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Rembrandt was trying to think straight, but it was hard. There was a lot of hope when he started this journey. Things had been looking up, but had headed downhill hard ever since the separation of Mallory. He had died, Diana had left, Quinn had left, Maggie had died. And the timer was not in its once perfect state. In fact, just that morning, it had taken a serious fall that everyone feared had destroyed it. While the machine was fine upon examination, Rembrandt was worried nonetheless. He and Wade had been trying to keep morale up, but Rembrandt had run out of happy thoughts. It was time to meditate on the past, and grieve for his lost friends. Remmy couldn't take another loss. QUINN Quinn activated the vortex, which swelled to solidity but then started changing colors. It rapidly shifted from a blue color to more of a transparent shade. Quinn looked worried. This hadn't happened before, and he hadn't seen a clear vortex in a long time. He looked at the Professor. Arturo had seen it, but felt no reason to panic. They would simply check the timer on the next world. Quinn leaped inside, followed by Rembrandt and Arturo. Immediately after Arturo entered the vortex, it began to degrade slowly. Wade quickly jumped inside, but she was hit with a sort of barrier. On the other side, the first three sliders emerged, but a lifeless body followed them. Wade's body hit the ground hard, and Rembrandt, Arturo, and Quinn feared the worst. Quinn ran, and took her pulse. He looked up, right at Arturo, and he shook his head. Rembrandt and Arturo's heads dropped. Arturo knew that they had lost another slider. Rembrandt refused to believe it. She couldn't be dead. REMBRANDT QUINN Rembrandt wouldn't accept it. She wasn't dead. REMBRANDT ARTURO Arturo was hurt by this. He had promised Quinn that he would protect Wade. He promised himself that he would investigate the reason for her death. ARTURO QUINN Rembrandt was laying over Wade. She wasn't dead. Then he saw it. Just for a second, but he was sure that he saw it. Wade moved. He picked her up, and began to walk. QUINN REMBRANDT Rembrandt looked at Quinn. Quinn almost objected, but Remmy's eyes had such passion in saving Wade. He let him go. QUINN Rembrandt ran and waved down a cab. They rushed to the nearest hospital. QUINN ARTURO QUINN Oddly, the timer never came up in the conversation. The sight of Wade's lifeless body had changed everything.  Quinn and Arturo met Rembrandt at the hospital. There was no good news. REMBRANDT QUINN REMBRANDT ARTURO REMBRANDT ARTURO REMBRANDT Quinn approached Rembrandt and patted him on the back. QUINN Rembrandt put his face in his hands and slouched down in the corner. For a second, he sat there motionless before he got up and moved towards the bed. Arturo looked at Quinn, who showed him the timer. It was time. ARTURO Quinn activated the timer. There was no color changing this time, but the vortex remained in its transparent state. He looked at Rembrandt, who was still looking down at Wade on the bed. The doctors were wrong. Rembrandt knew they were. Arturo jumped inside. QUINN REMBRANDT Quinn jumped inside the vortex. Rembrandt couldn't do it. He picked Wade up and threw her inside the vortex. Maybe the next world's doctors could help her. Then, it happened again. The vortex began to destabilize. Rembrandt ran and jumped inside, only to be hit with the same barrier... On the next world, Quinn and Arturo landed, but they were surprised to see Wade fly out -- and perfectly rejuvenated, no less. Rembrandt, on the other hand, emerged in the same condition as Wade had the time before. WADE ARTURO WADE QUINN Quinn and Arturo began working at the hotel, while Wade looked over Remmy. QUINN ARTURO QUINN ARTURO Quinn thought for a second. If this timer was in trouble, what about other possibilities? QUINN ARTURO Quinn looked annoyed. If they had kept that timer, they would have been safe. ARTURO Quinn knew this. He just didn't understand the current timer as well as he wished. ARTURO QUINN The memory of Caitlin was completely gone, now. ARTURO QUINN ARTURO QUINN ARTURO QUINN Wade had entered the room a little earlier. She looked at the two men. ARTURO QUINN ARTURO QUINN Wade interrupted Quinn. She wasn't going to allow this. WADE ARTURO QUINN Arturo didn't feel the need to argue. He was tired, anyway. At the time of the slide, Quinn activated the timer. Wade jumped inside first. Arturo and Quinn threw Rembrandt inside, and Arturo hesitated. ARTURO QUINN ARTURO Quinn shook his head, and he pushed Arturo inside the vortex. Then, he saw the vortex destabilize. Oh, no, Quinn thought. He jumped inside. On the next world, Wade looked at Rembrandt, awake now. She was relieved he was all right. Arturo came out next, followed by Quinn's lifeless body. Arturo ran to Quinn. He was angered at Quinn. ARTURO Rembrandt and Arturo carried Quinn to the hotel. This world, unlike the others, didn't seem to care that Quinn was hurt. A nearby billboard identified this region of the city as "Fiscal Zone H," which was not authorized for "military or medical interventions" until October. WADE Rembrandt laughed at Wade's sarcastic comment as much as he could, but he was struggling with his memory. This feeling reminded him of something, but what was it? REMBRANDT Remmy was happy to see Wade. Of course, he was also happy to be alive. In the hotel room, Arturo was focusing on the timer. Rembrandt and Wade tried to help him. Arturo wasn't getting anywhere with the timer. He threw it down in disgust. ARTURO REMBRANDT ARTURO REMBRANDT Arturo thought this could lead to an answer. ARTURO REMBRANDT Arturo rubbed at his forehead. ARTURO REMBRANDT ARTURO REMBRANDT ARTURO WADE ARTURO WADE ARTURO Wade and Remmy didn't want to give up, but there didn't seem to be any answers. The Professor was tired, and he decided to go for a walk. Twenty minutes from the hotel, driven haggard by the stress of the situation and his recent neglect of his health, Arturo collapsed on the sidewalk... He woke up in a hospital cot. He looked at the file to his side. It explained that he was experiencing a lack of sleep, exhaustion, and mild dehydration. Unbeknownst to the professor, he was lucky enough to have collapsed on the edge of Fiscal Zone G, which had been assigned over half of the city's medical resources due to its widely acclaimed cost-cutting measures. He had to admit to feeling better now. He looked across the hall and observed some laser eye surgery. DOCTOR A nurse adjusted a dial, and the laser intensified in brightness. Arturo was amazed. This was the solution. Was he dreaming, or was this just fantastic luck? He saw a similar laser in the corner of his own room. He then put his plan into action. At the hotel, Wade and Rembrandt were discussing their experiences, hoping to piece together a puzzle. WADE REMBRANDT WADE This triggered a thought in Rembrandt's mind. Diana had once spoken of an altered state where no one needed to eat or sleep. Maybe that's what was going on? He had to discuss this with Quinn and the Professor, but Quinn was in his coma and Arturo hadn't returned from his walk. Arturo returned to the hotel the next day. WADE REMBRANDT WADE ARTURO WADE ARTURO REMBRANDT Arturo immediately retreated to his room and attached the amplifier to the top of the timer. Then, he rewired the devices so that the amplifier would activate when the timer was triggered. He came out of the room, and met Rembrandt and Wade, waiting patiently for him. ARTURO REMBRANDT When the time of the slide came, everyone was nervous. Quinn was still in his "coma", and the others wondered whether the new adjustments would affect whether Quinn would be woken on the next world. Arturo opened the vortex, and the amplifier immediately took effect. Wade jumped inside, and Rembrandt and Arturo threw Quinn inside. Rembrandt followed, and Arturo waited for the vortex to destabilize. It didn't happen as Rembrandt had described it. Arturo hoped the procedure had worked. He checked his watch until he felt it was safe and leapt in. On the next world, Wade emerged, followed by Quinn. Wade was happy to hear Quinn's scream as he emerged. Rembrandt followed, and Arturo came out, as awake as ever. REMBRANDT QUINN ARTURO The sliders smiled, as they walked to the hotel. QUINN Rembrandt added what Diana had once told him about the "higher consciousness" that she had once experienced. ARTURO Arturo felt proud that he had solved the enigma, and that he had successfully kept his two promises intact. A doctor rushes a man on a stretcher to a hospital room. NURSE DOCTOR NURSE DOCTOR NURSE The doctor continued to cut into the President's chest. DOCTOR The nurse pressed the button for the amplifier, but nothing happened. DOCTOR NURSE The nurse ran a quick self-diagnostic on the laser. NURSE DOCTOR  |