Part 2
Jonny could see the irony of the situation. Of all the dangerous places he had travelled to and of all the monstrous people and dangerous creatures he had faced, the worst thing that had ever happened to him was about to happen in the comfort of the own home.
However, just before the assailant could finish Jonny off, there was a metallic 'thud' sound. The man dropped his weapon. His expression went blank, as his limp body fell to a side. Jonny could scarcely believe what had just happened. He looked at the man who had just been knocked down, and then looked up to see what had taken him out. "Jess?" he said, sounding surprised.
Jessie was standing over the limp form of Jonny's would be killer, holding a now dented trashcan lid she had recovered from the alleyway and had used to good effect.
She was relieved that he had survived. She smiled at his and extended her hand.
"Boy Ace, am I glad to see you" Jonny said, grabbing her outstretched hand. Jessie helped him get back on his feet.
"Forget it Jonny, right now we need to get out of here" she replied, cautiously. The man who had so nearly killed Jonny was starting to stir.
Both of them looked around, searching for a way out of this predicament, when Jonny saw it. "That's our ticket out" he said, pointing at what appeared to be a portal, some distance away.
Both of them turned towards the portal, but just before they could start running, Jessie felt a tug on her ankle. She looked down to see the attacker grabbing her leg. "Jonny!" she called out, as the man turned his attention to Jessie. Before he could hurt her, Jonny stomped on his hand, causing him to release his grip. "Come on, Jess, let's get out of here" he said, taking her hand and leading her to the portal. They both ran in, not knowing what to expect.
This time, they both found themselves in an apartment. They were both in the living room. The room was well furnished. Jonny felt confused. However, Jessie seemed to be suffering from Déjà vu. She had seen these surrounding before, plain as day. However, she had only seen it in her dreams.
Jonny saw her expression and knew that something was wrong. "You alright, Jess?" he asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost".
"I think I just did" she replied, uncertainly. Jonny looked towards where Jessie's eyes fell. He saw a bespectacled man, wearing a 2-piece suit approaching them. There was something familiar about this person, but Jonny just couldn't recognise him.
"Everything okay, pumpkin?" the man asked Jessie. The question appeared to be quite sincere. However, Jonny was sure that something was wrong – something Jessie wasn't telling him. The man's voice sounded familiar, but Jonny wasn't quite sure where he had heard it before. He peered around the room and spotted a picture on a wall. It was a picture of the same man, only younger. In his arms, he held a tiny, blond girl, who was looking at him. Both were laughing, Jonny's mouth suddenly went dry. He recognised the picture. He had seen it many times before.
"Carla" the man said, looking at Jessie. His voice sounded somewhat sterner. "Who's the boy you've brought to our home?".
Jessie quickly changed her expression. Putting on her sincerest act, she smiled at the man and replied, "He's just a friend from school, dad. We're going to my room to finish a project".
The man looked them over. Fortunately, he seemed to accept Jessie's excuse. "Okay Carla. You two can get on with your work" he said, walking into one of the rooms.
Jessie motioned for Jonny to follow. He walked with her into another bedroom. Jonny turned to her as soon as the door was shut. "Jessie" he said, almost breathlessly. "Was that Ezekiel Rage?" he finished his question.
Jessie was also puzzled about the situation. "Yes, it was" she admitted. "Rage used to think he was my father. I've had nightmares about him. Only in the nightmares, his family didn't die. I was his daughter" she said, sounding worried. "It's like my dream's come to life" Jessie said.
As she spoke, Jonny's eyes brightened. "Wait a second – that guy who tried to kill me earlier – he was in my dreams. And now, we're in your nightmare..."
Jessie understood what he was talking about. "So maybe the virus is bringing our dreams to life in Quest World" she said. Suddenly, her face darkened. "Jonny, we need to get out of here" she said, sounding frightened.
"Why, what's wrong?" he asked, moving closer to Jessie.
"Because if this is actually my dream, then..." before she could finish, the sound of loud footsteps filled the apartment. Suddenly, the door of the room was blown off its hinges by an explosion. 2 armed men were standing on the other side, with their guns drawn. Before they could harm Jonny or Jessie, gunshots rang out, causing the men to duck. "You will not touch the child of Rage!" they heard Ezekiel scream maniacally. The room had a small window. Jonny looked out of it and spotted a Quest World portal. "We need to get out of here, Jess!" Jonny exclaimed. They were at least 2 stories high. Were they to jump out of the window, they could be seriously injured.
However, Jessie was unperturbed. "Come on" she said, grabbing Jonny and running straight out of the door. No one did anything to stop them.
Jonny was puzzled. "How'd we get out of there?" he asked Jessie, as they ran.
"In the dream those guys came for Rage. They didn't try to get me" she said.
"But what about Rage?" Jonny asked, as they ran out of the building. They went towards the portal, but before they could get in, a burst of gunfire rained down on them from an upstairs window.
"Bring my daughter back!" Rage hollered, as he took aim at Jonny with an automatic rifle. Jessie looked back at Rage just in time to see what he was doing. As he released another burst of gunfire, she pushed Jonny aside and jumped on top of him, shielding him. "No!" Rage shouted from the window. "Carla!" he said, as he ran out of the room towards the stairs.
"Jessie, are you alright?" Jonny asked, worriedly. He turns around to see Jessie lying next to him. He moves his hand to her shoulder, to turn her towards him. Fortunately however, she quickly stood up.
"Come on Quest, let's go!" she says, as Jonny stands up. They both run towards the portal. Just as they pass through, Ezekiel Rage ran out of the building, rifle still in hand. He looks around, but doesn't see either of the 2 run into the portal. Rage started running down the street, shouting his daughter's name, but it was all in vain. Jonny and Jessie were both far away by now.
Estella breathed a sigh of relief. She had been watching the monitor intently, as the 2 teens narrowly avoided their destruction. She felt helpless. There was nothing she could do for them.
The lighthouse door flew open. Race Bannon and Benton Quest ran into the room, right past Estella to the main computer terminal. "What's going on here?" Race asked harshly, as he turned towards Estella.
Estella took a breath to calm herself down. Babbling wouldn't help in this situation. The sooner she could give them a proper explanation, the better. "When I came here, Jonny was stuck in the computer" she said. "Jessie told me there was a virus on the system and that Jonny was trapped on it. She went in to help him". Estella wished she had questioned her daughter further about what happened. She had just told them everything she knew, but felt as if the information was inadequate.
Dr. Quest started typing furiously on the keyboard of the master computer. "This virus appears to have infected our systems in spite of every single firewall or protection I've installed" he said bitterly. Dr. Quest suddenly felt as if his knees went weak. He had realised a terrible truth. "There's only one person I know capable of creating a virus this complicated" he said. His voice was nearly a whisper.
Race's blood started to boil. He knew who the Doctor was referring to. He knew who was trying to destroy Jonny and his daughter and had nearly done so on many previous occasions. "Surd" he said menacingly. Race started to walk out of the lighthouse.
"Race, where are you going?" Estella asked, as he opened the door.
"Race, Surd's still in the coma Jessie put him in" Dr. Quest replied, momentarily looking up from the computer. "There's no way he could tell us how to stop this virus".
Dr. Quest's words didn't comfort Race, but he stepped away from the door and back into the lighthouse. The only thing that had stopped Race from finding and killing Surd right now was the realisation that the man wouldn't feel any pain while in a coma.
"Benton, if Surd's in a coma, how did he send this virus?" Race asked. His voice was calm, but Estella could tell just by looking at her ex-husband that he was almost a broken man. He had never felt so helpless before.
"It appears to be a sleeper virus" Dr. Quest said. "Surd must have planted it before he was finished off in Quest World". Dr. Quest turned back towards the computer.
Dr. Quest was determined to get the two out safely, but there was a hint of a tear drop in the corner of his left eye. He knew that if he were to fail, Jonny and Jessie would still be here. But they'd never be the same. His son and the girl who was practically like a daughter to him wouldn't even be able to remember who he was. Pulling his mind away from these thoughts, he turned back to the computer and got back to work.
Jessie and Jonny now found themselves in a new location. It appeared to be a swamp of some sort. "Jonny, where are we?" Jessie asked. She was sure that this wasn't one of her dreams.
Jonny didn't answer the question. "Follow me" he said and started wading through the waist deep water of the swamp. Jessie reluctantly followed him. "Where are we going?" Jessie asked. She was unhappy, not just about the fact that she had no idea what was going to happen, but also the fact that Jonny seemed to be ignoring her questions. However, she decided to follow him, in hopes of gaining answers and maybe finding a way out of there.
They made their way to an island in the swamp. Jonny pulled himself out of the murky water and helped Jessie up. He then started running, at full speed, towards the centre of the island.
"Jonny, wait up!" Jessie shouted at him. She did not want to lose herself in one of his dreams, especially when she had no idea what happens in it.
Jonny stopped running momentarily, allowing Jessie to catch up. "What on Earth is going on?" she asked him, between breaths.
Jonny's reply was simple, yet it didn't make Jessie feel any more comfortable. "I've had this dream before. They must be close by" he said, looking around the swamp.
"Who must be close by?" she asks, only with a hint of caution in her voice.
There was a sudden loud sound from behind them. Suddenly, a large, robotic mass burst out of the water. It was one of Zin's robot spies. Both, Jonny and Jessie broke out in a run towards a distant mangrove forest. If they could just make it to there, the spy wouldn't be able to reach them.
They didn't manage to get far. The spy opened fire at them. Its shot missed them, but the shockwave knocked them off their feet. It moved quickly towards and grabbed both of them by their legs.
It slowly dragged them towards itself, ready to finish off its targets, when there was a sudden, blinding flash.
The spy collapsed to the ground, spitting out sparks. After regaining their vision, Jonny and Jessie looked around, to locate who or what had just saved them. They saw a glowing figure standing by the spy. It appeared to be a woman.
Jonny looked towards the woman who had just saved their lives. Her face was hidden by the glare from the glow that surrounded her, but he could make out her blond hair. Her stance looked familiar.
Jonny and Jessie watched as the woman pointed towards the east. They could make out the portal in the direction she was pointing.
Jessie helped Jonny to his feet. Before they started running however, the mysterious lady took hold of Jessie's hand. "Take care of my angel" she simply said, leaving Jessie shocked.
Jonny got up. He looked sadly towards the woman, as she slowly disappeared in front of them.
"Jonny" Jessie said, in a hushed voice. "Was that your mom?" she asked.
"Yes – it was" Jonny replied. He was still staring at the point where she had stood.
Jessie stood up and saw that he appeared to be distracted. "Where did she go?" she asked, unsure if this was an appropriate question.
Jonny was thinking about what response to give. However, something caught his eye. "I don't know" he replied. "The dream usually ends here". As they both stood silently examining the point where Rachel Quest had made her appearance, Jonny noticed a ripple in the swamp water. "Maybe we should leave now" he said, grabbing Jessie's arm and pulling her towards the portal. Behind them, a number of Zin's robot spies emerged from the swamp and started to give chase. One of the spies fired a laser beam at them. They barely managed to avoid the beam; luckily, they got into the portal without taking any hits.
"Benton!" Race called out to Dr. Quest, snapping him out of his trance like state.
"What is it?" he asked, looking towards Race. Dr. Quest's face looked almost serene. He wore a disappointed expression on his face, which made Race and Estella feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Is everything alright?" Estella asked, nervously.
Dr. Quest looked at her and gave her a faint smile. "Yes. The virus has been mostly cleared from the system. Once it's been destroyed, Jonny and Jessie will return to normal. We just need to wait a while for IRIS to fix the system" he said.
Both Race and Estella breathed sighs of relief. To them it felt like the nightmare was almost over. However, all 3 parents were mindful that the kids could still get hurt.
Benton Quest turned back towards the computer, to monitor the progress made in clearing up the system.
"Should we tell him about Rachel's appearance?" Estella whispered to Race. She sounded uncomfortable discussing this topic right now.
"Not yet" Race replied. "He may get distracted. We can fill him in later".
Meanwhile, Jessie and Jonny found themselves in a new predicament – one that was in some ways as frightening as the dreams mentioned above.
"Where am I?" Jonny thought aloud. "This must be one of Jessie's dreams". He looked around. He was out in the open, standing in front of a large building. Jonny looked down at himself and noticed that his usual Quest World garb was gone – it was replaced by what appeared to be a white tuxedo. He was still surveying his surroundings, when suddenly, someone yanked the door open. It was Hadji, only he looked older now. He was dressed in an ornate kurta and had on a white turban.
"Hurry Jonny, we must go" Hadji said, uncharacteristically impatiently. Jonny ran into the building, following Hadji. "Hadj, what's going on?" he called out.
"We need to get to the reception hall! Don't you remember? You left right after the wedding and said you'd get here by yourself" Hadji yelled back. Jonny did not have time to ask any additional questions. The 2 men ran through a door, into a large hall. It was mostly empty, but there appeared to be a number of other people coming in from an alternate entrance. Jonny did not get a clear look at the room. Rather, his attention fell on a small group who were already seated at one of the tables. He saw his father and Race sitting there. There was still no sign of Jessie. He took a seat next to Dr. Quest.
"Wonderful ceremony" his father commented, clapping a hand to Jonny's shoulder.
By now Jonny had deduced that someone, probably someone close to them had gotten married. He looked around the hall. He still saw no sign of Jessie. Jonny was getting increasingly worried.
"There they are" Race said, looking towards the main entrance. Jonny looked to where Race was pointing and spotted Estella walking in, alongside a woman dressed as a bride. He recognised straight away whom Estella had come in with. It was Jessie.
Jonny felt a lump in his throat. This was even more uncomfortable than Jessie's impromptu introduction to his mother. Jonny caught Jessie's eye. He stood up. "Would you just excuse us for a moment?" he asked the others present. They seemed to give their consent. Jonny motioned to Jessie to follow him and walked towards a corner of the room.
"How deadly does this dream get?" he asked wearily. He was aware that the Quest team had been through crises and debacles that barely anyone else could understand and as a result, were unlikely to have normal dreams.
Jessie was holding her breath. She was expecting another question, but was relieved he didn't ask. "This one isn't deadly at all" she replied. Then, seeing a chance to escape from more questions, she tried to change the subject. "Let's try to find the portal out of here" she said quickly, turning towards the door. She knew that they'd both be safe in this dream, but it hid another secret – one she didn't want Jonny of all people to discover.
However, before she could leave the hall, she felt a hand gently grab her wrist. "Come on, we're not leaving now" Jonny said. "Not until I see who this husband of yours is" he said, with a tinge of jealousy in his voice.
"Come on Jonny, let's go" she said, sounding a little desperate. Jonny relented and released her arm. They started to move towards the door, but before they could get out, they realised that Dr. Quest had gotten up and was standing right behind them, with a huge smile on his face. Jonny stopped moving. It seemed his father wanted to say something to him. Jessie sensed that Jonny had stopped moving behind her. She looked back to see Dr. Quest talking to his son.
"So son, how does it feel to be newlywed?" Dr. Quest asked brightly.
Jonny's jaw dropped open. "Me and Jess?" he blurted out.
Jessie grabbed hold of Jonny's arm. "I'm sorry Dr. Quest, but we just need some fresh air" she said, dragging Jonny out of the hall, as Benton Quest looked on, now slightly confused.
They both ran out of the hall, into a garden, where sure enough, Jessie spotted a portal to another dream. She breathed a sigh of relief. This was not a dream she had wanted Jonny to see. "There it is" she called out, running to the portal. However, before she got in, someone grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. "Jonny, what are you doing?" she said, turning back towards the now sniggering man.
"Calm down, honey" Jonny said mockingly. Noticing that she was getting increasingly angry, he tried to make her see reason. "Just kidding, Jess. But I think we should stay here. It's safe. We don't know what we'll find on the other end" he said, sounding more serious.
Jessie pretended to let her guard down for a second. "You're right Jonny" she said. When he heard this he loosened his grip on her. Jessie grinned. "Catch me if you can, Quest" she exclaimed, as she pulled out of his grip and into the portal.
Jonny blinked for a second. He looked into the portal and released an exasperated sigh. "Women" he said bitterly, as he went in after her.
Back in Maine, Race Bannon and Estella had been watching the monitor throughout the past 2 dream sequences. The room was tense. Dr. Quest was on the computer, trying to monitor what was happening to the 2 kids. Race and Estella stood wordlessly, watching the monitor. "Well, that was... unexpected" Race whispered uncomfortably to Estella. "Still, I guess she's better off with Jonny than someone else" he added.
Estella looked towards her ex-husband. In a way, she did agree with him, but decided not to speak on the matter. "I just hope they get back alright" she said.
Both of them stood quietly for a second, before Benton's voice caused them to stir from their thoughts.
"Their brains are getting out of Quest World" he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "They just need a few minutes, and then they'll be safe. All we can do is wait".
Back in Quest World, Jonny and Jessie had just arrived in a new location. "Why did you come here?" Jonny asked angrily, getting up onto his feet.
"Well, why did you follow me?" Jessie responded.
"I won't leave you alone in here" he said, looking around.
"By the way, where are we?" he asked.
Jessie also started looking around. "I don't know" she said, sounding confused. They were surrounded by large blocks. The entire area was a dark colour, however, they could see a bright light on the horizon, getting close.
"Benton" Race called gravely. "You'd better have a look at this".
Dr. Quest walked over to the monitor. IRIS could handle the rest of the work, he thought to himself. He looked at the monitor and saw what Jonny and Jessie were seeing. His shoulders drooped slightly. This was not over yet. When standing by the monitor, he saw something that caught his eye. "I need to find a way to communicate" he said, desperately looking around for a means of communication. Fortunately, he saw something on the floor that would make communication much simpler. "The mike!" he exclaimed.
He bent down and picked up the mike Jessie had been using to try to help Jonny. He checked to make sure it was still plugged in, before speaking into it.
"Jonny, Jessie" he called out. "Can you hear me?".
They both heard him. They suddenly felt better. "Hear you loud and clear, dad" Jonny called out. Dr. Quest increased the sound on the monitor, so that he could hear their responses more clearly.
"Listen carefully. I virus has infected Quest World and you're in the infected part" the Doctor said. "You'll be out in a few minutes but till then, avoid any contact with the virus" Dr. Quest warned them.
Unfortunately for them, luck wasn't on their side. Right before their very eyes, a large worm like creature exploded out of one of the towers. "Avoiding contact might be harder than we imagined" Jessie said, as she and Jonny saw the massive creature lunge towards them.
They both ran out of the way, as the worm instead destroyed one of the towers.
The creature appeared to go underground.
"Where'd it go?" Jonny asked worriedly, as he turned around to look for it.
Suddenly, the ground directly in front of them started vibrating. The worm burst out. It released a horrid scream, as it tore towards them. "Let's go this way!" Jonny shouted, as he ran into a narrow gap between two blocks. Jessie quickly followed, narrowly avoiding the virus.
"You alright, Jess?" Jonny asked, sounding concerned.
"I'm fine" she replied, although she looked shaken. "Jonny, I'm sorry for bringing us here" she said, looking around to see if the creature was anywhere near. Even in Quest World, Jessie felt slightly claustrophobic when stuck in the narrow gap between the blocks. She wanted to be in a more open space.
"We'll be fine, Jess" he replied, assuring her. He sensed her nervousness and held her close to him, to try to comfort her. Suddenly, the virus burst through one of the blocks. Jonny and Jessie looked on in shock. Both of them closed their eyes, as the virus lunged towards them, ready to make a meal of them, when suddenly, it stopped. Noticing that they were still alright, both of them opened their eyes to discover that the area where they was not dark anymore. Quest World had destroyed the virus. They had outlasted it. The creature in front of them collapsed onto the group.
Both looked at the creature, relieved at its demise. They heard something which brought them even more relief. "Logging out subjects, Jonny Quest and Jessie Bannon" IRIS' voice said loudly. Jonny and Jessie felt a sudden rush. Suddenly, the Quest World landscape disappeared. Everything was dark. They hesitated for a moment, and then opened their eyes to find all 3 parents gathering around them.
Dr. Quest approached them cautiously. "Are you 2 alright?" he asked, nervously. Both of them got to their feet and looked towards each other, to make sure they were both back in their bodies. "We're both okay" Jonny replied, relieved to see Jessie able to stand as well.
Race emitted a sigh of relief, as Estella and Dr. Quest embraced the kids together.
Dr. Quest released the two of them. He was suddenly back to his same old serious persona. "I'm shutting down Quest World for at least 2 months" he announced, looking at the kids. "I need to make sure all traces of Surd have been erased".
"But what'll we do for fun?" Jonny asked sincerely, clearly overlooking the fact that both he and Jessie had nearly had their memories erased.
"We'll just plan a few more trips to pass the summer" Dr. Quest said brightly.
"But for now, let's get back to the house" Dr. Quest added.
Jonny glanced at Jessie. "I think we'll both stay here for a while" he said.
Race glanced at the teenagers. "That's alright. Just be sure to join us soon" he said.
Benton, Race and Estella walked out of the lighthouse. "So everything they experienced – it was all their dreams?" Estella asked, sounding interested.
"Yes, most of it" Dr. Quest replied.
"Well, I know one thing" Estella added. "The only dream out of those that I can potentially live with was the wedding".
"I think that goes for all of us" Race said. They 3 of them turned around and looked towards the lighthouse.
They looked on silently from the ground as Jonny and Jessie sat on the upper level of the lighthouse.
"Strange day wasn't it" he said, leaning against the wall behind him.
"It was" she agreed. Jessie was thinking about the dream in which Jonny's mother had made an appearance, about how she had not only protected him from danger, but also Jessie herself. She was wondering what it all meant.
However, Jessie wasn't the only one who had questions regarding the other's dreams. Before she could ask any questions, he turned towards her. "By the way Jess" he said, grabbing her attention. "Were we really married in that dream of yours?" he asked, tentatively. He was scared for second that he had been too forward and wasn't sure if he'd get a response.
Jessie blushed for a second. She knew that this question was coming.
She paused before answering. Jonny found the silence to be uncomfortable. He was about to ask her to forget he even asked the question, when she answered it. "Yes, we were" she replied. She shifted uncomfortably.
There was a short pause.
"Well, I can tell you one thing" Jonny finally said. "That dream's never coming true".
Jessie was shocked. She was still processing what Jonny had just said. As she started to stand up, he finished his joke.
"When our wedding day comes, I'm definitely not wearing a white tux, like I did in your dream" he said, with a grin.
Jessie was still intending to storm out. Jonny's joke seemed far too underhand this time for her to stay, until a thought occurred to her. A thought about what Jonny had just said.
"What do you mean by WHEN our wedding day comes?" she asked, with emphasis placed on the word 'when'.
Now it was Jonny's turn to shift uncomfortably. "Well, I meant, um..."
Before he can come up with an explanation however, Jessie sat back down next to him and started giggling. Jonny seemed to be getting even more perturbed by what he had said, but before he could come up with an effective excuse for what he had said, Jessie had one more thing to say. "Well, if or when that day comes, we'll see what happens" she said playfully, ending the conversation.
Jonny was relieved he didn't have to say anymore. He felt his hand being gripped by someone. He looked down to see Jessie had taken hold of it and was staring out to the sky. A faint smile appeared on his face, as she put her head on his shoulder and relaxed. The two sat together, on the top floor of the lighthouse, watching the sunset.