Chapter One

Only the invasion of Rembrandt shaking him could jar him from the pleasant delusions of his dreams. "Hey, man, you ok?" Rembrandt asked, genuine concern showing in his voice. Quinn emerged from the stupor of sleep and reality came crashing in.

"It was the same dream, Remmy. Where it's still just you me, the Professor and Wade, off on the adventure of a lifetime."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Q-Ball, I've been having them, too. More often than usual. That's why I asked Maggie and Colin to stay in a separate room tonight. There's just something about this that I'm not ready to share with them."

"Don't get me wrong, Rembrandt, I wouldn't give up knowing that Colin's my brother for anything," 'That isn't true, is it, Mallory?' his mind threw at him, but he quickly dismissed it. "But in some ways I think you, Wade and the Professor are more like family than anyone I've ever known."

Rembrandt sighed. "I feel the same way. I never was that close to my relatives back home, but the kinship I felt with the three, well, there's just something special about it."

"We were so close to each other. Everything that happened, all the things that we did together, it bonded us. We only had each other to depend on." Now it was Quinn's turn to sigh. "Nothing's the same anymore. The Professor died. Wade..." his voice trailed off, but Rembrandt gave him a supportive look that said he didn't have to say anymore. "Our world, lost to the Kromaggs. And the world we're looking for, even though it's supposed to be my home, it really isn't, not here." He pointed to his heart. "I feel like we've lost everything to sliding." He stopped himself. "I know sliding meant a lot of sacrifice for Maggie and Colin, too, but at least they had a choice about sliding. That's something you never had."

Rembrandt smiled, but not without a hint of sadness in his eyes. "You know I forgave you for that a long time ago. Too much has changed since we started sliding for me to harbor a grudge."

Quinn took a long, hard look at Rembrandt. He still couldn't get used to Remmy without a moustache, the one he'd had since junior high. He wondered again about what had happened to Rembrandt in the months they'd been separated. He had never had the guts to broach the subject with his old friend. In truth, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Rembrandt looked down at his watch and saw that it was much later than he thought. "Hit the showers, Q-ball, we've got about a half hour until we promised to meet Colin and Maggie for breakfast."

Quinn's thoughts still stayed in the past, but he barely registered what Rembrandt had said. "Sure thing," he said with a weak smile.

Chapter Two

Quinn and Remmy sat down to a table which was far away from anyone else, in case they had to discuss the slide. Promptly, a waitress arrived, deposited a plate full of pastries on their table, then left without a word.

"Guess this world's not too big on menus," Quinn quipped.

"Oh, who cares? I'm so hungry, anything looks good. Even..." Rembrandt paused to pick up a random pastry and take a big bite. "...scones."

Their server then came back with a big pitcher of a brownish-green liquid with steam coming out of it. She set the pitcher and two glasses down on the table and then left before either one of them could voice a protest.

"What is this?" Rembrandt asked, a note of disgust clearly audible in his voice.

"Looks like some kind of tea. Want some?" Quinn didn't look like he relished the thought of drinking it either.

"No thanks." Rembrandt had never been good at small talk, and so he moved quickly to what had been on his mind. "So what's keeping Maggie and farmboy?"

"Probably still checking out the sight seeing on this world. Can't say I blame them. Anyway, they've still got three minutes until they were supposed to meet us, and fifteen minutes until we slide."

"You're probably right." Rembrandt put on one of his casual grins. "I just hate it when we cut it close. So much could go wrong in so little time, you know?"

Quinn did know. He'd seen it happen too many times and found himself regretting letting Colin have the timer. It was a new responsibility for him, and he wasn't sure if his brother was up to it. Quinn attempted to reassure himself and Rembrandt that they would be here on time. It became harder and harder to do so, however, as the minutes passed by. By the time they had finished breakfast, Colin and Maggie were five minutes late.

"Q-Ball, I'm gettin' really worried about them. Something might have happened."

Quinn nodded. "Let's get out of here, see if they're somewhere near by."

As they got up from their table and began to scan the area, the two were stopped dead in their tracks by none other than their waitress. She cleared her throat and extended her palm.

"Oh, right," Quinn said sheepishly. He slipped a five into her palm, hoping it was enough.

"What? What is this, counterfeit money?? I'm calling the security forces." The woman acted as though counterfeiting were the most serious crime in the world and now Quinn was really worried. Could things get any worse?

"I'm terribly sorry, madam," bellowed a familiar voice from behind the umbrella of the next table. He walked out into view and gave the waitress a gold and orange coated coin. "Will this suffice to pay for their meal?"

"Yes. Yes, this will do quite nicely." She said, ogling the coin, clearly worth several times more than what their meal cost. She walked off, but not before giving Quinn a dirty look.

"Just exactly what did you think you were doing, Mr. Mallory? I've warned you that this world's monetary system is different from ours."

Quinn now felt queasy. A double of Professor Maximilian Arturo stood before them, and as if that wasn't enough, he believed the two of them were his sliding companions. Before he could do or say anything, Arturo continued.

"As to why we are late, Miss Wells insisted on stopping to acquire a souvenir from this world. She should be along any moment, my boy." Noticing the peculiar expressions on the faces of the other two men, the Professor threw in. "No need to panic. We still have nearly an hour before we slide."

Quinn took a glance at Rembrandt and saw his desperate and disbelieving look as well. How were they ever going to get out of this one?

Chapter Three

Professor Arturo noticed Quinn's ashen expression and his seeming inability to speak. "What's the matter, man? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"In a manner of speaking," Quinn said softly.

Arturo looked perplexed. "I beg your pardon?"

At just that moment, Wade arrived. 'Great', Quinn thought, 'now it'll be even more difficult to walk away'.

"Hey, guys, check this out!" Wade exclaimed, brandishing a movie poster for "Howard The Duck - Part Five", which starred her double on this world. "Wild, huh? The guy at the movie theater took a little coaxing to give it to me, but I knew I just had to have it."

Quinn knew the charade wouldn't last much longer. "Look, guys, I..." and then Quinn stumbled, nearly smashing his head against one of the concrete tables.

"Mr. Mallory, are you all right?" Arturo asked. "You look quite flushed." Another moment passed, and the Professor's face now showed genuine concern. "Are you sure you and Mr. Brown recovered completely?"

"Recovered?" Quinn wondered aloud.

"Yes, you were quite delusional when we encountered you on the last world. Mumbling something about 'Maggie and Colin', I couldn't quite catch it all." The Professor felt Quinn's forehead, then Rembrandt's, as both wore expressions that barely masked total shock. "Well, you two seem alright. We'll have to have a more careful examination done when we land on a world that has decent health care."

"Not likely," Wade retorted. "You know, Quinn, if we had all stuck together on that world, like we're supposed to, none of this ever would have happened. And just exactly who is this Maggie?" Wade asked and then playfully poked Quinn in the ribs.

This was getting out of hand. Quinn had to get out of there and catch his breath. "Listen, uh, guys, Remmy and I have something to do before the slide, so.. we're going to go do that.. now." Rembrandt almost rolled his eyes and the Professor and Wade exchanged confused glances as the two of them walked off.

"There's something strange going on here, Crying Man."

Rembrandt let out a sigh. "The Professor said something about us, our doubles, being delusional and talking about 'Colin and Maggie'. How could he know that?" When Quinn said nothing, he continued. "This is so strange. Like waking up from a nightmare."

Quinn registered what Rembrandt had said, but chose to concentrate on other things for now. "We've got two minutes until our gateway opens. Still no sign of Maggie or Colin. From what the Professor's double said they still have close to an hour on this world, so it might be possible for us to go look for them without raising their suspicions."

"I don't know, Q-ball. I think they're going to be sticking pretty close to us until the slide."

Quinn rubbed his eyes tiredly. "If they don't show up in time, we're stuck on this world. Not just for 29 years, but for good."

Rembrandt took it upon himself to say what they had been avoiding. "Unless we go with them." He pointed to their former fellow travelers' doppelgangers.

"Are you nuts? We can't just go sliding off with two people from a parallel world?" Quinn exclaimed.

"Well, excuse me, but isn't that what we have been doing?" Rembrandt replied, with an equal amount of emphasis.

Quinn looked distant. "Touché."

"Look, it's not like it's going to be permanent or anything. They look exactly like the Wade and Arturo we knew..." Quinn was about to cut him off, but he continued. "so they must be pretty similar. Maybe they even have the ability to track wormholes."

"We don't know that for sure, Remmy," Quinn said skeptically.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Rembrandt said with a twinkle in his eye. Quinn reluctantly followed him back to where the others stood.

Chapter Four

Arturo looked slightly hesitant, but after a brief pause he assented with a slightly confused "Of course." Rembrandt looked the timer up and down and then showed it to Quinn. It was the Egyptian timer with the modifications that had been made on the world about to be destroyed by pulsars, the earth where the Professor had died and Maggie's home world. Quinn was completely mystified as to how this could have happened. As he pondered this, Quinn's watch alarm went off. Only thirty seconds until the slide.

"Remmy, I'd really like to finish our earlier conversation. Now." Seeing the relentless look in the young man's face, Rembrandt handed the timer to the Professor and followed him to where they had stood earlier.

Quinn's voice had a frantic tone to it. "OK, here's the situation. If Colin and Maggie aren't here in twenty seconds, we miss the slide and be stuck here for twenty-nine years or until I can build another sliding system. The obvious solution is to slide with the Professor and Wade..." he corrected himself quickly, "I mean, their doubles."

"I think I hear a but coming," Rembrandt muttered.

"But there are some problems here. What about Colin and Maggie? We can't just abandon them here!"

"They might have slid already. We don't know." Rembrandt cared as much for his fellow sliders as Quinn did, but they had to start facing facts.

"That's exactly it. We don't know." Fear and doubt entered both men's eyes as they thought over exactly what this meant for the two of them.

At that moment, as if on cue, Professor Arturo approached them. "Come and take a look at this, Quinn," he said, indicating the timer. Quinn walked over to the Professor. "The timer is picking up another wormhole, just departing from this earth."

Quinn and Rembrandt exchanged knowing glances. Quinn responded meekly, "I guess there were sliders on this earth besides us." 'Brilliant comment,' Quinn thought. 'You can tell I'm a genius.'

The Professor didn't seem to notice, though. "As the case may be, Mr. Mallory, however, this presents us with an opportunity. I suggest we follow these people. It's possible they have technology that could get us home."

"I'm not so sure," Wade remarked as she decided to put her two cents in. "Remember Logan St. Clair and the Kromaggs? It's bad enough we have to deal with villains that are native to parallel earths without facing bad guys who can follow us from world to world."

"And what about Dr. Jenson, hmm?" Arturo retorted. "He gave us the ability to store co-ordinates and track wormholes. An invaluable asset."

"But look where he ended up," Wade came back. "He and his wife both died at the hands of that murdering psycho Colonel Rickman. And don't forget we had to chase him all over the multiverse with only a burnt-out timer and a few cuts and bruises to show for it."

"Are you quite finished?" Arturo bellowed. He calmed down a little, but Wade allowed herself a small smile of victory. "Perhaps we should let the whole group decide. Gentleman, what will it be?"

"I'm all for it," Rembrandt blurted out quickly, earning him a questioning and slightly hateful glance from Quinn that was not seen by the others.

The Professor grinned and turned to Quinn. "Well, Mr. Mallory, it looks as though you are to cast the deciding vote. Yay or nay?"

Quinn didn't know what to say. Asking to talk to Rembrandt a third time would just raise suspicions. Colin or Maggie or both had probably just slid. This was their best chance of catching up with them and he knew it. There was no other choice to make.

"I agree with the Professor," Quinn said with a sigh and a resigned look at Rembrandt. "We should follow their sliding pathway, at least to discover their intents."

Wade looked exasperated. "Looks like I'm outvoted again."

"Oh, cheer up and look at the positive side of things, Miss Wells. All we have to do is meet these people, see if they might be able to help us on our way home and, as Mr. Mallory so aptly put it, discover their intents."

Wade rolled her eyes. "It's like nothing I say even matters. Why am I not surprised?" Though reluctant at first, Quinn put his arm around Wade, to show her that what she said did matter to him. He took a long look at the woman so like the one he had been forced to leave behind on that horrific Kromagg breeding camp world. 'Forced???' a usually-suppressed part of his mind attacked him with. 'You weren't forced! You deliberately left her behind. You couldn't stand to see the woman you loved hate you for what you did to her by bringing her along! Couldn't stand to be around her after Arturo's death because you knew you'd fall apart if you saw that those same feelings of grief were inside you! So you pretend like she doesn't exist, because you failed her.' With effort, he pushed these thoughts away when he noticed the Professor was saying something.

"...fit in some more sightseeing before we leave this world. Come along, Mr. Mallory, Miss Wells." Walking along, the foursome seemed to mesh once more. Quinn thought he could hear Rembrandt mutter something under his breath that he had heard in a poem once: "God's in his heaven, all's right with the world."

Chapter Five

"Do we have time to maybe take a quick look from the tower?" Wade asked. "I just can't seem to get enough of the vistas here. It's like I'm seeing the city for the first time."

The Professor smiled. "It is rather refreshing, isn't it, Miss Wells?" He looked at the timer and then replied, "Thirteen minutes seems enough time to me. After all, you only live once. Mr. Brown, Mr. Mallory, will you be joining us?"

Rembrandt looked like he was about to say something, but Quinn interrupted him. "No thanks, Professor. The view from here is fine. Right, Remmy?"

"Yeah, sure." Rembrandt said with more than a little reservation.

Not for the first time, Professor Maximilian Arturo examined his friends with equal amounts of concern, fear and doubt. "Very well, then."

Once Wade and the Professor were out of sight, Quinn decided to tell Rembrandt just what he'd been thinking all through their little sight-seeing tour. "You made a decision without even consulting me?"

Rembrandt had known it was coming. "Look, we've got to find Colin and Maggie, right? Sliding with these people is the only way to do that."

Quinn wasn't phased. "Aren't you forgetting something? What about our doubles? You know, the people they think we are."

Rembrandt thought for a minute. "Once we catch up with the others, we can tell these guys the truth and they can slide back here.."

Quinn's voice started to have more venom. "But what if they show up for the slide?"

The Crying Man was running out of answers. "When we explain our situation, I'm sure they'll let us go with them to find our friends."

"Oh, right! 'We've lied to you since the moment we met you but I'm sure you'll let us slide with you for the foreseeable future'." Quinn normally wasn't so sarcastic, but this situation had really gotten under his skin.

"Look, we've got no choice!" Rembrandt tried to calm himself down, but Q-ball was really pushing it. "If we don't go with them, we're stuck here."

A look of resignation crossed Quinn Mallory's face. "Yeah, I know. But I think we're dodging the main issue here, Remmy. You like this, don't you? Being with them?" He nodded in the direction of the tower which the Professor and Wade now looked like they were getting ready to descend.

Rembrandt defended himself. "Yeah, I like having things back the way they were. You sayin' you don't?"

"For the last time, Remmy, it's not them, it's their doubles!" Quinn said as if he were talking to a small child.

Not really wanting to respond to Quinn when he was in 'pure logic' mode, and seeing the stormy look in Quinn's eyes, he decided to get into the boy genius' brain for once. "You're really having problems with this, aren't you?"

Quinn paused a few seconds before speaking. "I just don't like spending time with people who are this close to being someone I care about, people that I.. we've lost... and then going through that same heartbreak of losing them all over again when we find out how different they really are."

Rembrandt sighed. "Yeah, I know you're right. I can tell my brain that, but my heart just won't believe it."

The Professor and Wade stepped down from the tower and approached Quinn and Rembrandt. "Seven minutes until we depart," Arturo said, looking at the readout on the timer. "Let's find a nice, quiet place to slide, hmm?"

The foursome left the rental car behind and began to walk out of the scenic park and into the city. They eventually settled on an alley which looked too rough for the electric cars to venture through. The Professor held up the timer. "Three, two, one..." The vortex opened and it seemed to Quinn to be exactly like the one they had been sliding through since the beginning of their journey.

Arturo jumped through first, followed a few seconds later by Rembrandt. Wade flashed Quinn a sly and knowing look, then jumped through the void herself. Quinn hesitated. For the millionth time in about an hour, Quinn argued internally over whether this was the right thing to do. Quinn took one last look around for their counterparts and then jumped headfirst into the vortex. The feeling of uncertainty he normally felt when he slid was even more powerful than usual.

Chapter Six

"I can understand your affinity for soft landings, Mr. Brown, but kindly avoid slamming into me quite so hard next time!!" Arturo bellowed.

Rembrandt had a hard time keeping a straight face, but in his typical style, said, "Sorry about that, Professor. I just couldn't see where I was headed."

As the Professor continued his usual complaining, the other sliders took a look at their surroundings. "What is this? Some kind of nature park?" Quinn asked with a tone of amazement in his voice. There were no words to describe the wonder of what he was seeing. If there was anything to compare it to, it would be the Garden of Eden. Beautiful green pastures stretched as far as the eye could see as Alpine mountains loomed beyond the horizon. A picturesque river flowed a few hundred yards in front of them. Trees grew everywhere, each bearing bountiful fruit.

"If it is, it's the most beautiful one I've ever seen," Wade replied to Quinn. "It doesn't even seem like we could be in California."

"Yes, this whole area resembles Switzerland more than San Francisco." The Professor seemed just as pleased as the others.

"Yeah, it looks like another world of beautiful scenery and no danger in sight. That I could handle." Rembrandt gave out a small chuckle.

Quinn couldn't help but let some skepticism through. "I wouldn't count on this place being paradise yet, guys. Check out the main house. Somebody lives here, and they may not be too friendly."

"Some house. More like a mansion." Wade was still in awe of this place and wasn't about to let Quinn spoil her fun.

As if on cue from Quinn's words, a grizzled old man exited the house. "Who goes there?" he called out, in a voice reminiscent of Walter Brennan's.

"Excuse me, sir," the Professor started. "We were not aware we were trespassing."

"Trespassing?" The old man laughed. "Trust me, if you're here, you're not trespassing. But I'm getting ahead of myself, we haven't even been properly introduced. I'm Theodosius Barnes."

The Professor shook his hand. "I am Professor Maximilian Arturo and these are my companions: Miss Wade Wells, Mister Rembrandt Brown and..."

"Quinn Mallory," Theodosius interrupted. Getting odd looks from the foursome, he continued, "I've met you before, Mister Mallory. Many times."

Quinn still had that perplexed look on his face. "Do you...own all of this?"

"Own? Nobody owns the Haven. I'm just the caretaker here." He broke into a wide grin that showed he had a few teeth missing.

"The Haven?" Rembrandt asked. "What's that?"

"It's a resting place," Mr. Barnes explained. "for people like you."

"People like us?" the Professor said. "You mean..."

"Sliders." Theodosius finished for him. "Don't act so surprised. You've clearly encountered others who possessed that ability throughout your journey. Yes, sir, after sliding randomly for as long as you have, you four need a nice, relaxing vacation."

All four of the sliders had puzzled expressions on their faces. They had never encountered something quite like this before. Rembrandt recovered enough to ask, "How long are we here, Q-ball?"

Quinn looked down at the timer in shock. No number display lit up to tell them how long until the next slide. "What is this???" Quinn exclaimed, holding the timer up so that Theodosius could see it.

"A blank check, if you will," he responded. "It allows you to leave this world anytime you desire. A window of opportunity is always open."

Quinn didn't think his face could register this many levels of stunned, but it seemed to be managing just fine. He shared a look with Rembrandt that showed similar shades of despair and hope. Both looked over the pleasant expressions of their new companions and knew the trouble they were in.

Chapter Seven

"A little privacy?" Theodosius finished for him. Quinn looked a tad surprised. "My old group was the same way. Always having conferences about things. I'll be inside the house if you need me."

The foursome went into their traditional huddle. Even though there was no one nearby they kept their voices low. "Well, this is a very interesting turn of events, wouldn't you say, Mr. Mallory?" the Professor asked.

"Yeah, this place sure beats your average Kromaggot world." Rembrandt added under his breath.

"It looks like paradise, all right," Quinn said, but continued, "but haven't we learned by now that these idyllic worlds are never what they seem?"

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Wade added lightheartedly. At Quinn's 'Get serious' stare, she continued. "Alright, yes, it seems a little suspicious, Quinn. But there's nobody here but that Mr. Barnes guy and we can slide out of here whenever we want. Face it, there's not much that could go wrong here." Wade had experienced enough to know that something could always go wrong.

The Professor looked thoughtful. "You know, I tend to agree with Ms. Wells. Humanity could have discovered sliding hundreds, even thousands of years ago taking into account different paths of evolution. Wouldn't it make sense for such a people to build a place where travelers between worlds could have a haven from the dangers of parallel worlds?"

"I don't know, Professor, doesn't it seem just a little too convenient?" Quinn asked.

"Look, Mr. Mallory, the fact is we are here. Why not enjoy ourselves until we are given genuine reason for suspicion?" the Professor countered.

Knowing when he was beaten, Quinn decided to stop the arguing. He noticed that Rembrandt had not taken sides at all. Perhaps he had decided to enjoy the ride, go with the flow. As Quinn was thinking this, Remmy finally broke the silence that had settled over them by saying, "Bet they have some great fishing here. Want to try your hand at it again, Professor? Maybe you'll catch some monstrous minnows, this time, huh?" Rembrandt laughed a bit, but at the Professor's completely deadpan expression, he wondered if that had even happened with this group. When Wade started laughing and the Professor went off into the main house muttering to himself, though, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Quinn looked at Wade as she laughed at some joke Rembrandt was making. He couldn't help but think of her as his Wade. Oh his mind was telling him how she was her double, but how often did he think with his mind these days? He knew that he hadn't been thinking with it when he had let her go without a fight. Shaking his mind of these thoughts, or at least attempting to, Quinn followed the others into the house.

After showing the other three to their rooms, Theodosius Barnes came back to take Quinn to his. "You know what I love about working in a hotel for sliders? No luggage." He chuckled lightly and Quinn cracked a small smile.

"So," Quinn started, "you say you've run into other versions of me before?"

"Yes, you apparently invented sliding in many of these worlds. It is your destiny, Quinn Mallory." Theodosius said with a knowing look in his eyes.

An incredulous look crossed the young man's face. "I've seen too much to believe in destiny." Quinn replied.

"On each world, man does what he is meant to. No amount of parallel worlds could shake me of that belief." Theodosius said.

"I've seen worlds where my doubles started plagues, destroyed entire worlds! I've been a car mechanic, a British rock star, I've even been a woman! How could destiny play any part in that?" Quinn was taking this way too personally and risking the possibility he was offending his host. He had no idea why he was acting like this, but made no move to apologize for his actions.

"On my world, there was a poem by Robert Frost, a Civil War poet. It was called 'The Road Less Travelled'. Have you heard of it?" Quinn shook his head no. "In it, he says that there is a path that we travel, and we must keep to it. A person knows when they have strayed from it. But there will always be a way that lets you come back. Now tell me, Quinn Mallory, haven't you ever felt that there was something missing from your life, but then you were given an opportunity to make it right again?"

Quinn was dumbfounded. It was like the old man knew all about him. He could only nod his head slightly. "See, then? Even you know your destiny. It's just a matter of following it." They walked a few steps and Mr. Barnes stopped. "Right here is your room, Mr. Mallory. Have a nice stay here."

"Thanks," he replied weakly. He had meant to ask Mr. Barnes about Colin and Maggie. Really, he had meant to. He would just have to do that some other time. Much later, maybe. After all, they had all the time they wanted on this world, right?

Chapter Eight

Quinn was out in the lake in an old sailboat they'd found just outside the house. Not anything fancy, just enough for one or two people and a fantastic view of the open waters. Wade decided to go for a swim at the same time that Quinn decided to take his boat ride and they kept each other company. Rembrandt had invited the Professor to go fishing, this time all kidding aside, but he had turned him down to go hang gliding! Quinn had laughed aloud at that. Mr. Barnes went with Rembrandt instead. Since swimming and fishing don't mix, Theodosius showed the crying man a stream not too far away where they could fish in peace.

"I think this must be the best world we've ever been to, Quinn." Wade said earnestly as she swam at her own pace next to Quinn's anchored boat in the middle of the lake. "The water is so clean. Everything's so beautiful and peaceful." This was clearly the Wade he had known, the Wade he had loved, the one who had never met Maggie, never saw her Professor die, never turned hard and cold to the worlds and people around her.

"Yeah." said Quinn, momentarily allowing himself to be completely absorbed by the relaxing mood of this place, but then a little piece of reality set in again as he said, "I keep expecting some evil alien sliders to land or some nut from a third world country to launch the a-bomb at us. It feels weird to not have some crisis to handle."

Wade balked. "Lighten up and live a little Quinn. It's not like we sliders get vacations very often. Just sit back and enjoy the ride." Wade looked longingly at the beautiful sky. "This world is as close to perfect as we're ever going to get." Wade began to swim alongside Quinn as he took the boat back into shore as she said in a low voice, "Even if they don't have my brand of hair dye."

That got a small laugh from Quinn. He then turned thoughtful. "Why did you decide to dye your hair, Wade?" Quinn asked.

Wade thought it over for a moment. Quinn had seemed much more like his old self lately. "You really want to know? It's kind of silly, actually. Well, the way that you seemed to be ogling all the women on these other worlds, I just thought..." her voice trailed off, and she was unable to finish her thought.

"That you needed to dye your hair to get me to look at you??" he finished in a tone that was both inquisitive and very sad. "Wade, I can't believe you thought that. That's not true at all." As they neared the shore and Quinn tied the boat up to the docks, he pulled Wade into it with him. "You're very beautiful, you know that?"

"Yeah.. I know." Her voice was still soft, distant.

"I just got... distracted." Quinn said, his voice filled with more meaning than Wade knew.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I mean, every single girl we met..." Wade said.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am about how stupid I was." Quinn said, looking her in the eye. They shared a small, but not unmeaningful, kiss.

"I mean, it didn't even matter if she was good looking or interesting or even human, you were after her. I just don't know what you were thinking." Wade continued, as though nothing had happened.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Quinn exclaimed, but then realized Wade was teasing. He took the towel that had been wrapped around her and acted like he was going to snap her with it.

"Oh no, Quinn!" Wade cried out. "Don't you dare!!" Wade screamed and then howled with laughter as Quinn playfully chased her back into the house.

Rembrandt Brown and Theodosius Barnes sat back and leisurely fished. Their poles had sat motionless for close to an hour now, but the two men had said little to each other. Remmy finally decided to break the ice.

"You know, you remind me a lot of my father." At that remark, Theodosius broke out in a large grin. "I have that effect on most people."

"No, I mean really. The thin beard that's just a little bit more than five o'clock shadow, the casual clothes, the hat. A little bit of bleached skin and you could have been him." Remmy chuckled and Mr. Barnes joined in.

"What do you want out of life, Rembrandt?" Theodosius asked out of nowhere.

Rembrandt thought a second. "That's, uh, kind of a hard thing to explain."

Theodosius Barnes frowned. "What you must do is complicated. What you want to do is simple. Now tell me, what is it you want most out of life??"

Rembrandt found himself opening up to this man, even though he didn't really know why. "Well, this is going to sound dumb coming from a man who spent most of his life on the road, but I've always wanted to go back to my roots. Settle down. Get married. Have kids. Stupid, huh?"

"Not stupid at all, Rembrandt. Every person wants a little piece of home. For someone who's had no place to call home for as long as you have, it's natural to want to go back to your old family and to start a new one. I just hope you didn't have your eye on the girl that was with you, because I have the feeling she's taken," he ribbed Remmy and gave him a wink, "or will be very soon."

A half smile crossed the Crying Man's face. "No, I never thought of Wade like that. I never did seem to fall for the right girl. Or I would and she wouldn't fall for me. Or I'd mess it up somehow. Maybe on one of these worlds I'll find out who I'm supposed to be with."

"One thing I've learned in all my years of traveling from earth to earth is that each man has an individual destiny. Even if that man has your voice, your face, your DNA structure, his destiny is separate from yours." Rembrandt gave him a strange look. "Your destiny will come from you, Rembrandt, not anyone else." Theodosius grinned gleefully as he reeled in a medium-sized trout. Rembrandt's mind pondered all this as night began to approach.

Chapter Nine

Getting his gear prepared, Professor Arturo's sensible side once again appealed for him not to try this. Still, a little adventure was in order on this otherwise peaceful world. Arturo was finally set and prepared to glide gently back to the earth. Saying a silent prayer for his safety, the Professor jumped from the mountain and began to soar like a bird. Truly, the physics professor had never felt so free; it was as though all care and doubt had been removed.

Revelling in his own enjoyment of the moment, Professor Arturo did not notice as he began to descend rapidly towards the calm water below. Finally realizing something was wrong, the Professor began to panic, which he soon realized was the worst thing to do while hang gliding. He saw himself hurdling towards the rocks near the shore and hoped against hope that he could steer this contraption in the right direction in time. To no avail. As he drew closer and closer to the ground, all he could think was 'It can't end like this', 'It can't end like this'. He hit bottom.

"Where's the Professor?" Quinn asked idly.

"Yeah, it's almost dark, shouldn't he be in by now?" Wade asked, genuine concern in her voice.

"Don't worry about him, girl. It's not every day a guy gets a chance to go hang gliding." Rembrandt chuckled.

"Miss Wells' fears may not be so unfounded, Rembrandt," Theodosius remarked. "I'll keep a look out for him, make sure he gets in ok."

"Catch anything?" Quinn asked, having up until now forgotten all about what Rembrandt and Mr. Barnes had been doing. He was getting awfully distracted lately.

Rembrandt looked thoughtful. "Only peace of mind." Quinn gave him a strange look, but then let it pass. "That Mr. Barnes really knows what he's talking about, you know."

"I guess sliding really does teach you something about life," Wade remarked, with a smirk.

"Yeah?" said Quinn, teasingly. "What did it teach you?"

Unexpectedly, Wade turned serious. "Who I can count on. Who'll be there for me when I need them." Wade smiled and looked up at Quinn. Rembrandt could have sworn he saw a sad look pass Quinn's face and Wade seemed to notice it, too, but then it passed and his jovial nature returned. Not for long, though.

Theodosius Barnes rushed through the door. "Come quickly!" he exclaimed.

"Thank God you're okay." Quinn said, as his Professor opened his eyes. He then seemed more apprehensive. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I appear to be all right, Mr. Mallory." the Professor said as he staggeringly stood. "Odd, though, I seem to remember falling to my death."

Theodosius Barnes killed the serious mood of the sliders with a slap of Arturo's back. "Well, a man who has escaped death is entitled to the prize catch of the day! What's say we call it a night and get some dinner, huh?"

The Professor chuckled lightheartedly but didn't let his suspicions die. There would have to be some investigating.

As the five entered the house, it slightly shook. "Did you guys feel that?" Wade asked. Nobody was able to answer or needed to, as a greater rumbling began to shake the house, and everything and everyone in it, violently.

Chapter Ten

"What's happening?!?" Wade cried.

"I don't know!" Mr. Barnes feebly responded. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."

"Aren't we supposed to stand in a doorway or something?" Rembrandt asked, grabbing hold of a seemingly-steady piece of furniture.

"Good suggestion, Mr. Brown, but easier said than done." The Professor's comment was proven true, as any attempt to do so was met with more violent shaking. In fact, the sliders were having a hard time just dodging flying objects.

"Brace yourselves!" Quinn cried out. "It's getting worse!" As if the ground obeyed Quinn's every whim, the tremors indeed multiplied and became more severe. Just as the five began to worry about their lives, the shaking came to an abrupt halt. After a few moments of recovery, Rembrandt ventured, "Do you think it's safe now?"

Wade looked at Quinn and the Professor. Mr. Barnes, however, was the one who attempted to answer his question. "I've lived here for over forty years and we've never had a quake. I think this thing had an external cause."

None of them wanting to present their own theories until more was known, all of them ventured outside to find...

Malcolm?

The young boy who had been like a son to Rembrandt rushed up and gave his old friend a huge bear hug. "Remmy!" he exclaimed. Rembrandt looked just as happy to see him.

"Malcolm!" he exclaimed in exchange, clutching the child to his chest. "Man, it's good to see you again! How'd you get here?"

"That story could take a long time. And right now I just want to rest." Malcolm did look weary and they did have plenty of time on this world, so Rembrandt took the boy inside. Mr. Barnes went with them to show Malcolm the best place for him to stay. Meanwhile, Professor Arturo was examining something too far away for Quinn and Wade to see.

"Good heavens!" the Professor exclaimed. "Come take a look at this, Quinn." When the young genius moved closer, he discovered a small hole, closely resembling the last vestiges of a vortex. Only it seemed unlikely it was going to close anytime soon.

"What could do that?" Wade asked.

"A really powerful vortex," Quinn responded dumbly.

"Or any kind of a vortex in a structurally weak enviroment." the Professor added.

Quinn looked astonished. "What are you saying, Professor, that this world can't take any more sliding?"

"It's too soon to say right now. But I have a much more interesting question to ask you, Mr. Mallory." Professor Maximilian Arturo had a grim look on his face. "During all of our adventures, to my recollection we never met a young man named Malcolm, and we certainly never encountered a young boy so close to Mr. Brown's heart. So, tell me, my boy, does this mean what I think it does? Are you and Mr. Brown actually from a parallel group of sliders?"

Chapter Eleven

So I told them. I had fought it for so long, it felt good to let it out. I waited for something, anything, an explosion, a cry of anguish that their own sliders were lost to them. What I got was the last thing I expected.

"It's OK, Quinn," Wade said, as she put her hand on my shoulder. What was going on?

"We had suspected for a while." the Professor said, a slightly more depressed look on his face. "Our Quinn and Rembrandt wanted to give up sliding. They decided to stay on the last world because it looked enough like home to satisfy them. When we found you, we thought at first that you might be our sliders, but little clues afterwards proved our suspicions that you weren't."

"So you guys aren't mad at us for deceiving you, for acting like we were your Quinn and Rembrandt?"

Wade spoke up. "You are our Quinn and Rembrandt. As much as they were." Quinn smiled at the look Wade gave him.

Arturo then added, "So what of your Wade and Arturo? Did they decide to stay behind, too?"

I couldn't tell them the truth. It must have shown on my face, but they believed it anyway. "Yeah. Yeah, they did."

"Do you want to tell Mr. Brown or..." the older man started.

"He's got so much catching up to do with Malcolm," Quinn responded quickly, "I don't think he's up to processing this yet. Let me tell him."

"Very well," the Professor chuckled.

"Now, tell us about this Malcolm boy," Wade said, as my two new companions and I walked back into the mansion. I then proceeded to explain...

Malcolm was explaining so fast that I could hardly keep up with him. He told of the difficult struggle of his people to survive on that primitive and desolate world. The Kromaggs came, like they always seemed to and Malcolm told that part of the story with more than a little tremble of fear in his voice. The next part, though, made me sit up and listen.

"We didn't think there would be a way that we could escape the Maggs, until these new guys came along."

"New guys?" I asked. Ways to defeat the Kromaggs had always piqued my interest.

"Yeah, they said they had beaten the Maggs on their own world and were just starting to fight them on others. They looked like they were winning the war, too. When they found out we weren't supposed to be on that world they offered to transport each of us to the world of our choice. I asked them if they could track down the world you were on and they said they could, so here I am."

"Wow," I said, genuinely impressed. "That's one hell of a fish story."

"It's all true, Remmy. They even gave me this." I took the little device from Malcolm and couldn't believe my eyes. "They said they knew you guys. When they found out I wanted to go find you they sent me with this." The little device displayed a picture of Wade, safe and sound and free from that terrible Kromagg breeder camp.

I was speechless. Mr. Barnes must have seen that and asked Malcolm, "Son, didn't you say something about being tired?" Malcolm nodded. "Would you like for me to show you your room?" When the young boy nodded again, Theodosius and Malcolm moved out of the somewhat-wrecked living room into the main hallway. At that point, Quinn, Wade and the Professor entered.

"What's that you've got there?" Wade asked.

I quickly stuck the device in my pocket and blurted, "Nothing, nothing at all. What were you guys looking at out there?"

"We'll have to discuss that when Mr. Barnes comes back," the Professor commented. Oh, man, I knew this setup was too good to be true.

After days of careful analysis, myself, Mr. Barnes and the Professor concluded that this world was completely unstable and unsuitable for further sliding, on or off. Which meant we were stuck here. The question now was: was that so bad?

Wade and I had a long talk the night that Malcolm arrived. We decided that even though we weren't who the other believed we were when we first met, it didn't mean that there couldn't be something there. The weeks and the months seemed to fly by after that. I expected to feel trapped here, since, essentially, we were. But it was more of a feeling like homecoming. Rembrandt and Malcolm were becoming even closer, seeming each day more like father and son. And Wade and I were getting closer, too, though in a very different way. We were even talking about settling down here, having kids. It was the relationship I'd always hoped we'd have. Everything just seemed to fall into place. Everyone was happy. Well, maybe not everyone. The Professor was acting very strangely, like he was disconnected from the world. Still, paradise remained idyllic and neither Rembrandt nor I could remember when we'd been happier, not even on Earth Prime.

It was on a perfect day like this that the bombshell dropped. The world stopped spinning, time came crashing back into our lives. All because of one man.

Professor Maximilian Arturo stood and spoke before his audience, Quinn and Wade, now officially a couple, Rembrandt and Malcolm and the enigmatic Theodosius Barnes. "Ladies and gentleman, I have an announcement to make. This world, everything you see, everything you feel is fake. This world is a lie!" The stunned expression on everyone's face was exactly the reaction the Professor was looking for.

Chapter Twelve

"What do you mean, Professor?" Quinn asked numbly. "How can this world be anything but real?"

"It is pure fabrication, Mr. Mallory," the Professor said in a deliberate tone that was not condescending, more like a very difficult explanation. "A very clever one. Very intricate. But it is light and shadow..." Arturo said, casually knocking a Ming vase to its demise in broken pieces on the floor, "nothing more."

"Professor, what's wrong with you?" Wade asked. "This is a great world. Quinn and I are talking about getting married. Rembrandt's going to raise Malcolm here." She looked at him with fiery consternation. "You must be delusional or something."

Maximillian Arturo looked into the eyes of Wade Wells with sadness and regret, yet with a palpable underlying fiery will that constantly motivated him. "I only wish I were, Miss Wells." He once again began to walk the floor. "I tried to convince myself of that. Just an old man, gone soft with age, seeing things. Alas, I've seen too much for that to be true." Arturo pulled out a concealed dagger and plunged it deep within his chest well before anyone could think of stopping him. Allowing Quinn and Rembrandt to get a close look first, he then removed the blade and held it in his hand.

"This world is an illusion, Mr. Mallory. Tailormade for yourself and Mr. Brown." The knife then fell to the floor.

"A few parlor tricks don't make this world any less real," Wade responded with more fear, more desperation now. "Quinn, you can't believe him!"

Quinn was completely befuddled and one look at Rembrandt's face showed that his old friend felt the same way. "Wade... I..." Quinn started, still unsure of what he would say.

Professor Arturo continued, unabashed. "In fact, Quinn, nothing about this place is real at all, save for yourself and Rembrandt. Not Mister Barnes here, not Miss Wells, not even myself."

"Quinn, do you hear him???" Wade asked. "H-he's not thinking clearly or maybe he's hallucinating, or... oh, God, Quinn, maybe he's really gone off the deep end."

As Quinn seemed drawn to Wade, Rembrandt stepped forward. "You said this was all part of an illusion. Whose illusion?"

"My guess is that our esteemed host would know more about that than I. What is it, eh? A computer simulation? Some form of mass hallucination?" Arturo replied.

"That's preposterous," the old man replied. "The whole thing is ludicrous. Ravings of a madman who hasn't yet recovered from a severe blow to the head."

"IF what the Professor says is true," Quinn interjected, attempting to add some form of rationality to this discussion, "why are you telling us this? And why are Wade and Mr. Barnes trying to dissuade us from it?"

Sadness crossed the Professor's face. "I cannot allow you to live out this sham of a life. As for Miss Wells and Mr. Barnes," he sighed, "they are quite simply afraid for their own lives. For if you are to realize the truth, they and everything about this world will fall apart."

In one lightning quick maneuver, Arturo the timer from Quinn's pocket and activated it. The earth around them began to rumble, just as it had whenever Malcolm entered it. "The vortex is your only way out, Mr. Brown, Mr. Mallory. You must go, now!!"

"He's crazy, Quinn!" Wade yelled. "He wants to kill us all!"

"I know a way to de-activate it without frying the power chip," Theodosius Barnes suddenly volunteered as fissures started to appear in the ground. "Quinn, give me the timer and I can save all our lives!"

The Professor spoke with a still-calm determination. "You must leave, Mr. Mallory! Now!"

Wade fell to the floor. As Quinn bent down beside her, she made what seemed like a final plea. "He just wants to tear us apart again, Quinn. He must be a double from another world or something. Please, Quinn, give Mr. Barnes the timer! If not for me, then at least, for our baby." Quinn looked at Wade with a mix of shock, amazement and fear.

Malcolm was thrust hard into the wall during a particularly violent tremor. Rembrandt rushed to his side. Calling out his name frantically, the Crying Man was finally quieted by Malcolm's soft voice saying, "Please, Remmy... stop the shaking... stop the shaking..." Malcolm, bleeding from several places muttered some other words which were unintelligible and then blacked out.

Arturo tried to bring a sense of calm logic to the situation, but there was still urgency in his voice. "Quinn... listen to me. Your lives are riding on this. The lives of your friends, Maggie and Colin. Of your own Wade... your own Malcolm. You must.. go.. now."

Quinn looked at Wade, seeing the look of fear and love in her face. She was his Wade in every feature, every emotion, every word she spoke and deed she did. Rembrandt looked at Malcolm, bleeding, broken. "Professor, I..." Quinn started, "...can't. I just can't! This can't be happening. It's not real!!"

"Now please, Quinn," Mr. Barnes cooed soothingly, "give me the timer."

The Professor rushed forward, knocking Wade out of his way. Theodosius saw what he was going to do and it was now too late to do much about it. He, and everyone else here was going to die soon. But he wasn't about to let Rembrandt and Quinn die with them. As he pushed his two comrades forcefully into the vortex, a bullet from Mr. Barnes' coat pierced his heart. Professor Maximillian Arturo died. Two seconds before the rest of the world did.

Well, that world anyway. Quinn and Rembrandt were reviving groggily. The first images either of them saw was that of Maggie and Colin hovering over them.

"...think they're coming to!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Brother!" Colin said, wrapping his arms around Quinn.

"Why are we here? What happened?" Rembrandt asked confusedly.

"Nice to see you, too, Rem," Maggie said, sarcastically. "We were all patched into some kind of computer simulation that read our minds and fed us back what we wanted to see. Just your average run-of-the-mill mad scientist trick."

"I was back in El Segundo with Susannah. We were married." Colin said with a depressed air.

Maggie gave him a sympathetic look. "Yeah, I was back on my world with Steven, Colonel Rickman was nowhere to be found and I was flying jet fighters. Didn't take me too long to figure out what was going on, not as long as it took you guys, anyway. What happened in there?"

Quinn Mallory sat throughout the entire discussion with his eyes glazed over. "I really don't want to talk about it right now, ok, guys? How long 'til we slide?" He asked mechanically.

"About a minute," Colin said. "It's a good thing you guys came out of it when you did."

"Yeah," said Rembrandt, without much enthusiasm. "Good."

The vortex opened and Colin, Maggie, and eventually Rembrandt filed through. Quinn hesitated, if only to give his experiences here one last tribute. As he prepared to enter the vortex, a figure emerged from the shadows: Theodosius Barnes. His eyes looked sunken in, his face ashen and gaunt. He spoke only one word. A question.

"Happy?"

Quinn jumped through the vortex and idly wondered what would happen to the tears that fell.