Disclaimer: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and all of its characters are copyrighted by Hanna Barbara. I do not own any of the characters from this show.

Background: Following up after my previous 3 stories, the Quest kids are on their summer vacations. Hadji was dropped off in Bangalore after the "Story of the Ruins" story for a few weeks. Jonny and Benton remained with him for a few days and after seeing that he had somewhat recovered from the previous episode, return to Maine, to join Race, Jessie and Estella.

Dream Quest

Jonny was still only 12 years old, but even then, he was quite prone to getting in trouble. He found himself in a dark city, standing in the middle of a road, surrounded on both sides by small block shaped buildings, which appeared to be abandoned and derelict. He seemed to be alone. However, he was mistaken. As he looked down the road, he failed to notice a dark figure in a trench coat behind him, getting closer...

Just as the figure was within feet of him, Jonny realised that there was an ominous presence behind him. He held his breath and quickly turned around. As he moved, he encountered the figure behind him. Jonny wasn't sure what to do. He looked towards the figure. He seemed to suddenly recognise it, but before he could react, the assailant withdrew a large blade from his trench coat and wildly slashed at Jonny.

However, just before the blade pierced his flesh, Jonny found himself sitting upright in his bed, covered in sweat. It took a second for his mind to gather what had just happened, but when the realisation dawned on him, he took a deep breath.

"Stupid dreams" he muttered, lying down again and going back to sleep.

4 years later...

It was a sunny morning in Maine and for once, the rebuilt Quest Compound was calm and peaceful. Dr. Quest, Race and Estella were outside the main entrance of the compound. Race's car was parked outside the door.

"You sure you're going to be fine, Estella?" Race asked, getting into the car.

"Yes, I'll be fine" she responded.

Benton Quest opened the passenger door of the car. "Tell Jonny and Jessie that we'll be back in a while" he said, getting in. It was not often that he was called for such unnecessary issues. It appeared that there were some local sightings of a Bigfoot type creature in woods nearby and he had been asked personally to come and investigate. Dr. Quest knew what had caused previous Bigfoot sightings and had been one of the few who had actually helped the aliens take off back into space, but decided to humour the residents and make an appearance.

"Where are Jonny and Jessie, right now?" Estella asked.

"They should be in the lighthouse" Race said to her, as he pulled away.

Meanwhile, Jessie and Jonny were walking down the path to the lighthouse.

"I hate when we have nothing to do" Jessie said, indignantly.

"We could watch Slasher Night 3" Jonny recommended, as they trod on.

"Isn't that the movie about a guy in a trench coat, who walks around attacking people" Jessie asked, with a bemused look on her face.

"Yeah, pretty much. But it was quite scary when I saw it" Jonny replied. "It still gives me nightmares" he added.

"Just because it was worth watching 10 years ago doesn't mean it'll be scary now, Jonny" Jessie said.

"Maybe you're right" he replied. His pace quickened, as they got closer to the light house. "Want to try out that new Maze Quest game we developed before the trip?" he asked.

"Oh, I sort of already tried it" she said with a smirk. "Dad watched over while I played".

"That's not fair" he replied indignantly. His expression changed to one of curiosity. "So Jess, just how far did you get in the game?" he asked.

"Further than you'll ever get, Hotshot" she replied, sounding cocky.

"Challenge accepted, Ace" Jonny said, as they entered the light house.

"Remember the rules. You're only allowed 1 weapon per level" Jessie said. "Remember that Jonny. No cheat codes allowed" she added, firmly.

"I'll give it a shot" Jonny said, sitting down on a chair and attaching the Quest World earpiece.

Jessie selected the Maze Quest game on the screen and after checking to make sure that Jonny was properly connected, started the game. "Quest World log in, subject Jonny Quest" she announced.

Jonny felt a familiar sensation run through his body as his mind was immersed in the virtual world. He suddenly found himself surrounded by large, ominous virtual skyscrapers and a dark sky. The setting was similar to one he had often used for motorcycle races on other Quest World games, but this was the first time he was playing on street level.

"When do you want to start, Hotshot?" Jessie asked, as she watched over the monitors for the machine.

"Whenever you're ready, Ace" he replied, with a hint of arrogance.

Jessie grinned slightly. "This is going to be fun" she thought to herself. "IRIS, start Level 1" she commanded.

Back in Quest World, Jonny heard Jessie's announcement. As he took a step back preparing himself, he heard IRIS' countdown, "Game Beginning in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...".

As the countdown finished, Jonny broke off into a run on one of the virtual city's roads. "IRIS, find me the shortest route to the level 2 gate" he commanded.

"Take the next right turn. You must run through the alleys, until you emerge at the next main road. However, this route is heavily guarded" IRIS responded, with its usual mechanic voice.

"Heavily guarded? We'll see about that" Jonny said, as he turned towards the alleys and ran in. Jonny ran straight into the end of the first alleyway. He found himself in a maze of other alleys. He chose one and ran in, without any competition as of yet. "Come on IRIS, you could make this game was a little bit competitive" he said mockingly to the computer. When he went into this particular backstreet however, he felt he should have held his tongue. As soon as he stepped in, a creature emerged from behind a wall, stopping him in his tracks. It was about as tall as he was and had 2 arms and legs, but the similarities between Jonny and the digital beast ended there. It had a face similar to a lizard's and sharp claws on its hands and feet, however, its most striking feature was its large, muscular tail, which resembled a crocodile's tail. Its body was somewhat poorly animated and bore similarities to a block, suggesting that it was hastily animated. This was no surprise as the game had only been designed by the 3 teens days before their trip to Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan. The creature hissed at Jonny and started approaching him cautiously.

Jonny however, was unperturbed. "Activate laser sword" he said to IRIS. The sword appeared in his hand. This seemed to startle the creature, which suddenly leapt onto Jonny, only to find itself impaled on his sabre. The body of the beast exploded into thousands of tiny particles after being stabbed, showing that it had been defeated.. "That was easier than I thought" he announced triumphantly, starting to run through the street again. However, another lizard creature had been watching his confrontation from the top of a building. It jumped off and landed directly in front of Jonny. Startled, Jonny lost his balance and fell back, dropping his sword.

The lizard man appeared ready to end the game. It moved in for the kill, slashing at Jonny with its claws. However, by now he had regained his composure. He ducked the initial swings and countered with a kick aimed at the lizard's midsection. His aim was accurate, but the creature was too strong for him. Although he connected perfectly with the kick, it was unmoved. The lizard man grabbed his leg and swung him into the same wall its fellow lizard had been hiding behind.

The lizard man moved in for the kill, but Jonny was too smart for it. As it stuck its head around the corner, he grabbed the beast by the neck and managed to flip it over his hip, onto its back. He ran to where his sword lay and picked it up. The lizard was ready for another strike at him, but this time he was prepared. It swung at him with its tail, but he ducked down, dodging the attack. Before the creature could respond, Jonny swung his sword, practically cutting it in half. His defeated foe exploded into a number of individual pixels, similar to the way the first monster was killed.

"Alright IRIS, how much further do I have to go?" Jonny asked, somewhat wearily. Although the game had barely started, he knew that it he had to deal with many more surprise attacks, he may not last long. But he was still determined to beat Jessie's score.

"Level 2 entrance is after the next alleyway" IRIS said.

Jonny looked towards the entrance to the nest alley. It seemed to be empty. He could make out a glowing light at the end, "That must be the gate to level 2" he thought to himself, feeling a little relieved. He started walking cautiously towards the gate, when he felt the ground underneath him vibrate.

He looked down to see large cracks appearing in it. 5 lizard men crawled started crawling out of the cracks. Jonny felt a rush of adrenaline. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but he had an advantage over the lizards. Before they hauled themselves completely out of the cracks, Jonny descended upon them, hacking away, as they struggled to drag themselves up. He decapitated the first 2 and stabbed the 3rd one, before they were able to get to a standing position.

"This is getting easier by the minute" he remarked, sounding satisfied with his performance. However, by now, the last 2 lizard men were out of the cracks. They looked as though they were about to charge him simultaneously, but, realising that they were supposed to protect level 2, both backed off towards the gate. Jonny not only had to deal with the 2 monstrosities, but also with the large cracks that now littered the ground. He hopped from one intact section of the street to another, while the lizard men stood by the gate, reluctant to leave it. Sensing that he was getting too close, one of the lizards took a few steps and pounced on Jonny. Jonny took a swipe at it with his sword, but it was too quick. It knocked him off his feet and held his sword hand down. The creature opened its mouth to make the killing blow, but as it tried to bite him in the head, he managed to move out of the way, causing the lizard's face to strike the concrete surface. It had effectively KO'd itself. Jonny only had one creature left. He turned towards the gate, and seeing no sign of the lizard man, tried to make a dash to level 2.

However, just before he reached the gate, the last lizard appeared directly behind him. It had managed to get behind him as he fought the other lizard. However, luckily for Jonny, he was moving too fast for it to effectively take him down. Instead, the beast outstretched its arm and knocked Jonny right through the level 2 gate.

Jonny had received a hard blow and practically went flying into the empty space between levels 1 and 2. As he landed headfirst on the other side of the gate, he heard boisterous laughter echo through Quest World. Jonny's mood darkened. "It's not funny, Jess" he said, looking up.

Jessie momentarily stopped herself from laughing."Alright, Jonny, I'll stop. By the way, that was the 1st level. You still have 13 more to complete before you beat me, Hotshot" she said, in a slightly mocking tone.

Jonny stood up. "Okay IRIS, I'm ready. Start level 2" he said determinedly.

He stood waiting for a few seconds, but IRIS didn't respond.

Jonny was puzzled. He knew IRIS may have enough RAM to run every computer in Rockport. Why the game stalling, he thought.

However, IRIS had a different message in store for him – one that nearly made his blood freeze. "Warning, Virus detected" IRIS' voice rang out. "Warning, My programming is being compromise..." IRIS' voice was cut off before it could even complete the sentence.

"IRIS, log me out of Quest World, now!" Jonny commanded, regaining his composure, but it was too late. He had heard a similar warning when Quest World had previously been attacked by Surd. The virus had already taken control of the network.

Meanwhile, Jessie was frantically trying to contact him. "Jonny, can you hear me?" she asked worriedly. However, there was no response from Jonny.

Suddenly, the screen went blank for a second. Then they lit up, showing a large warning sign.

"IRIS, what's going on?" Jessie shouted out, hoping she could get some response from the machine.

To her relief IRIS responded, however, the answer was not one she wanted to hear.

"Quest World has been infected by a virus" IRIS said. "The conscious part of subject Jonny Quest's brain is currently being downloaded into Quest World".

Jessie was shocked. The last time they had gotten any such warning had been when Surd had hacked their system. Jessie cautiously walked over to Jonny, to pull him out of the game. However, just as she touched the earpiece, IRIS' voice burst out through the system. "Warning, Jonny Quest's brain downloaded into Quest World. Extracting Jonny Quest from Quest World will cause subject's memory to be completely erased" it said.

Jessie removed her hand from the ear piece and placed it on Jonny's hand. "Don't worry Jonny, stay calm. We'll get you out of there" she whispered. However, Jonny's body didn't respond. The conscious part of Jonny's brain was already downloaded into Quest World.

Jessie went back to the computer and started typing into it furiously. After a few seconds, the screen suddenly came back to life. It showed Jonny, although he wasn't in level 2 of the game. Instead, he was in completely different surroundings. "Jess?" he shouted out, looking around. This new setting appeared to be in a city, only not one that Jessie recognised. Jonny was standing in the middle of a road, surrounded on both sides by small block shaped buildings, which appeared to be abandoned and derelict. Jonny was still in his Quest World form, showing that at least he was still in the virtual reality world.

"IRIS, how can I communicate with Jonny?" Jessie asked.

"Connect mike attachment to computer. The in game character will be able to hear your commands" IRIS responded. Jessie grabbed the communication mike, which allowed those who weren't in Quest World to speak with in game characters. She plugged in the mike and after taking a deep breath, spoke clearly into it.

"Jonny, can you hear me?" she asked, now getting excited. If she could communicate with him, maybe she could help him getting rid of the virus.

"Yeah, I can hear you" he shouted out to Jessie. "This place looks familiar" he said, looking around. There was a rattling sound, somewhere close to Jonny. He looked around, but saw nothing. "Jess, get me out of here!" he pleaded.

"I can't" she replied. "Your brain's been downloaded onto Quest World. Taking you out now could make you lose your memory" she said, trying to explain the situation to him.

However, Jonny had something else to worry about. Through her monitor, Jessie saw a figure with whom Jonny was familiar with, but she hadn't seen it before. However, when she saw what was in the figure's hand, she knew that whatever this thing was, it was not good for Jonny or his odds of surviving the game. "Jonny, look put behind you!" she yelled at him.

Jonny heard her cry and quickly swung around, to find a man in a trench coat standing behind him. Before he could react however, the man drew out a blade and tried to stab him. Jonny was surprised by the cut. The blade grazed his chest, opening up a small gash. He winced in pain – Quest World actually seemed to be causing him physical pain, which he had never felt before. He knew there was something seriously wrong with the situation.

Jonny looked towards his assailant. He was shocked to discover that this attacker was one he had never seen in Quest World before. He had only even encountered this person in 2 environments. He had seen this character before in the Slasher Night horror series and in the nightmares he suffered and sometimes still suffers after having watched the entire series between the ages of 6 and 8.

"Welcome to your doom!" the slasher said in a hoarse voice, lifting his blade and attacking again.

This time, Jonny narrowly avoided the blade. "Jess!" he shouted. "Give me weapons!" he exclaimed.

Jessie tried frantically to arm Jonny, but it was no use. No matter what she did, the system was not responding. The situation was getting desperate. Jessie knew she had to get him out of there somehow, but didn't know how. "Only Dr. Quest can figure this out" she muttered bitterly.

"Jonny!" she shouted into the mike. "Hang on, I'm going to get help" she said, quickly getting off the chair and running to the door.

"Hurry, Jess!" he replied, still trying to avoid the maniacal attacker.

As Jessie reached the door to the light house, someone yanked it open just before she could get her hand to the door handle.

"Jessie, Jonny, is everything alright in there?" Estella asked curiously. She had just reached the lighthouse after seeing off Dr. Quest and Race.

"Mom, we need Dr. Quest" Jessie said to her mother.

Estella looked towards Jonny. He sat motionless on the chair. This and her daughter's frightened expression caused her to start panicking. "But Dr. Quest just left!" she exclaimed.

Jessie turned around and grabbed another Quest World ear piece from a table. "Then call him" she said, sitting down on one of the chairs and attaching the earpiece. "Tell him Jonny's trapped by a virus on Quest World and that I went in to get him out".

Estella was beside herself. She was worried about what might happen to Jonny. She cared deeply for the boy. But the thought of her daughter putting herself in a potentially dangerous situation was hard for her to handle.

"Jessie, you may get hurt" she said worriedly, moving towards her daughter.

"I know mom, but he needs help" she said

Estella was finding it hard to speak. She knew that the second she tried to contact Benton, Jessie would log herself in anyway. Eventually, she gave up. "Just be careful, Jessie" she whispered.

Jessie nodded and turned on the ear piece. "Quest World login, subject Jessie Bannon, in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." IRIS logged managed to log her in.

Estella took out her cell phone and called Dr. Quest's number. "Hello, Benton? Come to the lighthouse straight away! There's been an emergency" she said frantically. Dr. Quest was surprised by her reaction, but without any further questioning, assured her that he and Race would return as soon as possible. She was somewhat relieved by what she heard. "Hang in there, both of you" Estella whispered. Meanwhile, IRIS issued the same warning it had issued earlier for Jonny. "Subject Jessie Bannon's mind is being downloaded into Quest World".

Back in Quest World, Jessie was beginning to wonder if she had made the right decision. She was just logging into Quest World and had just realised that she had no idea where the virus would send her. Suddenly, Jessie's surroundings changed. She found herself right where she wanted to be.

She was just a few metres behind Jonny's attacker. Jessie saw the man, still swinging at Jonny, who was too preoccupied to notice her. She looked around for a weapon and then ran into an alleyway.

The attacker swung at Jonny again. This time, while trying to avoid the blow, he lost his balance and fell onto his back. The attacker looked down on Jonny and raised his weapon. "Goodbye, kid" he said, grinning at Jonny.

Jonny braced himself for the worst. He knew there was nowhere else he could go to avoid a strike.

Note: The Slasher Night movie series has been made up for this fic. If such a series actually exists, then I don't claim any rights over it.