Tigs: Looks fine to me. Oh well... SMD!!!!!

SO: After, you finish, that is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Seer lay gasping on the floor of the storage facility, cradled by a man he'd watched for years but only recently met. Years? How many? His chest rose and fell, but unsteadily. A crushing pain gripped his chest and radiated down his left arm, and sweat broke out on his brow. He'd had heart problems for a long time now, but this time seemed different. The pain was worse and he felt nauseated, unable to concentrate. If not for the pain, he would have chuckled to himself, "why didn't I see this coming?" Surely, this was the end, but there was something else. Something he needed to tell someone...

Rembrandt and Mrs. Mallory were rummaging through the first aid kit, desperately trying to find something to help the older man. If they'd been trying to bandage a scrape, they'd be set. Rembrandt found a syringe, which he pocketed, but none of the drugs seemed useful. Mrs. Mallory held up a bottle, "aspirin. Best we can do."

Marc LeBeau was dying. He was sure of it. His vision was growing cloudy, but he could see someone offering him some pills. "Useless", he thought, but he opened his mouth to accept him. Someone else was entering the room. No, make that two someones, a man and a woman. Maggie and Mallory. Maggie had provided him with some interesting visions indeed, but he'd always preferred the other girl, Wade. Wade? There's something about Wade..."Well, our friends will be safe and comfortable for a while," said the girl. Safe! No! That's not right. Was that what he wanted to tell them? "Claire left word at the center. More security forces are on their way. You haven't much time," he managed to tell them. But that wasn't it either...

Mallory and Maggie joined Diana at the controls to the Kromagg sliding machine. "I've got it," Diana told the others. "It's damaged but operational." Pulling out the PDL, she continued, "the main problem is that the data bank has been wiped."

Diana said it like as though the ramifications were perfectly clear, but of course, she was talking to Maggie and Mallory. "Meaning?" asked Maggie.

Diana pursed her lips for a second and answered with a hint of satisfaction, "Meaning all I need to do is punch in some new destination information and we should be in business." Diana worked for a moment more, transferring data from the PDL into the sliding machine before activating the device. Unlike the blue-hued circular vortex the slider had become familiar with over the last couple years, the vortex that was created was small, red, and irregularly shaped.

Even Mallory noticed the difference, "What's wrong?"

Checking the instrumentation, Diana replied, "this device is too badly damaged. Containment is deteriorating rapidly. There's only enough power to get one of us through."

The Seer felt the man that had been holding him get up from under him. Rembrandt. Wade and Rembrandt. Why did those names seem so important? Rembrandt pulled the vial of anti-Kromagg virus and the syringe from his pockets. The newer slider, Diana was telling them, "we'd better decide who's going, fast."

At that moment, one of Claire's goons appeared in the doorway, gun drawn. Maggie lunged for him, but he managed to get off a single shot before she managed to subdue him. The stray bullet struck Rembrandt in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground and sending the vial skittering across the floor to rest at Mallory's feet.

The Seer was doing his best to remain conscious. There was a new presence in the room. One that he hadn't felt in close to a year. It was faint, but it was there. As his eyes started to close for the last time, he saw Mallory grab the vial of virus and fling himself toward the vortex. Then, he saw no more.

The ride through the wormhole was a bumpy one. "What on Earth possessed me to do that?.... Quinn!" Mallory thought as he prayed for the ride to come to an end. He already missed the company of Maggie, Rembrandt and Diana. The idea that the other Quinn was starting to assert himself didn't make him feel any better.

When the end of the sliding tunnel came, it spat him out onto a hard, cold, smooth floor. Mallory braced himself for the death the Seer had predicted, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes to find that he was in a hallway. There was a strong medicinal smell, couple nurses had seen his entry. Other people were starting to gather to see what the commotion was. A hospital examining room, then, Mallory thought to himself. "Victims of the war with the Kromaggs?" he wondered to himself. "Excuse me." was all he could think to say as he made his way through the stunned crowd in the hall. As he reached the elevators he could hear the people whispering about him. "...happened again..." "...with that singer?..." "...the girl, too..." was all he could make out.

Outside the hospital, Mallory expected to find a city in ruin, but all looked normal. It was sunny enough, but much cooler than the area around Claire's compound. He checked the front of a newspaper machine, [i]The San Francisco Chronicle[/i]. "Well, that answers that question, but where are the Kromaggs? Don't tell me after all that I'm stranded on the wrong Earth."

As he made his way through the streets of San Francisco, he stopped short when he heard a familiar voice coming from the radio of a car stopped nearby.

"...Do I really wanna go?
Do I really wanna go?
Do I really wanna go? (Where's the timer?)
Hey! Can't you turn this slide around
Can't you turn this slide around
Remmy won't go no further
Hey! Can't you turn this slide around
Can't you turn this slide around
Remmy won't go no further..."
At that point, the car drove off, but Mallory had heard enough. So this world had a Rembrandt double, and he knows about sliding. Maybe he wasn't as stranded as he thought he was. By now it was starting to get dark and he needed to find a place to stay. He couldn’t help but think of his Remmy and hope that his gunshot wound wasn’t serious, but this Rembrandt Brown would have to wait. He checked the yellow pages, but this world didn't seem to have a Chandler hotel chain. As he checked the listings, the name "Dominion Hotel" caught his attention. "Sounds as good as anything else."

Walking in the direction of the Dominion, Mallory passed by a store with several televisions in the display. Around the word "Moon's" painted on the window, he saw something that made him stop in his tracks for the second time that afternoon. Wade Welles was giving an interview on a local television station. Mallory had never known a Wade Welles on his Earth, and she definitely looked better on a TV screen than with her head in a fishbowl, but he knew without a doubt who she was and made his way inside to hear what she was saying.

Interviewer:".... think you know who this was?"

Wade: "Not exactly, but as you know, Rembrandt Brown and I returned in a similar fashion, and in the same location, almost two years ago. Our friend, Quinn, was supposed to follow us home within a few minutes, but he's never shown up. The man people described at the hospital doesn't sound like Quinn, but the way he arrived sounds exactly like an inter-dimensional vortex."

Interviewer: "So if this isn't your friend, why are you looking for him?"

Wade: "If he knows about sliding, and if he found his way to this Earth, maybe he's met our Quinn. I'd like to meet him and find out what he knows."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DMD: There. Now may I have that tea?

SO: <turning red> Ooops. I drank it.

DMD: :-\ Well, I'm off for North Carolina. Have fun with the story.

Tigs: Not so fast, Monkee boy.

DMD: Hmmm?

ThomasMalthus: There's no part for SL4ever in your skit yet. It's in his contract.

DMD: Very well... "SL4ever chased a screaming Jenneration_X toward the kitchen, trying desparately to stop her from destorying the 'demonic PIEs'."

Sarah: 'Demonic PIEs?

DMD: Hey, it satisfies the contract. Let the next writer figure it out. :-P

TM had been taking it all down on his own pad and paper. He almost forgot he had the story torch in his hand until the flame reached out and burned his index finger. "Get on with it!" it cried out, as it always seemed to do when TM was writing the opening skit.

Rembrandt sat in the green room, picking through his complimentary fruit basket he received for appearing on "Live with Regis and Sarah Michelle". He'd been on countless talk shows since returning to his home world and so he was pretty much used to the whole routine by now. Still, he'd missed breakfast this morning in his rush to get to the studio and he hated being interviewed on an empty stomach.

Thoughts of fruit dissipated as Remmy's cell phone rang. Only three people knew the number of his emergency phone and one of them was sure to be indisposed. He made an educated guess and hoped that his girlfriend wouldn't be mad at him if he guessed wrong. "Hey, Wade," he said warmly into the phone as he answered.

Wade laughed slightly. "How did you know it was me?"

Rembrandt leaned back in his chair. "Tamara's got a photo shoot in L.A.," he answered bemusedly. "How'd the interview go?"

"Not too badly," Wade answered with a slight sigh. "I only hope it convinces this new slider to get in touch with us."

"You think he could be dangerous?" Rembrandt asked with concern in his voice.

"I'd expect anything," Wade told him. "There are an infinite number of worlds out there. Remember those Kromagg guys we ran onto on that one world? Sometimes they still give me the willies."

"He's probably just some lost traveler, like we were," Rembrandt tried to assure her. He wasn't sure he succeeded, so he changed the subject. "You think the Professor's heard about this?"

Wade laughed. "Assuming he's been paying attention to the news and not exploring the beaches of Tahiti."

Rembrandt chuckled along with her. "I'm sure he's working hard."

"Yeah," Wade replied sarcastically. "I'm sure his big reason for building a sliding lab on a South Pacific island was so he could put his nose to the grindstone." She paused. "I really don't get that expression."

Rembrandt thought about the return of the Professor. It turned out he had been stuck on that world where those Topps leeches had fenagled their way into the writing credits of his songs. He had always secretly suspected they'd taken the wrong one, but he'd let his fears go unspoken and certainly said nothing after the man that left that world with them died. Arturo had managed to invent sliding from scratch on that world; he hoped to do the same on this one. The task would have been easier had the FBI not confiscated all of Quinn's equipment. "He'll get it, Wade. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried about that," Wade told him. "But what we'll do after he re-invents sliding is another thing altogether."

Rembrandt gave a sigh of exasperation. "Wade, I'm on in less than a minute. Don't start this."

"He's been gone for two years, Rembrandt!" Wade exclaimed. "We can't just give up on him! He sure as hell wouldn't have given up on any of us!"

Rembrandt saw the stage manager tap his watch. He was already supposed to be on. "We'll talk about this later, Wade," Rembrandt told her soothingly. "Who knows? Maybe Quinn's our new visitor and we won't have to talk about this again at all."

Mallory paid the clerk at the Dominion Hotel, a portly man with a goatee who seemed overly enthusiastic for some reason. He took the elevator to his room and sat down on his bed. Thoughts seemed to be going through his head a mile a minute. He needed to get back to his friends: Rembrandt, Diana, Maggie, Wade...

Wade? Why had he thought about her? He had never known any Wade, unless you counted the hours he'd spent listening to Rembrandt's stories of her. Suddenly he couldn't focus. It was like something was trying to erupt from his head. *Quantum homeostasis.*

"What?" Mallory thought. He had no idea what the term meant and couldn't believe his brain had come up with it. This was usually Diana's department. His head was pounding and the voice seemed to be getting stronger. *You're starting to adjust to this world, to my world, because you've lost your own and there doesn't appear to be a way out. So you're letting me reassert my dominance.*

"Quinn?" he asked aloud. He then collapsed on the bed, exhausted.

TM: Well, I'm off to North Carolina.

SouthernSlider: You too?

TM: Oh, I thought that was the new sign-off. Actually, I'm the only West Virginian who doesn't want to move to North Carolina.

SL: <looking up from his demonic PIE> And just what's wrong with North Carolina?!

TM: Er, nothing. Uh, here SS! Catch! <TM tosses the torch to SS and flees the Story Cave in record time. He's sure he will be back to dispense drinks if anybody wants to include that in their opening sketch, however.>

ThomasMalthus

SS: (reading the script) Oooo. This is good. DMD and TM are on a roll. Let's hope I don't louse it up.

---------------------------

"Hello, Regis, hello, Sarah," Rembrandt said as he shook hands and slid into the chair.

"Rembrandt Brown. I can't believe it! You're really a slider," said Regis.

"Absolutely."

"So what are you up to now? Headed to another world anytime soon?"

Rembrandt went into his list of singing engagements. Regis kept trying to throw him off-track; sliding seemed to be the only subject the man wanted to talk about. He had even seen Wade's interview and brought that up.

"I hear you're waiting for a sliding friend," Sarah interrupted. As soon as Remmy said Quinn's name, she turned up her nose. Remmy tried to change the subject back to singing as quickly as possible.

***

Mallory raised his head off the pillow. Sounds of the TV in the background attracted his attention. Wade. Someone had said Wade Welles. The voice sounded familiar. Rembrandt. Rembrandt Brown. Remmy! Mallory jerked his head around then popped up to turn up the sound. Something about the professor. Professor! There was no professor!

"Professor Arturo is working on something, but we're really not at liberty to discuss it at the moment," Remmy said.

"Ah, well, it looks like we're not going to get a thing out of him. When we come back, Rembrandt Brown will sing a song for us from his new album," Regis said. The setting faded, a commercial for instant pies taking its place.

"Professor Arturo?" Mallory whispered. "He talked about him in the present. What the hell's going on?" Mallory grabbed a phone book.

Tracing his finger down the page, there was no listing for a Maximillian Arturo. He flipped rapidly toward the back.

"Welding, Weldon, Wellborn, Welles. Bruce, Gordon, Russell, Wade. Wade!" he said.

He stared at the number then flung the phone book aside. His hand hovered over the receiver for several seconds before he got the courage to pick it up. Still, his finger lingered over the buttons. He took several deep breaths then forced his index finger to punch the buttons. It rang like a siren in his ear, once, twice, three times. He was on the verge of hanging up when a soft voice came on.

"Hello."

Silence.

"Hello," the voice said more forcefully.

Quinn forced a swallow from the body he dwelled in. His lips formed her name without sound. Mallory frowned, his head sending out a sharp pulse at his temple. "Quinn?" he whispered.

"Who is this?" the voice agitated voice on the other end yelled out.

Mallory jumped.

"Wade? Wade, is that you?"
-----------------------------------------

SS: Hmmmm. I think I'll stop right there. Let's see how Sarah has Wade reacting to her long lost lover-wannabe.

Before leaving the desk, she went back to the DAWGS website. 43 days, 7 hours, 32 minutes, 12 seconds, 11 ... 10 ... 9 ...

SS: I wonder when DMD is gonna get back from NC. We need to start talking trash.

She rose, grabbed the torch and headed for the recesses of the cave, in search of Sarah.
---------------------

SS

Sarah: Alright, alright, I’ll do it. But I warn you, I don’t have much time!!

---

“This is Wade Welles. Who are you and why are you calling? I warn you, the police are very responsive to any form of stalking.” Wade’s voice was cool and unemotional. She probably go ‘fan’ calls every day. No wonder if she was stupid enough not to become ex-directory.

The internal battle inside Mallory’s head grew in intensity. The pain was now over his entire head and he could no longer see anything for the red blur in front of his eyes. “Wade,” his voice whispered, “it’s me.”

Wade sighed angrily. “Look, you’re lucky I haven’t already hung up. Whoever you are, I don’t know you, however much you think you know me. I don’t take kindly to stalkers and and the push of a button I can have them at your door.”

There was a pause and the Quinn inside Mallory reasserted himself again. “No, Wade, it’s me, Quinn!”

“Quinn?” there was a positive waver in Wade’s voice. “No,” she whispered, more to herself than Mallory, “That’s not possible. The Slider wasn’t Quinn. And it’s not his voice”

“I can explain. Meet me and I’ll tell you everything. Everything.”

“Okay,” she answered. “I’ll be at the Red Dragon Cafeteria in an hour.”

Neither Quinn nor Mallory knew that particular place. “Where is that?”

There was no answer for a few seconds. Then she finally said, “Ask someone and they’ll be able to tell you. I’ll see you then.”

As Mallory put the phone down he was finally able to see properly again and the throbbing in his head subsided. He sat down and considered the bizarre conversation he’d just had. He didn’t know this Wade, yet something in him seemed determined to make him meet her. Deep down he knew what it was, but he didn’t want to admit that Quinn could influence his actions. That put doubt over everything he’d done since the fateful merge.

He was out of his depth on this world. He had no backup or support of anykind and he knew nothing about the place. Quinn on the other hand was obviously hugely familiar with it. If only someone else had jumped through the wormhole! Any of them would have done better. Diana was fiercly intelligent, she’d cope, and Remmy… but there was alreayda Remmy here! That made no sense. If the Quinn inside his head seemed to think this was his world, and tge Remmy here was supposed to be hree, that meant, it meant that the Remmy he’d been travelling with was not the one Quinn began with, unless there was some split later? And the bodiless Wade hadn’t been the same one either? Mallory’s head started to hurt, but not from an attempt by Quinn to exert control again. This wasn’t his field and he’d never been able to get his head round it.

Purposefully, Mallory stood up and headed downstairs to ask the desk where the Red Dragon Cafeteria was. Even if he didn’t know why he was doing it, he had no intention of of missing the engagement. From all accounts, Wade was pretty hot.

-----

Wade put the phone down with a click. What had possessed her to agree to the meeting like that? She’d seen pictures of the guy from the hospital and he was Quinn, and he was the only Slider anyone had seen so far. Perhaps there was an other wormhole? No, it was highly unlikely two should open within such a close time.

Yet there was something about the man on the phone that had reminded her of Quinn. Not the voice, but just something about it. And even the voice was Quinn’s but different. Almost like a brother or something, but Wade knew very well that Quinn had no brother.

Wade moved to the mirror and began to prepare herself for the meeting. She had plenty of time as the Red Dragon was only a couple of blocks away. As she gazed into the mirror and absentmindedly brushed her hair, she went over her last moments with Quinn om that awful hybrid world. After she and Rembrandt had landed, she’d waited for him for ages. Now, after two long years, the hope he was still alive, and more to the point could make it home, had nearly disappeared. The phone call had single handedly renewed that hope at it’s fullest extent. Her heart ached for the friend who had been missing in action for two years, although she could do without seeing that Maggie creature again.

-----

“He’s dead,” said Diana morosely. “I don’t think the CPR worked at all. We’ve been going ages. Nothing we’ve done seems to have done anything.”

Maggie was leaning over Marc LeBeau, still trying to compress his chest and get a pulse. “No! He can’t die! We need him to ‘See’ Mallory and what’s happened to him! He just CAN’T go now!” She wiped back tears from her eyes, not for Marc, but for her fears for Mallory.

Reaching over from where he lay nearby on the floor, Remmy put a sympathetic arm on Maggie’s shoulder. “We’ve done all we can, Maggie. There’s nothing more to do.”

The fomer marine captain sighed and let her arms drop, although she did not move from her kneeling position. “But if he’s gone, what do we do now?” She asked, voice quivering. “We can’t just abandon Mallory to the world. ANYthing could have happened. The Kromaggs could have him!”

“I don’t intend to abandon him either, Maggie,” Diana replied from over by the machine. “This thing is badly damaged, but given time, I think I could fix it, given time.”

“And then what?”

“And then we follow Mallory to that world and help him out of whatever predicament we find him in.”

Remmy shifted his position and winced in pain as he grabbed his recently bandaged shoulder with his other arm. “You really think you can fix it?”

Diana smiled back at him. “I’m pretty sure. All the things are here to work from. Just make sure you hold out that long, okay?”

----

Sarah: Woohoo!! I’m done! No where’s that HK? He gets to pick up some of the threads now!

Tigs: I think he’s still awol.

Sarah: Well, he’d better make it back soon! Now where’s TM with those drinks?

<hey, I am sick of these two-parters as well and you all are, but my time on this comp is almost up. I'll try to get my seg up soon at a friends place. Also, please pray for my computer. It looks like it's been put in Intensive Care. See ya later. I hope. <gulp>

--

"Federal Bureau of Investiagtion. Agent Bonwell speaking."

"Sir, we have a sighting on that man from the hospital."

"Go on."

"We recieved a call from a clerk of the Dominion Hotel, saying that he paid for a room, some of the bills he handed to him was unrecognizable."

"OK, are you at the hotel now?"

"We are just leaving the premises. It turns out that the target has left the vacinity. But we did recieve word that he did ask directions for the Red Dragon Cafeteria."

"I see, I'll send another team there. So we can intercept him. Remember, you don't use any excessive force. I want him brought in alive and unharmed. There's some questions that the bureau wants answered."

--

HK sets the pen down ran out of writing area.

HK: Sorry-gottago. Ihaveclassestoattendandfanficstofinish. MSRyourturn!

Then HK, throws the torch into the air.

Tigs: I think the insanity is spreading.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The light was what he remembered the most from that slide. The blinding light forcing him back from whence he came, shielding him from passage to that world. From the instant he realized he was home, he knew what had happened. Someone had figured it out. The only way it could have been done if his true identity was known. That someone paid dearly for this interference of his mission. Now he had to get rid of the other that knew. This would be more difficult, but it could be accomplished. Time was on his side. Watching from the shadows, he smiled.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On a mission to save his friends from certain disaster, he thought of what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. The celebration was still fresh in his mind. Finally his dream was accomplished or so he thought. Finding himself tied up once more rankled his temper even more than the last time. It was the last time that he wished he would never relive, but it was happening again. They never knew what really happened after he was left. Now was the time to explain everything. He wished that he wouldn’t have to tell them like this, but now wasn’t the time to pussyfoot around their feelings. He was running out of time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She stared at her red wine sloshing in her glass as she nervously awaited his arrival. Memories of the previous time they had shared wine flooding her brain. Their joy of reaching home evaporated the second Quinn’s glass hit the rug, destroying their dream. Nothing hurt more than that first time they thought they were home. Now, she was home, but the voice in her head asked her if they had reached home or that they denied that they were somewhere else. So many lingering thoughts pushed away into the darkness were coming into the light after all these years. Was this her Quinn finally reaching home or another broken dream? Dreaming still of the past kisses shared between her and Quinn, she saw him in the doorway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Recollections of the past haunted him. How many times did he torment the poor boy with his misplaced anger? Sure he was the cause, but it was all his anger from the past that he laid upon him. At first, he prayed for his health not because he liked him, but because he was their only way home. The others didn’t know the real reason why Ryan left. All it took was bribing the police to keep Ryan in jail until after they slid. In order to keep Quinn happy, Wade had to be with them. Once his competitor was out of the picture, the boy genius could keep his wits about it. Until she showed up. He was thankful that she wasn’t around for too long because he felt protective toward Wade and disliked the way she was treated by her. Quinn on the other hand, ignored Wade for the most part and turned his attention elsewhere. He couldn’t count the number of times where she turned to him for a patient ear and a shoulder to cry on. Over time, Wade had adjusted, but always pined for Quinn’s return, hoping to rekindle the past. There was nothing he could do to keep her grounded now. Shadowing her, he watched her reaction as he walked toward her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This was the strangest assignment that he placed on and off through the years. First, four missing persons then the sudden appearance of two of them. He didn’t believe the story they told, but with nothing else but the ramblings of a stoned college student, the bureau let the matter drop until now. Rousted from a yearlong money laundering case, Special Agent Yenn was ready to put this perplexing case to rest. Fingering the photo of his target once again, he watched the real time closed circuit surveillance video of the Red Dragon Cafeteria. He stiffened when he saw him lurking in the shadows. In a split second, he made the call.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As Mallory got within twenty feet of Wade, a sudden flash went through his mind as his eyes met the one hiding in the shadows. He went down on his knees reeling from the revelation just as the FBI agents burst into the room.

“Don’t hurt him!” cried Wade as Remmy pulled her away from her table, her glass shattering on the floor.

“Wade!” Mallory cried, looking up as the FBI agents barked their orders for him to stay on the floor.

He saw Arturo out of the corner of his eye before being thrown to the floor. Struggling against one of the agents, Mallory grabbed his gun and fired at the shadow. The man staggered a few steps before collapsing in front of Wade and Remmy.

“Wade, get away from him!” Mallory cried as his face was pushed into the ground, hands behind his back. His desperate maneuvers against his captors were fruitless.

Wade and Remmy knelt down next to the dying man, a bullet wound in the middle of his chest.

“I’m so sorry. I thought this was going to help.” Wade covered the man’s wound with a fallen napkin.

“Wade, girl, it was a good idea. We’re so sorry.”

Arturo grabbed Wade by the collar along with Remmy. “Get away from him! He’s a traitor! He’s a spy!”

“It’s too late. It’s already begun,” muttered the man before closing his eyes for the final time.

Tears welled up in Wade’s eyes. “How could you? He was your brother Colin!” She turned to Remmy who once again offered his shoulder to cry on.

A handcuffed Mallory winced from her accusatory words. “I have no brother. I never did.”

Arturo placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Miss Welles, what he’s telling you is the truth.”

Remmy stared at Arturo. “Come again?”

Turning to Arturo, Wade wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You knew?”

“I didn’t have the proof except what I discovered on Azure World. Or should I say, who I discovered on that earth.”

The trio watched as Mallory was being hauled away and Colin’s body was being covered by a tablecloth.

Mallory twisted in agony once again as another memory flashed through his crowded mind. This time it wasn’t this world’s Quinn that revealed a buried secret. Through Mallory’s eyes, this Quinn figured out Geiger was able to screen out Kromaggs by their genetic structure and their quantum signatures.

Mallory called out, “Find Diana!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

MSR went back to look for her bear.

SL4: Whoohooo I won. Finally, in your face. This pie is mine! Thanks Casanova.

MSR: Hey, where's my bear?

Tigs: <smiling> Follow the fur.

MSR stared at the floor and frantically went on her search. Her screaming echoed throughout the cave within minutes.

SL4: What did you do?

Tigs: Can you say chihuahua?

The duo laughed heartily for a few minutes.

SL4: Uh, she wouldn't add anything to what she just wrote, would she?

Tigs: Dunno. Glad I'm not next.

SL4: But I am! <runs out of room>

MSR

P.S.
You all did a great job in the previous storygame though you killed off Dana Katherine "Kathy" Scully and Fox "William/Bill" Mulder. :-D

Tigs <circling one finger around her ear> : It’s sad when the madness takes them. Truly it is.

****

“There, that should do it!” Diana was covered in wires, bits of plastic, oil, and something that looked like Cheetoes crumbs.

Remmy and Maggie snapped awake suddenly. They had sat across the room from her for a good part of her 18 hour marathon repair session before finally succumbing to sleep.

“It’s not big enough!” Maggie cried out dreamily before snapping completely awake.

“I'd never sing that!” Remmy shrieked at the same time before he, too, woke completely.

“Sorry guys, but I think we’re ready to go! I’ll be crawling into bed as soon as we get to the next world, but we can go now if you like.”

Remmy and Maggie leapt to their feet. After congratulatory hugs were given to Diana they grabbed their backpacks.

During the first couple hours Diana had been working on Kromagg Sliding Machine, her two friends had assembled survival packs for their Slide. Food, medical kits, Kromagg equipment, anything they thought might be useful in the next world. The most useful thing they had come across were two Kromagg stun rods. One touch from any part of the meter long rod outside of the rubber hand grip and the person touched would knocked out for as long as 12 hours.

Diana ceremoniously touched a button on the Kromagg machine and it formed a vortex that was large and less misshapen than the one Mallory had used but which still looked sick.

“Hurry,” Diana suggested. “I don’t know how long it will hold.”

Maggie jumped through first, holding her stun rod before her.

Remmy was right behind her. Just as he leaped for the vortex the Kromagg machine squealed horribly, sparked, and jetted oily black smoke from the barrel and control panel. The lumpy red vortex vanished. Remmy passed through where it had been and landed hard on the floor.

Their individual curses drowned each other out.

****

Maggie had barely rolled to a stop on a hard, cold, smooth floor when the vortex behind her winked out. As she looked around, a strong medicinal smell hit her. The other thing that hit her was the knowledge that her friends had not made it through in time, and cursed.

Sighing, she got to her feet. She had arrived in a hospital corridor but since it was 3am no one was around. At least she had arrived without a fuss.

A door opened behind Maggie. A single pair of footsteps sounded on the tile floor, coming to a sudden halt as the owner of the feet making the sound obviously spotted her.

Maggie turned slowly, going for non threatening even as she kept her stun rod against her side, out of view of the other person.

Maggie gasped in shock when she realized who was behind her. “YOOOOOOOOOOOU!!!!!”

****

SL4: And THAT’S how you skate around a tough previous segment! Sweet sweet Bplot to fall back on! <raises pages of previous segments containing Diana, Remmy, and Maggie.> :-* :-* :-*!!!! I love you Bplot! :-*******

Wadesdiary: Thanks a lot, you >:-#!!!!!

SL4: Hey, every writer for him or herself!!! :-P

WD: Yeah, but you didn’t have to leave me with a “YOUUUU” ending, you >:-#! Just wait until I write the next segment of Wish! MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!

WD: "Mwuahaha...you just wait until the next part of Wish..."

****
"Maggie...oh my God is that really you?" Dr. Steven Jenson, clipboard and medical charts in hand stopped short as he saw the spitting image of his dead wife. He blinked slowly as Maggie put the stun gun in her pants pocket. She blinked back tears.

"Steve," she said softly. Then she suddenly realized she was alone. "The others," she whispered. "They didn't make it. Oh God...what am I gonna do now?"

****

"Wade..." said Mallory. She had turned her back away from him after the fatal shooting of Colin. "He was going to try and kill me."

"He was your BROTHER," she said angrily.

"No Miss Welles," said the Professor. "Quinn had no brother. Colin was a genetic implant mastered by the Kromaggs to kill Quinn if he ever made it home. I suspected this the whole time, but I didn't have the proof until now."

"Proof? What proof?" said Wade. "That man isn't Quinn. Who are you anyway?"

Mallory took a deep breath. "This is gonna sound crazy but..."

"But what?"

"Well...you see, I am Quinn Mallory. I'm your Quinn Mallory and I'm another Quinn Mallory, one with a different mother. His mother's name was Amanda. Mine's was Elizabeth. An evil scientist used us as a guinea pig and merged us into one body." Mallory shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know why I should believe you but..." Wade stpped. "Something about you is familiar."

*****

Vigeant: THIS is what you leave me with?!

WD: Well, I'm still choking SL4ever. So I'm kinda busy. Deal with it.

SL4ever: <looks up with pie on his face>

*******

"I swear it's her," Dr. Jenson told his nurse. He had been keeping a careful eye on his new patient, his dead lover. "How can she be here? I buried her two years ago." His nurse politely turned away when he started to cry again. She looked back on him, sitting next to his wife in her hospital bed. The ventilator and other machines whirred efficiently.

"How's he doing?" another doctor asked the nurse in the hallway.

"He's barely holding on," she said. "Dr. Ross, do you think she'll be ok?"

"If we can figure out what's causing her massive allergic reaction," he paused and looked at his watch, "tell him I'm pulling for him. I've got a shift in the ER."

"No problem Doctor," the nurse smiled and wlked back to her station.

***

"After two years of waiting, this is unfolding a little too fast," Wade leaned on Remmy's shoulder.

"I know, sweety. I know," he soothed her. "Where did Colin come from any way?"

"He just appeared on my doorstep one day last month," Wade wiped tears from her eyes. "He knew everything. He said Quinn would be coming back soon, so I called the Professor."

"And me," Rembrandt said softly.

"And you," Wade agreed. "How did he know so much?"

"According to the Professor," Rembrandt shifted, "he was a spy. What I don't understand is how this alternate Quinn--er--Mallory, I guess he calls himself--I don't understand how he knew to shoot Colin. The Professor managed to get some of his equipment up here in record time."

"I know. Rembrandt it's been two weeks," Wade looked at him with anguish, "shouldn't we know more by now?"

***

"All the tests I've run indicate you are telling the truth," Arturo told Mallory.

"Now that Quinn and I," an uncomfortable look passed over Mallory's face, "are talking I have more facts. Quinn figures that Dr. Geiger's equipment managed to filter out any traces of Kromagg genetic structures. When I--we saw Colin in the shadows, it all clicked."

"You and Quinn haven't been communicating the entire time?" Arturo toyed with his reading glasses.

"It's been more like dual personalities with mind being dominant," Mallory ran his fingers through his hair. "I get these awful headaches when he's trying to take over. I'm scared."

"I can understand that my boy," Arturo glanced around, "but you've put us in an akward (sp) position."

"The vial," Mallor walked over to Arturo's desk where the empty vial had be set. "If Colin was a Kromagg spy, they'll be here soon. This vial contained a serum that will drive them away. It kills them off. We have to get it reproduced. You have to get it reproduced. You need to innoculate everyone."

"Calm down, Mr. Mallory." Arturo stood to pace, "I've heard what you, Ms. Welles, and Mr. Brown have had to say about them. Some collegues of mine have been working on duplicating the serum since your arrival."

***

[Three weeks later]

Diana looked up from her work rebuilding the Kromagg sliding machine at Rembrandt's entrance. "How are you feeling?"

"Just fine, Diana. How's the rebuilding going?" Rembrandt grinned.

"I think I may have it this time. I can't figure out why Clair has left us alone for this long," Diana wiped her hands on her jeans.

"She's been in jail for the last week thanks to an IRS investigation," Rembrandt smiled.

"Let's try this again," Diana flicked a switch on the machine. Nothing happened. "Dammit," she swore.

"It's ok, girl,"

***

"What are you going to do now?" Wade asked Mallory.

"I guess I'll try to make a life for myself here," he took a drink of his beer.

"It's so strange to talk to you and know he's inside," Wade toyed with her wine glass.

"I wish I knew that my friends were ok," he gave Wade a strained smile.

She covered on of his hands with her own, "I'm here for you."

"Thanks," Mallory smiled again. "I keep changing so much. I'm never sure how I'm going to react any more. My thoughts aren't my own. I don't know who I am any more, Wade. How am I supposed to make a new life?"

"You'll get used to the changes," she squeezed his hand.

Mallory finished his beer, "It'd be nice not to have to."

***

"Are you doing alright?" Tanya asked Rembrandt.

He pulled his model girlfriend down next to him on the couch, "Now that you are back, I'm just fine."

"How's Wade holding up?"

"Better than I thought she would. I think she's becoming a little too attached to this Mallory character though."

"He's wasn't that bad when we went to dinner last night," Tanya kissed Rembrandt softly. "Besides we've got better things to do"

***

Maggie followed the pinprick of light, the only bright spot in her universe. She could feel Stephen on the other side. Anything to be with Stephen again. She blinked. "Where?" only the word wouldn't come out.

"Sh, darling," Jenson leaned over her. "It's good to see you awake. Your recovery is going to take awhile."

"Where?" she repeated. This time he understood.

"You are in a hospital. Your body shut down due to a massive allergic reaction to the pollution in the air."

"How?" she swallowed.

"It's a long story." At the look in her eyes, he continued, "a visitor brought a vial of medication with him. Medicine the government was convinced to recreate and distribute world wide. Hospital patients, elderly, and children were the first innoculated. They are still being innoculated. Somehow it vaccinated you against your allergy. We aren't even sure it was the pollution you were allergic to."

"Thank you," she whispered before she slipped back into sleep.

*******

Tigs: Here's hoping it didn't suck.

LS: It's not under your handle.

Tigs: Is that supposed ot be a comfort?

LS: Uhm. Sort of?

HK: Yay. You finished.