The two girls saw a tall, slender figure standing before them, their back turned. They adorned in a long white robe that reached the floor, an exaggerated popped color almost obscuring their bald head. When the figure turned to face them, it revealed itself to be wearing a blank white mask covering its entire face, though leaving enough exposed skin to reveal that its tone was a bold, dark blue. Its hands were covered in gray gloves, and the cuffs of its robe almost glowed a similar color to its skin tone. Whatever this thing was, it emanated a sort of eerie, cosmic feeling.
The two girls stared at the being as it stared back at them in silence. Eloise leaned in and asked Stinky, "Uhhh... w-what is that?"
Stinky looked back at her and replied, "Dude, I have no idea...!"
As Stinky turned to face the being again, she asked, "Yo, what... what are you doing here? What are you, anyway?"
The being titled it's head. It kept its crooked position for a few seconds before setting its head straight up and replied, "...Fascinating..." with a slight echo to its speech.
"Oh good, so you can talk," Stinky replied. "That makes this easier. So, who are you--"
"My name is not what is important here," the being interrupted. "What matters is that there is an anomaly that I must attend to."
Eloise's curiosity was piqued. "Anomaly? So... you mean us?"
"...In a way, yes," the being answered. "You two are one part of a larger problem."
Stinky scoffed. "I'm sorry, Blankface, you got a problem with us?"
Eloise put her hand on Stinky's shoulder. "Elueze, you don't need to pick a fight with him..."
"Well, then he better explain what the hell he meant by 'larger problem,' or I'm gonna kick his butt!" Stinky exclaimed.
Just then, the being appeared right before the both of them, as if it had just teleported in front of them. After the two girls were so startled that they both took a step back, the being leaned in and shifted its gaze between the two of them.
"Hmm..." it pondered. "...Very well. I suppose it won't hurt to inform the both of you."
It stood straight up and continued, "I am an archivist of the Space-Timestream - a vast, interconnected sea of possibilities and realities. Each reality is akin to a river flowing into the larger ocean that is the Multiverse."
The two girls looked at each other in silence before looking back at the being as he said, "Normally, these rivers do not intersect - for if they do, then the delicate balance of the Multiverse is at stake. The sea will overflow if too many rivers lay atop each other."
"...So," Stinky said, "you're saying that both my reality and her reality are sorta fusing together?"
The being looked down at Stinky and replied, "...Yes. Put quite frankly, that is the case." It then leaned down to meet her at eye level. "Strange for a human - let alone a child - to so readily understand and grasp such a concept as inter-reality crossover..."
"Psssh, that's nothing!" Stinky replied with a wave of her hand. "I read sci-fi books all the time! This isn't my first rodeo with stuff like this!"
"So you mean to say that you humans also write about such phenomena?"
"Oh yeah, tons of times! Pretty sure comic books are known for that sort of thing."
The being stood straight back up, then looked at Eloise. "I take it that a similar concept exists in your timeline?"
"Um, yeah," Eloise responded. "Science-fiction has a few examples of the Many Worlds theory... I just, didn't quite think it was real..."
"Hmmm..." the being hummed. "Then perhaps you two are uniquely qualified for such an occurrence - normally, the thought of such a premise would collapse your very psyche."
"Ohhhh, so that's why reading that book gave me a headache," Stinky joked.
The being said, "Book? What book?"
Stinky and Eloise then presented their respective white books to the being. He used each of his hand to pick up each as he proclaimed, "Fantastic - my tomes were here after all."
"Your tomes?" Eloise asked. "So you wrote these?"
"Catalogued, to be more precise. It is my responsibility to transcribe the events of each of your possible outcomes - seems you received each other's entries."
"And those were just laying around in our library, because...?" Stinky asked.
"A mistake that shall NEVER be repeated again."
A silence fell over the three. The silence was then broken by Stinky passing gas.
BRRRRRRPP!
"Elueze, come now," Eloise replied.
"What? Better out than in, right?"
Then Eloise looked at the being and asked, "So, you're a type of ghost writer, then?"
The being tilted its head. "Ghost... writer?"
"It's, uh, a human concept," she explained. "These tomes of yours are like our biographies, and... well, you seemed to have wrote them. A ghost writer is someone who writes a book without anyone knowing that it was them that wrote it. They're invisible, like a ghost."
The being paused as he looked down at the two books in his hands. He then chuckled, ever-so-slightly. "A ghost writer... you humans are more interesting than I took you for... Very well. Think of me as a sort of--"
"Cosmic Ghost Writer?" Stinky interrupted.
"Yes. A Cosmic Ghost Writer."
"Well then, GW," Stinky continued, "Give us the short version: what's going on? How did those two books end up here, and how is it that me and her are even here right now, having this conversation?"
"These tomes were placed here deliberately by another one of our... archivists," the Ghost Writer explained. "The mad scribe must have wanted to conduct some sort of experiment - see for themselves what would result from such an act. As such, it placed my tomes here in the human plane, on for each of you to find."
"But how is that even possible?" Eloise asked.
"You are familiar with the concept of constants and variables, yes?"
Both girls nodded.
"Each timeline cannot exist without a set foundation in place. Thusly, despite the various multitude of differentiation between each reality, there are commonalities amongst them as well."
"Which is why me and her have the same name and stuff?" Stinky clarified.
"Among other things," The Ghost Writer affirmed. "The one thing all beings share across each reality is the color of their eyes. Eyes are the gateway to a being's soul, and each soul is distinct is their respective realities."
"But... Elueze and I aren't exactly identical," Eloise said.
"Precisely," the Ghost Writer nodded. "Your respective experiences have shaped who you are - it is nearly impossible for one to be exactly the same in every reality. You two are Soul Sisters, as well as every configuration of yourselves in every reality. Despite differences in appearance, personality, and experience, you know this to be true... all you must do is look into each other's eyes..."
The two then looked at each other, and realized what the Ghost Writer had said was true. Stinky couldn't deny the sense that she felt like she knew who Eloise was before even knowing her name.
"Alas," The Ghost Writer continued, "such a meeting is forbidden, lest the rivers converge and overflow the Space-Timestream."
"Y-Yes, of course!" Eloise explained. "If our realities converged, then that would surely result in some sort of collapse."
"But..." Stinky replied. "You and I are standing right here, talking to each other right now. Wouldn't that mean that the universe is fine?"
"Not entirely," the Ghost Writer answered. "Now that the tomes are back in my possession, corrections can be made, but there is little time. They were out of my grasp for long enough to leave enough time for several souls to intersect. Each of your loved ones now occupy the same reality. If this isn't corrected by day's end, the collapse will be finalized."
"So, we got a grace period?" Stinky asked. The Ghost Writer nodded in response.
Stinky pumped her fist as she said, "Yeah, alright! You and I got this, Els! All we gotta do is find each of our friends and sort all this stuff out before midnight! we got plenty of time to do that!"
"What about our families," Eloise asked.
"Each of your parents must also be accounted for," the Ghost Writer confirmed. "Find each of these individual souls, and explain to them the gravity of the situation. Once it is made clear to them, they will be given the chance to return to whence they came."
"And we'll be the last ones?" Eloise asked again. The Ghost Writer nodded.
"A-Alright... So, we have to find Cameron, Dylanie, Mom, and Dad."
"What, no," Stinky said. "We gotta find Mom, Dad, Sam and Dylan!"
"You have to find all of them," the Ghost Writer confirmed. "Both of your respective realities currently exist in flux. All must be found, or the separation cannot commence."
The girls nodded, then Stinky said, "Alright, Els! Let's kick this mission's butt!"
"Yeah, I agree. But, where should we start?" Eloise questioned.
"Let's ask GW!" Stinky replied. "Hey G-Dub, where do we--?" Stinky turned to see that the Ghost Writer had completely disappeared.
"Whu--? That jerk!" Stinky said. "Great. Not even a hint..."
"That's OK!" Eloise assured. "We know our friends and family better than anyone! We just have to think, where would any of them be right now?"
The two girls tapped their heads in unison, before ultimately deciding to check--
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