Chapter 1: Earth Prime Rembrant Brown literally flew through the wormhole. He felt like his entire body was about to fly apart, just like Colin's had a few months before. It was the worst experience of his life, the most pain he had ever felt. He now knew what the Seer had meant. He was sure he would die at any moment, but then he felt the familiar tug of his body emerging from hyperspace. He had no idea how he remained conscious, but somehow he managed to stand. "Ah Hell," he thought to himself as he finally looked around. Kromaggs, dozens of them, had him completely surrounded. He had slid right into a 'Magg mess hall. Some of them had shocked expressions on their faces, most just looked pissed off. All of them who had weapons had them drawn and pointed at Rembrant. "Where did you come from, Human?!" one of them yelled at him. "How did you get this technology?" "Blow it out your ass, you damned maggot," Rembrant snarled. He started to laugh, but the butt end of a Kromagg rifle slamming into his chest not only silenced him, but also knocked the breath out of his lungs. As he leaned up to try and get some air, he came face to face with another rifle. This time, it was the more dangerous end. "I'll ask you one last time, human," the Kromagg said, leaning down to meet the black man's gaze, "where did you come from, and how did you gain access to a transdimensional portal?" Rembrant looked around for a second, trying to get his bearings and hoping a plan would come, but it was no use. There was nothing he could do. The virus should have worked already, but if it had he couldn't tell. He knew he was about to die, and as that realization came to him, he knew there was only one thing he could say. "You, and every single one of your kind, can go to and burn in Hell!" His laughter returned, but was again cut short by the rifle. This time, however, he was struck in the face. Blood began to drip from a massive cut on his lip and cheek. "Enough of this", said another Kromagg, obviously of a higher rank. "Kill him." Rembrant closed his eyes and begun a prayer, waiting for the end to come. Suddenly all the Kromaggs which had surrounded him began to cough and choke. One by one, they fell to the floor, screaming in agony. In less than a minute, they were all dead. Rembrant stood amid the pile of dead bodies that lay before him, wondering what had taken the virus so long to kick in. With a smile, he touched the wound on his face and chuckled to himself. The virus must have been released when he was struck by the rifle, he realized. He walked out of the building, only to find more bodies. "Little bugs are fast," he thought to himself. He was right. As soon as the virus entered the air it had spread at an exponential rate. In less than two weeks every single Kromagg on the face of his Earth was dead. Those who slid there died shortly after. Some tried to escape by sliding, only to carry the virus with them to other 'Magg-occupied worlds. One of them even tried to return to Kromagg Prime, the new homeworld. Within a few weeks it too was devoid of Kromagg life. In one swift act, the Dynasty had been dealt a fatal blow. Billions of Kromaggs were now dead. As the weeks went by, life began to return to normal on Earth Prime. The old government was restored, and finally all the countries of the world began to unite under their common goals. The government even managed to salvage some of the Kromagg sliding equipment, and began to explore other worlds. Rembrant Brown was a hero, on his Earth and many others. Three months after Rembrant arrived home and saved his world, he found himself walking up the path to a military base, looking for a man he knew all too well. He still did not completely trust the man who had called him a short time before. There was a time when he would have easily killed this man, or at least happily sat back and watched him die. "No," thought Rembrant, "I'm not being fair. It wasn't this man, it was his double. This man is a good person, a decorated hero. He was one of the leaders of the Resistance during the Kromagg occupation, and I have no right to judge him based on the actions of his alternate." This man, who Rembrant was just getting to know and starting to trust was nothing like his double. He had saved countless lives, not taken them away just to save his own. This man had called Rembrant less than an hour ago, saying there was some sort of emergency and that he needed Rembrant's help. As he finally noticed the man he was looking for, Rembrant made his way to him. "Ah, Mr. Brown," the man said with a slightly British accent, "good to see you again. Thank you for your promptness. "Good to see you too," Rembrant replied. "So what the big emergency, General Rickman?" "A few hours ago," he began, "we detected a wormhole entering our reality" "Kromaggs?" asked Rembrant. "No," replied the general. "He was brought here after we picked him up, and after hearing how our world was liberated demanded to see you." "Why?" asked Rembrant. "He says that he knows you, and was quite insistent on seeing you as soon as possible." "Does his story hold up?" asked Rembrant, getting very curious. "Well, we were hoping you could answer that, but we've confirmed this much, he is from this Earth." "Well then, I'd guess I better talk to him," said Rembrant. General Rickman led him down a corridor and stopped at a door. As the general knocked on it, Rembrant could hear it unlock from the inside. A soldier opened the door to reveal what looked like an interrogation room. Before they even entered, Rembrant could hear what sounded like an argument coming from the inside. "I've told you a dozen times, you blistering idiot! I am not a Kromagg spy! Now I demand that you take me to Rem..Mr. Brown! Thank God! Would you kindly explain to these toy soldiers that I am not a damned spy!" Rembrant could not believe his eyes. How could this be? He had seen this very man shot to death right in front of him. "Professor Arturo?" he finally managed to say. "Yes, Mr. Brown, it's me," replied the portly man with a smile on his face. "Thank God I've finally found you. Tell me, where are the others?" "The others?" Rembrant's mind was in a state of shock He couldn't even think straight. "Mr. Mallory and Ms. Welles, of course," replied the professor. "And where the devil is that damned double of mine? It's a good thing the army is here, because I swear when I get my hands on him, it will take the entire Marine Corps to keep me off of him!" "Oh good lord," said Rembrant, finally understanding, "you can't be serious. You mean to tell me we took.." "Of course you took the wrong one, you blistering idiot! You mean to tell me you couldn't tell the difference between myself and that bloody double imposter? Good God, man, it's been almost five years!" "Excuse me," interrupted the general, "but would someone please fill me in as to just what the devil is going on here?" Rembrant had told him all about Professor Arturo. How he had saved an entire world from an asteroid, pointing out penicillin on another, thus stopping a deadly plague, and finally how he had sacrificed his life to save theirs. As Rembrant stood there, looking at a man whom he had long thought to be dead, his eyes filled with tears. "General Angus Rickman," he finally said, I'd like you to meet Professor Maximillian Arturo." Rembrant told his entire story to the professor. He told him about "Colonel" Rickman, and how his double had died saving Quinn's life. He told him how Maggie Beckett had joined them on their quest, and how he and Wade had first made it back to Earth Prime. Professor Arturo listened as Rembrant explained how Quinn was never even from their world, and that he had a brother named Colin and parents that he never knew about. Rembrant continued and told how they had gotten stuck in the Slidecage, and the boy he met there, Jules. His tone changed when he explained how they had lost Quinn and Colin due to Oberon Geiger's experiment with the Combine. When he mentioned Geiger, Rembrant thought he saw something in Arturo, but he begged him to go on. Rembrant finally got to the part about the Seer and Claire and how she had tried to kill them. He told how he had injected himself with the virus so he wouldn't risk anyone else to the Seer's prophecy. "They're still there, professor," he said. "I left them back on that last world." "You didn't have a choice, Rembrant, you have no idea what may have happened if you all had entered that wormhole," the professor comforted him. "If you had all entered, it may have collapsed, killing you all. Or you may have become unstuck, like your friend Colin. And even if you did survive the trip, there's no telling what a room full of Kromaggs may have done if five people had appeared from that vortex instead of one. Don't blame yourself for leaving them behind, my good man. In doing so, you probably saved their lives." "You're right, professor," said Rembrant, "but they're still trapped back there. I just wish there was something I could do. The government has been studying sliding ever since we drove away the Kromaggs, but I still can't trace the wormhole that brought me here." "The answer may be closer than you think, Mr. Brown," the professor replied with a smile. "God knows it took us long enough to figure it out." "Us?" asked Rembrant. Professor Arturo sat back in his chair and begun his story. "After I was left behind," he began, "I immediately tried to unlock the secrets of sliding. I tried to retrace the steps the Quinn Mallory of that world had taken. The government was more than willing to help, after all, they wanted the technology just as badly as I did. There were two people there whom I believe without their help I would still be there today."

"Who were they?" asked Rembrant. "Now brace yourself, Mr. Brown," he began again, "I would probably not be here today if it wasn't for the help of Drs. Steven Jensen and Oberon Geiger." Rembrant laughed at the irony of the situation. The professor continued his story. "We worked for almost two years to create a stable vortex, and when we finally did do it, we began to explore. We went to dozens of parallel Earths, studying the different cultures, learning about the different civilizations, and of course, I was trying to get home. It went along very well until one day something terrible happened. I was sitting with Oberon, playing a game of cards, when he suddenly just exploded. His entire body just de-materialized right before my eyes." "That must have been when the Dr. Geiger we encountered became unstuck," Rembrant realized. "That was my conclusion as well," Arturo added. "He was a good man, it was a terrible loss. Our work continued, minus our dear friend Oberon. After a while we discovered the ability to track wormholes, and I decided it was time to take my leave. I said my goodbyes, and began my journey across the multiverse. I followed your wormhole trail until I finally lost it." "How did you lose it?" "I followed you to a world ruled by Egyptians. I went to the world your trail led to after that, but that was where it ended." "Because we had to save Quinn, we missed our slide and had to use a different timer to escape." "Exactly," Arturo added. "After that, I had no choice. I returned to Azure Gate Bridge world and started again. Only this time, I went backwards. I retraced our original wormhole trail, visiting every world we had previously been to, until I finally made my way here." "That's quite a story, professor," said Rembrant, "but we still have a lot of work to do. Somehow we have to get back to the Seer's world and rescue the others and bring them here." "Not to worry, my good man," said Arturo, "with the equipment I brought with me, and a little luck, I should be able to trace your last slide."