A/N: Okay, my dear Quantum Leap fans, I'm back! Now, we all know that, much like the Wonder Years, Quantum Leap was narrated by the main character, Sam. So, in this, (and future chapters), the first bit (the italicized part) will be from Sam's point of view, but the rest will read like a third person story. Wish me luck!

Now, Al has compared my brain to a piece of swiss cheese, in all, holding together, despite the large holes in my memory. But even with all the holes, I was still surprised the complete lack of familiarity this situation gave me. The only thing I could think of was that I was an actor, on a set somewhere, and I had forgotten my line.

But that didn't explain why it smelled like burning flesh. Or the desperation in the eyes of the man kneeling in front of me.

Or the growing sense of dread in the pit of my stomach.

Eyes widening, Sam gingerly stepped back, the two lasers disappearing once he relaxed his fingers on the metal tubes. Hands shaking, he dropped them, his eyes darting from one man to the other, then to possible escape routes. If this was a set, it certainly was a very detailed one... he could see no cameras anywhere. "What...." He wasn't even sure what he was about to say. Because, just then, his eyes fell on a body, under a what looked like a giant scaffold or railing.

An earthquake? But then why had he been about to kill someone?

His eyes returned to the two men, one still sitting in the chair, struggling against something on his wrists... restraints? And the other had stood up, and was now glaring daggers into him. "You wanted me killed," he said, his voice laced with poison. His hands were gone, Sam could see one of them on the floor, and almost lost his lunch because of it. If he'd even had lunch, he couldn't remember. But the man with no hands seemed much less defenseless now...

And, slowly, somehow, one of the metal tubes began to float into the air...

"Anakin!" the man in the chair cried out, his voice desperate. Sam couldn't figure out what was going on; mesmerized by the floating tube, he took a step forward...

And the tube turned towards him, the laser igniting. With a cry, he jumped to the right, just as the tube lunged through the space in which he had just been standing.

After that, time seemed to slow down considerably. A slight rattle as the other tube began to rise into the air. The slow exhalation as his body began to move like water. His gloved hand grabbing the laser tube from mid-air, the pivot of his foot as he spun around... the ease with which the laser cut right through the torso of the man with no hands...

And then everything went black and fuzzy, and Sam decided he was in hell, just before all the contents of his stomach spilled onto the floor.