Sliders: Have a Nice Day (6 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

Arturo began to breathe faster as the men came towards him with their syringes. One of them yanked down the shoulder of Arturo's coat to expose his arm. Arturo began to struggle, but the cuffs and ropes held him fast. He could only grit his teeth and wait for the inevitable.

"You shall not prevail!" Kenny was screaming. "The young shall topple your empire and rescue us from destruction!"

For the first time, Thomas' smile flickered in confusion. "What is that old man babbling about?"

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (5 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

Crazy Kenny led Arturo through the dark and shadowy park. Occasionally, they passed other visitors to Golden Gate Park who gave them cheerful greetings. Kenny always ignored them and Arturo began to do likewise. The people didn't seem to notice or care, anyway.

Kenny finally led Arturo to a stream running through the park. Kenny crawled underneath the rocky bridge to a large shanty made of planks of wood. Arturo followed him inside.

Arturo's first thought was that it was the home of a madman. The bed was just a grimy blanket folded over and stuffed in a corner. The walls were literally papered with news clippings about seemingly unrelated topics. One was an article on the rising numbers of the depressed in America. Another was an advertisement for a home water-filtration system. A third was just a big picture of the classic "Have A Nice Day" smiley-face. A large X had been drawn over it.

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (4 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

Arturo stared at David and Quinn, who smiled back at him. "You...you what?"

"We wanna stay here," Quinn said. "This place is great. These people are so friendly and happy that we just...feel happy, too. David never had loving parents until now. And I never had a father in my world. So what's the point of leaving? We may never have it so good again."

"You can't be serious," Arturo said. "After...after all we've been through and done..."

"Hey, professor," Rembrandt said. "Lay off 'em, man. If they wanna stay, why can't we let 'em stay? As a matter of fact...I wouldn't mind hangin' around here myself."

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (3 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

The cab dropped them off in front of Quinn's house, a pleasant building that Arturo had grown quite fond of over the past few years. Heaven knew they'd seen it often enough. He was glad they knew for sure that they weren't home. The squeaky-gate test Quinn had invented had grown tiresome, not to mention annoying.

Arturo walked beside David Mallory up the front walk. David's eyes were wide and his walk unsteady with excitement. It was his first time seeing a double other than Quinn, and Arturo knew from experience that it could be quite nerve-wracking.

They climbed the front steps. David clenched his fists, looking up at the others in turn before reaching out and pushing the doorbell.

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (2 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

Arturo steeled himself as they walked onto the open streets of San Francisco. The first thing that caught his eye was how clean the streets were. Not even a cigarette butt lay in a gutter. And everyone was smiling. Everyone.

As a young woman passed the group, she gave each of them a cheery grin. "Good afternoon. Nice to see you."

Rembrandt gave her a half-hearted wave. "Uh, yeah. Nice to see you, too."

When the woman had moved down the sidewalk, a man in a well-tailored suit walked past Quinn. The man stopped and clasped Quinn's hand firmly.

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (1 of 6)

What is Sliders?

by Nigel G. Mitchell

The following story is part of the Fifth Slider serial, a Sliders fanfiction series created by David Pesqueira that introduces a fifth slider to the group. The events described take place a little before and immediately after the end of the first FS story, "Silent Voices." If you haven't read that story, I'd recommend that you do before reading this one.

There's also a major spoiler of "Double Cross" in this part of the story, so if you haven't seen that episode, be warned.

As usual, Maximillian Arturo struggled with a bout of nausea as he sailed through the Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky Bridge that connected alternate dimensions. The walls of the wormhole twisted and bounced him through the endless void. Colors, the likes of which no rainbow had ever shown, flowed around him in a river of light.

The scientist in him was always thrilled by sliding - the wonder of discovery, the rush of knowing that he was doing something only a handful of people had ever done. But the human in him sang with terror at the prospect of what lay at the end of their journey.

Sliders: Underground (2 of 2)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

"Oh, man," Quinn said. "Don't move, Wade. It cut you."

"We must disinfect it," Arturo said. "I doubt this cave is very sanitary."

"Disinfect it with what, professor?" Rembrandt asked. "This ain't exactly Walgreen's down here."

Quinn ignored them, focusing on the injury. He was trying to remember his first-aid training in health class. The wound bled a lot. That meant he needed to stop the blood. With pressure. That was it.

Sliders: Underground (1 of 2)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

The following story takes place sometime during the second season between "In 

Dino Veritas" and "Post-Traumatic Slide Syndrome."

Quinn crawled along the grass of Golden Gate Park, his face inches away from the soil. He couldn't find what he was looking for, but he knew it was there. He could see other people in the park out of the corner of his eye, staring at him, but Quinn ignored them. He focused only on the ground beneath him. It had to be there. It had to...

Then he saw it. A small stone about the size of a bead.

Sliders: Double Trouble (4 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

The new Rembrandts didn't seem surprised by the fact that they had materialized out of thin air. They wandered around the hotel room, watching TV, looking out the window, waiting in line for the bathroom, and pouring themselves glasses of beer. And more Rembrandts popped into existence. The formerly empty hotel room became crammed with duplicates of Rembrandt.

"Man," Rembrandt whispered. His eyes were almost perfect circles as he looked at Quinn. "What's goin' on, Q-Ball?"

"We're not sure," Quinn said. "But I'll explain in the cab. The slide's coming, and I don't think we wanna get stuck in this world for the next thirty years."

Sliders: Double Trouble (3 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

Wade said to Arturo, "So the thing about Lottery World is when--"

The waitress interrupted them with three plates of pancakes balanced on her arms. She set the dishes down in front of them. "Here you go. Three Fruity-Nutty Flapjacks. I'll get your 'to go' order in a second. Back in a jiffy."

As she walked away, Arturo picked up his knife and fork and began to cut into his pancakes. "Ah, now, Miss Welles, you are going to learn what noble heights the simple pancake can achieve."

Sliders: Double Trouble (2 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Rembrandt glanced back at the others. He let a mischievous grin spread across his face as he said, "Hey, uh, pops..."

"My name is not Pops," the driver growled.

"Yeah, whatever. Uh, you notice anything about this guy sittin' next to me?"

Wade jammed an elbow into his ribs, whispering, "Remmy! No!"

Sliders: Double Trouble (1 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

The following story takes place sometime between "As Time Goes By" and the third season premiere, "Double Cross."

The morning sun just began to cast a shimmering haze over Golden Gate Park when the wormhole formed. It seemed as if a gnarled oak tree collapsed on itself, turning into a circular blue hole in space. One by one, the Sliders popped out of it onto the grass. When all four of them were free, the wormhole closed again with a sucking noise.

Rembrandt staggered to his feet, clutching his stomach. Arturo yawned and stretched as Quinn stood, looking at the timer in his hand.

"How long we got in this world, Q-Ball?" Rembrandt asked.

Quinn looked down at the display, and closed his eyes. "One minute, eight seconds."

Sliders: No Smoking (2 of 3)

By Nigel G. Mitchell

Quinn and Arturo sat in rays of sunlight cast from a barred window in the interrogation room. Quinn traced circles on the table his hands rested on, about the only thing he could do with his wrists cuffed together.

Sliders: No Smoking (1 of 3)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

Based on the official chronology of "Sliders" rather than the Fox Network's airing chronology, the following story takes place sometime in the first season between the episodes "Eggheads" and "The King Is Back."

Rembrandt sat listening to the rumbling coming from all around him. He wiped away a trickle of sweat that ran down his cheek. The sweat instantly returned, joining the thin film that covered every inch of exposed skin on his body.

Finally, Rembrandt glanced over at Professor Arturo sitting beside him. "Sure is hot."

Professor Arturo glared at him over his shoulder. "Mister Brown, we are sitting on an active volcano. Of course it is hot."

Sliders: Bloodline (4 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

Wade looked from the woman to Mrs. Lynch. "What?"

Mrs. Lynch grabbed a hammer off the worktable. She swung it at Arturo's head. Before Arturo could react, he had been knocked across the room. He slid to the floor, his eyes rolling up into his head.

Mrs. Lynch wheeled on Wade while drawing a butcher knife out of her apron. "Don't move."

Wade stared at her, her eyes wide in horror.

Sliders: Bloodline (3 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

Wade burst out of the shop by Arturo's side, barely able to contain herself. When they got onto the street that Wade thrust a fist into the air. "Yes! We got him! We got him on tape!"

"What are you talking about, Miss Welles?" Arturo asked.

Wade pulled the tape recorder out of her coat and thrust it into his face. "We got a confession. It's all here. All we need to do is send it to the police."

Arturo shook his head. "I would hardly call that a confession."

Sliders: Bloodline (2 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

Wade bought the National Inquiry while the others rented a room at the Dominion Hotel. She read as she walked into their hotel room.

Rembrandt rubbed his hands together as he entered the room. "Yeah, this is more like it. Lot bigger room than when we stayed here last time."

Quinn shrugged off his jacket and hung it on a hook by the front door. "Okay, first order of business is finding out if we're home."

Sliders: Bloodline (1 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

In a hotel room at the Dominion, Wade knew the others packed up around her, but her attention remained focused on the TV in the living room. She lay back on the couch, one foot propped up to press her knee against her chest, her attention riveted to the screen.

Her attention weakened enough to become aware of Professor Arturo approaching her. He pulled on his long black coat as he glanced from her to the TV, then back again.

"Come, Miss Welles," he said. "We'll be sliding in a few minutes. Don't want to be late."

Wade waved him off without diverting her attention from the screen. "I know, professor. Gimme a minute. I wanna see this."

Sliders: Your Ad Here (8 of 8)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

Washington looked at Rembrandt. A trickle of sweat began to run down his cheek. "Brown? What's the meaning of this?"

Rembrandt shrugged as he backed away from him. "What can I say, Larry? I got business to attend to."

Wade ran into the studio. The armed men immediately took aim at her. Arturo backed into the room with her, his lighter's flame singeing the edges of the cards.

Sliders: Your Ad Here (6 of 8)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

Quinn was led to a room where he was given a shirt and a pair of jeans to wear for the photo shoot. He changed while a guard held a gun to his head, then allowed himself to be taken to a studio.

A large man with thick, white hair was fiddling with cameras positioned around the room. He looked up, squinting at Quinn as he entered.

"Oh, great," he said. "Excellent. Hm. Wide shoulders, tall, interesting build. That scar on the upper lip is a problem, but nothing we can't handle with makeup. Stephanie!"

A woman hurried up to Quinn and began to powder his face. She paid special attention to scars Quinn had on his upper lip, pounding a thick flesh-colored dust over it.

The photographer folded his arms. "Now, we're going to be doing an ad for Gunslinger Jeans. So we've set up a western theme over here."