Maggie, Mallory, and Diana sat at a table, conducting a small press conference.

"In closing," Maggie said, leading the sliders' part in the event. "The Slidology movement should die along with its' creator, Marc LeBeau. Mr. Mallory, Dr. Davis, and I are officially renouncing any movement led by his daughter Claire."

It was a crucial stage in the future of this world. The Slidology movement had been at its height, and now its support was waning. The sliders were hoping to officially defeat it.

"That is our official statement," Maggie said, concluding her speech. "Now we will open up the floor to questions."

A female reporter raised her hand, and Maggie motioned for her to ask her question.

"Yes, Ms. Beckett," the reporter said. "Can you tell us what happened to Rembrandt Brown?"

The three sliders looked around at each other, but none of them had an answer to her question.

After their press conference, in the hotel room, the three stranded sliders were discussing their future.

"What are we going to do?" Mallory asked. "It's been three weeks, and there's been no sign of Rembrandt."

"I know," Diana said, collapsing on the couch. "I hate to say this, but maybe the Seer was right. Maybe Remmy is, well, gone."

"Give him time," Maggie said. "He had to survive the slide, dust himself off, fight about a million Kromaggs, and slide back here. That's not exactly your month-long job."

"That's what I'm saying," Mallory said. "We can't wait for him forever, so we have to leave."

"I agree," Diana said. "This place creeps me out."

"Do you have a plan?" Mallory asked, as Maggie retreated to the window.

"I do," Diana said, pulling out her PDL, and a notebook.

"I believe there is enough Kromagg junk on this world for me to build a temporary timer," Diana said.

"Temporary?" Mallory asked. "Do we really want a temporary timer?"

"Well," Diana said. "We won't want to use this timer for a long time, but we can use it until I can find better parts on another world."

"Great," Mallory said. "When do we start?"

"Right away," Diana said, smiling, and showing Mallory her design.

Maggie knew this would be the start of the end. Diana would build her timer, and they would lose Rembrandt forever. Even though she hated this place, she knew it would be the first place Rembrandt would look. And she wanted to be there when he arrived.

She stared out the window, hoping to find an answer.

"Where are you, Remmy?" Maggie whispered into the evening sky.

"Woo hoo!" Wade screamed. "That was amazing!"

Wade, Rembrandt, and Quinn were all wearing plastic beads and Hawaiian t-shirts, after an entire slide of partying. They had landed on a world in the middle of a Marti Gras celebration, and the three younger sliders had the time of their lives.

"Yeah, girl!" Rembrandt said. "Sliding has its great qualities."

Arturo was still in his street clothes, and he was shaking his head. He had spent the slide in the hotel room, looking over the timer. They were still bound by the two day time limit that Dr. Davis had imprinted on their timer. He and Quinn thought there was a way to leave earlier, but they didn't want to risk resetting the timer unless they were one hundred percent sure they were right.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Quinn asked.

"I have no problem," Arturo said. "I'm just glad to be off of that chaotic world and off my shift working on the timer."

Quinn was going to say something back, but he realized that Arturo's words had echoed throughout the streets.

"That's strange," Quinn said.

"This world seems completely empty," Arturo said. "Do you see or hear anything?"

"No," Quinn said. "I don't."

Rembrandt and Wade were still laughing and dancing in the street, when they realized that Quinn and Arturo were talking.

"What's up?" Rembrandt asked.

"Apparently nothing," Quinn said.

"What?" Rembrandt said, looking around. "You think something happened here?"

"I don't know," Quinn said.

Rembrandt immediately thought about the Kromaggs, but he didn't mention it to anyone. He knew that none of the other sliders had ever even encountered them.

"Hello!" Rembrandt screamed. "Is anyone there?"

Suddenly, a man opened his window, and he stared at the sliders.

"Shut up!" the man screamed. "Do you have any idea what time it is? People are trying to sleep!"

"Yeah!" a woman screamed from the other side of the street. "Some of us have to go to work in the morning!"

The sliders cowered, and they immediately quieted down.

"What was that all about?" Wade whispered.

"I don't know," Quinn said. "What time is it?"

"It's three in the afternoon," Arturo said, checking his watch.

"Let's try to get to the hotel to find out what's going on," Quinn said.

The group quietly walked to the hotel, amazed that they still hadn't seen anyone on the streets. No one was driving, and there were not any taxi cabs driving around.

The sliders entered the Dominion Hotel, and they found a clerk at the desk. However, he was fast asleep at the desk.

"Excuse me," Rembrandt said, softly tapping the clerk on the shoulder. "Wake up, buddy."

"What time is it?" the man said, slowly waking up. "Its not eight already, is it?"

"No," Quinn said. "It's still early."

Quinn wasn't positive about what was happening on this world, but he had an idea he would bounce off the Professor when they reached the room.

"Jeez," the man said. "You aren't kidding. What are you day dogs doing out this late? Especially in this part of town?"

"We just got in from New York," Quinn said. "The late flight was the only one we could get on."

"New York?" the man asked. "Where's that?"

"Oh," Quinn said, remembering his history. "I meant New Amsterdam. I don't know why I did that."

"Eh, it's the middle of the day," the man said. "I didn't even know they had flights this late. Or that New Amsterdam was big enough to have its own airport."

"I guess you learn something new every day," Quinn said, hoping not to look too strange.

But it looked like the clerk was too tired to even know what they were talking about.

"You know what?" the man asked, typing into the computer. I'm going to give you the room for free for the rest of the day."

"Thanks," Rembrandt said smiling.

"It's only fair because of the time," the clerk said. "I can't make you pay for only a couple hours of sleep. How long you planning on staying?"

"Two days," Arturo said, although he hoped they would be leaving earlier.

Quinn paid for the room, as the man immediately went back to sleep. The sliders walked to the elevator, looking like they wanted to go straight to sleep.

In the room, they were talking about the world.

"Did you guys notice that guy's eyes?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah," Rembrandt said. "They were really bright and almost yellow. Like a cat's eyes."

"Exactly," Quinn said. "I think the humans on this world are nocturnal."

"You mean they sleep during the day and live and work during the night?" Rembrandt asked.

"Exactly," Arturo said. "It's not completely out of the question. Many animals on our Earth are nocturnal, like lions, toads, and."

"Rats," Wade said, disgusted.

"I would have said mice," Arturo said. "But yes. It seems to me that primates developed as nocturnal beings on this world for whatever reason, so now humans are nocturnal."

"It's a pretty interesting idea," Quinn said.

"It sure is," Arturo said. "But we had better get to work on the timer."

"I don't think so, Professor," Quinn said. "You did enough work on the last world, and it's time for you to get some rest."

"That's true," Arturo said, smiling.

He walked and collapsed onto the couch, as Quinn retreated to his bedroom to get to work.

"It's almost creepy," Wade said.

"That the streets are so empty?" Rembrandt asked, joining her at the window.

"Not just that," Wade said. "Also that people are like this here. I've been on some strange worlds, but people are usually the same on every one of them."

"I know what you mean," Rembrandt said. "It's like a world full of vampires or bats or something. I can't wait to get out there and see what's going on."

"Me either," Wade said.

Rembrandt looked out the window, and he noticed the sky getting darker.

"Hey, Professor," Rembrandt said, calling Arturo to the window. "What time is it?"

"It's about 5:00," Arturo said.

"Then why is it getting dark already?" Rembrandt asked.

"It could be many things," Arturo said. "The Earth's orbit, the Earth's rotation, and the Sun could all be affecting when it gets dark."

"That's strange," Wade said.

"On the contrary, Ms. Welles," Arturo said. "Based on this world's inhabitants, I would expect nothing else. Something had to have caused the humans of this world to become nocturnal, and more darkness than light would definitely be a reason for humans to adapt."

"Well," Wade said. "We're going to go check it out when people start to fill the streets. Do you want to come?"

"Yeah," Rembrandt said. "You wasted all of the fun on the last world; don't waste the opportunity here."

"I do want to want to investigate this world," Arturo said. "While repairing the timer is our first priority, I shouldn't forget that exploring is one of the biggest aims of sliding."

"True," Rembrandt said. "And how often are you going to stumble upon a world like this?"

"By our experience," Arturo said with a smile. "Not often. But, remember, this will only be my third year of sliding."

"That's right," Rembrandt said, remembering the unfortunate incident on Quinn and Wade's world. "I keep forgetting how much you've missed."

"That's something I'd actually like to discuss," Arturo said. "I have missed a lot, and I would like to try and catch up."

"Yeah," Rembrandt said, looking over at Wade. "I guess we could go out later."

"Why don't you guys catch up with me later," Wade said. "I want to go out, and you need some time to yourselves."

"Are you sure?" Rembrandt said.

"I can take care of myself, Remmy," Wade said. "Why don't I meet you at the Lamplighter in a couple of hours?"

"Sounds good," Rembrandt said.

But as night fell, the room became darker and darker. But when Quinn reached for a lamp, he found none on the table.

"Professor," Quinn said, entering the living room. "My room doesn't have a lamp."

Arturo looked around, noticing that the room didn't have a lamp either. There was only the overhead light.

"I'll check the other room," Quinn said, but he came back seconds later with nothing.

Quinn looked at the Professor, who seemed to be waiting for him to reach the answer.

"You mean they don't have lamps?" Quinn asked.

"Of course they do," Arturo said. "Even if they see perfectly in the dark, they would need electric lights for minor conveniences. Photography, for instance."

"Okay," Quinn said. "So, it's going to be hard for me to find a lamp. How am I supposed to work? Especially when it gets dark at five?"

"Well," Arturo said. "You could either go to sleep now and get back to work when the Sun rises, or you could see if the front desk could get you a lamp."

"I guess I should try that," Quinn said, going back into his room to get the phone.

Minutes later, Quinn re-entered the room.

"They said they're going to try and get one as soon as possible," Quinn said.

"What did you tell them when they asked why you needed one?" Rembrandt asked.

"I said it was none of their business," Quinn said with a smile. "But I promised a nice tip to whoever brings it up, and they agreed."

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked.

"I'm going to turn on the light," Rembrandt said, wondering why Quinn would ask.

"We need to fit in here," Quinn said. "It's weird enough that we're asking for a lamp, but we can't have all the lights in the room on."

"I think it's going to be okay," Rembrandt said. "You need to stop worrying what other people think."

"I just don't think it's a good idea," Quinn said.

Rembrandt pressed the light, and he noticed that the room was on a dimmer. The light in the room turned up slightly.

"More, Mr. Brown," Arturo said.

"It doesn't go any higher," Rembrandt said. "I think this is strange, but you're going to tell me this makes sense, aren't you?"

"Yes," Arturo said with a smile.

"Is this going to make them think we're strange?" Rembrandt asked, and Quinn shrugged.

When the bellboy came with the lamp, he looked around the room.

"What are you going to do with this thing?" the bellboy asked, appearing to look closely at the sliders' eyes.

"We're scientists," Quinn said. "And I'm going to try an experiment with light."

"Are you supposed to be doing that?" the bellboy asked.

"We have a permit," Quinn said, with a smile.

"Okay," the bellboy said, looking around the room. "Is there something wrong with the lights?"

"No," Rembrandt said, smiling.

"So you want them on?" the boy asked.

"Yes," Quinn answered, handing the boy some money. "Thank you very much."

The bellboy shook his head, and he exited the door.

"Okay," Quinn said. "I think you were right, Remmy."

"I know I was right," Rembrandt said, laughing. "I think we scared that kid a little."

"I'm just going to try and get some work done," Quinn said. "You guys have fun in your mood light."

Quinn laughed, retreating to his room.

"I'm curious," Arturo said. "I know you've already told me a lot about what happened in my absence, but I'm still fascinated about those events."

"What more do you want me to tell you?" Rembrandt said. "I guess I could give you some minor details."

"Anything you could tell me would be interesting," Arturo said.

"Okay," Rembrandt said. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Arturo said with a smile.

"I guess I should start at the beginning," Rembrandt said.

"Yes," Arturo said. "Starting with how you confused that charlatan for me for over a year."

"I can't explain that," Rembrandt said. "I guess once you got passed his desperate side, he was a lot like you. There were noticeable differences at first, but I guess we didn't want to admit we had made such a big mistake."

"I can understand that," Arturo said.

"Like I said," Rembrandt said. "He eventually began to act exactly like you did, and he fit back into the group. Then, one day, he found out that he had a terminal illness, and he started living every day to its fullest."

It was a strange experience for Rembrandt to discuss Arturo's double in front of him. On one hand, he was the person responsible for leaving the Professor behind. But on the other hand, he was still an admirable man worth mourning.

"Someone eventually cured his illness," Rembrandt said. "But that's when things started to go downhill. We landed on this world on the brink of destruction, and this guy Rickman shot your double to save himself. And while we gained a new friend in Maggie, we lost our father figure. And things never really improved after that."

Arturo was touched. He hadn't realized how much importance he had held in the group.

"Eventually," Rembrandt continued. "We landed on what we thought was Earth Prime, but I guess it wasn't. Well, the Kromaggs controlled that Earth, and they imprisoned me and took Wade away to a breeder camp."

The Professor noticed that Rembrandt was having trouble talking about Wade, so he motioned for him to skip the rest of that part of the story.

"So," Rembrandt continued. "We left without her, and started looking for Quinn's true homeworld. And after a few slides, we found Quinn's brother Colin."

Arturo was curious about the fact that Quinn apparently had a brother, but he allowed Rembrandt to continue his story.

"After a year," Rembrandt continued. "We still hadn't found Kromagg Prime. However, that's when it all got even stranger. Dr. Geiger did some kind of experiment, and it caused Quinn to merge with his double, and Colin became unstuck."

"Unstuck?" Arturo asked, finally breaking in to Rembrandt's story.

"Oh no," Rembrandt said, smiling. "I'm not getting into that again.

It was a full moon, and that was lucky for Wade because there were very few light posts to light the street. The Professor had told her that these people probably had the ability to see in the dark, and it was obvious to her that they could.

But it made it harder to Wade to see anything. Having to focus hard on the scenery, she was startled to hear someone calling her name from across the street.

"Wade?" the man said, crossing the street to talk with her.

"Yes," Wade said, trying to focus her eyes to see the man's face.

"Its be, Wade," the man said, wondering why Wade seemed to have trouble seeing him. "Tom Davidson. I'm Ryan's friend."

"Ryan?" Wade said, thinking that name sounded familiar.

"Your husband," Tom said, slightly confused.

Wade immediately thought about that. She had known a guy named Ryan in high school, and they had dated. But it was never serious by any means. Was it possible they got married on this world?

"I thought that you were in Seattle," Tom said.

Wade wanted to ask why she would be in Seattle, but she knew she would look even stranger to this man if she did.

"I'm just down here visiting," Wade said, trying her best to think of a reason.

"Ah," Tom said. "I wouldn't imagine the CEO of a multi-billion dollar computer company gets a lot of time off."

"Not really," Wade laughed, trying to fit in.

But inside, she was bewildered. On this world, she was rich, and she had a great job in a field she loved. But the thing that kept sticking out in her head was that she was married to Ryan.

Which led her mind to Quinn. One of the reasons she had come on this journey was to try to spark things back up with Quinn. But was fate trying to tell her to move on?

"Professor," Rembrandt said. "What time is it?"

"Oh my God!" Arturo said. "We need to hurry and get to the Lamplighter before Wade starts to worry."

"Let's go," Rembrandt said, grabbing his coat.

"Quinn," Arturo said, opening the door to Quinn's room. "We're going to the Lamplighter. If you get tired, meet us there."

"Will do," Quinn said, looking very busy.

She did look upset. What was this world trying to tell her? That there's no reason to go after Quinn? That the whole idea of sliding again was completely crazy? Or did it even matter?

It was just strange to have people recognize her on the street. It had only happened a couple of times, but it was still very foreign to her. After dreaming about fame and riches as a child, she had been knocked back into the reality that she was nothing more than a peon at a computer store.

But was there more for her? This Wade had all of her dreams come true, but was this what she wanted? Did she want a nice, relaxing life in Seattle, or did she want to slide all over the universe with Quinn?

It was all very confusing, and she didn't know why it was coming on so strong.

"I'm sorry," the bartender said to the people entering the bar. "We're closed until 11."

"We're with her," one of the men said, pulling up stools next to Wade.

Wade turned, seeing that Rembrandt and Arturo had joined her.

"Okay," the bartender said. "Do you'll want anything?"

"We're fine," Rembrandt said, as the bartender walked off.

Rembrandt moved in to quietly talk with Wade and the Professor.

"I've already forgotten about this world's time difference," Rembrandt said, smiling. "Do you realize what kind of drunks we look like?"

"I know," Arturo said. "We did get some strange looks from the passers-by."

Rembrandt and Arturo laughed, but they both looked over at Wade.

"What's wrong?" Rembrandt asked.

"It's nothing," Wade said. "I'm just wondering what my life would've been like without sliding."

"I know what you mean," Rembrandt said. "I know I would have never met you guys, and that would've been a tragedy. But I know deep down that I was going to make it big again."

"If you had made it to the Giants' game?" Arturo said, jokingly.

"Maybe," Rembrandt said. "I just needed to get back in the game, and all of my fans would've come back to me."

"I believe you," Wade said, smiling up at Rembrandt.

"Thanks," Rembrandt said, putting his arm around her. "What brought this up for you?"

Wade took a deep breath.

"Apparently I made it big on this world in computers," Wade said. "Really big."

"So you're the Bill Gates of this world?" Rembrandt asked.

"That's about right," Wade said. "And I'm married to one of my high school boyfriends. And it just got me to thinking that I could've been in her shoes if I had stayed put."

"It's not too late," Arturo said. "All that can still happen."

"I don't think so," Wade said. "I tried to settle back down into a normal life, but it just didn't feel right. I guess I'm banished to a life of sliding. When I'm home, I want to slide. But when I'm sliding, I just want to go home."

"It will all work out," Rembrandt said. "You're one of the toughest people I know, and I'm fully confident that you'll adapt to normal life when you're ready."

But, inside, he was worried. Quinn and Wade both had a connection to sliding that they couldn't break. Would the same thing happen to him?

Was he banished to a life of sliding?

"I guess I was a loner," Wade said, discussing her experiences with sliding. "I guess we all were. Our group never really gelled in any way. Quinn was always working on the timer, and Rembrandt and him never really got along."

This all seemed so strange to Rembrandt. Sure, he and Quinn had their troubles during their first year of sliding, but it was never as serious as the problems Wade's group faced.

"It was all about getting home," Wade said. "We were never really concerned with becoming friends, and when we finally started to soften up, we were home."

"That's amazing," Rembrandt said. "Our group got close really fast, and it's strange to think of it any other way."

"I wish I had been in your group," Wade said. "I think I would've been much happier."

Wade fell into Rembrandt's arms, and they embraced.

Suddenly, Quinn entered the bar, looking very annoyed.

"I guess this is this world's version of the Lamplighter," Quinn said, also looking very tired.

"What are you doing here?" Arturo asked. "I thought you were going to work on the timer?"

Quinn held up the partially dismantled timer, and a handful of tools.

"I am," Quinn said with a sarcastic smile on this face.

"So why are you here?" Rembrandt asked.

"The hotel kicked us out," Quinn said.

"You're kidding!" Rembrandt said. "Why would they kick us out?"

"Because I agreed to do it," Quinn said.

"Why would you do that?" Arturo asked, amazed.

"Because they threatened to turn us into some kind of scientific council if I didn't agree to leave immediately," Quinn said.

"Slow down," Rembrandt said. "What happened?"

"Apparently all of our strange activity tipped off that bellboy," Quinn said. "The lamp, the overhead light, and of course, our eyes."

"So they just kicked you out?" Arturo asked.

"Yep," Quinn said. "I told you we should've left the light off, Remmy."

Quinn meant it as a joke, but he was too tired and annoyed to show it.

"Hey," Rembrandt said. "How was I supposed to know that that bellboy would notice all of that stuff?"

"It's okay," Quinn said. "We've fit in on much stranger worlds without a glance. It's going to be okay, though."

"So what are you going to do?" Arturo asked.

"There's a homeless shelter down the street," Quinn said. "I don't want to attract any more attention, so I think we should just stay there for the rest of the slide."

"That's fine with us," Rembrandt said, checking around.

"Okay," Quinn said, handing all of the equipment to Arturo. "I'm going there for a couple hours of sleep. Take care of this stuff, and bring it to me when it's time for me to wake up."

"Sure," Arturo said.

"I swear," Rembrandt said. "This is going to screw up my sleeping habits when we get off this world. It's going to take weeks to get back to usual."

"I know," Arturo said, yawning. "But I think it is safe to go to the shelter now."

"So we can get some sleep while Quinn works?" Rembrandt said, trying to force a smile.

"Yes," Arturo said, tiredly nodding.

"What time is it?" Arturo asked, trying to open his eyes.

"It's dark again," Quinn said with a smile. "You guys slept for a long time."

"Oh my," Arturo said. "Where were you?"

"I was just checking this place out," Quinn said, biting into an apple. "It's just as fascinating as I thought."

"Did you get tired of working on the timer?" Arturo said, slowly pulling himself up."

"No," Quinn said, smiling. "I finished that up hours ago."

"My God," Arturo thought. "He's done it to me again."

"After clearing my head, I was able to focus on the real issue," Quinn said. "We were focusing on how long it takes for the timer to get back to full strength."

"That's right," Arturo said. "And it takes 48 hours."

"Correct," Quinn said. "But we should've been wondering how much power is really required to safely activate the vortex."

"You mean it's possible to open the vortex when it's not fully charged?" Arturo said.

"It is," Quinn said. "It won't be a smart thing to do every time, but it should work without causing any permanent damage to the timer."

"And you're confident it won't reset the timer?" Arturo asked.

"Almost positive," Quinn said.

"And how long do you think it will take to charge up to that level?" Arturo asked.

"Six hours," Quinn said. "So, we should be able to leave each world six hours after we land."

"That's great news," Arturo said.

"I know," Quinn said. "And if we need to rest the timer or want to explore a little more, we can leave any time between six and 48 hours."

"So we can leave this world now?" Arturo asked.

"As soon as those two wake up," Quinn said, pointing to Rembrandt and Wade.

"Oh," Quinn said. "Look who's finally up."

"What time is it?" Wade asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It doesn't matter," Rembrandt said. "Quinn found out a way to let us leave early."

"That's great," Wade said, still partially asleep.

"So we're planning on leaving in a few minutes," Quinn said. "Just as soon as you're up and about."

"Great," Wade said, forcing herself to get up.

Rembrandt grabbed Wade some coffee, and he sat back down with her.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave?" Rembrandt said. "I thought you said you were curious about this world."

"I am," Wade said, looking at Quinn from afar. "But I realized that I just need to focus on the present right now. Whatever happens in the future I'll worry about when it comes."

"That's my girl," Rembrandt said, pulling Wade up. "So we're ready to go?"

"Let's go for it," Wade said.

"We're ready?" Quinn asked, gathering the group of four together.

"Wait," Rembrandt said. "Are we going to just do this inside the building?"

"Remmy," Quinn said. "I'm sick and tired of trying to fit in on this world. We're different, and they're just going to have to deal with it."

Rembrandt shook his head and smiled.

"You're the boss, Q-Ball," Rembrandt said with a smile.

Quinn crossed his fingers, and he activated the timer.

"Normal?" Arturo asked.

"Looks perfect," Quinn said, checking the timer for any strange readings. "I think we're good."

Arturo bowed, and he jumped inside. Quinn proudly held the timer up, befor jumping inside himself.

"Let's go, Wade," Rembrandt said, noticing Wade looking around. "You're future is this way."

"I know," Wade said, smiling.

Rembrandt and Wade jumped inside, and the vortex closed, leaving a group of nocturnal humans in awe.