Chapter Text
Ever since he could remember Adam thought his father was crazy. Maybe he was a functioning untreated schizophrenic, or something like that. All his stories were of other worlds, technology that put sci-fi movies to shame, magic only dwarfed by the craziest fantasy books. And Adam loved hearing him talk until he fell asleep. He was an entertaining, loving father and husband.
Until he dissapeared. He had gone away when Adam was ten for "important business". Everyone around him thought he had finally gone full crazy, running away somewhere, dying on the forest or drowning in a lake. Of course everyone kept the act around Adam, letting him keep his hope of finding him someday.
But now he knew better. On his seventeenth birthday, Adam's mother told him the truth. Apparently all the stuff his father told him was true? And the stories of tech was him making sure Adam would grow into an engineer, so he could continue researching these crazy concepts, even after he had gone away.
At first he was pissed at his mom for thinking him a fool. Then, he was pissed at her for not telling him sooner. Now, two years later, he was finishing the culmination of study and creativity put into form.
A portal to another world.
Adam had - in theory - made a way to enter a different realm, a different universe in its entirety. That was most of the research his father had made already, and his fresh set of eyes had helped in finishing the design. After that, came the building. Days, weeks, months, were poured into the making of the device, Adam finishing high-school, using full days to create his magnum opus.
"Mom." The boy, now a man, walked to his parent, his hands on his side, clenched together. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what.
"...You did it?" She stood up from where she was sitting, walking up toward him. All he did was nod, as he didn't know what else to do. A smile came to her face when she looked at him. "You look just like him when he..."
"Did he ever tell you where he went?"
"No. He was a genius, yes, but he was crazy too. That stuff about him running away was probably true."
"That's... anticlimactic." His mom laughed, hugging Adam tight. "Mmmm..."
With a kiss on his forehead, and a squeeze to his shoulders, his mom began walking with Adam to the workshop, where all his books and tinkering were located. "Promise me you'll be okay. I don't want to lose you too."
"Yes, I'll..." The boy walked to the gate, still looking at his mom. Beside it was a big red button to activate it. Stereotypical, yes, but he found it to be fitting for the occasion. "...Yeah."
His mother left the room, a sad smile on her face. When she had left, he turned to the button. With a hard push, he activated the device.
A rush of wind came to and from the place the portal connected to. On the other side of the portal was another room. It looked like a medieval room one would see on a TV show. Walls made of stone bricks, a table and shelves filled with books, a chair and... a short, green humanoid creature? Looking straight at him?