Nightmares and Family Squabbles

Nightmares don't just haunt memories of the mind, they haunt the heart and soul of the body. Family squabbles, however, haunt everyone

Hey! I'm back! And with another update of the Apologize Saga! YAY ME!!! Alright, I know you are just dying to read the next installment, so I will give to you. But, I hope you will all read and REVIEW my new story, super edition, WORLD TRADE CENTER. Coming to you on 9-11-2009. Oh, wait…you already did…and it came out too…oops… this story was supposed to be out before then…huhn… Wow… I have SO got to learn to update quickly…

Oh yeah, there will be -FLASH- scenes, like in WTC. So, if you have no clue what I mean, sorry! A -FLASH- scene [well, in this story at least] is both a current scene, then a quick flashback, then a current scene, then a flashback…you get it, right? If not, then you will!

Disclaimer: If I owned the Thunderbirds… I would make a magic potion and bring them to life! YEAH!!! But, alas. I do not own such a terrific thing. That would be a crime if I did, wouldn't it?

WARNING: There will be mention of child abuse in the first part of Nightmares. Sorry if you are uncomfortable with that!

Enjoy the next installment!

Word of warning. FF doesn't seem to like me. So the things that should be centered, like ~Thunderbirdsarego~ aren't and I've tried fixing it like 5 times! So, if this bugs you, I apologize. On with the story.

Flashback

"Wake up, you damn brat! Quit sleepin! You haven't earned your rest!" Adam Frost boomed loudly as a very young Alex Frost struggled to escape the dark pit he found himself trapped in. "Daddy?" he asked, and immediately regretted it as Adam's fist connected with his jaw. "Don't you ever call me that, you bastard! You are not worthy of talking to me!" Alex began to cry as more blows followed his father's drunken tirade. Suddenly, everything became dark until a white light engulfed him, sending him spiraling into another memory.

"Boy! Cook our dinner!" Judy Frost screeched from the couch.

A seven-year-old –almost eight- Alex Frost cried. "But Daddy says I'm not supposed to go near the stove! I could gets burned!" he sobbed.

Adam got up from the ragged recliner, beer bottle in hand. He walked toward the boy menacingly, pulling a lighter out of his back pocket. "You want to know what it's like to get burned?" Reaching out, he grabbed Alex's arm before the child had a chance to run, and flicked open the lighter cap.

Alex's eyes were wide with fear as Adam brought the cigarette lighter closer and closer to his bruised arm…

End Flashback

Alex's eyes shot open as he sat up straight in the bed. Switching on the light, which banished the remnants of his memory/nightmare, he raised his right arm shakily and stared at the burn scar that was found there. Tears fell from his eyes as he shakily got up and walked out of the room, unaware of the untrusting, brown-haired, blue-eyed figure watching him as he left the house.

~Thunderbirdsarego~

"Hey, Sprout!"

Alex looked up as red-haired Gordon Tracy walked into the guest room where Alex was currently staying. "Hey, Gordon!" he said cheerfully. "What do we get to do today?"

Gordon smiled and ruffled Alex's hair, ignoring the boy's protests against this. 'It's hard to believe that this kid was abused,' he thought. 'He…He seems so happy… Damn it, Dad! Why do we have to send him away?!'

"Gordon?" Alex asked uncertainly. As Gordon examined the boy, he became more and more aware that Alex had changed over the past two months. He now had a nice tan, his blond hair was clean, and his blue eyes sparkled. But, if anyone so much as asked him what happened to him, he would sink deep inside of himself and wouldn't talk to anyone for hours, sometimes even days.

Gordon's train of thought was lost again as he glanced back at Alex. 'Damn it… I don't want him to go… How the hell am I supposed to tell him that he's leaving?' he wondered. "Uh, Alex? You want to go for a walk down to the cove?"

Alex looked at him funny. "You want to go down to the cove? Why?"

"No particular reason. Just fancied a walk, that's all."

"All right."

Gordon looked startled. He hadn't expected the kid to agree with him so quickly. "Er… Alex?"

"What?"

"Why'd you agree to come so quickly? You usually put up quite a fight."

Alex just shrugged and walked out the door. Gordon stared after him for a long moment before following the boy who he thought of as his younger brother. 'Wait… I do think of Alex as Alan… No. Stop, Gordon. Don't do this to yourself. It's just going to make telling him even harder…'

He found Alex by the pool and saw the teen stop right in front of Scott. 'Whoo, boy… I smell trouble.'

There was indeed trouble as Scott, from a lounge chair, glared at the teenager with malice in his eyes. He didn't know why, but the kid just mad him mad all the time. Seeing the boy that had stowed away on TB2 put Scott in a bad mood. "What are you staring at?" he growled to the frozen teenager.

Alex couldn't tear his eyes away from Scott's gaze. Something about his eyes scared the young teenager. A memory rose to the surface of his mind.

Flashback

Watching in horror as the glass rocket fell, the small boy dove to the ground, attempting to catch the fragile glass. With a loud thud, he fell to the floor and the glass rocket shattered next to him. A single shard somehow managed to bounce off the ground and embed itself in the small boy's arm.

He cried out in pain, stopping only when he heard the sound of footsteps. He quickly stood up and grabbed his teddy bear that had fallen out of his hands when he had dove after the rocket.

The door swung open, revealing a pair of blue eyes…

End Flashback

'Why can't I remember that face? Why only the eyes?' he wondered.

He visibly flinched when someone put a hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned to see Gordon staring at him with worried eyes. "You okay, Sprout?" he asked.

Alex stared back at him before walking away, not giving him an answer.

"I told you the brat was no good," Scott said with a mean smirk.

Gordon glared at him. "You know why he does it? You scare him! I don't know what you ever did to him, but I swear, when I find out."

"Can you back up that threat?" Scott growled, getting up from the lounge chair.

Virgil chose then to appear. Seeing his two brothers about to get into a fight, he quickly intervened. Stepping between the two hotheads, he put his arms out. "What the heck is it with you two?" he asked.

"He started it," Scott growled, glaring daggers at his younger, red-haired brother.

"Ever since Alex came to this island, you haven't tried to get to know him! You just keep ignoring him when he's with us, and glaring at him when he is near you!" Gordon accused.

"I'm not the one who allowed him on the island! I wanted him gone! The kid should never have been allowed to stay!"

"What else were we supposed to do? Take him back to the mainland and dump him? Let his abusive parents get a hold of him and do God-knows-what to him?!"

Virgil had to agree with Gordon on this one. Scott wasn't being fair, but before he got a chance to voice his opinion, Scott continued.

"Yes! That is exactly what you were supposed to do! He should've had the guts to go to the police in the first place! He should've never have stowed away on the Thunderbird! And you never should've let him!"

Gordon shoved Virgil out of the way, ignoring the loud splash as Virgil landed in the pool, and punched Scott's jaw, sending the older brother sprawling. "You bastard!" he shouted.

Virgil surfaced just in time to see his younger brother and his oldest brother exchanging blows with one another. Scott's lip was bleeding, as was Gordon's nose. 'Damn it!' he shouted mentally as his two brothers ended up fighting on the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

No one noticed a violently shaking Alex watching the fight with fear-filled eyes.

Flashback

"GET OUT! GET OUT!!! MAN, I WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN! GET LOST! I HATE YOU!!"

End Flashback

~Thunderbirdsarego~

Tin-Tin Belangant was walking up to the pool area when she saw Alex just standing there, shaking violently. Dropping the bag she was carrying, she raced up to her friend before stopping in shock at the fight that was going on a mere twenty feet in front of them. She quickly grabbed Alex's arm and pulled him along behind her, afraid that he would collapse if he stayed any longer.

Tin-Tin pulled Alex back to the other entrance into the Tracy complex, racing for Mr. Tracy's office. But while they were running, Alex pulled his arm from her grasp and ran in the opposite direction. Tin-Tin didn't have time to stop him. She continued running up to the office.

~Thunderbirdsarego~

Alex didn't stop running. He knew that the fight was all his fault. He knew Scott didn't like him and he had tried to stay out of his way, but…

'Maybe it would just be better if I disappeared… Disappeared into the jungle…Yeah… I gotta disappear…' Running with newfound strength, Alex ran into the jungle.

~Thunderbirdsarego~

"Mr. Tracy! Mr. Tracy!"

Jeff Tracy looked up from the telephone, clearly annoyed at Tin-Tin's intrusion. "What is it?" he mouthed, his hand over the receiver.

"Scott and Gordon are fighting!" Tin-Tin panted.

"Virgil can handle it," Jeff began, beginning to get up. Worry showed in his eyes.

"He got shoved in the pool!"

Jeff turned off the phone with a quick "Goodbye" and hurried after Tin-Tin. "Wait. What kind of fight?" he asked, trying to keep up with the Malaysian girl. 'Man, I really need to work out more!'

"Let's just say there's a lot of blood."

"Da-" Jeff cut off, then continued, "-mn it." He didn't really like to swear, and was quick to get after his boys if they did. Though, that may not stop them when he wasn't around. 'Oh, please tell me they're not fighting over Alex again…' Out loud, he asked, "Where's Alex?"

Tin-Tin stopped, forcing Jeff to run into her. "He…He saw everything. He was pale and shaking violently. I dragged him away from there, but he pulled away from me and ran into the jungle!" she cried, turning to look at him.

"Tin-Tin, calm down. It's not your fault," Jeff said soothingly. "Find John. With Brains and Fermat up on TB5, Virgil hauling himself out of the pool, and Scott and Gordon going at it, you're going to need his help. He's the only one available, besides you, that knows the jungle really well."

Tin-Tin nodded and sped off to find the blond. Jeff sighed and continued running toward the shouting of his oldest and…youngest…son. When he got there, he froze. Nothing could've prepared him for the sight that awaited him by the pool. Gordon and Scott continued to duke it out on the ground while Virgil, unsuccessfully, tried to pull them apart.

"STOP!" Jeff shouted, running toward them. Neither listened. "Virgil, grab Gordon!" Virgil did as he was told and grabbed his younger brother while his father grabbed the oldest Tracy sibling. Together, they finally managed to pulled the two apart and keep them apart.

Gordon and Scott continued to glare angrily at each other. Blood dribbled down both men's chins as they attempted to free themselves from their captors and continue fighting.

"Let me go!" Scott screamed angrily.

"Let me at that bastard!" Gordon echoed.

"Shut up!" Jeff and Virgil shouted angrily. The pool area became deathly silent; the only noise heard was heavy breathing.

"Now," Jeff began. "What the hell was all this about?"

It was the wrong question to ask. Both Scott and Gordon began a shouting match.

~Thunderbirdsarego~

Running.

-FLASH-

"Scotty! I'm sorry! It was an accident!"

-FLASH-

Must run. Mustn't stop.

-FLASH-

"I. Don't. Care. Get. The. Hell. Away. From. Me."

-FLASH-

Panting. Breathing heavily. Must get away. Must get away from the pain.

-FLASH-

The squealing of breaks. A loud car horn. Pain.

-FLASH-

What are these…these…thoughts? Memories? Where did they come from?

-FLASH-

"What's your name, brat?"

Alex.

-FLASH-

No. That can't be right… It didn't feel right… What was his name?

Alan.

Yeah, that felt…right…familiar… but, why?

-FLASH-

"Hey, Alan. Come on in! The water's great!"

-FLASH-

Why won't these memories go away?!

"Daddy…Make it stop!"

-FLASH-

"Listen to me, you little bastard!"

Something smashing into his head. A cry of pain.

"Shut up!"

"Daddy! Scotty! Johnny! Virgil! Gordy! Help me!"

"Your daddy and your precious family aren't coming for you!"

-FLASH-

The sight of a hypodermic needle being thrust into his arm.

-FLASH-

Branches scratching his pale skin as he ran, Alex ran through the jungle, holding his throbbing head. The pain was overwhelming him. Suddenly there was nothing beneath his feet. With a scream, he fell.

.~*~.

He didn't know how long he had been lying there. Hours, he guessed. He couldn't understand why he was all wet. His eyes opened slowly to the sound of someone calling his name over the roar of the river.

"Alex! Alex!" someone was screaming. "Where are you?"

Alex didn't know. How was he supposed to answer when he didn't know? He slowly looked around, suppressing a cry of pain when he moved his arm. The pain was overwhelming. Biting his lip, he continued to look around. He was lying on the bank of a river, his lower half still submerged in the cool water. 'How on earth did I not drown?' he wondered before slowly falling back into the painless abyss of darkness.

~Thunderbirdsarego~

"Alex!" John Tracy and Tin-tin Belangant called, pausing every couple of minutes to listen for an answer. Once again, there wasn't one. They had been walking in the jungle for over an hour and still no sign of Alex. John was beginning to lose hope.

"Man, when that kid hides, he hides!"

Tin-tin glared at him, not finding his attempted joke amusing. "Let's keep looking," she answered, stalking off.

"Hey, I was just kidding! Tin-tin! Wait up!"

Catching up to the Malaysian girl, John sighed. He hadn't meant to make her mad. "Tin-tin. I'm sorry. I'm worried about Alex, to-" the rest of his sentence was cut off by a scream. Glancing at Tin-tin, they both shouted at the same time.

"ALEX!"

They ran, as fast as they could, toward the source of the scream, but found nothing. Tin-tin nearly fallen off the edge of a cliff and would've if John hadn't grabbed her arm at the last second.

"Thanks," she panted.

"Your welcome. Geez…that's steep…" John remarked, peering over the edge of the cliff. At the bottom was a swiftly moving river. "How come we didn't know of this place before?"

"I don't know. I haven't been in this part of the jungle before."

"Now that's saying something. Don't you usually explore the jungle every chance you get?"

Tin-tin gave a sheepish grin. "Yeah…" Her eyes turned and she stared out at the view of the sea. "Wow."

John followed her gaze and whistled. "Wow, is right."

After staring at the sunset, they both glanced at each other in shock. "Crap! We better get back to searching!" John exclaimed, glancing at his watch. Tin-tin nodded and John helped her stand up.

"Alex! Alex!" they shouted together. "Where are you?"

Once again, there was no answer, only the soft roaring of the river below. Tin-tin glanced up at the elder Tracy with worry. "You don't think he fell off this cliff, do you?" she asked hesitatingly.

"Something tells me that's exactly what happened." John looked down at the river again. "How are we going to get down there? It's getting dark and we can't wait any longer."

"I have no idea. Damn."

"Language, Tin-tin."

~Thunderbirdsarego~

Crimson-haired, Adam Frost let out a frustrated scream. Good thing he was in an empty house. Well, it was empty…now. He glanced down at the young couple he had just slaughtered during one of his interrogations. The woman had claimed to have spotted a boy Alan's age boarding a Thunderbird during their last rescue in Manchester. "Two friggin months ago!" he growled angrily.

His search for Alan Tracy was obviously not going well.

"He told the friggin Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds! I'm going to scalp that little bastard!"

Right after the woman had told him that, she had recognized Adam and screamed for help. Her husband had run in…and met a bullet. The woman soon joined her husband in death.

"Bastards."

Adam had returned to Manchester in order to collect his wife, only to find that she was no longer at the house. The torture equipment was also missing. Judy must've ran when their pictures appeared on the TV. Thank goodness she had taken the goodies with her.

He walked around the couple's former house in disgust. Soon, he reached the kitchen and found the lighter. Then, going to the garage, he found kerosene.

Needless to say, a few minutes later, the house was up in smoke.

And Adam Frost was no where to be seen.

~Thunderbirdsarego~

Judy Hoth, formerly Judy Frost sighed angrily. When she had seen the sketch of her and her husband on the TV, she instantly panicked. Gathering up their special surprises they had planned for the Tracy brat, she quickly fled in the middle of the night.

She was beyond pissed. Way beyond pissed.

"When I get a hold of you, little Alan Tracy, you are going to die a slow and painful death. I hope that whomever you are staying with, keeps you there. If you ever show up around here again, you are going to die. And, if my husband gets arrested because of you…" she left off with a sick thought as she continued to walk down the rainy streets with her red hair sticking to her face.

~Thunderbirdsarego~

John and Tin-tin were about three-fourths of the way down the cliff face, walking along a hidden path that they had just found, the small of the river grew louder with each step. Tin-tin nearly fell a couple of times, but John had come to her rescue.

Finally, standing on a ledge just above the swiftly moving waters, they sighed. It was almost completely dark out, only a little bit of light remained. They would be lucky if they managed to not fall into the river.

"Damn."

"What did I just tell you about language, Tin? Geez. You're worse than Gordon," John said with a smirk. Tin-tin looked at the elder Tracy brother and shrugged.

"You have to admit, it fits the situation perfectly. How are we going to get across the river now? It's almost dark!" Tin-tin asked.

"I honestly have no clue."

"We're screwed."

"Yep."

"Only one choice now."

"What do you me- TIN-TIN!" With a beautiful form, the Malaysian girl dived off the edge of the ledge, and into the dark, deep waters below. John had no choice but to follow her, muttering, "I'm going to kill her," just before he, too, dove in. Though, he didn't have as great a form as she did.

~Thunderbirdsarego~

"Quite frankly, I am very disappointed with both of you," Jeff growled angrily as both his oldest and second youngest flinched at his wraith and looked down. Jeff Tracy was beyond angry. "Did you realize that Alex was watching the whole thing? When Tin-tin found him standing at the edge of the pool area, he was shaking violently. You guys… you guys really scared him. He ran off, and is currently somewhere in the jungle. John and Tin-tin are still looking for him."

Gordon looked up in shock. "Alex is missing?" he asked as he glared at Scott, who didn't seem to care. "Please. Please, Dad. Can I go and help find him? I need to know that he is okay."

Jeff glanced at his second youngest for a moment before shaking his head. "Sorry, but if the alarm goes off, I'm going to need two more pilots able to respond with me."

Scott's head shot up, his eyes blazing with anger. "What do you mean, two other pilots?" he asked.

Jeff looked at his eldest son squarely. "You, Scott, are going to go and help John and Tin-tin find Alex." Seeing that Scott was about to protest loudly, he added, "No, Scott. You are banned from further missions until you can show me that you can act maturely. I will be acting as Thunderbird 1's pilot until further notice."

"Not to mention, you haven't only chased away Alex, but you did the same to Alan," Gordon muttered, instantly regretting his words as Scott's eyes filled with pain, sorrow, and loss. "Scotty, I didn't mean that," he began, but Scott walked past him, bumping his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, too," he whispered before disappearing into the house.

Virgil looked at his younger brother in shock and horror at what he had just said. "Gordon, I can't believe that you just said that."

Jeff was about to yell at his son, when he saw the pain that filled Gordon's eyes. "Gordon-" he began, but Gordon turned and walked into the jungle. Virgil and Jeff locked eyes a split-second before they both sighed.

"I'll go after Gordo," Virgil supplied helpfully and his father nodded. They both split up and went their separate ways, each going after a Tracy son.

"Lucy, our family's falling apart, and I can't stop it," Jeff whispered. "We need a miracle, but it doesn't look like we're going to get it."

"Don't worry, Spaceman. A miracle is closer than you think."

Wow, it certainly took me long enough to get this out, but I hope you liked it! Can you believe what happened between Gordon and Scott? Am I mean or what?

Anyway, the next part should be out next month. Now, before you start yelling at me, I shall explain my reasoning. First off, things are going to pick up from here on out, meaning [hopefully] longer chapters! Way longer chapters! So, I shall update at least once a month, if not twice [if you're lucky and if I don't got writers block!]

Not to mention, my Beta's kept switching on me…[pouts] Not that I mind…

Wow, this was a LONG part! More than 4,000 words! Wow! But, not a record for me. In case you're wondering, check out my X-men Evolution fic! Over 11,000 words in a CURRENT oneshot [soon to be 2-shot]

One more thing, I am going to hopefully create a music playlist for The Apologize Saga, so, if you have any suggestions, please tell me in your REVIEWS! But, please, no cuss words! Or rap songs… those drive me crazy! Make sure to include the artists' names in the review as well! I will try to add as many songs as I can! But, they must have something to do with the Saga. Something about anger and loss, hope, ect…

Well, that's all for now! Until next time!

F.A.B.

Fenix