Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to Hanna Barbera, and whoever rebooted the show as "The Real Adventures."

Author's Note: Alternate ending to "Eclipse,", Season 2x12. I realize it messes a bit with 2x19, "The Bangalore Falcon" in terms of Jessie's jealousness of Anaya, but this episode would've had the perfect excuse to put these two together, so I decided it needed to be done! :)

Hadji!

Hadji Singh awoke to the terror in Jessie Bannon's voice and acute pain radiating through his back and jaw. A French-accented voice speaking urgently, "Snap out of it. Your friends need your help!"

It was coming back to him. Elise…but not Elise. Her face…that of a monster. Jessie, bound to a chair. The eclipse-

Weakly, he turned to the old man who was shaking him awake. "What must I do?" he asked. His back was killing him-but that is just as well. Pain means I am alive. And alive means I can save Jessie and Jonny.

"My cane," Arnaud explained. His voice came out in a wheeze. "The tip…it is silver. It is the only thing that can defeat the demon."

"Where is it?"

"Your friend…Jonny. The last I saw, he had it." Arnaud pointed a spindley finger out a broken doorway. "He and your friend, they went that way."

As if to punctuate his point, the two of them heard a scream, followed by breaking glass.

Hadji climbed to his feet, then helped Arnaud to his. The two of them limped out of the conservatory and into the long, window-lined hall.

"There!" Arnaud pointed, and Hadji helped him to the far end, where Arnaud's cane jutted from the plaster. Arnaud wrapped his hand around it and pulled it free. "This might stop her, if it's not too late," he told Hadji. "Go!"

Hadji took the cane in his hands, and took off. His thoughts were consumed by everything that had happened that day, and he forced himself to focus. He could not afford a hindrance of any kind right now.

Jessie tried to warn me. What he'd thought was jealousy had been…well, he supposed, some of it may have been that, had also been simply common sense. A trait Hadji prided himself on having more of than his younger friends. You are a Sultan of Bangalore, you are a yogi, you are the apprentice of Doctor Benton Quest…and you are a fool.

The hot, humid air of Louisiana greeted him as he burst out the front door. He stopped, listening. The Mississippi River roared off to his left, swollen by the recent rains and the pull of the full moon on the tides. "Jessie?" he called. "Jonny!"

Silence greeted him. Then-

"No!"

That was Jonny!

A scream of pain.

"Jessie!" Hadji took off running down the bank toward the sounds, his feet slipping in the muddy bank as he did. The trees pulled back a bit on the floodplain, in time for Hadji to see Jonny Quest slip from the tail of a gray-winged demon in the sky and hurtle into the river.

And in the sky…Jessie, in the clutches of Elise-no, he reminded himself, that is not Elise. It is not even human! She hung limply from the demon's clawed feet.

The cane felt heavy in Hadji's hands as he sprinted after them. "Let my aim be true," Hadji whispered, and hurled the cane skyward like a javelin.

Jonny came crawling out of the river next to him, and the two of them stared as the blade buried itself in the flank of the demon. The green-eyed beast howled, and let go of Jessie as the two of them plummeted toward the river. Later, Hadji wouldn't even remember making the decision to dive in after Jessie, reacting purely on instinct. He let the current propel him downstream toward her, wrapped his arms underneath, and pushed perpendicular back to shore, where Jonny pulled Jessie out, then himself.

"Jess!" Jonny gasped. "Hadji, is she-"

Hadji was a step ahead of him, pushing on Jessie's ribcage, starting CPR. A few tense moments later, Hadji rolled Jessie onto her side as coughed up water.

Hadji gently turned her back over, her head in his lap. Jessie looked up at him, her green eyes exhausted. "Y-you're an idiot," she informed Hadji quietly.

He choked out a laugh. "I know," he replied. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Jessie's fingers slipped into his, and he held on.

She closed her eyes. "Later," she whispered.

"Hey, Jess," Jonny said, a relieved smile on his face. "You get a good look at the eclipse from up there?"

She didn't even open her eyes. "Shut up."

Hadji looked up at Arnaud, who was looking intently at the river where the demon had fallen. He watched the older man pull a photo from his jacket. "At last, Celeste," Arnaud whispered. "You may finally rest in peace." He kissed the photo, and let it fall into the water. It floated for a moment, then disappeared into the black water.

Hadji looked at him. "Thank you," he told Arnaud.

Arnaud inclined his head. "No," he replied, nodding to the three of them. "Thank you."

At the house, Jonny could hear sirens. "I guess all that breaking glass and screaming attracted some attention," he said with a wry smile. He looked at Hadji, with Jessie in his lap. "I'll just…I'll go meet them, and you guys can catch up," he offered, getting to his feet and jogging off toward the chateau.

Hadji looked down and saw Jessie gazing up at him. "How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"Better," she nodded. "Tired."

"That is understandable. Can you stand?" He gently eased her out of his lap and stood, grasping both of her hands in his to help her to her feet.

She pulled him into her arms. She was soaking, but Hadji didn't care as he wrapped his arms around her, too. "Jessie, I am so sorry," he told her. "I should have listened to you. I know that Elise could hypnotize her victims, but that is no excuse for my behavior. Hypnosis only works on the willing. And I…I was all too willing."

"But you broke through it," Jessie reminded him, buried in his shoulder. "I saw it. Right before Elise threw you across the room."

"You were in danger," Hadji said simply. "My heart would not let me stand by…even if my mind told me otherwise." He took a step backward, still holding onto her. "I care for you a great deal, Jessie Bannon."

"I like you a lot, too," she replied. She bit her lip and looked up at him nervously. "And I really want to kiss you, but, I don't really want to do it right at this moment, soaking wet, after a near death experience."

He laughed and tucked a strand of her wet hair behind her ear. "That is a shame," he responded. "Because I would also like to kiss you, and I think now is the perfect time."

"Oh. In that case-" Jessie tugged him closer and kissed him under the full New Orleans moon. Hadji returned the kiss. It was quick, and it was humid…but it was indeed, perfect.

"Hey, guys!" Jonny came around the treeline from the house. "The cops are here, and-" His mouth snapped shut as he took a good look at his two best friends in each other's arms. "Finally," he grinned.