The wind of the ocean gently blew the sand of a pleasant beach down the coast, and rustled the leaves of the trees more inland. Seabirds cried out in the distance. Small waves pushed into the beach, then back out to the warm sea. The sun was high and bright in the sky.
A violently red portal slowly opened a few feet off the ground in the sky above the beach, and within seconds, two men in ratty grey and white long-sleeved shorts and pants tumbled out, spinning into the sand. The sand filled up the insides of their clothes and stuck to their faded blue undershirts, then started to fill their brown shoes.
Seconds later, two women spilled out and onto the sand, rolling to a stop in front of the two men. The woman in the sleeveless yellow t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers spit out a mouthful of sand, while the other brushed it off of her large white shirt, grey pants, and black slippers.
"Incoming!" an older man's voice shouted out, and everyone scattered before the thudding arrival of a third man, whose black slacks and shoes, as well as blue t-shirt, were a bit too dark to see the sand upon them, but whose grey jacket turned almost brownish orange from the roll.
Brushing off the sand, the Professor looked to the portal with worry, hoping against hope that their final companion would make it. Mary and Wade stood to look into the vortex, and Jules helped Thomas up to watch as well.
Thankfully, the new sound of a deep-voiced man shouting in surprise began to fill the air, and in no time, Colin emerged from the vortex, straight into the arms of the Professor. The strength of his arrival pushed both to the sand below as the Professor used his body to cushion the fall. The barrier box strapped to Colin's chest pushed into the Professor painfully, until Colin rolled over to meet the beach.
"You guys ok?" Wade asked, kneeling between them. The Professor nodded, at first looking over at Colin in concern, but relief washed over his face when he saw the other man's sheepish smile. "I thought I'd never do that again," Colin admitted, then pushed himself off of the sand. He reached a hand down to the Professor, and with Wade's help, pulled him to his feet.
They were on a beach, and behind them was an impressive mountain or hill rising a few hundred feet up, covered with plantlife. Thomas looked around them, a look of slight nervousness coming across his bespectacled face. Jules, on the other hand, had eyes and mouth wide in wonder as he looked around the wide coast, stretched blue skies, and waving trees behind them. Thomas felt his nervousness fade for the briefest of seconds as he watched his friend. "It's something, I guess," he said with a smile. Jules returned the look, then spun slowly, taking in the sights.
With an armful of cables and a display terminal, Mary examined the timer. "We should find a place to plug this in," she suggested. "We need to find out what the power surge did." With everyone in agreement, they began to look around their new and temporary home. Thomas and Jules took the beach path and walked off to the left together. Colin and Wade walked towards the trees under the mountains to the left, while the Professor and Mary took the same path but to the right.
In just a few minutes, Colin and Wade pushed through enough trees to find themselves outside of a two story abandoned shop. A faded but still readable sign atop it read "Angel Sea" with smaller lettering underneath advertising its "Bait, Supply & Dining!" The building might have been painted white in the past, but the paint had taken a continuous beating from the wind and sand, and was starting to wear down to the wood color underneath.
Finding a metal door with two large glass panes to see inside, the two entered to find multiple tables and chairs against the left wall, each with dirty tablecloths, and with windows to look out onto the view of the trees outside. The right side of the building was a large counter, complete with register. The register was empty, and the glass display of food underneath was moldy and had long since rotted away, but there seemed to be artificial bait in good condition hanging on the back wall.
"A little paint, some vacuuming, and I think we can get this place running in a few days," Wade said with a smile. Colin chuckled, then beckoned to the back, entering first to check for any wild animals or people. It was a kitchen and storage combination with several ovens, both gas and electric, as well as a few microwaves, and cabinet upon cabinet filled with canned food. The dates on them suggested that they hurry if they wanted to partake.
Leaving the room, they found and climbed a set of creaky wooden stairs that led to a small hallway on the second floor. On the left was a larger room, obviously the master bedroom. The bed was still in decent shape, though the sheets had collected some errant particles of sand, and the clothes drawers were filled with all manner of shirts, pants, and footwear, both male and female. A photo stood on a nightstand next to the bed, portraying an eastern couple: the man had a circular face and a wide nose, and was donning sunglasses, a blue t-shirt, and a straw hat while smiling broadly. His arm was around a woman with a somewhat wider nose and gentle chin, and wore the same clothes as him with another smile. The store was in the background. The other room had a bunk bed, massively sized for such a small area, and had more clothes drawers with men's clothes, much bigger than the ones in the master bedroom.
Colin took a deep breath, then collapsed sideways onto the master bed, keeping the barrier boxes on either side of his body. He didn't even care about the slight pinching of the sand on the sheets.
"How are you feeling?" Wade asked from the doorway. Colin turned his head to her with a smile. "Never better," he said in strong honesty. "Your therapy and the Professor's machine, the body shocks are gone... I haven't felt this free in a year." He closed his eyes and took a deep, satisfied breath, then turning to her once more, simply said, "Thank you."
"Sure thing," she answered, sucking her lips in cutely to make a lopsided smile. Colin felt a sudden rush of emotion, and a chill running up his spine. He sat up, and looked her directly in the eyes. "We are going to make it," he promised, nodding strongly. "We're going to find Quinn, Remmy, and Maggie again. I just know it."
Wade's smile widened and became more natural. "Promise?" she answered, to which Colin raised the pinky finger on his right hand. "My brother taught me about this," he said. "Is it too childish?" Wade shook her head, approached, then walked forward to take his pinky in hers. He felt a nervous jolt spread through his body. "No way," she answered. He nodded with a handsome grin. "Then it's a promise," he stated.
Releasing, he leaned back and lay down. "Please tell me I can take the big bed, just once," he fake pleaded. Wade laughed. "Ok," she relented, "I remember we used to make Quinn sleep in the tub. Maybe it's my turn now." She waved, then went to investigate the bathroom as Colin settled in for a short rest.
Elsewhere, the Professor and Mary walked through more trees over the soft dirt ground, pressing towards the other side of the small hill before them. Mary held the terminal while the Professor had the cables slung over his shoulder. He looked around in slight confusion. "What is it?" Mary asked. He turned to meet her eyes for the briefest of seconds, then looked around again, pointing. "It's odd," he answered. "I'm no botanist, but is it normal for walnut trees to be so close to the shore?"
Mary looked up and around, noticing the sun being blocked out by the tall and spread leaves of the trees. Not knowing what to say, the silence was thankfully broken by the Professor once more. "And here," he said, pointing to the ground. "Just under the soil and sand, can you see it?" Mary stopped and knelt down, and brushing aside some of the cover, revealed what he was talking about: it was unmistakeably some kind of asphalt.
"Are we near a beach?" she asked. "On the west coast? Why is the road covered like this?" The Professor knit his eyebrows in thought. "Yes," he said off-handedly. "Perhaps an abandoned stretch of land, and nature has come to reclaim what is hers." He reached a hand down to pick her up, then gestured for her to come along, farther into the trees.
The shade offered good protection from the sun's rays as they went deeper into the tree-lined thick. Moments later, the Professor tripped over something buried, but before he could plant himself face first into the ground, Mary ran forward to grab his arm and steady him. The two then knelt down to investigate, brushing aside fallen leaves and dirt to reveal a metal pole. Running their hands up the pole and cleaning further, they eventually revealed the triangular red and white top of the pole, which read a single word: "Yield."
"Hmph," the Professor said indignantly. He rose, then offered a hand to Mary to pull her up. "I will not," he proclaimed to the sign, then the two continued into the thick.
A short time later, the two emerged from the treeline and toward the coast, arms filled with an assortment of fresh fruit from bananas and papayas to coconuts and pineapples. Returning to the spot where they had come into this world, they noticed two white figures approaching from their left: as they got closer, they saw it was Thomas and Jules. The two ran forward to meet up, and seconds later, Colin and Wade emerged from the trees to their right.
"Hey, you guys are over here?" Thomas asked. "All we did was follow the beach. We didn't see anything except water." Wade looked around with a wide smile. "So we're on an island?" she offered, to which Mary made a face. "An island with roads and traffic signs?" she asked, looking to the Professor. He hummed in thought. "Yes, things are starting to make more sense," he put forward, then turned to Colin. "What have you found, my boy?" he asked.
Looking to the bounty carried by the Professor and Mary, and beckoning the others to the trees behind him, he looked to Thomas with a happy smile. "Something better than that artificial stuff we were eating in the Slidecage," he announced.
Moments later, the six were in the Angel Sea. Wade brought down a hand generator she found in a storage room near the kitchen, and soon attached it to the display and timer. With many vigorous pumps, Colin eventually got enough power into the two for Mary to investigate their timer through the small terminal display. She sucked a little air through her teeth.
"What is it?" Thomas asked. While navigating through the timer's menus and dialog boxes, she translated. "There's good news and bad news," she announced. The others shared looks, before Wade spoke up the obvious. "What's the bad news?" she asked. Mary navigated through a few menus, before finally settling on a readout displaying something in Kromagg. The first several symbols remained static, but the one on the right changed to a new one every second.
"Oh," Wade said simply, making a face. Mary nodded. "It's suffered damage. We can't just open portals at will anymore; we need to abide by a sort of window of opportunity, like the one that you used before we met for the first time," she explained. "It seems the only way we can find paths between universes now is to find the time when the boundary is at its closest and weakest."
The Professor looked on in silence for a few seconds before finally speaking. "Does this mean that if we miss the first, we can wait for a second to arrive shortly afterwards?" he wondered aloud. Mary shrugged. "Maybe," she offered. "It could be a part of the EPR Paradox that governed your previous slides, or it could be a kind of temporary cooldown to offer the timer a chance to rest."
Colin looked among them. "So it could be 29 years, or 2.9 days?" he asked. Wade exhaled through her teeth. "Huge difference," she said softly. The Professor nodded, then looked among everyone. "So I think we're in agreement that we assume the former," he put forward. When nobody objected, he nodded. "Lady Mary, how much time do we have?" he asked.
Looking back to the terminal and running her finger along the Kromagg symbols, she soon spoke. "4 and a half days," she announced. "We'll be leaving around sunset four days from now."
Jules looked around in wonder, Thomas more in thought. Wade and Mary shared a smile. The Professor clapped his hands in joy, and Colin finally spoke. "So four days on an island paradise?" he spoke out with a smile. "This will be great!"
The day continued on as the six split up. Thomas was in the house, picking through the storage area, drawers, and other places to find and catalogue their new spoils. Wade and Mary were on the beach together, lying on beach towels. Wade was wearing a two piece white bikini with blue polka dots, and had a pair of sunglasses on her face. Mary was next to her in a white sundress, also with sunglasses, but she set up an umbrella to cover herself from the sun. Both were drinking bottled fruit juice which had apparently been expired for several months, but the taste didn't seem to be affected.
Jules, still wearing the rags from the Slidecage, wandered around the beach, eventually coming to a spot about a hundred feet away down the coast. He looked out onto the water, a look of contentment on his face. The sun shined behind him, throwing his shadow onto the beach and sea, and the wind blew through his short brown hair. Something he couldn't put his finger on began to draw his attention, but as he focused away from the ocean, it became more clear: someone calling his name. He looked to his left, seeing the girls waving him over.
Mary put her sunglasses up on her dark hair as he approached. She smiled despite her nervousness. "You got us out of the Slidecage with the codeword," she said simply. Jules nodded. "My father taught me," he answered gruffly. Mary suppressed a shiver of fear at the sound of his voice. "Your father, he...?" she started.
Jules sat on the sand, keeping his distance. "Yes, he took me from my real parents when I was younger," he explained in a tone that seemed to bark or spit every word. "I lived with them my whole life... until Quinn and the others took everyone away." He looked out on the ocean, putting his arms around his knees. "Well, except for Thomas, then Colin," he added.
Nodding in understanding, and gathering her courage, Mary finally spoke. "I'm... sorry," she said. "I was with them almost my whole life too. When I saw you, it just... my time with them..."
Jules turned to quickly flash a strange, almost alien, smile at her, then looked back to the ocean. "I understand," he spoke out gruffly.
"Was it hard to get used to living with Colin and Thomas?" Wade asked, changing the subject. Jules made a strange face, squinting his eyes, scrunching up his nose, and bringing his lips up. "We didn't talk that much," he remembered. "Thomas just wanted to play games or talk about his collections, and Colin was sleeping all of the time. I know how to win at checkers a dozen different ways, though."
"Mary?" Wade asked with a smile. Mary turned to her and matched her expression. "Yes, Wade?" she answered. Wade leaned to the side to catch a good sight of Jules, then looked back to Mary. "Lady's touch?" she asked, to which Mary stood and nodded. The two girls took positions on either side of Jules, then knelt down to stand him up. Hooking their arms in his, they marched him towards the trees and the Angel Sea, while he could only show a look of confusion in response.
Looking on at the commotion, Colin and the Professor sat on the shore, holding fishing rods in place with a bucket of water between them. Having raided the Angel Sea, Colin was now wearing a blue hoodie bearing the images of several white fish over a red t-shirt, black jeans, and his brown shoes, and the Professor wore tan slacks with his black shoes, along with a long-sleeved brown shirt and his grey jacket.
"I can't believe after all she's been through, she can still smile like that," Colin said, his eyes following the girls. The Professor looked to him, then back to the three disappearing into the trees. "The same could be said of either of our fair ladies," he said with an accusing smile.
Catching himself, Colin quickly looked back to the sea with a sheepish smile. The Professor chuckled and clapped him on the back. "I've had the pleasure of knowing Miss Welles for two years of travel," he recounted, "and both she and Lady Mary for the months before we found the three of you. They are truly remarkable women.
"But for now, Mr. Mallory," he announced, pointing towards the sea, "back to the hunt!"
Their lines drifted lazily in the water, and when the bites failed to come, the two carefully and slowly drew their bait back before casting once more. Their shadows moved ever more slowly and long into the sea.
"What do you think happened here?" Colin asked. The Professor, slowly bringing in his bait once more, spoke. "It's possible the Kromagg timer has a wider radius than what either you or I are accustomed to," he guessed, remembering the world with "Mr. Machine" as Wade called it, "if it wasn't affected by the power surge in the Slidecage. We could have landed on one of the islands near California, or perhaps elsewhere. But that road and sign were rather intriguing..."
"The Yield sign?" Colin asked in confirmation, to which the Professor nodded. "Yes, and who knows what else lies in wait on this little slice of paradise," he answered. He looked up towards the sky. "Perhaps this was the big one." On Colin's confusion, the Professor threw him a glance, then explained. "An earthquake long overdue to strike the west coast," he said, casting his line once more. "It has the potential to rip California to pieces. But then again... it could just be part of an abandoned bridge that once led here."
Colin cast his line out once more. "So you've been around here before?" he asked. The Professor tilted his head slightly. "Assuming this is southern California, and aside from a very brief trip to Catalina, not as much," he answered. He brought his bait in again. "The helicopter ride was very comfortable, though."
Nodding, Colin spoke. "I moved around a lot after my foster parents died," he remembered. "We spent most of our time in the dry inland areas. I didn't have a lot of chances to see sights like this before my brother found me." The Professor made a satisfied sound. "And yet, you angle quite well," he complimented the younger man, who chuckled in return. "My foster father took me to a lake a few times," he remembered. "He taught me that a man needs to earn his keep, and know how to survive."
"And of women?" the Professor followed up, indicating the Angel Sea with his head and a smile. Colin laughed nervously. "That if there's a spark, you catch that lightning in a bottle," he returned. The Professor laughed, and the two returned to their fishing.
An hour passed, and the sun began to set. A rockfish lay bludgeoned and unmoving in the bucket, the spoils of Colin's efforts. The crunching of sand caused the two to turn around, only to see a strange sight: the girls were approaching in their bikinis, with Thomas to Mary's side, and Jules between the two ladies. He was wearing a thin and light aloha t-shirt, long blue jorts, and sandals. His face looked less intense, and just a little more at ease.
"Go ahead," whispered Mary, nudging him in the ribs. Wade pushed him forward lightly. Jules cleared his throat with a fist to his mouth, then stood up straight. "Hey, dudes," he said in a voice still slightly too gruff, but far more normal than before. Colin smiled in praise as he continued. "What's up, Colin?" he asked, then turned to the older man beside him. "Evening, Professor. Catch anything good for dinner?"
The Professor turned to his fishing partner. "It's like night and day," he said in wonder. Colin nodded in agreement, then looked between the girls. "You turned him around that quickly?" he asked. Jules smiled and beamed in pride while the girls exchanged satisfied grins. "I told them it was all too 90s," Thomas spoke up from the side. "It's 2000 already."
Colin laughed and shook his head. "It'll never stop being the 90s," he answered.
Suddenly, the Professor's line pulled hard, bringing it into a violently tugging parabola. He seized his pole with both hands and pulled, digging the hook into the unseen sea creature's mouth. "It's a monster!" he yelled out, and in an instant, everyone knelt down to take a hold of him. Wade and Mary threw their hands around his shoulders and neck, while the boys got hands around his chest.
Drawing the line and pulling hard, the shadowy shape of a giant fish drew closer and bigger, until it finally broke through the water: a giant sea bass. In a short minute, it was on the beach where Colin clubbed it down with a nearby rock, painlessly ending its struggle. Wade winced and turned her head to the side, and when Colin noticed, he spoke. "Sorry, you don't have to eat any," he said. "I just didn't want him to suffer."
"At last, the sea is mine!" the Professor exclaimed, breaking all tension and solemnity. Wade and Mary patted him on the shoulders, the former trying not to gag, while Thomas and Jules moved forward to help claim the beast. "Congrats, Professor!" Colin called out. He chuckled haughtily in response. "Thank you good sir," he replied. "I needed to redeem myself after that exception of a trip with Mr. Brown years ago."
With the gas of Angel Sea long since used up or unusable, the six took to the coast to set up a campfire cookout. The rockfish and bass made for a scrumptious dinner for five of them, but Wade instead cooked a can of corn and another of frank and beans, with which the others helped in separating the franks, as well as a fruit bowl. A short while of chatting later, they extinguished the fire, then headed to the Angel Sea to sleep.
Three days passed without incident. Thomas remained in the house, the Professor and Colin fished, and Jules split his time between wandering the island alone and practicing his speaking with the others, especially Thomas and the girls. Colin looked on as the girls swam in the shallows and splashed one another, then later Jules when he came to join them. He rubbed the barrier box on his chest.
The Professor watched the scene for a short while before he finally broke the silence. "The device is well above sea level," he said. Colin looked to him. "Sally forth, Mr. Mallory," he finished, then pushed him towards the three. With a smile, he walked over to join the others. He kept to the shallows of the sea while using an umbrella as a shield against the targeted, but less aggressive, splashing of the girls, and they continued for some time.
Later that afternoon, Colin took Jules to climb the central mountain. Getting to the top of some thick trees, the two looked out on the water, seeing absolutely nothing but blue. In short order, the girls followed, still in their swimwear. Colin and Jules reached hands down and helped them up the final step, bringing them to the peak to look out on the island. After several minutes of admiring the view, and pushing some large branches aside, Mary pointed down towards the beach. The four looked through the green to see the Professor still fishing on the coast far in the distance.
They took turns shouting to him, but the distance made it difficult for him to hear. Finally, looking between one another and counting to three, they all shouted in unison. "Professor!" their voices rained down on him. At last, he looked around in confusion, finally resting his eyes on four waving hands from the trees on the mountain above. He smiled and waved back, then returned to his fishing.
As evening drew in, they had another campfire meal of fish and canned goods, then returned to sleep once more.
Their rest was short-lived. They were awoken in the deep night by the shouts of men, flashlights in their faces and handguns drawn. Both were wearing ski masks and dressed in bluish-grey sea camo soldier garb. When adrenaline had finally and quickly dispelled the four's fog of sleep, their words became more clear.
"Don't move!" the one with the gun trained on Colin shouted. He did as he was told and didn't move an inch on the bed, and the Professor froze from his sleeping bag on the floor. "Who are you?" the man demanded. "Why are you trespassing on Rokwin land?" Colin opened his mouth to speak, but before he had the chance, the other man shouted out from the girls' room. "Got females," he said. "Two."
The first man threw a glance at his partner, then looked back to Colin and the Professor. "This all of you?" he demanded. Colin nodded. "Yes, we were only seeking shelter after our boat capsized," he explained. "We didn't mean..." In an instant, the man trained his gun on Colin's forehead, and he stopped talking. "Downstairs," the man ordered.
Slowly getting on their shirts and overclothes, the four carefully and calmly descended the stairs, with one of the men at the front and the other behind. The first cleared the kitchen and storage area, then the front dining area, one more time. Satisfied, he walked out the front door, and the other five followed.
When they were all outside, there were two flashes in the dark. The first was light and stood out more in the darkness, leaped out from one side of the Angel Sea, and barrelled forward to tackle the man in the back. Perfectly timed, another multicolored shape darted from the other side, and before the man in the front could turn to point his gun at the commotion behind him, it tackled him to the ground.
The Professor joined Thomas to leap on the man's firing arm and pin it to the ground, quickly securing the handgun there, while Colin kicked the gun out of the other's hand and sat on his rump. "Mr. Beecham," the Professor said, driving a mighty fist into the face of the man in the back and knocking him out, "your penchant for solitude is truly a Godsend," he finished.
Colin looked to Jules, who had his fingers wrapped around the other man's head. "Good work," he said, as a vibrating feeling and a high-pitched whine filled the air. Jules looked to him briefly and smirked. "Taking a walk," he said simply, then returned to the soldier with a face mixed with both focus and fury.
"Should we hide out until the slide?" Mary asked, but Wade shook her head. "They're bound to be more coming when these two don't report back," she surmised. She looked to the others. "Should we tie them up, maybe hold them as hostages until we can leave?"
Jules released his hold on the man, whose head fell to the dirt below. "We won't need to," he said, pointing towards a distant part of the shore.
Their boat was loaded with all the supplies they could gather from Angel Sea, along with clothes, and a tech briefcase filled with the terminal, wires, and assorted technology they needed for the Kromagg timer, all packed by Thomas himself. The morning sun was beginning to rise over the horizon off the starboard side of the ship, splashing red and orange over the early morning sea, and their new boat was cutting quickly through it. Colin was at the helm of the control shelter and sailing them forward, with the Professor examining the consoles within, and Jules sitting against the wall, resting. Wade and Mary were standing at the port side and watching the water together, though the latter gagged slightly as they sped ahead. Thomas was crawling around in a short shed of sorts built into the back, taking stock of the previous owners' inventory.
"Here we go," he called out, then crawled backwards to exit the little shed. He slammed the door shut then entered the shelter, with Wade and Mary following. He opened a map and spread it out in front of him. Without looking, he freed his left hand to take a bottle of pills from his left pants pocket, then handed it to Mary. With Wade's arms around her shoulders in comfort, and after reading the side of the container, Mary's eyes went wide and she sighed in relief, popping it open and taking a few before sliding down against the wall of the shelter.
"My word," the Professor spoke out in disbelief. The large map before them depicted thousands of islands, each named, and with about a dozen colors marking them in large groups: one huge patch of yellow islands was marked as owned by Wallich, another green and owned by Gresner, another black where they had come from, owned by Rokwin...
"This wasn't just the big one, but the great one," he muttered, then shook his head. "Assuming the entire Earth doesn't look like this, of course..." he followed up. Pointing to the map, he looked among the others. "We could have made landfall at just about any of these islands," he spoke out, exhaling in exasperation. "Perhaps it would be better to continue sailing until we reach the time to slide."
Thomas shook his head. "If they have a tracking device on this boat," he offered, "they'll find us in no time. Not to mention if there are subs around. Or pirates. Or pirates in subs, for that matter." The Professor groaned lightly in both agreement and thought, putting his fingers to his chin.
Standing up from Mary's side, Wade examined the map with the others. In a short minute, she noticed something. "That island there," she said, leaning in to read the tiny print. "Argent Island, why does it have a circle around it?" The Professor leaned in, noticing it too, before Jules spoke up. "We're going north and it's nothing but water," he surmised, then pointed to the map. "We should see an island off the left side soon if that was ours."
As the sun slowly rose and gave them more light, and a few minutes passed, an island eventually did begin to appear over the horizon. It was significantly bigger and seemed to be covered with far more green, but it was where the map seemed to indicate. Chuckling with satisfaction, he put a hand on Thomas' shoulder. "Now that we've got our bearings, where to, Mr. Beecham?" he asked.
Colin looked back to the girls. "Hey Wade, do you want to take the wheel for a while?" he asked. Wade's eyes went wide, then she rose and saluted. "Aye aye, cap'n!" she spoke out, then stepped forward to take control. Colin backed up, then reached a hand down to Mary, who seemed to be looking better, to pick her up. Gesturing to Jules, the three of them went to the bow of the ship. Thomas and the Professor pointed at a place on the map, a colorless circle labeled "Trade Platform" northwest of them, then Thomas returned to the small shed to dig around some more.
As the Professor continued to look about the map, Wade slowly increased the speed on the boat until he had to grab a nearby console for dear life. A crashing sound was heard behind them as Thomas was pulled into the small shed, and the three in front held the railing on the bow with nervous smiles as the boat plunged ahead, alongside Wade's happy shouts.
The trade platform was an impressive feat of construction: a floating island of connected wooden pathways, tents filled with people selling every kind of food, clothing, jewelry, animals, or anything else imaginable, and boats by the thousands tied to hundreds upon hundreds of piers circling the massive structure. The air was strong with the smell of the sea, as well as the cooking smell of the ocean's bounty. In the center was a central living complex, where either the administration, or the lucky few rich, were able to afford accommodations. Police walked by in black riot gear and were armed with batons, handguns, and rifles slung to their backs, while boats by the hundreds patrolled the sea.
"I'm guessing this place is neutral without the color on the map," Thomas spoke out as he looked about. Mary looked to him, then the others. "Do you think they're trustworthy?" she asked, to which Wade shrugged. "They haven't pointed guns at us yet," she replied with a tinge of hope in her voice.
Colin sniffed, then smiled. "Something smells good," he proclaimed. The Professor clapped his hand on the younger man's shoulder, then looked to the others with a smile. "Lunch on me?" he offered, then reached into his pocket to pull out some medicine from the boat. "I just hope they take exchanges," he continued, handing out bottles to the others.
"Lady Mary, Mr. Beecham, Mr. Koenig?" he spoke out, looking to each in turn. "Shall we?" In response, Colin and Wade looked to one another, smiled, then gestured to Jules. "Come on, man!" Colin said with a beckoning hand, then turned to the Professor. "We'll see who can find the best food." As Jules walked over to the two with a slight smile, the Professor looked back confidently. "Then may the best man win, Mr. Mallory," he answered, turning away to guide Mary with a hand on the small of her back as Thomas followed.
The wooden paths between the tents were filled with people, many far eastern and dressed in heavy, solid color clothes that covered most of their bodies, and many of the women carried opened sunbrellas to protect them from the beating sun. Walking only a short distance, the Professor, Mary, and Thomas soon found a wide wooden platform covered with tables where many people were eating. After getting a confirming nod from the server to the medicine they brought, the three were seated, and soon enough, staring down a table filled with delicacies: many different types of sushi, skewered tsukune with a brown and yellow sauce on either side of them, freshly cooked crab and shrimp, and a small squid.
"Fortunate for Miss Welles to not be here," the Professor commented, tying a napkin around his neck. "It would take a while to separate the fish from the rice for her." Mary looked around the spread in confusion, especially at the cooked sea meat. She leaned down to examine the squid. "It's got eyes," she said in a voice mixed with confusion, fear, and despair. The Professor laughed, then reached out to take several plates of the food in front of him. "Allow me, Lady Mary," he spoke out through his smile, then began to cut and portion off pieces for her.
"So, you're planning to continue on this evening?" Thomas asked. The Professor nodded. "Yes, we need to find some way back to the human homeworld," he answered. "With the Slidecage in its current state, I fear going back will accomplish nothing than an end to our journey. But once we've found a way through it, we'll be able to return Mary to her family as our first point of duty."
On her silence, Thomas spoke up. "You ok?" he asked. She looked to him, then to the food. "Um, yes, I'm just trying to find the best way to eat this." He nodded in understanding, then placed four bottles of sauce in front of her. "The seafood's pretty good, but the sauce is what really makes it, I think," he offered. "Just try each one."
The Professor looked to him. "And you, Mr. Beecham? Will you be joining us?" he asked. Thomas shook his head. "I dunno," he answered. "I don't think I'm cut out for sliding. All that open air and changing venues, not for me." The Professor nodded in understanding. "So you'll be staying here?" he asked.
Thomas looked around with a less than happy face. "I'm not a fan of the open sea, you understand," he said, then a look of satisfaction spread across his face while he nodded, "but if I can get a quiet spot in a covered boat, that sounds ok to me."
"Then the vessel is yours, sir," the Professor replied, raising his glass of fresh tea high. Thomas followed, and with Mary making three, they clinked the cups together, drank, then continued eating.
Mary's face lit up in delight as she dug into the sushi and tsukune, then she turned to Thomas. "What about Jules?" she asked. Thomas sucked his lips in in thought. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that..." he started.
On the other side of the platform, Colin and Jules' faces were locked in concentration, both holding pistols. A bell rang, and the two blasted two streams of water straight across a counter and into the mouths of two metal depictions of smiling clowns. Gauges next to them rose quickly, until both rang out the sound of a ringing bell, and the game master, a middle-aged eastern woman with a pudgy face, curly black hair, and in a blue shirt and pants with a white apron, offered the two their desired prizes: Colin took a white rabbit holding a carrot in its paws, while Jules chose a blue shark with a white underbelly wearing a captain's hat. The two looked to one another, then with a single motion, gave the stuffed toys to Wade, whose face lit up with a smile. Colin tipped the game master a pair of medicine pills from his bottle to hers, then the three continued on.
Jules led them forward past an aquarium, where he briefly leaned in to press his hands against the glass and stare at a squid's dark eye, to arrive at a corn dog stand. Trading another pill for three of the dogs, one with corn only, the three raised them up and touched them together like Musketeers before devouring them. Colin and Jules exchanged grins, and while he looked out around the wide and open platform, Wade looked up to Colin, mouth covered in ketchup, to smile at him.
An alarm blared. The three looked around in confusion at the crowds of people on the platform. Most of them continued to walk as if nothing was happening, but a noticeable few quickened their paces along the paths. One or two were even able to get to nearby boats, and in short order, were sailing away. Exchanging a look, the three ran towards the entrance, pushing past dozens of people, to see what was the matter.
As they rounded the path and the central living complex revealed more of the ocean beyond them, they started to see the massive shape of an enormous battleship appear from over the horizon. More frighteningly, they caught the sight of soldiers in blue-grey camo holding three figures captive next to a collection of restaurant tables: it was the Professor, Mary, and Thomas.
Before they had time to react, the three felt something hard and metal poking into their backs. They froze, but after being prodded forward, began to walk towards the other three. In silence, they all knelt together outside the restaurant. Wade turned to see their captors in black wetsuits, still dripping from their emergence from the sea. Some of the diners turned to look at the scene, then without a word, went back to their meals.
"Sorry, there were too many," Jules said softly. He was in the same prison cell as the others, somewhere in the belly of the battleship, with only a handful of wall-mounted cots with them. Their food, medicine, and tech briefcase were confiscated, and daylight was burning.
"How much time?" Wade asked. The Professor looked to her, then continued searching for an avenue of escape. "About an hour," he guessed. "No less than thirty minutes, but certainly no more than two." Colin nodded in agreement. "We need to find a way out," he stated. He dug through the cot looking for something, anything to make use of, but came up empty. Mary tried to look through the bars to see if there was anyone coming.
Thomas looked between everyone. "How are we going to do that?" he asked, as the Professor knelt down in the corner of the cell, picking up a pebble from a small pile lying there. He looked back to Jules with a smile. "Subterfuge, Mr. Koenig?" he suggested.
There was a tap from downstairs. A man in grey-blue camo, holding a rifle, descended to investigate. His eyes were barely visible from behind the ski mask, and the goggles on his head. When he was only halfway down, he caught the sight of a pile of gold coins shining in the corner of the room, just outside of the jail cell with the six captives. The older one with the beard looked up at him in a panic, then scooped up the entire pile to pull them into the cell with him, turning his back.
"Hey, what was that?!" demanded the soldier. The older man shook his head, throwing a glance back at him before turning back to the wall. "It's nothing, I assure you," he responded. The soldier raised his rifle to the older man. "Give them to me, or I'll kill you!" he shouted. An odd whining sound filled the buzzing air.
The older man threw a pleading look back, stammering, but finally relented. He stood and turned, still holding the coins in two cupped hands. He stayed there with a sorrowful look, staring at the floor. The soldier gestured with his rifle towards the bars. "Bring them here," he demanded. the older man nodded, then slowly took a few steps forward, opening his hands to reveal a dozen grey pebbles.
"Wha..." was all the soldier managed to stammer out, before his rifle flew out of his hands, between the bars, then into the hands of the Professor. Jules stood up, and the whining sound and buzzing quickly dissipated. The Professor turned the gun around, pointing the barrel straight at the eye of the soldier, who slowly raised his hands in surrender. "Unlock the cage, one hand," he ordered simply. The soldier nodded, then slowly reached into his pocket to retrieve a ring of keys, and opened the cell door.
Colin stepped out first, patting the man down to retrieve his handgun and radio, then nodded. "Where's our equipment?" Mary asked. The soldier slowly and carefully indicated the stairs with his head. "Up there, down the hall, first door on the left," he said.
Jules pushed past Colin, and without a word, pulled the man's mask off. He was an eastern man, middle-aged, with large dark eyes, short black hair, a large and wide nose, and a disconnected mustache and beard. Placing his fingers on the man's head, Jules closed his eyes and concentrated. The air filled with a shifting energy and a whining sound. In seconds, Jules' eyes flew open, and he turned to the others. "He's lying," he announced, then turned back to the duplicitous soldier. "It's a barracks."
The soldier only had a mere second to open his mouth in surprise before Jules' hands were once again squeezing his head, and images began pouring through his mind along with the vibration and whining sound. All at once, the two stopped, then Jules spoke again. "Two levels up, second door on the left," he spoke out.
Following the instructions, and after a brief moment where Jules ordered everyone to stop to avoid a man walking down the hall, they shortly reached a storeroom filled with food, weapons, uniforms, tools, and water in cabinets, boxes, and crates all around. It took them only a few minutes to find the tech briefcase, and after confirming everything was inside, Mary nodded, then hooked up the mess to a nearby outlet. In moments, she announced their remaining 50 minutes, then stowed everything once more.
"Where is everyone?" Colin demanded of the soldier. He looked to Jules, then back to Colin, relenting. "Ashore," he said simply. "Stocking up, recovering the boat you stole, talking with some locals about you. They'll be back by nightfall." The Professor breathed a sigh of relief. "Very good," he spoke out. "Then we can simply barricade the door, and remain here until it is time to slide."
Wade looked to everyone with a pleading look. "C'mon guys, we can't just let them go," she announced. The others looked to her in confusion. "You saw the map, it's clear these guys are warlords." The Professor shook his head. "It's too dangerous, Miss Welles," he warned. "We have more than enough time to escape here with our lives, and we know nothing of this world."
With a light scoff, Wade continued. "What we have is a chance to make things a little better!" she countered. "And this Rokwin guy is the one after us. His men didn't even try to get our side of the story when they caught us. And did you hear what that other guy said about me and Mary? They're all scum! Or at least, this Rokwin guy is!" The captured soldier in the corner looked at her, and when she returned a fiery look, he immediately turned his eyes to the floor.
"Miss Welles, this conversation is entirely familiar," the Professor cut in, but Wade was adamant. "Good!" she replied with a smile. "Then we can skip to the part where you realize I'm right." After the Professor offered a resigned sigh and rubbed his face with both hands, Colin stepped forward with a confident smile. "So what's the plan?" he asked.
Wade looked just behind him, then grinned wickedly. "Jules?" she said, and with a smile of understanding, he turned to the captive soldier.
On the platform and in the slowly fading light, the Rokwin commander started to dig in to his freshly prepared lobster. He pinched a hunk of the pinkish-white flesh from a break in its red shell, when movement brought his eyes up from his meal. The battleship was slowly sailing away, pulling the long metal ramp leading up to its deck with it until it fell into the water with a horrible splash.
"Stop them!" he shouted out to his other dining men. They yelled into radios, and grey-blue camo men ran from either direction of the platform to join him at the restaurant, but with rifles aimed at the massive ship, there was a sense of confusion as to what to do. They watched silently as the ship turned and began to speed away, leaving gentle wave disturbances in the water behind them.
Wade was looking into the periscope from within the conning tower of the mighty ship, giggling and smiling as she watched the crowd of soldiers gather at the restaurant, helplessly watching. Her rabbit and shark were hugged tightly in her left arm. Colin looked out with binoculars in the same direction. "Yeah, they looked pretty mad," he stated flatly, then turned to the captured soldier in Jules' grip. "There's nobody else on the ship?" he asked.
The man shook his head. "Aside from the one's you knocked out, no," he said, indicating the monitors to his right. The Professor, Thomas, and Jules were watching the recordings from the monitor, where the Professor sucker punched one soldier coming around a corner, Thomas choked out another, and Wade and Mary slide tackled another only for Jules to slam his head into the ground. Their movements were easy to predict with the unwilling help of their captive, and now, all of the men were in the cell below, confused and stripped to their skivvies.
Mary plugged the terminal and timer in once more to confirm their final five minutes, then stowed everything but the timer once more, keeping her eyes on a clock readout on a nearby monitor.
"Mr. Beecham, she's all yours," the Professor said to Thomas with a smile.
Thomas looked around in confusion. "The battleship?" he protested. "I don't know how to sail this." Jules smiled and came up behind him, dragging the soldier along with him, then pointed to the monitor where the other men were. "I'll help you figure it out," he promised.
Colin's face fell. "You guys are staying?" he asked in a voice tinged with regret. Thomas shook his head. "I'm not the adventuring type," he admitted.
Mary looked up from the clock readout to look to Jules. "How about you?" she asked. Reaching into his back pocket to remove the map from the first boat, he pointed his finger around it. "So each of these colors is a separate warlord, right?" he asked. Wade nodded in confirmation, and Jules returned the gesture. "So they steal money, goods... and people," he answered, practically spitting the last word before folding up the map. "Maybe I can do something about that."
"Well, so long as I get my own cabin," Thomas spoke up, putting a hand on Jules' shoulder, "I'll be your first mate." Jules reached out to shake his hand with a grin, then pulling along the captive soldier like he forgot he was there, the young man looked into the periscope, turning it to look out onto the deep sea.
"What about him?" the Professor asked, pointing to Jules' captive. Jules turned to look at the soldier with eyes both focused and ferocious. The soldier opened his mouth to make a slight sound, then after a short delay, finally spoke. "Are you taking conscripts?" he asked.
Jules narrowed his eyes in suspicion, then as if offering consent, the man closed his eyes, only to feel Jules' fingers on his head. The buzzing whine filled the air, and seconds later when it disappeared, the man opened his eyes to see Jules' face. This time, however, it was more confident and full of satisfaction. "You'll get your pay, Kevin," he spoke out, then pointed to the door. "Head downstairs and explain everything to the others. We'll have 'interviews' later." With a strong salute, Kevin left the room.
"One minute," Mary warned. Jules waved to the four with a small smile, then turned back to the periscope without a word. Wade looked to Mary, who shook her head. The two surrounded him, then pulling him away from the periscope, kissed him on either cheek and gave him a double hug. Colin and the Professor waited for him to turn towards them, then simultaneously shook both of his hands. "It has been an honor," the Professor said, to which Colin nodded. "Absolutely," he added.
Wade stepped forward, giving him both her rabbit and shark. "For luck," she said with a smile. Mary hugged him once more. Jules beamed with his own smile.
Thomas, looking left out next to the console, turned his attention to a monitor as if he wasn't bothered. Wade laughed, then surrounding him with Mary, and after Colin and the Professor's approach, offered him the same successive kiss and handshake combo as Jules had gotten. He couldn't help but chuckle nervously before turning back to the monitor.
Mary charged up the timer while the four climbed down to the deck, and counting down carefully, she finally opened the portal there. The familiar angry red vortex swirled in front of them, and they all turned around to see Jules and Thomas in the conning tower, waving down. The rabbit and shark almost seemed to be waving as well.
"Godspeed, Captain Koenig, First Mate Beecham!" the Professor called out, then leaped into the portal. "Bye guys!" Colin shouted next, then entered after him. Waving their final goodbyes, Wade and Mary turned to enter last. Shortly, the vortex closed, and the battleship sped ahead.