Season 6
"GAMESLIDE"
Author's note: The following story uses characters from the TV series "Sliders"; however, the story is not a crossover between the two TV series "Captain N: The Game Master" and "Sliders". The characters are not the same characters from the TV series "Sliders". Instead, they are doubles from another universe and another Earth. That's my excuse for any errors you may find in this story. The characters are similar to the characters on the TV series. Their names, physical appearances (from Season 1), voices, and personalities are the same. However, certain small things, such as the date of their first slide, are altered to fit this story. Enjoy!
Saturday, September 10, 1994, 1:00 PM
It was a nice peaceful afternoon in Megaland. Kevin, Lana, Stacey, and Rick were walking around in a music store in downtown Capital City. "Well, looks like today'll be another day without Dr. Wily." Kevin said. "Yeah, what's up with that?" Rick asked. "Yeah, we've been, like, Wily-free for months now." Stacey said. Lana had a worried look on her face. "What's wrong, Lana?" Kevin asked. "Wily never takes this long of a break...unless..." Lana fell silent. "Unless what?" Rick asked. "Unless he's building up his forces." Lana said, deep concern in her voice. "He's planning something. Something big enough that he needs more forces than he had during the Second Videoland War." "That's totally not good!" Stacey said. "And I think everyone else feels the same way." Lana told them. "There's an atmosphere of worry all over Megaland." Stacey smiled, cheering up. "But at least we can do some shopping!" Kevin smiled. The four of them stopped at the Rock / Pop section. Lana picked up a compact disc and examined it. "Hey, check it out! Videoland versions of Earth songs!" Rick smiled. "Play it!" Lana opened the case and took out the CD. "Man, ever since we recorded all those movies, shows, and music that we brought back from Earth into the Palace's databanks and uploaded it all onto the Videoland Information Network, they've become really popular here!" Kevin noted. Lana placed the disc into the slot in the listening station they were at. "Let's see how good this universe's renditions are." She pressed the PLAY button. "Track 1: 'Danger Zone'." The music started playing over the speakers, and a male voice started singing:
Ready with your engine, Listen to the lives you hold. Heavy on the truth, Heading through the tracks of gold. Highway through the danger zone. Highway through the danger zone.
"It doesn't make any sense." Kevin said. "Really?" Stacey asked. "I hadn't noticed." Lana chuckled. She took the CD out of the slot and placed it back in the case. "I'll buy it. Good for laughs." The four of them made their way to a checkout computer. Kevin placed his right hand on a scanner. A display appeared on the monitor: IDENTITY: KEVIN KRISTOPHER KEENE CREDITS IN ACCOUNT: 8675309 PLEASE SCAN PURCHASES.Kevin scanned in the compact discs he had selected. The display changed: RAM CHIP ROCK '94 25 THE UNGRATEFUL UNDEAD - WORLD TOUR '90 35 PRESS END WHEN FINISHED SCANNING.Kevin pressed the button marked END. The display changed once more: A TOTAL OF 60 CREDITS WAS DEDUCTED FROM YOUR ACCOUNT. THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING MUSIC TRACKS.Kevin removed his hand, and the display went blank. Rick placed his right hand on the scanner. IDENTITY: RICHARD EDWARD WALKER CREDITS IN ACCOUNT: 90458346 PLEASE SCAN PURCHASES.Rick scanned in the compact discs he had selected. The display changed: VIDEOLAND CLASSIC FEATURING LUDWIG VON KOOPA 10 THAT CLASSIC TETRIS MUSIC 10 PRESS END WHEN FINISHED SCANNING.Rick pressed the END button. The display changed once more: A TOTAL OF 20 CREDITS WAS DEDUCTED FROM YOUR ACCOUNT. THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING MUSIC TRACKS.Rick removed his hand, and the display went blank. Stacey placed her right hand on the scanner. IDENTITY: STACEY LYNN ANDERSON CREDITS IN ACCOUNT: 134586735 PLEASE SCAN PURCHASES.Stacey scanned in the compact discs she had selected. The display changed: SIZZLING CIRCUITS 25 GOOD VIBRATIONS 40 PRESS END WHEN FINISHED SCANNING.Stacey pressed the END button. The display changed once more: A TOTAL OF 65 CREDITS WAS DEDUCTED FROM YOUR ACCOUNT. THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING MUSIC TRACKS.Stacey removed her hand, and the display went blank. Lana placed her right hand on the scanner. IDENTITY: LANA SARAH DESCHAIN CREDITS IN ACCOUNT: 6948275038593054590 PLEASE SCAN PURCHASES.Lana scanned in the compact discs she had selected. The display changed: DIGITAL LOVE 15 RETRO RENDITIONS '94 20 PRESS END WHEN FINISHED SCANNING.Lana pressed the END button. The display changed once more: A TOTAL OF 35 CREDITS WAS DEDUCTED FROM YOUR ACCOUNT. THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING MUSIC TRACKS.Lana removed her hand, and the display went blank. Stacey giggled. "Your initials are LSD?!" "Shut up." Lana said. The four of them passed through the scanners by the entrance to the store. Since they had all paid for their items, no forcefield came up. The guy behind them wasn't so lucky, though. The foursome walked along the street and came to Stacey's convertible. Suddenly, they heard a sound. They looked up and saw what appeared to be a warp zone open up. This didn't look like a normal warp, though. It was green and lacked the bright white glittery look of the blue warps. Before they could think about it very much, they saw four people exit the vortex, one at a time. First came a boy that looked to be in his twenties. He had short brown hair. The guy hit the metal hovercraft track. After him came a short girl with short black hair. She also appeared to be in her twenties. The two of them got out of the way, and the third person fell out of the vortex. He was a black man with short, curly, black hair and a small mustache. He looked like he was in his forties. He landed on his back. Before he could get out of the way, the fourth person came out of the vortex and landed on him. He appeared to be in his fifties. He was kind of fat and had short black hair and a mustache and beard. The vortex closed. "Watch where you're goin', Professor!" the black man said. "I am gettin' sick 'n' tired of these landings!" The fat man, who was addressed as the Professor, stood up. "My apologies, Mr. Brown - good Lord!" The four newcomers stared at themselves and each other in shock. "Oh, my God, we're cartoons!" the girl yelled. "Quinn, what's going on?!" "I dunno." the young man replied. They all looked at their surroundings. People who were walking by stopped and looked at them in curiosity. Suddenly, a hovercraft zoomed down the track toward the foursome. They got out of the way, yelling. "What the hell was that?!" the black man yelled. "Who are they?" Lana whispered to Kevin. "I dunno." Kevin whispered back. "Let's find out." The N Teamsters approached the four newcomers. "Welcome." Lana said. "I am Princess Lana Deschain of Videoland." "Who? What?" the black man asked, completely lost. "You're in Videoland." Kevin explained. "It's a universe where video game characters are real. You're on the world of Megaland in downtown Capital City." "Video games?" the girl asked. "Is this a joke?" Rick shook his head. "Not at all. Videoland looks like a cartoon. That's simply the way things work here." "Are you saying we've left Earth?!" the Professor asked. "Okay, let's all introduce ourselves before we get into the explanations." Kevin said. "My name is Kevin Keene. I was brought to Videoland from Earth back in 1989 to lead the fight against evil. My title here is Captain N: The Game Master. Your turn, dude." "I'm Quinn Mallory." the young man, who Kevin had addressed, said. "I'm a physics grad student at the University of Berkeley." "I'm Rick Walker. I'm a student at the University of California at Northridge." "I'm Wade Kathleen Welles." the girl said. "I'm a student at Northshore Junior College in San Francisco." "I'm, like, Stacey Anderson. I was a cheerleader at Northridge High." "I'm Rembrandt Lee Brown." the black man said. "I'm a former R&B singer. Folks used to call me the Crying Man." "You already know who I am." Lana said with a smile. "My name is Maximillian P. Arturo." the fat man said in an English accent. "I am a Professor of Physics at the University of Berkeley." "Okay," Kevin said, "now explain what happened." "Actually, first I'd like to hear more about this universe." Quinn said. Lana nodded. "Fair enough." She took the car keys out of her front right jean shorts pocket and opened the driver side door of Stacey's convertible. "Hop in." Lana sat down in the driver seat. Stacey sat in the passenger seat. The other six people sat in the back seat and on the trunk. Lana started the car, and they drove back to the N Team's house.
The eight of them walked into the Communications room. "So, let me see if I got all this straight." Kevin said. "You invented sliding, right, Quinn?" Quinn laughed. "Actually, I only discovered it. It seems to already exist on some worlds we visit." "Well, anyway, you've been sliding randomly from world to world for a week now, and you're trying to get back home." Lana said. "That's right." Wade said, then shook her head. "My parents must be really worried about me." "Well, maybe we can help you get home." Rick said. "We'll call Dr. Right and see what he can do." "Quinn, how much time you got before the next window?" Kevin asked. Quinn checked the display on the timer. "Seven hours and fourteen minutes." "We have enough time to go back to Earth and check if it's Earth Prime." Kevin said. Professor Arturo nodded. "Good idea. We wouldn't want to slide out due to ignorance." "That would be just our luck." Rembrandt said. Kevin selected the coordinates on the warp zone opener. He opened a warp. Kevin, Quinn, Lana, Wade, Rick, Rembrandt, Stacey, and Arturo stepped into it.
They all exited the warp and found themselves in an alley. "These...warp zones as you call them are amazing." Quinn said. "No rollercoaster rides or rough landings." Kevin laughed. "Well, sometimes we have rough landings. I'd like to try sliding sometime." "Anyway, we're in Northridge, California." Lana put in. "Why not San Francisco?" Quinn asked. "It would be easier to check." "We don't have the coordinates for San Francisco." Rick said. "Well, let's get to your house and look up some info." Rembrandt said. "Maybe we can find out." Quinn nodded. "Good idea, Remmie."
Wade hung up the phone at Kevin's house. "Well?" Quinn asked. Wade walked back into the living room from the kitchen. "I go to Northshore Junior College. There's no such college in this San Francisco, and there never was." The other Sliders sighed. "Well, it was worth a try." Arturo said. "How much time you got left?" Lana asked. Quinn checked the timer. "Six hours and twenty-five minutes." Lana smiled. "Then let's show these guys around town."
They all went to Taco Bell. "I'll order for you, guys. My treat." Kevin said. Quinn smiled. "Thanks, Kevin." Kevin ordered twenty-four soft beef tacos, eight bags of nachos with cheese and hot peppers, and eight large Pepsis. Kevin, Lana, and Stacey carried the trays, and they all took their seats at a booth. "Dig in." Kevin said with a smile. Wade just sat still. "What's wrong, Wadester?" Stacey asked. "I'm a vegetarian." Wade said. "Oh." Lana said with a hint of annoyance. "Wade, let me tell you something. There is absolutely no reason why people have to be vegetarians. We only have one life. We're mortal, and we will die someday. Refraining from eating meat may prolong our lives, but that all it'll do. The end result is the same. So, why not eat meat? It's not like smoking, which is a serious threat to our health. Look, I'm not saying eat large amounts, but there's nothing wrong with eating meat occasionally. Just don't over-do it. Eat vegetables with your meal and exercise daily. And don't freak about your weight like most women do." "Well, I see your point, but that's not the only reason I'm a vegetarian." Wade said. "Millions of animals are caged and slaughtered so that people can enjoy a taco or a steak. I refuse to let animals be executed to serve my needs, so I refrain from consuming any animal meats or products." Lana gave Wade an odd stare. "That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! You can't equate the life of a chicken or a cow with the life of a human being! They don't have the rights to freedom we enjoy, because with freedom comes responsibility and the need for intelligence, both of which they don't have. Human beings therefore have a natural right, as the rulers of a world, to consume animals of a different species for food." "Animals are also God's creatures, Lana." Wade said. "Who are we to kill them for our food?" "Wade, have you ever read the Gospels in the Bible?" Kevin asked. "Yeah." Wade said. "What did Jesus and his Apostles have for Passover?" "Bread and wine." "And lamb." Kevin pointed out. "Don't forget that. Jesus ate meat - meat that came from a slaughtered animal. He never once said eating meat was wrong. If he ate meat, why the hell can't we?" Wade thought about this. Rembrandt took a big bite from a taco. "Mmmmm-mmmmm! I miss beef!" The N Teamsters looked at him in confusion. "We were on a world that had outlawed meat consumption." Quinn explained. "It was heaven for Wade, but it was a living hell for the rest of us. We ended up working in an underground meat-preparing operation." The N Teamsters laughed. "Wade, can you give me a good reason why you shouldn't eat meat?" Lana asked. Wade slowly shook her head, then reached out, just as slowly, with her hands and unwrapped a taco. She picked it up and took a bite. "Mmmmm! Yummy!" The others all cheered and applauded.
"Amazing." Dr. Right said in wonder as he examined the wiring and circuitry in Quinn's timer, which lay unassembled on a metal work table. "Absolutely amazing. This timer of yours is very similar to the warp zone openers I designed." "Can you get us home?" Quinn asked. "Does your timer store the coordinates of previous Earths?" Dr. Right asked. "Unfortunately, no." Professor Arturo said. "Then there's nothing I can do." Dr. Right said sorrowfully. "Thanks anyway, Dr. Right." Wade said. Dr. Right reassembled the timer.
"Heh, heh, heh." Dr. Wily said evilly. "With that kind of technology, I'll be able to construct a new Warp Zone Shifter." The evil scientist was sitting in his laboratory, deep inside Skull Castle, watching the events taking place through the use of a micro-camera he had placed in Dr. Right's lab. Dr. Wily shut off the monitor and stood up. He began to gather his robots for an assault.
"Five hours left." Quinn announced once they were back at the N Team's house. "You guys are free to hang out around Megaland." Lana said. "Cool!" Wade said. "I'd like to study some of this futuristic society." Quinn said. "As would I." Arturo said. "It is a scientist's dream come true." Wade smiled and shook her head. "Personally, I'd like to do some shopping." "What is it with women and shopping anyway?" Quinn asked. Rick and Rembrandt laughed as Kevin, Quinn, Lana, the Professor, Stacey, and Wade left the living room. "So, you're a musician, huh?" Rick asked Rembrandt. Remmie nodded. "Yeah. I was on my way to a Giants game at Candlestick Park to sing the National Anthem and make my big comeback when that damn vortex swallowed up me 'n' my Cadillac. Next thing I know I'm drivin' into a freakin' iceberg." Rick patted Rembrandt on the back. "Sorry, man." "Hey, you sing any?" Rembrandt asked. Rick nodded. "Yeah, I sang with the band once." "The band?" Remmie asked. Rick smiled.
"Amazing. Absolutely amazing." Quinn said, echoing Dr. Right's earlier words. He stared at the construction robots in fascination as they built a new building. "What powers they possess." Professor Arturo said. "They are remarkable tools, but they can also be remarkable weapons if they fall into the wrong hands. They are both a good and an evil." "Technology is neither good nor evil, Professor." Lana put in. "How can it be? It's not a living being. We call medical treatments and video games 'good' and nuclear weapons and spam mail 'evil', but they're not. It's the people that use the technology that are good and evil." Arturo nodded in admiration. "You are quite right, Your Highness. I stand corrected." "Hey, guys!" Stacey called. She and Wade were coming down the sidewalk. Wade was wearing new clothes. "Stacey took me shopping." Wade said, smiling. "Wadaya think?" Quinn smiled. "Lookin' good, Wade." "She has, like, incredibly good taste!" Stacey said. Suddenly, a laser beam hit the sidewalk just a meter from the group. Stacey shrieked. Everyone else yelled. They turned and looked behind them. Three humanoid robots were walking toward them. Dr. Wily's flying saucer was hovering behind them. The top was open, and Dr. Wily was looking at the group of humans. Kevin grinned. "Hey, long time no see, Wily! We were gettin' worried!" "Turn over that timer device to me now." Dr. Wily demanded. "Never!" Quinn said. "Then you leave me no choice." Using her quick reflexes, Lana drew her Zapper and fired down all three robots before they could fire. "Go home, Wily!" Dr. Wily smiled. "I think I'll go to your home, Princess." With that, he closed his flying saucer and took off. "Oh, crap." Stacey said. They immediately warped back to the house.
Lana opened up a weapons locker and took out five laser rifles. She handed them to Stacey, Quinn, Wade, Rembrandt, and the Professor. "Just point and shoot." They nodded.
Dr. Wily's flying saucer hovered in the air by the N Team's house as the Robot Masters from Mega Man 6 attacked on the ground. Standing on the front steps of the N Team's house, the eight humans confronted the eight robots. A huge exchange of fire took place. The N Teamsters and the Sliders were winning. Dr. Wily saw that his Robot Masters were being destroyed. He watched the battle with great interest. Suddenly, Tomahawk Man scanned Quinn's pockets. This went unnoticed by the young man, however, as he continued firing. Finally, after all of his robots were destroyed, Dr. Wily retreated. "So, is he gone forever?" Wade asked. "Not forever." Lana told her, then looked up at the sky. "But for a while." Rick cleared his throat. "Guys, Remmie and I have something to discuss with you regarding tonight's concert."
The concert hall in Megaland was packed, as usual. Everyone had heard of something special happening tonight. The four band members - Kevin Keene, Lana Deschain, Stacey Anderson, and Mike Vincent - walked out onto the stage dressed in black pants, black sneakers, black short-sleeved shirts, and black leather jackets. The crowd went wild. It seemed as though the band's popularity was growing with every concert, and there were no signs of it leveling off yet. The band members took their places by their instruments and went through their setup routine. Then they turned on their microphones. "Thank you, Videoland!" Kevin said, raising his right arm into the air. "Tonight we promised you something special. You remember when we had a guest performer last year. Well, he's back! Please welcome Rick Walker and another guest performer, Rembrandt 'Crying Man' Brown!" The crowd cheered as the band started playing R&B music. Rembrandt walked out onto the stage holding a microphone and raised his arms in the air. Then the music slowed down, and Remmie started singing:
I've got tears in my 'fro, 'Cuz I'm standing on my head over you, And I-I-I-I Got a long way to go. Will this crying stop? I wish I only knew.
Just then, Rick slid out onto the stage, a microphone in his right hand. "Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!!!" The crowd went wild, and the music sped up, as Rick stood up, and he and the Crying Man sang a duet:
I've got tears in my 'fro, 'Cuz my world is upside down over you. I should wash them out, I know, But that's the saddest thing I'll ever have to do.
At first I thought our love was never-ending, Together, you and I 'til eternity. But now I realize I'm just pretending. I'm only half the man I used to be.
I've got tears in my 'fro, 'Cuz my world is upside down over you. I should wash them out, I know, But that's the saddest thing I'll ever have to do.
I've got tears in my 'fro, 'Cuz I'm standing on my head, girl,... Oo-ver yoo-oou.
The crowd went wild. The cheering and applause was deafening. Rick and Rembrandt took bows. Even the band members were cheering and applauding. The other Sliders ran up on stage. Quinn showed Rembrandt the timer. "We got thirty seconds, Remmie." "Right behind you, Q-Ball." Remmie replied. "We'll be right back!" Kevin suddenly yelled into his microphone. The other Sliders faced him. "What's up?" Quinn asked. "Open the Gateway. We're goin' with ya." Kevin said, taking off his guitar. "What?" Quinn asked in surprise. "Do it." Kevin said. He picked up two warp zone openers. When the timer reached zero, Quinn opened up the vortex. The audience thought nothing of this. Quinn jumped into the vortex, yelling. Rembrandt, Wade, Arturo, Kevin, Rick, Lana, Stacey, and Mike followed. The vortex closed.
The nine people fell out of the vortex, and it closed. After the Professor had gotten off of Rembrandt, they all stood up and looked around. "We're in Golden Gate Park." Wade said. "Quinn, are we home?" "I dunno." Quinn checked the timer. "And we've only got a minute to find out!" "Um, no." Kevin said. The Sliders looked at him. Kevin held up one of the warp zone openers. "This warp zone opener has the coordinates for Videoland and our Earth. If you're ever on an Earth you don't like, stop by and visit us." Quinn nodded. "We will, but what does that - " "It also doesn't have a waiting period." Kevin explained. "Just open up a random warp to another Earth whenever you wanna leave." "That'll definitely increase our chances of getting home." Quinn said. He offered Kevin his right hand. "Thank you." Kevin shook it. "No problem." Quinn read the display on his timer. "We missed the window. The timer won't work again for another 29.7 years." Kevin smiled. "Then you won't be needing it anymore." He held out his right hand. Quinn smiled. "Souvenir?" Kevin nodded.