Disclaimer: Jonny Quest and all its characters are the creation of Doug Wildey and the properties of Hanna-Barbera. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries
August 8, 2004
Inasanity Productions proudly presents:
"037"
File 02
by Ina-chan
It was a miserable day followed by an equally miserable night. After a weeklong torture by the stifling heat and humidity, the summer rain was usually a welcome relief. That is, if it didn't suddenly become a full-blown typhoon in the middle of the night.
As the saying goes, when it rains...
Nonetheless, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony beeped insistently against the howling of the wind outside her rattling shutters. For the umpteenth time, the girl groaned from underneath her covers. She knew exactly who it was... it was after all the 15th time it rang the past 6 hours. Seven of them were after as she was already in bed. She glared at the phone as the ring tone finished the last three bars before her voice mail picked up.
She managed to ignore the last four prior to this one... It would ring persistently until her voice mail picked up... then stop. But the damned ringing would only start again just as she was drifting in that realm between consciousness and sleep. It was as if the caller had telepathy and knew that perfect moment. She had half the mind of turning her telephone off completely, but for some strange reason, her instinct was telling her to keep it on.
So when her cell phone rang once again for the hundredth time, she finally gave in to her anger, "WHAT!?!?!?"
"Jeez... there's no need to bite my head off," The other voice on the line replied with a hint of amusement
"Jonathan... it's three AM on this side of the world. You've been calling me almost every hour or so since 9 yesterday morning. There's a storm outside, a hole in my ceiling, it's wet, and I'm completely miserable. I already know that you and Hadji are enjoying the sun there in India... but unlike you guys, I'm actually working. I have to be up in two hours rain or shine, and if I end up destroying a priceless piece of history because you kept me awake all night, not only will I not forgive you, but you will face my mother's wrath as well."
It wasn't really an unusual arrangement that summer. She usually spends a good portion of that season with her mother, the rest with her father. Though typically, it would be scheduled in a way that she would actually be spending the holidays with her father and the Quests. Especially a non-working holiday in India with Hadji's biological family to boot! But this summer was, in a way, atypical.
An employment opportunity at her mother's new archeological site project was too much to pass. Instead of the usual Mama's girl tagging along like a long "bring your child to work day", she would actually be an official member of her mother's team. Though her status was really just that of an "assistant", she's already learned so much from working with her mother that no formal academic setting can teach her.
"You're actually going on a date with that Grayson guy, aren't you?"
Of course, socializing with people close to her age, other than Jonny and Hadji was also a big plus. As much as she loved her father, and she enjoyed being with the Quests, there was just so much of their almost recluse lifestyle that she could take. The students working for her mother this year were actually competent in the field and friendly as an added bonus. As much as she didn't want to admit it, one of them was partly the reason why Jonny's intrusive phone calls throughout the day irked her beyond reason. In a lot of ways, her new friend, Grayson Reeve, reminded her of Dr. Quest... though he has a bit of a weird fixation with matters relating to scientific conspiracies.
Nonetheless, her right eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the boy's implication, "It's not a date. It's work. And if you don't have anything important to say at all, can you please just let me sleep?"
"Some friend you are, abandoning your best friend at his time of need."
"There are limits to friendship... specially when one so-called friend is causing serious sleep deprivation," Jessie replied flatly before sighing in defeat and taking a more serious tone, "Jonny, I don't know what's going on, but I know this is more than your usual over-the-top antics to annoy me. If something's in your mind, just say it."
A flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder overpowered the voice on the other line... that is if he answered her question at all.
"Jonny? Are you still there?"
"Yeah. Sounds like a bad storm on your side."
"Look, it's not that I'm brushing you off. But the storm isn't letting up and the phone transmission can go off any moment. If you do want to say something, you better say it now."
"I just wanted to hear your voice."
In spite of herself, the girl raised an eyebrow at her conversation partner's uncharacteristic tone. When he said that, there was a certain quality in his voice that raised the red flags at the back of her mind. Finality... determination... resignation... She knew that there was something that he was not saying... that is... there's something that he's trying to say but he's not saying. She sat up in bed and cradled the phone in her hands, all thoughts of sleep completely driven away, "Jonny? What's going on?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to hear a friendly voice for a change."
She frowned. There was something definitely not right in the picture. The last time her friend acted like this was during a really bad disagreement with their fathers. She only witnessed it once, but it really was no secret. Despite whatever Jonny says against Doctor Quest as any other teenager would about their fathers, his father was the sun and moon to him. "If it's something you can't tell me, I'm sure Hadji would..."
"Hadji and I are not in speaking terms right now," Jonny interrupted suddenly
The girl's eyes widened in surprise, an argument with Dr. Quest was expected... but a serious spat with Hadji wherein they would stop speaking to each other... that's almost a supernatural phenomena. She's been an only child all her life, so would probably never understand the close relationship between two siblings. While Jonny and Hadji may not be related by blood, they were as close and inseparable as any real brothers would ever be. The first time she met them, she was actually a little freaked out to see how synchronized the boys were with each other. It was as if they were two opposite sides of one person.
While they had their own share of disputes, she has never seen her two best friends get into a serious fight. The normal routine would be... Jonny would plan to do something idiotic, Hadji would try berating him to keep him from doing it, but they would do that idiotic thing together in the end anyway. On those rare scenarios where Hadji actually wins the argument, Jonny would simply sulk in a corner for a few minutes... then at most, an hour later, they would be together again, acting as if nothing happened.
"Jonny, what is it?"
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to find the truth, right Jessie? No matter how painful, or stupid, or horrible the truth can be. There's nothing wrong with searching for that, right?"
"No, of course not," Jessie replied, "But if it's really painful or horrible as you think it will be, you have to make sure that you will be prepared to face the consequences of knowing that truth."
The boy let out a small laugh, "That's exactly what Hadji said."
"Jonny, are you in trouble?"
"She said that once the lid is lifted from the box, all the monsters will escape and everything will change."
Jessie couldn't help but frown again, "She?"
"Jess, if I end up doing something really horrible or stupid... you won't stop being my friend, right?"
There was almost a hint of desperation his voice that the girl instinctively tightened her grip on the telephone, as if doing so will keep a physical hold on him as well, "Jonny, what are you..."
"Right?"
The girl nodded, "Yes."
"Thank you."
"Jonny!"
But the only reply she got was the silence of a dead line. After that last phone call, Jonny never called again. She tried to call him back, only to be rewarded by that annoying temporarily out of service recording. The storm only continued to get worse and prevented her from contacting the other members of her family as well.
In the end, she didn't sleep at all. Concern. Fear. Annoyance. Desperation. Emotions shot through her from every direction. A nagging sensation of guilt and inexplicable anxiety gnawed at her entire being.
...and it rains...
The answer to her ominous feeling came in the form of a phone call eighteen hours later, when her father called her to let her know that Jonny was missing. No... not just "missing". Jonny disappeared without a trace. There was no ransom note, no witnesses, not even a single lead was sniffed out. Despite all their family connections, to find out where he could have gone, or who could have taken them... all their efforts were rewarded with nothing.
Even more strange was the fact that despite his disappearance, the whole situation was kept secret from the world outside their immediate family circle. Normally, with something happening like this to a high profile figure like Dr. Quest, the press would be circling around them like vultures.
For two whole weeks, it was as if Jonathan Quest never even existed.
Looking back at the situation, she couldn't help feeling hurt that she was somewhat treated like she was not part of her other family's world as well. If it weren't for her father's or Hadji's brief phone calls, she too would also be kept completely in the dark.
She wanted to go to them, but for she was "advised" not to do so. She would have gone by herself, if she knew exactly where they were. When Jonny disappeared, it was almost as if her family was put inside an impenetrable protective shell. She knew first hand, how efficient Intelligence One is. Though she was never told, she knew based on how her father or Hadji talked to her on the phone, that their conversations were always monitored.
And for a brief instant, she finally understood her mother's ambivalent feelings towards the world her father lived in.
Just like how he disappeared, Jonny's reappearance was just as mysterious. Two weeks worth of worrying and panicking ended with a simple phone call from a hospital where a young John Doe suddenly showed up in the emergency unit. While he appeared to be physically unharmed, he was heavily drugged and sedated. She didn't know the exact details, but from what she heard, it was some kind of hallucinogenic or at least a derivative of it. It was definitely not something that you can just pick up in the streets, that's why it raised the red flags in Intelligence One.
It was one of the old school drugs known to be used for brainwashing.
Whoever it was who took Jonny wanted him to be found. More important than that, they wanted us to know what they did.
She hasn't had the chance to see her best friend since he came back. But one didn't need to be a genius to know how he was doing based on how her father was acting when she came home for a visit. She expected Dr. Quest to be keeping himself busy somewhere. But the fact that even Hadji was no where in sight when she arrived bothered her, "Where's everyone?"
"Jonny's resting in his room right now, so Dr. Quest must be in his lab, working on one of his smaller projects," Her father replied, "You know how he is when he's immersed in work. I'm sure I'll be able to lure him out of there when I tell him you're home. He'll be more than delighted to hear all about the things you found at the site."
"Where's Hadji?"
"As soon as you're all freshened up, we'll have a father-daughter night out. How does that sound?"
She couldn't help frowning with worry at her father's answer to avoid her question her question, "I was actually hoping that we would stay at home and have a nice family dinner with everyone. It's been a month after all, and I'm only staying for the weekend before I have to go back. I kinda miss it."
For a moment, Race gave his daughter an uncertain look before breaking into a small smile, "I suppose a little taste of normalcy is what everyone needs right now. I'll whip up something, though I think you'll do a better job of gathering the crew together."
"Dad?" That stab of worry slowly grew into full blown anxiety
"It's nothing kiddo, things has been tense around here lately, that's all," Race replied with a pregnant sigh
...and rains...
The girl nodded and chewed her lower lip upon hearing her father's defeated tone. She knew very well what her father was thinking, even though her father didn't say it out loud. She was all too familiar with that tone of his. He heard it almost all the time prior to her parents' divorce. Specifically when what he was referring to was directly related to explaining things about what was going on with him and her mother... when it became all too clear that her father lost her mother's trust.
Once again, it doesn't really take a genius to figure it out. What happened was not supposed to happen. Her father's presence in the Quest family was to make sure of that.
"I think I'll go see Hadji first. Then if Jonny's up, we'll visit him together," Jessie stated cheerfully as she hastened her steps to get to her room, "Is Hadji in his room?"
"Yeah," Race replied before heading the opposite direction to the kitchen, "Don't let him kick you out."
She found him in his room, sitting by his desk, his back to the door, completely immersed with his laptop. Once again, a worried line furrowed on his forehead. It was obvious that the situation had taken its toll on Hadji as well. While Hadji's room was still a far cry neater than how she remembered Jonny's room was, the unmade bed, the faint smell of coffee, the presence of untouched food on the chair by his doorway, and his overall disheveled appearance as he hunched... turbanless... in front of his computer. It was all definitely way out of character.
"Hey," Jessie called out as she knocked on the half-open door
The older boy instantly pulled down his laptop screen, and swiveled his chair around to face her. His eyes widened in surprise before breaking into a tired smile, "Hey yourself. When did you arrive?"
"Just now," She replied as she let herself in the room and plopped down on his bed across from where he's seated, "Though I was a little disappointed that the welcoming party I was expecting didn't show up as expected."
"I'm sorry," Hadji replied, looking genuinely apologetic, "I meant to be the first one out there to greet you, but I lost track of time."
"What are you working on, anyway?" Jessie asked, eyeing the laptop curiously
"Just some research," was the boy's casual reply as he unconsciously pushed the lap top further in, as if making sure that the machine was out of anyone else's reach
"Research?" The girl raised an eyebrow as she looked at her best friend in mock suspicion, "Care to fill me in? Maybe I could help."
Hadji shook his head, "It's nothing. It's just a little personal thing to keep me busy."
Jessie studied her friend for a few moments, and all at once realized that there was no way to push through his guard the direct way. So she put on a mischievous grin and attacked at a different angle, "Hadj... it's not porn, is it?"
The older boy turned beet red, choked and almost fell off his chair, "WHAT!?! NO!!! NO!!!"
The girl erupted in a peal of laughter, pleased with getting the reaction she wanted, "I wish I had a video camera right now. The expression on your face is classic."
Despite of himself, Hadji started to laugh with her. For just a brief moment, she saw her best friend's old self break through that 'I'm-carrying-the-weight-of-the-world-on-my-shoulders' mask that Hadji was wearing earlier. At least, for just a brief moment, she was satisfied.
"Hey, Hadj... I know I'm not Jonny, but you can trust me with stuff that's bothering you," Jessie stated in a more serious tone, as soon as they both calmed down, "Though... to be quite honest, I don't know how much help I would be. But I'll try my best."
It was Hadji's turn to look at her with a worried frown, "What happened?"
"That night... Jonny called me. I think he was trying to tell me something, but it seemed like I didn't listen hard enough," Jessie replied playing with the edge of Hadji's blankets, before lifting her face to look up at her best friend, "I just... don't want to make the same mistake again... you know."
An uncomfortable silence descended in the room as she watched her friend's reaction. But Hadji turned away, and stared at the laptop on his desk, as if falling into deep thought. The girl sighed in defeat, realizing that things have now gone on a stand still. She pushed herself off her seat and started to make her way out of the room, "Well, I think I'll go peek and see how Jonny is doing, then I'll be down to see if I can help Dad with dinner. Don't you dare be a no-show on my homecoming dinner as well, okay?"
"Jessie," Hadji called out before she could step out of the door. She turned back and saw him still facing his closed laptop, "If I do something really foolish and horrible, will you forgive me?"
Jessie blinked as a strong sense of déjà vu washed over her. All the fear and anxiety she's managed to hold back until this time, finally hit her with full force. Without another word, she rushed back to her best friend and clung to him tightly, as if she was afraid that he would suddenly slip away. Then gasped out between sobs, "Don't you ever... EVER... say that again. EVER!"
"Jessie?" The boy instinctively lightly wrapped his arms around her in surprise, "What is it?"
"It's bad luck... BAD LUCK..." she sobbed uncontrollably
"Okay," Hadji whispered gently, realizing what she was trying to say. He closed his eyes and tightened her hold on her, "I'm glad you're home, Jessie."
The girl could only bawl her eyes out in reply.
She was so preoccupied that she didn't even notice it in her jacket pocket until she was unpacking her things back at her mother's after her weekend off. Once again, that familiar nagging and anxious feeling came back to her as she stared at the sealed envelope that had Hadji's neat handwriting.
'Open and read after you leave the house.'
...when it rains, it pours.
Author's Squawk:
Yes. I've decided to add Jessie. I also just realized that I never established exactly where the Quests are staying now. So just in case you're wondering, I'm actually following the S2 TRA timeline. This is after S2 TRA, the Maine mansion is no more, and the Quest clan has moved back to Palm Key... which actually suits my storyline better, since the situation calls for Benton retreating back into isolation to protect his little boy.
Heh-heh... I know it was forever since I last wrote the chapter prior to this. But if the muses don't speak to me, the words just won't flow no matter how hard I try! I do plan to finish this story. And yes, I'm actually in the middle of re-writing another epic fic of mine. I tried getting back into the groove of continuing it, but found that I couldn't find my rhythm anymore.
BTW, I finally got around to watching "RanXephon". I stayed away from it because the first impression I got from it was that it was another EVANGELION wanna-be (BTW, has anyone heard anything about the live action EVA movie? I'm so out of touch... until now, I'm trying to get my hands on FF7's "Advent Children" and still can't find heads or tails of it!). Anywayz, "RanXephon" actually inspired me to get back into writing this particular fic. It's not the same story, but it's definitely the same "feel" as to the direction I want this fic to go to. Though what convinced me to watch the anime was having a sneak peek at the manga version (which I actually found more interesting than the anime) through them preview compilations.
This chapter was kinda slower than I originally intended though... but I hope I got my point across. .
As usual, comments, criticisms, flames to
Ja!
Ina-chan