Subject: JQ: [FIC] Ripple (8/?)

June 26, 1998

Disclaimer: JQ characters belong to HB & Turner Productions. Everything
associated  to the "Time" trilogy belongs to Madeleine L'Engle. Characters
used without permission. No $$ made for this venture. Enjoy! ^_^.
Category: Adventure, Episodal, X-over, a touch of Fantasy
Rating: Some language and concepts for mature audiences
Archivers: Not a problem, as long as you tell me where you put this baby! ^_^.
Summary:  

The Ripple Effect (8/?)
by: Ina-chan

	The sun dipped lazily in the horizon painting the sky with a beautiful
cascade of pink and orange. The university footpaths are virtually
abandoned, now that the day has come to an end. For the young man that
stepped out of  a building, however, he still had a nagging feeling that the
unfortunate string of events that happened today was far from over. He made
a quick sweeping glance at the direction of Dr. Mahler's window and 
stuffed his hands into his pockets. It doesn't take  a genius to figure out
how deep in
trouble his young friend has sunk himself into, even without the parts he
has graciously
omitted when his superior demanded an explanation for his son's behaviour.
	"That took you long enough."
	Benton Quest followed the direction of the voice and found himself looking down
at a figure seated on the bottom of a short flight of steps. She didn't need
to look up and face him for her to cause his heart to stop. The vision of
her short golden locks contrasting against the radiance of the setting sun
was more than enough for him to feel the aforementioned organ lodged
painfully in his  throat.
	"So how is he doing?" She asked as she stood up and dusted the seat of her
skirt
	"Huh?" Benton automatically responded before giving himself a swift mental
boot.
Wow Benton! Impressive opening line...
	She turned around and looked at him curiously, "That little boy."
	"Oh."
	"So how is he?"
	"Okay."
	Her face softened and broke into a big smile, "I'm glad to hear that."
	As if unable to stand the bright radiance of her face any longer, the young man
lowered his eyes and nervously focused his attention to his shoes.
	"I... uhmm... I just wanted to thank you... for today," Rachel began
uncertainly
	The young man simply made a silent nod of acknowledgment.  
	"Well... thank you."
	"Uh-huh."
	The breeze that whistled by made the gauche silence between them seem
deafeningly loud. That was until a pair of feet padded up angrily against
the concrete
steps. A tap on his shoulder forced him to look up and face a pair of deep
blue eyes
flashing in anger.
	"When people talk to each other, they look at each other. Not meeting one's
gaze
is like... well... RUDE!" She loudly voiced out her irritation. She put her
arms on her hips in a huff, "When you talk to me, I want you to look up and
talk to me face-to-face. YOU GOT THAT ?!"
	"Yes Ma'am!" The  young man involuntarily replied in a slightly frightened
voice
	"Good," With that, her face softened and gave him another one of her heart
stopping smiles, "Now do you mind giving me my shoe back?"

***

	Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
	Alena Stasny stared blankly at the her room mate's clock as it rolled its
eyes from side to side in time with the seconds. It was one of those
ridiculous looking clocks shaped like a black and white cat... with its tail
swinging as a pendulum and its eyes rolling from side with each swing. If
she didn't know better, it would seem like it was rolling its eyes at her in
exasperation.
	She swept her gaze around the room at the small tokens of memorabilia in her
friend's collection. All screaming memories of her home and her family.
Though she and
Rachel have considered each other as family from the moment their friendship
clicked
together , she still can't help but feel a twinge of envy with her friend's
fortune. 
	Her parents abruptly sent her to America to study and live with her mother's
brother, without an explanation. She, however, easily deducted the reason
behind it.
Though her father's family are influential political members of the
Communist Party, it has been known that her father has later not been as
supportive of their political views. It has been two years since she arrived
in this country... and more than a year since the letters has stopped. Even
her uncle's infectious optimism failed to keep her from fearing the worst...
She would have undoubtedly returned had it not for a promise she made before
she left her home. That is to finish her education.
	She took a deep sigh and buried her face into her pillow.  Her failed
attempt earlier simply made the burden of her depression heavier. And now...
her best friend undoubtedly coming home past curfew is making her worry...
Not to mention lead to problems with the dorm's head mistress. She picked
herself up and pulled up a chair to stand watch by the window. It would seem
that they would be using it again...

***	
	"For someone who supposedly impressed some NASA bigwigs with a speech in an
International Science Fair presentation when he was only seven, you sure
don't talk much, do you," Rachel's voice broke through the silence of soft
rustling leaves on the trees overhead.
	Benton gave the young woman a quizzical look, "How did you..."
	Rachel laughed, "I'm best friends and room mates with the president of your fan
club, remember?" 	
	"Fan club?" 
	"Never mind," Rachel grinned with amusement at the young man's confused
expression, "Don't worry. I just know all the factual stuff... nothing in
the line of  secret girlfriends or anything like that."
	"Oh," The red head replied with a nervous laugh
	A glint of mischief lighted at the corner of  the woman's blue eyes. She
quickened her pace to walk backwards ahead of him, "Do you?"
	"Do I what?"
	"Have a secret girlfriend stashed somewhere?"
	Benton choked at the woman's unabashed impertinent question.
	Rachel simply threw her head back and laughed, "I didn't think so."
	"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" his bruised male ego finally giving
him the
courage to find his voice
	Rachel grinned, "I didn't mean anything by it."
	"Well... there was... someone," He spouted suddenly. He stopped at his
heels and
stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets before staring in blank space, "It
just didn't work out."
	The woman stopped and wiped the impish grin from her face at her companion's
unexpected answer. She knew that the best way to tackle the situation is to
shut up and
walk back to her dorm in silence. But that impertinent curiousity of hers...
coupled with her fast mouth, simply get the better of her in every
situation, "Was he one of those good-looking jock types? Don't worry, I'm
sure he was a loser."
	The young man simple smiled sadly, "I wish it was just like that. I'm afraid my
rival's charms are more stalwart than that."
	"So who exactly is this guy? Elvis Presley?"
	"Destiny."
	"Oh," Rachel frowned a bit, not really understanding what he meant. But
watching
him look all depressed with the memory made her feel bad reminding him of
it. She
clasped her hands behind her and looked at the direction of his gaze, "You
can't fight
destiny."
	The young man turned to look at her in surprise.  The sun has set, the
street lamps flickered on, and her silhouette glowed mysteriously underneath
the dim sky of the early evening, "No. I guess not."
	Rachel turned around to meet his own blue orbs, "I was naming my children."
	Benton blinked at her blankly.
	The woman smiled, "I thought it was unfair that I knew stuff about you when you
didn't know much about me. When I was seven, I would climb up on my mother's lap
with my little sister... and we would look up at the sky and name the stars.
I think it was really a clever ploy my mother made up to review our Bible...
But I would pretend that I was naming my future children," she made a small
embarrassed laugh as she started to walk again, "Pretty silly, huh? Its
nothing impressive like your Science Fair thing..."
	Benton simply hastened his pace to keep up with her, "What did you name them?"
	It was her turn to look surprised.  At first she thought it he was simply being
polite, but the expression in his eyes convinced her that he was genuinely
interested in
what she had to say. At that instant, all of her best friend's asinine
blubbering about the perfection of this man suddenly began to make sense.
She put on her mischievous grin
once again, "My daughter will definitely be an Esther."
	"Esther? As in Queen Esther?"
	"Of course! She will be smart, compassionate, brave, strong-minded, AND
beautiful! Just like her mother."
	"I'm sure she will be."
	"My son will be a Jonathan."
	"Ahh... as in Jonathan and David."
	"No," Rachel stopped, "As in... Robert 'Jonathan'."
	"Oh," Benton replied trying to hide a pang of fear in his voice
	"Rob always teases me that he'd rather die than have a demon spawn named after
him," She reminisced with a laugh, "Never serious at all. But that's how he
shows his
affection."
	"Rob?"
	"Sorry," Rachel apologized, "He's my big brother."
	The young man breathed a inward sigh of relief.
	 "He's only a year older than me so we pretty much got to do things
together all
the time. And he got me into sports stuff..."
	"Like touch football?"
	Rachel looked at him in surprise, "Yeah. Like touch football."
	"Sounds like you two are real close."
	"We are."
	"Where is he now?"
	Her face darkened, and the smile immediately disappeared from her face,
"Vietnam."
	Benton gaped at the information in shock, and turned away from her, not
entirely
sure of what to say.
	"But," Her voice suddenly piped in, saving him from the uncomfortable
situation,
"Saul's only son would make quite a virtuous namesake.... noble, brave,
loyal, and will
stand for what he believes in even if it means losing everything."
	"I don't think King Saul will agree with you..." He countered trying to
bring back the earlier lighter mood, "Considering how Jonathan betrayed his
father by taking sides with his best friend."
	"Saul was the one who was in the wrong side anyway," Rachel argued, "It's
really
sad how his betrayal for David overshadows the noblest act he did for his
father."
	"Which is?"
	"In the end... Jonathan sacrificed his life in his father's name."

***
	THUD!
	Man! This really sucks! Jonny Quest thought to himself as he tried to
ignore the
pain spreading on his chest from the impact of his fall. Trying to
concentrate more on
pushing away the rough pole slowly cutting off the oxygen flowing through
his throat.
	"Jessie..." He called out desperately through clenched teeth
	She had him pinned on the ground, strategically straddling his back... at
the same time pulling her weapon against his throat. He could almost feel
the intensity of the burning look of hatred that Jonny never in his wildest
imagination thought Jessie could possess boring at the back of his head. She
smiled triumphantly, "You are so weak
Iohanatan.  Power? Strength? What a laugh. Here you are, ready to keel over
and die and
I haven't even broken into a sweat yet."
	"Jessie... what... are you.... talking...?" Jonny rasped breathlessly
	"Dead men don't need to know," She replied 
	When suddenly, a wild invisible gust of force seemingly ripped the branch
from her hands and  pushed her halfway across the ground. Jonny sat up and
coughed violently as his lungs tried to devour the precious air they have
been deprived of. He gave the other boy a nasty look, "Well, its about time
you did something."
	"Hey! I was having problems of my own," Charles Wallace shot back defensively
as he rubbed the side of his head painfully. He straightened up and faced
the fallen girl, "C'mon Jessie. You're a lot stronger than that. You can
fight it." 
	Jessie stood up and glared at the younger figure, "You made an oath, Watcher!"
	"I also made an oath to protect him until the battle," Charles Wallace, "As
you are under YOUR oath. I don't believe a challenge has been accepted, so
you can say we're
even."
	Jessie's face hardened as she looked down at her enemies, "Very well. I'll
let you go this time. But I promise you Iohanatan. Before the end of this
Kairos cycle, you will not be anything but dead."
	No dramatic thunder and lighting effects. Not even a howling gust of wind.
But the sudden change in the red-head's expression indicated that the storm
was finally over. Jessie stared at her hands in disbelief before burying her
face into them and falling on her knees. 	
	"That was the Ecthroi, wasn't it?" Jonny asked silently
	Charles Wallace simply nodded.
	Jonny moved toward the distraught girl. He tried to give her a comforting
touch,
but she slapped his hand away and refused to look up at him. He could feel
anger slowly
welling up in his chest for his best friend. Why do these things always
happen to her? First that stupid ghost in their trip to Nova Scotia... then
Surd... He knows how violated it feels to be used like that, "It wasn't your
fault Jess," He began lamely, "The Ecthroi..."
	"No," Jessie's quiet voice stopped him. But it was the words that came
after that chilled his heart.
	The girl wrapped her arms around her knees  and desperately tried not to
let the painful lump forming in her throat choke  her whispered words, "It
wasn't the Ecthroi back there... It was me... I really wanted to kill you..."
	The early evening crickets started to hum their song.
	"... it was me..."

(To be continued)
 
Comments, criticisms, bricks to [email protected]

Author's squawk:	 
	
	AAAAHHHH!!! I desperately wanted to add more stuff in this chapter... but it
would just make this chapter longer than it already is... Heh-heh... I know
I'm gonna get a lot of bricks from my "unspeakable sense" of "forewarning"
and the last scene. I
deliberately made the fight scene less graphic 'cause I think I created
enough bad influence in my other fics... 'Sides... I don't really like
making Jonny and Jessie go into a physical fight... NAH! I'm lying! ^_^. I'd
say, let Jessie kick Jonny's butt literally once in a while! ^_^.
	So what to expect in the next chapter... Hmmm... an explanation for Jessie
final
statement would be nice, ne? And... how does a little more of Alena sound? I
was  actually looking through my story outline and VIOLA! We are actually in
the brink of the halfway point! WHOO-HOO! If I'm lucky, this baby will be
finished in less than 20 chapters! ^_^.
        
        Thanks a lot to all you guys who are still reading this to this point.

Ja!
Ina-chan