Good evening. I'm so sorry that I'm posting this chapter so late. I'm not even sure if I edited the right way. So, I'm profusely apologizing if there are typos. Very rough few weeks at work. It's getting a little better, but there's still so much I need to catch up on. Guys, I hope you don't fine too many mistakes, but if you do, shout them out to me. Thanks!

DotNetDemon: I'm so glad you liked the chapter. The last few chapters of this fic were the most challenging. So Goddess Evie is with me huh? You better satisfy your readers…I'm just saying….LOL!

TJ12398: I'm so sorry that I've tortured you. But, you know, you torture me too girly! When's the next chapter. If your Jonny is going nuts, how do you think I feel? Darn it, post!

Goddess Evie: Thank you for continuing to read. It's such a fun story. I also have a couple of other thoughts in my mind for future stories…can't wait to share!

Jdcocoagirl: I'm happy you're liking this. I hope you continue to see it to the end. Here's the next chapter!

CubbiesFan1: Thank you so much for reading my fic. I've actually began reading yours as well. Can't wait to post my comments. I usually read on my way to work, but I can't type my comments till I get home, so I will do that very soon. Who is your favorite supporting character? Corvin? And, who is Vostok? I have no idea. LOL. Whatever similarities are truly coincidental. I hope you continue reading and hope you continue to like it.

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Nataniel Arnson-Final Stand

Chapter 24

As soon as Jonny ran toward the simple manmade structure, he noticed that the middle section of the bridge had been completely blown off and Jessie was nowhere in sight. "Jessica!" he yelled desperately.

"Jonny!" he suddenly heard her voice.

He ran closer to the bridge, trying to find her voice, "Jessica!"

"Here!" she screamed again. The first half of the structure still looked slightly strong enough to walk over, so he walked steadily, trying not to disturb it. When he got near the edge, he saw the young woman, holding for dear life onto one of the wood boards that still connected to what was left of the bridge.

Below Jessie was a raging river. Jonny noticed the strong currents. But that wasn't what worried him. He didn't know the depth of the river. From the height that they were in, he wasn't sure that if Jessie fell, she would fall into deep waters or rocky grounds.

"Hold on!" he yelled as he looked back at her. He knelt down. With his left hand, he held on to part of a railing that was still secured. He leaned down and extended his right hand to her, "Grab my hand. I'll pull you up," he ordered.

Jessie did as told. She took her left hand and reached for Jonny's hand, but the distance proved too long, "I…I can't."

"You have to try," he roughly, his nerves were getting the best of him at the moment, "Damn it, Jessie, you can do this!"

Looking into Jonny's frightened eyes, Jessie could see once again, how much he cared for her.

"Come on Baby, reach for my hand!" She heard him say.

Pushing herself to her limit, Jessie grunted as she stretched her hand toward his and finally touched it. Jonny wasted no time grabbing it. And, with all his strength, he pulled her up. Jessie could saw the veins in Jonny's arms literally popping out as his hand as he took on her weight. Jonny grunted loudly, giving himself that extra rush of adrenaline to finally get Jessie to a point where should could hold on to some part of the bridge to minimize the weight. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Jessie was up. She immediately hugged Jonny and he wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her tight.

"I don't know what happened," she began. "I was almost half way when it‒"

"It's okay," Jonny gently told her as he caressed her face with his fingertip. "You're okay," he said softly, "Come on, we need to‒"

"So you saved her again," they heard another voice yell.

Both Jonny and Jessie turned around to see the Doctor by the entrance of the bridge holding the detonator up so they could see it.

Jonny covered Jessie from the Doctor's view. Knowing exactly what the doctor would do next, he pulled out his gun. Just as the doctor laughed, "Too bad your luck just ran out!" Jonny pulled the trigger and shot the man.

The doctor fell to the ground, but not before pressing the button on the detonator.

Within seconds, both Jonny and Jessie heard a blast. The bridge trembled and what was left of the broken bridge plummeted from under them. Before either one of them knew, both plunged down along with the debris from the bridge toward the angry currents of the river.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Hadji fought the firewalls that manifested themselves as goblins in QuestWorld, he couldn't help to notice that Phil Corvin was having fun battling the firewalls, "You do know that these are not really monsters, do you not?" he yelled.

Slicing one of the goblins in half before disappearing, Corvin smiled, "Of course I do! But, you have to admit, this is better than playing a video game, Hadji."

Jamming his sword within the belly of another goblin, the younger man answered, "You sound like my brother!"

"I now understand why he loved this thing!" he said smiling.

Both looked at the third goblin, who seemed to be growing.

"Claire, this firewall is becoming bigger," Hadji yelled out as both he and Corvin stepped back. The beast growled loudly.

"It's increasing its defense system," Claire answered. "You'll going to need to work together to destroy it."

From outside QuestWorld, Alex watched the 3D versions of Phil Corvin and Hadji fighting the goblins, "How are they going to do that?" she asked turning to Claire.

"I'm trying to give them more weaponry," the blonde answered. "I'm just not sure what to give them."

"Guns?"

"Not enough," she answered, "Not even their swords are going to help them now."

"Claire, you are going to need to be a little faster, my dear," Hadji suddenly yelled out.

Both women now watched the men attacking the monster with their swords. Unfortunately, they weren't putting a dent on the thing.

"Claire!" Phil yelled.

"I'm trying," she shouted back as she punched the keys on the keyboard. It took her a second, but she finally found something they could use, "I've got something! Blasters coming your way!"

Within QuestWorld, in front both Phil and Hadji, a bazooka appeared. Hadji quickly grabbed it, Corvin held the back end of the weapon to provide support, "Let us get this thing out of the way," Hadji said as he pulled the trigger. In a literal second a huge powerful beam exuded from the bazooka's opening, hitting the goblin right in its midsection and breaking him apart in pieces.

Looking shocked, Corvin said, "Good thing this is a three dimensional world. I'd hate to have experience something like this in real life."

"Yes," Hadji nodded, "It would have been gruesome." Looking up, he asked Claire, "Do we have any surprises coming our way?"

"You're safe so far," she answered. "I'm not detecting anything at the moment. We are safe to proceed." Without being told, Claire activated the hover boards.

"You are getting very good at this, Claire," Hadji smiled.

"Not so bad, huh? Jessie would be proud."

Turning to Corvin, Hadji told him, "There is a lot of ground to cover. We need to find the archives."

"How would we do that?"

"You don't have to," Claire responded. "Top floors have archived records. You may want to work your way down."

"I'll take the left side of the library," Phil said as he mounted on the hover board, "Ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be," Hadji replied as he flew upward to the top floors.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It had taken some time, but Corvin found something that caught his attention. He took out a virtual folder from the shelves and labeled, I.C.E. He had never heard of any operation named ICE throughout his years of service with I-1. Taking it out, he opened it and the voice of IRIS came out reading the file:

I.C.E-Significance: International Counter Espionage. Founded October 1981.

"Hadji, come here!" he yelled.

Going over, Hadji met him, "Did you find something?"

"I think so," he responded. I-1 does has very few subsidiaries, but none of them came about until the early 1990's after Dessert Storm. I just found a file labeled ICE, a subsidiary that began in 1981."

"IRIS," Hadji instructed. "Continue reading."

The International Counter Espionage provided young operatives the opportunity to serve their country by performing cover operations in places and areas where they would fit within social and cultural standards. As opposed to the standard agent, who begins training in the mid to late 20's. ICE operatives begin training at a minimum age of 13.

"What?" Corvin replied shocked. "How is it even possible to train a minor in this field?"

"IRIS," Hadji commanded, "Find how subjects were chosen."

Searching….

Subjects were chosen from orphanages, children homes and youth treatment centers around the world. ICE mainly chose children with no living relatives or next of kin. But, there are some registered cases on file where the agency disposed of the living relatives in order to gain a child who tested exceptionally well in certain areas.

"IRIS," now Corvin commanded, "Find file within ICE on Jonathan Benton Quest."

Searching…

File not found.

"Find creator…founder…"

Searching…

ICE founder and program coordinator, Oliver D. Crawford, Ph.D. Dr. Crawford conducted extensive testing and experimentation to create a psychological conditioning method allied by liquid serums that deliberately controlled the subject to do or say anything their leader ordered. Serums caused the following:

Increased the efficiency of mentation and perception.

Temporary/permanent brain damage and loss of memory

Ability of individuals to withstand privation, torture and coercion during interrogation

Alter personality structure in such a way that the tendency of the recipient to become dependent upon another person is enhanced.

"Oh my God," Claire shook her head as she listened to IRIS from outside QuestWorld. "Hadji—"

"I know, that's the name Jonny gave me. Oliver,"

Alex was numb after hearing IRIS' report, "Those poor children."

Suddenly, she heard a notification coming from another one of the screens. Turning her attention, her eyes widened a little with surprise, "Hadji, I think we've been made. You need to get out of here."

"We need to download this information before exiting,"

"I've been doing it since you found it. We're good." Looking back at the screen, she knew that I-1 systems would need seconds before fully detecting them, "I'm pulling you out!"

Feeling their world suddenly being yanked from them, Hadji and Phil opened their eyes and found themselves in the real world. Alex was immediately on Phil's side, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I'm fine. A little sick to my stomach but fine."

"The effects of Virtual Reality," Alex concluded.

"No," he shook his head, "The effects of I-1. What the hell were they thinking?"

"Obviously, nothing good," Claire sighed as she helped Hadji up, "What's next?"

"We need to look more into those files," Hadji answered. "Perhaps we might find where this Dr. Crawford is and what exactly he gave Jonny."

"And once we do?" Claire asked.

Hadji's voice was strong and determined, "He's going to tell us what to do to bring my brother back."

XXXXXXXXXX

At first, he wasn't sure if the hit had been mortal or not. It stung; it burned and is felt like an electric shock ran down his chest. But, when he opened his eyes, and looked up at the bright sky, the doctor somehow knew, he would be alright.

Gently, he rose from the ground. His right arm felt heavy, his shoulder numb. DR128 had missed, but not by much. A shoulder wound. He was probably aiming for the heart or the head, but the collapsing bridge had been faster, "But not by much," he whispered to himself.

He needed to tend to his wound, but first he had to find out if the brats were still alive. Slowly, walking toward the edge of what was now a cliff, he looked down to the river. It looked furious. Hopefully, furious enough to kill.

The doctor stayed a few minutes longer, trying to see if he'd find any clues that either the man or the woman had made it. He found nothing, "Damn it!" He'd have to find the bodies and dispose of them. The problem was, where would they wash up?

Crawford sighed. It would be a long day before he'd fine them. However, he had to fix that shoulder wound.

Turning around, he began walking back to the one place that probably had the necessary supplies, the cabin. He had a long walk ahead and by the pain that he was feeling he have to get there soon.

xxxxxxxxxx

It took an hour for Crawford to get back to the cabin and by that time the wound bled profusely. Fortunately, it hadn't been bleeding for too long. He took the necessary precautions to stop the bleeding as much as he could until he arrived at the cabin.

As soon as he walked in, he went straight into DR128's bag. He knew he'd find necessary supplies in there. Just one of the many things all operatives carried in case of an emergency. As quickly as he could, he walked to the bathroom, took off his shirt and slowly tended to the wound. He cleaned the area and disinfected it. The worst part was taking out the bullet, but he was able to. He then sewed the wound as best he could, knowing that later he'd have to go a hospital to properly treat the wound. For the moment, what he had done would have to do.

Walking out of the bathroom, he headed to the kitchen to get something to drink for the pain killers he needed to take. As he made it to the kitchen, he noticed a laptop sitting on the counter. He forgot the painkillers and went straight to it, paying that he hadn't done anything to it. Picking it up, he noticed that it looked alright. No bullets penetrated any part of. Lucky break!

Putting it down, he quickly opened it and found it on. He knew the password and immediately began browsing through any and all information he could find. Crawford felt like crap, but he had to continue. He had finished off DR128 and the Bannon girl. It was now time to get the one who began all this mess, the Master.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jessie used all her strength to regain control of herself despite the killer currents surrounding her. When she and Jonny fell, she tried with all her strength to keep him in sight. But upon crashing down to the water, she lost him. She thought that at times, she heard him call out her name. Jessie looked around, trying to find something to hold on to, but it became impossible. The waves dragged her down trying to drown her.

"Jessica!" she heard Jonny call to her.

"Jonny!" she tried calling back, but Jessie had swallowed some water while doing so. She tried once again, but not before she felt hard hit on the back of her head and the world around her enveloped in blackness.

xxxxxxxxxx

Jonny tried to grab a hold of Jessie as they went down, but he couldn't. They both fell into the river that swallowed them. It didn't take Jonny long to resurface, but once he did, Jessie was nowhere in sight.

"Jessica!" he yelled out, but found no answer.

Desperate, he went under. Perhaps, she had drowned. He didn't want to think that. He wasn't going to let her go. Underwater, he looked around. Nothing. Jonny's heart beat so hard he thought it would explode out of his body. He resurfaced again and spotted her ahead of him, "Jessica!"

Fighting the currents, he swam to her, "Jessica!"

"Jonny!" he heard her, but he could tell that she was struggling.

His eyes widened when he noticed a large rock ahead of her. About to yell at her to look out, Jonny watched as she hit the rock head on. Jessie went under.

"No!" he yelled and used all his strength to get to her. Going underwater, he swam a little easier toward her. It took him seconds. Jonny felt it was hours, but he reached Jessie and pulled her up. Now, that he had her, Jonny would have to deal with the currents pounding and dragging them under.

Holding Jessie tightly, Jonny swam against the current, hoping to reach a bank or something to hold on to close to the bank. It took some time, but he was finally able to make it close to a bank and drag Jessie and himself out of the river.

Once they were on land, Jonny took a look at an unconscious Jessie. He felt for a pulse and found one. He tried to wake her to no avail.

"Come on Jess," he replied, focused on the woman's face. "Damn it. Open your eyes!" he exclaimed slapping her gently.

Jessie stirred a bit before opening her eyes a bit, "Jon…ny?" she said before closing her eyes again. She was out.

Sighing, Jonny picked her up. He had to get her somewhere safe. He had to get her home. Jessie told him that the house was a secure place. Maybe, it was worth taking her there, checking it. Right now, he had no choice.

Picking Jessie up, Jonny looked for a path that would lead him to the main highway.

XXXXXXXXXX

The accommodations were clearly not the best. The room smelled musty. The Master also detected the smell of cigarettes lingering in the air. The Queen sized bed had seen better days. The comforter, a dark brown color, looked faded and old. The only window in the room faced the main highway and it offered nothing particularly entertaining by way of scenery. All in all, the room was a dump. Such were the accommodations of a one star motel close to the airport.

However, Master did not care. He needed a place to hide for a few hours and the dump would do just fine. He paid cash and the clerk probably thought he was there to hook up with some prostitute. Either way, Master knew that he wouldn't need to worry about anyone asking questions anywhere near there. All he needed was a few hours of rest. After that, he would pack up his things and wait to rendezvous with DR128 later at the airport.

But before getting some much needed rest, Master decided to peruse the database of the agency to see if the plan was working. By now, Oliver Crawford would be at the states probably evading the agents trying to dispose of him. Unbeknownst to him, however, was the fact that there were no agents. Master needed him in the states. He was sure that by now, I-1 was somewhat aware of the sub-agency hidden within the organization. If all fell in the right place, it wouldn't take long for Corvin, Bannon and group to identify Crawford as the lead of the organization. A BOLO would surely be put in place. And once Crawford entered the states, I-1 would hunt him down. Of course, after I-1 properly identifies him as the leader of ICE, he will need to be disposed of properly, Master thought with a cool demeanor. A convenient suicide in jail will have to do. He was sure that he could coordinate that event when the time came along.

Taking out his laptop from his bag, he logged in and read his updates. Oliver had arrived to the states. He was in Maine. As he continued checking for updates, he smiled. Reading over the screen, he noticed that the system had been compromised earlier that day and information had been downloaded to another system not identified.

"QuestWorld, what else?" he said to himself. "So, they know about ICE and now they found the information I left them. Perfect."

Satisfied, he closed the laptop and walked over to the bed to lie down. Closing his eyes, Master sighed. In a few hours, he would reunite with his son and begin rebuilding the relationship that he so desperately wanted for years. Oliver would cease to be a problem and Quest and his merry band of men would be gone from his life.

Master turned his thoughts on the woman of his dreams. The woman that years ago had stolen his heart. The woman that had ruined him for other women because he had never found one who was more perfect than her. The mother of his child. He remembered the night that he took her into his arms and made love to her. That night changed him forever.

She greeted him at the door wearing a simple blue sun dress. Her smile made him smile. She welcomed him in. Her blue eyes brightened the room around them. She had worn her long blonde hair in loose waves. It cascaded down her shoulders. Rachel was breathtaking. Master smiled at the memory.

The second best day of his life was when he met his son for the very first time. He was probably a year, year and a half at most and shared the same features of his mother. Golden blonde hair and the bluest eyes he had ever seen. He even thought they were bluer than Rachel's herself.

Quest introduced him as Jonny, but the Master knew that his name was really Aiden, would always be Aiden. The day he met his son, he silently promised him that he'd watch out for him. And he did. For years, he watched from a distance and always made sure he was taken care off, even when Rachel and Quest didn't know it.

After Rachel died, he visited her at her grave and made a pact with her that he'd get their son back, one way or another; he'd get their son back. He'd reunite their family, even if she wasn't physically there, "Rachel, I'm so sorry that we couldn't be together as a family," he whispered. "But I promise you, our son will have a family. Our son will have both our love in me."

Master made himself as comfortable as he could on the bed and closed his eyes. He needed the rest. The trip to Amsterdam would be long. He wasn't looking forward to another couple of hours on a plane, but he was motivated to have his son by his side.

A family, he thought with satisfaction, Finally. My family.

XXXXXXXXXX

Carrying Jessie through the trail proved to be a little more challenging for Jonny than he thought. She was out cold and, and at the moment, dead weight. It wasn't that he couldn't handle her, but Jonny wanted and needed to get out of the park and away from the Doctor fast. He thought he had seen him go down, but wasn't sure if he had hit him, much less killed him.

If he hadn't, he had no doubt that there would be another encounter and Jonny would not be able to be successful with Jessie out. Worse, he didn't want to get caught inside the park by sun down that would be even worse. He had nothing other than two weapons he and Jessie carried on them. Supplies, first aid, food-all were at the cabin. The cabin that was now miles away from where they were.

It was also chilly. As the day turned into evening the temperature would drop. That wouldn't be good, he thought as he kept walking. Both were soaked to the bone. They needed to dry up. Somehow.

Jonny continued walking, thinking and planning. The only place to leave Jessie was the Quest Compound. He'd have to drive her there. There weren't too far, from what she told him last night. Maybe a forty to sixty minute drive. If he found a transportation in the next hour, he'd still have time to drive, leave her and meet Master at the airport. He'd have to tell him about her quickly, before word got out as to where she was. If Crawford was alive, he was now a threat to her as well.

All the thinking must have made him lose track of time for he found his way at the end of the trail and close to the main highway. Jonny made it. Walking to the highway, he watched a couple of cars pass by. He'd have to stop one of them somehow.

Jonny placed Jessie on the ground before walking to the edge of the street. Waiting for a few minutes, he finally saw a car come toward him. It was a white F-150, a little beaten up by its grill, but it would do the job if he was able to take it. With ease he waved his hands to attract attention. The truck began to slow until it made a stop almost in front of him.

The owner slid down his passenger window, "What's the matter, kid?" he asked. The man was probably in his early fifties, skinny sporting a thin mustache. His salt and pepper hair was beginning to thin in the front and the wrinkles on his face showed a man who obviously liked to work in the sun.

Jonny walked toward the passenger door as he quickly pulled out the gun from his back and pointed it at the man, "Get out of the car."

"What the hell!" the man yelled as he attempted to speed away.

"Move and I blow your head off!" Jonny yelled. "I'm not kidding old man, I will shoot you dead. Now, GET. OUT!"

The man put the car on park and got out.

"Walk around the front," Jonny ordered.

Again, the man did as told until he stood right in front of Jonny.

Opening the passenger door, Jonny continued, "See the girl on the floor? Pick her up and put her inside," he said pointing at the passenger seat of the car.

Frustrated, afraid, and downright angry, the man walked over to Jessie. He picked her up and carefully put her inside the car, "What did you do to her?" the man asked angrily as he closed the door.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Jonny answered with a cold stare. "Now, walk away from the car."

Sighing, the man does as told.

"You have a cell phone?" Jonny asked.

Rolling his eyes, the man put his hand in his pocket and retrieved his phone before tossing it to Jonny. It landed on a floor right in front of him. Jonny carefully picked it up without taking his eyes nor the pointed gun away from the man. It was a Blackberry. Well, Jonny thought, better than nothing.

"So you are going to leave me here?" the man asked.

"I'm sure someone will be right along," Jonny answered. "Perhaps, they can pick you up."

"You son of a‒"

"Save your energy, old man," Jonny smiled coldly before walking toward the driver's side, getting in and speeding off.

Xxxxxxxxxx

As he continued driving down the highway, Jonny shifted his eyes to the screen on the Blackberry phone. Luckily, the GPS system worked and he followed the directions it gave him for the Quest Compound.

"Jonny?" he suddenly heard Jessie's voice, which sounded more like a whisper. "Where are we?"

"I'm taking you home Jessica," he answered.

Sighing, Jessie sat up, "What happened? Who was that?"

"The Doctor," Jonny answered. "He works for Master. I'm not sure why he was there or how he found us. Something is going on…I need to find out what it is. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," she answered solemnly. Jessie sat back and closed her eyes. "Did you put the heater on?"

"It's the only way to keep you warm until I drop you off at your home," he said as he continued driving.

"You need to dry up as well," Jessie said in a quiet tone, "I'm sure Hadji has some clothes you can borrow."

Jonny stayed quiet for a moment before answering. He didn't want to go in that house. However, he did need to get dry, "We should be there in less than an hour."

Jessie closed her eyes. The headache was killing her, "Code 29843."

"What?"

"It's the code bypassing IRIS," she answered, "We'll be able to go in without her announcing us."

"There'll be someone there?"

"I don't think so," she shook her head gently. "Our Dads are away. The only people I can think of are Hadji and Claire, but, just in case."

"Why would you tell me that?"

"Because, I need you to feel safe," she answered. "And I know that the last thing you want to do is go into your own home. I know you Jonny Quest, more than you think. If using the bypass code will make you feel better then, so be it. Besides, you need to change as well."

Nodding with a bit of satisfaction, Jonny accelerated the car.