Michael and Elizabeth Mallory watched happily as the ten reunited sliders had finished their humble meal, and were now mingling in the wide meeting hall. Aside from the long table where they had just eaten, the room was devoid of anything but its wooden walls. They were safe, and that was all that mattered for now.
"Miss Welles was right all along," the Professor said, drawing Colin and Wade into a close embrace. "You were the one and only. Welcome home, my boy." Colin patted him on the back, then drew away to exhange smiles with the two. "The shield of faith," he remembered. The Professor nodded. "You have said so," he answered with a grin, then gently turned the two around to push them forward, Wade towards a beckoning Maggie, and Colin towards Quinn.
Wade and Maggie walked among the others, hands around one another's hips and stuck like glue. "So you wore an old showgirl outfit and sang for cowboys?" Wade asked with a bright smile. Maggie snorted softly and smiled back. "Colin told you, huh?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "We should get you into one of those getups sometime, do a duet," she suggested.
She turned to Wade, voice going quiet. "He's a real sweetheart, you know?" she said slyly. Wade smiled wider. "Yeah, I know," she whispered back. The two hushed one another as Quinn approached. He shook his head in disbelief and put his arms around the two of them. "Three different roads, but we all made it back," he said. He pulled away to look between the two. "I never thought I'd see either one of you again, let alone together like this!" he proclaimed.
Maggie laughed. "Yeah, I almost miss those slides we had together," she said happily. Wade squeezed her in response. "Maybe not so much the beginning," she added, to which Maggie squinted her eyes at the memory, then hummed an agreement. "But you know what?" she added. "I'd take zombies on with you anytime now, Wade." Wade smiled back, tilted her head to look past Maggie, then waved at the other girls, walking side by side with Maggie to join them.
Colin and Mallory came up to Quinn, who turned and hugged Colin. "Finally back together," Quinn said simply, to which Colin patted him on the back. "Always looking out for me back then," he said. Quinn pulled back. "You too, bro," he said, then turned to Mallory. "And now we got a third," Quinn added with a smile. "The Brothers Mallory."
Mallory shrugged. "You think your moms can handle three boys?" he joked. "Or do we need to split time between worlds to give them a break?" Colin cut in, speaking quietly. "I think the better question is," he started, "can they handle grandkids?" All at once, the three looked around suspiciously, then waved to the girls, who waved back.
"We spent a few of the last worlds on the beach," Wade said. "I mean, there were soldiers and warlords and a brain scrambling signal, but there were still beaches." Maggie shook her head. "Nope, not good enough," she said, then turned to Diana. "I still owe you a spa trip, and any friend of Diana's," she added, nodding to Mary, "is a friend of mine. So whaddaya say? Four at the spa, my treat?" The other girls cheered in agreement, then high fived.
Diana excused herself to see the boys, pulling Quinn and Colin aside. "I'm sorry about everything that happened," she said softly. "I had no idea what Dr. Geiger was doing. If I had known..." Quinn and Colin shook their heads. "That's why we don't blame you," Quinn answered. Colin nodded in agreement. "You got my brother back, and did your best to find me," he said. "I should be thanking you." Diana smiled, then turned her head in shy and humble disagreement. "I just wish I could have done it sooner," she answered.
She looked behind her to see Mallory, Remmy, and Maggie talking, so she excused herself once more. "So you still go by Mallory?" Remmy asked Mallory, who shrugged. "It sticks," he answered. Remmy shook his head and smiled, then looked to Quinn, who was talking with Bennish. "So what happened?" he asked.
Mallory nodded to Diana, who was now standing next to him. "It got down to the wire, and Diana got us through," he explained. "She hacked some psychotic AI's dreamworld, then out popped Quinn."
Diana shook her head. "You're way too humble," she replied. "You were on death's door near the end. You were the one who hung on for so long." Mallory pointed at her. "But you made that sword that kicked his butt, right?" he said more than asked, then suddenly smiled. "You wanna play some games sometime?" he asked. Diana smiled brightly. "Sure," she answered, walking away with him. Maggie and Remmy looked at each other, puzzled.
"Professor, I'd like to talk with you later about some theories I have of sound vibrations and their effects on interdimensional tunnels," Diana said to the Professor, walking towards him with Mallory. The Professor smiled and nodded, welcoming her.
Mary, Bennish, and Quinn stood together in a triangle. "She's a fox, man," Bennish said to Quinn, pointing to Maggie. Quinn smiled and nodded. "And she wouldn't be here without you," he added, taking his former classmate's hand in an arm wrestling grasp, then patted his good shoulder in thanks.
Remmy joined, looking to Mary. "It's good to see you alive," he said, taking her hand to shake it. She nodded in appreciation, then Remmy pointed to Bennish. "Mary, this is Conrad, the guy who drove the Kromaggs off my world, saved a bunch of lives, then got us here," he explained.
Bennish, his introduction set, turned to the younger woman from behind his sunglasses. "Very Mary," he said with a bright smile, then put an arm around her shoulders. She smiled... only to slowly take it off. Bennish looked around with a goofy smile. "Rejected," he said simply, then walked forward to stand with Diana, Mallory, and the Professor. They exchanged a few words, then he suddenly pulled his aloha shirt down to reveal his scars. The Professor looked away with a face of mild disgust, but Diana and Mallory drew closer with eyes wide, then poked at them in curiosity. Mary smiled despite herself.
Quinn turned to Remmy. "I know it took a while, but I did get you home, right?" he said. Remmy tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, six years later," he said flatly. He let the awkwardness linger for a few seconds, then suddenly broke into a bright smile. "The best six years of my life, Q-Ball." The two hugged one another, and Quinn spoke. "It's just the start, Crying Man," he promised, then pulled away. "We're brothers forever." Remmy nodded and took his arm in an arm wrestling grip. "You know it," he answered with a smile, watching Colin walk forward to join them.
"It's great to see you again too, Farm Boy," Remmy said, hugging him strongly. "We never stopped looking for you." Colin nodded, then spoke. "I know, Remmy," he answered. The two pulled apart. "So what are you gonna do now?" Remmy asked. Colin indicated his brother with a look and a nod of his head. "I was thinking of going to school, opening a lab with my brother..." he started, then looked back to Remmy, "but we might need some good music to keep us going." Remmy smiled and nodded, then pointed at the two. "You're on," he promised.
He excused himself and caught Wade in a free moment. She smiled and nodded to Colin. "Colin told me about you and Jules," she said. "How you promised to get him out of the Slidecage." Remmy's eyes went wide. "Is he ok? Where is he?" he asked, to which Wade chuckled. "Last we saw, he was sailing the ocean with Thomas looking for bad guys to hunt down," she answered. Remmy breathed a partial sigh of relief and hugged her. "I knew we'd find a way to get that boy out of there," he said softly, then shook his head. "So that leaves Malcolm."
Wade pulled away and nodded. "I'm sure he's doing fine," she assured him. "He's got an entire colony of soldiers there looking out for him, and Gretchen, of course."
Remmy nodded, then looked into her eyes. "I never stopped thinking about you, girl," Remmy said. "When you were right there in that facility, so close... but I couldn't help you, it tore me up inside." She nodded. "Me too," she answered, tearing up. "You were always there for me, and I never forgot that. Never go away again, ok?" Remmy shook his head, a single tear coming from his right eye as he smiled happily. "Never," he answered, and hugged her once more.
"It seems you've matured, Mr. Bennish," the Professor spoke, eyeing his former student proudly. "I believe our dear Miss Beckett would have perished without your timely assistance." Bennish nodded and smiled wildly from behind his glasses, throwing out a hang loose sign. "And I'm still gonna publish a book on sliding before you, teach!" he announced, then turned back towards the girls. The Professor rolled his eyes. "Perhaps not that mature," he muttered, then watched as Remmy, Wade, and Quinn approached.
"That was the real you we left behind," Remmy said softly. The Professor shook his head. "Think nothing of it, my good man," he answered magnanimously. "He was every bit as real as I am, Mr. Brown. In fact, I've heard he was quite the gallant of my doppelgangers!" Remmy smiled a bright smile. "Yeah, he was family, like you are, Professor," he added. The two hugged.
Quinn spoke next. "He was so full of life, adventurous, but still a teacher, a father, just like you," he said, then paused. "I... had a feeling we left you behind," he admitted. "I guess I didn't want to admit it. There was no way to go back, and you were so important to us..."
"Things have a way of working out Mr. Mallory," the Professor interrupted. "I've heard nothing but good of my double. Under his tutelage, as well as your own efforts..." He paused, then took Quinn's shoulders in his hands. "My boy, you've grown much. I am proud of you," he finished, embracing the younger man. A few seconds later, he pulled away.
Looking around, the Professor saw everyone's eyes on him. "And now that we're all together, we can all go home," he announced.
Michael and Elizabeth Mallory approached with two wine bottles and several glasses, the last of their supply. After pouring out drinks for everyone, Quinn raised his glass and spoke. "A toast to fallen friends," he said. "To Kyron, Koka, and Kinden," he started. The Professor raised his glass next. "To Captain Maggie Beckett," he said, then looked to Maggie. She nodded, then raised her glass. "To Professor Maximilian Arturo," she finished. They all clinked their glasses together, then drank.
Quinn and Colin hugged their parents goodbye. With parts cobbled together from the timers provided by the Professor, Bennish, and Diana, and multiple scientists on hand, it was a simple matter to build a rudimentary timer, with all the coordinates safely backed up and stored on Diana's PDL. "Remember, when we take down the Slidecage, the war is won," Michael said. Quinn nodded. "I remember, dad," he said. "We'll be back right after." After one last hug, Quinn and Colin turned to the others.
"So back to my place to show my mom we're ok, then we take it easy for a while," Quinn said.
"Your parents will be sending the blood bomb to the Dynasty world shortly, I take it?" the Professor asked.
"Don't call it that, Professor," Remmy cut in, much to the Professor's amusement. Remmy and Quinn bumped the sides of their fists together.
"Should we do something to help the environmental problem here?" Colin asked.
"Maybe we can set up a link between our world and yours, and help each other rebuild," Wade suggested.
"Perfect! I like it," Maggie added, exchanging smiles with Wade.
"Great! But after we take a rest, we'll need the timer so we can head home later," Diana said, nodding to Mallory.
"Yeah, those goon guys should have calmed down by now. It's been almost two years," Mallory added.
"So, how good are you with computers, Mary? I've got some ideas for sliding," Bennish asked, sunglassed eyes on her.
"I've dabbled," Mary answered with a smile.
The Professor, Wade, and Colin laughed, and with the approving nods of the others, Quinn engaged the black timer and opened the familiar rainbow-lined portal. Michael and Elizabeth waved, everyone waved back, then one after the other, everyone jumped through. Quinn and Maggie jumped first, hand in hand, followed by the Professor, arm in arm with Wade. Remmy and Colin slapped an arm wrestling clasp on one another, then were next, followed by Diana and Mary, who smiled at one another, then jumped in. Mallory and Bennish stood before the portal, nodded to each other in faux seriousness, then jumped in last.
Finally, the portal closed. They were on their way home.