He gasped, only to receive a lung full of water. Fear overwhelming him, Dex fiercely kicked in the water, trying to reach the surface. However, he no longer knew which way was up. Wait...there was light above him! Dex desperately launched himself upward toward the light. He burst through the surface of the water, filling his lungs with precious air and coughing up the water that he had inhaled.

After recovering, Dex looked back over his shoulder. Where had that lake come from? The last thing he remembered was walking through the woods. There had been a bright flash and he had suddenly found himself floating breathlessly in the middle of the lake.

He ran his fingers through his green hair and wiped the water from his blue-skinned face. Dex felt his back and let out a sigh of relief. Sure enough, his two, light-weight axes were still strapped to his back. Weakly, he got to his feet and stumbled away from the lake, heading down a pathway that looked as if it had been traversed not long ago. He felt that there was a town nearby, yet he almost knew that he was not in Ardlehyde anymore.

He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He was surrounded by trees, lying on his back on the leaf-covered forest floor. His entire body was pulsating with pain, especially his chest and back.

Just like in his dream...

Wincing, Zed sat up and clutched his chest. He looked down at himself and, strangely enough, was not the least bit surprised to see that his clothes and armor were soaked with his blood. However, unlike in his first dream, there was not a mark on him. There was no hole through him.

Zed slowly climbed to his feet, clutching his chest. The pain was almost unbearable, giving him trouble with his breathing. He started to walk toward what he thought was the way out of the forest, but his vision started to haze over. He leaned against a tree and slid down the trunk into a sitting position. "I'm too weak..." Zed groaned, "I'll have to wait a while..." He shifted his weight until he was in a comfortable position. Suddenly, before he knew what he was doing, Zed had fallen asleep.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!"

Noble Knight, Jane, and Boomerang winced and covered their ears. Jane spoke, "I guess Rudy just told Alicia what happened..." Boomerang was silent. He had not said a word during the entire trip back to Adlehyde. The three of them were sitting in a group of chairs in the dungeon. Matt had left to find something to eat, leaving the three Dream Chasers alone.

Noble Knight sighed. She thought that she knew what he was going through. She had felt the same when he had died. She had also felt the same way what seemed like a long time ago, though it had only been three and a half years.

Boomerang suddenly spoke, catching both of the girls' attention, "Now, I know how he felt...Now, I know..." His voice trailed off. It was fairly late in the day, around seven o'clock. The Dream Chasers had gotten back to Adlehyde about half an hour ago. Cecilia had gone to her room, Noble Knight and Boomerang had gone to the dungeon, and Rudy had gone to tell Alicia the news. Now, just about everyone in Adlehyde knew Alicia's reaction. Noble Knight had changed out of her armor and into a pair of black sweatpants and a grey sweatshirt, though Boomerang had stayed in his armor.

Over in one of the cells, Scott and Michael listened to every word that the others said, then whispered to each other. Scott said, "Even questioning us like that didn't help them..."

Michael sighed, "I know...WHOA! Wait a minute!! Didn't they say that the book landed in the water, too?"

Scott answered, "Uh...yeah...I think they said that when they were telling the girl what happened."

Michael ran up to the bars and called to the Dream Chasers, "Um...can I have a word with the two of you?" They ignored him, though Michael was not the least bit surprised. He grinned slightly and added, "Um...your friend...may not be dead..."

Boomerang looked up from the floor and asked, his eyes narrowing underneath his visor, "What do you mean? I saw that guy shish-kabob him!"

Noble Knight muttered with a slight grin, "If you wanna put it bluntly..."

Michael answered, "The De La Metalica went underwater with him, right?" Boomerang nodded. "If it hit the bottom of the lake before he did, it might have released its magic and made a warp."

Boomerang and Jane exchanged a glance and walked over to the cell, their curiosity burning like a wildfire. Boomerang asked, leaning against the bars, "What to you mean, 'a warp'?"

Michael replied, "I'm not exactly sure how it works, since I don't know as much about the De La Metalica or different worlds as Princess Cathrine. But, if I'm not mistaken, your friend might have been brought back if the book landed on the bottom of the water before he did. I don't think it would have worked if it had happened the other way around."

Noble Knight, who was still sitting in her chair, was not listening, however. Her mind had returned to what had happened only three nights ago. She thought for several minutes before standing up and saying to Boomerang and Jane, "I'm gonna go check on something. I'll be right back." The two Dream Chasers nodded and went back to listening to Michael. Noble Knight then left the dungeon, heading toward a certain blind girl's room.

"I saw what you did three days ago, Alicia," Noble Knight spoke, "I saw how you brought Boomerang back to life! How did you do that?"

Alicia, who was leaning against the window sill in her room, growled, not bothering to turn around, "Get out of my room..."

Noble Knight's eyes narrowed. "How did you do that? Maybe...you could bring Zed back the same way..." Her voice trailed off.

Alicia whirled around to face the silver-haired warrior and snapped, "Get out!"

Noble Knight began to feel uneasy. It felt like Alicia was looking directly at her, as if her eyes were locked with Noble Knight's. But she's blind! she thought, She can't be looking right at me...unless... Noble Knight said, "You're not blind, are you?" Alicia did not answer. She just kept staring at her.

Noble Knight looked down at Alicia's right hand which was clenched into a fist. A faint, blue glow suddenly began to surround her fist as the girl began to loose her temper. She stepped forward and growled, "Watch your step, metallic." Their faces got so close that their noses almost touched. "Don't call down to the reaper unless you're ready to die." With that, Alicia took her staff from where it rested near the door, and left the room.

Noble Knight watched her leave and muttered to herself once the girl was out of earshot, "What are you? How did you know..." Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her hands. She looked and felt human enough, having skin and all, but whenever she hit something really hard...

Frustrated and confused, Noble Knight left the room as well, purposely letting her arm strike the doorway.

*CLANG*

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself staring up at a ceiling. Zed groaned and sat up, looking at his surroundings and finding that his chest and back were not hurting nearly as bad as they had been. He was lying in a soft bed in what looked like his room at Adlehyde castle. However, thinking back to his dreams, Zed knew that this was not his room. He looked down at himself and noticed that the blood that had been on his clothes was gone as was the blood that had covered his chest and back.

Just as the green-haired swordsman climbed out of the bed and to his feet, a figure from his dreams stepped into the room. He basicly looked like Rudy, wearing blue, cloth pants, a white t-shirt, and a red vest. However, his hair was purple instead of blue and he had a bow and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back instead of his long knife and his ARMs.

The boy spoke with a slight laugh, "Did you finally decide to wake up, Dex?"

"Huh?" Zed responded. Dex? He did not remember any Dex being in his dreams.

The purple-haired boy asked, his voice taking on a more confused and conscerned tone, "Did you get amnesia while you were out in the woods or something?" Zed just blinked and stared at him. "It's me! Rody--" He cut himself off and stepped closer to Zed. "You're not Dex! Dex's eyes aren't blue!"

"His name is Zed," came a female voice. Zed and Rody looked at the doorway to see a girl standing there. She had waist- length, blonde hair, gentle, blue eyes, and was wearing a blue and white robe. "I am Cathrine Ardlehyde."

Zed asked, a pleading grin on his face, "Could someone explain to me what the hell is going on?!"

Rody laughed, "And to me! Don't leave me in the dark like this, Cathy!"

Cathrine giggled and replied, "Yes. If you two would follow me." With that, she lead them through winding corridors of the castle. The branching hallways and corridors reminded Zed of Adlehyde castle, yet something was different, though he could not place his finger on it. The three of them entered a room which looked a lot like the Adlehyde cafe.

Standing in the room were the Jack and Jane from Zed's second dream as well as the spear-weilding Alicia and the blue- haired Noble Knight. Cathrine spoke to Zed, pointing to each of the people in turn, "These are Jake, Jessie, Ashley, and Ultima. Sit down, please. All of you." Everyone did as they were told, Zed watching Ashley who had already been sitting. She may have looked like Alicia, but she certainly did not act like her. Ashley seemed to shove aside every word that someone said to her as she sharpened her spear. Her light-weight armor was colored red and lavender and she, like Alicia, donned a pair of dark sunglasses, though it was quite clear that she was not blind.

Jake looked a lot like Jack, except that his hair was shorter and he had a short sword instead of a long sword. Jessie looked exactly like Jane; therefore, it would have been impossible to tell the two of them apart if they were together and not holding their weapons. Ultima's hair was the same length as Noble Knight's though it was blue instead of silver and her eyes were deep blue instead of jade green. Ultima's tail was pitch black with a pure white tip and her cat-like ears held the same pattern: black with white tips.

Cathrine spoke, catching Zed's attention, "Have you ever heard of parallel worlds, Zed?"

He thought for a minute before replying, "Um...they're sort of a legend, though I never believed in them..."

Cathrine smiled and said, "Well, I suggest that you start believing in them because you are sitting in one right now." She waited for that to sink in before continuing. "There is more than one universe. The second universe is the 'alternate' universe to the true one. It is mostly identical to the true universe, having the exact same planets in the exact same spots, but the planets themselves are what makes the alternate universe so different. Each planet is a copy of the planet in the true universe. For instance: you live on Filgaia. This is Fargaia, Filgaia's alternate. Also on each planet are 'doubles' of every person on the true planet. Dex is your double and so on.

"Not every planet is identical to the true planet. In fact, only two or three are exactly identical to the true one. On some planets there are slight changes, such as the names of the people, the name of the planet, or the layout of the landscape. But on some planets, everything is changed." Zed just looked at her. She was going way over his head! Cathrine laughed. "Let's say this. In the true universe, the one that you are from, most of the demons are evil and try to destroy life on other planets. On a planet in this universe, the demons would be the do-gooders and the humans would be the evil ones. Or, all of you would be on the same side and there would be a different species of creatures that would be trying to destroy the life in the galaxies." That he understood.

( @_@ whoa...sorry, if you can't understand this stupid explaination, folks, but I never did see the first episode of Sliders so I had to make up my own explaination of parallel worlds. ^^; Watch Sliders for a better explaination.)

Zed asked, "Okay...but how did I get here? The last thing I remember is getting skewered."

Ultima suddenly spoke, "Yeah. And where's Dex? I haven't seen him since he left to take a walk in the woods." Cathrine explained, "When you died, Zed, somehow the De La Metalica released its magic and opened a warp to here. But, you are incredibly lucky that Dex was in the same spot on this planet when the warp formed." Zed blinked questioningly. "Had he not been in the same spot, you would have stayed dead. However, it is also lucky for you that it was Dex who was in that spot, for if it had been someone else, they would have taken your place, but you still would have stayed dead. The odds of such a thing happening were nearly impossible, yet it did happen...You really lucked out."

Zed gulped and asked, "Uh...what were the odds?"

"...a million to one..." Zed winced.

Jessie asked, "You mean Dex is dead?!"

Cathrine replied, "No. When the two of them switched places, Zed was resurrected, but Dex was just transported to the true planet. He's listened to my explaination of parallel worlds ten times over, so I'm sure he'll figure out how to get back." She said her last sentence with a smile.

Ashley suddenly spoke, catching Zed's attention, "But what if he doesn't figure it out?"

Cathrine shrugged and answered, "The we'll have to find the warp and go after him."

Ashley shrugged and went back to sharpening her spear. Ultima grinned and said, "Now, now! Don't pretend that you're not worried about him!"

Ashley grinned and retorted, "He's my brother. Of course, I'm worried about him!"

Brother?! Zed thought, Damn...this world really is different from home!! He shook his head and asked, "Who found me and brought me here?"

"I did!" came a deep, male voice from behind him. Zed spun around in his chair to see the blue, silver, and black armored Boomerang from his second dream, his black cape flowing behind him.

Ashley's face abruptly lightened up and she leapt from her chair, running over to the newcomer and trapping him in a headlock. She growled playfully, "Damn it, RS! Where the hell have you been?!"

The newcomer choked, "The hospital! Where do you think?! You're the one who keeps sending me there!!" Ashley shoved him, laughing. "Nah...really. I've been out reloading my weapons." Zed could tell that he was definately not like the Boomerang he knew. The newcomer joked around a lot more and basicly reminded Zed of himself. Also, his voice was not deep and intimidating like Boomerang's. Rather it was like Rudy's or Jack's voice; playful and teasing.

Cathrine laughed and said to the green-haired demon, "I'm sorry. This is Rising Sun."

Rising Sun bowed playfully and said, wrapping an arm around Ashley's shoulders, "I say we should go after Dex now and not wait for him to figure this out! Knowing that numbskull, it'll take him a few centuries to figure it out."

Ultima muttered, grinning, "Look who's talkin'..."

"SHUT UP!!" Rising Sun yelled, leaping toward her. Ultima shrieked and bolted out of the room, Rising Sun right behind her.

Jessie groaned, "Siblings will be siblings..."

"Boomerang, I'm just saying that you shouldn't get your hopes up!" Noble Knight said as she tried to keep up with Boomerang who was running at top speed through the halls of Adlehyde castle. It was a day after Zed had died, around eight o'clock in the morning. Noble Knight had agreed to go with Boomerang back to the lake where Zed had been killed, although she did not quite believe what Scott and Michael had told them, nor did she quite understand what they had told them.

Boomerang snapped, "Look. If there's even a remote possibility that Zed's still alive, I'm going to look into it!"

Noble Knight responded, "I'm just trying to protect you from any disappointment! If this doesn't work, you're gonna be crushed! I'm just trying to protect you from that, so stop biting my head off!!"

Boomerang stopped in the middle of a hallway. Noble Knight, having not expected this, slammed face first into his back, causing both of them to fall to the floor with a loud, metallic crash. Boomerang climbed to his feet, helped Noble Knight up, and said, "I'm sorry...It's just that this has happened to me before. Someone close to me was killed. Except she wasn't shish-kabobbed, she was barbecued..."

"'She'?"

Boomerang nodded. "My sister..." He was silent for a moment, looking down at the floor. Finally, he shook his head and spoke, his voice a bit shakey, "Come on..." With that, the two of them continued through the castle, heading toward the stables.

Meanwhile, Alicia was walking around the stables. She liked taking a walk in the stables, for she liked hearing the horses and feeding them. Of course, the smell got nauseous at times, but she still liked coming here.

A crash suddenly flooded her hearing. The crash was followed by a cry of surprise and a female voice growling, "That's a lousy place for a door!"

"Oh, stop fooling around!" a male voice spoke, "Let's go!"

"Boomerang? NK?" Alicia spoke.

Noble Knight said as she saddled up Spike, "Hi, Alicia! Bye, Alicia!"

"Wait! Where are you two going?" the girl asked. Boomerang did not hear her, for he was busy saddling up Knightmare.

Noble Knight replied, "Zed may still be alive. We're going to go check something out."

Alicia gasped and pleaded, "C-Can I come with you?"

The two warriors started to refuse, but they both stopped to think about something. Boomerang recalled the way Zed acted around the girl. Noble Knight recalled the blue glow that had surrounded the girl's hand when she had started to lose her temper the night before. It had been as if she had started to cast a spell of some sort. She might come in handy if she isn't blind... she thought.

Finally, Boomerang replied, "Oh, alright...Just try and stay behind us." If Zed's still alive, he'd kill me if anything happened to that girl... he mentally added as he helped Alicia onto the back of Knightmare with him. Then, the three of them galloped out of Adlehyde and to the southwest toward Milama.

"Hmm...let's see...If I was the De La Metalica, where the hell would I be?" Choraan growled to himself as he hovered over the lake into which he had dropped the book.

"If it had a chance to release its magic, it may be gone," his partner stated as he sharpened his spear, basking in the late afternoon sunlight.

Choraan rolled his eyes and retorted, "Use your imagination, pinhead. That's what magic is all about!"

His partner replied, "I don't have an imagination."

"That must be why you can't use magic, then!"

"HEY! I did pretty damn well against those two up on the mountain, didn't I?!"

"Yes, Sigfreid. You did well. But, then why is it that I fought him after you already 'killed' him?!" Choraan's ally had no answer to that. Choraan grinned and looked back down into the water. His ears pricked up at the sound of horses approaching. "Siggy! Let's go!" The two of them vanished into the trees just as Boomerang, Noble Knight, and Alicia entered the area.

Alicia asked as the three of them dismounted, "Where are we?"

Boomerang replied, listening for any foreign noises, "A lake just outside of Milama." He did not hear anything and the horses were behaving, so he figured that it was safe to explore. Alicia stayed in one spot while Noble Knight and Boomerang checked out the area.

Noble Knight asked, "Where did he sink?" Boomerang pointed to the exact middle of the lake.

"Thanks! That saves me the trouble in finding the warp!" came a male voice from a tree just to their left. Suddenly, a blue and green streak leapt into the lake, disappearing just below the surface of the water. A split second later, the streak resurfaced to get air into his lungs. Both Noble Knight's and Boomerang's jaws dropped.

"ZED?!?!" they shrieked, dumbfounded.

Zed shrugged and replied, "Never heard of him. Bye!" With that, he began swimming toward the middle of the lake. Boomerang and Noble Knight exchanged a confused glance. Once again, Zed disappeared below the surface of the water. Boomerang and Noble Knight leapt in after him, so confused that they did not know what they were doing.

Alicia slapped her forehead and groaned, "Oh, damn it..."

"IT'S DEX!!!!" came a voice from the trees to her right. Choraan and Sigfried burst from the foliage and dove into the water.

Alicia cursed under her breath and followed the five of them but not before releasing the horses. The water was clear, so clear, in fact, that it was like looking through glass. On the lake's bottom was a bright, white light which seemed to pulsate like a heart. It would grow slightly dim for a second and then shine brightly. Each time the light reached its brightest, it would emit an almost musical tone.

Choraan surged forward, streaking past Boomerang and straight for Zed who was swimming toward the light at the lake's bottom. By using his large, leathery wings as propulsion, he soon reached the green-haired swordsman and prepared to rake him with is claws.

Suddenly, a streak of lavender light shot toward Choraan and completely burned a hole through his right shoulder, causing a scarlet cloud to form in the water. Choraan roared in pain and clapped a clawed hand over his shoulder, losing all of the air in his lungs in the process. Choraan shot up to the surface of the water to refill his lungs.

Noble Knight and Boomerang, having seen the light that had stopped the humanoid wolf, whirled around in the water to see Alicia behind them, pointing one end of her staff at the wolf and holding her staff like a pool stick.

Meanwhile, Zed, having ignored what had happened, swam into the light and vanished without a trace. Sigfreid had gone up to refill his lungs as well. Noble Knight, Boomerang, and Alicia were hesitant to follow Zed, but finally decided to, also vanishing within the light.