Shadows of Consciousness

by

Pam Froman

Disclaimer: The following story is based on Sliders, which is property of Universal and St. Claire Entertainment and the Sci-Fi Channel, and is created without permission. The characters Diana Davis, Mallory, Quinn Mallory, Wade Wells, Rembrandt Brown, Maggie Beckett and Colin Mallory, belong to Universal and St. Claire Entertainment, and are used without permission. Any other characters are mine! Mine I tell you! (Evil scientist cackle.) The author receives no financial compensation (though she could use it!) and no copyright infringement is intended. (In other words, please don't sue. I can barely afford groceries as it is.) This document may be freely distributed with the condition that no parts of the texts are modified.

Authors Notes: This is my version of a 5th season story with a twist. After watching Requiem and Map of the Mind I was struck with several unsettling questions. This story takes place immediately after Map of the Mind, and it also attempts to answer the question burning in every Wade fan's mind: Where did she go? As she happens to be my favorite character she and other (original sliders) are central to this story, although at the beginning it is told mostly from Diana's perspective. If you don't know what happened in Requiem or Map of the Mind you might want to watch those episodes as they will explain a few things. It also might be helpful if you know a little about the characters from King Arthur before reading this. Specifically, Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot, Guenivere, and Morgan La Fey. All feedback can be sent to wadesdiary@yahoo.com. Let me know if you like the story!

Sometimes
The most beautiful things
The most innocent things
And many of those dreams
Pass us by
Keep passing us by

You feel good
I said it's funny that you understood
I knew you would
When you were good
You were very, very good

I still look up
When you walk in the room
I've the same wide eyes
They tell the story
Try not to reach out
When you turn 'round
And you say hello
And we both pretend
There was an end
But there was no ending

--Fleetwood Mac "Angel"

Part 1

Diana lay on the wooden park bench, her relieved friends huddled in a group around her. She blinked slowly, and vaguely tried to recall the events that had befallen her on the last world. It was all still such a blur, but slowly, she began to remember.

She, Mallory, Remmie and Maggie had slid into some sort of mental institution. It was a horrible place, on a horrible world, where they squashed creativity under the blind slogan "Think Alike," while tampering with people's brains.

"God!" she thought inwardly with a shudder. They'd tampered with her brain! She closed her eyes again at the thought of that twisted version of a cat scan.

She felt a hand touch her shoulder, shattering her inward reflections, and looked up at the face of Mallory.

"I'm so glad you're back Diana," he said quickly, smiling down at her awkwardly as a goofy look crossed his face for a split second.

"Yeah," said Remmie, who was standing just behind her head. "We thought we'd lost you to the unconscious for good girl."

Diana could only smile and shake her head. No, they hadn't lost her. She was back. But still she felt the pangs of memory. A memory of a voice. A beautiful, hauntingly familiar voice. The scientist in her begged her to examine these memories, but she felt too exhausted to think about them at the moment.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Maggie sat down beside her and put a hand on her arm.

"You sure you're OK?" she asked quietly.

"I'm OK," Diana replied. And she was...she knew that instinctively. Yet she was struck with the strangest sense of deja vu when she thought of the visions she'd experienced. When she thought of the voice. Why did it feel so familiar, like Maggie should know it too?

"So," said Maggie, turning to face Remmie. "How much time on this world?"

Remmie pulled the timer from his shirt pocket, and glanced at the well-worn display.

"Well...Maggie, how do you feel about waitressing again?" he quipped with a smile.

"On no..." Maggie groaned. "Don't tell me...we've got a month?" She buried her head into her knees with an over-dramatic moan of protest.

Mallory peered over Remmie's shoulder and laughed.

"And the prize of one million dollars goes to...dum da da dum! Miss Maggie Beckett!"

Remmie chuckled and slapped Mallory good-naturedly on the back. "Actually it's 33 days, 5 hours and 23 minutes," he cracked a grin and winked at Maggie. "And we can use the cash anyway."

"Oh boy!" said Maggie sarcastically. "Two orders of flap jacks here I come. That is, if they even have restaurants on this world."

Diana watched the group's antics thoughtfully. It was a familiar scene to her. Scoring part time work on the longer slides was one of the downsides to sliding. Money had to come from somewhere, and they couldn't always count on Remmie's double having an ATM card. On too many worlds he was dead. On too many others there weren't ATM cards.

"C'mon guys, let's get moving," said Remmie. "We still have to check into a hotel. I think we're in this world's version of Golden Gate park, so I guess we should head for the Dominion." He looked at the scenery spread before them. The park was larger than the San Francisco of his earth...if they were where he thought they were that is...and there were lovely cobblestone paths strewn throughout the flower beds. There were no people about, and it all felt very peaceful. In a way, it reminded him of the world that Wade had sent him to after she disappeared in the blaze of light that had transported him as effectively as it killed her Kromagg captors. He checked a sob at the memory, and sent a mental prayer in her direction. Wherever she was, he thought, he hoped she was at peace.

Part 2

"Check out this place!" said Maggie, as they made their way down a busy cobblestone street.

"Yeah..." said Diana in wonderment. "It's like something out of a King Arthur novel."

The scene was before them was like something out of a medieval textbook. There were cheerily dressed vendors hawking their wares, elegant carriages, and buildings with a distinctive gothic feel. Yet when they'd examined a store closely, they saw that there was electric lighting, heat, nearly all the modern conveniences they were used to (except perhaps cars). Mallory smiled at her as they passed a modern-looking drainage ditch which was covered discreetly with some hay.

"Except for the modern pipe system of course. And since when do you read *romantic* literature?"

"Hey," said Diana defensively. "I told you that I almost dropped out of science remember? I've read my share of um...great works."

The city was a vision of loveliness, thought Diana. The streets were clean, in an old fashioned sense anyway. Flowers rimmed the windows as cherub-like children scampered playfully under trees that shaded the block from the sun's glare. And she found the British tinge to the street and shop names fascinating. "I wonder what caused this place to be so...Camelot-like?" she thought aloud.

"Why, 'tis Camelot mi' lady," a voice answered her. The group turned to see a smiling, roundish shopkeeper standing just inside the doorway of his store where he sold his wares.

"Niceties and Novelties huh?" said Mallory with a smirk. He pulled Maggie forward, bowed comically and said in an exaggerated British accent, "Come m'dear...let's see what we kin' find ye in the way of proper attire."

"Har har," said Maggie, pushing him away.

"Your highness Margaret Morgan La Fey! And sir Rembrandt-Merlin!" said the shocked looking shopkeeper looking first at Maggie, then at Remmie in astonishment. "I do humbly apologize your lordships! I would never have spoken so free had I known," he smacked his chubby fingers onto his forehead, as the bemused group listened. "But," continued the little man, "you are dressed right strange..."

"Ahem...yes," said Remmie quickly. "We were uh, just trying out some new fashions for the um...court."

He looked at Maggie secretively and whispered, "A little help here?"

"Ah...yeah," said Maggie quickly. "We would like to change garments however as I...um...tire of wearing one thing per day. Would you have anything to help us?" She smiled sweetly at the shopkeeper, who looked like he was about to burst with pride.

"Yes of course, your Majesty! Camelot's finest niceties are here! Come come, I'll dress you right up!"

"Just make sure you bill the castle," muttered Mallory as they entered the shop.

Thirty minutes later the bustling storekeeper had dressed the four interdimensional travelers in what he deemed "worthy attire." For Maggie and Diana, that meant velvet and lace gowns with bodices. Remmie walked out of the shop in the full magician's garb; a blue cone hat with stars, long flowing robe and even a "magic" wand, to "keep up appearances," according to the shopkeeper.

But it was Mallory's outfit that had the group rolling. He wore a long green vest with a white peasant shirt (with lace collars) underneath, mustard colored balloon-like short pants, and gray tights!

"Not a word guys," said Mallory, scowling as they left the shop. But Maggie and Remmie couldn't help it. They chortled loudly.

"What?" said Maggie innocently. "Tights not your thing?" This sent Remmie into another fit of laughter.

"Ha ha ha...very funny your royal pain in my behind," shot back Mallory.

The group checked into the "Ye Ole Dominion" Hotel without incident, and were quickly ushered up to the finest suites in the house.

"Now this is the royal treatment," remarked Maggie as she settled into a luxurious love seat. "Well guys, guess I won't be waitressing on this world after all. After all, me and Remmie here are big shots."

"Yeah," said Remmie. "but we still need to get some cash."

All eyes turned to Mallory and Diana.

"Oh great," said Mallory sarcastically. "Tights...and now washing dishes too? Man, this bites!"

Diana smiled. She wouldn't mind a little hard work. Maybe it would distract her from the disturbing memories still crashing around in her brain.

"Tomorrow you two go to the castle and ask for work," said Remmie sleepily. "The shopkeeper said..." he paused a second and yawned, "that they are always hiring new servants. Meanwhile, let's get some shut eye."

Diana closed her eyes, and found that the voice was still playing at the edges of her mind.

Diana was frightened. She felt lost, and there were so many shapes here, in this place. It was wonderful and terrifying at the same time.

A hand reached out for her, small fingers guiding her to a bright center.

Peace.

And the song.

A sweet feminine voice. It was her guide on this journey.

Diana couldn't see who her guide was, but she could hear her speak.

And the voice was one she knew.

"You're safe Diana. My mind! My mind is in the slide Diana! Do you understand? It's wonderful! My mind is in the slide!

Peace.

Diana's eyes snapped open.

"Wade?" she whispered.

Part 3

Morning dawned bright and clear. Mallory and Diana were up early. Mallory looked at himself in the mirror and sighed."I look like the biggest goob this side of the multiverse," he said with a flourish.

"You look fine," said Diana, distracted. She wanted to hurry and get work so she didn't have to think about the dream she'd had last night. "It was a dream wasn't it?" she thought nervously to herself. "C'mon," she said, pulling Mallory towards the door. "Let's get out of here. I want to find work as soon as we can."

Maggie and Remmie were just waking up as they left the room.

"Hi ho hi ho, it's off to work we go!" said Mallory sarcastically as they shut the door behind them.

The "Ye Ole Dominion" provided maps to the front gate of the castle (evidently tourists liked to catch glimpses of the royals).

Diana tried to appease her mind. Had that brain mapping trauma that she'd been through on the last world made her crazy? She didn't feel crazy. But she also didn't feel...like she was alone. Scientifically she knew that was impossible. "A dream is not reality Diana," she reasoned with herself. But a part of her knew that she hadn't imagined the dream. Somehow, Wade was with her, or had been with her anyway, and it was up to Diana to figure out how...and why.

"Mallory, there's something" she began, but was stopped by the site of the castle in front of her. It was a huge white building, with towers that looked like they were poking the sky. Flying flags crested the rooftops.

"It's like...something out of a dream," she breathed, totally in awe of the beautiful architecture.

"Yeah, it's nice," said Mallory shrugging. He knew that it would fade in beauty each day that he had to work in it.

A guard halted them at the gate. "State your business," he said abruptly.

"We're looking for work," said Diana softly. She was still in awe over the sheer beauty of the building.

"I see," said the guard. He pointed to the far side of the castle where a small pond glistened. "Bear right, and follow the curve of the castle. Cross Dreamers Lake on the bridge and go through the side door. Ask for Edna, she can place you."

Diana nodded, and pulled Mallory in the direction of the pond.

"Man," said Mallory, "Was that guy like a bad Monty Python episode or what?"

"Ssh," said Diana. "he'll hear you."

They found Edna (a cheerful little woman with rosy cheeks who was more than happy to help them be assigned to work in the castle) in the spacious castle kitchen. "You m'dear," she said shaking her finger efficiently at Diana, "simply must be one of our ladies in waiting."

Diana stared at her incredulously and said "Am I qualified for that?"

Edna chortled, and said conspiratorially "Well m'dear from the way your dressed, you're obviously...in...with one of the royals. After all we kitchen maids don't often wear lace and velvet!"

"Oh no," thought Diana. "She must think I'm a some kind of...of...I don't know what...because of these fancy clothes."

"But I'm..." she began to protest, but Edna had stopped listening and scuttled past her to gaze at Mallory with a shrewd look.

"You look familiar m'dear," she said looking him up and down. "In fact, you really do remind me of one our knights..."

Diana stepped in quickly. "Oh he gets that all the time...one of those faces you know? So tell me Edna, we're new around here...can you tell us a bit of the history of Camelot?"

A smile of pleasure lit Edna's face as she began to tell the story.

"Our people discovered the new world in the 10th century. They began migrating in the 11th century. But there were many casualties on the New World. Crops failed, and wars began to break out among the different provinces. Things looked bad for the settlers until a great king unified the provinces in the 12th century, and created the capitol city, Camelot. His name was King Arthur, and he established a wonderful form of free government, called the round table. 12 knights were chosen for the round table, and that's where the decisions of the country are made, even today.

"After Arthur's death, his son ascended the throne and decreed that in honor of his father, all members of the royal court would take on the names of the people from that first provincial court." Edna continued. "Thus we always have a King Arthur, a queen Guenivere, etc. etc."

Diana listened to this tale with interest. Obviously, she thought, this Guenivere did not cause the destruction of Camelot by cheating on Arthur with Lancelot.

"So is that who I'm going to be waiting on?" she asked. "The queen?"

"Yes dear," replied Edna. "and Queen Wade-Guenivere is a lovely soul!"

Part 4

Rembrandt Brown had been a slider for five long years. In those five years, he'd seen doubles of himself who were dead, superstars, in the military and even in the FBI. "But," he thought to himself, "this double had to be the craziest ever. A sorcerer?"

He yawned slowly, stretching out his muscles in the bed. "Sure feels good to be back in the Dominion," he said quietly. "Almost like the old days." Maybe that was why he couldn't stop thinking about Wade and Quinn...hell, he'd even dreamed about them last night.

Maggie stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. She'd managed to catch the last part of Remmie's remark.

"Hey Rem?" she asked.

"Yeah," Remmie answered, distracted. He was trying to remember what had happened in the dream, but he just couldn't get his head around it.

Maggie sighed softly. She tried to remember the dream she'd had last night. The details were fuzzy, but Wade and Quinn were there...and what? What had Wade said to her?

"I was dreaming about them last night." She said, clenching one fist unconsciously in the still-wet towel.

Remmie looked up at the statement.

"Yeah," he said sitting up. He didn't have to ask who "them" was. "Me too. You wanna talk about it?" He patted a place next to him on the bed. He knew that ever since they had found Wade in that Kromagg weapons facility, Maggie had been troubled.

Maggie sat down and looked pensively at him.

"Do you think?" she began softly but then stopped, shutting her eyes. She didn't want to cry. Maggie Beckett didn't ever cry. She was a soldier. Casualties happened! "But you caused it Maggie didn't you?" a little voice said inside her head.

Remmie saw Maggie struggle to regain her control, and put an arm around her shoulders.

"I feel like...it's my fault," Maggie finished in a small voice.

Remmie took in a sharp breath and began to protest.

"It's not your faul.." he began, but was stopped by Maggie shaking her head violently.

"It is! Don't you see!" she cried passionately. "God! If I hadn't been there, Wade would never have been taken to that awful place!" Giving up the fight against her tears, Maggie buried her face in Remmie's shoulder.

Remmie sighed. Maggie had a point he supposed, but he'd long ago given up trying to place blame for what happened to Wade.

"Now c'mon sweetheart," he said softly. "If anybody caused anything about Wade it was those Kromaggots. You can't blame yourself."

Maggie pulled away from him and got up off the bed. She turned toward the wall and crossed her arms.

"I guess I know that," she said. "But I can't get her off my brain." She turned back to face Remmie again. "I was really...cruel to her, y'know?"

Remmie nodded slowly. "But you've changed Maggie," he said simply. He didn't want her to carry guilt over Wade too. He had enough of his own to deal with.

Maggie smiled wanly and said, "That's because of her you know."

"Huh?" Remmie asked, confused by her response.

Maggie continued, "When we got to your earth, and found out what had happened to you two I felt responsible. I made a vow to myself never to be that unkind to someone again...no matter how much we got on each other's nerves." She laughed lightly at the last statement. Then her look turned sorrowful again. "Oh Rem, do you know what I'd give to fight with her again?"

Remmie looked away, tears brimming in his eyes. "Yeah Maggie...I sure do."

"Wade-Guenivere?" thought Diana incredulously. She'd been instructed to go to the Queen's chambers and await her there. Then she was to help her dress for dinner. Mallory was working out in the stables, helping the knights care for their horses.

Suddenly, a bright flash of smoke appeared in the middle of the sitting room. Diana shrank back against the wall and shielded her eyes as a familiar-looking man stepped out from the smoky center.

"Rembrandt?" she whispered fearfully.

Sir Rembrandt-Merlin peered down at the attractive young woman who stood in awe of him. He smiled and said cheerfully. "Sorry...I can't resist making an entrance. And I need to speak with you"

Diana realized that it was not her Rembrandt. "Oh, um...that's alright, you just startled me...that's all."

Rembrandt-Merlin continued to smile. Then with a mysterious air he said, "Of that I don't doubt. After all, you've seen much stranger things than me on your journey haven't you?"

Diana resisted the urge to look shocked, but just barely. How could this stranger...even if he was Remmie's double...know anything about where she'd been? She didn't answer him, though a thousand more questions burned through her mind.

"Yes...many an adventure," Rembrandt-Merlin continued. He shut his eyes. "And now...someone has joined you...but you can not feel her. You walked with her in the place of shadow. But you do not yet realize that your path must bring her to the light."

"What nonsense are you talking about..." began Diana, but she was stopped when he began to sing.

"Let your soul...be your pilot...Let your soul...be your guide."

It was the song.

"Oh my god," Diana breathed, as comprehension began to dawn on her. "You know...about, Wade?"

Rembrandt-Merlin looked at her sadly. "She was your guide there. Now you must be her guide."

Diana shook her head violently. "I don't know how! I don't even know if she was real!"

"You must be her guide Diana," Rembrandt-Merlin repeated. "Or she will forever be lost...in your shadow."

Diana willed herself to stay calm, and shut her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, he was gone.

Part 5

"You must be Diana," said a cheerful voice from the doorway of the room. Diana spun around and came face to face with Wade. "No", she said firmly to herself. "It's Wade-Guenivere, her double. Get it together!"

Wade-Guenivere was a petite woman with long, wavy brown hair and a pixie-like charm. She wore luxurious royal robes and a crown that looked big enough to be rather a strain on her small head. But it was her eyes that Diana really took note of. They were deep brown, very kind and brimming with emotion.

Wade-Guenivere laughed a little and came forward touching Diana lightly on the arm. "Don't worry. I'm real. I understand Merlin paid you a visit. He's likely to spook anyone with the way he pops in and out." She grinned, leaned forward and said, "Showbiz types...whatcha gonna do?"

Diana smiled back at her touch and felt a warmth growing inside her. "I'm sorry, your highness," she said. "I was just...startled a bit that's all. I've had a lot to think about lately." She moved over to the dressing table and began to fiddle with the various jewelry and brushes that lay in neat rows in front of the mirror. "I'm supposed to help you dress for tonight's dinner," she said lamely.

Wade-Guenivere laughed again, but this time with a mysterious air. "Oh, you're here for much more than that...aren't you?" There was a twinkle in her brown eyes. Diana looked at her with a confused expression. Wade-Guenivere continued, "Merlin told me you were coming. I'm supposed to help you achieve your quest."

Diana stared at her. "My...my...quest?" She was unsure of what her goal was at the moment, besides figuring out whether she was on some major hallucinogenic drugs. "It would be nice to know I'm not crazy," she thought sarcastically to herself.

Wade-Guenivere walked over to her and sat down in the chair. Diana hastily grabbed a brush, and gingerly stroked it through Wade-Guenivere's hair. She watched Wade-Guenivere's face in the mirror apprehensively.

Wade-Guenivere smiled kindly and turned towards her, forcing Diana to stop brushing.

"I'm supposed to help you find your Wade," she said softly.

"What?" said Diana, her eyes widening in shock. How did these people know so much?

"Your Wade," continued Wade-Guenivere. "You have a theory about her, right? But you're unsure. She's sort of been...hmm, well I don't quite know how to put this, but she's been sort of haunting you?"

Diana dropped the brush with a clatter and stared at her, her emotions reaching fearful heights.

"How do you know that?" she whispered.

Wade-Guenivere took Diana's hand. "Merlin is a powerful seer. Even across the multiverse. We have sliding here you see." She paused for a minute and looked away from Diana. "He told me about you. He told me about your friends. About the pain that his double recently went through." She let go of Diana and turned back towards the mirror and her eyes looked distant. "He told me that I can help you, and that in return you could grant me the one thing I desire."

Diana looked at her. "What on earth could you possibly want?" she said incredulously.

Wade-Guenivere's eyes looked heavy for a minute, and she said quietly. "My freedom."

There were bad days, and then there were days like this, thought Mallory irritably. Not only had he been forced into wearing tights all day, his job for the next three and a half weeks was to clean out the stables, and basically be a gopher for the knights.

The sun was setting, and he knew it was almost time to collect Diana and head back to the Dominion. But first there was something he had to do.

He headed over to the jousting ring, where two knights were preparing for a quick game.

The two men's faces were hidden by their heavy armor. Each man held a jousting pole and rode an incredible stallion, one deep chestnut, the other a bay. The horses were snorting and pawing the ground, sensing the tension of their riders.

"Y'made it Mallory," a short, powerfully built man said to him as he approached the ring.

"You know I wouldn't miss this, Johnny boy" said Mallory with a cocky grin. "And I'm going to win our little wager too."

John worked with him in the stables, and had challenged Mallory to bet on which knight would win the joust today. Mallory couldn't resist. The loser would have to bail the winner's hay for the next week. But Mallory did not plan on losing. There was no way he wanted to fork through two piles of stinking horse hay. He'd asked around before choosing his knight, and one of the prettier kitchen maids, "Gloria, that was her name," he thought distractedly, had told him that if the rider was on a chestnut stallion, it was most likely a disguised King Derek-Arthur. "And nobody beats the king," she'd said with a giggle.

A gong rang out signaling the joust to begin.

"Where is he?" thought Diana, tapping her foot furiously. Mallory had promised to meet her in the main hallway at sunset. A half an hour later, he still hadn't showed. "Well," if he's going to be late I'd better call the others. I have to talk to Remmie about what's been going on anyway."

She made her way over to the castle's hallway phone. It was tucked away behind a wooden cabinet that she had to reach around to open. "This world and it's medieval fixations! Can't they just put a phone in plain sight!" she said to herself.

She dialed the phone and Remmie answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Remmie, it's me," said Diana, twisting the phone cord nervously. She had so much to tell him! "Listen, Mallory's late or we would have been there by now."

"Hey, it's no problem," he responded. "That boy didn't get himself into trouble did he?"

Diana laughed. "No...I doubt it," she said. "he's probably out there male-bonding. They stuck him working with the knights."

Remmie chuckled. "Did he show them how to motorcycle joust yet?"

"No," she responded. And then hesitantly. "Well at least I don't think so."

Remmie stifled a grin at Diana's response and winked at Maggie who was sitting on the other bed smiling at him.

"But Remmie," continued Diana. "There's...there's something else going on here, besides that."

Remmie frowned. She sounded so...apprehensive. His protective instinct flared up. "Is there something wrong Diana?" he asked cautiously.

"Well....no....I mean...it's fine here, safe and all, but there's a few things that have been happening to me lately that are pretty weird," Diana said nervously. She tapped her fingers against the wall.

"First of all, the Queen." she continued.

"Yeah?" said Remmie confused. Was the Queen hurting them or something?

"She's...she's....she's Wade's double," said Diana gently, bracing herself for the response.

Unexpectedly, all she got was silence on the other end of the line.

"Remmie?" she asked, worried.

Remmie closed his eyes. Wade's double. Well he'd known it would have to happen sometime. They'd run into plenty of her doubles in the past. But he'd hoped....well he'd hoped to have some more time. They'd been so caught up since they'd found her that he hadn't even really had time to digest what really happened in that blaze of light. Like the fact that she was probably dead. A tear rolled down his face, and Maggie stood up, concerned.

"What is it Remmie?" she asked.

Diana was still calling Remmie's name into the phone. Finally he answered with a hoarse, "Oh." Then quietly he related to Maggie what Diana had just told him.

"Remmie," said Diana quietly. "There's something else."

Remmie cleared his throat and said quickly, "What?"

Diana twisted the cord even more nervously. This was going to be the hard part. And what if she was wrong? She didn't want to cause Remmie any more pain. She breathed in deeply.

"They know about sliding. And they know about Wade."

Part 6

Remmie's face was a mask of shock. "What do you mean they know about Wade Diana?" he asked incredulously. Then his voice quivering, "Our Wade...my...my Wade?"

Overhearing Wade's name in the conversation Maggie stood up sharply and walked over to Remmie. She peered down at him, crossing and uncrossing her arms nervously. "What's going on?" she asked worriedly. "Who knows about...about Wade?"

Remmie motioned for her to keep silent as Diana began to explain. Maggie started pacing around the room in frustration. "What could she be talking about?" she thought, almost angrily. The little voice echoed in her head. "Wade's dead. I...I...killed her...sent her to the Kromaggs...it was my fault...who is playing with us like this?"

"Well you see Remmie," Diana said hesitantly. "I haven't told you guys this before now because at first...well...at first I thought I was imagining things." She took in a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy for him to hear.

"Go on," said Remmie softly, both eager for and dreading what she was going to tell him. He drummed his fingers along the phone's handle impatiently and tried to ignore Maggie's pacing.

"Well," continued Diana. "You remember that I was in that unconscious state after they...they...messed with my mind." She breathed in sharply at the memory and heard Remmie murmur in agreement.

"Where I was," she continued, "it was a place. And I felt very lost there. I was scared...but at the same time I was feeling total peace. It was like....try to picture being gloriously happy and absolutely terrified at the same time." She shut her eyes tightly at the memory.

"OK," said Remmie kindly. "But what does this have to do...with Wade?"

Diana grasped the phone tightly. "Well I wasn't sure what it was before. Whether I made it up or not. But now I know Remmie," she said gently. "Where I was. It was the center of a vortex. And Remmie...Wade...she was there too."

"Huh?" said Remmie in bewilderment. His mind was a whirlwind of emotions. If Wade was alive...why hadn't he felt her? "Wait a minute," he said slowly. "My dream...and Maggie's dream."

"What?" said Diana. Now it was her turn to feel confused.

"Both Maggie and I dreamed about Wade last night," explained Remmie. "At the time, I thought it was just because we were in the Dominion again. But maybe..." he stopped, scared by the hope rising in his heart.

"Diana," he said firmly. "If she's alive...in any form...I've got to...I've got to try..." his throat choked up with tears as he struggled to complete his thought.

"I know," said Diana. "And I've got an idea about that. Listen I have a theory, and Wade's double can help us. Why don't you guys check out of the hotel and come here? I'll tell you more about what I think...what I hope we can do then."

"We're on our way," said Remmie firmly, and he hung up the phone.

Maggie looked at him. "Now will you tell me what's going on?" she asked, a touch of irritation in her voice.

Remmie stood up and grabbed her in a hug. Tears streamed down his face. "It's Wade...we think...we think she's alive!"

"Oh Remmie," said Maggie as she hugged him back fiercely. "I hope you're right..." But inside Maggie felt dead. Wade alive? She didn't believe it. Not for a minute. And should Remmie feel like he failed to save Wade again...well who knew what it would do to him.

"C'mon," said Remmie pulling back. "Diana wants us at the castle."

It was a dirty Mallory that greeted Diana in the hallway about 10 minutes after she hung up the phone.

"Where were you?!" she said, turning towards him and angrily crossing her arms. "I've been waiting here for 45 minutes!"

"Sorry! I know...I just didn't expect to lose this bet," Mallory replied shamefacedly, holding his hands up in a peacemaking gesture. He still couldn't believe that stupid Lancelot knight had beaten the king! He sighed to himself. Now he had double the work for the next week...and it was all that Gloria's fault...he'd fallen under the spell of a pretty face once again.

"Mallory!" said Diana in irritation, breaking his reverie.

He smiled, embarrassed and said "uh...yeah?"

"There's a lot going on," she said. "Maggie and Remmie are coming here to stay."

Mallory was confused. "Huh? Why?"

Quickly Diana recapped her conversation with Remmie.

Mallory felt stunned. Wade was alive? She was in a vortex somehow, though they couldn't see her? And the queen knew about her and wanted to help? The news blew him away and he didn't reply for several moments.

"But if what you say is reality," he said quietly, "then why haven't I felt her presence? You said that both Maggie and Remmie dreamed about her last night. And I know from my memories of Quinn that those two had a special bond."

Diana looked troubled. "I'm not sure why. But that...is something I'm going to have to figure out."

Part 7

Settled in their rooms in the castle, all four sliders found it hard to sleep that night. Each wondered what they would dream. Would Wade try to contact them? If so, what would she say? But finally, after all the tossing and turning, the night was broken up by their peaceful snores.

Wade-Guenivere paced the corridor that led between her bedroom and her sitting room. She clenched her small fists tightly. If only he would leave her alone tonight! But she knew that could never be the case. King Derek-Arthur was a deliberate man. And his punishments for disobedience were never swift.

She still remembered his first cold words to her. "I WILL break you. You will LEARN to give me RESPECT!" Back then, she'd still been foolish enough to give him a few choice words of her own. And they'd been met with painful blows. She shivered fearfully and pulled her robes tightly around her.

"I was such a fool," she whispered softly. "So blinded by wealth and power. I never even saw the real man behind the crown."

Tears began streaming down her face as she reprimanded herself for giving up on the man who *had* truly loved her for the thousandth time. For falling into this trap of marriage with a monster who could not love. "If only I had waited..." she said through clenched teeth. "If only I had known that he would come back." She bent her head down in sorrow. The four sliders were her only hope of escape. She just had to pray that Derek didn't find her out.

"It's time dear," said a cold voice from behind her.

Wade-Guenivere looked up to see her husband standing in the doorway, a sadistic look in his eyes. She nodded swiftly, and followed him out of the room.

Rembrandt-Merlin shut his eyes in frustration at the images of pain he knew were being carried out at that moment in the castle.

"Derek-Arthur!" He spat out under his breath in disgust. "He's not worth a fifth of the name his title bestowed on him!"

Rembrandt-Merlin took in a deep breath. He had to cool down. "The only way I can help Wade-Guenivere is by assisting these sliders," he thought , trying to focus his attention to problems that he could solve. "I must...must...help them save her counterpart." Only then, he knew, would the way for Wade-Guenivere's salvation be made clear. That much the vision had shown him.

He turned and swiftly but gracefully moved over to the laboratory part of his chambers.

Diana slept in the luxurious bed the queen had provided for her. At her first her sleep was dreamless, but soon she was bombarded with images again. Hearing the voice. Hearing the song.

She was in the place again, surrounded by swirling lights.

So beautiful. So terrifying.

"Wade!" she cried out, the word echoing soundlessly off the reflective walls of the tunnel. "Wade!"

"Diana!" said the voice happily, sounding distant.

She turned, her eyes scrunched against the lights.

There! A small figure floating at the apex, shimmering in and out of focus.

"Diana!" the voice said in her mind. Terror was echoing in the voice, rather that the exhilaration of the last dream. Yet still paradoxically, there was the peace. "Diana the walls are closing! You've got to get me out! I don't have the strength to stay much longer!"

"I'm trying Wade!" said Diana frantically. "I don't know what to do!"

Wade's response was garbled blur of images. But Diana heard one word. And it struck her like a thousand knives.

"Quinn," she said tiredly as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "She said Quinn."

Part 8

Diana strode purposefully through the hallway that led to Merlin's chambers. "What am I going to do?" she thought despairingly. "I have to help Wade...I can't...can't let Remmie feel the pain of losing her again."

As she opened the door, she was surprised by the sight of Rembrandt, Mallory and Maggie, already inside Merlin's sitting room.

"Did you...?" Diana began, but was answered by Rembrandt and Maggie's hurried nods. Mallory simply stared at the floor, but Diana didn't question him further. "I'll deal with that as soon as I get everything else going," she thought quickly.

"So," said Maggie in her best authoritarian voice, as she stood up and paced the small sitting room, "we know that Wade is contacting us...but I'm still not clear on something."

Diana frowned, hoping she could provide an adequate answer. "What?" she asked.

"You said you saw her in a vortex. How could that be?" asked Maggie brusquely. She added in a softer tone. "We all saw her in that..that...thing. So if she's still alive, isn't she still, you know there?"

Diana saw Remmie flinch at Maggie's words. Careful now, she thought. "I don't believe so," she said slowly.

Maggie walked over to Remmie and took his hand reassuringly. "Go on," she said. "We can take it...right Rem?" Remmie took a shaky breath and nodded.

"You see," Diana continued, gesturing expressively at Maggie, "we already know that Wade was able to manipulate atoms and matter with the power of her mind. That's how she created the vortex that enabled us to find her in the first place." Remmie, Maggie and Mallory all nodded. "Theoretically then, Wade could manipulate matter. Any matter. Even the atoms of her own body. But this time she wasn't simply creating a wormhole like before. She had to become a wormhole. A living wormhole. Once she did that, she was able to slide from the weapons facility without being harmed.

But," Diana paused for a deep breath and fidgeted her hands nervously, "because of the very nature of what Wade had to do, the wormhole she created, or rather became, is unstable. It's unnatural. It can't exist on it's own. In order to feed it the energy it needs, and keep her atoms stable too, Wade would have to use the powers of her unconscious mind. That's why we keep seeing her in our dreams. Why I saw her in my...altered state. She has to exist in the unconscious in order to keep her matter...the matter of her physical body, stable."

Mallory looked dumbfounded at the revelation. "So she's alive, but she could come apart if she doesn't maintain the energy she needs?" he asked. "Is that what you're saying?"

"That's exactly what she's saying," came a voice from across the room. The four sliders turned toward the noise. "And your theory is correct Diana. Your Wade exists...but only in the unconscious state. And she needs to be removed from it soon."

"Merlin," breathed Diana.

Rembrandt-Merlin eyed his double as he walked over to the group. He knew of the concept of doubles of course, any civilization with as much sliding technology as Camelot did. But he'd never met his own double before. "Fascinating," he thought. "The resemblance is uncanny."

"So you're the sorcerer huh?" said Remmie, suspiciously looking back at Merlin and clenching Maggie's hand even tighter. "Well can you make some real hokus pokus here? Can you help us save our friend?"

His eyes spoke volumes of pain, Merlin noted. He knew too many eyes like that...

He smiled sadly and pointed at Mallory, who looked a little frightened. "I can't" he said. "But he can."

Maggie, Remmie and Diana stared in astonishment at Mallory. "That isn't what I bargained for," whispered Maggie to Remmie.

"Wha...What?" screeched Mallory. What the hell was this crazy sorcerer talking about anyway? "I can't help. I'm useless," he said, staring beseechingly first at Remmie, then Maggie, then Diana. He dug his foot in the ground and said sadly, "I haven't even felt her presence in my dreams. What could I possibly do?"

"That's why I'll need you to help me anchor her back," said a small feminine voice from the doorway of Merlin's laboratory. Remmie and Maggie blinked in astonishment at the sight of Wade's delicate features dressed in royal robes. Remmie heard Maggie laboring to breathe as she stared and quickly, he looked away. The sight of Wade's double was too painful for him to bear.

Wade-Guenivere walked gracefully over to Mallory and laid a soft, reassuring hand on his arm. She smiled impishly as Mallory stared at her, fascinated. "Well...I'll need part of you anyway."

Part 9

"She said Quinn in my dream...Of course!" said Diana, suddenly spinning excitedly. "Why didn't I think of that earlier! It was so obvious..." She smacked her hand to her forehead and the sound echoed in the small room. Then she ran over to Merlin and hugged him. "You're a...a..genius!" He smiled obligingly at her and Wade-Guenivere looked at Diana and nodded, a small sad smile playing on her lips.

Maggie, Mallory and Remmie stared at Diana, confusion etched on their features.

"Diana," said Maggie finally, "What are you talking about?!" She was feeling extremely unnerved with the presence of Wade's double in the room. Especially with Diana mentioning of HIS name. In fact, she almost felt angry about it. It made her think about the fact that the man she loved was gone...something she'd worked hard to forget...and having Wade-Guenivere here reminded her that she'd been only second best in his heart...

Swallow it Maggie, she thought purposefully. You made yourself a promise. She bit her lip and waited for Diana to explain, trying her best to concentrate on the task at hand: They had to save Wade. She could deal with the emotional baggage later.

"In my dream last night, Wade mentioned Quinn," explained Diana. "And at the time...I didn't know what she meant. But now..."

"Yeah..." interrupted Remmie softly. "You know something...Quinn was in my dream too. But what does it mean Diana?" Both failed to notice the expression of sadness on Wade-Guenivere's face and the expression of pain on Maggie's at the mention of the name.

Diana smiled kindly at him. She was so happy! Finally she'd be able to fix what she'd done wrong...the whole reason she'd come sliding with these two people...people that she'd come to care about more than anything she'd ever cared about anything before. Even science. "Quinn isn't gone." she said simply.

Mallory looked at her, eyes wide as saucers. "Yes...yes he is!" he sputtered. "I told you can't feel him!"

Diana nodded exuberantly. "Of course you can't," she said. "He's become your unconscious."

Merlin smiled at Diana and said softly. "And that...along with my queen here...is the key."

Mallory felt angry. He wasn't sure why even, he just knew he was. I should be happy, he thought. We're going to save Wade right? That's what Diana meant this morning...I want to help her...simple right?

Somehow, things didn't feel simple or uncomplicated for Mallory.

First of all, he wondered at Queen Wade-Guenivere's intentions. She was rich and beautiful and...he shook his head at the thoughts running in his mind. Why was she helping them? What could she possibly gain from it? His cynical heart refused to believe anybody was that kind hearted.

"Although to hear Remmie tell it, you'd think differently," he said softly.

Secondly he felt lost again, like right after he'd been merged. Suddenly he didn't know who he was anymore. Maybe all this time his confidence had been Quinn's. Or his bravery. Hell, maybe all of his admirable qualities weren't even his. He just didn't know. And it was a scary place to be.

Wade-Guenivere slunk down the hall, her robes rustling as she tried to keep silent. HE couldn't know where she'd been. HE thought she'd gone for a ride on the horses. But she'd been gone too long...if he saw her now...she shuddered at the thought. She looked furtively across the hallway and seeing the coast was clear darted swiftly into her room. She breathed a sigh of relief...which promptly became a gasp of horror as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. There written in fresh blood, were the words: "You didn't think I'd find you out did you? You were wrong. DEAD wrong."

"Merlin!!!!!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face, wringing her hands helplessly. "Merlin!!! He killed Quinn!!!!!"

It was Mallory who heard the terrified cry from the queen's chambers. Brushing aside his thoughts of self-pity he rushed to the door. The sight that greeted him was horrifying. Wade-Guenivere, ever regal, lay crumpled in a sobbing heap on the floor. Without thinking, Mallory rushed to her side and gathered her in his arms.

"Ssh," he said quietly, stroking her long dark curls. "It's all right...ssh." He felt her lean against his chest and a strange warmth spread over him. She was so fragile. He wanted to protect her from whatever was hurting her so badly.

"He...he...he's dead!!!" said Wade-Guenivere between her sobs. She was clutching tightly to Mallory, as if afraid to let go. "Oh..god..he knows! He's going to kill me too!"

For the first time Mallory noticed the bloody message on the mirror. His heart stood still at the cryptic warning. But who was dead? And who wrote the message?

I can't let anyone hurt her, he realized suddenly. I just can't. And all at once, it became clear to him. It didn't matter if his bravery wasn't his own. For now, he felt it, and he was going to do something, anything to help the sobbing woman who trusted him enough to cry in his arms.

"Oh god...he killed Quinn," said Wade-Guenivere hoarsely, pulling back from Mallory at the same time. "My Quinn!! Quinn-Lancelot!! I loved him before I married the king. Derek-Arthur didn't know. I never meant for him to know!!"

"Sshh..." said Mallory, softly stroking her arm. "You didn't cause this."

Wade-Guenivere's expression went from sad to bitter. "But I did," she said harshly. "I did." She wiped the fresh tears in her eyes away with an angry gesture.

"I left Quinn you see," she continued in a softly mocking tone. "Oh...I thought he left me first...he was the first of us to slide. I was angry...he was gone a long time. I thought...thought I'd never see him again. And Derek was so persistent. I didn't know he was a monster." Her eyes pleaded for Mallory to understand. And he did. Obviously her husband WAS a monster if he could kill a man for a lost romance, thought Mallory harshly. She hiccuped softly and continued. "When he came back it was too late. We'd both changed. I'd married the king. And he never forgave me for that. He couldn't even stand to be in the same room as me." Tears began streaming down her face again. "And now Derek killed him...to punish me for...for...helping you!"

Part 10

Maggie sat on her bed in the luxurious guest room, lost in thought. A lot of feelings were resurfacing for her, and she felt like the alone time was what she needed to get a grip. We're going to get Wade back. We have to, she thought, her feelings half bitter and half remorseful.

"I am so conflicted!" she said softly, clenching her pillow towards her. How was it possible to feel angry and hopeful about the same person?

"Hmmph...but then she always did make me feel that way didn't she?" she whispered. Polar opposites in so many ways, that was what they were. Maggie knew that instinctively. Wade was idealistic where she was cynical, open with her heart where she was closed off. But there was one thing that being a witness to Wade's ordeal had forced Maggie to concede.

"Wade is a stronger person than me." And it was that truth that made her feel all the more shame about her actions in the past.

A sharp, urgent knock interrupted Maggie's self-recrimination. But before she could rise, the door swung open.

"What the..." she stuttered as her eyes fell on a disheveled Mallory clutching the queen in a tight protective embrace. Wade-Guenivere herself looked almost lifeless. Her eyes were wide and blank. She was obviously in shock.

"Maggie...we've got to...got to..." Mallory said, struggling to breathe. He'd run to Maggie's room after Wade-Guenivere's revelation. If anyone could fight Derek, she could, he reasoned.

"What?!" screeched Maggie. She pointed at Wade-Guenivere who still wasn't responding and said, her voice deadly quiet, "What frightened her so badly?"

Mallory finally caught his breath and glanced furtively along the hallway. "Her husband," he hissed. "We've got to get her out of here! No time to explain right now, but he'll kill her if he finds her. And we CAN'T let that happen."

Her husband. Maggie shuddered at the memories that suddenly resurfaced in her mind. Of course...only an abusive lover could know the tricks to hurt not only the physical body, but the mind inside. A flash of anger warmed her as she thought of Rickman. "Bastard," she said softly, but whether it was for Wade-Guenivere's husband or Rickman even she wasn't sure.

"Get Remmie and Diana...and get Merlin too. Tell them to meet us at the Dominion in one hour." she said in military fashion.

Mallory looked unwilling to leave the shivering bundle he was supporting. "Go!" said Maggie. And then softly, "I'll take care of getting her out of here."

Mallory nodded, squeezed Wade-Guenivere's hand and whispered something in her ear. She nodded mutely in answer and he took off down the hall.

"C'mon," said Maggie in a kind voice as she stared at the smaller woman in pity and understanding. "Let's get you in something...less conspicuous and get out of here."

Derek-Arthur's mind was a cloud of murderous black thoughts. The bitch had lied to him again. Well...she would pay. His face broke into a small insane smile. Oh yes. He chuckled briefly. Quinn had already paid his price...hadn't he? Slowly he took a sip from his wine glass.

Yes. Tonight she would pay. Carefully, he crushed the wine glass he was holding. He watched with interest as the wine stained his now bloody palm.

Maggie led Wade-Guenivere by the hand through the darkening streets of Camelot. She glanced worriedly at the queen, who was still non-responsive.

"He'll find me wherever you take me," Wade-Guenivere said dully as Maggie looked at her. "His spies are everywhere."

"It's okay," Maggie soothed. "You're with friends. We'll help you."

Wade-Guenivere's eyes filled with tears. Maggie was happy to get any sort of emotion from her. She hadn't spoken at all while Maggie dressed her in the hooded robe she now wore.

"Friends..." Wade-Guenivere said softly. "Your friend. You need to help her." She stopped and looked at Maggie who cast her eyes to the ground, her emotions whirring again. She bent over Maggie and said gently, "Saving me won't save her." Maggie shut her eyes at the implication. Wade-Guenivere continued. "But if I can help her...if I can do something to save her...maybe it will make up for the great wrong I did to someone else." She sniffled, and Maggie stared at her.

"Your highness, we can't stay here at the Dominion...I was just going to meet there and then leave...your husband will know..." she began.

Wade-Guenivere stood up regally. "No." she said softly. "I will help you, and I will face the ...the...monster that is my husband." Her eyes were strong and without fear.

"But...he wants to kill you..." Maggie protested sharply.

"If that is my fate, then that is what I deserve," Wade-Guenivere said simply. Maggie could see there was no changing her mind. She shrugged heavily and began leading the queen up the stairs.

Part 11

"What do you mean she wants to face him!" exploded Mallory as Maggie finished explaining Wade-Guenivere's decision to the group.

The queen herself stood apart from the group, face shrouded by her robe, staring motionlessly out the window. She was oblivious to Mallory's continued sputterings of protest.

Maggie shrugged, but silently applauded Wade-Guenivere's courage. Facing and bringing down your attacker &endash; that was an emotion Maggie understood all too well. After all, she thought, it was that very emotion that had made her so gung ho about finding, and killing Rickman. She'd wanted him to pay for his crimes. Not just for killing her husband…but for what he'd done to HER. Maggie shuddered inwardly as she remembered the feeling of powerlessness that had been her companion back in those horrible days. Never again, she thought for the thousandth time.

Remmie walked over to the queen and put a trembling hand on her small shoulder. So like Wade, he thought. So strong. Not looking directly at her, he said quietly, "You know that I want to get Wade back." The group nodded silently. "More than anything…that is what I want," Remmie continued. He took a deep breath and shuddered, feeling the painful implications of his next words. "But going back to the castle sweetheart…it's virtually suicide for you. I can't…can't ask you to sacrifice so much."

Diana nodded in agreement. "Even if we CAN get access to Merlin's lab," she began firmly, "and that's a big if; I'm going to need time to set up the instruments and get you two," here she indicated Mallory and Wade-Guenivere, "in a deeply hypnotic state. It will take time! I mean, we're dealing with atoms and subatomic particles here!"

Wade-Guenivere slowly turned from the window and faced the group. Her eyes looked like they were lit with an inner fire, and her face was flushed.

"I am going to help you," she said in a fierce, half whisper. "What happens to me is unimportant right now. I refuse to let Derek," the name was spat out with vehemence, "cause another innocent to die. And Wade will die if we…if I…don't help her!" Her voice rose as she spoke, reflecting the intensity and passion of her words.

Mallory grimaced at her words. He knew she wouldn't change her mind. But he couldn't let her die! He cared about her…he couldn't allow harm to come to her. He tried one last plea. "Can't you talk some sense into her?" he said, facing Merlin.

Merlin stepped from the shadows which had concealed his face and said in a tight voice, his eyes sad, "The queen has made up her mind." His lips curled in a sardonic smile. "I will do my best to assist her And she's right. Your friend will die if she remains in her unstable position much longer." He sighed to himself. Would they save one Wade only to lose another?

"Okay then," said Maggie with authority. She turned to the group. "We need a plan." She looked at Wade-Guenivere who had an expression of resolve on her delicate features and said softly, "You are an amazingly brave woman. Thank you for doing this."

Wade-Guenivere smiled at the understanding in Maggie's eyes, and a moment of friendship and mutual respect passed between them. Then she quipped lightly even though her voice was quavering, "Think nothing of it."

Maggie nodded curtly and turned to Merlin.

"So," she asked. "How do we get in to your lab?"

Part 12

The four sliders, along with Merlin and Wade-Guenivere crept along a dimly lit, narrow tunnel. The air stank of mildew, and scurrying noises could be heard both in the dank air above them and in the walls. Diana clung fearfully to Remmie's arm.

"I thought Merlin said he'd used this tunnel!" she whispered in his ear. "He's your double!"

"Sssh, girl," said Remmie softly. "It'll be alright."

Merlin and Wade-Guenivere led the pack, with Maggie and Mallory close on their heels. Maggie held a jousting pole that she'd picked up before they started the trek underground and Mallory had borrowed another hotel guest's sword.

Suddenly a large rat scampered across a Maggie's path. She let out a sharp yelp, which rang in the stillness. The others glared at her. They had to keep quiet…if they were discovered in the tunnel they were cooked. They'd be cut off from both sides and trapped.

Maggie glanced back apologetically and shrugged. "Sorry!" she whispered through clenched teeth. "I hate rats!"

Finally, the tunnel started sloping upwards, and a large wooden door appeared before the weary group. Merlin produced a brass key, and unlocked it, and with a motion to keep silent, gestured for the five others to step into the room.

Derek-Arthur stood in the open doorway of his wife's room. He was furious.

"Guards!" he called out harshly. "Where is my wife?"

The night guard stared at the king fearfully. "I…I don't know sire…we thought her majesty was in the room…it's where she always is at this hour."

"Well…" said Derek-Arthur, leaning down to whisper in the shaking guard's ear. "She isn't here is she!!" He stroked his chin thoughtfully, and then said with a sinister smile. "Find her…but don't let her know you're there." The guard nodded his head emphatically. "Just come back to me and tell me where she is," Derek-Arthur continued. The guard nodded again and rushed off saying, "Yes sire!"

Derek-Arthur continued to smile. Yes, he'd let her have her fun. But later…the fun would be his.

Diana rushed around Merlin's small laboratory, checking instruments and adjusting dials. Maggie and Remmie stood guard at the door holding the sword and the stick.

"Is everything here that we'll need?" asked Merlin, glancing at Mallory and Wade-Guenivere anxiously.

Diana nodded emphatically. "Yes," she said with a professional air. She was in her element in a laboratory It was the one place that made her feel safe, despite the precariousness of their present position. She turned to Mallory and Wade-Guenivere.

"Okay," she said quickly. "What we're going to do is to create a dimensional field bubble." She looked at Mallory who nodded in understanding.

"Sorta like what Dr. Geiger lived in right?" he said.

"Yes," said Diana. "Except this one won't be attuned to keeping your matter stuck in space-time, like his was. Ours is going to release select molecules from your bodies, enabling you to enter the unconscious state where Wade is residing presently."

She gestured to a small platform that was to her right. "To us," she continued. "You'll still be here. And in fact that's true. Your bodies will never actually leave this dimension. But to you," she pointed at the pair now to emphasize what she was saying, "it will feel like you've entered a vortex."

"To do this," said Merlin, producing an old fashioned pendant on a chain. "I'm going to put you in a deep hypnotic trance. Because Quinn is your subconscious as of this time Mallory, we're not sure if you will enter the vortex with the queen or if, in fact, he will. You both may end up there. But whatever you do, don't panic. We'll be monitoring you through Wade-Guenivere, and we'll be able to see what you see once we hook her up to this." With those words he produce a rectangular shaped box with what looked like suction cups attached to it on one side, and a small LCD type screen on the other.

"We're ready," said Wade-Guenivere firmly. "Hook me up." She took Mallory's hand, and he smiled her.

Part 13

Merlin stood over Mallory and Wade-Guenivere. They were seated cross-legged, facing each other. Both were very still, staring straight ahead with a trancelike gaze. Merlin slowly raised the pendant he had been holding between them. "Thank goodness the hypnotism didn't take long," he thought. "I want them in and out of this situation as soon as I can do it safely." With a grimace, he stretched and turned to Diana.

"They're ready," he said simply.

Diana nodded, and hurried over to adjust a dial on a blinking machine that stood propped against the far wall. "I'm preparing for geoforce unstabilaztion," she said, as she kept turned more switches on the machine. She gave the dial a final twist.

Suddenly, an unearthly, bluish light lighted the room. The platform where Wade-Guenivere and Mallory sat shimmered and rippled, as if the air molecules themselves were giving chase. A slight wind whipped through the room, blowing Wade-Guenivere's hair over her face for a moment. But she and Mallory stayed stock still despite the commotion that built around them.

Diana swore softly under her breath. "Damn geoflux," she said irritably wiping sweat from her brow. Why wasn't it crystallizing? Her mind raced over her calculations. Had she missed something? She hated being rushed! Especially when there were lives in her care.

She grunted, and pulled the dial ever so slightly to the left, and the shimmering air took on a deeper resonance. "There!" she said. "Thank goodness."

"Whoa," said Maggie. "That's unreal."

Wade-Guenivere and Mallory were now completely encased by a shimmering, semitransparent bubble.

Remmie moved over to Diana. His brow wrinkled, as he asked worriedly, "Will they be alright?"

Diana smiled reassuringly at her friend. "They'll be fine. I just have to keep this dimensional bubble intact for as long as they're in there."

Maggie looked at Diana. "And how long might that be?" she asked.

"That…I don't know," Diana replied.

They were unaware that another pair of eyes had witnessed the bubble's creation, too.

She was falling. Down, down, down. But so feather light was the sensation that she felt no fear.

She drifted downwards, her emotions held in check by the awe of the moment.

Then came the landing. But it was soft, unlike what she expected.

She took a moment to survey her surroundings. "Beautiful," she whispered. "It's exactly as I…would have created it." Suddenly Wade-Guenivere felt a strong sense of connection to her lost double.

"She is me," she said. "And I am her."

Colors flashed before her eyes. Brilliant. And she felt an overwhelming sense of peace.

"Wade?" she called out. The resonance of her echo was her only answer. It was only then that she realized something. Mallory was gone. She was alone.

The guard rushed hurriedly to the king's chambers, and stopped short at the door. With trembling fingers, he knocked softly.

"What is it?" came the irritated reply.

"Sire, I've found her," the guard swallowed softly and continued. "She's with Sir Merlin and those other people that you told the guard to apprehend earlier. They're in his chambers."

Slowly the door swung open to reveal a pair of glittering eyes.

"Really," Derek-Arthur said with a sinister chuckle.

Mallory fell fiercely down a darkly colored tunnel, screaming as the air rushed over him. He curled into a fetal position to protect himself from the landing he knew would be his end.

But as he continued to fall for unusually long period of time, he risked a glance down to the bottomless depths of the tunnel.

The next thing he knew, he was standing on solid ground. "Oh thank god!" he said, bending down to kiss the floor.

He surveyed his surroundings. Mirrors everywhere reflected his face. He bent on one knee and went to touch the glassy surface. Suddenly he pulled back.

"What the?" he shouted. Two faces, stared back him in the mirror. The normal one was his. The other, the one that was twisted into an expression of pleading, he could only assume, was his half double: Quinn Mallory.

Part 14

"She's in," said Diana, staring intently at the small monitor which she held in her hands. A cord stretched from the machine to two suction-cup looking devices that were attached to Wade-Guenivere's forehead. She felt an intense sense of relief that at least one part of the rescue mission had been mounted successfully.

Remmie looked at her intensely and rushed over to where she stood. "Let me see!" he cried passionately, hands greedily outstretched for the precious machine.

Diana stepped back hastily. "Remmie wait!" she said, admonishing him with a frown. "There's nothing to see yet."

Remmie took a sheepish step back and put his hands down. Hope was burning brightly in his eyes. "She's got to find her. She's got to save Wade." he said softly. He looked like he was ready to cry.

Diana looked back at the machine in concentration. It was so hard to make out distinct images! Still, she felt sure she would know if Wade-Guenivere found Wade.

Maggie moved over to Remmie and softly grasped his hand. She gazed warmly at him, and Remmie found that the strength in her eyes was feeding his own. "They'll find her," she said in a fierce tone. She turned to Diana. "Won't they." It was not a question.

Diana nodded hastily. "Of course they will," she said. "I know Wade's in there Remmie. I saw her. I heard her." But as she continued to stare at the display she held, a shadow crossed over her earnest expression.

Maggie noticed the look and asked, "What is it Diana? What's wrong?" Was she keeping something from them.

Diana's worried expression grew deeper. "I can't see Mallory," she said slowly. "I don't think he's with her."

Maggie pursed her lips, and looked at the pair inside the bubble. "If he's not with her...then where is he?" she asked.

Diana looked pale as she replied, "I don't...I don't know."

Wade-Guenivere stared at the colors that flashed before her eyes. She felt very small. It was like someone had stretched the fabric of her imagination, and then thrown her in to swim in it. Only the beat of her heart and the sound of her breathing assured her that she was in fact, still real.

She reached out to touch one of the lights that swirled above her, shimmering and pulsating. The feelings she was having were strange. She felt terrified, yet drawn to the very place she stood. It was almost as if her soul was exposed for the world to see. Yet she felt free, an emotion she hadn't experienced in what seemed like forever. For a moment, she hesitated to truly experience the sensations knawing at her. Regret weighed heavily on her shoulders, and a sense of purpose filled her heart. She knew she should feel worried about Mallory, but for some reason she wasn't. Somehow, though she couldn't say why, she knew he was okay.

For a second she allowed herself to revel in her newfound freedom. She lifted her arms and twirled in a moment of pure joy, laughing as she moved. And that was when it happened. She heard a voice begin to sing. It was faint. It was far off. But she would know that voice anywhere. It was her own. It was Wade.

Mallory stared in shock at the reflection that wasn't his own. "This is unreal." he said quietly, almost afraid of the sound of his own voice. "Am I me? Am I him? Am I both of us?"

Then he heard the sound. It was coming from the reflection of Quinn's anguished face. He stared into Quinn's blue eyes. The eyes were full of longing, tears and if he wasn't mistaken, hope.

He leaned down and placed his ear against the reflection of Quinn's face. It was creepy, but it was the only reaction he could think of. Desperately he tried to make out the words.

"Break...save...free..me...Wade..." said the voice.

Mallory shut his eyes in frustration and sat up. "I don't know how to help you Quinn!" he said angrily. "And I don't even know what to begin to do to find Wade!"

As Mallory mentioned Wade's name, Quinn's face became even more pained, and the voice increased in it's frenzy. It was obvious he could hear Mallory.

"Damn it!" said Mallory, slamming his fist against the floor in anger. At the impact, a tiny crack appeared in Quinn's reflection. which was nodding it's head frantically. Then another crack appeared, and another. Within a few seconds the whole floor crackled beneath Mallory's startled feet.

"Oh shit!!!" he said as the ground gave way beneath him.

He was falling. Down, down, down. It was a gentle, soothing sensation, quite unlike the first fall he'd made on this crazy journey. With a shock, he realized someone was falling beside him. It was Quinn, and he was screaming in pure joy, "I'm free!"

Part 15

Remmie watched the bubble which encased Wade-Guenivere and Mallory with longing. "I wish I could do something!" He thought. "Anything! Anything at all!" He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so helpless. He looked at the ground for a moment. Wait. Yes he could. It was when Wade had sent him away...

Remmie bit his lip in frustration. This time she wasn't going to send him anywhere. This time he was going to find her...and bring her back to them, safe and sound. He would not, could not give up.

Suddenly an unnatural wind swept through the small laboratory. Papers rustled and flew in the air, and Diana and Maggie's hair swept over their faces. But strangely enough, Wade-Guenivere and Mallory seemed totally unaffected.

Maggie spit her hair out of her mouth and yelled over the rising winds "Diana! Merlin! What's happening?!!"

But Diana's attention was too focused on the small center of energy that was now pulsating in the middle of the bubble. "Could it be?" she thought excitedly, and rushed over to just outside the bubble to get a closer look.

The energy was focusing now, and growing brighter. Diana squinted her eyes, but she couldn't quite make out the figure that was forming within the bubble. The lights from the mass of energy grew almost blinding, and everyone shielded their eyes from the intensity.

The just as suddenly as they had appeared, the lights and wind vanished.

"Oh my god..." breathed Maggie as she stared at the new figure that sat trancelike in the bubble.

Remmie's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "It's...it's Q-ball," he whispered, almost as if he was afraid to say the name.

But then he turned to Maggie who was staring in shock, tears flowing from her eyes. "It's Q-ball!!!" he screamed happily, and ran and caught Maggie in a hug. They held each other tightly, both openly sobbing in joy as Diana looked on, her heart lightened by this unexpected side effect to her rescue mission.

They failed to notice the door opening until it was too late.

"Well isn't this a sweet scene," said Derek-Arthur, laughing evilly as his soldiers surrounded the now silent group.

Wade-Guenivere followed the voice, feeling more drawn in by the beauty of the vortex with each passing moment. She was drifting along with the sound, and she felt her essence melting away as she wandered. "I'm losing myself," she thought idly, even though she knew she should feel danger at the thought. "I'm becoming one with the vortex" she said aloud.

The sound of her own voice startled her a bit, and she found herself shaking off the lethargy that being in this trancelike state brought. "So this is the true danger of the vortex," she mused aloud. "I could lose my entire being in it." With a shudder, she tried to shake off any bits of the peaceful feeling that insisted in clinging to her senses. "No." she said. "I can't get lulled in." She tried her best to think of things that would bring her anxiety, but nothing really shook off the feeling of complete connection.

The voice was getting louder now, and Wade-Guenivere felt her footsteps growing heavier with each step. "Got...to...stay...focused..." she said her, footsteps growing ever heavier as she approached a bright light that stood at the mouth of the tunnel. Squinting her eyes, she thought she could make out a tiny figure in it's center.

"Wade!" she cried weakly. "Can't...get...to...you! Too...hard..." she reached out with a hand and just touched the outer rim of the light....

And felt a small palm weakly grasp her own. She shut her eyes in joy at the touch, and the energy surrounding her began to grow and pulsate, as if it was feeding off her life. But this time she felt stronger. The two Wades gripped each other as their physical forms melted and merged and then split apart again, growing more distinct. To Wade-Guenivere, it felt like she was being merged into Wade's life. She knew her life, her memories, her hates, her loves. And Wade felt Wade-Guenivere's joys and sorrows, her pain and her choices.

When Wade-Guenivere finally opened her eyes, they were lying in the center of the now softly glowing light, still grasping each other's hands.

"You came," said Wade, smiling as she looked into Wade-Guenivere's tear-filled eyes with her own weepy vision. She whispered, "I didn't know if anyone would come...thank you..."

Wade-Guenivere embraced her double firmly, feeling the other's weakened state in the embrace. "I had to save you," she said firmly.

Wade nodded. She felt the emotions that were surging in Wade-Guenivere's heart like they were her own, and understood the reasons she had done what she had. She struggled to get her weakened body to sit up. "Can we get out of her?" she asked softly embracing her double.

"Not without us," said a familiar voice. Wade looked up from Wade-Guenivere's shoulder to see Quinn and Mallory standing over them, smiling in satisfaction and relief. Her heart caught in her throat. "You're alive?" she said in disbelief.

Quinn nodded and took Wade in his arms tenderly. "I'm alive," he said softly in her hair. "And I am so very sorry."

Wade hugged him back as tears stained her face. "No..." she said. "Knowing you're alive...it means everything." The rest of her words were muffled as her face buried itself in Quinn's shoulder.

Wade-Guenivere looked at Quinn with a heavy heart. Here was a symbol of the man who's life she had destroyed. She sighed softly to herself. Her Quinn wasn't alive. Derek had killed him. And she still had to live with that.

As if sensing the dark turn of her thoughts, Mallory reached out for her hand. Wade-Guenivere smiled at the gesture and took the proffered palm.

"You will always have us as friends, you know." he said softly.

Wade-Guenivere gave him a short smile, and said softly. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."

Part 16

Maggie, Remmie, Merlin and Diana stood tightly together in the far corner of the lab. 20 guards surrounded them at swordpoint. It was all Maggie could do not to scream in frustration. She hated feeling powerless, especially at the hands of a man she knew was weak enough to beat his wife.

"You disgust me," she said softly, but clearly enough for Derek to hear. Derek meanwhile, had been staring intently at the figure of his wife, Mallory and Quinn, who still remained in a state of suspended animation in the dimensional bubble. But at Maggie's words he turned to her and smiled. But the smile was pure malice. There was no gentleness to it. And whatever sanity that had once rested in Derek's face was utterly missing now.

"Well, dear," he growled menacingly. "I don't really care what you think of me." He walked over to Maggie and casually caressed her cheek. Maggie flinched at the contact. God...I hope they've found Wade, she thought desperately to herself. If they remained in suspended animation and Derek chose to focus his anger on them...Maggie didn't want to think about it.

As if reading her mind Derek pulled out a small silver dagger from a sheath in his belt. Touching it like a lover, he pointed it softly at Maggie, letting the blade just touch her neck.

Maggie shivered in undisguised fear, as Remmie and Diana watched with mute, frightened eyes. Was he going to kill her? Maggie wondered. Was this how it would all end? Here, at the hands of an insane king?

Derek bent forward and whispered in Maggie's ear. "Do you like it?" The words were full of black undertones.

Maggie didn't answer. She was too busy trying to concentrate on breathing without having a steel blade run through her neck.

Derek laughed sardonically and pulled the blade back. "It was a WEDDING present."

Quinn held Wade in a tight embrace, tears of joy openly flowing down his face. He was indescribably happy. Not only was he finally free, but his best friend, his love he admitted softly to himself, was back in his arms where she belonged. "Never again," he said softly, a hand caressing her short dark hair. "I am never losing you again, you hear that?"

Wade couldn't speak, so she simply nodded. The emotions she held inside her had been pent up for so long, it felt almost unnatural to be here with him, the man she'd believed lost to her, again. But a wall was there, one that simply being with Quinn couldn't quite break down. Wade knew the pain of what she'd been through had changed her, perhaps forever. She had abilities now...and she had demons. Still having him here to know, to love....it made some of the blackness fade into the background.

Suddenly Wade stood still as a terrible pain filled her mind, and a flood of images surrounded her senses...

She was in Wade-Guenivere but not the Wade-Guenivere that rushed over to her now as she fell softly in a faint in Quinn's arms. No, this was the real Wade-Guenivere, the one that existed outside of the vortex in the physical world.

She saw, but she couldn't move. Her mind recognized, but she couldn't cry out.

She watched in horrified fascination as Derek-Arthur, double of the man she had once known as Derek Bond, held a silver dagger to Maggie's throat.

And then she was falling...falling back into herself....

"Wade! Wade!" Mallory, Wade-Guenivere and Quinn were all shouting her name frantically as she opened her eyes.

"We're in danger," she said softly. "Your husband," she nodded at Wade-Guenivere, "is surrounding the others on the outside."

Wade-Guenivere gasped and turned pale. Mallory put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Quinn stared at Wade. Suddenly he saw a new person in the place of the woman he had known. She had skills he couldn't even fathom, he realized. It was going to take some getting used to...if they could work through all the stresses they had been through at all. Suddenly, the simple love he felt for her felt very murky.

Mallory voiced the question they were all wondering, "How do you know about Derek?"

Wade smiled sadly and said, "I saw through her eyes. We are linked now. It was the only way my physical form could return to the outside world. I had to merge with a double."

Wade-Guenivere nodded. She knew it was true...she could feel the emotions within Wade.

"Merged?" said Quinn, a little too quickly. "You mean like how I was merged?" He regarded her fearfully. Was he with her now only to lose her in the outside world? Would she return as part of Wade-Guenivere...and nothing more?

"No," said Wade reassuringly clutching his hand. It felt real, he reasoned. She smiled impishly for a minute, and for a moment the old Wade flooded her face, "You're just stuck with me," she said.

"Thank god," he said seriously.

He silently pondered their situation but pushed it aside in the light of their bigger problems. "So," he said, turning to face the group, "what can we do to help the others?"

Part 17

Wade-Guenivere eyed the group nervously at Quinn's question. Fear was written blatantly in her eyes. She bit her lip and steeled her delicate features into a look of determination. Then she spoke. "It's me he wants," she said seriously. "He's only holding your friends because he can't get to me. I'm the one who has to get everyone out of this mess." It's your fault again! her thoughts echoed. She'd gone into the bubble because she caused one death already. Would more blood be on her hands?

Mallory shook his head violently. He could see where her train of thought was going. "Oh no you don't," he said firmly. He placed his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. "I am not letting you face him alone."

Tears dripped down Wade-Guenivere's face, and she looked away. "I don't deserve so much..." she whispered.

Quinn put a hand on her arm, and though it was painful for her to see the reminder of her mistakes, she listened to his next words. "We owe you everything," he said, glancing at Wade, who held his hand.

Wade nodded in agreement and smiled understandingly at her double. "We won't let you do this alone," she said. "We're going to defeat Derek," she said, glancing at Quinn, who felt his heart soar at the look in her eyes, "together," she finished.

Wade-Guenivere felt herself fill with hope for the first time in a long while. There was something about the way her double had spoken that told her that they wouldn't fail. Tears wet her face as she looked at Wade. "Thank you," she finally managed to whisper.

"Hey!" Quinn said with a smile. "Thank us after we get Derek away from our friends...and away from you." His look turned serious. "We have work to do guys."

"Leave Derek up to me," said Wade. A strange glint was burning in her eyes. It was an expression Quinn had never see on her face before, and it scared him.

He wanted to protest but something told him not to. Once again, he was faced with the fact that his Wade was a different person -- *and that it was his fault*. So he said nothing at her declaration. Instead he simply gripped her hand even tighter.

Mallory cleared his throat. Obviously there was some kind of unspoken conversation going on between Wade and Quinn, and he didn't want to interrupt. "If you're...um...handling Derek, I guess that leaves us to get the others away from the soldiers?" he said nervously. The prospect of facing down 20 guards wasn't an appealing one.

"Yes," said Wade. "But don't worry...they'll be plenty distracted. And," she quipped with a smile, "you'll have Maggie on your side. Once a soldier...always a soldier, right?"

Mallory smiled at the thought and nodded.

Wade-Guenivere eyed Wade with respect...and a little fear. She could sense her double had a few tricks up her sleeve -- besides the ones she already displayed, which were amazing enough. Suddenly, she didn't feel afraid anymore. "Let's do it," she said firmly.

"Join hands everyone," said Wade. "It's time to get back to reality."

The foursome gripped each other and Wade shut her eyes and concentrated.

Tiny bursts of light sparked around them whirling and soaring like tiny fireflies in a starry night. An unnatural wind blew funnel-like over their prone bodies, as they held tightly to each other. Then they were falling...down, down into a deep tunnel where colors advanced and a light grew ever brighter....

In the laboratory the dimensional bubble began to shift and change. Diana stared at it in wonderment, forgetting for a moment that she was in mortal danger.

The bubble swayed and colors shifted with it's depths. It was getting hard to see the occupants inside, and it was impossible to make out their number. Diana bit her lip nervously.

Derek-Arthur strode imperiously over to where Merlin stood. "What is happening to them?" he shouted over the now deafening winds that filled the room.

Merlin answered, his eyes downcast, "They must have completed their quest. They're entering our reality."

Derek smiled evilly as he clasped his hands together. "Ah! Good!" Finally he would be able to teach Wade-Guenivere the lesson she had coming to her. She would not defy him again!

He pulled out the silver blade and stroked it's razor sharp edge. A small drop of blood appeared on his fingertips, and cascaded down the knife. He watched as the bubble's activity slowed, and it collapsed in on itself.

Four figures emerged from the glowing embers.

"Wade..." said Remmie, with both fear and relief in his voice. He wanted to cry out and hug her, but he could do nothing. He was surrounded by swordsmen.

Derek-Arthur approached the small group, who still held hands on the dais.

"Hello my love," he snarled at Wade-Guenivere, who shrank back. The silver blade glinted in his hands.

"Let them go Derek!" Wade-Guenivere pleaded. "They've done nothing to you! It's me you want to punish."

"Ah..." said Derek, chuckling as he pointed the knife so it softly grazed Wade-Guenivere's cheek. "But that's the beauty of it my love. If I kill them, then it will hurt you." His eyes grew steely cold. "It will hurt you as you have hurt me!"

"She's done nothing to you," said Quinn. "You've done it all to yourself."

"You!" spat Derek. "I killed your counterpart...and I will kill you too!"

"No! Not again!" screamed Wade-Guenivere, as two guards rushed towards Quinn, swords drawn.

A small figure stepped in front of Quinn. "You aren't killing anyone." said Wade.

Derek-Arthur's eyes narrowed. So, this was the person who'd been the object of their quest. "And just what do you think you can do to stop me?" he said with a laugh.

Wade shut her eyes. "Quinn, Mallory! The soldiers! Now!"

PART 18

Quinn watched, horrified and fascinated as Wade's body began to tremble and glow. But he didn't have time to examine what was happening to her, as two soldiers were fast approaching him, both with drawn swords.

Suddenly a purplish light filled the room. Quinn gasped. The light was emanating from Wade! The soldiers in front of him suddenly dropped to their knees and covered their eyes. Screams of "My eyes!" "Aaaaggggghhh!" and "It burns!!!" filled the room.

Derek stood frozen in his angry stance. "Nooooo!" he shouted...and then his scream died out mid-breath.

Maggie saw her chance. She kicked the soldier closest to her and grabbed his sword. "Arm yourselves guys!!" she shouted. "Let's get out of here!"

Remmie punched a soldier in the jaw that started to get in his way, and grabbed Diana by the hand.

Wade-Guenivere watched the scene, her mouth trembling. Her husband still stood transfixed in the light, directly opposite of Wade. A sudden flash of emotion hit her...anger, sadness, hatred, love. Suddenly she had an inkling of what her double was about to do. "My god..." she whispered.

Wade still had her eyes shut. But suddenly they all heard her in their heads. "Get out of the lab...now!"

Mallory, Remmie, Maggie, Diana and Merlin followed the call to action and ran out the door. But Quinn walked over to where Wade stood and took her hand. It was limp and cold against his fingers.

"No Wade!" shouted Quinn over the rising din in the room. "I'm not leaving here without you! I'm not letting you do this alone!"

A rising wind was whipping her hair and the purplish light discolored her face. But she was his Wade. He'd put her in this position. And he wouldn't leave her. Not even if all he could do was hold her hand.

Wade-Guenivere rushed to Quinn's side and tugged on his arm. "Quinn go!"

He wouldn't move. "Quinn!" she pleaded. "You don't want to see what she's going to do!"

Quinn stared down at Wade-Guenivere. "Go," he said. "I need to see what happens here. I caused it. I know you can understand that."

Wade-Guenivere nodded slowly, tears filling in her eyes. And silently, she backed out of the room.

It was then that Wade opened her eyes. To Quinn's amazement, they were no longer the warm brown eyes that had, in the past, made him feel like he was sinking in their lovely depths. Instead, Wade's eyes were now an icy, crystal blue. He held tighter to her hand. "I'm here Wade," he thought. To his surprise, he heard her soft, gentle voice in his mind.

"I know," it said. "I love you Quinn."

And then he was blinded. The light filled the air. It was harsh and guttural, painful to keep his eyes open. But he saw the figure of Derek before them. And then he saw it disintegrate before his eyes. He had to shut them then. The light was too intense. And the screams of the soldiers faded away until the room was just silence.

He opened his eyes just as Wade began to crumple, her face white, her eyes back to their normal brown. They were alone in the room. All around them lay traces of a fine brown powder. Quinn felt his stomach revolt as he looked at it. "Derek's gone," Wade whispered, and then she fell in a faint into his arms.

Wade woke to find herself in a luxurious bedroom suite. Sitting on a chair by her side was Remmie. He stared down at her with worried eyes, as if afraid she would break.

Not like I really need protection anymore, thought Wade sadly. "Hi Remmie," she managed to croak with a half hearted smile.

"Oh sweetheart!" he said, taking her gently in his arms for a hug. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

She wrapped her arms around him. He felt good, nice and solid. "Is everyone all right?" she said anxiously, breaking the contact between them.

Remmie nodded. "Wade-Guenivere and Merlin can't wait to thank you," he said.

Wade smiled softly. Then she looked down at the bedsheets.

"It was a hard gift to learn wasn't it?" said Remmie softly. His mind still burned at the thought of what she had been through.

"They forced me to learn it," said Wade flatly. "I think it gave them intense pleasure to know that I hated it." She clenched a fist and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I never wanted the capability to hurt someone..."

"Ssssh sweetheart I know," said Remmie, patting her on the back. Despite the amazing events that had occurred, she still looked to him like a fragile, vulnerable bird; very much in need of a warm spring. Of course he didn't know what had really happened to Derek and his soldiers. All he knew was they were gone, and that was good enough for him.

"Wade," a voice said at the door. Wade glanced up. It was Maggie.

"Hi Maggie," Wade said. Something about Maggie's demeanor was different, she thought. She seemed less...cut and dry around the edges, softer somehow.

Maggie glanced nervously at Remmie and Wade. OK Maggie, she thought fiercely to herself. It's got to be said. So say it!

"I just want you to know..." said Maggie, her lower lip trembling slightly. "That I've felt awful about the way we used to be...I mean...about the way I used to be around you for a long time now." She paused and Wade nodded, her emotions overcome by the unexpected apology. Maggie continued, "I just...can we possibly make a fresh start? I'd like for us to actually be friends."

Wade smiled and took Maggie's hand. "I'd like that too," she said. They'd both grown past the old rivalry, she realized. It was time for new beginnings....and the love of old friends.

"Where's Quinn?" she asked quietly. Did he hate what she'd become? she wondered. Would she look into his eyes and see disgust? Wade sighed. It had been hard enough for her to accept the destructive power that now resided within her. How could she expect him to?

"He's in the hallway" said Remmie indicating the door. "He's been there since we brought you to this room. "Said he wanted to talk to you alone after everyone else had a chance to see you. You want me to get him?"

Wade nodded, a fearful lump rising in her throat. He hates me now, she thought. I just know it!

Remmie and Maggie rose, and left the room. A moment later Quinn came in.

Wade watched him. His eyes looked old, his face sad. He came to the side of the bed and stroked her hair.

"Hi," he said. She must hate me for what I've done to her, he thought sadly. It's my fault that the Kromaggs ever hurt her! And if he couldn't forgive himself, how could he ask for her to forgive him?

"Hi," she said back, her voice tightly controlled so as not to betray her emotions.

"Wade...I...we...need to talk" he said finally.

Part 19

Quinn sighed heavily as he sat down on Wade's bed. She watched him, her eyes apprehensive, darting frantically over his face like a lost child clutching for it's mother.

He looked at her for a moment. She looked the same as he remembered her. A little thinner perhaps, a bit more haggard. But it was her eyes that truly told the story of the hell she'd endured for the last 18 months. It was all there, written in her eyes. And it was her eyes that made him feel the like a lead brick of guilt was attached around his neck.

"Wade," he said slowly. "I need to know...need to know what you did to the soldiers back in the lab. Are they dead?"

Wade shut her eyes, and two tears trailed down the length of her lashes onto her cheek. Gently she felt Quinn thumb them away.

I don't want to tell him, she thought desperately. But at the same time she knew she had to tell him. She owed him that much. He needed to know what she'd become. So she steeled her nerves, and swallowed audibly. Then she spoke the words in a small whisper.

"For all intents and purposes yes. I broke them down to their base atoms. The brown dust was their remains. It was something...the Kromaggs...made me learn so I could...kill...during the invasion." She watched fearfully for his reaction. But all he did was take her in his arms.

With a shock, she realized he was crying, his tears muffled in her hair. His body shook, and she held him gently, never wanting to let go.

"I'm so....so....sorry Wade! How can you even look at me!" he said, suddenly pulling back and taking her face in his hands. Tears still wet his cheeks, and he was breathing erratically.

"Quinn," she said, taking his hands from her face and finally realizing that he was feeling guilt, not hate. "Quinn, don't."

She held his hands and felt the pressure on them loosen. His eyes looked hollow. "You told me that you loved me in there. How can you still love me after what I did to you?" he whispered sadly. He broke the gaze they held and looked at the bed sheets, his cheeks burning.

"Quinn," she said softly, forcing him to look into her eyes. "I loved you when I was a prisoner. I loved you when we were sliding. I loved you back home. I love you now. I never...ever blamed you! And I don't want you to blame yourself! " The last words came out forcefully, and he winced at the way she read his heart so easily.

He touched her face tenderly. "You are amazing," he said slowly. "You can forgive me...ask me to forgive myself..." He cupped his hands around her face. "Don't ever let me lose you again," he said seriously. "I don't think I could take losing you again."

To his surprise, she burst into tears. "I...I...thought...you'd ...hate ...me...what ...I ...am ...now!" came out between her sobs.

He held her gently, letting her pain wash over him. "Wade," he said seriously. "I could never hate you." He took a deep breath. "I *love* you. I always have. I'm only sorry it took your being taken away from me for me to tell you that."

She looked at him, surprise etched on her features. "You...you *love* me?"

"Yes," he responded, and leaning down her brushed her lips with a kiss.

Wade smiled through her tears. Suddenly she knew they were going to be all right.

Time has flown, thought Mallory cheerfully as he followed behind Wade-Guenivere's horse on the gray stallion he rode. With Derek gone, Wade-Guenivere was free to rule Camelot with a free hand, her numerous supporters rallying around her. It turned out that Derek's penchant for pain had not gone unnoticed in the castle, and Wade-Guenivere was not without friends who wanted to see her rule. She'd quickly established her new role in the government. Mallory admired her for that -- among numerous other things. She'd become a good friend to him. He was saddened at the thought that they were leaving this dimension -- leaving her -- in a few hours.

Riding the horse was a wonderful feeling, he thought. It was like riding a motorcycle in a way, there was this sense of power beneath you, and a little bit of the feeling that you weren't totally in control. Mallory loved that sensation of adrenaline.

"C'mon slow poke!" said Wade-Guenivere, laughing merrily as she looked back over her shoulder at him. "Are you riding that horse or letting him graze in the grass!"

"Is that a challenge?" Mallory shot back playfully. "'Cause you know that I can beat you any day of the week!" He spurred his horse to catch up with her.

Wade-Guenivere watched him, her eyes shining. "Oh yeah?" she said. "Then how come I've won every race?!"

She kicked her horse, and began to gallop leaving trails of dust in his face.

Mallory grinned. He loved a challenging woman.

Maggie watched from the window of the castle. Down below she could see a happy couple walking among the gardens. She didn't have to look twice to know it was Wade and Quinn. Strangely though, she didn't feel the old flare of jealousy. She turned around, and gazed at Rembrandt, who was humming a tune for the court musician. "There's no reason to be jealous," she thought suddenly. "My love for Quinn has changed. Maybe it was never even like that at all."

After all, she'd met him when she was very in need of a friend...and very much without a home. But now? She had a home...it was with her friends. And that was good enough. Suddenly she felt very much at peace. She walked over to Remmie.

"So let's hear the new tunes maestro," she said, grinning.

Remmie laughed. "Ok...but you are going to be blown away by the talent of the Crying Man."

Maggie winked at the court musician. "Of that...I'm sure."

Diana and Merlin sat peacefully in his lab working on some instruments. Diana finished her adjustments, and glanced around the small room. So much has happened here, she thought. She glanced up, and saw Merlin smiling at her.

"This place holds a lot of echoes now," he said. "I don't think it will ever feel the same to me again."

Diana nodded in agreement. "I know," she said. "It's amazing." She smiled up at him.

"So you're all leaving today right?" Merlin continued.

Diana nodded. The six of them had decided to slide on together. There was still one person that Quinn wanted to save -- his brother Colin -- and Diana wanted to help him do that. After all, she still felt responsible.

She grinned. "We have other quests to follow."

The End