-------------------------------------------------------------Intro----------------------------------------------------------
>A cloudy day flushed with a tinge of sea salt.
>A distant storm darkened the horizon.
>Initial forecasts said it wouldn't arrive until a number of hours later.
>Even so, turbulent waves were already beginning to crash against the shoreline.
>Standing before the evidence, a bespectacled man sighed wistfully.
>All he needed was that perfect window to test the latest invention.
>Sure enough, the day delivered it to him on a silver platter.
>Sunny skies painted the city's shoreline, making the sea and its slowly creeping cloud cover seem all the more ominous.
>He couldn't quite shake a nagging feeling in the back of his head as he entered his car and prepared to drive.
>The journey to the lab was quick and easy, but as he pulled into the parking lot, he couldn't help but notice the shadows sliding towards him from the sea.
>They would have to be quick to seize the opportunity.
>He hurried to the door, taking one last look through the glass doors as they closed.
>The weather appeared to hold steady, the darkened clouds remaining where he saw them on the horizon when he left.
>His gaze darted to the city, or what he could see of it from where he was.
>The lab was located far enough away that only the city's tallest skyscrapers could be seen.
>The sunlight still painted those buildings such that the reflections across the glass caused the man to shield his eyes.
>He about-faced on his heel and started traveling deeper into the lab, moving with the eagerness of a man about to change the world.
>He might have slowed down, then, if only he knew how true that was.
>Hastily, he turned a corner and entered a large room reserved for testing.
>Before him, a team of people could be seen moving about, checking data on computers, grabbing essential notes, running through equations hashed out on various whiteboards scattered throughout the area, and most notably making adjustments to a large machine in the room's center.
>He glided behind an assistant wearing the classic labcoat decor of researchers everywhere.
>''Everything ready?''
>The assistant nodded.
>''Everything looks good.''
>''Excellent. Today, we'll be making history.''
>The man began to recall all the progress they've made thus far.
>The team had been diligently working on a new, fantastic device for the better part of the past year.
>A portal generator.
>It was to be the first of its kind in the world.
>Well, aside from the ones used during small scale testing, which had proven to be very favorable.
>On one particularly successful test, the team passed an apple through six different portals in rapid succession with no detectable errors.
>The portals generated by the device were also far more stable than they could've asked for during testing.
>However, today was a special day, and the entire team knew this.
>Today, the team would have one of their own use one of these portals for the first time.
>The portals had been increasingly enlarged in the past few trials.
>The new sizes should easily allow a human to pass instantly from one to the other.
>Our glasses-sporting researcher was more than happy to take the risk himself.
>If this test was successful, they could move on to a final, larger scale test involving vehicles.
>And if that test went smoothly, they could start working with the city to install this and similar devices in key locations.
>Near-instantaneous travel was that close to being a reality.
>The man's thoughts were interrupted by the assistant from before, nudging him in his side.
>''You're not getting cold feet now, are you?''
>The man pushed up his glasses.
>''Of course not! I was thinking about all we've achieved to get us to today.''
>''Right. Can't believe we've done so much so quickly...''
>The man honestly couldn't believe it either.
>This test wasn't originally going to happen for at least another couple of months, but the aforementioned results at smaller scales allowed them to move the test dates up.
>The man started moving about the room, his brisk pace made all the faster by his excitement.
>He went to each member of his team numerous times, double-checking and in some cases triple-checking all of the necessary parameters.
>This test had to go smoothly, and, unknown to him or his team, the window was rapidly closing.
>Ripples of thunder drummed as the clouds began encroaching on the city's airspace.
>A curtain of rain began creeping up the coastline towards the city and the lab.
>After an hour of rigorous checking that felt like three, the man stood face to face with the large machine.
>The machine itself was fifteen feet in diameter at its widest point and nearly reached the ceiling of the thirty foot high room.
>Coils of thick wiring threaded up from the sides to the top of the pylon.
>After pacing the machine for the last time, checking it over, he took a deep breath, and stepped back.
>''Fire it up.''
>Seconds later, the machine began to wake up, the many lights and screens adding a rainbow of color to it as it completed its startup sequence.
>A mechanical humming became more audible as well.
>The red sphere, topping the machine like a mechanical cherry, crackled to life before discharging a single beam of light.
>The light shot straight down, appearing to stop level with the man's chest, ending in a point.
>The man turned back towards his team, all of them a safe distance away.
>''Readouts?''
>''Green across the board!''
>The head researcher nodded.
>The moment he was waiting for was finally here.
>He gave the command.
>''Proceed to Stage Two.''
>''Starting Stage Two!'' came the announcement.
>The air inside the room tensed as a dissonant note vibrated their bones.
>The hairs at the back of his neck stood up on end.
>The point of light crackled and hummed, a dot wobbling and enlarging.
>The air shimmered, roiling in the heat and energy that wafted off of the orb.
>''Looking good! We're opening the aperture now.''
>The hum changed pitch, thrumming with an ever higher energy.
>The sphere grew and darkened as if slurping up whatever light dared to touch it.
>''And they said the Hadron Collider was dangerous,'' he snorted.
>It was like staring into a ball of deep water.
>Ripples coursed across its surface, flowing and redistributing.
>He watched waves bounce across it, one or two particularly sharp ones stabbing out by a few centimeters.
>A little hiccup was not unusual.
>''Any particular place you want to end up?''
>The man turned back towards the assistant.
>''Just put me on the other side of the generator. No need to get fancy,'' was his reply.
>''Understood. Opening second aperture now.''
>A second beam of light shot from the top of the pylon, carefully reflected until it appeared to disappear into another point at a similar height to the first beam, on the other side of the generator.
>Soon, there were two spheres of waterlike energy within the testing room.
>''Establishing link,'' came from behind him.
>Before long, the sphere in front of him took on a much different appearance.
>Peering through it, the scientist could see the other side of the lab, bordered by the deep, rippling energy.
>A couple of the team members positioned on that side gave excited waves, indicating that they could see the man okay.
>The man gave a few deep breaths, then asked behind him one last time after what felt like minutes but was actually thirty seconds.
>''Final readouts?''
>The assistants took longer to reply on this one.
>There were more readings to verify now that there was an active miniature wormhole a mere twenty feet away.
>''Everything's as stable as it can be. The numbers are actually indicating more stability than in small scale. Proceed when ready.''
>The man nodded, and took a final deep breath.
>It was now or never.
>If this succeeded, they would come one step closer to integrating portal travel into the city's transport system and revolutionize the world.
>If this failed, there could be a very real chance that this would be the last time any of his colleagues, or anyone else, would see him.
>The simulations had a number of different results for failure, and not a one of them was pleasant.
>He stepped forward into the sphere, melding into the pitch-black mass.
>...
>...
>...
>...''Boss, open your eyes.''
>It didn't even occur to him that he had them closed.
>He opened them quickly, and was first greeted with one of his team resting her arm on his shoulder, giving him a worried look.
>''How do you feel?''
>''Like I've been pumped full of energy. Was the test successful?''
>She responds with a smile.
>``Look for yourself.''
>As he surveys the room, he sees that he is on the other side of the generator, completely fine.
>The members in front of him have already begun to applaud him.
>A glance back through the portal shows that the rest of the team is doing the same.
>One member in particular was already pumping his fist into the air.
>He stepped back through the portal, making sure it wasn't a dream, and making sure to keep his eyes open this time.
>A flash of deep blue, and he's out, back where he started.
>''All five digits on each hand. Glasses and clothes still on. We did it!''
>If there wasn't any cheering before, there was now.
>The science chief breathed a sigh of relief as the celebratory actions from his team began to escalate.
>Someone popped a champagne bottle in the back.
>He immediately turned to his station to document the results, the widest smile of the day plastered across his face.
>As the chief started cataloguing the test, the storm ravaged around the lab.
>Unusual, out of season, and ahead of its predicted schedule, it was determined to close the scientist's window of opportunity with a slam.
>Torrential downpours pounded the facility and the far-off city.
>Flash flooding was looking more likely by the minute as the storm raged on.
>Unfortunately for the scientists, the testing room was too deep in the facility for anyone to notice.
>The pelting of the rain on the roof was easily drowned out by the hum of the machine and the celebration of the team.
>The team had broken out the celebratory wine to honor this impressive achievement.
>Before anyone could pour a glass, though, an especially loud crackle of thunder rumbled through the walls, temporarily matching pitch with the two spheres.
>A surge of electricity sparked outwards.
>That wasn't supposed to happen.
>More than a few eyes were drawn to the readouts.
>One of the bars was yellow.
>''Not good!'' one of the lab techs noted, louder than necessary.
>The chief scientist shot him a warning look, but the lab tech wasn't even paying attention.
>The ambient electricity in the air was starting to affect the portal.
>Electromagnetic disturbances were clashing under the oppressive demands of the storm outside.
>''The storm! It must've gotten here faster than predicted!''
>The chief scientist had a worried look in his eyes.
>Worry turned to drive as everyone else was already scrambling back to their posts.
>''Shut it down, now!''
>One of the lab techs flicked the cover off of the emergency shutdown.
>The fingers spread out to slap the big, red button when another hand grabbed his wrist.
>''Are you nuts?!''
>''We need to deactivate it, sir.''
>The chief scientist pulled his fellow researcher away.
>''Follow the procedure!'' he growled.
>''But sir-''
>''If we break any of this equipment, it'll be a disaster!''
>A boom made everyone inside the lab jump.
>A power surge.
>The one in a million chance of a direct hit.
>The lab went dark.
>Or rather, it would have gone dark, had it not been for an eerie multicolored glow emanating from the center of the room.
>The chief scientist glanced towards the source of the glow.
>The portal generator sat, sputtering in the middle of the room, the hum at even more of a fever pitch than before.
>Electricity occasionally arced to and fro on the machine, and all the lights and screens were glowing even brighter than before, the machine covering half the room in its light.
>The two test portals were somehow still there, although they looked far less stable than they did a mere minute ago.
>Before anyone could process this turn of events, a heavy thump sounded as lights and systems tried to power back on.
>The portals warped and twisted around like someone was trying to pull them somewhere else.
>The power flickered once again, along with what readouts and lights had struggled to remain faithful.
>Circuits fizzling, the generator's computers whirred with their own choir.
>A warning buzzer sounded, normally to warn bystanders to stand clear of it starting the portal generation procedures.
>''Wait, what's it doing?''
>One of the lab techs poked his head out from behind a rotating chair.
>He glanced at a console next to him and threw himself to the floor in a panic.
>''It's not reading the portals right! It's trying to relocate them!''
>The power flickered again and in the darkness, the portals changed position.
>A scream from the chief's left catches his attention.
>Where there once was an assistant, is now one of the portals, smeared sloppily across a section of the floor.
>A thud across the lab seconds later draws his attention next.
>He spots that same assistant, in a near-fetal position.
>Seven feet above that assistant was the other portal.
>The science team collectively reeled in shock.
>An error such as this was utterly unprecedented.
>The chief glanced at the mess of a portal nearby, wheels turning in his head.
>Even in the dim light of the generator, he could detect something amiss.
>He looked back at the portal above the assistant.
>The inky darkness was strange, not to mention its shape.
>It was chaotic, distorting around its contours.
>He glanced to a particular screen on the computers.
>They were linked, but as much as he squinted at it, he couldn't see through the strange, murky blackness that made his skin crawl.
>This wasn't right.
>The power flickered once more as another rumble of thunder sounded overhead.
>When the lights turned on, the portals were joined by a third one sitting over the machine itself.
>No matter where he looked he didn't see its twin in the room.
>It sucked in air like a vortex, inhaling smoke from fried circuits.
>It disappeared with the chaotic lighting, but so did the others.
>The room was left void of portals, though the machine was still angrily throbbing and the warning buzzer howled intermittently.
>In such an emergency, there really was only one solution...
>''Emergency switch! Now!''
>The machine suddenly powered down, taking the light in the room with it.
>''I hit the off button, sir!'' another assistant called from his station.
>Answering the assistant to the contrary, the machine suddenly roars back to life, arcs of electricity still darting about the frame.
>Screens booted up, progress bars and data charts filling their displays piece by piece.
>''It's restarting!''
>''I can see that! Turn it off!'' he bellowed.
>''Trying to!'' yelled an assistant who was mashing a large, red button, terror running through his voice.
>They looked around the room, expecting at any moment that a piece of equipment or another person would soon be sucked through a portal.
>Yet besides the thrumming equipment and sniffling assistant, the room remained quiet.
>The chief stared at the malfunctioning machine, truly baffled for the first time today.
>''What on earth is going on?''
>The lab tech from earlier popped back into his chair to study the console.
>It only took thirty seconds for his eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates.
>''Uh, boss... I've got some bad news...''
>The chief is by the tech's side in seconds.
>After a full minute of studying the output on the screen, he bolts for the doors out of the room without so much as a word.
>His team all hesitantly glanced at each other before taking off after him through the lab's main lobby.
>Together, they threw the doors open.
>All momentum died.
>Before them was a world in pandemonium.
>Portals of varying sizes littered the raging ocean in front of them, as well as the skyline of the city to their left.
>Some opened, others closed, all at random.
>Clouds were rapidly becoming misshapen by the sporadic vortexes.
>Rain and wind seemed to be coming quite literally from all directions.
>Some portals even gushed gallons of water and unseen sealife from other portals opening far below the ocean's surface.
>Others were mysteriously drawing in air or belching strange atmospheres.
>The tech huddles next to a teammate nervously as a sinkhole opens up nearby.
>The dirt was sucked into a portal that becomes visible for a fraction of a second before closing.
>Seconds later, out over the ocean, another portal opens, dumping all that dirt straight into the churning waters.
>Their eyes darted from place to place, trying to explain this cataclysmic result.
>Strangely, none appeared near the lab building itself though there was evidence a few had previously.
>The chief scientist turns to his team, and can see the varying degrees of panic in their eyes.
>''You all get back to the lab. Shut the machine down, somehow, and repair it.''
>''But what about you, boss?''
>''It's stopped spawning portals inside the lab. I'm headed out to the rest of the city to see if I can bring people back here where it's safer.''
>His team nods and rushes back inside.
>''Boss?''
>It's the assistant that fell through the portal.
>''What is it?''
