When the news that the warheads had actually been launched against Britain came out in the little research office in Baswich, Quinn's first instinct was t find Wade. He didn't want to face death without straightening out a few of the arguments they'd had over the last few weeks.
He found her just outside the building, perhaps thinking the same thing.
"I'm sorry, Wade. You were right, I didn't solve anything."
"At least you tried," said Wade graciously, accepting his apology smoothly and easily.
"This world seems to have it in for us," smiled Quinn.
Wade nodded. "I can't believe it's going to end like this, after all this time," she whispered.
Side by side, they waited in silence for the missiles to arrive and end their adventure. There was nothing more either of them could say.
As the fighting had expanded, Remmy had let himself out of his cell and begun to search for Maggie. Finding her had turned out to be easy, but actually speaking to her was nearly impossible. Suddenly Maggie appeared to be a huge celebrity. Remmy chuckled to himself, amused, then called out to her over the crowds, positioning himself at the top of a small fight of steps.
"Hey, Maggie! Anything I can do, girl? What's goin' on?"
"Rem? Am I glad to see you," she called.
Maggie began to push her way over to him, the tide of the crowd turning with her as she did so. "Did you hear?" she gasped, when she finally reached him. "Bennish actually launched the missiles! I can't believe it, what a maniac. I only hope the British don't retaliate, if they do we're dead."
"You're serious? He launched? Oh man," Remmy sank down to sit on the steps. "Quinn and Wade are over there, Maggie."
"I know." Maggie held Remmy's shoulder. "Come on, I think my double may have a number we can call to confirm it."
Escaping the crowds, Maggie led Remmy into her double's quarters. Everything was in a mess, it seemed as though the fighting had gone straight through that very room, but Maggie found what she was looking for quickly, and managed to get through to a small military base in Southern England. For several tense minutes she and Remmy hung on to the phone line, waiting to see if the incoming missiles the British were tracking carried full blown nuclear warheads. They had hardly dared hope, yet when the missiles landed, they failed to explode. They had obviously been disabled.
Their relief was short-lived. When Bennish discovered that his missiles had been tampered with, he realised that his authority over the rest of the world had been threatened by a handful of his own soldiers. As a few of his elite men were sent to rearm a few more missiles, he ordered a full blown attack on the revolutionaries.
Maggie's forces were faced with a difficult situation. Up until now they had managed to avoid killing many of Bennish's men, but as the new attack orders came, the conflict was stepped up an order of magnitude. Suddenly, throughout the US, fully armed tanks roamed the streets, and as the battled continued, more and more damage was done to buildings and roads, and more people, military and civilian alike, were killed.
Despite the extent of the mayhem outside, the battle was actually won when Wilkins, alongside his faithful allies who had escaped from the house a few weeks before, defeated Bennish's elite force as they tried to rearm the nuclear warheads. Maggie's double had provided Wilkins with as many passcodes as she had been able to, giving Wilkins the element of surprise. As the two sides had begun shooting, Rickman had appeared and casually disarmed every one of them. Neither side was sure which side Rickman was on, merely that he was in authority.
As the news that his elite forces has failed and he was losing the battle reached Bennish, he carefully considered his accomplishments as President. He knew that with the level of feeling against him, he couldn't survive long, so he chose to go out on a high. Swallowing as many stimulants as he could find, Bennish ran onto the streets into the fighting, and was quickly gunned down by a surprised underground soldier.
With Bennish's death, the brief civil war was ended conclusively. Both sides laid down their weapons and turned to Maggie for leadership.
Nervously, Maggie stood in front of the huge crowd which had gathered to listen to her. Never when she had begun the campaign to get Max released had it occurred to her that this could happen. She knew that had she the speaking skills, she could easily have taken a place as President on this world. She looked at Remmy for reassurance. He simply smiled, and waited alongside the masses.
Maggie cleared her throat. "Today the world is free, thanks to all of you." She waited for the cheers to die down, then continued. "Make sure it stays that way!" She knew they would've been happy to listen to her for hours, especially those who believed she had risen from the dead, but she simply clapped her hands above her head, then exited the stage, her job done. As she reached Remmy, he clapped her on the back.
"Good job, girl."
"Thanks Rem," smiled Maggie. I just hope no one sees us Slide out!" she added, imagining how that could affect those who already believed she had risen from the dead.
Remmy simply laughed quietly, and together they watched as the country's remaining political leaders began to try to put the pieces back together.
With the country once more stable, it was deemed to be safe for Quinn and Wade to return. Their arrival was greeted with enthusiasm by both Remmy and Maggie, but the real celebrations began when Max and Caroline were released from jail, alongside Quinn's double.
Finally, the Sliders got the break they deserved. Max, Maggie and Quinn were a little conspicuous to be with, but there were no undue problems. The hardest task was leaving Caroline behind when it came to time to Slide. Remmy eventually forced himself to explain to her why he had to leave, and confronted by the evidence of two Quinn's she had to believe him.
Remmy was last into the vortex. He said his goodbyes to Caroline
reluctantly, then glanced round for one last look. "Looks just the same
as last time we left," he chuckled, "some things never change."