I'm really sorry. I-I promise i-it'll never happen again."

"You just see that it doesn't," she said. Then she approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. When she spoke again, her voice was much softer. "Thank you."

He looked up at her, surprised by her sudden change in demeanor. "For what?"

"Saving Kyrano and making sure Alan was okay," she smiled.

He just nodded. Women. No matter how old they got, they never changed...their moods blew like a nasty wind, changing direction and going just as fast as they had come on.

At that moment, Scott raced into the ward, Virgil hot on his heels. "Brains, have you seen Grand...ma..." Scott's voice trailed off when he realized the object of his inquiry was standing right in front of the engineer. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh is right, young man. But I'll give you hell later. Right now, Brains tells me we need to wake Kyrano." Brains nodded as she turned her attention back to him. "What do you suggest?"

"I don't know. I tried smelling salts, but they had no effect. I-I suppose I could give him a-a combination steroid and adrenaline hypo, but I-I'd rather not take the, uh, chance given that he a-almost had a stroke earlier."

"Maybe all he needs is a little TLC," Ruth commented as she pulled a chair up next to Bed 2. "You boys and your technology. Has it never occurred to you that sometimes what a body needs can't be found in a medical book?"

The young men stood exchanging glances as she seated herself, grasped Kyrano's hand in her two and began speaking softly into his ear. Not knowing what else to do, Scott and Virgil joined Brains at Alan's bedside.

"It would sure help if Alan were awake, too," Scott said quietly as he looked down upon his brother's cherubic face. "That way we'd know what led up to Tin-Tin's disappearance. You think you can rouse him, Brains?"

"I-I'll try."

John's voice broke over Brains' watch. "Thunderbird 5 calling Brains!"

"Here, uh, John."

"Brains, have Scott and Virgil returned yet?"

"Yes, they're, uh, standing right here with me."

"God, Scott...can you hear me?"

"Switch to the ward monitor, John," Scott called out.

Ruth stopped whispering to her friend and turned to face the monitor on the opposite wall. They all watched as John's live feed appeared before them.

"My God...Scott, Virg...the calls...the airwaves are jammed!"

"What? Whaddya mean?" Scott asked, his brain switching to high alert.

"I-I don't know, we're getting calls for help...there's rioting, looting...every major city...everywhere around the world...it just started a couple minutes ago...it's like...like the whole planet's gone crazy!"

"The whole planet?" Virgil repeated.

"Yeah, it's..." John's voice trailed off as he flipped switches and checked monitors. Everyone in the ward could hear the melee surrounding their brother on Thunderbird 5. It was as though millions of voices were screaming in their collective ear, clamoring to be heard, crying out for help. "I can't get a handle on it, Scott! I can't tell where one call ends and the next one starts! It's like 5's array is on overload! She can't seem to distinguish between channels."

"Run Filter 27-A, John," Brains said, stepping toward the monitor.

Scott frowned. "27-A? What's that?"

"Something I uploaded last night," Brains replied, not realizing that his stutter had, once again, disappeared. "It hasn't been properly tested yet."

"Well, now's as good a time as any to test it," John said as his fingers flew across the keyboard in front of him. They all listened as the majority of the chatter ceased. "Okay," John breathed, "it seems to be working. I'm just getting the worst of the worst now."

"What kind of calls are they, John?" Virgil asked.

"Fires...buildings collapsing...bombs...murder...God...it's like it's the end of the world."

Scott moved to Bed 2 and looked down at Kyrano's still form. "I'm sorry, Grandma, but we don't have time for TLC right now. Something big's going down, and I'll bet it's got something to do with Tin-Tin's disappearance."

"How could it, Scott?" Ruth asked.

"I don't have a clue," he replied. "Brains, we've gotta take a chance here. We need Kyrano awake!"

Brains nodded and crossed to the mini-fridge.

"What about the rescue calls?"

Scott turned to his brother. "Virg, I...we can't possibly stop what's happening out there. Not with the Thunderbirds. We might be able to save a life or two, but thousands more are going to die. Whatever's going on, this is where we need to be."

Virgil nodded silently then turned to look at John. When their eyes met, Virgil could tell John was beginning to have his doubts about Scott's state of mind. "John."

"Virgil, Scott...the people...we have to try and help them. We have to."

"Look, John, I can't wrap my brain around this any more than you can. But my instincts tell me not to leave this island!"

John stared at his eldest brother for a moment before nodding.

"I'm sorry, John. I know it can't be easy sitting up there listening to it happen."

"S'okay, Scott. I agree with you. I think you guys are doing the right thing."

Regardless how he ever came off to his brothers, their opinions mattered very much to him. More than they'd ever know. It lifted a bit of weight from his shoulders that both Virgil and John seemed to be behind him on this. If asked, he never could've explained why he was refusing to go out on call, especially considering the gravity of what seemed to be happening in the world outside International Rescue's headquarters. Somehow, in some way, he just felt they had to be there with Kyrano and Alan. He hoped that when his father returned, he would understand as well.

Just over an hour later, Jeff made a perfect three-point landing on the tarmac and taxied Tracy One into Thunderbird 2's hangar through the secondary door. Setting the computer to run the post-flight check, he and Gordon leapt out of the cockpit and raced to the elevator. Worry lines creased both faces as the interminably long ascent continued. On impulse, Gordon reached out and squeezed his father's arm. Jeff turned to him and smiled, nodding his head ever-so-slightly.

Finally the elevator reached the main level. Gordon and Jeff were tearing down the hall before the elevator door had even opened all the way. When they burst into the hospital ward, they were not the least bit surprised to find half its occupants crowded around Kyrano and the other half around Alan. They were surprised to discover that both patients were sitting upright in bed and seemed to be completely alert.

"Kyrano!" Jeff said as he approached Bed 2.

"Alan!" Gordon cried as he raced to Bed 1.

Kyrano grasped Jeff's hands and held tightly to them. Brown eyes locked with blue-gray ones, and for a moment something seemed to pass between them, silent acknowledgement of something that Ruth and Brains could never hope to understand. Jeff began to nod slowly as he squeezed Kyrano's hands in return.

"Jeff," Kyrano whispered. "Jeff, so many things...so many things I understand now. So much to tell..."

"How do we help Tin-Tin, Kyrano? Where is she?"

"She is with them. She is with the Masters. So far above our existence. So far..."

They could see how difficult it was for him to focus, but Jeff knew he had to keep him on track. He sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes never leaving his friend's. "Kyrano, listen to me. You have to help us. Please."

"Gordo!" Alan cried, wrapping his arms around his brother. "God, Gordo, Tin-Tin! I lost her! I lost her!"

Jeff rose from Kyrano's bed and looked over to where his two youngest sons clung to one another. "Alan!" he said, his voice firm. The boys broke their hug as everyone turned to face Jeff. "Alan, tell us exactly what happened. Everything."

Alan nodded and took a deep breath. Jeff helped Kyrano to his feet and they all gathered around Alan as he began his tale.

John listened as Alan explained how he and Tin-Tin had found the new tunnel, and how hot it had been as they'd made their way toward what ultimately turned out to be a large cavern. He was amazed as Alan told of the invisible bridge they'd crossed and of the blinding pink glow the quartz had emanated when they'd first found it. Then Tin-Tin had gone toward it and disappeared.

"She was inside it!" Alan said, his voice frantic as he recalled his feelings of helplessness. "I saw her! She was inside it and there was nothing I could do! I tried to reach her, but something stopped me, a force field or something! And then it began to spin...the grinding, the noise...it spun so fast that it sent out some sort of shockwave." He turned to look into Kyrano's eyes. "And that's all I remember. When I woke up, Tin-Tin was gone."

Kyrano reached down and held Alan's hand.

"Kyrano, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I tried to save her. I really did!" he cried, eyes filling with tears.

"It is not your fault, young Alan," Kyrano replied. "Please do not blame yourself."

"But...we never should've gone down there. It wasn't mapped, it hadn't been explored. I should never have taken her there!"

"What's done is done, Al," Scott said as he placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Now what we've gotta do is figure out how to get her back."

"And stop the devastation," John chimed in. They all turned to look at him.

"Devastation?" Jeff asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Dad, the planet's gone crazy," Virgil offered. "It started over an hour ago."

"I'm getting so many calls for help, Dad, Thunderbird 5 can't even sort them all out."

"Calls for help?" Jeff said. He turned to face his eldest. "Scott?"

"Dad, I--I made the decision not to take the Thunderbirds out. So much is happening out there, I wouldn't even know where to start. And I think...I think we can be of more use here trying to sort this all out. I don't know why, it's just what my gut tells me."

Kyrano nodded. "Your gut is correct, Scott."

"It is?" Virgil, Jeff, John and Brains asked in unison.

"Yes. There is not time for me to explain fully. But what happened to my daughter has greatly upset the balance of energy here on Earth. In order to restore that balance, a sacrifice must be made."

"What kind of sacrifice?" Jeff asked.

"One among us must give themselves over to the greatest act of love that can be performed. He must sacrifice himself to it."

Everyone turned to look at everyone else. Finally, Brains voiced the question on each mind. "Which one?"

"I do not know, Brains. I was not told. But I suspect," he paused as his eyes returned to Alan's face, "I suspect it has something to do with Tin-Tin."

Alan frowned. Then his eyes widened. His jaw dropped open. All eyes were upon him, but he only saw Kyrano. "Me?" he squeaked.

"I cannot be certain. All I know is that if this sacrifice is not made, if a soul harboring negative energy does not open his heart to giving and receiving love in its purest form, millions of Earthbound souls will die. The destruction John is witness to is only the beginning."

Seven pairs of eyes watched as Alan Tracy swung his legs out over the edge of the bed. He hesitated for only a moment before sliding off the edge and onto his feet. He swayed, and Gordon reached out to steady him. Alan's blue eyes met Gordon's amber ones. The side of Gordon's mouth curved into a half-smile, and Alan returned the gesture before asking, "Where do I go? What do I have to do?"

"I think perhaps we should return to the place where this all began. Back to the rose quartz in the cavern below the surface," Kyrano replied.

"Will you come with me?" Alan whispered to Gordon, who smiled and nodded.

"We all will," Jeff said.

Alan turned and smiled at his family. He didn't get any of this. He had no idea what was going on, no idea really what it was he had to do. But he knew he'd do whatever it took to save Tin-Tin and, by default, millions of people.

Jeff could only watch as Gordon helped Alan into a one-piece cover-all jumpsuit. To ask so much of one so young...Jeff himself couldn't fathom that kind of responsibility, and yet here was his youngest child, the last physical token of the greatest love he had ever shared in his life...here he was, being asked to make a sacrifice. A sacrifice Jeff didn't know the consequences of.

He pulled Kyrano aside and looked fully into his friend's face. "Is Alan going to die?"

"I do not know. But I am sure he is the one the Master spoke of. Jeff..."

"What? What aren't you telling me?"

"I saw her. Well, not saw her, really. More...felt her."

At first Jeff didn't understand. But then he knew. He knew exactly who Kyrano was talking about. "Lucille."

He nodded. "After my return to this plane, I was receiving so much information, so many visions and words. I found her, Jeff. Or, more appropriately, she found me."

"Where is she? Kyrano, where is she now?"

"She exists on one of the planes. She watches over you and your sons. She is always here with you."

Jeff squeezed his eyes shut, willing his emotions to remain beneath the surface.

"Jeff..."

He opened his eyes, unable to keep a mist from forming over them.

"I do not believe Alan is the only soul with a lesson to learn this day. All of you will have to make some sort of sacrifice, confront something painful. As will I. To what degree, I do not know."

Jeff nodded as the rest of the group walked past them. Scott and Virgil noted the look on their father's face and exchanged curious glances. As they made their way out of the ward and toward Thunderbird 2's hangar, Jeff and Kyrano trailed behind only slightly.

"I don't know if I can do this, Kyrano. Not now. Not after all these years."

"I will be with you. I will help you."

Jeff nodded. But for some reason, he felt like he was taking a last walk to the executioner. When it all ended, when everything was over, would Alan still be with them? Would any of them be left standing? He watched his two oldest sons walking shoulder-to-shoulder, matching each other stride-for-stride, moving like one well-oiled machine. He knew they had the inner strength for what was to come...strength that came from the bond they had shared since the day Virgil was born.

His mother and Brains walked behind them. Ruth was elderly...even in this day and age where people lived longer, healthier lives, he wondered whether she'd be able to deal with whatever was going to happen. And Brains...of anyone on the island, Brains was closest to John, but John was very far away right now. John, who could do nothing but sit high above the Earth and anxiously await word of the fate of his loved ones.

Gordon walked arm-in-arm with Alan. As always, the two were using each other as the emotional crutch he as their father had never been able to give them. He was never more proud of the men his sons had grown to be as he was at this very moment. Nor ever more frightened for them. For all of them.

Driving winds and pelting rain had dissipated into a soft breeze as the night sky cleared to reveal billions of stars twinkling in the heavens. The moon was low on the opposite horizon, hidden from view by the tall mountain formed thousands of years ago by a volcano deep beneath the sea that had erupted and given birth to this island in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean.

Now, as the hum of four hover bikes drew nearer the entrance of a cave bored into existence by once-raging waters, the inhabitants of this tropical paradise held the fate of countless souls in the palm of their collective hand. Not a word was spoken as two people disembarked from each bike. Eight in all gathered at the mouth of the cave, each holding a flashlight.

"If you do not mind, a moment as I ask the Masters for their blessing," Kyrano said. All eyes were upon him as his eyelids drifted closed. Several minutes passed, and then he opened his eyes. Without a sound, the group entered the tunnel.

The cave was now much larger than it had been before, thanks to the efforts of the Mole earlier in the evening. Pieces of rock and dirt fell from the walls and ceiling. Scott began to wonder if it had been a good idea for all of them to come along. What if the Mole had caused instability in the network of tunnels? If there was a cave in, it wouldn't matter whether Alan made his sacrifice or not, for they would all be lost.

They passed the half-mile mark, which meant it would be the last time John would be able to speak to them until they came back out. Jeff raised his watch to his face. "Jeff Tracy calling Thunderbird 5," he said unsteadily.

"I'm here, Father," John replied as his face appeared in the watch dial.

"We've reached cutoff, John."

"I know."

"I'll see you soon, son."

"You'd better, Dad. Don't you dare leave me up here all alone."

Jeff managed a small smile. "Never."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

John's image winked out. Brains, who was walking alone behind Jeff and Kyrano, heard his own watch beep. "You go a-ahead, Mr., uh, Tracy. I-I'll catch up."

Jeff nodded and followed the rest of the group into the new tunnel.

"Thunderbird 5 to Brains."

"H-Hi, John."

"Oh, come on, don't start stuttering on me now," John grinned.

Brains couldn't help but smile. "Are you honed in on my tracking device?"

"Yep. Good thing you put it in your pocket."

"Well, at the very least, I figure you'll know where one of us is."

"Always thinking, Brains, aren't you? And your stutter's gone again."

"Yeah, so it is. Funny how that happens, huh?"

"Brains..."

"Yeah?"

"Take care of them for me. I don't know what's gonna happen down there. I'm counting on you."

Brains nodded. "I'll do my best. I promise."

"And Brains..."

"Hm?"

"Take care of yourself, too. You haven't finished reconfiguring my array yet."

He chuckled. "F.A.B. Brains out."

The engineer sighed before entering the new tunnel. He broke into a jog to catch up with the rest of the group. John's words echoed in his mind. Take care of them for me. I'm counting on you.

"I'll try, John," he whispered. "I'll sure as hell try."

John Tracy rose from his seat at the main monitor console in Thunderbird 5's main control room. Running a hand through his hair, he crossed to the bay of windows and looked out upon the stars then shifted his gaze lower to where the blue, white, green and brown planet hovered like a speck of dust in the vastness of a universe none of them fully understood.

"You Masters..." John said, his voice faltering. "If you're out there, if you can hear me, please bring them back safely. Please let them be okay."

Now all he could do was wait. Wait and pray.

"We're almost there," Scott said, the echo of his voice startling everyone behind him.

Gordon, who'd brought a six-foot wooden plank with him, edged his way up to the front of the group.

"Wait," Alan said, following his brother's footsteps. He inched closer to the chasm and kicked a bit of sand and pebbles out into it. Not completely to his surprise, some of the dirt did not fall into the void below.

"I don't believe it," Scott whispered, staring at what looked like debris hovering in the middle of nothing. "The invisible bridge?"

Alan nodded. "Yeah. It crumbled away after Tin-Tin and I crossed it. But it looks like it's back."

"How'd you know?" Gordon asked, leaning the plank against the cave wall.

"I-I don't know. I just figured...maybe..." Alan's voice trailed off as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'll go first."

"Alan..."

"No, Scott. I'm going first and that's that."

Scott nodded and stepped aside. Alan placed one foot out into the chasm. To everyone's relief, whatever was there held him. He walked confidently across to the other side. Gordon followed next, and then Scott and Virgil. Jeff stepped up to the edge of the chasm to follow, but just as he lifted his right foot, Alan shouted, "No, Father! Stop!"

Jeff jumped back from the edge and shined his flashlight at his sons across the way. "What is it, Alan?"

Alan shone his light down at where the bridge had been. Everyone watched as it crumbled away. Before anyone could say anything, the earth beneath them shook, and the wooden plank Gordon had propped against the wall tumbled sideways into the depths of the gorge.

Kyrano walked up to the chasm and stretched his hand out. It bumped into something. Jeff came forward and lifted his hands. He, too, felt it. They couldn't see anything, but they could feel it. An invisible wall. They couldn't get across the gap now even if they tried.

The four Tracy sons watched as their father looked across the divide at each of them in turn. Finally, it was Scott who spoke. "I guess we're meant to go it alone, Dad."

Jeff turned to Kyrano, eyes pleading silently for an answer. But there was none to be had.

"I am afraid Scott is correct. It looks like the Masters wish for us to remain here."

"My sons," Jeff whispered, one hand resting palm-flat on the wall he could not see.

"We'll be okay, Dad," Virgil said, forcing a smile.

"Yeah. After all, we've got each other," Gordon added.

"Scott..."

"I've got their backs, Father. Don't worry."

Ruth, Brains, Kyrano and Jeff could only watch as Gordon, Alan, Scott and Virgil turned and continued on to the cavern. "I know you've got their backs, Scott," Jeff whispered, more to himself than anyone. "But who's got yours?"

The four men made their way the last few hundred yards to the entrance of the cavern housing the object that had gotten them all into this mess to begin with. Alan entered first, followed by Gordon, with Scott and Virgil crossing the threshold in tandem. They all shined their lights at the six-sided shard before them.

"What do we do now?" Gordon asked.

"I don't know. I guess I should've asked Kyrano before we came in," Alan replied.

"I'll go back out," Virgil offered. He turned and headed for the exit, but was shocked when he ran into something that knocked him flat on his ass. Groaning, he took the hand and arm offered by his older brother, who pulled him to his feet in one fluid motion. "Jesus, did you get the license plate of that truck?"

"Looks like we can't go back any more than the others can come forward," Scott said. He reached a hand out, and sure enough, could feel a smooth, cold texture beneath his fingertips, although his eyes revealed nothing.

"Guys?" Alan said, his voice sounding small in the relative emptiness of the great room.

"What is it, Al?" Gordon asked as he came to his brother's side.

"I don't think I mind telling you that I'm scared shitless."

Scott and Virgil joined them. Gordon turned to look at them then looked back at Alan. "I don't think you're the only one, bro."

Alan barked out a nervous laugh. He stared at the crystal shard in front of them before squaring his shoulders and taking a few steps forward.

"What are you doing?"

"I have no idea, Virg. But the last time I saw Tin-Tin, she was inside this thing. Maybe if I touch it, I'll find out what I'm supposed to do."

Gordon came forward and grabbed his brother's hand. "You're not doing this alone," he said.

"None of you are," Scott added as he grabbed Gordon's other hand. Virgil came up behind him and placed his hand in Scott's. "Ready?"

"Ready," Virgil said.

"Ready," came Gordon's voice.

Alan turned and looked at his brothers. Steely resolve filled his face and he turned back to face the quartz. "Ready." He walked the rest of the way to the towering crystal before them and reached out with his free hand. "Here goes," he whispered. As soon as he touched it, there was a blinding flash of pink light. And then the cavern went dark.

The Tracy brothers were gone.

Jeff paced back and forth in front of the chasm. "I don't understand, Kyrano. I thought we were all supposed to learn something here. Why would they shut us out?"

Before Kyrano could respond, a flash of light accompanied by a loud boom shattered the darkness and silence of the cave.

"What the hell?" Jeff bellowed. He turned toward the cavern, fully expecting the invisible wall to be blocking his way. But as his hands came up in anticipation of its existence, he was horrified to discover, too late, that the invisible wall was gone. Momentum and gravity made him lose his balance. Ruth cried out in terror.

Just as he began to fall headfirst into the gorge, hands reached out and grabbed his shirt then yanked him backwards. Jeff tumbled to the ground, right on top of someone. He rolled off them and laid on his back for a moment trying to catch his breath. Kyrano's and Ruth's flashlights shone down, revealing Jeff's savior to be Brains, who was flat on his back next to him, panting from the effort.

"God. Brains," Jeff breathed, laying a hand on the engineer's arm. "Thank you."

"Don't...mention it..." Brains gasped as Kyrano helped him to his feet. "After all, I promised John I'd look out for you."

"Brains," Ruth said as Kyrano next helped her son up off the cave floor. "Brains, you're not stuttering."

"That's been happening more and more lately," Brains replied as he swept dirt from the back of his shirt.

"Kyrano, that wall's gone. Does that mean we're supposed to cross now?"

"I do not know," Kyrano replied. He looked at the chasm then kicked some dirt and sand out into its center. And there it was. The invisible bridge had returned.

"I'll be damned," Jeff said. "Well, let's go. I wanna know what that flash of light was all about."

He received an encouraging nod from Kyrano before placing his foot out over the gap for the second time that night. This time it landed upon something solid. He placed one foot in front of the other, and before long had made it across the bridge. Kyrano followed next. But just as Brains was about step out, the invisible wall reappeared, shoving him backwards into Ruth. "Oh, no," he said as he stared across the way to where the two men stood looking back at them.

Jeff turned to Kyrano. "I guess it's our turn," he said. And then the invisible wall began to move. It moved away from the chasm, pressing into Brains' torso. He stumbled backward as Ruth skittered out of the way.

"Jeff!" Ruth cried.

"I guess we're supposed to leave," Brains said as the force field continued pushing them back.

"Take care of my mother, Brains. Make sure she gets out of here."

"I will, Mr. Tracy."

"Jeff. It's Jeff, Brains."

The engineer nodded solemnly. With that, Kyrano and Jeff turned and headed for the cavern.

"Come on, Mrs. Tracy," Brains said as he took her elbow. "He's right. I need to get you out of here."

"But what about you? What if you're supposed to go in there, too?"

"I'm not a member of his family, Mrs. Tracy."

"Neither is Kyrano, but it let him through."

"Yes, but it's his daughter who's missing."

"What about me?"

Brains turned and shone his light at the retreating forms of Kyrano and Jeff. "Somehow I don't think you need to go in there," he replied. Then he turned his face down to look at her. "I think you already know everything you need to."

Ruth just looked at him, wondering what exactly he meant by that. Then the wall bumped into their backsides, forcing them to continue on their way. Brains sighed as he led the elderly woman back the way they'd come. "I guess I won't be able to keep my promise to John after all."

Gordon knew immediately that Scott's hand was no longer in his. He blinked his eyes open and found it hard to see a thing. He was surrounded by a blinding white. When he looked down, he could see his body, but he wasn't quite sure if he was standing or floating. Alan was directly in front of him, hand still firmly holding his.

"Where'd Scott and Virg go?" Gordon wondered aloud.

Alan turned to face him, but the movement seemed in slow motion. "I don't know. I guess whatever this is, it's meant only for us."

Gordon's eyes widened. He'd just very clearly heard Alan's voice, but his brother's mouth hadn't moved at all. "Where are we?"

Alan shook his head. He, too, realized they were communicating without actually speaking. "What do we do now?"

Suddenly they began to move forward, not of their own volition. They felt almost like they were being pulled. Their hands tightened around each other's as they both turned to face forward. Then suddenly, Alan was ripped away. Gordon cried out, "No!"

Alan could only turn and watch his brother fade into the distance as he moved forward faster and faster. Then he heard a voice that he'd ached to hear ever since he'd wakened in the hospital ward.

"Tin-Tin." And just like that, there she was before him, looking more beautiful than he ever remembered seeing her. "Tin- Tin, are you okay?"

But she didn't respond. She merely smiled and raised her arm. He followed her index finger as it pointed off to his right. Curiously, a wooden door had appeared in the vast white landscape surrounding them. When he turned back to ask her what the door was for, he found she was no longer there.

"Tin-Tin!" he cried. "Where are you?"

You must go through the door, Alan.

He instinctively knew what lay beyond that innocent-looking door. Something that, to him, was quite frightening. He drifted toward it and stopped just inches away. "God, I don't want to do this," he breathed. Then thoughts of Tin-Tin filled his head. He knew that he had no choice. He reached his hand out and touched the doorknob. It turned beneath his grip. Slowly the door began to open.

"Where are they?" Jeff yelled as he and Kyrano entered the deserted cavern. "Where are my sons?"

"I believe they have been taken to another plane. Jeff..."

"What?"

Kyrano walked up to the rose quartz, which had begun to glow. Before touching it, he turned to face his friend. "Take my hand. It is time."

Jeff walked the short distance to where Kyrano waited. He took his hand and watched as Kyrano reached out and placed his palm against the smooth crystal shard. A blinding pink glow came from within the quartz and two flashlights clattered to the floor as they, just like the four before them, disappeared.

Even though they had just crossed from the new tunnel into the main line, both Brains and Ruth heard the sonic boom coming from behind them. They looked at one another then continued on their way. Only a half-mile more and they'd be able to contact John. Then another half-mile and they'd be out.

But out to what?

You know that in this life, he is your companion soul.

Had he been standing on something solid, Gordon would've jumped a mile into the air as the booming voice permeated his very being. "Who's there?" he squeaked.

You must share this experience with him, but you must not interfere. Do you understand?

Gordon tried to swallow, but found his mouth dry as a bone. He could only nod as he felt himself being propelled toward a dark speck in the distance. As he drew closer and closer, the speck became larger and larger until he realized it was very plain-looking wooden door. It was standing wide-open. Gordon could see nothing but continued whiteness beyond its entrance. He jerked to a stop within its frame and the voice filled his head again.

Remember. Do not interfere.

"I won't! I promise!" he said anxiously. Before he could even wonder what it was he wasn't supposed to interfere with, he was shoved through the door. It slammed shut behind him, causing him to whirl around in fright. Then the white faded into a soft pink. He turned slowly and saw his brother not ten feet in front of him. Alan was facing him, eyes wide. All Gordon wanted to do was run to his side, but that voice...it had warned him not to. He had no choice but to stand helplessly by. His face puckered, Gordon watched and waited.

"Virg?"

"Right behind you, Scott."

"I didn't feel your hand for a moment. Where are we?"

"Don't know."

The two seemed to be floating in mid-air, surrounded by a soft pink glow.

Remember, Scott.

The voice scared the hell out of the two men, who jumped toward each other, their hands gripping one another's so tightly they thought bones would soon be breaking. "Who the hell was that?" Scott asked.

Remember her. Remember that day.

"Oh, God," Scott whispered. "No."

"Scott?"

He turned to face his younger brother, terror etched into his face. "I can't relive it, Virg. I can't."

Virgil had never seen his brother so panicked in all his born days. Scott never showed his fear. Ever. What was it he was supposed to remember? "Relive what, Scott?"

Scott's face twisted as he tried in vain to push the painful memories away. "Maria," he choked.

"Maria?"

Scott nodded, taking deep breaths, doing his best to keep calm.

"She was my...in the Air Force we...I wanted to..." Scott sighed. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I wanted to marry her."

Virgil’s eyes widened. "But...you didn’t."

Scott’s eyes squeezed shut. He could only shake his head.

"Why?"

"She--" His voice broke as he turned away. "She was killed."

He barely heard the words, so softly were they spoken. "Scott?" His mind was racing. He had never...never...heard of anyone named Maria.

Why? Why had the brother he was closest to never told him? He’d never seen Scott look so lost. So sad. So...overwhelmed by emotions he was clearly incapable of handling.

You will see him through this, Virgil.

"Why do you have to torture him like this?" Virgil cried out in anger.

He must confront and release this memory in order to heal.

"Heal? You’re opening wounds, not healing them!"

Virgil's golden eyes met dark blue ones filled with torture. He moved to touch Scott’s shoulder. "It's okay, Scott. You can do it."

"No."

"I'm here," Virgil said, gripping his hand even tighter, if that were possible. "I'm here."

Scott closed his eyes and bit his lower lip. "I can’t relive it, Virg. I can’t."

"I always knew there was something you hadn't told me. Something you’d held back."

The pink glow faded and soon they found themselves standing in the middle of a bustling street. Virgil could tell they were in a desert area, though he wasn’t sure where. Quite a few men in uniform passed here and there, some together, some alone, some with women. His eyes fell to a corner not twelve feet away where his brother...a younger Scott Tracy...stood with a beautiful dark-haired woman. Both wore Air Force dress, clearly on their way to some sort of official function. Arizona. That’s where Scott had been stationed, Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

They were laughing. Virgil couldn’t remember ever having seen his brother look so carefree, so...so happy. It was as though the tough years of his childhood and young adulthood had never happened. The woman said something into Scott’s ear and his brother blushed furiously then burst out laughing. Virgil couldn’t help but smile.

But when he looked at Scott, Scott wasn’t smiling. Tears streamed down his face, his chest heaving. Virgil frowned as he turned back to the Scott in uniform. He and the woman...the woman he now guessed was Maria...were halfway across the street. The next moments happened in slow motion as a pickup truck squealed right by where Virgil stood on the opposite curb. It swerved as if to turn the corner, and Virgil nearly breathed a sigh of relief.

The relief was short-lived. At the last minute the truck swerved back to its original path.

"No!" Scott cried, making Virgil jump about a mile. "Nooo!"

The Scott of Now bolted forward and took a running leap into Maria. But he went right through her, tumbling head over ass to the ground below. The truck clipped Maria, who knocked into the Scott of Then, and the two hit the pavement, rolling over and over until at last they came to rest right next to Virgil’s Scott. He sat up, staring at the two unmoving bodies next to him. He reached out as if to touch Maria, but his hand met only air.

"No," he cried, tears flowing unchecked. He buried his head in his hands. "God, no."

Virgil, his own eyes shining brightly, moved to kneel beside him. He wrapped an arm around Scott, pulling him into a tight embrace. "What happened?" he whispered. A handful of minutes passed in silence.

"She died before we ever reached the hospital," Scott finally replied. "I was just knocked out, had a bump on my head." He looked up into Virgil’s eyes. "I should’ve protected her. I should’ve been able to save her."

"No, Scott, no. You had no warning, no warning at all."

"I loved her, Virg." His voice was thick with emotion. "I loved her."

"I know, Scott. I know you did. I can see it in your eyes." And with that, he just held Scott until at last he’d composed himself enough for the two to rise to their feet.

"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’ve never been able to talk about her."

"She was beautiful."

He nodded and smiled, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. "She was. I wish you’d gotten to meet her."

"I think I just did."

Scott nodded.

"You okay?"

"I..." Scott put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder and squeezed. "I think so."

The street dissolved into darkness. Suddenly, Virgil felt himself falling helplessly. He cried out for Scott, having no idea where his brother was. His arms and legs flailed for purchase, but found nothing to grab onto. His head and back slammed into something hard, and consciousness slipped away.

Visions began to surround them. Visions of girls and then young ladies, some of whom Gordon recognized as Alan's former girlfriends. Then came the moment Alan had first laid eyes on Tin-Tin. Gordon and Alan watched as the scene unfolded before them. Both remembered it well. They had gathered in the hangar deep within the mountain on Tracy Island with their father and Kyrano to await the return of Thunderbird 2.

After the near-disaster with the Fireflash, Jeff had told Virgil to just bring Tin-Tin along when he returned. He wasn't about to let her stay in London after what must have been a harrowing experience for her. They heard the whine of Thunderbird 2's engines as she came in over the runway. Virgil stopped the ship, turned her so her tail section was facing the hangar, and landed gently on the tarmac. Slowly he backed her into the hangar, the cliff wall rising up as soon as her nose had cleared the entrance.

Not long after the ship was backed into place, the passenger elevator lifted two people out of Thunderbird 2's top hatch. It moved sideways and settled into its lift then descended until it reached the concrete floor. When the door slid open, Alan stepped forward, anxious to see the latest addition to the group. Out of the elevator stepped the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her dark hair shined in the hangar lights, almost making her glow. Her hazel eyes glittered as Kyrano rushed forward to take her in his arms.

Virgil crossed the hangar as the elevator began to ascend, undoubtedly on its way to retrieve Scott from the main level. At last Kyrano backed out of the hug and led his daughter over to the group. "Gordon, Alan," he said, nodding at each young man in turn. "I would like you to meet my daughter, Tin-Tin."

The Gordon of now watched the Alan of now as Alan's eyes misted over. "I fell in love with her that day," he said softly. "I've been in love with her since the first time I laid eyes on her." He turned to his brother. "I don't understand. Why didn't I realize this before now?"

Remembering what the voice had said, Gordon did nothing but shake his head and shrug his shoulders. Suddenly the scene in Thunderbird 2’s hangar disappeared and other visions began appearing, like pictures floating past them. They were all times Alan and Tin-Tin had spent together, some of which Gordon had witnessed, some of which he hadn't. The last picture showed them moving along in the cave, going deeper and deeper into the earth.

Gordon saw them clawing and digging their way into the rose quartz cavern. Tin-Tin squeezed her way through the opening. As Alan followed behind, Gordon's jaw dropped, for the Alan of now stepped forward and into the Alan from the cavern. The two fused into one, and as Tin-Tin walked toward the glowing crystal, he heard Alan cry out her name. And...something else.

"No! Tin-Tin! I love you!"

He stared awestruck as a force field appeared. Alan took a running leap, but instead of being stopped by the shimmering wall, he broke clear through it, hurtling headfirst into Tin-Tin. Gordon tried to run after them, but found he couldn't move. Tin-Tin and Alan slammed into the rose quartz, which shattered into thousands of pieces. A flash of pink light shot outward in all directions, and before Gordon could even think, he felt himself falling fast and hard. He hit something solid, and his world went black.

"Kyrano, where are we?"

"Wait. You will see," his old friend smiled.

Jeff turned, following Kyrano's gaze. Something was emerging from the soft, pink haze surrounding them. No, not something. Someone. Jeff let go Kyrano's hand as he peered into the distance. He began walking towards the person as Kyrano looked on. The closer he got, the more distinct the form became. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks.

"It can't be," he whispered. He turned to find Kyrano, but discovered he was nowhere to be seen. He felt a hand upon his and jumped. Looking back to his right, he couldn't believe his eyes. For there, standing before him, was none other than...

"Lucy," he breathed. His free hand reached out to caress her face. She was just as he remembered her. Beautiful. Perfect. She smiled and leaned into his hand.

"I have missed you so, Jeff."

"I miss you too, Lucy," he said softly. "More than you'll ever know."

"You are too sad, my love. Too sad when you think of me. You hurt too much."

"You left me too soon. How can I not hurt?"

"You must not remember only pain when you feel me, Jeff. Remember the happy times. The happy memories we shared together, shared with our family."

Lucy turned and swept her hand out. A vision appeared before them as Jeff held her hand tightly in his.

So many smiles.

Scott was barely three. Lucy was very pregnant with Virgil. Jeff came home from work one day to find her there in the kitchen stirring something in a pot. On her left hip she held little Scotty, and was talking merrily with him as he stood in the doorway and just watched them. Even eight months along, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, her chestnut hair flowing in waves down past her shoulders. She wore a long rose-colored dress that reached her shins.

He stole up behind her and began to tickle Scott. He squirmed and giggled as she began to laugh, turning and hitting Jeff with the spoon. It left a whole mess of whatever was in that pot all over his arm, which young Scott found extremely funny. He took the toddler from her and gathered her into his arms, holding her, cherishing this ordinary yet perfect moment. As he looked into those brown eyes, he marveled at the love they shared. And when their lips met, their firstborn son looked on, eyes wide. Then he began to giggle again and Jeff recalled that the evening ended with three very messy...but very happy...human beings.

The vision disappeared. Lucy turned and smiled at him. "You see, Jeff? Happy memories. Memories of our love."

He looked down at her, but she had turned to face the void in front of them, and another vision appeared.

So many memories.

There was one particular evening when he'd had to stay late at the office. He came home to find Scott and John watching television with Virgil in the living room. He heard singing. Sweet strains he knew could only come from his Lucille. Jeff followed the sound to Gordon's room, where she sat in the rocking chair breastfeeding him, moving slowly to and fro as she sang a lullabye. Her operatic tones lulled him into a sense of this being one of those perfect moments, the kind where time seems to stop, where you could grab hold of that minute and live inside it forever.

He felt someone tugging at his pant leg, and looked down to find little Virgie, his arms raised in silent request. Jeff lifted him and together they watched his mother's back. He didn't think she knew they were there. He couldn't bear to let the magic end, couldn't speak or make a sound. Virgil laid his head on Jeff's shoulder, and he rested his head on the soft chestnut hair so like his mother's.

Jeff smiled as his eyes filled with tears. Lucy leaned into him and his arm pulled her body to his. "How could I forget, Luce?" he asked softly into her hair.

"One more, Jeff," she said, raising her hand and pointing toward where yet another scene unfolded.

So many moments.

The boys had wanted a campout. Gordon was no more than six months old. Scott and Virgil had decided the living room would do since their mother refused to allow them a tent in the back yard while it was raining. The family had made a night of it, watching movies and laughing and joking, telling campfire stories, roasting marshmallows in the fireplace, singing old camp tunes. When at last everyone had settled in...Scott on the couch, Virgil on the floor right next to him and John curled up in the chair...Jeff made his way around the room to wish them all good night and tuck them in. Lucy followed with Gordon in her arms.

They walked to the doorway, where they turned as one and watched as Virgil tried to get onto the couch with Scott. Jeff remembered the younger boy had made him angry earlier that day, and Scott, it seemed, was determined to hold his grudge. Virgil began to sniffle and came to his parents.

"Scotty won't let me sleep with him," he cried, his lower lip quivering.

He never could stand his older brother being mad at him. Jeff was about to open his mouth and give Scott a stern warning not to be so harsh, but Lucy elbowed him to keep quiet. "Go and tell him you're sorry, Virg," she whispered.

They watched Virgil creep back to the couch. "Lucy," Jeff began, certain he was in the right with his desire to admonish their oldest boy.

"Shh, Jeff. Watch."

They heard Virgil's small voice say, "I'm sorry, Scotty. Please don't be mad at me." And to Jeff's amazement, Scott reached out and helped his brother snuggle into the sleeping bag with him. He turned to his wife, who was smiling at them as she rubbed Gordon's back.

"See, Jeff?" she whispered. "You have to let them work it out. Because they always will."

So many words of wisdom.

The final scene faded and Lucy turned in Jeff's arms. They were face-to-face. He was overwhelmed by her presence and leaned down to touch his lips to hers, something he never thought he'd be able to do again. He held her tight, so tight he wondered if he would crush her. But when they parted, she was smiling.

"I love you, Lucille."

"And I love you, Jeff. I always have and I always will."

"Don't leave me again. Let me stay here with you."

"Jeff, you're being childish. Who would run International Rescue if you stayed here?"

"Scott. He can do it."

"They need you, Jeff. Our boys need you, now more than ever. They've dedicated themselves to your dream. Don't you dare leave them to it alone."

Jeff turned away, ashamed that he could even think of deserting his sons, especially aloud to their mother.

Lucy backed out of his arms. "Our love is always here, Jeff," she said. "But you need to let me go."

"I can't."

"You must. The world has so much to offer. Don't close yourself off to it. When it's your time, we'll meet again. Until then..."

Jeff watched as she began to fade from sight. She raised her hand to her lips then blew him a kiss. "Lucy, don't go," he whispered. As she disappeared into the pink mist, he felt a hand upon his shoulder. He turned to find Kyrano smiling at him.

"It is time to go," he said softly.

And instead of feeling sad, Jefferson Tracy, for the first time in a great many years, actually felt happy. He turned to look at the place he'd last seen Lucille and smiled. Then he faced his friend again. "Okay."

Without warning, Jeff and Kyrano felt themselves falling. They landed with two great thumps on a cold, hard surface and blacked out.

"Why haven't we heard anything?" Ruth asked as a faint glow appeared in the eastern sky. "Where are they?"

Brains looked at John's face coming from within his watch com. "Brains," John whispered, hoping his grandmother wouldn't hear. "Brains, they should've come out by now." The engineer looked back toward the cave entrance. His eyes widened as the ground beneath his feet began to tremble.

"What's that? What's happening?" John asked as Brains' body shook with the vibration.

"Brains!" Ruth cried. "The cave! It's crumbling!"

The two watched as pieces of rock and dirt began to fall near the entrance.

"Brains!"

"What?"

"I don't believe this!"

"What, John, what?"

"The calls! The emergency calls! They've stopped!"

Ruth peered over Brains' arm so she could see John's face. "They've stopped?" she repeated. "Completely?"

John nodded as he flipped different switches and buttons. He moved to one side of the control panel then the other, checking every circuit and every channel. "Nothing's malfunctioning, they've just stopped!" He turned to look at Brains and his grandmother. "You know that this means."

"They must've restored the rose quartz," Brains said as he and Ruth looked back up at the tunnel.

"Alan," Ruth breathed. As dirt and rocks continued to fall, Ruth peered through the darkness. She was certain she'd seen something. "What's that?" she asked, pointing toward the mouth of the cave.

Brains shone his flashlight at it and soon saw two figures running toward them. "Scott!" he cried. "Virgil!"

"What?" John yelled from the watch com.

Ruth and Brains ran to the two men as they emerged from the entrance, shaking dust and sand from their hair and clothes. Ruth grabbed hold of Scott in a fierce hug then enveloped Virgil as Brains looked on, smiling with relief. "Two down," he muttered, shining his light into the entrance expectantly.

Mere seconds later, two more sets of footfalls could be heard.

"Dad!" Virgil and Scott cried as Jeff and Kyrano ran out of the tunnel. They grabbed their father in a fierce hug as Ruth embraced her old friend. Brains remained near the entrance, training his light into its center. There were still three more that needed to come out.

But only one showed up.

Gordon raced out of the cave and fell into the sand at Brains' feet. The engineer knelt before him. "Gordon! Where's Alan?"

He shook his head, his breath coming in sharp gasps. "Don't...know..." he panted. "Couldn't ... find ... him ... cavern's ... collapsing ... barely ... made it out ..."

Brains came to his feet. He looked into his watch at John's stricken face as Jeff, Scott and Virgil helped Gordon to his feet. Ruth and Kyrano gathered with them as larger and larger pieces of the cave wall fell before them.

"No," Brains breathed.

"Alan," Jeff whispered.

"I never should've left," Gordon said, shaking his head. "I thought maybe he'd gotten out without me. I promised him I wouldn't leave, I promised I'd help him through this."

Kyrano's head suddenly snapped up. His eyes widened as he stared at the tunnel's dwindling opening.

"Come on," Scott whispered. "Come on."

Suddenly Brains' light caught movement. Everyone held their breath as dust billowed from the opening. They waved their hands in front of them, trying to clear their line of sight. Gordon broke away from his father and, along with Kyrano, stood directly in front of the cave.

Two dirty, dusty, filthy figures flew at them just as the side of the mountain far above their heads began to crack.

"Alan!" Gordon yelled as the younger man fell into him.

"Tin-Tin!" Kyrano cried as his daughter collapsed into his arms.

"We have to get out of here!" Brains hollered above the noise. "The mountainside's coming down!"

Jeff came forward and scooped Alan into his arms while Scott lifted Tin-Tin. The group ran down the beach just as the rock face crumbled and began to slide downward, sealing the entrance to Alan's cave forever. They all turned to watch, mesmerized, as the sun began to clear the horizon. Dust and dirt settled, revealing a new, smaller mountain that dropped right down into the edge of the water.

Jeff let Alan down. At first he stood unsteadily, but then he saw Tin-Tin being lowered to the ground by Scott. She turned to face him and their eyes locked. They walked slowly toward one another. She smiled, reaching up to wipe grime from his face.

"Thank you, Alan. Thank you for rescuing me."

He gathered her in his arms. "I love you, Tin-Tin."

"I know."

Virgil turned toward Scott. "You okay?"

Scott smiled. "Yeah, actually. I think I am. I think I'll be all right. Virg?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. Thanks for being there."

"Any time," Virgil smiled. He grabbed Scott and pulled him into a hug. "Any time."

Brains and Ruth watched as Jeff and Kyrano spoke quietly. They both wondered what had happened to their loved ones. They all seemed so happy...and changed. It was as though different people had come out than had gone in.

"Kyrano, how can I ever thank you?"

"You need not thank me, Jeff. It was the Masters who made this possible."

"She was beautiful. Just as I remembered her."

Kyrano nodded. "I know."

"You saw it?"

"Yes. And you are right. Lucille was a very lovely woman."

Jeff turned to find everyone staring at him. Gordon approached, stopping about a foot in front of him. "Dad? You okay?"

He smiled as he put an arm around his son's shoulders. "I'll be fine. It looks like we all will. Let's go home."

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.