<HurriKain wasted no time to start writing...>

In a dark alley in San Francisco, a bright blue swirling vortex opened, and all four sliders seemed to be running out of it this time. After the vortex closed, Remmy remarked,
"Man, I am glad we are out of that world: evil doubles, crazy television execs, horrible music... it goes on and on.
"That was the worst group of slides in my life." Quinn said.
"Yeah," added Maggie, "things just didn't add up or make any sense."
Colin took a moment from observing to join the conversation.
"Well, I hope this world doesn't turn out like the last ones. How much time do we have?"
Quinn looked at the timer. "4 days."
"4 days of fun or 4 days of horror." Maggie said skeptically.
Remmy chuckled as all four walked out of the alley.

<Get out some pen and paper, time to take notes on some alternate world history.>

As the sliders walked down the main streets, they saw most of the signs were in strange lettering.
"What the hell?" uttered Maggie.
The rest of the group was as confused as she was. And after they walked past some stores, they saw a bus full of school girls in Sailor Moon-ish uniforms.
Colin thought aloud, "It's like we landed on another planet."
"Thats impossible, Colin!" Quinn jumped in, "you see the geospectrum sta..."
Colin cut him off, "I know about that brother, but it just SEEMS like we are on another planet."
Quinn decided to stay quiet during the rest of the walk, feeling sheepishly about his BROTHER correcting HIM.
"Man, this is getting stranger by the minute, look at those..." Remmy said as he pointed up.
All four saw some skyscrapers; some were normal-looking but the others looked futuristic, like a couple of decades ahead of their time.
"You know what, due to this world strangeness, I'm getting a very bad headache. Let's just get to the hotel and fast."
And with that the sliders walked faster than normal.

Ten minutes later, the sliders were at their suite at the Chandler. But it was different than what it usually was in previous worlds. On the walls was strange paintings, and around the room was small tree-like plants, and the doors to the bedrooms were sliding doors that used paper instead of glass. When Quinn decided to take a nap, he stood dumbfounded as he saw a small mattress that was laid on the floor and had a couple of strange lanterns surrounding it. "What kind of place is this?" Quinn said.

Meanwhile in the room itself, Remmy was reading a book about this world's history, which he bought on the way over here. Maggie was still confused as ever; even that special tea the waitress gave her didn't help her much. Even the Chandler had changed. The billboard in front of the hotel just said CHANDLER and on the bottom was more of the strange lettering. Remmy looked up from his book and made an announcement. "OK, everybody gather 'round. Let me tell you a little story."
Colin woke up on the sofa after Remmy made the announcement, and Quinn walked out of the bedroom.
"OK, here goes..." Remmy began. "Hey Q-Ball, you know on our world that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor?"
"Yeah, who would forget, my history teacher kept talking about it."
Quinn replied.
"Well, on this world, after the US retaliated by bombing their islands, Japan invaded and took over most of the West Coast."
Maggie was about to piece together the puzzle in her mind.
"So," Maggie said, "You're telling me the strange lettering was..."
"Japanese." Remmy said and chuckled, after that he continued is statement.
"After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered, but they've been talking on wether to give the West Coastal territories back to the US or stay with Japan until the early 80's. Japan signed a treaty giving the territories back to the US, but since particular areas were stuck on i's influence for so long, they decided to keep the Japanese culture. Thus, where we are now."
"Oooooooooohhhhhhhh..." Maggie, Colin, and Quinn said in unision.
"Man, these worlds could only get weirder and weirder." Quinn uttered.
Maggie sat alone thinking; that world's history was almost similar to hers, only they bombed two cities in California. And then she thought of the loss of her grandfather... the combination of confusion and sadness was too much for her.
As Quinn saw a couple of tears run down her cheeks, he went over to comfort her.
"What's wrong, Maggie?" Quinn asked.
"Oh..." Maggie was suddenly brought back to reality and wiped away her tears. "Nothing, nothing at all, anyone hungry?"
"Yeah," Remmy said, "Let's go out and eat, I always wanted to try out some sushi."
"Nothing can satisfy a hearty appetite like raw fish." Quinn said sarcastically.
Maggie was about to walk out the door when she noticed Colin just sitting there. "Hey, Farmboy, aren't you coming?"
Colin smiled. "Nah. I'll just surf some channels here, you just bring me a doggie bag."
"Suit yourself." Quinn said, following Remmy out the door.

To Be Continued...

"So you've seen sumo wrestling? You ain't seen nothing yet. Monster Truck Sumo, only on-" *Click*

Colin's thoughts wandered back to what he had read of Japan on his homeworld. It was a far-off, almost mythical land where only the boldest of adventurers dared venture. His mental image of the country involved lots of ornate fans, apple blossoms and dragon tapestries.

"Next week on Sci-Fi Prime: the Zyu Rangers meet the Pretty Soldier Sailor Scouts, when-" *Click*

Was the image tarnished by seeing it up close? Or had the collision of America's brash society and Japan's austere one created a culture clash more egregiously tasteless than marigold with blue?

"Yes, folks, this authentic - and dare I say, priceless, relic of the Ashagana Shogunate can be YOURS for only $29.99! Have your credit card ready and call..."

***

"You know, there's something odd going on here," began Quinn. The sliders were awkwardly seated in lotus positions, around a low table with no chairs. "Remember that Canadian world from a couple slides ago?"

Maggie winced. "I'd rather not."

"Well, do you remember the history part? Canada counter-attacked the States during a war and ended up with much of the country. Same deal with Japan here."

Rembrandt adjusted his legs to improve circulation, for approximately the 56th time. "Your point?"

"My point" - a mischievous smile began to form - "is that Colin checked us in at the hotel on Canada world by saying we were from Japan."

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and here he said we were from Canada, as usual." She paused. "Actually, that is kind of odd, isn't it? Like one of those literary devices they're always harping on in university-level English Writing courses: foreshadowing."

Remmy chuckled. "Well, if our lives *are* a giant interactive novel on a computer bulletin board somewhere, I think a few of the last chapter's writers could use such a course."

As if subliminally aware that the conversation had strained the limits of credulity beyond their breaking point, it was at that moment that a waiter arrived with the meal.

The Sliders could merely stare as they saw who the waiter was.

***

Colin was half-asleep in the armchair when a ruckus arose outside the window. He moved to the aperture to see...

<HurriKain cautiously pokes his head in the cavern>
HurriKain: Okay, guys, it's safe! The geezer's stopped rambling.
<The writers gather round to see what Blinker has wrought>
Slider_Sarah: Darn, I know that one! Oh, what's it from...
SL4ever: Sheesh! What kind of excuse for a plot is that?
Blinker (waving fist): It's called "passing the buck." And you're going to wind up in a 'plot' soon if you're not quiet.
<There is a moment of strained silence; then someone gets the pun and groans as though in intestinal distress>
Torch (voice of Veronica Cartwright): I think it's time we moved along, Blinker.
Blinker: Oh, right. Here ya go, Sarah. <hands off torch>

...two gangs in a huge fight in the middle of the street, pavement as well as the road. They had completely blocked traffic, and other pedestrians had wisely stopped quite some distance away.

Colin wasn't sure from this distance, but it looked to him like the two factions were of different descent: Japanese and what Colin had come to call American. He leaned out of the window for a closer look. That wasn't a good idea. While he was still trying to work out exactly what was going on, a stray bullet came in his direction. It hit his arm. Colin collapsed in pain, luckily back into the room rather than out, clutching his arm as he did so.

"It really is going to be one of those days, isn't it?" he muttered.

There was no way Colin could stay there until the others eventually returned. The pain was too severe. Since no-one really knew he was injured, the only thing he could do was seek out help himself.

As Colin exited the Sliders' Japanese-style hotel room, leaving a few blood stains on the carpet, police cars drew up outside to break up the incident. Not surprisingly, all the participants who were able to scattered.

***

After the stares, Quinn, Rembrandt and Maggie could barely contain their laughter. It was just so strange.

The waiter who was clearly confused by their behaviour. "Is there something wrong?" He was not a Japanese person. In fact, very few of those working in this particular Japanese restaurant were and those in that small group seemed to be shunned by the others. Something else weird.

Quinn assured him that there wasn't, but once the waiter had deposited their meal, he burst out laughing, an example quickly followed by Rembrandt and Maggie. It was just so odd to see Bill Clinton, a man who on a significant number of worlds the Sliders passed through, was President of the USA or it's equivalent reduced to a lowly waiter in a fake Japanese restaurant and it was a little too ironic for them to ignore. It was just one of those things.

The restaurant was not far away from the Chandler; the closest they could find, in fact. The noise that had arrived quite suddenly from Colin's point of view was more of a gradual build up from where his companions were uncomfortably sitting. This was why none of them really noticed it until they were halfway through their meal.

Bill Clinton had been suspiciously hanging around the entrance whenever his work allowed it from the moment the Sliders had been there. When the noise of sirens could be heard, he opened the lotus-flower decorated door and gave a signal to some of the men outside.

The Sliders jumped up from their sitting positions immediately in protest, tipping their low table so the food spread all over the floor.

"What the hell!" screamed Maggie across the din that was now present.

The place was now packed, despite mass movement out the back. It was only a small restaurant. Somehow, Maggie got knocked on the head and thrown to the ground amongst the feet of the masses. After a few people had trodden on or tripped over her, she managed to crawl to one side and from there to a corner where she could protect herself easier. She'd been to enough concerts to know that once you went down it was incredibly difficult to get back up to your feet. It already felt like she'd been hurt in some way; there was no point in staying where it would make it worse. She just hoped Quinn and Rembrandt had seen where she ended up for she couldn't spot them.

Quinn and Rembrandt had been separated from Maggie at the beginning of the sudden influx of people. It was amazing the amount of men that had been invloved in the incident outside. Without any real choice, Quinn and Rembrandt were forced to go with the flow as it took them out the back of the building to who knew where. They assumed Maggie was with them, but it wasn't until they were outside where it wasn't so cramped that the guys discovered that.

Quinn grabbed Remmy and pulled him to one side. "Hey, did you see where Maggie went?" he whispered.

"You mean you didn't?"

Together, they scanned the moving group as best they could for any sign of her. They found none.

Two words escaped Quinn's lips. "Oh shit!"

"Hey!" Two men carrying very big knives held them towards Rembrandt and Quinn. "I hope you're not thinking of abandoning our cause." The smaller of the two men (who was still taller than both Quinn and Rembrandt) had such a menacing voice, neither of the Sliders could even consider disagreeing, even though they didn't know what the cause was.

"Er...of course not," attempted Rembrandt.

The man smiled. "Correct answer! But I don't believe you. You'll just have to come with us unwillingly."

As they were forced forward in front of the men with big knives, Rembrandt said, "We really should be more careful." Quinn could see no reason to oppose that particular thought.

***

Ambulances pulled up to join the police cars. A lot of the wounded instigators had fled with their mates, but some, plus some innocent bystanders had remained and were in need of treatment. Colin and Maggie were among those taken to hospital, but neither knew the other was there as well.

<Slider_Sarah puts down pen and sighs>
Slider_Sarah: Oh dear; I seem to have made rather a mess of this. <all the other writers plus anyone else who found their way into the cave nod in agreement> Whoops. Two Sliders injured and the other two taken captive. That's not good is it? <all shake their heads> I should probably take the time to mention that after Eurovision, I turned over to watch Psycho. Half-watch it anyway. And that Eurovision was weird. Y'see, the...<stops as she realises everyone is staring at her> Did I digress again?
All: YES!
Slider_Sarah: <meekly> Sorry.
Blinker: Is there a quote for me? Is there? Huh? Huh?
Slider_Sarah: Yes as well as the title one, but it might be difficult, you see...
ThomasMalthus: Do you ever stop talking?
Slider_Sarah: <thinks for a moment> Not for very long. But wait! I have a question?
Slider142: Hurry up then!
BlazingAngelKnight: Yeah! I want to see what I can do with this one!
sleepingtiger: As long as it doesn't turn out like the last one.
Ann_Fredericks: What is your question, Sarah?
Mallory'sMom: Please make it a quick question.
Slider_Sarah: Who's Dave Barry?
SL4ever: Good grief! You don't even know that?
Slider_Sarah: Er...no.
Torch (voice of Veronica Cartwright): Could you pass me along please? It gets very dull when I'm not in use.
Slider_Sarah: Oh sorry. I get a bit carried away sometimes. Here you are Robin14334 <Hands torch to Robin14334> Let's see where you can take the story.

Remmy and Quinn found themselves in the headquarters of the American group. They were in a warehouse somewhere downtown, and big scary men were roaming around all over the place. Our sliders wouldn't even have considered escape, for fear of one of the men splattering them on the floor like individually packaged Jell-O pudding when you open the package too fast and the pudding flies all over the place. (So my analogies aren't the best, so sue me.) Eventually, they were corralled into a room with a bunch of other men who looked just as reluctant to go as they felt. As soon as everyone was in, the door was shut and locked. Quinn decided they should find out what they were dealing with, so he went up to a not-so-scary-looking guy and started asking questions.
"Just out of curiosity, do you know what's going on?" he asked.
"You don't know?" the man responded incredulously.
"Uh, no. We're new around here," Remmy jumped in. Quinn muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Canada."
"Well, there's been this culture clash between the Americans and the Japanese for years. They're always fighting. Big brawls in the street, like the one today. There's basically two gangs, the Sharks, that's what the Japs call themselves, and us, the Jets. The Jets have been having a little trouble keeping the group large enough to fight the Sharks, so they "recruit" people by grabbing them off the street. That's why we're here. We can either fight with them, or we can die."
Remmy groaned and pulled Quinn aside. "Q-Ball, does this sound familiar to you?"
"Uh... no?"
"Well, on Earth Prime, there was this musical, West Side Story, it was a Romeo and Juliet type thing. There were these two rival ethnic groups, the Americans and the Puerto Ricans, and an American guy fell in love with a Puerto Rican girl... well anyway, you know what the names of the two groups were?" Quinn shook his head.
"The Sharks and the Jets."
"Oh boy. So what are we supposed to do? Get one of these guys to fall in love with a Japanese chick?"
"God, I hope not... remember that online/offline world?" Remmy asked.
"No," Quinn replied.
"Oh well, never mind. Must be lack of continuity," Remmy mused.
Before they could decide on a plan of action, the door opened and the men who had apprehended Quinn and Remmy entered the room.

<Robin14334 debates whether to make the men start dancing and singing the Jet Song. "When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way, from your first cigarette to your last dying day...." She eventually decides against it for the sake of all the people after her.>

Meanwhile, Maggie woke up in a hospital room. A nurse was writing something on a clipboard. "What's going on?" Maggie asked.
"You were trampled. You have a few broken ribs and a lot of bruises, but you'll live." She smiled.
"Can you contact my friends at the Chandler Hotel and tell them where I am?" Maggie requested.
"Certainly, what are their names and room numbers?"
"Um, Room 12, ask for Quinn or Colin Mallory, or Rembrandt Brown."
"All right, I'll make the call," the nurse said agreeably.
"Thanks," Maggie sighed. She was tired and in pain, and she hoped her friends were all right.

The nurse hung up the phone. "That's odd," she said.
"What is it?" asked another nurse.
"There's no one at the hotel room, but one of the people I was supposed to ask for is checked into this hospital. A Colin Mallory, he has a very serious gunshot wound...."

<Robin14334 finishes writing with a flourish and throws the pen on the ground.>
Robin14334: Here, BritSlider! Your turn. Have fun!

~Robin

Maggie was shocked. Colin was here in the hospital? With a serious gunshot wound? She had to see him. Brushing the protestations of the nurse aside she quickly found Colin's room. When she opened the door she was surprised to see a tall, handsome Japanese guy dressed in a dark suit looking at Colin's chart. He didn't appear to be like any doctor Maggie had seen before, most of the ones she knew didn't carry large calibre pistols in a shoulder holster! The man finally noticed her.
"What do you want here?" Came his icy question.
"I'm here to see my friend, I heard he was shot," stammered Maggie, clearly uneasy in this man's presenece. "Who are you?"
The man levelled a cold stare in her direction, Maggie shuddered,
"My name is unimportant. I work for the Black Guard. we are a government organisation dedicated to protecting to earth from the demons that dwell here."
It was all Maggie could do not to laugh. "Demons? Are you serious?"
The look she got made her quickly decide that he was, indeed serious. The large pistol pointed at her face was a bit of a clue as well.
"I noticed that your friend's wound displays few of the characteristics of a normal gunshot. You know, shattered bones, severe internal damage due to shockwave trauma, the usual stuff. I figured that either he is a demon with extrodinary powers of self-healing, or that the writers have never seen the effects of a real gunshot on a human body."
Maggie stared at him. "What was that last bit you said?"
"I said that he must have been very lucky, what did you think I said?"
Maggie kept quiet, but she could have sworn she had heard him say something very strange. Still, you don't argue with a man that had a large gun in his hand, even if you are a gung-ho, one-dimensional slut.
The man spoke once more; "It looks like your friend is lucky, according to the blood tests he appears to be human, I guess he gets to live after all." And with that he walked past her without a backward glance.

One of the men pointed at Quinn and Remmy. They noticed he had a name on his belt buckle, it read; Flibble.
"You two are coming with us, move it."
"What if we don't?" Quinn said, bravely. Or rather; foolishly, but then for someone who was supposed to be a genius he did act like a complete moron at times.
"If you don't, then you'll be forced to spend 24 hours W.O.O."
"W.O.O.? What's that?" asked Quinn.
"With Out Oxygen." came the reply from Flibble.
"Oh Q-Ball," said Remmy, "you had to ask!"
<Sound of screams in the distance from Slider_Sarah>
Quinn and Remmy decided that they had better do as Flibble asked, the other option didn't sound like it would be much fun!
They were taken along a corridor that appeared to be heading to the outside world again. For some reason this did not make the two Sliders feel any calmer. At the end of the corridor was a large door, protected by two large men with sub-machine guns. Flibble turned to speak to them again; "You two are to go into the Japanese sector to find a girl, code-named Maria."
<Sudden cheer from Robin14334 as she sees that BritSlider used a tenuous link to her West Side Story plot>
"She has been gathering data for us to make a final attack on the Japanese sector, and wipe them out once and for all. These two guards will be going with you."
"Why the bodyguards?" Asked Remmy.
"So that when the fight sequence comes you only have to face one opponent each," replied Flibble.
Quinn and Remmy stared at him
"What did you just say?" They both asked in unison.
"I said to ensure that you carry out the mission and don't get any funny ideas about running away, what did you think I said?"
Quinn and Remmy said nothing, and decided that they must have just misheard him. They were ushered out of the building, flanked by their bodyguards. They had barely got a hundred yards from there when they heard the sound of motorbike engines coming closer. The next thing they heard was the sound of rapid gunshots, as the bodies of both the Jets guards flew backwards from the impact of the bullets. Three guys on futuristic motorcycles screached to a halt in front of the Sliders, two of them carrying machine pistols that were still smoking from the expended rounds.
The guy on the lead bike looked directly at Quinn. "I know who you are, and you'd better come with me if you ever want to see your other friends alive!"
"Who are you?" asked Quinn.
"The name's Akira, now climb on my colleagues' bikes and we can get out of here, we don't have much time." He motioned to Quinn and Remtmy to mount the back of the two bikes behind him, and as they were doing so; Remmy noticed a number of black shapes heading quickly, but stealthinly towards the Jets headquarters.
"Who are they?" He asked as he pointed at the shadowy figures.
Akira whipped his head round to where Remmy was pointing. "Damn it!" He cursed. "That's a Koga Ninja assassination team, they weren't supposed to get here for another five minutes. We'd better get the hell out of here if we want to avoid being caught up in the carnage."
And with that the three bikes roared into life, and sped away from the Jets HQ.

<BritSlider lays the pen down, a quiet smile spreading across his face>
HurriKain: What the hell was that all about? I thought you said you knew something about anime?
BritSlider: I do; I've included elements from three of my favourite films in there. Just be grateful I didn't use anything from 'Legend Of The Four Kings'!
HurriKain: But how will people know what ones you are talking about?
BritSlider: Well, one of them is obvious, but if people want to then they can mail me to find out what the others are. We can call it a competition.
Blinker: Well I hope you're not expecting me to tell you that Red Dwarf quote, I mean how easy was that?
BritSlider: Yeah, I know. I just put it in to annoy Slider_Sarah.
Blinker: Oh, that's okay then.
Torch (voice of Veronica Cartwright): Enough of the yapping, already! You've had your go, now pass me on to someone who might actually move this plot along.
BritSlider: Sorry, it's BlazingAngelKnight's go next, looks like you're out of luck there.
Torch (voice of Veronica Cartwright): Bugger!
<And with that, BritSlider gratefully hands the torch to our illustrious Knight in tarnished armour>

The Koga assassination team noticed the disappearing motorcyclists with the two sliders. The Koga contingent was just around the corner, however, and when the motorcyclists ran into the force field, they were all instantly teleported, except for Akira and the two others on his bike, Quinn and Remmy. They had fallen off. Akira got up and helped the others. Luckily, no one was hurt. Quinn then said, "We must find Maria of the Jets clan! She'll tell us where our friends are!"

Maria (a.k.a. Jade) noticed that the two new recruits were anything but enthusiastic at the thought of fighting to the death in the middle of a multicultural clan turf war they didn't even want to get involved in! The one named Quinn had said the pair, who were two of a group of four, were frome another dimension! How was that possible?! Had they encountered the Darkstryfe device? If so, why didn't they recognize her? Remmy broke her train of though with a question. "Maria, where did you come from? I can tell by your name that you're probably not of Japanese descent." "My name isn't Maria. I come from a parallel universe, on a planet called Galaxia. My companion Akari came with me, but there was a problem with our Darkstryfe device, and it sent us through two seperate vortexes. Since then I have been looking for him, and in hopes that I would find him I joined the Jets clan." The Sliders were incredulous. The only one who could find words to speak was Akira. "Jade?" "What do you want, Akira? We must free the sl............did you say Jade?" "I'm Akari." said Akira. "Akari!?" Jade could not believe her ears. All those sleepless nights, all those days of endless searching and questions and undercover work had finally paid off........

BlazingAngelKnight: Ain't it grand?
HK: Aint isn't a word, HorridKnight......
SL4ever: Hey, that's not half bad....!

Colin Mallory's Can of Whup Ass!!!!

As seen in Sliders eps. "The Dying Fields" and "Data World", you know that this product works. Kro-Maggs? No Problem! Hu-Maggs? No Problem! Made with extra potent ingredients on Colin's own Amish world, it will develop that extra kick to send your enemies reeling...

<Kro-Maggs and Hu-Maggs runs into a deserted alley, but see nobody at the end of it>

So whenever you're in a tight spot...

<empty cans of product rolls up to Kromaggs' feet; all turn around to see Sliders pounding their fists and cracking their knuckles, and a big fight follows>

Make sure you open a can of Whup Ass!!!!!!

*Also available in Extra Strength Formula*

HK: Thats it... I advertised your product... please give me the check.
SliderCorp. Executive: Nice work. Here's your payment. And we will require your services again soon.
HK: Thank you, now to get more tor... Hey!!!!!
David Peckinpah <snatches check from HurriKain>: This should cover the bill I left here. And by the way, I liked that last game you did here...better that the piece of crap you are doing now. Japan? That's the worst idea I've ever heard. Plus I tasted their food...real awful.
<HurriKain felt that this was a great opportunity to fulfill his dream, to punch Peckinpah right in the face, but his dream didn't mention a lawsuit so he declined. He just stands there angry, hoping the other participants will get the chance at plugging a nice one at the Evil Incarnate of Sliders.>
HK: Damn You, Peckinpah! Go back to Turks where you belong!

After the embraces and general enthusiasm, Maria shared the information that their friends were at the hospital.
"Don't worry, they're not that bad off. Your friend Colin was grazed by a stray bullet, but that's about it."
"We have to go get them," said Quinn, with an air of confidence.
"No, you might be recognized in the streets. Remember, the Koga know who you are now. I will go. They do not know my affiliation."
Akari held her hand as she left. "Be careful, Jade. I'll be waiting for you."
"Just make sure you're still here when I get back," she said, smiling.
The door closed, leaving the sliders and Akira alone in the back room. Remmy looked around.
"So who's up for green tea?"
Suddenly a hand punched through the brick wall in front of his face and retreated.
"Holy ****!" said Rembrandt, immediately getting out of the way.

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

Maggie had only been in the room a few minutes when Maria slipped in, and headed straight for her.
"Miss Beckett? Your friends Quinn and Rembrandt are at a safe house. You may be in danger here, so..."
"Are they alright?!" asked Maggie, relieved.
"A little worse for wear, but no more than yourself. It's advisable that you both come."
"Let's go then," said Maggie. It wasn't much of a decision to make. This place was way too weird to be separated in.
After getting Colin up (he had been asleep), Maria scouted ahead and gave the ok. Maggie and a groggy Colin followed her step for step. Unfortunately, so did the strange man in black.

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

"What in Hell's name is that?!" exclaimed Rembrandt, staring at the gaping hole in the rock. Whatever it was, more holes were rapidly appearing.
Akira moved to the door to the bar. "In Hell is right. It's one of the ninja's demons. Mysticism and genetics make a very bad match!"
They ran out to the bar and closed the door, only to hear the demon break through the outer wall. Akira made a decision.
"You two have to go find Maria and your friends. There is nothing you can do here, but I might be able to hold it back. Find a demon hunter, and hurry. Maria will know."
With that the door split in half and the creature stepped/crawled into the bar. Its torso seemed to be deposited onto the body of a giant arachnid, with several of the appendages in use as arms. But what astonished the sliders the most was the gaping mouth in the center of the abdomen, in addition to the extremely ugly head, which was disproportionately in the right place.
<SL4ever fakes a dry cough : cough!:::::rip-off::::::cough>
<Slider142 : Hey, Hurrikain started it!>
It spoke in strange, slurred syllables and pointed to Akira.
"You..., kill..." The creature easily hit Akira a few feet past the sliders. As for the people currently in the bar, they needed no further prompting.
Rembrandt grabbed Quinn, who had gone for Akira. "We have to get out of here and find Maria. It's the only hope."
Quinn and Rembrandt managed to get out somewhere in the middle of the screaming crowd, only to find they had no idea which way to go. Suddenly they heard two strange sounds from behind them. Quinn saw a shadow move out of the side of his eyes. They could only be one thing, Koga ninjas.
"Uh, Remmy, I think we should run right about now..."

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

Meanwhile, Akira had brushed himself off, and faced the creature, fighting the fear it was trying to instill. Besides, it was just a bad rip-off of a particularly good peice of anime. He concentrated on the creature, which was slowly approaching him. Caught by surprise by a blast of mental energy, the creature flew back several feet, landing on the broken door.
"Now that's what I call anime!" said Akira enthusiastically. Then the creature got back up, unfazed.
"Uh oh. This might take awhile..."

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

Maria and the others ran across the junction hurriedly. They could see some kind of commotion going on at the bar, but exactly what it was they wouldn't be able to tell until they got closer. Unfortunately, the black-suited man had other plans. The sliders found themselves face to face with the same pistol that Maggie had been introduced to earlier. Maria stopped, confused.
"Sorry it had to end this way." said the man ominously.

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

Slider142 : Well, that's that. Who's next ?
sleepingtiger : That would be me.
Slider142 throws the torch, but it misses, hitting a Can of Whup-Ass and making the whole pyramid tumble.
Hurrikain : Uh oh...
Slider142 : Before I run like hell, who's Veronica Cartwright ?
Slider_Sarah : Oh you've got to be kidding...

Good luck sleepingtiger !

*When we last left our sliders Jade, Maggie, and Colin were about to be killed by the dastardly Man In Black.*

Just as he is about to fire a Can of Colin's Whoop Ass flies out through a hole in the sky. Unfortunatly it hits Colin in the head knocking him out. Maggie thinks she sees a weapon. The MIB, distracted by the wormhole, is gazing at the sky with a scared look on his face. Maggie dives for the can pops it open and drinks it. "Yeah baby. Maggie 3:16 says I'm gonna kick your ass." She then proceeds to regain her former military skills and beats the crap out of the Undertak--er, I mean MIB.

<S4E: cough--cough--rip off--cough--cough.
ST: DUH! Everyone is doing it. Now be quiet.>

Jade looks at Maggie with a new respect dawning in her eyes. "Nice job, but I think we should leave now." Four more MIBs could be seen coming closer. Maggie and Jade, hauling Colin between them head for an alley. "I hope Akiri/a is okay in there. Come on I know another safe place." As they are entering the alley Quinn and Rembrandt jump out. Maggie starts to kick some butt using the remains of the can until she recognizes her friends. She then falls comatose into Quinn's conveniently waiting arms.
"Uhm. Jade, Akira said we needed a demon hunter."
"Shit. The only one I know isn't going to be too eager to help me. His partner and I had an unfriendly exchange last week."
"We have to try."
"I know. Let's get these two to safety and then we'll go find the demon hunter."

A few minutes later Maggie and Colin are lying on a bare wood floor. Neither one seems close to waking up. "I'll stay with them. You two go after the demon hunter."
"Thanks Remmy. Here's the timer in case we don't make it back."

Jade and Quinn stand in front a nightclub. Jade knocks out the signal, before she can finish they are pulled inside. "You bi---"
"Calm down Diana. If she pays, we play. What do you want?" He had short, dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and muscles enough to make most women swoon. Quinn was startled by the resemblence in their facial features.
"Akiri, my partner, is barely holding off a demon. They're across town at the Safe House Bar and Grill. I'll pay anything. Please Mallory."
"Maria. I never can resist you."
"Humph."
"Diana don't be sore. Let's go save some Akira."

The foursome head out...

Akiri knows he's about to die. "I hope she comes soon..."

[ST: Once again I have tried to inject some streamlining. I hope it works.
BS: I did better. But it's too bad.
HK:<maniacally laughs>
ST: MallorysMom I wish you luck. I tried.]

<Torch(voice of Veronica Cartwright): "If you are through with hurling fermented produce, may we get on with it?"

***

Maria/Jade proceeds to introduce everyone, "Quinn Mallory, meet Quinn Mallory and Diana Davis."
Both Quinn's reply simultaneously,"No way!"
Our Quinn asks, "Who are your parents?"
The new Quinn replies, "Michael and Elizabeth Mallory."
"That explains it," stated the smart Quinn(ours), "on this world, my father married someone else, not my mother, Amanda. That is why we have the same name but obviously are not perfect duplicates."
"Say what?" a bewildered Mallory asks (from here on out, to avoid confusion, our Quinn will simply be known as Quinn and the new Quinn, will hence be called Mallory.)
"Never mind," says Quinn and then he mutters, "You take after your mother I bet."
Mallory just smiles and says, "Yep," not even realizing he's just been insulted.

Maria, nervously glancing around, "Please, we must hurry and help Akira/Akiri. He won't be able to hold out much longer."
Diana, who is obviously agitated with Maria, "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, just sit back and let us do what we do best." The sarcasm was not lost on Quinn. He made a mental note not to leave these two alone together.

***

Meanwhile, Rembrant is pacing back and forth, talking to himself since Maggie and Colin are out cold. "Man, will we ever slide somewhere normal? I haven't had a decent meal in months. Why can't we slide to Cheeseburger World? Is it so much to ask, is it? But no, here I am starving to death and we're stuck in Sushi land."
Suddenly Maggie and Colin start stirring. Maggie speaks first. "Remmy, that ranting of your's could wake the dead."
"What do you mean could, girl. You and Colin have been out for hours now. It's about time the two of you woke up, why should I be the only one miserable here?"
Maggie frantically looks around. "Where is Quinn?"
"He went with Maria or Jade or whatever her name is to find a demon Hunter to save Akira/Akiri or whatever the hell his name is."
Colin rubs the large goose egg on the back of his head. "Gee, I feel like I've been hit with a big ole can of whupp-ass."
Maggie grins. "Naw, it was only a medium sized can. Tasty too."
Colin gives her a confused look, not unlike the one Mallory wears often. Colin glanced at Remmy. "How much time do we have left?"
Remmy glances at the timer. "A little over two hours. Quinn better hurry, I'm not willing to stay here for another 29.7 years."

***

Akiri/Akira, "Boy, you all made it just in time. I couldn't hold him off much longer."
Quinn, "Do demons always make that much of a mess?"
Diana, "Well, It's usually not that bad, but we had our phasers set on 'annihilate.' Generally, 'kill' is enough, but I didn't feel like pussy-footing around."

Maria, " Thank you so......."

Diana interupts her, "Save it girly, I didn't do it to help you so much as I did it just to kill the damn thing. It's one less demon I have to worry about later."
Quinn, trying to cut the tension, "As much fun as this has been, I really need to get back to my friends. It was nice meeting you Diana & Mallory, maybe I'll see you around sometime." He snickers to himself.
Akiri/a, Maria/Jade, and Quinn all head for the back alley where the other sliders are waiting for their return.

***

Maggie throws herself into Quinns arms when he arrives. "Thank God you're here. I thought we would have to miss the slide to come look for you."
Remmy hands Quinn the timer. "Talk about cutting it close, we have 30 seconds left."
Quinn grins, "You know me Remmy, I like to live dangerously."
As Quinn opens the vortex, he turns to the couple standing behind him, "I hope you two eventually make it home, I know it's what we all want."
Colin waves good-bye and jumps in first, followed by Remmy and Maggie. Quinn gives one last look back before he jumps into the vortex.

***

As Quinn is picking himself up and dusting his jeans off he hears Remmy saying, "Oh Lord, Yes, Thank you Lord."
He looks up to see that they are standing infront of a large building with a sign that reads:

BURGER GALAXY- Home of the 16oz Cheeseburger.

Quinn looks at the timer. "Sorry Remmy, we have only two minutes here."
Remmy looks like he going to cry. Quinn laughs, "Just joking, we have two hours. Plenty of time to clog up those arteries."
"Q-Ball, if I wasn't so fond of you, I'd punch you for that," Remmy said with a smile.
The four of them proceeded to go into the restaurant and take a booth in the back. While everyone is looking over the menu, Colin happens to be looking up as a waitress is walking toward their booth. "Hey, I think this is our server. Boy is she a cutie."
Quinn and Remmy, being the men that they are, naturally look up.

"WADE!?" they both cried out.

***

<Mallory'sMom: Well, I guess that's my solution to everything, If you don't like it then Slide. He-he. I did it in Canadian World, and I did it here.
<Torch(voice of Veronica Cartwright) Yeah, yeah, you must be real proud of yourself. let's just keep moving shall we, there's only two writers left, and I'm real tired. I've been burning the midnight oil (no pun intended, okay, so maybe it was)
<Mallory's Mom: Tom, Oh Thomas Malthus! Where are you? Come out, come out where ever you are.
ThomasMalthus peeks his head around a corner.
<Mallory'sMom: " Here, the torch and the pen belong to you now. Good Luck, may you do better than I did."

Surprisingly, Quinn reached Wade before Remmy could. "Wade!" Quinn exclaimed, "I can't believe you're here!"

"Why not?" Wade asked. "I've only done about twelve zillion of these guest spots in Sliders B-board Fanfic before."

"Oh, yeah." Quinn said. "Wait, my Wade would never say anything like that."

Before his very eyes, Wade began to transform into...

that giant spider again???

<Everyone in the cave groans. TM erupts in maniacal laughter.>Quinn looks frantically around for his companions, but finds only Jade/Maria standing with him. "Thank the gods you are alright," she exclaimed. "When that monster devoured your double and Diana, I feared you would be dead as well."

Quinn then realized that his recollections of the slide off of this world must have been hallucinations induced by the giant spider-like creature, which was possibly a giant spider. As the hideous beast advanced towards them, only one thought crossed Quinn's genius mind: "Why did TM have to be writing this installment???"

Suddenly (and not Susan), a thunderbolt blast charred the demon spider beyond recognition. Emerging from behind his smoldering remains came a robed figure. Pulling down his hood revealed a middle-aged Japanese man who most recognized as the MIB from earlier in the story.

"Who are you? And how were you able to kill that demon when professional demon hunters couldn't?" Jade/Maria wanted to know.

"Professional???" the man exclaimed. "I've known ventriloquist dummies who could fight demons better than that. As to who I am, that is easily discovered. I am Kobayashi of the Redfoot clan and I am working for the Kaiser."

<(Voice of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Players) IT'S INTERNET FOOTNOTE TIME!!!)

In this world, Germany and the Allies came to a stalemate in World War I because the U.S. never entered the war. World War II was fought between the Soviet Union/Japan axis and the rest of the world. After the war, where the Soviets were beaten by the Germans, and after Japan took over the Western part of the U.S., Japan and Germany were the two big powers. Now, the German Kaiser encourages Japanese dissident groups, like the Redfoot clan, to rebel against the Japanese authority. We now return you to your regularly scheduled fanfic.

TM looks around the cave and sees that all of the other players have dozed off. He turns his amps up to 11.

(Louder Voice of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Players)THIS WAS INTERNET FOOTNOTE TIME!!!)>

After explaining all this, apparently in a more interesting way than TM had, because the sliders were still wide awake, the four plus Jade/Maria bought Kobayashi's story. Determined now to stop the senseless fighting between the Jets and the Sharks, and to give this world some closure, the sixsome headed off to right what once went less right.

<TM wipes the sweat from his brow. "Well, I did my best!"

Mallory's Mom: "Hey, you threw most of what I wrote out the window!"

TM: "Yeah. Sorry about that. I was just a little (or a lot) tired of convenient plot resolutions and endless Wade doubles. Oh, well, since I don't remember who's supposed to go after me, I'll just throw the Torch/Veronica Lake in here. <TM throws the torch into Veronica's Closet. Kirstie Alley got third degree burns. Nobody cared.>

ThomasMalthus

While the Sextet of Saviors ran off to right wrongs, and generally save the world, the Jets... (who you may remember as the white gang from way back in the beginning who sent Maria/whatever to work as a spy among the Japanese... how she blended in, I'll never understand, but hey she seems to be Japanese now, so go with it) The Jets were wondering what happened to the guys they sent out after Maria. The big scary guy (ok, so I forgot his name, sue me) who was supposed to lead them and make sure they did what they were told had never come back. Akira/i had never come back (was he supposed to? we'll never know). Anyways, the Jets were beginning to think their double-agents had double-crossed them and in turn, began planning their revenge on the Sharks, who they assumed, had killed Maria and the others (they jumped to this assumption because she had not returned or sent word, you see, and not because it's a convient plot device to bring on the rumble). So singing the Jet song, "When you're a Jet, you jet all the way, from you first cigarette..." etc. they set out for neutral territory, where they knew the Sharks would be waiting, as if their enemies knew that the rumble was necessary. They were right. The Sharks were making their move towards the same neutral place silently and with great stealth, because they didn't have Sarah on their side to make up a snappy song.
The Six were also set on a course that would bring them to the exact spot where the rumble would go down. Now, though all had different motives, each of the six wanted to end this fight before it began - Maria had friends on both sides, Kobayshi's Kaiser wanted the sharks to live to fight another day, and they were sorely outnumbered (why, you ask? because the people helping the sliders killed off so many at the beginning of the fanfic and they had to sacrifice some to the demons to protect themselves), Quinn, after his brief dream about Wade, had a renewed need to Right Wrongs and Save the World, Colin was just a nice guy who didn't want to see anyone get hurt, Maggie thought she might to kick some butt and didn't care which side it was, and Remmy just wanted to go home so he could get that cheeseburger. As they walked they mulled over the events of this world... the weird sailor suited people, the sushi, getting shot (that was Colin's thought. he rubbed his sore arm tenderly, wondering why it had been so long since it caused him any trouble and knowing it would come into play in the battle scene), getting trampled (that was Maggie, of course. She was not feeling any pain because most of the trampling had been directed at her out-thrust chest and the silicon cushioned the blows), their last meal (ick sushi served by Clinton), and so on passed the assassins, demons, gang wars, and short lived doubles.
Eventually they realized they had mulled their way right between the on-coming gangs. Both groups looked angry. Both were approaching rather quickly. Neither seemed to notice the odd group in the middle. They paused about ten feet on either side of The Six and glared at one another, as only rival gangs can do. A Shark yelled. A Jet yelled. Silence. Everyone looked confused. You see the Sharks still didn't know Maria was a double agent, and since her disappearance, had assumed her murdered by the Jets, and as we all know, the Jets had thought the same thing (that girl really needed to get a pager) and what each had yelled was, "For Maria!!" They became even more confused when Five of the Six stepped aside, revealing Maria in center of all the confusion. "I can explain, really," she said to the Sharks. She took a step towards them and stopped as she heard rumbling behind her. She took a step towards the Jets, "I can explain...hmmm." Unsure how to begin, she only knew that she was buying time. Time for what, she didn't know. The other Five got into a huddle to discuss the situation, while Maria stood puzzling between the preverbial rock and hard place.
<<this is where I admit that I don't really remember what happened to Akira/i, because he wasn't in the last bit, and my notes are only for the first few bits... up to the back guard, then I got lost... but Tom said there were six saviors... we have four sliders and maria and kobayashi, so I presume they lost Akira/i along the way somewhere>>
Slipping out of the hiddle, muttering something about Kaiser Sose, Kobayashi mysteriously disappeared poof, like that.
The crowd began to get bored and frustrated, not a good state for a crowd to be in when it had expected a fight. The Sharks looked at the Jets. The Jets looked back. Somebody moved and suddenly they were rushing each other, and the Sad Six, now the Fearful Five, were trapped in the middle. There was a blinding light and awesome explosion just before they reached each other, and again, the gangs stopped short. There, a top the building beside them, stood Akira/i. Not knowing what else to do, the Five cheered. Everyone else was shocked to see him. No one had believed he was still alive. His sudden appearance above them caused so much confusion that the groups began to murmur and question, and talk amongst themselves. They were so confused, that they hardly noticed when he disappeared again, but instead, went on talking and eventually Jets and Sharks struck up conversations with each other and discovered they had more in common than confusion and Maria. They wandered off in groups of two and three and began new friendships that may have only lasted a few days, but hey, they caused more emotional conflict in later fights over petty things. The five, alone for a moment sighed a great sigh of relief and headed for the buiding to find Akira/i. When they found him, Maria collapsed into tears and knelt beside his still body. She wanted to yell at the gangs, and blame them for his death in the explosion that had attracted so much attention, but they'd all gone home. His sacrifice was successful, he had stopped the fight from happening, as she'd asked him to do. By convincing them he was dead before the fact, his appearance had taken their attention from the battle for a few key moments. The greatest trick Akira/i ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. The sliders looked up from the sad couple as they heard the sound of sirens approaching.
Quickly, they slipped away to check the timer. "One minute," Quinn shared.
"Finally," said Maggie, who was bored.
"Rummmmmble," said Colin's tummy - he still hadn't eaten since he others had once again failed to bring him back a doggy-bag from the sushi bar waaaaay at the beginning.
"I'm with you, Farmboy," said Remmy, "They better have real food on the next world." They all laughed as Quinn activated the vortex.
As the sliders jumped, one after another, into the vortex, a certain waiter got on the phone. "Kobayashi? Hi. Yeah, it's Bill. They're gone. There will be no more interference with the Kaiser's plans".
The End

Tahhhh Dahhhhhhh! << Ann takes a deep breath and blows out the torch >>