Legal Disclaimer: Not mine, don’t want it. Seriously, Sliders doesn’t belong to me, and as much as I’d love to fix it, I can’t. HOWEVER, the characters that aren’t in the series are mine. (ie Dorian and Tena Kelay)

Personal Disclaimer: I am a hopeless romantic, but not a very nice one. YOU. HAVE. BEEN. WARNED.

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Blue morning, blue day,

Can’t you see things,

My way?

Blue morning,

Can’t you see,

What your love has done to me?

- Blue Morning, Foreinger

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The moist air of the jungle carried the perfume of foreign flowers, which greeted the dawn in a perfusion of exotic scents. The call of strange birds added the mysterious aura of the rain forest, and Wade blinked when she saw the red form of the ringed planet that hung in the sky. Quinn moaned, and Wade turned to help him, checking for damage. She glanced around, looking for her companions. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Quinn," she asked, "Where’s Remmy and Maggie?" Quinn’s head jerked up and he looked around. However, it was to no avail, the two of them were alone in the jungle on a strange world. "What...what happened?" Wade wondered aloud.

"They might have landed on the same world, but not the same location," Quinn suggested hopefully, "You remember, like the time you and Remmy got seperated from the Professor, on..." He looked at her suddenly, as if she were some one else. Wade wanted to cry, he would never know who she truely was! If only she could tell him... if only. "I’m sorry," Quinn said, misinterpreting her pained expression.

"It’s all right," she assured him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. Silence stretched between them, broken only by the song of the jungle birds.

"I guess we should try and make it to civilization," Quinn suggested, without much enthusiasm.

"I guess." Wade said, climbing to her feet. The two stood in the middle of the clearing, gazing at the forest that stretched across the landscape on every side of them. Suddenly both felt incredibly alone.

-------

-------

"Should we stop for the night?" Quinn asked, coming up and putting his arm around her to sheild her from the chill.

"I guess," Wade tried to smile. They set about making a fire, but didn’t feel like they could trust the local plants, so dinner was out of the question. They bedded down for the night and sat together talking, their earlier discomfort forgotten in the face of their circumstances.

"Tell me about your Quinn," Quinn asked, staring into the fire. Wade looked at him, her heart pounding in her chest. Of course, she couldn’t tell him about her Quinn, because he *was* her Quinn. But, of course, he didn’t know that. She took a deep breath and returned her gaze to the fire.

"He was smart, brave and funny. He cared about all of us and tried to protect us. I..." choaked by emotion, Wade couldn’t continue.

"I really miss my Wade," Quinn said sadly, ‘Not that you’re not a good friend, Wade. I just... I really miss her. I loved her, you know. I never told her, but I did love her... I still do, even though she’s gone." There had never been a moment more painful or more joyous in Wade’s entire life. The irony was not lost on her. The man she loved more than life itself had just told her the words she’d been dying to hear for more than three years... and she couldn’t act on it! She couldn’t tell him that she loved him back, that he made the sun rise and the stars shine in the sky!!

It took Wade a moment to find her voice, but at last she said;

"I’m sure ever she is, she knows."

"Did you love your Quinn?" he asked. Wade was taken aback, but answered with all honesty.

"Yes, I loved him the moment I saw him," Wade said. Quinn nodded and laid a hand on her shoulder. But the comfort was empty, because he didn’t know who she was, "I’m really tired," she said, turning away and laying down on the soil, pillowing her head on herhands and blinking her eyes against the tears that assulted them.

"Are you alright?" Quinn asked, sounding worried.

-----

She couldn’t move, Wade realized as she woke up, attempting to roll over, but failing miserably. That, she soon discovered, was because she was tightly locked in Quinn’s embrace, with her arms at her sides. *You’re just having way too much fun at my expense* Wade thought bitterly at the multiverse in general. Here she was, in Quinn’s arms, exactly how she wanted it... but he didn’t know it was her!! *What is this? ‘Let’s pick on Wade’-day?* she thought miserably. Still, that selfish little part of her made her lie still and enjoy the sensations. The feel of his arms crossed tightly against her back, the beating of his heart, which she could hear from where her ear lay against his chest. Gradually, she realized he mist be awake, because he was stroking her hair. She moved so she could look up at him, and his hand stilled imediatly.

"Uh... hi," he said brillantly.

"Hi," she echoed, embrassed, "I seem to have moved."

"Looks like it too me," he said, letting her go. They both stood, looking at each other rather nervously.

"I’m gonna go see if I can find a stream or something," Wade said, turning.

"Alright."

-----

"You coming, Wade?" Quinn called out for her.

"Be right there!" she yelled back, sitting back on her haunches. Suddenly, of it’s own avail, her hand reached out and struck the water, dashing her reflection.

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CHAPTER TWO

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"How many people’s lives will you screw up, Quinn Mallory?" he mumbled to himself.

"What?" Wade asked. They were walking through the jungle together, heading towards were the sun had set the night before, in hopes of finding some civilization.

"Nothing," he told her, shaking his head as he held back another long vine for them to pass under. They’d reached another clearing. It was weird, it seemed that there were clears set an equal distance apart, for the two weary travelers had hapened about two other clears of the same make earlier in the morning. Had some one made these, and if so, to what purpose?

"Quinn," Wade said as they started moving again, "Where do you think Remmy and Maggie are?"

"I don’t want to think about that right now," Quinn said honestly, "I’m hoping that if we find civilization, then we’ll find them." She nodded mutely, and they went back to walking in silence.

----------

"There’s that at least," Maggie said. Remmy looked over at her with relief. At least she was talking now. He knew she felt inadiquate since she’d lost her arm, but he knew that wasn’t true. He just hoped she would realize that too.

"I hope Wade and Q-ball are okay," he said as they climbed onto the oposite bank.

"What do you think happened?" Maggie asked, showing interest in life for the first time in over a day.

"I’m not really sure, girl," Remmy said honestly, "But it happened to us once before, back when we had the Professor. Wade and I ended up at some hippy comune, and the guys landed in the city." Maggie nodded, having some trouble returning to her feet. Her right arm had been her good arm, and now she was stuck with just her left. Remmy wanted to help her, but knew she would be angry if he did. She’d think he was babying her. They continued to walk in silence, until they reached a clearing.

"You wanna take a break, girl? I’m exhausted." Remmy said. Suddenly, there was something sharp digging into his neck, and Rembrandt froze.

"Hault." a stranger’s voice commanded.

-------

"You wouldn’t believe me if I told you!" Wade said, her eyes wide with fear. She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the bushes into another one of those clearings. Quinn’s eyes widened. Hanging from several trees that had been planted in the middle of the clearing, were several Kromagg bodies.

"What the..."

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CHAPTER THREE

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"No, we’re not," Remmy said carefully. Her eyes narrowed when he spoke, and he realized she’d been addressing Maggie. Now the woman looked Rembrandt up and down, as if he were a piece of meat. He got the feeling that, had Maggie not been present, she would have checked his teeth. Now she directed her attention back to Maggie.

"I am Angelique of the Red River People, have you laid your claim on this man?" she asked, all the while sizing Maggie up. Rembrandt mentally cringed. Maggie had not been in the best of states lately, and he was afraid to think how she might react. To his relief, her old insicts kicked in.

"My name is Maggie and yes, I have claim to this man," she said, rather haughtily. Angelique’s eyes narrowed more still, then, to Rembrandt’s surprise, she bent and embraced Maggie.

"Greetings sister," she said, "I am sorry to have been so rude, but with the Kromaggs still about, one can never be too careful.

"Of course, sister," Maggie said, mimicking Angelique, "I fully understand."

"Tell me, sister," Angelique went on, "What clan are you of?"

"Um..." Maggie faultered for the first time, "We’re just passing through." It didn’t even phase Angelique, she’d obviously heard it before.

"You’re one of the Strangers," she said simply, and Maggie nodded, "That explains your odd dress. Tell me, have you lost your way?" Rembrandt saw the opertunity to jump in, and did just that.

"Uh, yeah, we have, and um, we got seperated from our companions," he said. Angelique looked to Maggie for confermation.

"I am sure my people would be most willing to grant you stay until you can find your companions and leave this dimension." That last staement rocked both sliders. These primitive people knew about sliding???

"Yes," Maggie said at last, "That would be most appreciated."

"Good," Angelique replied, "My hunting party is some ways away, but we should reach there before they move on."

-------

"What do you think this is, Quinn?" Wade asked as she gazed at the carnage.

"I have no idea..." Quinn said, closing his eyes to collect his thoughts, "We could have landed on a Kromagg world or... a world where they’ve been defeated. Wade nodded, she liked the second scenario best.

"Well," she tried to look on the bright side, "At least that means this world has some form of life."

"Yeah," Quinn said worriedly. It all depended on how hostile that life was.

-------

Seven cycles ago, the Kromaggs had come. Their flying monsters had quickly destroyed most of the land to the West, and it seemed all hope was lost. Then another people came. They called themselves the Renanians, though it was hard to distingish one from a typical human. They gathered the remaining clan Elders together and explained to them the concept of sliding. They came, or so they said, from a world more advanced than any other out there, and had discovered the Kromaggs by accident. Upon observing them, the Renanians discovered the apes to be a destructive race, bent on destroying all humans. Thus, they developed a weapon, a radio wave that pierced the brains of all Kromaggs, killing them instantly. The weapon had no effect on humans at all, and quickly drove the Kromaggs off any world they were encountered on. The Renanians drove the Kromaggs off Tena Kelay’s world, asking only to establish a base in the north, beyond the Blue Mountain. The clan Elders readily agreed, though Tena had been rather reluctant to trust the word of a male. However, the female officers explained yet another concept to her, something called ‘equality’. This too, was something Tena and the other Elders chose to keep from the people. Supplied with communication equipment, so as to be able call the Renanians for help, the Elders set about returning life to normal. The remaining Kromaggs that had escaped the slaughter of their people were quickly and eagerly hunted down by the women of every tribe, and for the first time in it’s histroy, Earth 562 (as the Renanians refered to it) knew peace.

The long string of comands had at last been entered, and the screen of the computer leapt to life. Tena found herself facing the image of a male Renanian officer. She recognized this one, he called himself ‘Todd’.

"Greetings, Elder Kelay," Todd said respectfully.

"Greetings," Tena replied rather curtly, "You have sent me information reguarding two worm holes that have recently deposited their travelers in our dimension. This is what I have called to you about."

"Indeed," Todd replied, "We’ve managed to get a trace on the dimensional signatures of two out of the three groups, and have identified them as Quinn Mallory, Wade Welles, Rembrandt Brown and Maggie Beckett. We’ve encountered this group before. They seemed to have lost the coordinates to their homeworld."

"And now you wish me to have them sent to you," Tena was way ahead of the ever-transparent Todd.

"Yes," he answered, "You need not worry about Mr. Brown and Ms. Beckett, they’ve been found by a Red River hunting party. We’ve already contacted Elder Mika. I would ask that you send some one to fetch Mr. Mallory and Ms. Welles."

"You will return them to their homeworld?"

"Sadly," Todd said with a grimace, "We can not." Tena nodded, she needn’t involve herself in Renanian affairs.

"I will see to it that Mallory and Welles find their way to you, Officer."

"Thank you, Elder Kelay," Todd said. Tena was about to sign off when he again spoke, "By the way, congradulations on the birth of your grand-daughter. A sixth must make you very proud. How is the mother?" Tena fought the saddness that fell over her face, but alas, could not combat it. She averted her eyes, speaking slowly.

"The birthing was difficult, Lelila did not survive."

"I’m sorry to hear that," Todd replied.

"Indeed." And she switched off the monitor. For a moment, she rested her head in her hands, but the moment of weakness soon passed. Rising from the chair, Tena found her protiege, Dathmir, praticing her archery in the mair corridoor. At the site of the master, Dathmir dropped her things and bowed respectfully.

"Elder Kelay," Dathmir greeted her.

"At ease," Tena told the other woma, "I have something I need you to do, Dathmir. I want you to go into the woods and find two answering to the names of Quinn Mallory and Wade Welles. They should be fairly easy to track, as they are inexperienced."

"It shall be done, Elder," Dathmir bowed and again and hurried out the temple door to prepare for her task. Tena waundered over to the window, gazing at the sun as it set behind the trees. In the village, she could hear the shouts of children, and women who had come back from the hunt. Her heart suddenly ached with maternal love, and tears sprung unwelcomed to her eyes. Her darling Lelila, her second and last daughter. It didn’t seem fait that she had been taken so swiftly. She had been a strong woman!! Leaning against the cool stone, the Elders grief was pushed aside by her duties, as she suddenly wondered who the third vortex had belonged to.

----

-----

"Sister Angelique," another woman, clearly the leader, heralded her as she came through the brush. Angelique raised her hand in greeting.

"Greetings. These two travelers have lost their way and have asked that they stay with us before journeying to the other side of the blue mountain," she explained.

"They are quite welcome to do so," the leader replied, then addressed Maggie, "I am sure you would not mind if we put your male to work, would you?"

"No, not at all," Maggie said softly. Rembrandt realized she had slipped back into her depression. Abruptly, the leader changed subject,

"The loss of your arm is clearly a mark of honnor, did you loose it in battle?" Maggie looked at the other woman, her brown eyes wide.

"I guess you could say that," she replied softly. With that the women returned to their work, and gave Remmy the task of loading their heavy spears into the sattle bags on their giant horses. The sun slipped quickly behind the trees, and the hunting party moved on towards home.

-------

There was someone shaking Quinn, rousing him from the deep sleep that had sheltered his mind. It was Wade, her eyes wide and afraid in the pale moonlight.

"Quinn, Quinn," she whispered urgently, "Wake up!"

"Huh? What is it?" he asked.

"Shh!" she nodded over towards some bushes at the edge of the clearing, "Listen." There were some sounds, like that of a horse galloping nearer and nearer.

"What is that?" he asked.

"I don’t know," Wade admited. The sound came closer and closer, as both sliders held their breath in fear. Then, finally, a gigantic horse pushed through the folliage, it’s rider holding a troch high above her head. She stopped a foot or so from the two sliders and demanded tearsely;

"Are you Mallory and Welles?" Wade and Quinn looked at one another in shock.

"Depends on who’s asking," Quinn said. The woman removed a dagger with her free hand and pointed it threateningly at Quinn.

"I say again, are you Mallory and Welles?"

"We are," Wade said, "What do you want with us?’

"You are to come with me, quickly, if you want to see your friends again."

------

"Yeah," Rembrandt said cautiously.

"Then you are under arrest."

------

"Lelila?" she asked softly. Wade shook her head and the woman pulled back, ‘I do know where your friends are," she replied, "They have been taken in by the Red River Clan, you will see them soon, if you come with me."

"Why didn’t you say so," Quinn muttered under his breath. Again the woman leaned in to get a closer look, and again her eyes seemed to widen.

"By the gods," she breathed, then seemed to regain her composure, "Do you always allow your male to be this imputent?" the woman asked of Wade.

"My male?" Wade asked, confused.

"You have claimed him as your’s, haven’t you?"

"Uh, yeah," Wade said, catching on. She took hold of Quinn’s arm posessively, as if to prove her point.

"Come," the woman said at last, "I’d like to reach the village before dawn." The two sliders nodded as the woman got off her horse, prepared to walk on foot. As they entered the forest, Wade tried to make conversation.

"So, what’s your name?" she asked.

"I am called Dathmir," the other woman replied. Silence ensued once more, but Wade thought she heard Dathmir mutter, "Wait till Elder gets a load of this."

From the bushes, a pair of brown eyes watched the teio with interest, her hand curling around the knife even tighter than before. Yes, revenge would soon be hers. Logan St. Claire smiled as she let the branches swing back into place, following the group as they headed back towards the village, and their doom.

------

"Remmy! Maggie!" she cried, running up to meet them, Quinn right behind her. Huggs and exclamations of excitement ensued as the two young sliders were at last reunited with their friends.

"Man, sweetheart, I thought I’d never see you again!" Remmy annouced as he hugged Wade. She laughed through her tears.

"It’s good to see you too, Rembrandt," Wade replied, patting him on the back. She turned to maggie, who stood silently aside, letting the other three Sliders have their moment, "It’s even good to see you, Maggie," she said, surprised at herself when she pulled Maggie into a quick hug.

"Well, whadaya know? They’re actually getting along," Quinn remarked teasingly.

"Yeah, you wish," Wade gave him a playful wack.

"Are you *quite* finished now?" Dathmir asked, her thin, red lips pursed as she scowled at them. The sliders all exchanged looks.

"Uh, sure," Quinn said.

"Then you will come with me, Edler Kelay wishes to meet with you." The warrior turned on the heel of her boot, her cloud of ebony hair billowing behind her like a royal train.

"Man, what is it with women on this world?" Rembrandt asked, "It’s worse than on that one world, right Q-ball?" Wade opened her mouth to comment on that statement, but found her throat incased in a steel grip. Her eyes watered up as she felt the sting of silence rub against her wounded soul. She could say nothing, because they didn’t know she was their Wade. Internally, Wade raged against the bargain she’d made in order to be here, but there was nothing she could do.

"You alright?" Quinn asked, putting his arm around her.

"Fine, thanks. This sulfur, it’s brutal," Wade made up an excuse.

"Yeah, I know," Quinn said as they followed the others into a clay house. It was larger than any of the others in the village, standing over the rest on the large stone hill that overlooked a large, cavernous ravine. Whoever lived here was pretty important. In the middle of the main room, surrounded by copper tools and weapons of war, was a woman with thick auburn hair plated in braids. Her eyes were closed, as though she were mediating. The green orbs flashed open at the sound of Wade’s gasp, which filled the room. The woman was her mother’s double.

Tena Kelay looked at the woman who posessed her dead daughter’s face and willed herself to be strong. If it had not been for Dathmir’s warning, she most certainly would be crying right now. But no, this woman was not her daughter, clearly that was true. Thus it didn’t matter whether or not Tena turned them over to the Renanians. And yet... in Tena’s maternal heart, she knew that it would be a struggle. For this Wade looked so much like her Lelila that they could almost be one and the same. And clearly, this woman also recognized Tena, for her eyes gave it all away. Slowly, the Elder rose from her place on the floor and gestured for the four prisoners to sit.

"Quinn... it’s... my mother!" Wade whispered harshly. She felt his warm hand encase her own in a firm, reassuring grip.

"I know," he whispered back as they all took a seat, "Just take it easy." She nodded. Her mother... no, her mothers *double* began to speak, her voice much harder than Wade remembered it ever being.

"I am sure you all wondering why you’ve been brought here," she began, "My name is Elder Kelay. Your wormhole was detected a few days ago by our sensors, along with another one."

"You *know* about sliding?" Quinn asked, amazed, "You have the technology?"

"Yes, we now of interdimensional travel, however, the technology is neither ours, nor do we want it. It belongs to the Renanians, a people from another world who helped us defeat the Kromaggs," At the expression on all four sliders face’s, the leader smiled rather bitterly, "I see you know of them as well."

"They conquered our world,"Rembrandt said softly.

"Ah," Tena replied, "Then you understand *why* the Renanians are interested in you. That is why we have brought you here. Tonight you will sleep in this house, and tomorrow, Dathmir, myself, and three others will acompany you past the Blue Mountain to the Renanian Base."

"Look here, lady..." Maggie began, shocking the rest of her party by finally speaking up.

"Yeah, we kinda have plans," Rembrandt said.

"Did you misunderstand, *male*?" Tena barked, "I did not mean to insinuate that there was a choice. Is that clear?"

"As crystal," Wade muttered. The blazing green eyes of her mother rested on her sharply, and Wade suddenly knew intense longing for home.

"Wait a sec," Quinn said suddenly, "You said there was another wormhole."

"Yes, of course," Tena replied, "We believed you could tell us."

"Well, we can’t," Wade said softly, "It’s only just us."

"Wait a minute!" Maggie interupted, her eyes suddenly lighting up with life again as her remaining fist cletched in anger, "*She* could have slid here. We know she has the ability to track wormholes now."

"Logan?" Quinn asked. It hadn’t even crossed his mind, but, he supposed he just wanted to put the whole business of his berzerk double behind him. Just then, a shadow fell across the room, and a voice spoke that made all four sliders flinch.

"No more Ms. Nice-Logan," she said, "Now, Quinn, I just want you to know, that as you watch me kill all your little friends... it’s *all* your fault."

"No!" Quinn shouted, "Kill me instead Logan, the others never did anything to you!"

"Oh, but that’s the beauty of it, double dearest!" said the woman, csnapping her fingers as if an excited child, "You see, I know how prone to guilt you are, and just *think* how much it’s going to hurt while you watch me make your worst nightmare into a reality!"

"That’s it, bitch!" Wade said, lunging for the other woman the same time Maggie did. Unable to fire at both targets, Logan missed by a mile, and fell to the ground as Wade shoved her down.

"Allow me to do the honors?" Maggie asked. Wade nodded slowly, watching as the other woman grabbed her enemy by the collar, using all the strength in her left arm. Maggie’s anger burned like a wild fire, destroying everything thing in it’s path, the blazing inferno reflecting in the depths of her eyes. With a grunt, she slamed Logan into the wall while the others could do nothing but watch in horrified fastination. Maggie merely picked Logan up again and pulled her closer to the window that over looked the ravine. "This," Maggie said as she kicked the other woman, "Is for Colin, and this," she held Logan close to the window, watching the fear that formed in her brown eyes, "Is for me!" Time moved in slow motion as Logan fell from the window, gravity grasping her body and pulling her down to the bottom of the ravine a few miles below. "There," Maggie said softly as she turned away from the window, "All better now." The other sliders looked at her dumbfounded, their jaws suddenly dropping as the stern millitary woman burst into tears and cried in Rembrandt’s arms.

-------

"I’m sorry," Wade spologized, "I didn’t mean to disturb you."

"It is all right," Tena replied, walking over to her. Her green eyes seemed sad as she said, "You look so much like her."

"So much like who?"

"My daughter, Lelila," the other woman explained, "She died a few days ago during child birth. It has not been the same around here since."

"I’m sorry," Wade said again, "It must be painful for you to see me."

"In a way, it is," Tena’s eyes held with Wade’s brown ones, "And yet, in a way it is healing." She removed something from her robes, "Here," she handed Wade the most beautiful necklace she’d ever seen. It was made entirely of black glass stone, strung together with the largest in the center and the others getting smaller as they moved out, "I believe she would have wanted you to have this. It was her favorite."

"I couldn’t," Wade protested.

"You must," Tena replied as she helped her daughter’s double put it on, "I must warn you," she said, "I do not know what the Renanians want with you and your friends. But I can not risk my clan by disobeying them. I only warn you to be on your guard."

"I will," Wade said, "And thank you." Impulsively, she gave her alternate mother a hug, which to her joy, was returned.

"Listen to me," Tena said as they seperated, "Do not be afraid, my dear. I know that you have been sworn to silence. There will be peace at the end of your journey. But I do not know how long that journey will be."

"How..." Wade asked, wide-eyed.

"It is in your eyes, Wade," Tena smiled, "Now go, I believe your friend has need of you."

Propelled by those words, Wade left the house and wandered towards a grove of trees, her mind not really on where she was going. Suddenly, Wade noticed Maggie was standing in the grove, her back resting against one of the trees.

"Maggie?" she asked as she neared, "Are yoiu all right." The other woman looked at her, and for the second time in a very short while, Wade saw she had been crying.

"I feel so useless," Maggie whispered.

"You’re not worthless," Wade said as she laid a hand on Maggie’s arm. The woman who she had once hated and envied no longer provoked such emotions from Wade. She knew that Quinn was in love with her, still in love with her, even though he thought her dead and she knew that Maggie was a part of the team, and that she was hurting.

"Yes I am," the other woman stressed, "I lost my good arm, my fighting arm."

"Are you kidding?" Wade asked, "You single handedly saved us from Logan, and you call yourself worthless?" She laid a hand on the other woman’s arm, "I know it’s hard to adjust, but we all know you’re strong. And stubborn. Heaven knows you’re stubborn. At that, Maggie laughed.