Echo of Dreams 1/4
by Meredith Bronwen Mallory
mallorys-girl@cinci.rr.com

    He didn't tell the others what happened. He figured finding Wade was
more important than anything at this point. He'd try to get her to see
reason when they found her.
"Alright," he said as he aimed the timer, "Earth 113119, here we come."
"Soft landings!" Maggie called out to Remmy as he and Colin jumped. She
jumped shortly after, followed by Quinn.

    The other end of the Vortex was amazing. There, on the waterfront, stood
a huge crystalline city, set right into the bay and teeming with lights.
"It's so beautiful," Maggie said breathlessly as she looked down on the
city, bathed in the first rays of the morning.
"So, where to now, Q-ball?" Remmy asked.
"I... um, I don't know," he looked down at the timer, it read three days and
forty seven minutes.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Colin asked.
"Look," Quinn sapped, "She gave me the coordinates, that's all!"
"Easy, Q-ball," Remmy said, "It's okay."
"Uh, guys," Maggie tugged on Rembrandt's shirt, "Some one's coming." They
looked down the hill, and sure enough, a figure was approaching.

`As she got closer, Quinn saw she was about Maggie's height, her long hair
spilling down from it's clip atop her head in an ocean of auburn. Her face
was almost sculpture-like, so prefect and smooth,  and though by her height
she appeared to be at least thirty, her face was ageless. Piercing green
eyes peered at them over high cheek bones, and she wore a long purple robe
which moved around her like a mysterious fog. She walked up to them with
natural grace, and stopped when she stood in front of Quinn.
<"You are Quinn Mallory?"> she asked, her words echoing in his mind. He
looked to the others, and saw that they too were shocked. She didn't even
bother to move her lips.
"Yeah, I'm Quinn," he said, unsure around this stranger.
<"You're persistent, Mr. Mallory. It does you credit, but not much else. My
name is Aleaha St. Cyr.">
"Aleaha?" he asked. She nodded, and Quinn turned to the others.
"Wade told me about her," he turned back to Aleaha, "You saved her from the
Kromaggs."
"Aleaha, do you know where Wade is?" Remmy asked, stepping forward.
<"Of course, she's my charge. She's very powerful, in a few years, she'll
be stronger than I am,"> Aleaha said, and Quinn could hear the admiration in
her mind-voice.
"What do you mean, stronger?" Maggie asked.
"She's something called a 9th Sensitive," Quinn told her, glancing at Aleaha
for confirmation.
"And that is...?" Colin shrugged.
<"It means she can throw at thought across the cosmos, or, in your case, Mr.
Mallory, across the multiverse,"> the Sensitive informed them. She sounded
proud of that, and Quinn assumed it was because she was right up there with
Wade.
"Um, Ms. St. Cyr?" Remmy asked, looking uncomfortable.
<"Yes?">
"Can you talk out loud? I mean, hearing you in my head, well, it's kinda
weird," he tried to smile. Aleaha nodded and struggled for a moment to clear
her throat. It occurred to Quinn that she probably hadn't spoken in a long
while.
"Of course, Mr. Brown," she finally said, her voice worn.
"Thanks, girl," Remmy put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come, I'll take you to Wade," Aleaha said, turning away.

    The Sliders followed Aleaha down the hill towards the mammoth city. She
lead them across the great glass bridges and through the shinning streets.
As they passed a certain alley way, the shadows moved. When they were gone,
an ebony haired shadow stepped from the rest of her company.
"<You were right, he's here, right on schedule,"> Ebony Shadow sent.
<"Of course, aren't I always? Is SHE among them?"> her employer asked.
<"The female? Yes." >
<"So, he had the audacity to bring Maggie along. Well, that will be his down
fall,"> a pause, he was savoring the thought of victory, then; <"You have
done well, Rhia. Come, we have much work to do.">
<"Of course.">

-----  

    "What happened to Wade?" Remmy asked as they climbed the steps of a
building claiming to be the Healing Center.
"We found her when we liberated Earth 113" Aleaha explained, "She actually
lead me to her, she was so drugged up she thought I was her sister, Kelly.
She was making so much noise she gave me a headache. When I found her, she
was thin as a bone, another week and she would have starved to death. She
was conscious then, but when we got her here, she had a collapse and when
into a coma." 
"Is she alright, though?" Remmy asked.
"In a manner of speaking. She had lost some of her later memories due to
trauma. She had little to no recollection of you," she gestured to Maggie,
"And she could barely remember what happened to her when she was captured.
But, later, most of her memories surfaced. I'd say she remembers everything
now, won't you, Mr. Mallory?" she asked Quinn pointedly.
"Look, I'm sorry," he said defensively. The others looked at him oddly, but
said nothing.
"You defeated the Kromaggs?" Colin asked, astonished.
"Yes, we discovered a frequency that turns their brains to mush," Aleaha
said cheerfully, "And they deserve it, too. Every form of life has a right
to exist." 
"Do the Kromaggs know about you?" Maggie asked.
"Oh, yes, they're afraid of us, actually. That's why they've stepped up
their invasion plans. But, that won't stop us. We've already liberated fifty
planets, and set up protection systems on another two hundred that have yet
to be invaded."
"You seem rather proud of that," Quinn remarked thoughtfully.
"Shouldn't I be?" Aleaha asked, "I'll admit, maybe I'm a little biased... my
husband is Admiral Foster, commander and chief of our forces." Now they
stood before a set of heavy doors. Quinn thought he heard whispers as Aleaha
and the guard locked eyes, but it could have been his imagination. The guard
handed Aleaha four masks and then unlocked the doors.
<"Put these on,"> Aleaha instructed them, reverting back to mind-speak,
<"The room we've put Wade in has a special atmosphere to prevent  her body
from being damaged by the coma. I'm immune to it, but you ...."> she didn't
need to say anymore. One by one, the sliders donned their masks. Aleaha
nodded and opened the door.

    The room had a high, arched ceiling, and was more like a cathedral than
a hospital room. In the middle of the room, dwarfed by the size of the bed
she lay on, was Wade... and someone else. Quinn could hear the fainest
whispers of a conversation.
"Aleaha?" he asked, "I'm not a...."
<"No, why?">
"I can hear... whispers, I can hear them talking, but it's like it's from
far away," he told her.
<"Telepathic link- you and Wade,">  Aleaha explained. Quinn nodded and
looked at the person sitting at Wade's bedside. He sucked in a sharp breath
when he realized just who it was...
"YOU!" he shouted. His double turned around, his eyes angry, and Quinn
noticed he wasn't wearing a breathing mask.
<"Aleaha,"> Quinn heard Wade say, <"Make him leave, make them all leave. I'm
not up to visitors right now.">
"What's going on?" Remmy asked. Quinn realized the others couldn't hear any
of this. He shook his head, he'd tell them later.
"Wade," he begged, "Please, I need to talk to you."
["Go away, Quinn."]
"No, Wade, we need to talk... please," he said again.
"She said to leave her alone," Quinn double reiterated, "Now be a gentleman
and comply."
"I didn't ask you," Quinn retorted.
"You! You had the audacity to bring her," Quinn's double gestured to Maggie,
"here, and now you start making demands?"
"Wade, please, I need to tell you something..." Quinn pleaded, ignoring his
double. He was greeting merely by silence, "Fine," he said, "If you're going
to be stubborn..." he took of his mask quickly, and flung it to the other
side of the room. He instantly knew he couldn't breathe, but he tried not to
think about that. He heard his friends panicking, yelling at him to get him
mask back on, but he blocked them out. Instead, he formed the words with his
mind, as loudly as he could, and thrust them towards Wade. ["Listen to me,
Wade. I LOVE YOU!! Not Maggie, YOU!"]

The was a brief, horrific white moment in which Wade doubted. Then...

["Oh, God, Quinn. I love you too!"] Wade said in wonder. Quinn felt the
world tilt, and whether it was from joy or from the gas he wasn't sure. But
when it started to go black, he knew he was in trouble.

    Remmy watched as Quinn fell to the ground, and looked over at Colin, who
was retrieving his mask. When he looked back, he was shocked to see Wade
bending over Quinn, or her essence at least.
["Some one help him!"] she cried.

-------

    The first thing Quinn saw when he woke was Wade, sitting back his bed,
holding his hand. He groaned as he tried to find his voice.
"Hey," she smiled, pressing a finger to his lips, "Take it easy." Her hand
moved to his cheek, and she pressed a small kiss to his lips, "I'm sorry,"
she said.
"No..." he took a deep breath," I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't save you...
I'm sorry we took Maggie along.. I was never it love with her, Wade. It was
you all along, I guess I was just afraid." She smiled tenderly and brushed
some hair away from his face, "I love you," he said.
"I love you too," Wade murmured.
"Slide with us, will you? I don't want to leave you here."
"Did you honestly think you could get rid of me now?" she asked.
"Did I say I wanted to?" he asked. She didn't have a chance to answer, he
kissed her.