Episode 10: "Slide Override."

Quinn stood, staring out at the vast landscape that stretched out before him. The mountains in the distance seemed shrouded in mist, the peaks covered in pure white snow. The valley below was filled with lush green grass and trees; exotic plants were the final touch to its beauty. The last few weeks of peace and relaxation had been welcomed. Ever since the raid Diana and himself had been working on unlocking the hidden code within the co-ordinates while the others enjoyed this peaceful, untouched world.

He turned as footsteps came up from behind him and smiled as Maggie appeared. She silently came to his side and looked out with him at the scenery. The sun shone down, shimmering on the surface of the nearby river, the still surface being disturbed while joyous laughs and shouts could be heard.

Maggie smiled. "Rembrandt, Mallory, and Wade are trying to catch some fish down by the river. With a little luck they might even catch a few in time for lunch."

"I'm glad that they've taken the time to enjoy themselves. They sure deserve it."

"Have you seen Wade?" Quinn shook his head 'no'. "She asked earlier if she could borrow one of my tops. It's the first time that she has worn a top with no sleeves."

Quinn smiled his understanding. Ever since she had recovered Wade was too self conscious to show her arms and reveal the scars from the Kromagg experiments. But now it seemed that she was finally gaining the courage. "I'm glad. She's been through so much … maybe even more than the rest of us." He sighed. "What about Diana?"

"Diana is down by the river also, but is keeping well clear of the water, while she works on her PDA. When I spoke to her last she mentioned that you both were really close to unlocking the code."

Quinn nodded. "We've almost got it, I'm sure of it. We might even figure it out before we slide from here in a day's time." Turning to face her Quinn leaned in close and they shared a kiss. Placing his arm around her waist they walked down the side of the hill and towards the others.

On Kromagg Prime…

Amanda and Michael Mallory walked down the long corridor of the Counter-Kromagg Defence Base and headed for the Equipment Room. As soon as the sensors in the Control Room had picked up that an unauthorised person had entered the room they knew who it was. It did not take them long to reach the room, and after pausing for a moment, they entered. They watched as Colin walked around the room, unaware that they were there, picking up a timer from the shelf.

"Amanda…" Michael cut her off as she was about to go up to him. "He has to do this."

"But … but he still needs time to recover."

"He has recovered. It has been almost two months since we phased him back into his normal state. Just look at him…"

Amanda turned to look at her son. He had completely changed from when he first slid onto their world. His face had regained its youth, his hair had gradually turned back to a vibrant brown, and he was generally a whole lot better.

"I just…" She tried to stop the tears in her eyes. "I just can't bare to loose him again!"

"I know." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Hearing the slight sobbing sound Colin looked up and almost jumped as he saw them. "Mum! Dad!"

Michael let her go and moved to him. "You don't have to say anything. I know that you have to go and search for your friends and Quinn. Just be careful ok." As Colin nodded he turned and picked up a strange device from the shelf. "This is a signature tracker. We will program into it Quinn's distinctive quantum signature. When you arrive at an Earth you should be able to tell if Quinn has passed through. If he has you will be able to track his wormhole and eventually catch up with him."

"Thank you, Dad."

"Just remember to return before your timer completely burns out. This can happen sooner rather than later as you are sliding at will."

Amanda stayed silent for a long time and then finally went up to Colin. Reaching out she pulled him in close and hugged him tight. "Promise me. Promise me that you will come back!"

Colin sighed. "I will Mum … we both will." Turning Colin picked up the last of the equipment that he needed and then followed his parents as they went to program the Quantum Signature Tracker. "Where ever you are brother, I hope that you are safe. Just hold on a little longer … until I can find you."…

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:

Jerry O' Connell as Quinn Mallory

Cleavent Derricks as Rembrandt Brown

Sabrina Lloyd as Wade Welles

Kari Wuhrer as Maggie Beckett

Robert Floyd as Mallory

And Tembi Locke as Diana Davis

… Sliders!

A small transparent distortion suddenly appeared in mid air and soon began to form into a bright silver green vortex. The air around the portal shimmered slightly and hummed so silently that it was almost unheard. A bright flash of light erupted and Colin lightly stepped out of the vortex and landed onto the ground. The gateway quickly closed behind him as he turned to escape the shocked faces from the people in the busy street.

Colin made his way down the street and then took out his Quantum Signature Tracker. The device began to search for any sign of Quinn but after a long time it turned out negative. "… So, Quinn has never been to this world."

Placing the device back into his pocket Colin reactivated the timer. A stream of energy shot out, hitting the air right in front of him, and opening up the vortex. The vortex formed faster than a normal wormhole and soon Colin had stepped through it … on to another Earth.

Rembrandt laughed. He couldn't believe it when he stared at the four medium sized fish that was lying on the hot grass beside the river. It had taken them all a long time but they had finally managed to catch enough fish to make a meal, even if it was nearing dinner rather than lunch. He turned and smiled as he saw Wade and Mallory in the middle of a water fight.

"Mallory! I swear to God if you … ah!" Wade was cut off as Mallory had swam underneath her and dragged her below the surface. They both came up spluttering but laughing hysterically. "Mallory!"

Mallory smiled and swam away from Wade as she shouted light threats of getting him back. "I can't see that happening!" He laughed.

"At least I have another top to change into!"

"No problem. The sun will dry my clothes out."

Maggie laughed at the pair from the grass and then turned to see Quinn sigh heavily. They were sitting under the shade of a large oak tree while Diana and himself were trying to unlock the code. Diana sighed also and rubbed her eyes.

"Go on." Said Quinn. "Take a break."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. You've been working really hard. Go on, enjoy yourself a little."
Diana smiled and then handed over her PDA to Quinn. She then went to join the others by the river. Quinn stared at the co-ordinates … but he was no closer to finding a solution. "This is impossible! I just can't do it!"

"You can Quinn." Replied Maggie. "Just take it slow. Break it down piece by piece and you'll find it."

He shook his head. "I remember what my parents told me. They said that only Colin and I could unlock the code. Without him…" He sighed.

"So … only together could you uncover the code?"

"Right."

"Well … he's not your brother…" Maggie turned to the river. "But he is a Mallory."

Quinn looked up and followed her gaze. "Maggie! You're a genius!" He smiled and the kissed her on the cheek. Getting up he called out to Mallory.

Mallory stopped in the middle of splashing water all over Wade as he heard Quinn.

"That can't be right." Smirked Wade. "Quinn calling you for help. He must be desperate."
"Ha ha, very funny." Smiled Mallory, splashing her again. He waded his way out of the river and then headed over to Quinn. "What's up?"

"My parents said that only Colin and I could unlock the hidden code within the co-ordinates." He looked up at Mallory. "But since you're an alternate of myself…"

"… Then I might be able to help you unlock it."

"Exactly."

Mallory shook the water out of his ear. "Well … I'm no genius but I'll give it a shot." He sat down beside him as Quinn explained what he had gathered so far.

"Yes!" Colin exclaimed loudly. He smiled as the tracking device beeped, having found traces of Quinn's quantum signature on the Earth that he had just arrived at. From the looks of things the traces seemed to be several months old. "At least it's a start … now for the hard part."

Taking out another device from his pocket Colin searched the area for the remnants of a photon trail of a vortex. There were many gateways that had been activated from here in the last six months but only one that contained traces of Quinn's unique signature.

Inputting the destination co-ordinates of the photon trail into the timer he then set the timer to continue tracking that particular configuration of the vortex. "This could take a while. I better get a new timer before this one burns out." Saving the co-ordinates he then inputted the special co-ordinates of Kromagg Prime and returned home.

A fire burned brightly on the campsite as one by one the Sliders retired and went to sleep. Soon only Mallory and Quinn were left awake, denying themselves any sleep until they made some sort of breakthrough. A million stars shone brightly above them, a vast contrast to the haze that was constantly over a city's view. But out here in the open they could see everything without noise or pollution to get in their way.

Mallory yawned. "I can't believe we can't see it."

Quinn nodded. "I just don't understand. Maybe I'm looking at it too scientifically, maybe it's not some complicated algorithm but just a simple pattern."

"Well, if it is I still can't see it." Mallory moved back from the screen. "Wait a minute. Your parents said that only you and Colin could unlock the code … but have you really thought about why that really is. It can't just be because of some super complicated code that only the two of you could work out otherwise the Kromaggs might have as well."

"Can't argue with that … wait a second…" Quinn stared at the co-ordinates. "Mallory! You've done it!"

Mallory stared at him, puzzled. "I have?"

"That's the puzzle! 'Only Colin and I can unlock the code.' She did not mean us physically but our names." He turned and tapped onto the PDA: 'Quinn / Colin'. "If I displace the letters for numbers I.E a=1 then our names will separately add up to 75 and 53!"

"So that's the code! 7553."

"I just have to add it to the last digits of the co-ordinates! We've done it!"
The two turned to each other and high-fived. The noise caused the others to stir but they did not wake.

"Let's get some sleep." Smiled Mallory. "The only way we'll find out if it works is the slide tomorrow."

"I hope so." Replied Quinn. "I hope so."

The next morning the Sliders rose up early to prepare for the Slide. Diana marvelled as Mallory related to her how they had hopefully worked it out. "I can't believe it was so simple!"

"Me neither. It was that line that done it. The fact that only Quinn and Colin could unlock the code. It was hidden in their names all along."

Diana checked the timer's display. "It's almost time!" She called out to the others.

Quinn, Wade, Rembrandt, and Maggie stood nearby, apprehensive.

"This could be the end of our journey, Q-ball." Reflected Rembrandt.

"I hope so Remmy. We've been sliding for so long that I thought that we would never accomplish our goals. But somehow we have. And now that it is coming to an end … it feels … I can't put words to it."
Wade smiled. "Once we finish off the Maggs we can finally go…" Wade's smile faded as she thought about what she was saying."

"I know what you're thinking Wade." Sighed Quinn.

Maggie nodded. "It's kind of been on my mind too, though probably not as much as the others. After my home was destroyed my home was with you guys now, wherever that took me. But…"

"… After all this is over." Continued Wade. "Is home back on Earth Prime … or with your parents?"

Quinn stood silently for a while. The activation of the vortex broke the awkward silence. "I don't know Wade. I really haven't thought about it yet." He turned and walked towards the newly formed gateway. "Well … here goes nothing!" He ran forward and jumped into the swirling silver blue vortex.

The others took a deep breath and then followed closely behind.

Kromagg Prime…

"Huh?" A Technician turned as a signal appeared on his monitor.

"What is it?" Asked Michael.

"It seems to be a wormhole…" He checked the data. "I haven't got confirmation of the quantum signatures yet … oh no! It's a Kromagg configuration gateway!"

"Re-route it! Quickly!"

The Technician nodded and then started the procedure to redirect the wormhole to another Earth.

Amanda soon arrived at the Main Control Room as she heard the commotion. "Could the Kromaggs have discovered how to slide through the Slide Field?"

"I don't know." Michael replied. "For now we just have to assume the worse."

Between worlds…

Quinn followed the various fast twists and turns of the gateway as he was propelled forward. With every moment the hope rose higher within him. This had to be it. He was going home. He soon saw the bright white light up ahead that signalled the end of the vortex and smiled even more. Suddenly the exotic matter all around him began to shift and the bright light vanished as he was pulled in an entirely new direction. The new path wound its way forward and soon he was thrown from the vortex.

Quinn landed roughly on the hard floor of a room and then slowly came to his feet. "What just happened?"

The others soon joined him on the floor and then groaned as the vortex closed.

"Is it just me or did that vortex feel funny to anyone else?" Asked Rembrandt.

"Yeah." Winced Maggie. "We were going along one way and then were totally pulled in a completely new direction."

Diana slowly got onto her feet and then checked the timer. "Quinn…"

"I know." He replied. "This isn't Kromagg Prime."

The others looked around. "Then where are we?" Asked Wade.

"It doesn't matter. The co-ordinates were correct … but were changed somehow. Something overrode the exit and re-routed us here."

"Then I guess we have to find out why." Sighed Diana.

Maggie looked on as Quinn's expression turned to one of sadness. He had really hoped that they had finally made it.

Rembrandt, Wade, Mallory, and Diana looked up from their table beside the bar as they spotted Maggie coming over to them.

"How's Quinn?" Asked Diana.

"Doing ok. He's literally taking apart the timer to see if there is a fault with it." She sighed. "I think he knows that it is not a problem on our part but he wants to check nonetheless."

Rembrandt sipped his beer. "So how long do we have here anyway? We've taken a look outside and the people here aren't really that friendly. Seems that they have just come out of a civil war between two religious groups. Religion is very big in this place."

"Long enough." Sighed Maggie. "Over 72 hours."

"Well I say we just stay put right here and stay well away from any religious people." Stated Mallory. "We don't want to be pulled into any riots or anything."

Rembrandt nodded. "Definitely."
"Well I better go and lend a hand." Smiled Diana. Finishing her drink she went back upstairs with Maggie.

Colin was on the verge of exhaustion. His last stretch of sliding had lasted longer than 18 hours. In that time he had been to so many worlds that he had lost count. His head was dazed with the different sights, people, and scenery that he had seen. But the one constant spurned him on. He was close. With each slide Quinn's quantum signature was growing more distinct. It would not be long before he had catched up with them.

Colin rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He knew that he should return home and get some rest. But the next world … it could be the last one. The one with Quinn. Raising his tired arms he opened the gateway once more and half stumbled half ran forward, disappearing in a bright flash of light.

"Quinn?"

Quinn looked up as Maggie and Diana entered the room. "Hey, guys. The timer's fine. It was something else."

"Could it have been the slide field?" Suggested Diana.

"Or it might not be the right code." He shook his head. "But it has to be. Every other possibility is a dead end."

"Then someone must have turned the vortex away for some reason." Said Maggie.

"Turned it away?" Realisation dawned in Quinn's eyes then he hit his head. "Of course! We have the right co-ordinates … but the timer is Kromagg in origin. Anyone that must have detected this must have seen that!"

"So how do we get to Kromagg Prime?"

"…"

"The only way might be to build a new timer." Sighed Diana. "Otherwise we won't be able to slide -" Diana was cut off as a distortion suddenly appeared right in front of them. "A wormhole!"

Maggie instantly looked around and broke off a leg of a chair to use as a weapon. "Watch out!"

There was a bight flash of light and then a body flew out of the wormhole and then onto the ground. "It's not a Kromagg…" Said Diana. Maggie put the chair leg down.

Quinn move from around the table and went to help the Slider up. "Hey are you…" He froze. Maggie put a hand to her mouth as she recognised who it was. "Colin!"

Colin looked up with wide eyes and stared at them. "Quinn! Maggie!"

"Colin!"
The two brothers hugged as Maggie ran to join them. "We thought you were dead!" She almost cried.

"The last slide … it lead me to Kromagg Prime!" Colin turned to Quinn. "Our parents found me and returned me back to normal!"

"Mum … Dad … they're safe?"

He nodded. "For the last few days I've been trying to find you."

Diana smiled and then ran out of the room to get the others.

"Looks like you've picked up a few new passengers along the way." Smiled Colin.

"A lot has happened. At the same time that you were made unstuck I was merged into an alternate of mine."

Colin looked at Quinn in shock. "What happened?"

"There's plenty of time to go over that later." He looked down to the timer. "Can we…?"

"Yeah. We can slide right now."

The room burst open and Diana reappeared followed by Rembrandt, Mallory, and Wade.

"Farm boy!" Exclaimed Rembrandt. He ran forward and embraced his friend.

Mallory and Wade stood to one side with Diana, smiling as the quartet were reunited.

"I think a quick introduction is in order." Smiled Colin.

Rembrandt nodded. "This here is Mallory."

"Mallory? The alternate?"

Mallory nodded. "That's me."
"And you must be Wade." Smiled Colin.

Wade smiled. "It's good to meet you Colin. I can see the family resemblance." Wade turned to Diana. "And this is Diana."

"Nice to meet you." She smiled.

"Well … what are we waiting for?" Joked Mallory. "Kromagg Prime … here we come!"

Colin nodded and then activated his timer. The air began to shimmer as the distortion quickly opened and a silver green vortex formed. As soon as the vortex was stabilised Colin turned back to Quinn. "They've missed you … missed us both a lot."

Quinn nodded. "I'm finally going home." With that he ran forward with is brother at his side, both disappearing into the vortex. Maggie, Rembrandt, Diana, Wade, and Mallory followed closely behind. The prospect of there journey being almost over elating them with pure joy.

The gateway soon came to an end and they emerged into the middle of a large room. Quinn scanned the entire room, past the people who had gathered there, until he found the pair that he was looking for.

"Mum! Dad!"

"Quinn!" Amanda and Michael rushed forward and held him close.

"… I'm finally home."

End.