The Ultimate Vengeance Part 5



	"Dr. Quest?" 

	"Yes, Hadji?" said Benton, wiping a tear from his eye. 

	"It appears there is no way to access the system.  I suggest we

re-create Questworld." 

	Benton regarded him. 

	"That's a pretty big job." commented Benton. 

	"There is no other way." replied Hadji.  "We must have access to

Questworld, and the only way to do that is to completely re-create it, and

enter the old system through the new one." 

	"Let's get to it." said Benton. 

	Benton and Hadji immediately left for one of the larger computer

research buildings. 

	Meanwhile, in the main house, Miana was keeping up with the news

broadcasts, long after everyone else left the "lighthouse".  It was

finally dawning on her that she might not ever be able to leave there, and

she was growing alone and scared.  Jessie was sitting and watching the

news with Miana, and grew puzzled when Miana got up without a word and

went up to her room.  Jessie followed her, knocked on her door, and stuck

her head in. 

	"Miana?" 

	Miana was crying and turned around. 

	"Miana..." 

	Jessie went up to her and embraced her. 

	"I'm so scared... and I feel so... so alone." 

	"You shouldn't.  You have a family that loves you, and most

importantly, a husband that loves you.  Now should be the time that you

should be turning to him.  He needs you as much as you need him.  Think

about it." 

	Jessie then left Miana alone. 

	That night, everyone retired early-- that is, except for Hadji. 

He had Miana on his mind off and on all day, and it made him restless.  He

left his room, and stepped into the hall.  He cracked Miana's door open,

and looked in on her.  A tear ran down his cheek as he watched his love

sleeping soundly.  Hadji shut her door, and found a set of stairs that he

thought corresponded to the attic.  He went up, and was happy to discover

that Benton included a studio for him here as well.  Hadji started a yoga

workout, only to end up falling asleep on his mat. 

	Miana herself was restless that night.  Her back was turned to the

door when Hadji looked in on her, and she felt his deep gaze upon her. 

The flash of his presence then was reminiscent of when things were better

between them, and those piercing, almost- black eyes would look into hers. 

She tried for a few hours after that to get to sleep, but it wasn't

happening.  She kept seeing his face in her mind to the point she couldn't

handle it anymore.  She crept out of her room, and quickly found the steps

that went up to Hadji's new studio.  She snuck up quietly, and cracked

the door open when she got to the top.  She saw him there fast asleep, and

couldn't resist going in.  He was so beautiful-- his lean, muscular body

was half-nude in the dim light. His turban had unwound in his sleep, and

his ponytail had loosened, so there were large strands of wavy black hair

that fell freely about his shoulders.  She looked at him and wondered how

could she ever have doubted him-- even through the questionable

circumstances she had found him under.  His back was to her, so she

crawled around to where she could see his face.  His face was still

contorted d like he had been crying, and she could tell by the way his skin

looked where the tears dried on his face after he fell asleep.  Tears came

to her eyes as she regarded him.  She layed down next to him, and gently

moved his arm and curled up with him on the mat.  He started to stir, and

awoke to find her there lying in his arms, with tears streaming down her

face.  He cupped her face in his hand, and pulled her into a deep,

passionate kiss.  No words were exchanged as they settled down in each

other's arms, and fell asleep together in a slumber that was the deepest

and best that each had had before their marriage started to fall apart. 

	Benton was up early the next morning, and when he didn't find

Hadji in his room, went up to check the studio.  He cracked the door open,

and smiled as he saw Hadji and Miana asleep in each other's arms. He hated

to wake them. 

	"Ahem." coughed Benton. 

	Both woke simultaneously, and the first sight they each saw were

the eyes of the other.  Hadji stroked Miana's face and proceeded to kiss

her, but was interrupted. 

	"Ahem!" 

	"Oh, I am sorry, Dr. Quest!" apologized Hadji. 

	"That's ok, Hadji.  I'm glad to see the two of you are on the path

to reconciling.  In the meantime, however, we have a lot of work to do." 

	Hadji got up and stroked Miana's face as he got up to leave.  He

and Benton went back to their work, with which they were making decent

progress. 

	Miana walked down the steps, and smiled at Jessie as she came out

of her and Jonny's room.  Jessie came out and followed Miana down the

steps, and met Race, Jonny, and Benny for breakfast.  Race turned on the

morning news in hopes that the family wouldn't be in for any more

surprises. 



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	"The helicopter is ready, Jeremiah." replied Julia. 

	"Good.  Lorenzo, assist Rage with the loading of his equipment. 

Ezekiel, do you need anyone to go with you?" asked Surd. 

	"No.  My vengeance must be completed by myself alone.  This time,

there are no disciples and no followers-- and most importantly, no

warning.  So sayeth the Book of Rage." 



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	The news broadcast continued on in its usual, uneventful way--

that is, until it was interrupted. 

	"'The Ultimate Vengeance will sweep down from on high-- cleaning

away the heretics that pollute society-- justice and judgment come

swiftly, without warning on the non-believers', so sayeth the Book of

Rage!" announced the masked face that appeared suddenly on all channels. 

The next image showed a small black helicopter dropping a device onto the

Pentagon, then an explosion that obliterated the building and an area of

five city blocks around it. 

	Hadji and Benton were working hard on the computer equipment when

Race came into the lab in which they were working.  His face was

death-white with an expression of pure terror.  In all the years Benton

knew him, he had never seen Race scared, let alone seeing him totally and

utterly terrified. 

	"Race!  What's wrong?  You look like you've seen a ghost!" 

	"Benton..." 

	"Yes, Race?  What is it?" 

	"Rage destroyed the Pentagon." 

	"WHAT???!!??" Benton asked in shock, as Hadji's mouth hit the

ground along with a computer power supply. 

	Benton, Race, and Hadji raced back to the house and watched the

news coverage that rushed to the scene, only to be held back by fire

fighters and men in radiation suits attempting to extinguish the blaze and

assess the area for risk of radioactive contamination. 



***********************************************************************



	Rage's helicopter disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and no

one was able to track it down or catch it.  Rage arrived safely back at

Surd's hideout. 

	"Ezekiel, that was an amazing display.  What are your intentions

now that the main people responsible for the death of your family have

been eliminated?" 

	"Now that vengeance has been served, I am going to save my family."

replied Rage in a soft, almost normal voice.  "If I can save them, maybe

the rest of the world can be spared." 

	That was the first bit of emotion other than sheer anger and

hatred that Surd had seen from him. 

	"Julia-- prepare the Rachel program.  Rage, you'll need to give

Julia precise information for your next trip." 

	Rage gave Julia the required information.  Rage had Julia program

some equipment for his trip, and he sat down and put on a console.  He

logged into Questworld once again.  He anchored himself in the Questworld

matrix as he went through the time portal.

 As soon as he went through the portal, he swung on a grappling hook past

the car right as it was going off the cliff.  He pulled Abby and Carlo up

from the falling car, and the three of them were suspended from the hook

as the car plummeted to the bottom.  The younger version of Rage had

blacked out and had not seen his older self coming, therefore had no

conception or memory of what was occurring-- thus unaffecting his memories

at the present time.  He pulled them back into reality, and the three of

them materialized in the real world.  Abby saw all these strange faces,

and immediately pulled young Carla into her arms and backed away. 

	Rage was in tears. 

	"My Abby, Carla-- my little girl!  You're alive!" he cried as he

went to them. 

	"Who are you?!" screamed Abby. 

	"My dear, it's such a long story." said Rage softly, pulling off

his mask. 

	"Zeke?  Is that you?  What happened?  Where are we?" 

	"Abby, you and Carla are about twelve years in the future.  You

and Carla were killed when that car went down.  I lived, but I was

mutilated.  But I have taken vengeance on those responsible, and I went

back in time and saved you!" explained Rage has he approached them. 

	Abby still pulled back. 

	"This is a lot for me to absorb.  You are so different.  Who are

these people?" 

	"Jeremiah Surd, Julia, and Lorenzo made it possible for me to save

you." 

	Abby's brow knitted as she pondered the situation, and had a

growing feeling of foreboding all around. 

	Rage tried once again to approach them, and once again Abby pulled

back. 

	"Abby, please.  Carla!  My little girl..." 

	"Daddy... your face!" 

	"Zeke, a lot has happened.  I need time to think.  My God! Twelve,

thirteen, fifteen, whatever years in the future, and we don't even have a

place to stay!" 

	"Julia, please provide our guests with lodging." ordered Surd. 

	"Yes, Jeremiah."