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"Remmy! They're getting closer!" said Maggie as she held on for dear life in the back of the wagon.

"I know! I KNOW!" he replied.

Rembrandt whipped the horses as hard as he could to get them to full speed. He looked over his shoulder to see how fast their pursuers would catch up. He asked Diana, "How much time?"

Diana checked the timer. "Three minutes!"

Mallory looked around. "Should we take our ride through the vortex or pull over?"

Maggie looked over her shoulder, then said to Remmy, "We've got some space. We should be able to stop and slide before they can get to us."

"Sounds good to me, I can't wait to leave this world behind!"

"Remmy, " Mallory said as the wagon was taken off the road, "They only wanted to love us and be our slaves forever. I knew we couldn't stay long but…"

"It may sound good on paper Fog Boy, but it's not good in practice when they're a bunch of simple people on a low tech world. They see four people flying out of a vortex and think they're gods!"

"I don't know," Maggie offered as they disembarked. "Those people act more like obsessed fans of some rock star."

Rembrandt laughed as they walked over near a tree. "Those people don't even come close to some of the people who fell in love with The Crying Man. Some of the fan letters I got would put these people to shame."

"One minute," Diana said as she held the timer out in front of her.

Maggie turned around to see the mob closing in. "Man, they run fast! Why is it we always cut these things so close?"

"Maybe it's some form of multidimensional karma?" Mallory said with a smirk on his face. Maggie just smiled back and gave Mallory a shot in the arm.

Diana counted down the final seconds, "4…. 3…. 2…. 1…"

She activated the timer and their old friend the vortex appeared.

"Let's go!" Maggie said as she jumped in first. Diana and Mallory followed right behind her. Rembrandt turned to see the people had stopped their pursuit at the sight of the vortex.

"Sorry! Were not into the whole worship thing!" he said with a smile… and with that he jumped in.

They stood in awe as the vortex closed behind him.


Rembrandt landed hard on his back. Despite sliding for over six years now, there was a part of him that would always hate the hard landings. At least The Professor cushioned some of those landings for me, Rembrandt thought as he sat up and took a look around.

They had landed in the middle of a suburban street. To Rembrandt's surprise, it was quiet… much more than it should have been. He looked around at the neighborhood, as did the rest of them.

"Talk about your quiet neighborhood," Mallory said as the four of them began to walk down the street.

"Yeah, that's what's bothering me."

"Me too, Remmy. I hope this world didn't have some kind of holocaust or something. It's too eerie a feeling to be the only people around here."

Diana noticed some activity in a nearby house - people peeking out through their blinds. One woman was talking on a phone. Diana told the others, "I think there are people around; they must all be inside."

"Perhaps," Maggie replied, "but what could cause them all to be so scared to come out?"

They also noticed all of the street signs were in Spanish as well as English. Suddenly, the group heard a rumbling of vehicles. They looked ahead to see a group of military-looking jeeps turn the corner and head their way.

"Looks like we're going to get the answer." Mallory replied.
What if you found a portal to a parallel universe? What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds, where it's the same year and you're the same person, but everything else is different? And what if you can't find your way home?

Starring:
Cleavant Derricks as Rembrandt Brown
Kari Wuhrer as Maggie Beckett
Robert Floyd as Mallory
Tembi Locke as Diana Davis




by JToner and Slider_Quinn21
Produced by Q-Ball79 and Chaser9
Story by JToner

Several soldiers disembarked from the jeeps. Maggie immediately noticed they were not wearing US military uniforms. They were of a different style and what stood out the most was the flag of Mexico on the front of them.

Oh man, Rembrandt thought. Another world were the US is at war with Mexico? As long as we don't make any bubble worlds…

Remmy shot a quick look at Maggie, she gave him a weak smile as to let him know she was okay. The Mexican soldiers ran over to them and surrounded them with their guns pointed at them. The Sliders quickly put their hands up, not wanting to offer any reason to be shot right on the spot. One of the soldiers stepped forward and began to speak in English.

"Why, may I ask, are the four of you breaking the curfew? We may not care, but the Germans will kill you!"

"Curfew?" Rembrandt replies. He said that, but the German part of the sentence worried him. That couldn't be good.

"Of course!!! Now get away before they see you!!!!"

The Mexican soldiers began to enter their jeep, when they noticed Maggie. They talked to each other for a while and then approached her. Rembrandt tried to step in front, but he was shoved aside. Mallory tried to attack the driver of the jeep but stopped as soon as the man grabbed his gun.

"Now, I'm sorry to do this, but this is too good an opportunity for us. A German fugitive in our possession!!!" laughed the soldier.

With Maggie struggling to break free, the men placed her in the jeep and quickly drove away, leaving the group alone.

The Sliders gave each other looks of dread. They all huddled closer together to talk.

"I don't know what he meant, but I don't like it one bit," said Mallory.

"You're not the only one, " replied Diana as she looked at Rembrandt. "Remmy, I'm worried. There is something going on here we don't know about. Still, we have to stay cool."

"Right, we'll find a way out of this." Rembrandt said. He had to keep the group calm.

The Sliders walked down the street, as they came across a Mexican woman.

"Do you have a death wish? Come inside, right now!", the woman said with a Spanish accent.

Mallory, Diana, and Rembrandt were apprehensive. This had happened before. It could mean trouble.

"Look, lady, we've got to be moving," Mallory said, trying to hide his fear. This was one strange world.

"Get in the house NOW!" The woman looked afraid as she pointed down the street.

The Sliders looked to where she was pointing to see a van approaching. It was jet black and there was a symbol on the side of it. As it approached, they all saw the symbol and let out a collective gasp. It was the swastika against a red circle; the symbol of the Nazi's.

"Oh my god," Diana said.

"Unbelievable," Rembrandt uttered under his breath. "Kromaggs, Communist world and now Nazis?!"

"This is bad…." said Mallory.

"…Very bad." Diana replied.

The Sliders rushed into the house, seeking shelter. The woman stood by the door as the van passed. It was General Raimus. She was worried. The German land kept inching its way toward her home, threatening to reveal her secret.

They entered the home. While it appeared to be a normal house from the outside, it was very luxurious. There were many chandeliers and large rooms.

"What is this? A palace?" Mallory smirked.

"Almost. By the way, my name is Erica. Erica Tilego." The woman said this as if her guests should've recognized her. She shrugged it off. They didn't know about the curfew, so why would they know her?

Erica walked to the attic for a second, leaving the Sliders in the hallway. After a minute, she returned and led them into a bedroom. There, she pressed a button and the bed rose and attached itself to the wall.

Uncovered by the missing bed was a staircase leading downstairs. The Sliders were glad that they were in such advanced hands. They walked down the stairs to a room. Inside were many Negroes, Japanese, Russians, and Chinese. Also included were many Anglo-Americans. The scene looked like a homeless shelter.

"I apologize for the dirtiness of the place," Erica said.

The Sliders were happy to be off the street. A quick glance at the timer by Diana showed that they had three days on this world. Getting Maggie back in that amount of time wouldn't be easy.


Maggie was taken to the City Hall, which had been turned into the Mexican headquarters. Along the way she discovered she was in San Francisco, thanks to the Golden Gate Bridge. She was led into a police interrogation room by the soldier, who sat down in a chair in front of her.

"Now, you can make this quick and easy," he said to them. "We're sorry to do this, but we have no choice. The Nazis have some of our men that didn't fit into their 'perfect' race. If we don't arrange a way to get them back, they'll die. Now, one of those men is a good friend of mine, and I'll be damned if he'll die if I can help it."

Maggie decided to speak.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Why Miss Beckett, don't you remember what you did?"

"Refresh my memory..."

"You tried to kill General Raimus. They want your head on a silver platter. And we're going to give it to them."

Maggie was worried. This wasn't good at all.

The soldier rose and said, "I'm going to keep you incarcerated till we arrange a meeting with the Germans."

Maggie was taken down stairs to a cell. She began talking to herself about how she might escape.

Suddenly, the prisoner in the cell next to her began to speak.

"There is no way your getting out of here alive," the other prisoner said from across the way. "Those Mexican bastards will kill you if you try. When they threaten you, they mean it!"

"What I'd like to know," said Maggie. "Is how the Nazis are still around and how they and the Mexicans invaded California."

The prisoner snorted, "What's wrong with you? Have you been living under a rock? The Nazis have been a bane to the world ever since they won World War II!"

"Hey, History wasn't my best subject in school," Maggie said, getting up. "Refresh my memory as to how."

"Don't tell me you forgot about June 5, 1944… D-Day?! The whole thing was a disaster! That fool Eisenhower went a day too early and the weather ruined everything! If they'd just waited until the 6th, it probably would have worked. They tried 3 more times and each time the Nazis were ready. Finally we gave up in Europe and went and beat the hell out of Japan. British understood but the Russians damned us to hell. They didn't last much longer, finally surrendered in '47."

"Nazi Germany took over all of Europe?" Maggie asked.

He nodded. "Yep. Then, they came over here. Took over the Northeast pretty easy. Then, they asked the Mexicans for some help. They helped the Nazis finish the job. In return, they split the country up in two equal parts. The Germans got the North and the Mexicans got the South. The Mexis got all of California, originally."

"Then what happened? " Maggie asked.

"A bunch of people began rebelling in Northern California. So, the Germans 'took the land off their hands'. The rebellions kept moving south until they got here. If you ask me, it's just a ruse. That's why I'm in jail. They arrested me for writing a pamphlet that read the truth. I swear, the Mexicans are trying to impress the Germans with their policing skills, so that they won't lose any more land."

Maggie looked restless.

"Just relax. From what I hear, you'll be leaving soon enough."


The next day, Mallory walked the streets. He was close enough to an Aryan to be able to. Although it wasn't curfew, the streets were still deserted. Only a few businessmen were out.

Mallory approached an ATM. He was going to use the trick that Remmy had taught him. He looked at the camera and began entering his information. The machine asked him to press his hand to the plate. Weird but reasonable, he thought. But as Mallory pressed the plate, a glass cage surrounded him. He was in trouble.

Seconds later, a German van came by and opened the cage. He was led into the van. One of the Nazis spoke.

"Trying to cheat the system, son?"

Mallory shook his head.

"Don't lie to me, kid! You're trying to pass as a...Quinn Mallory!"

"I AM Quinn Mallory!"

The Nazi pulled out a computer and showed it to Mallory.

"No, this is Quinn Mallory."

The picture showed a Quinn that looked like Remmy and Maggie's Quinn from Earth Prime. As he saw it, Mallory knew he was in trouble.

"It's been hours! Where can he be?" Diana asked.

"He'll come back. Just give him time." Rembrandt replied.

"I hope you're right, Remmy."

Just then, Erica came down with a Mexican man.

"Rembrandt, this is my husband, Roberto," Erica said.

"Mr. Brown, I'm afraid that I have some bad news. As you may know, I'm the governor of California. Or, what's left of it. The Nazis are taking it so fast. Anyway, your friend's been captured."

"Captured?" Diana asked. She was very scared.

"Yes, by the Germans. Now, I had almost arranged the release of your friend, considering your situation. But, I can't do anything about the German prisons."

"Come on! You've gotta be able to do something!" Remmy said.

A man had been listening to the conversation. He interrupted the talk.

"This may be the time."

"Anderson, not now!" Roberto yelled.

"Time for what?" Diana asked.

"Time for rebellion!" Anderson said proudly.

"Not yet. We don't have the connections yet!" Roberto contested.

"We have to go now! If we don't now, we will be up to our asses in Nazis!" Anderson said.

The overwhelming support for the plan in the room overcame Roberto. He agreed.


The next morning, the "homeless shelter" looked more like an armory. The people inside had been trapped for about a year, going from home to home. Eventually, they hoped to make it to Mexico, where they'd be safe for at least the time being.

Roberto had been working all night, talking to the different Mexicans who had been harboring minorities. He then arranged for the switching of Maggie for Mallory. This didn't go very well with the Mexican soldiers, but they'd live with it. If all went well, then, they'd have their land back.

Roberto entered and began to inform the people of the rebellion's progress.

"Well, men. This is it. We've arranged for the trading of Miss Beckett for Mr. Mallory tomorrow at 3:00. All of the sections will be ready by then. We're going to hit them right as both prisoners are released. From all sides."

He then walked over to Diana. She glanced at the timer. The raid would take place only 15 minutes before the slide.

"We'll bring your friends back here after the raid's over," Roberto said.

"I'm sorry Mr. Tilego, but that's not possible," Diana said. "We have to leave right after it happens."

"That's all right, because the transfer will be done in our part of town. You won't be caught there."

Diana felt better. It seemed as if everything was falling into place.


Maggie awoke from a very vivid dream she was having, where the Nazis were torturing her and she was eventually shot in the back.

Her jail cell door opened and the Mexican soldier entered.

"Well, this is your last day in here. Tomorrow, you're going to your new home."

"Thanks for the hospitality," Maggie added sarcastically.

"Well, this damn thing isn't working out too well for us, either. The governor has worked it out so that one of his friends is saved. That bastard will pay for that. So, now, I don't care if you die."

Maggie was worried. She was either going to die here or in the hands of the Germans. She almost preferred the former.

·          ·          ·

At 10:30PM, the night before the attack, Roberto entered the shelter in an angry mood. He approached Diana and Rembrandt with some bad news.

"I'm sorry to have to say this guys, but they've moved the site of the exchange. Now, it's going to take place in the German part of town."

"Whatever the risk is, we'll take it. We have to save our friends." Rembrandt added confidently.

"As you wish. I hope that 'never say die' attitude will help you here."

"I do too, Mr. Tilego."


In the morning, the mass-movement began. The groups wouldn't be able to work together, so the entire operation had to work without fail. The timing had to be perfect, or it would be a failure.

Rembrandt, Diana and the hideaways made their way to a sewer system around the place where the exchange would take place. It was very early, but they still had to be careful. There were German secret agents everywhere.

In the sewer, Anderson began to talk to Rembrandt.

"So, tell me about your world. You say that the Allies won World War II?"

"Yeah. D-Day was a success and it eventually ended Germany's power."

"So, that was it. That one battle could've won it. Makes me pretty mad when I think that I could've been born on your Earth."

"Trust me. You wouldn't want to be on my Earth. It was overrun too."

"By who? The Russians? The Japanese?"

"You don't want to know..."

Anderson looked at his watch and told everyone to stay quiet. The sun would be up soon. It was time to get ready.


Maggie looked at the clock over the door in the room. It said that it was 2:37. It was then that Roberto showed up.

"Hello, Miss Beckett. My name is Roberto Tilego. I am the governor of the province of California. I apologize for having to do this."

"Well. I understand. You guys are the lesser of two evils here." Maggie said sarcastically. She was ready to die now. She wasn't afraid of anything.

As they walked down the hallway towards the limo, Roberto explained the situation.

"Miss Beckett, I'm here to save you. Your friends are at the meeting place. Your friend, Diana, says it's almost time to go."

"Why are we going to the exchange place?" Maggie asked.

"Things are a little more complicated than you think."

The soldier watched the two pass. He had to get his revenge. Because of the governor's change, his friend would probably die.

He walked over to the man who was supposed to escort the governor, knocking him out. He was going to get his revenge after all. He joined Maggie and Roberto as they entered the limo.

"It should all work out very well." Roberto said, as he finished explaining the plan to Maggie.

"Sounds like it" Maggie responded.
·          ·          ·

The limo was almost to the German part of town, when the soldier decided to take action. He made it look like he had dropped a pen and reached down to grab it. While on the ground, the soldier grabbed a knife and stabbed the governor in the side.

Seeing what happened, Maggie kicked the soldier in the face, knocking him down. The Mexican stopped the car immediately, throwing both Maggie and the soldier into the side of the car. Maggie and the soldier struggled on the ground until the soldier took advantage and grabbed his knife.

Right as he was going to stab Maggie, he was shot...by the driver.

"Señor!!!" the driver exclaimed.

"Estoy bién. Tiene que manejar. Ahora!" responded Roberto.

The driver, worried, resumed his drive towards the meeting place. Maggie asked the governor how he was doing.

"I'm fine. It's not too deep," responded the governor.

"We've got to get you to a hospital!" Maggie said.

"No, this is too...important."

Roberto was hurting. But he simply put his sports coat on so the wound couldn't be seen. He was determined to go through with the plan.

The Nazi van holding Mallory stopped by the San Francisco Bay. Mallory walked out, escorted by two armed Nazis and General Raimus. There were three other vans, full of Nazi soldiers. Roberto walked clumsily out of the limo, along with Maggie and the driver.

As the two groups approached each other, Anderson and company were about to attack. Four groups would disable the van, while the others would take Raimus.

Roberto reached Raimus and they shook hands. A Nazi grabbed Maggie and pulled her towards the Nazi van, while the Mexican driver took Mallory. But Raimus kicked Roberto right in his stab wound and pulled out a gun. Anderson saw this and shot Raimus in the leg.

Suddenly, the war was on. People swarmed from all around, shooting the Nazis trying to escape from the van. Mallory ran and grabbed Maggie, while Rembrandt came to bring them back to the sewer.

While he passed Raimus, struggling to crawl back to his gun, Rembrandt stared him down.

"What do you want, you Negro? We Aryans are better than you. Superior. You will die when this reaches Germania!!!" Raimus screamed.

Rembrandt kicked Raimus in the face. Anderson soon ran and dragged him to the vans that were now in the rebels' control.

"That worked out well!" Rembrandt said.

Anderson looked down at Raimus' unconscious body.

"Yeah, but the war's just beginning. But at least we have our prisoner."

Maggie hugged Rembrandt and Diana.

Rembrandt asked Anderson, "Why don't you come with us? I'm sure we could find a world that suits you more."

"No," Anderson replied, "I'd like to see how this works out. You never know, it could be fun."

Diana looked at the timer. Two more minutes.

"Well, guys. Two minutes. Anything else you want to see?" Diana asked.

"No, I think I've seen enough of this world," Maggie responded.

"Yeah," Mallory added. "When are we ever going to reach 'Paradise World'?"

"Endless possibilities, Mallory!" Rembrandt exclaimed.

"That's right!" Diana said as she activated the timer. Rembrandt, Maggie, Diana, and Mallory jumped inside the vortex, and Anderson watched it close.
·          ·          ·

"Endless possibilities, huh? Paradise world? I do NOT call this Paradise!" Mallory yelled angrily.

"It could be worse," Rembrandt said, as Mallory sat a jail cell.

"They could've sentenced you to death!" Rembrandt said, laughing.

The End

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