I looked around the van, utterly confused. "Chad?" I called out, but he was gone. In his place sat Veronica, smiling at me as if nothing strange had just occurred. In fact no one but Veronica was there...
Her eyes searched my face for a reaction. "You remembered me!" she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and giving me a hug that felt more like a bear tackle.
"Veronica? But you-" I began, but she silenced me with a finger to my lips.
"Let's not talk about it, okay?" she said, her eyes misting over with a sadness that was eerily familiar.
Surprisingly, as we sat there in the quiet of the van, Veronica started to grow on me. Her energy was infectious, and her smile had the power to warm even the coldest of hearts.It was like nothing had changed. But something had. When I finally had the courage to look outside the van window again, I couldn't believe my eyes. There were indeed two suns in the sky, one a brilliant white, the other a deep, fiery red. The landscape was foreign, with purple trees and a horizon that stretched on forever. This was definitely not our school parking lot.
I turned to Veronica, "Where are we?" I asked, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice.
Her smile faded, "This is our world, Daniel. The otherl one."
"But what about the school, the town, our friends?" I was bombarding her with questions now, desperation seeping into every word.
Veronica took a deep breath and looked away, "It's all still there, but it's not the same. Everything has changed."
We stepped out of the van, the ground beneath our feet feeling like a sponge that had absorbed too much water. It was a bizarre sensation that made me feel lightheaded. Veronica took my hand and led me through the terrain, explaining as we went.
"The 'Incident' you saw last night, it was the merging of our worlds. And that sphere, it chose you as the guardian to maintain balance between the two."
I looked down at my chest where the sphere had entered me, but there was no sign of it now. "But why me?"
"You're special, Daniel," she said.
As we walked, we encountered creatures that defied description. They were a mix of animals and spirits, moving with a grace that suggested sentience. They observed us but kept their distance, as if they knew we didn't belong. The air was thick with a scent that was both floral and metallic, a strange and overwhelming bouquet.
"What are they?" I whispered, afraid to break the silence.
"They're the inhabitants of this world," Veronica said softly, "Some are friendly, some aren't. But they all respect the guardian."
I couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility settle on my shoulders like an unwieldy backpack.
"Okay so...I'm...A guardian...Can I change the way the world works now- Did I cause this?!" My mind was clouded with too many questions...
Veronica's smile grew sad again, "You didn't cause it, Daniel. You just discovered it. And no, you can't just change everything with a snap of your fingers. The sphere inside of you acts as a bridge, connecting both worlds. Your job is to prevent them from colliding completely."
"But how?"
"You'll know." She squeezed my hand, almost trying to be reassuring. This was nothing like the old Veronica...
The confidence she had in me was unsettling, considering she had just told me that I had the fate of two worlds resting on my shoulders. But I nodded, taking a deep breath.
"So...Where are the others...?" I asked tentatively.
"Chad is fine, he's still in our world. But I can't say the same about everyone else." Her eyes grew distant, and I knew she was holding something back.
We arrived at a clearing, and in the center stood a structure that looked like it was made of crystal. It pulsed with the light of the two suns, casting a kaleidoscope of colors across the ground.
"This is where the balance is maintained," she told me, her voice echoing slightly in the stillness.
As we approached, the door slid open, revealing a chamber filled with consoles and screens that were covered in an ancient-looking script. I stepped inside, feeling the weight of the responsibility growing heavier with each step.
The floor was cold and smooth, almost like marble, but it had an iridescent quality to it that made it seem alive. In the center of the room was a pedestal with a dusty object resting on top. I approached it, feeling drawn to it like a moth to a flame.
As I reached out to touch it, the dust fell away, revealing an object that was unmistakable: a USB drive, but not like any I had ever seen before. It was engraved with a world. ELLIPSE.
As soon as I saw it, my heart dropped. The memory of Veronica's death rushed back to me in full, high-definition clarity. The raid on the facility, the guards, the chaos, her lifeless body on the ground as I tried not to scream, giving away my location...
I looked at Veronica, standing beside me, looking just as surprised as I was. "What is this?" I whispered, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart.
Her eyes were wide, not hearing me. "The Ellipse..." she said, her voice trembling. "We...we we didn't know what we were doing. We never should have gone in there."
The USB drive began to glow, the same purple hue as the light that filled the room. A holographic map appeared, showing the two worlds intertwined like a double helix. Lines of energy stretched between them, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. "The guardian...you have to...balance them..." she said, her voice fading.
I took a deep breath and slammed the USB drive into the console. The screens around us flickered to life, displaying a series of images that made no sense to me. Panels opened, revealing levers and buttons I didn't know how to operate.
"Veronica, I don't know what to do!" I shouted, desperation creeping into my voice.
But she was gone. The room was empty, and the map on the screens grew dimmer, the lines of energy fading.
I slammed my fists onto the console, frustration and fear coursing through my veins. "Come on, come on!" I yelled at the screens. "What do you want from me?"
The screens flickered again, and the words "SYSTEM INITIATING REALIGNMENT" flashed in a stark, digital font. The floor began to rumble beneath me, and the room grew brighter. I had to shield my eyes from the glow.
When the light finally dimmed, I was back in my room, lying in bed. My heart was racing, my T-shirt sticking to my body with cold sweat. I checked my phone, my hand shaking. No messages from Chad, no signs of anything being wrong. It was all a dream.
But something felt off. The echo of the room, the way the light from my desk lamp cast shadows on the walls, it all felt...different. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my bare feet hitting the floor with a thud. I walked over to the window and looked out into the night.
The moon hung low in the sky, a waxing crescent, but there was something else. A light, a glow that didn't belong. Two suns? No, it was the streetlight playing tricks on me. It had to be.
I turned and looked back at my bed, at the rumpled covers. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. That the world was about to tip off its axis.
But I had school in the morning. I couldn't just sit here, frozen with fear. I had to tell Chad about the dream. Maybe he knew something, maybe he had seen it too.
I picked up my phone and sent him a message: "We need to talk." My eyes roamed to my bedside table to see...The Ellipse usb....It wasn't a dream...
The next day at school, I couldn't concentrate. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the crystal chamber, the pulsing lines of energy, and the USB drive. Was it all real? Was I losing my mind?
During lunch, I found Chad in our usual spot under the stairs, his eyes glued to his phone. "Chad, we need to talk," I said, urgency in my voice.
He looked up, his eyes widening when he saw my face. "What's up?"
I told him about the dream, about Veronica and the USB drive. He listened, his expression a mix of skepticism and concern. "Dude, you need to relax," he said finally. "It's just a dream. You're probably just stressed about finals."
But I couldn't shake the feeling. I had to show him. I pulled out the USB drive from my pocket, the one I had found in the dream. "Look," I said, holding it up.
Chad took it, turning it over in his hand. "What's this?"
"It's from the chamber. The one in the abandoned classroom."
He froze, his eyes on the USB drive. "What abandoned classroom?" he asked. My heart sank. He didn't remember.
After school, I went straight to the old classroom, the USB drive burning a hole in my pocket. The door was unlocked, and the purple glow was gone. Inside, everything was dusty and undisturbed, as if no one had been there in years.
Panic set in. Was it all in my head? Did I imagine the whole thing?
I took out the USB drive, ready to leave, when- "...Daniel..."
The voice was behind me. I spun around, and there she was. Veronica, standing in the doorway, looking just as solid as she had in the van.
I wrapped my arms around her tightly, shocked that she was alive. She felt real, warm, alive. "How?" I managed to choke out.
"It's complicated," she said, her eyes searching my face. "But it doesn't matter. What matters is that we fix this before it's too late."
We sat on the floor of the classroom, the USB drive between us. She explained that the "Ellipse" was a simulation, however it fell into the wrong hands and was used to...Warp reality. The USB was the Ellipse. An installation of it anyway.
"We are not going back there to install this on the Ellipse pod and risk dying-" I glance at Veronica. "A-Again..?" I finish.
Her eyes are filled with a mix of determination and sadness. "We don't have a choice, Daniel. If we don't fix this, the barrier between our worlds will collapse. Everything we know will be lost."
I sigh heavily, the weight of the world, or rather two worlds, resting on my shoulders. "Okay," I say, trying to sound more confident than I feel. "But we need a plan. We can't just barge in there like last night."
"Oh trust me...I have a plan...We just need a little help..." Veronica smirks, and for a moment, she looks just like the mischievous friend I knew before the "Incident."

AUTHORS NOTE:

YO WAZZUP.
No im not dead. The reason this took so long is because I actually payed attention in english class and genuinely tried to fix reality warpers. How'd I do? I dont plan on finishing this story after part three flew under the radar, just needed to test if more descriptive writing worked better.... UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO FINISH IT OFC!

(I sharpened my stylus in my 3ds screen typing this please help)