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WADE Quinn was asleep, as he had been for most of the slide. The last few weeks had been hard on him. He'd left behind his world (his decision, but now, he was starting to regret it), his prototype was flawed, and he hadn't slept in the last couple of slides. This was his reward for all his hard work. WADE QUINN WADE Quinn, startled, fell out of his bed. He was fully clothed, so he was immediately ready. Wade opened the vortex at the two day limit. To allow Quinn to sleep, they had to. Everyone needed their rest. Continuous six-hour slides take a lot out of a person. Rembrandt was the last one into the vortex. He kept his eyes open and trained on Quinn, years of sliding having inured him to the vertigo of the roller-coaster ride. Suddenly, Quinn made a sharp turn to the left and down another fork of the tunnel. Remmy braced for impact, but Quinn's passageway swallowed him up and sealed itself. Remmy continued forward. On the other side, Rembrandt landed alone. He searched for the others to no avail. This had happened a few times before, so he took a minute to wait for them...
 In a laboratory, another vortex opened inside a glass cage. A scientist looked on with detached interest as each slider landed. SCIENTIST Quinn looked on at the familiar face. QUINN LAZE Laze said this, despite the fact that he knew the answer. He hated Quinn, but respected him. Plus, there was one slider missing, and another added. QUINN LAZE QUINN LAZE Nobody knew. Quinn gave Laze the answer he wanted. QUINN LAZE Laze laughed, knowing what would happen to the sliders. QUINN Remmy was worried. He was alone, again. He was without a timer, again. In a couple days, his journey would be officially over. That is, unless he could find his friends. The main distinguishing feature of this Earth was Rembrandt laughed. It reminded him of Miami. Trying to forget his current situation, Remmy thought of a gig he did in Miami. He sang "Tears in My 'Fro" in his head over and over.
ARTURO Quinn, I think I've figured it out. QUINN ARTURO WADE ARTURO WADE QUINN WADE ARTURO Wade nodded her assent. QUINN ARTURO WADE QUINN ARTURO QUINN Arturo shot Quinn an odd look. QUINN Even though the sliders didn't see him, Laze sat quietly, listening to Quinn's story. But he had enough of this. LAZE Quinn was hit with the answer. He didn't hate Laze. He just didn't feel like bringing him along. LAZE Rembrandt tried to stay confident. He had no money, and apparently no double on this Earth: the ATM had rejected his number. Rembrandt figured his best option would be to find some work. While walking towards the hotel, someone stopped him. MAN REMBRANDT MAN It was worth a shot. REMBRANDT LESTER REMBRANDT LESTER Lester walked away fast, but Rembrandt was curious. REMBRANDT LESTER REMBRANDT LESTER REMBRANDT LESTER REMBRANDT They shook hands and walked toward the lab.
Five hours. It had been five hours since they were captured. Hunger was beginning to settle. Quinn was starving. He had missed dinner and slept through breakfast. Now he was missing lunch. What he wouldn't give for a juicy hamburger, right about now. Wade was getting restless. She was bored, so she decided to talk to Laze. WADE Laze was annoyed, but nevertheless, answered her question. LAZE Laze smiled at Quinn. Quinn tried not to let his anger show. LAZE Rembrandt and Lester reached the compound. There was a sign, "No trespassers!", on the wall. Lester checked the laser emitter mounted at eye level. LESTER Lester wasn't sure if what he was saying was the truth. He had seen devices that appeared to be offline, but were actually ready to go. Rembrandt was the trusting type, so Lester knew he would "test" the defenses for him. Rembrandt walked through, unharmed. REMBRANDT LESTER Lester quickly punched in the correct numbers and the doors opened... then closed immediately after Rembrandt and Lester entered. A new set of doors loomed in front of them, with no apparent way out. LESTER REMBRANDT LESTER But he wasn't. In fact, Rembrandt's friends were probably already dead.
The sliders heard a buzzing sound. Quinn, Wade, and the Professor began to get nervous. Quinn pulled the timer out of his pocket. The power was coming back on. Quinn knew the consequences, though. He looked at the Professor. Arturo reluctantly nodded a fraction of an inch. Wade didn't want to leave Remmy behind, but they were no good to him dead. And Remmy wouldn't get the timer back anyway. She gave her silent approval as well. Quinn motioned to open the vortex, knowing perfectly well that the procedure would wipe his home co-ordinates off. He did have a contingency plan, however. LAZE Laze ran to the control panel. He pressed a button on the panel, and moved the lever, apparently shutting off some power. LAZE QUINN LAZE Quinn put the timer back into his pocket. Wade and Arturo sighed in relief. LAZE Quinn was frustrated. So much for that plan.
With power restored, the doors opened and let Rembrandt and Lester through. Fearing the worst, they broke into a run. LESTER LESTER Laze's face turned cold. LAZE LESTER WADE REMBRANDT LAZE QUINN Laze ignored Quinn's sarcastic comment. Now, Quinn didn't care. He wasn't in control. That made him nervous. LESTER This was bad, Quinn thought. He didn't like where this was going. Lester's face shifted... then disappeared altogether, replaced by a Kromagg snarl. LAZE Rembrandt moved up behind Lester and knocked him out with a swift blow to the head. REMBRANDT LAZE QUINN Laze was still hesitant. He didn't want to allow it. Plus, the Kromaggs were doubtlessly on their way. QUINN Laze put his head down. He felt as if this were the end of the road. LAZE WADE LAZE Laze pressed a button, and an intense red-tinted light filled the cage. Rembrandt turned on the physicist, outraged. REMBRANDT LAZE The focus of the light shifted out of the cage and faded away, revealing the three sliders safe and sound. Remmy rushed over to Wade and embraced her. Then, he shook the Professor's and Quinn's hands. REMBRANDT QUINN Quinn ran to the facility's kitchen and fixed himself a sandwich. Then, he sat, working on the timer. Twenty-five minutes later, Quinn returned. QUINN REMBRANDT Just then, a blood-red vortex opened. Several Kromaggs stepped out LAZE KROMAGG Arturo saw what was happening. This had been the first Kromagg he had seen. Ugly creatures, they were. And from what he had heard, they weren't ones to deal with. Quinn looked at the timer. Four minutes. He had to stall. They were too close to risk it. Laze snuck off to the controls. He wasn't going to let an armada of troops through to this world. One of the Kromaggs saw him, and pulled out a weapon. KROMAGG Laze began to work faster, and the Kromagg fired at him. The blast hit Laze in the arm. Rembrandt took this opportunity to attack one of the Kromaggs. Arturo and Quinn joined in. Rembrandt got one of the Kromagg weapons, and subdued the other soldiers. REMBRANDT A minute and a half left. He still had to stall. QUINN The other Kromaggs began to get up. Laze crawled to join the sliders. LAZE Laze looked into Quinn's eyes. They had to escape. Laze, clasping his arm, led the sliders down a corridor. At the end, they entered a room. LAZE QUINN The Kromaggs entered the corridor and began to try and open the door. QUINN Quinn opened the vortex, and all the sliders, including Laze dove into the vortex. The Kromaggs opened the door and looked at the empty room. Although they had lost the sliders, they had a mission to accomplish, and the facility was theirs. They walked back down the corridor to the panel. KROMAGG The Kromagg nodded, and they began to download the data.
Laze and co. hit concrete on a world with a distinctive retro-50's flavor. The pre-fab houses looked like they could have been lifted off the set of 'Leave it to Beaver.' LAZE REMBRANDT The other sliders laughed. Quinn didn't though, looking at Laze. He thanked him for escaping, but he knew what had to happen. Laze knew too. He didn't understand why he didn't fit in with this group, though. LAZE The others smiled as they left Laze admiring his new world. For his part, he was already wondering what level of technology they possessed here...
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