DISCLAIMER: All major characters are copyright 1996 to Hanna-Barbera, Inc. and Turner Entertainment. No permission was asked. No money is being made (although it is a wonderful thought). =)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is for all the HR's out there (and you know who you are! *grin*) and my college roommates Jen, Julie and Tahnee. . .without whom, I would still be watching JQ with a straight face.
The end of the end is the end. . . .
FIRST DATE (Part V)
by lil'nix
During the long period of time she had known Jeremiah Surd, Julia had done a great number of things she would classify as amazing. But none of them compared to the virtual reality of Questworld. She had never actually entered Questworld before, always helping from the outside. It was a different feeling, being in Questworld -- a sensation one could only describe as intense or exhilarating. Now she understood why Jeremiah loved it so much.
Julia had been watching Jeremiah and Jonny Quest playing their little game. They had planned everything from the start, and it was working out beautifully. As she looked upon the two teenagers, she knew Jeremiah's plan was bound to work this time. Her eyes switched between Jonny's and Jessie's surprised looks. Jeremiah had tried to take over Jonny's body before and Julia thought it would be a wonderful idea -- she had waited long enough to be with Jeremiah, what was a few more years?
Now Jeremiah was trying again, and if he succeeded with Jonny, he wanted Julia to switch bodies with Jessie. Her eyes finally settled on the red-headed girl. Race Bannon's daughter was no wimp. Julia knew she'd fight her like Jonny fought Jeremiah. And she was quite a looker.
Not only would this be the perfect revenge on Race Bannon for putting Jeremiah in a wheelchair, but she'd be young all over again. The thought thrilled Julia.
"Now isn't this a predicament, Julia?" Surd asked her.
A smile spread across her lips. "It most certainly is," Julia said, already savoring a not-yet-won victory. *Although I'd feel safer knowing that Lorenzo couldn't mess this one up.*
Jonny and Jessie were shocked to see Julia in Questworld. Surd must really mean business!
"What now?" Jessie asked Jonny.
"Now," Jonny said looking desperately at Jessie. "We try to stay alive until our dads and Hadji find us."
***** ***** *****
About a mile away, the headlights to the Quest Van had been turned off. Race used the light of the full moon to coast the Quest's van down the narrow road to the warehouse. Now, they sat in the van staring at the warehouse several feet in front of them and contemplating a plan.
"Are you sure they're here?" Dr. Quest asked Hadji when they arrived at the warehouse.
Hadji closed his eyes and thought a moment. "Yes, they are here."
Dr. Quest exited the van first, followed by Hadji. Race crawled out from behind the driver's seat. He joined Hadji and Dr. Quest on the opposite side of the van. With him he carried a small duffle bag full of goodies.
"Let's do it," Race said.
Quickly and quietly, the three men approached the warehouse. They were met by limited resistance: two security guards and a back-up bully. Race easily disposed of them. Making sure no one else had spotted them, they moved into the warehouse and began searching for Jonny and Jessie.
***** ***** *****
"This doesn't look good."
"That's the understatement of the year, Jonny Quest."
Jessie and Jonny had been able to keep Surd and Julia at bay for a while, but they were beginning to run out of options. They had no weapons; Jonny lost his sword and shield during his fall into Jessie's cell. They sat crouched behind a large rock as Surd And Julia kept up their laser fire.
"Won't you come out and play?" Julia taunted them.
"We have to think of something, Jess," Jonny told her.
"I know, I know. I'm trying," she replied. Scouting out the area, Jessie saw another large boulder to their right. If they split up, they might be able to out smart the two adults.
The boulder cracked above Jonny's head and pieces came flying down on top of him. He shielded his face with his hands.
"Uh, Jess," he said. "Can you hurry it up?"
Jessie nodded. "I've got an idea. We need to split up."
Jonny looked at her in surprise. "Jess, I'm not leaving you. We have to stick together."
Jessie sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was met by a pair of worried blue ones.
"As long as we're stuck here, we'll never get out. If we split up, we can draw their fire away from--"
Jessie was cut off by an onslaught of laser fire. Jonny immediately stood, grabbed Jessie by the arm and they took off towards the boulder Jessie had seen earlier. As they took cover once more, the boulder they had been hiding behind exploded.
"Any other ideas?" Jonny asked Jessie.
Jessie looked from Surd and Julia to Jonny.
"Nope."
"Great."
There was another barrage of laser fire. This time, Jessie practically dragged Jonny out into the open as the second boulder exploded in a brilliant array of light. Jonny looked up from the desert floor to see a smiling Surd and snickering Julia.
"Nowhere to run," Julia said.
"No where to hide," Surd finished.
Jonny offered a hand down to Jessie to help her to her feet. She accepted gratefully. With a resigned sigh she told Jonny, "We have to give up."
"No you don't, Ponchita."
Jonny and Jessie looked toward the sky with big smiles. Surd and Julia also looked around, searching for the source of the new voice.
"Dad!" Jessie shouted.
"Bannon?!" Surd screamed.
"Sorry to ruin your fun, Surd," Race Bannon's voice boomed throughout Questworld. "But you have something of mine and I want it back."
There were brilliant flashes of colored light as the four players were pulled out of Questworld.
***** ***** *****
Surd couldn't move his arms. Or his legs. He could feel his head tilted slightly to one side. His eyes slowly opened to the real world.
And what a frightening picture it was.
Dr. Benton Quest stood towering over him, a look of disgust on his face, and hatred in his eyes. His eyes shifted to his left where Lorenzo sat on the floor, a large black mark on his face with his hands and legs tied together. Race Bannon stood over him, holding tightly onto Julia.
"Can't you people let me have a little fun every now and then," Surd's voice complained through the simulated speach module on his wheelchair.
"You were supposed to keep an eye on things, Lorenzo," Julia spat down at the man. "Why can't you do anything right?!"
"They took me by surprise," Lorenzo mumbled. "Besides, how was I supposed to watch the brats and you guys in Questworld, AND the outside perimeter at the same time?"
Julia sighed, but continued to struggle in Race's grip.
In the next room, Hadji tried explaining the situation to Jonny and Jessie.
"How did you find us?" Jonny asked.
"Actually," Hadji looked at Jessie with a brief smile. "I had a little help."
"It really worked," Jessie said happily, more to herself than the others. Kneeling beside Jonny, she asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah," Jonny replied with a groan. Hadji and Jessie helped him to his feet. Jonny looked seriously at Jessie. "Are YOU okay? That last explosion was a doozy."
Jessie hugged Jonny.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Some first date, huh?" she asked as she pulled away.
Jonny smiled, remembering what she had said when he asked her that question in Questworld.
"Can't say I've been on better."
Jessie smiled back.
"Yeah, me either."
"You kids all right?" Race Bannon asked. He immediately went to Jessie, and after making sure she was okay, he gave her a bear hug.
"Fine, dad," Jessie squealed as her father hugged her.
"Dad," Jonny said to Dr. Quest. "About the car--"
"What about the car?" Hadji asked in a curious voice.
Jonny gulped. "Surd kinda. . .well. . .he blew it up, and--"
"Don't worry about the car, son," Dr. Quest said as he hugged his son to him. Jonny was surprised, but went into his father's arms willingly. "I'm just glad you're all right."
"Lorenzo and Julia are tied tighter than a sack of potatoes. And Surd's chair has been taken off-line, save for his life support." Race looked down at Jessie then at the others. "The authorities should be able to take care of this mess," Race said. "Let's go home."
***EPILOGUE***
It was quiet when Jonny and Jessie returned home from school the following Friday. Hadji had left the previous day to visit his mother and Pasha in Bangalore. Race was flying Dr. Quest to a conference in New York and wouldn't be home until after midnight. Mrs. Evans had the night off.
Jonny had gone straight to his room when he entered the compound. School had been rough all week and nothing seemed to go right. He bombed a history exam and barely passed an English quiz on Shakespeare's "Richard II." Hadji and Jessie -- even Bandit -- tried to cheer him up on several occasions, but nothing worked. He still felt bad about what happened on his date with Jessie and thought that nothing he could do would make it up to her.
An hour or so had passed when Jonny heard a knock on his door.
"It's Jessie." Jessie's voice was muffled from behind the door. "Dinner's ready."
Jonny sat up on his bed and said, "I'll be down in a few."
He trudged down the steps and walked slowly down the hallway leading to the kitchen. The food smelled delicious, but Jonny paid no attention to it. Nor did he notice the dimness of the lights as he headed toward the kitchen. When he got to the doorway, he stood there and stared.
Two silver candles burned brightly on the small kitchen table, framing the face of a smiling Jessie who sat in one of the two chairs. A fresh vase of flowers sat in the center of the table with one of the burning candles on either side. A silver plate was placed in front of each chair, filled with some food Jonny thought looked like a Mexican dish.
Jonny looked at Jessie. Her smile out-shined the light of the candles. She was obviously pleased with herself.
"Don't just stand there," Jessie said. "Sit down and eat."
Jonny walked over to the table and sat down.
"What is all this?" Jonny asked, cracking a version of his lopsided grin at her.
"It's called Spanish rice and steak."
"I meant 'what is it for?'"
Jessie's smile faded slightly. "I know you feel bad about what happened during our first date. I just thought. . .maybe. . .we could start out right with date number two."
Jonny eyed the food on his plate. It looked as good as it smelled. If it tasted as good. . . .
"You made this?" Jonny asked, now smiling his usual smile.
Jessie's smile brightened again. "It's something I learned from mom. I don't do it often because I'm not fond of cooking. Go ahead and try it."
Jonny did just that, picking up his fork and tasting some rice.
*She might not cook often,* Jonny thought, *but this is delicious.* "It's great," he told Jessie. "You're an excellent cook!"
Jessie blushed.
The two ate dinner almost in complete silence. Occasionally they talked about school and other things. Neither of them wanted to talk about what happened the previous Friday.
When dinner was finished, Jonny helped Jessie clean up. After they were finished with that, Jonny excused himself and said he'd meet Jessie in the family room. Jessie moved to the family room while Jonny ran up to his room.
Jessie looked up from the television when Jonny walked in. He was carrying a small package.
"What's that?" she asked out of curiosity.
Jonny smiled and sat down beside her on the couch.
"I wanted to give it to you last Friday when we got home, if everything went pretty smoothly," he said.
Jessie eyed him suspiciously and he handed her the box.
"Open it."
Jessie did as she was told and the paper was discarded on the carpet. She opened the box to find a gold ring with two hearts intertwined. In the part where the hearts intertwined rested a small diamond. She looked up to see Jonny's smiling face.
"Do you like it?" Jonny asked.
"It's beautiful," Jessie's voice was nearly a whisper.
Jonny took the ring out of the box and placed it on Jessie's finger.
"I also have something to ask you?"
Jessie simply nodded an ok. She didn't trust herself to speak.
"Will you go to the Homecoming dance with me?"
Silence. Jessie bit her bottom lip.
"Jess?"
"Yes!" Jessie nearly screamed this time as she leaned over and hugged Jonny.
Jonny smiled and returned Jessie's embrace.
*If all of our other dates turn out like this,* Jonny thought to himself, *I'll be happy for the rest of my life.*
END