The Otherworlds » Earth 1014 » Season Four » Friends and Enemies

- Jayson fell from the vortex. Desert, nothing but desert, except for the sprawling prison compound only a mile or so ahead of him. He knew instantly this was Earth 113. He had been here once before. It wasn't a pleasant experience; that was why he knew he had to save Wade. - Jayson began the walk towards the camp. He knew there was a good chance that the Kromaggs would spot him and capture him, but he didn't care. Whatever it took to get to Wade. He heard a slight hum behind him. He assumed it was a Manta ship. He was wrong. A strange metallic tentacle grabbed Jayson and began pulling him underground. He attempted to break free, but to no avail. As the sand began to blind him, Jayson noticed a figure approaching him. The figure grabbed him and pulled him up. Jayson wanted to fight back, but he was too weak. "Who are you? " he asked. The figure pulled a helmet off and spoke, "Jayson Garrick, have you forgotten me so soon?" Jayson's eyes began to focus. "Mary?" "Friends And Enemies" by Chaser9 - Mary led Jayson down a corridor. The entrance had been concealed by the sand. She turned to Jayson and spoke, "Welcome to the Underground." "What's going on here?" Jayson asked. "The seeds you planted have come to fruition." "What? Are you saying I'm responsible for this?" "Yes Jayson Garrick. You showed me that there was more to life than to be delegated to slavery by the Kromaggs. Along with other Kromagg prisoners this underground was formed. It is our goal to overthrow the Dynasty." Jayson was taken aback. It had been years since he and the others had been interned on Earth 113. He remembered all too well the unsettling experience. He also remembered Mary's kindness. She was the Kromaggs' attendant. Their speaker. For some reason he was singled out to become the Slider she had the most contact with. He tried to open her eyes to the truth about the Kromaggs. When she helped them escape, he hoped he had succeeded, but he never expected this. - "What brings you to Earth 113?" Mary asked. "Wade is here. I have to find her." "So the reports are true." "What reports?" Mary replied, "Something is brewing in High Command. We're not sure what, but Wade's apprehension was part of it." "I have to get to her!" "Calm down. We will help in any way we can." "Thank you, Mary . . . I just can't stand the thought of her trapped with the Maggs." "It is understandable. Come, there are others we must confer with." - Jayson was led into a highly advanced control room. Mary spoke, "I've brought someone." A chair turned around and a blindfolded man with long hair spoke, "Who is he?" Mary responded, "His name is Jayson Garrick." The man responded, "Yes, you have spoken of him often. Why has he come?" Jayson looked upon the man. He knew him, but from where? Jayson blurted out, "Bennish?" "I was. Before the Maggs took my eyes. Now I am hate." It suddenly clicked in Jayson's mind. This was the Bennish they had met in the prison. He had alerted the Kromaggs to their escape. His mind had been broken. How could he have become the head of this. . .underground? "Why are you here?" "A friend of mine has been captured by the Kromaggs. I've come to rescue her." "He needs our help," Mary replied. "We must not alert the Kromaggs to our presence here. They think we all fled in a stolen Manta ship, but I may be able to help you in other ways. The Kromaggs may have taken my eyes, but they did not take my sight. A helmet device dropped down from the ceiling and Bennish placed it on his head. "What is he doing?" Jayson asked. "Bennish can directly interface with the Kromagg database . . in effect it has become his eyes." "I've found her. Level 6 holding cell 374." "What now?" Jayson asked. Bennish spoke, "You and Mary will go to retrieve your friend. I will mask your presence from the Kromaggs . . . for as long as I can. Mary. I suggest you use the secret entrance to Delta sector." "Let's get going." - Jayson and Mary walked through a tunnel. Jayson turned to Mary and spoke, "So how long has this 'underground' been going on?" Mary replied, "Six months after you slid off of this world we began planning for it. We had to be very careful. And many sacrificed their lives so that we might escape the compound and lead the Kromaggs to believe we had slid off world. We found an abandoned bunker . . . it wasn't Kromagg in design. Obviously this world had not been as barren as The Dynasty believed." "Did you ever find out who had built the bunker?" "No . . . but whoever they were. They had the technology to defeat the Kromaggs. We have been trying to decipher the tech for years now. Once we do . . . it's over for The Dynasty." Jayson was speechless. To think, all of this because he tried to show Mary the Maggs were evil. It's amazing the influence one person can have. It turned Jayson's thoughts to all of those worlds he and the others had been to. . . all of the worlds they had impacted. - Wade Welles sat in her cell. The last month had been a nightmare. The Kromaggs had taken her prisoner and then shipped her off to this barren prison world. She had huddled herself into a corner of the cell. Her tears had not stopped since she had arrived. Where was Quinn? He should have tried to find her by now. Of course, he had shoved her and Remmy into the vortex, Rickman's vortex. He had wanted to send them home. But he didn't follow . . . and what about Jayson? Things had become so complicated since the Professor had died. Maggie, she ruined everything. Quinn had changed. He had divorced himself from the others and began to cling to Maggie for support. Jayson had been Wade's rock. He stood by her after Maggie's induction into the group. The two had helped each other deal with their feelings over the loss of the Professor. But Jayson had stayed with Quinn and Maggie . . . why? Where were they? Quinn would come for her . . . regardless of everything he would come for her. He had to . . . if not, who would save her? Wade could only cry. . . when would this end? - Mary and Jayson had come to an opening in the tunnel. "This is it," Mary said. The two climbed through the opening and found themselves in the Kromagg compound. "Which way?" Jayson asked. Mary looked at the small device in her hand. "Her cell is around the corner." The two turned the corner and walked to the cell. Mary raised a strange card and inserted it into the force field. It faded away. Jayson walked into the cell and spoke, "Wade?" Wade's voice could be heard, "Quinn?" She arose out of the corner and walked into the light. "No Wade . . . it's Jayson." She ran to him and hugged him, "Jayson! How did you find me? Where are the others?" Jayson held her close and spoke, "I tracked the wormhole of the Manta ship you were transported here on . . . and the others are . . ." Jayson was interrupted. "Jayson, we have to go, Bennish can't keep our presence masked much longer," Mary said. "Mary?" Wade said. "No time to explain Wade, we have to go." - Wade looked at Jayson and spoke, "Now that we've made it back to this Underground's base, care to tell me where the others are?" Jayson had dreaded this moment. How would he explain to her that Quinn had abandoned her. That he was more concerned with finding a brother he had never met? How could he tell her that the man she loved no longer cared. And how could he do this without revealing his own feelings? Jayson spoke softly, "They're not here . . ." Wade looked at Jayson and spoke, "I kind of figured that, Jayson. Where are they? What happened?" "They're on another world . . ." Wade was becoming irritated, "Jayson! Will you quit being so vague! Just tell me what happened!" Jayson was hesitant, but finally he gathered the nerve to speak. "Wade, Quinn wasn't willing to come for you. He recently discovered that he's supposedly from a parallel earth and that he has a brother who may hold the key to defeating the Kromaggs. He wanted to leave you here until after he found him . . . I couldn't let that happen . . . I stole the timer and tracked your wormhole." Wade was silent. Jayson spoke, "I did what I thought was right . . ." Wade spoke, "Where's Remmy?" Jayson replied, "With Quinn and Maggie. We broke him out of the Magg prison. He came after me when I stole the timer. I told him I was going after you. He let me go." "But why didn't he come along? Why would he stay with Quinn and Maggie?" "I'm not sure. I think he wanted to make sure someone was there to look after Quinn . . . he's getting worse. He's so detached. Remmy must have wanted to help him." Wade approached Jayson and huggedhim. "Thank you, Jayson." Jayson held her close, "I couldn't leave you here to rot . . . after all . . . we're . . ." "Family." Wade said. Jayson smiled, "Exactly." The door opened and Mary entered. "You two had better come to the control room. Bennish has found some very interesting information." - Wade and Jayson stood before Bennish as he began to speak. "I have finally uncovered what the Kromaggs have planned for your Quinn Mallory." "What?" Wade said. Mary spoke, "We knew the Kromaggs had some plan, your apprehension was the beginning, but we didn't know the specifics. Now we do." Bennish spoke, "Observe." Data began to flash across the view screens. Jayson and Wade's eyes widened. "This is unbelievable," Jayson said. Wade turned to Jayson and spoke, "We have to find them. We have to warn Quinn and Remmy . . . stop this if we can." "I know. Unfortunately, they will have already slid on their search for Quinn's 'brother'." "But you have the timer," Wade replied. "Rickman's timer. Quinn had been fiddling with it for months. He said he'd figured out how to reset it, in case he ever needed it. And according to these reports, they've already slid off 'Earth Prime'. Even if we returned there, Manta ship activity will have thrown us off their trail. We'll have to slide randomly until we can get a lock on them." Wade smiled, "The adventure begins again, huh?" Jayson tried to crack a smile, "Looks that way." Mary spoke, "You have logged this world's coordinates, right?" Jayson nodded. "If you need us . . ." "I understand," Jayson replied. - Jayson turned the dial on the timer and the swirling blue vortex appeared. "Ready?" Jayson asked. Wade replied, "As I'll ever be." Mary turned to the two and spoke, "Good luck." "Thanks," Wade replied. She turned and dove into the vortex followed by Jayson. The vortex slowly collapsed and Mary was left alone with Bennish. "Do you think they'll succeed?" Mary asked. "If not . . . then the Kromaggs will be unstoppable."

The Otherworlds » Earth 1014 » Season Four » Friends and Enemies