Having braved the horrifying sight of Valley Girl Stoker, the three novice sliders, TemporalFlux, Brand_S and HunterD_Raven made their escape by activating the timer early. Knowing that they were unable to return to Earth Prime, they couldn't even fathom a guess as to what they might see. After all, if Stoker could wear an outfit that didn't include any black in it whatsoever, then frankly, anything could happen.The vortex opened over a deserted street paved with cobblestones. Moments later, in rapid succession, Hunter, TF and S popped out of the interdimensional orifice, landing on top of each other.
The three groaned as they stood up and dusted themselves off. For a few moments, they watched the vortex swirl as it usually did. Hunter dropped to his knees, praying a chant that Valley Girl Stoker wouldn't be tempted to follow into "The Big Shiny Thing." The vortex closed without incident.
Hunter looked towards the heavens. "Thank you, Dark Master!" he called. "OW!" TF had slapped Hunter on the back of the head. "What did you do that for?"
"If you weren't so insistent on me opening the portal, we wouldn't be stuck like this now!" TF complained. "Didn't you realize that at the end of the fifteen minutes, the three of us would all be pulled back into our dimension automatically?"
"TF, do you realize how dangerous that Stoker double was? I could have been killed!" Hunter and TF turned to S, each hoping that he'd step in and argue for their side.
S backed away and raised his arms defensively. "Don't look at me! I'm staying out of this one! TF, how long are we stuck here for?"
TF checked the timer. "Not too long. Just a few hours." Looking around, TF tried to figure out where they might be. In the distance, he could see a large clock tower that looked familiar. "Hey, look over there," he said, pointing. "Isn't that Big Ben over there?"
S and Hunter turned and looked. They had to agree that it definitely was Big Ben. Puzzled, S turned back towards TF. "What's the slide radius on that thing?"
TF looked away and kicked his feet sheepishly. "Well, I forgot to insert a geospectrum stabilizer into the timer."
"Huh?"
"There isn't a slide radius."
S seemed satisfied with the answer. "Oh, that's cool." He then did an emotional one-eighty, grabbed TF by his shirt collar and started shaking him. "IF WE END UP FREEZING IN ANTARCTICA, I'LL KILL YOU FOR YOUR WARM HIDE!" Hunter ran in and separated the two, then grabbed TF in the same way and started shaking the absent-minded inventor himself. S then jumped back into the fray and a three-way free-for-all broke out. As Hunter reached for his sword to guarantee his victory, they were interrupted by loud music coming from blocks away.
"What the hell is that?" Hunter asked.
"Sounds like the British National Anthem," TF replied.
"Psst!" A voice hissed from a nearby alleyway. "Over here!" The three turned towards the alley and found a rather ragged looking man holding a large metallic case. He seemed familiar somehow. S thought for a moment, then it struck him.
"Informant? Is that you?" he asked.
"How do you know my name?" Informant asked.
"Long story," Hunter replied. "What happened to you? You're a mess!"
"Where have you guys been, a Y2K bunker? I'm fighting for the freedom of America!"
S thought back to Earth Prime Informant's love for The Patriot. "Figures."
"Actually, there is something we should tell you," TF began. After a rather lengthy explanation, Informant was given the entire story of how the three sliders had slid in from another dimension.
"Wow!" Info said, impressed. "You know, they had a show about that once on FOX a few years back. I think it only lasted half a season though."
"So what happened here?" Hunter asked.
"Well, to make a long story short, England's megalomaniacal queen used her entire arsenal of soliders, nukes, and spacebased laser cannons to retake America," Info said, pausing for breath. "Now she's bent on conquering the world!"
"Wow!" S replied, surprised. "I didn't know old Queen Lizi had it in her!"
Informant was perplexed. "Queen Who?"
"You know, Queen Elizabeth. Lizi, Elizabeth..." S explained. Info gave him a blank stare. "Oh!" S came to his senses. "You must have a different Queen! What's her name?"
Informant paused. As the words came out, they seemed to pierce the air. "Slider_Sarah."
TF, S and Hunter all collapsed to the ground in shock, twitching in surprise.
"Holy Shit!" Hunter exclaimed.
"What the hell?" S shouted.
"She never seemed the type!" TF uttered.
"I take it you know her?" Info asked.
"Uh, yeah, but on our world, she's completely different," TF explained. "Do you really plan to kill her?"
Info nodded his head. "Yep." He opened his suitcase and showed his wares: A shotgun, assault rifle and a bazooka. "I always take advantage of our amendments."
"Damn!" S was impressed. The music they heard earlier was even louder. "Where's that music coming from?"
"The queen is making a rare public appearance a park not far from here. Everyone that lives around here is over there right now." Info went into full military commander mode. "Security is tight, but if we charge right in, we might be able to get her."
"WE?" Hunter asked.
"Charge right in?" TF continued.
"Haven't you ever heard of a sniper rifle?" S concluded.
"Yeah," Info replied. "But you know, that's just not manly enough. Now listen up. I'll take the bazooka. TF can have the assault rifle. S, you get the shotgun. Hunter, you just use your sword."
"Oh boy," Hunter grimaced.
"Relax," Info said in fake assurance. "These guys are pushovers. Now come on. Slider_Sarah makes her big appearance in a couple of hours." Info raised his right fist into the air. "Glory to the Revolution!"
The three sliders could only stare in disbelief. "We're screwed!" TF winced.
About two hours later, the sliders and Info were gathered in the park. S, dressed like one of the soldiers in a disguise Informant provided, could carry his shotgun around. Hunter could do the same with his sword without incident or disguise as he hid his sword beneath his jacket. Info had put the bazooka and assault rifle back into his suitcase, and now he and TF were dressed like members in the marching band that was gathering nearby.
TF looked down at his outfit. "I look like a dork!" he surmised.
S admired his own military uniform. "Actually I like this! How much time do we have left?"
"A half an hour..." TF was cut short as the music blared again, this time signaling the entrance of Queen Slider_Sarah. As she came out on stage surrounded by bodyguards, the sliders could see she was wearing a stunning dress with a familiar beret that actually looked rather good on her.
"If she used nukes," TF asked, "Why does her beret have an anti-nuclear sign on it?"
"I keep telling you, she's mad!" Info hissed.
"Whatever," TF mumbled. Info dropped the case, opened it and retrieved his bazooka as TF reached for his gun. Info signaled Hunter and S, who readied themselves. On stage, Slider_Sarah gave a rather strange speech to her audience, telling the world exactly how much power she had ("I could crush you all like insects!") and that her beauty was unparalleled. She then raised her right hand to her mouth and let out a bit of maniacal laughter. ("OH ho ho ho ho ho ho!") She continued to laugh with this pattern until Hunter started the assault.
Hunter pulled out his sword and ripped it through a group of nearby soldiers. He ran through the crowd and leapt to the stage, dodging bullets while cutting up more guards in an attempt to reach Queen SS. In the meantime, S fired his shotgun to clear the crowd. TF had trouble with the assault rifle, but every once in a while managed to hit on target. Info loaded his bazooka.
Hunter, having cleared the stage of guards, went face to face with SS. "Do you really think you could kill me?!" She cried, bursting into her familiar laugh. "Come on, then, let me see what you've got!"
Hunter took swipes at SS with his sword, but she dodged his strokes with incredible skill. She then jumped into the air and gave Hunter a swift kick to the head.
"Hunter!" TF shouted.
"Hold on!" Info cried. He fired his bazooka, but right before it reached SS, she leaped out of the way and landed on the now empty park surface. Hunter back up and chased after her. S readied his shotgun as SS came near, but from out of nowhere, she pulled a sword out from a sheath hidden in her dress and sliced through the barrel. TF tried to shoot at her, but his inexperience with firing the gun earlier had caused him to run out of ammo. Info, out of bazooka shells, ran towards SS wielding the cannon like a club.
Info shouted into the air. "FREEDOM!" rang through the streets of London, but then there was silence. Info had been cut down by SS.
"Oh my God!" S cried, unable to do anything. SS ran for TF and was ready to cut him down as well, when Hunter jumped between the two and blocked her sword with his. A fierce duel broke out between the two. Neither side had the upper hand. TF came to his senses and checked the timer. Only a little more than a minute was left.
"S, Hunter, it's almost time!" TF shouted. S dropped the remains of his shotgun and ran to TF. Hunter and SS continued their fierce battle, neither having yet to even scratch the other.
TF shouted, "Hunter, it's time!" and opened the vortex. Both he and S jumped in. Stunned by the portal, SS left herself open enough to receive a thrust to the stomach from Hunter. She backed away, pulling herself from Hunter's sword and collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.
Hunter turned to the portal. "Damn it!" He jumped in moments before the gateway out closed. In the meantime, military medics ran to give assistance to their fallen queen, who had a vengeful look in her eye. Before she passed out, the double swore she would get even.
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