Part 0

Disclaimer: I do not own Sliders. The characters are owned by Universal and the Sci Fi channel. Please do not sue. This story is not for profit and the author receives no financial compensation. This story may be freely distributed with the condition that no parts of the texts are modified.

Author's notes: This is the sequel to my story Shadows of Consciousness. I highly suggest you read that one first or else this story isn't going to make much sense.

Rated PG

Colin Mallory couldn't remember much. There was the swirling vortex, familiar in it's strangeness. Pulsating colors of blue and white that called to him from their shimmering depths. It seemed like forever ago when he had actually called to companions within the hole in space time. Forever since he had had friends -- family -- at all. No. Colin Mallory had been alone for a long time. But his mind stretched forward as his body rapidly shimmmered between space time dimensions.

Colin Mallory had been unstuck in between for almost two years. So the day that he woke up on the the metal laboratory floor didn't surprise him that much. It was the fact that he didn't immediately shift into another dimension that surprised him. And the voice that greeted him by name.

"Welcome Mr. Mallory," said a paunchy overweight man with thinning grey hair. He sat in a wheelchair and his smile seemed to be more of satisfaction that genuine happiness.

Colin breathed, and he found it took effort to speak. "Who...who..."

"Am I?" answered the man with a slight smirk that Colin couldn't read correctly.

The man moved the wheelchair closer and Colin realized he was being contained in a cage of some sort. "I," continued the man, "am Dr. Oberon Geiger. And I am the answer to all your prayers."

Colin felt his tongue. It was unused to the exercise of talking. In fact his whole body felt numbed. "What prayers would that be?" he managed to stutter out.

"Why to anchor you my boy of course," said Geiger.

"Anchor?"

"You have been what we call...unstuck betweeen dimensions for a very long time Colin. Do you know what year it is?"

Colin shook his head. He didn't remember much. Just the endless stream of faces and places....

"Well my boy, it's been nearly two years since you've beeen unstuck."

"Unstuck?" The word wobbled on his tongue like a summons.

"Stranded in space time. Floating through dimensions. Unanchored."

Colin nodded. "He understoood finally what the blur had been for the past two years without his friends.....his friends...

"My friends?" he croaked out.

"All in due time my boy," Geiger responded.

Maggie Beckett wandered slowly around the bend of the curved street where she had gone for a short walk before the slide. She had liked this world. It reminded her of home -- without the violence. Here, WWIII had been averted in the nick of time by the peacemaking efforts of Jesse Jackson. On her world, Jackson had been killled...and the war had raged on....

She wondered if there was a Stephen on this world. She'd been wondering that a lot lately. Maggie didn't want to admit it, but she was lonely. Quinn had Wade...Diana had Mallory...and that didn't leave her and Remmy a lot of options. Sure they were all her friends, but it wasn't the same. At the same time she remembered all the friends she had made, some gained, and some lost. That line of thinking led to only one question. Colin. Where was he?

They had set out on this journey to find him. She, Remmy, Wade, Quinn, Mallory and Diana. The six of them certain that they'd see his smile again somehow. Quinn wouldn't follow any other line of reasoning. Maggie knew it was his own inner guilt that kept that flame alive. But truthfully, Maggie was beginning to lose hope.There just weren't too many options and she was too practical for her own good.

She checked her wristwatch. "Only a few minutes," she muttered to herself. She walked down the street and saw the others standing in front of the Chandler hotel.

"Right on time," she said softly. Quinn's smile greeted her as he held up the timer. "Hey," he said. "Cutting it kind of close aren't you?"

Maggie smiled. It was nice to know that he, that anyone cared. "Nah," she replied. "You know us military types always keep it together."

Wade grinned at Maggie. In the four months that had passed since they had rescued her, she and Maggie had managed to get over their past resentments. They were almost what you would call close friends these days. It probably helped that Wade and Quinn were a couple, Maggie thought reflectively to herself.

"Here goes everything," said Quinn, and he pressed the button on the inconspicuous device in his right hand.

A brilliant blue light streamed forth from his palm and formed a shimmering circle in the sky. One by one, the sliders jumped througgh the hole in the air until 60 seconds later the hole and the people who had moments before been standing on the street, vanished into thin air.

Part 3

The swirling tunnel of the vortex looks as beautiful as ever, thought Wade as she and the others slid through it. Colors of blue and silver flashed by her eyes, temporarily blinding her with their brilliance. Suddenly, there was a sharp flash, and she felt herself being torn to the right, almost as if the vortex had purposely been made to change directions. The mouth of the vortex loomed ahead of her and she felt her dry voice mouth Quinn's name. A few seconds later she was hurled into the next dimension.

She stumbled as she landed but managed to keep her balance. Looking for reassurance, she made sure that all her companions had landed with her. Quinn was already there ahead of her. Remmy, Diana, Maggie and Mallory flew out a few seconds later.

"What a rush!" said Mallory, his eyes sparkling. "Did you feel that curve?"

"It was almost like being in a fighter," laughed Maggie.

"Blech, or a roller coaster," said Diana. "I hate those things."

Wade grinned. "I used to love Collosaus."

Quinn gave her arm a squeeze. "Well for better or worse, we're here for 54 hours and change."