User blog:GamerNerd i/Army of Three Act I

//No action yet. I want to get the exposition out first rather than cramming everything into one insanely long blog post.

If you're new to my writings, start here. If you don't need the exposition, start here. If you just want to see all the stuff, then it's in my user page.

Two boys stand at a work table in a lab that seems… spatially unstable. Both have short, dark hair. The older one wears something akin to a mage’s robe. The other, slightly shorter, has dark clothing showing under his white lab coat.

“So, what exactly do you need to fix this thing?” The older boy says.

The younger responds snarkily. “A lot of stuff that you wouldn’t really have around here.”

“Kid, if it exists I can pull it out of nowhere, and so can the lab.”

“But what I need doesn’t exist in this time!”

“‘This time’ doesn’t exist. This place is a pocket dimension beyond time and space.”

“So if I said I needed a trans-migrational engine-“

From above, an oddly cubic helmet drops onto the table. The younger boy inspects it carefully.

“I… Well, it’ll need to be a smaller size so that it fits into the machine.”

Sure enough, the helmet shrinks to a different size and shape. Surprised, the young mechanic picks up the part and pushes it into a remote control-sized device in front of him. It fits perfectly.

“See?” Aidan says. “Why do we even need to go back to Suburbia? This place has everything, whether or not it exists.”

“Are you implying that this,” Damason says, shaking his remote control thing, “Isn’t real?”

“Well, to people in my world, that helmet allows you to control certain being linked up to a network that’s being run by a redstone overlord.”

Damason turns to Aidan in confusion. “What…?”

Aidan shrugs the question off. “That’s not important. Just finish your… Thing. When you’re done, just call. Nadia and I will see you off.” He then walks away while Damason calls out parts and tools that he needs, each one dropping right onto the table or his hand.

Rotom follows Aidan out of the lab portal, and Nadia is waiting outside. “So?” She says expectantly.

“Kid’s got some attitude, but he’s working on his device.” He gestures through the portal, where Damason is handling a screwdriver with the experience of a mechanic.

“How’s your lycanthropy?” Nadia asks, which surprised me. “You told me that you were going to see an expert or something?”

Caught off guard, Aidan stutters a bit. “I… Yeah, I did. I paid a visit to Genn.” Inhaling slowly, he starts explaining things.

“He said I was an odd case, even for Worgens who can shapeshift between forms. Usually, once you’re turned, that’s it. No more going back, at least physically, unless you really trained yourself like he did. I’m like a traditional werewolf, reacting to the full moon. In itself that’s unusual for the Worgen race, and he didn’t need to tell me that. The weirder part is that it’s only if I know that the moon is full, which is the reason why I’ve been watching the phases so closely. I’ll be fine if I don’t go out on the night of a full moon. But if I do go out… then I’m basically any other feral Worgen. No control, or very limited at least.”

“There’s some good news, though. It no longer drains me like channeling does, like it did the first time. Genn was nice enough to offer to train me during my lapses. I told him I’d take up his offer eventually. Also, there's this…”

Aidan reaches into his pocket and pulls out a vial of liquid. “Genn’s alchemist made this to help Worgens - the permanent ones - to recover their senses. My hope is that it'll help me regain control for long enough to calm down. Problem is-”

“You need someone to inject it for you,” Nadia guesses, “And I'm the one to do it.”

“Almost,” Aidan responds. “I can inject it myself, but it needs to be while I'm turning. If I can't do it while I'm still in control, then I need a backup. And… Yeah, that's going to be you.” He tosses the vial to Nadia while showing her his own part of the serum. “You don't have to get up close and personal, since I don't want you to get bitten. A tranquilizer filled with this will do just fine,” his expression shifts to a smirk, and he adds, “Especially because I don’t doubt that you would be happy to shoot me.”

“Oh, yes,” Nadia laughs, “This should be fun.” She turns around to prepare whatever her projectile weapon is. “Maybe you should introduce me to this alchemist so he can teach me how to make this.” After fidgeting with something for a few minutes, she tosses it upward, and it disappears in midair. Continuing, she turns around. “That way we have more if you run out, and I can load Red- er, Rotom’s weapon with it in case I can’t get a clear shot. Also, I need practice for when we start doing more lab work in chem.”

“I’ll find time to arrange something,” Aidan agrees. “But we need to deal with this guy first… Speaking of which, here he comes.”

Damason comes through the portal, throwing off his lab coat. “It’s done,” he says simply. “But I’ve still gotta go to the the plant and zombie place to have the best chance of going home.”

“But… Why?” Aidan asks cautiously.

“That was the first place I dropped into.” Fidgeting with his phone, he gets it to morph into various objects while speaking. “Don’t ask how, but I think that’s the best place to warp out of, especially with my new shifter. Thanks to your top-notch lab, this is the best one I've made since home.”

Aidan runs his fingers through his hair in exasperation. “Pff… Okay, fair enough. Why don’t you get whatever else you need ready? Something tells me this is going to be a long recording, and I don’t think Rotom’s host is fully charged.”

Damason tilts his head in confusion. “But that,” pointing to Rotom, “thing is living electricity. Why does the bot need to charge?”

“It’s complicated,” Nadia says. “Remind me later, and I’ll explain it to you. But for now, outta the drone, troublemaker.” The mechanical body lands in her hands as Rotom appears behind Nadia. The electrical poltergeist grins and waves before Nadia presses a button and stops the recording.