Chapter 34:
The portal opened and the trio fell out of it and onto the ground. They stood up and Michael looked at the timer.
"Well, according to this, a wormhole just opened on this world before we landed, meaning Quinn and the others might be here!" Michael said.
"Cool! We haven't seen them since that business with Professor Arturo." Sam said.
"I guess we should go to the Dominion Hotel." Rebecca said.
"They're probably heading there too." Michael said.
Quinn, Wade, Professor Arturo, Rembrandt, Maggie and Colin walked up to the hotel and looked at the sign.
"The Royal Bennish Hotel?" Professor Arturo asked. "As in Conrad Bennish?"
"Our Conrad Bennish?" Wade asked.
"He's the resident stoner on almost every world! How does he own a hotel?" Quinn asked.
"Let's just a get a room and not think about it too much." Maggie said.
Michael, Rebecca and Sam walked up to the hotel and to the front desk.
"Excuse us, has a large group checked in, probably under the name Mallory or Brown?" Michael asked.
"Yes they have. They're in the main Bennish Suite." the man at the front desk said. "Shall I ring them up?"
"Yeah, tell them that they've got visitors." Michael said, as they walked away to the elevator.
"Bennish Suite?" Rebecca asked. "Like Agent Bennish, from our world?"
"I guess on this world he owns hotels. Good for him." Sam said.
The trio walked up to the suite and knocked on the door. Rembrandt opened it and smiled.
"Hey guys! Great to see you! Quinn, Professor! It's Michael, Sam and Rebecca!" Rembrandt shouted.
"Really? The guy at the desk just called and said we'd have visitors but I didn't expect it to be them!" Quinn said. "Finally tracked another wormhole?"
"Yep!" Michael said. "How long you guys got here?"
"Two days, you?" Colin said.
"Two days!" Michael said.
"Hey guys?" Wade asked from the other room.
"What is it?" Professor Arturo asked.
"You might want to see this." Maggie said.
The group walked into the other room and gathered around the television. They stared at the screen, mouth agape.
"President Bennish has announced that we have finally beaten our enemies in Australia. It's been a long war, but they've finally been conquered." the newscaster said.
"President Bennish?" Arturo shouted. "President?!"
"How did he become President?" Quinn asked.
"Also, President Bennish has announced that he's running unopposed for a seventh term." the newscaster said. "He has been President since 1996 when he was able to use his knowledge of the atomic bomb that was previously thought to be a failure to take over the country." the newscaster said.
"Oh my god." Arturo said, sitting down.
"What's wrong Professor?" Sam asked.
"I had a feeling of deja vu when we landed, but that happens a lot when you're a slider. But now I know that it's true deja vu. We have been here before." Arturo replied.
"Atomic bomb... this can't be that world!" Quinn said.
"But it is, Bennish had the plans, he stole them from me before we left. I thought I took them, but before we left and I checked my jacket, they were gone." Arturo said. "I didn't think he'd go this far."
"Well, we have to get a meeting with him." Wade said.
"Looks like that'd be easy, Professor." Rembrandt said. "According to his website, he's going to be coming to San Francisco tomorrow."
"That's oddly convenient." Michael said.
"Not really, it says that he's coming to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the asteroid almost destroying the Earth." Rembrandt said. "Wow, almost twenty years we've been doing this."
"Yeah. And so much has happened since then." Wade said.
"No time to be sentimental, we need to meet with Bennish tomorrow." Arturo said.
"Agreed." Rebecca said.
Arturo and the group walked into the office that Bennish was using during his time in California and walked up to the secretary.
"We're here to see President Bennish." Arturo said.
"He's not taking visitors." the secretary said.
"Tell him that Professor Maximillian Arturo and friends are here." Arturo said.
The secretary walked into the office, and emerged a few seconds later.
"Go right in, Professor." she said.
The group walked in, and the chair in the back of the room swiveled around to reveal Conrad Bennish Jr., looking pretty much the same as he did the last time the original Sliders saw him, just 19 years older and in a suit.
"Mr. Bennish. It's been a long time." Arturo said.
"Max! Great to see you again! You just disappeared after the asteroid was destroyed! I've been wondering where you went for the past twenty years!" Bennish said.
"Right. We've been... traveling. And I returned to find that you took over the planet?" Arturo asked.
"Not the planet, just The Americas and Australia." Bennish said.
"You blistering idiot! That technology was designed for good, and you used it for personal gain!" Arturo shouted.
"Calm down, dude. I just used it to become President, and Australia started developing their own weapons so we had to unite together. I didn't force anyone to join the U.S." Bennish said.
"Bennish, that doesn't matter! You're better than this!" Quinn said.
"Mr. Mallory, I don't believe that we're going to get through to him. Let's go." Arturo said.
The group sat in the hotel room, occupying themselves until the slide.
"Well, we win some and we lose some." Sam said.
"I've made a decision." Arturo said. "I'm staying here to fix my mistake."
"You can't do that, Professor!" Quinn said. "You just got back with us!"
"I ruined this world, and so I must rectify my mistake. I will stay here and get Bennish out of power." Arturo said.
"Professor!" Wade said.
"I've made my decision. You will slide without me." Arturo said.
"Professor? We might have something that could change your mind." Michael said.
"Nothing can change my mind." Arturo said.
"Not even, the chance to get home?" Rebecca asked.
"Home?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah, we found it a while back." Michael said.
"Are you sure it's home?" Rembrandt asked.
"We're pretty sure." Sam said.
"Why aren't you there?" Wade asked.
"We got there, but in the future. The Kromaggs have time travel." Michael said.
"We gave our world a Manta Ship to use to defeat them. But we can't go back and interfere with it, since time travel and all. We have to wait to return." Rebecca said.
"But you guys don't. You can go back right after this slide." Sam said.
"This is really it?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah." Michael said.
"What about Colin and Maggie?" Rembrandt asked.
"We'll stick around on your world, maybe you can build a better controlled timer eventually, but we'd like to settle down somewhere." Maggie said.
"Agreed." Colin said.
"Then I guess we're going home, how about it Professor?" Wade asked.
"I guess we win some and lose some. Let's go home!" Arturo replied. Everyone started cheering.
Quinn held the timer in his hand. He turned around and looked at the group, Wade, Rembrandt, Professor Arturo, Maggie and Colin. They were all going home.
"Ready guys?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah." Wade said, tears in her eyes.
"Why are you crying, girl?" Rembrandt asked. "We're finally going home!"
"I know. They're tears of joy." Wade said.
"Good luck guys. Tell them that me and Sam aren't gone forever." Michael said.
"Godspeed." Sam said.
"Thank you three, for everything you've done." Arturo said. "We are forever in your gratitude."
"Return to your lives. That's all we ask." Rebecca said.
"We will." Quinn said, turning the timer on and the portal opened.
"Goodbye!" Colin said, as he and Maggie leapt into the portal.
"One last time, for old time's sake?" Quinn asked.
"Let's go!" Wade shouted as the four original Sliders ran into the portal together. The portal closed and Michael checked his timer.
"Well, it's time for us to depart as well." Michael said.
"Well, we did it, gave them what they wanted. Now the only world we need to find is mine." Rebecca said as the portal opened.
"Then we better start looking!" Sam shouted as they jumped into the portal.
To Be Continued...