The Vestron portal system is and ancient construct created by a strange species only known as the Vestron. The portal system reacts to what is happening outside of the tunnels. For example, if the corridor you are in is filled with burning rocks and the odor of chemicals, something very bad is going on outside. No one knows why the system was made, but it is usually thought that it was used as some sort as superhighway. But because it is so old, it often has lapses in function, with portal collapses, energy loops, and other chaotic happenings.
Jay Maxwell and Kyle Green are best friends. Jay is an imaginative kind of person, with a reckless streak that often gets him into trouble. Kyle is more cautious, but no less creative. The two of them met each other seven years back on the public playground, and they've become great friends since then. Most people see the two of them as oddballs, but they really couldn't care less.
Ever since he was four, Jay has been claiming to see things that don't exist, such as monsters, UFOs, and portals. Most people just think he's a little nuts, but Kyle takes it a little more seriously.
But right now, Jay was groggily shaking the sleep from his eyes as he stumbled down the steps to the kitchen. Once there, he cut a large grapefruit open (it was his favorite kind of breakfast), and began to eat the first meal of the day.
Jay and his mom conversed about the merits of different cereals and how grapefruit and Oatmeal compare for several minutes, and then Jay went up to the roof to read a thick book entitled '20,000 leagues under the sea'.
When he arrived, Jay saw a watch on the patio. It was an odd sort of watch, with no visible decals or logos, not even a mark to signify ownership. Jay stuffed it in his pocket for two reasons: first, the winds up here might blow it off, and a watch falling on your head from that high is about as pleasant as having to go to the opera while surrounded with cacti. Second, he might be able to find the owner later.
When it was time to leave for church, he changed into some nicer clothes (it would be impolite to wear a tie-dye tank top to Mass, after all). Jay left the watch inside the sweatpants he slept in, but when he got back, the watch was once again on the roof.
Sometime later, Kyle, Jay's friend, came over to watch some soccer games Jay had recorded. As they watched, Jay and Kyle discussed the watch.
Kyle snickered. "You've told me weird stuff before, but this just takes the cake. At least the UFOs and Bigfoot sightings were normal."
"Normal?" Jay raised an eyebrow. "I hope you mean relatively...After all, UFOs aren't sighted everyday."
"You'd be surprised. So show me this watch," Kyle said "I want to see it."
As he brought it over, Jay tripped and threw the watch up. As it was lost in the sun, the two boys didn't notice it glowing at first. "What the...?" murmured Kyle. "What's up?" grunted Jay as he picked himself up.
"You're gonna think I'm crazy, but I saw-"
"Welcome to my world,"
"No, really! It's glowing!"
Indeed it was. at first it began to tug onto itself, pulling out a frame insubstantial to its own. Suddenly, something spilled out of the watch, liquefying and then solidifying into a large map. On its top was a single glyph, and its color was that of the night sky, with pinpricks of starlight within.
It split down the middle, Informing the boys of energy fluxes, power connections, and large amounts of spatial and temporal information. It meant gibberish to the boys, though it might make sense to a scientist. Suddenly, the thing went haywire, with information flicking away, with one large window taking over the entire map. It showed a barren, dark world, with one occupant, a huge warrior with a broadsword spread across his back. His face was obscured with a huge skull, and his body was encased in an obsidian set of armor.
In front of this warrior was a maelstrom of energy, sometimes flicking from its stormy visage to the image of another world and time; sometimes, Jay realized, it showed his world.
Then the closed it, and it went back to its previous state of information. Both Jay and Kyle were to stunned to respond to this turn of events, and even if they had, people probably wouldn't pay much attention-after all, this was New York. You're gonna have to see a couple crazies here, being one of the largest cities in the world.
Suddenly, a portal identical to the one they had seen on the map was opening up next to them, and it almost seemed like time was slowing down. Temporal winds howled, and flashes of energy crackled. The boys soon found that they were being sucked into the portal! Trying to hold onto anything, which failed miserably, Jay screamed, "THIS IS JUST LIKE IN MY DREAM!!!!!" To which Kyle replied, "YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH MY SPLEEN????? NOW I KNOW YOU'RE INSANE, AND A SICKO!!!!!"
And with those happy words, the map flew in with them, and the portal shut.
* * *
Some time later, Jay and Kyle were wandering about the portals, following the map to nowhere in particular. They had been discussing Jay's dream in length, and had decided that this was either a hallucination or real life.
"So the skull guy is some sort of evil warrior?" asked Kyle. "it's like we're in some stupid sci-fi book."
"Yeah, pretty much," Jay replied.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Bursting out of the wall next to them was the skull warrior they had seen on the map. Seeing the map in the boys' hands, he laughed maniacally. He lunged for it, intent on getting the map.
The boys ran as fast as they could, but they were no match for the monstrous thing behind them. Just then, he was thrown back against a wall, for no apparent reason.
The boys blinked, and the warrior groaned. They ran for their lives. The warrior's image flashed and disappeared, reappearing in front of them.
"I am Evura!!" he cried with a voice similar to shale being ripped apart. "And you are my prey,". With that, he raised his arm and beckoned the boys to come closer. suddenly, the map flew towards him, and Evura laughed maniacally.
Evura, for that was apparently his name, snapped his fingers. All of the passageways leading to and from the hallway were closed in an instant.
Kyle was already moving, Foolishly trying to reach the map. Evura made a gesture, and Kyle was thrown into the wall.
Just then, The map began to leap and tug, shooting towards Jay. Jay caught it, amazed. One corridor opened,and Kyle, and Jay rushed toward and through it, with Evura in hot pursuit.
Using the map to its fullest, Jay and Kyle evaded the monstrous warrior, in addition to the dozens of deathtraps sprinkled throughout the labyrinthine corridors. These traps included hallways whose close walls sported hundreds of poisonous barbs, swinging axes, blazing floors, and, most dreadfully, gint pink bunnies.
Jay wasn't sure how long they ran. after all, the map didn't tell time. But a good estimate would be around an hour and a half.
They had lost Evura effectively, and found themselves inside a huge room, with a gentle glow surrounding it.
Kyle almost doubled over in exhaustion. Jay found this a little odd, as Kyle was very athletic, but then again, this entire affair was odd.
"Where..where are we?" Kyle ground out. Jay shrugged, too out of breath to speak.
The map began to shudder, and tug, pulling Jay towards a niche in the wall of the room. Jay allowed it to slide in, not knowing what else to do.
A sparking hologram suddenly shot out of the map's top. it depicted a tall being. It almost looked like a human, but his eyes were pure gold, and his hair had a silver sheen. He began to speak in English, but with a queer accent. It sounded a little bit of everything.
"Welcome to the center of the portal system. My people, the Vestron, built it over several eons. Our records show that it started as a weekend project, but...
"Anyway, the map's sensors show that there are two descendants of the Vestron here. You there. Yes, the one with the dark skin. You are a descendant of the Builder caste. The Builders had almost infinite control of the portals, and perhaps you do as well.
"The other one is a descendant of the Mapmakers. They would always know where they were inside the portals. Hopefully you do as well.
"One last thing. It is obvious to the map's sensors that Evura has escaped his bonds. You must stop him. If he escapes to earth, nothing will stop him. The Vestrons have always believed that there was something special about that dimension. We have always protected it... You must continue the tradition. You need to keep the map in here, to stabilize the portal system and keep Evura here. Please, y-"
The Hologram broke into static. Jay and Kyle looked at each other. "Obviously, those things think we're some kind of heroes. We're no heroes, we just want to go home!"
The ground began to shake. The door to the room was battered aside as Evura walked in. He drew his sword and advanced. "At last! You cannot hide from me. There is nowhere in the universe you can hide. I will destroy you, Vestron rats!"
Kyle just wanted the warrior away from him, back to where he had come from. Back to whatever hellhole he had been born.
And all of a sudden. It happened. Evura was gone.
ay's jaw fell open, his mind refusing to believe what his eyes were telling it.
Kyle fell to his knees, utterly exhausted. "I...I guess that message was correct, eh?"
"I dunno. But what I do know is that we've got to get out of here." Jay went over to the niche in the wall where they had placed the map. He tugged, but to no avail.
"Ahhh...."
"Don't say, 'Ahhh....', Jay. You always do that when something's wrong."
"Well, the map's stuck fast. We could be here a while. I don't even know if we go left at the seventh death trap, or ri--Left! we go left! Follow me!"
Shrugging, Kyle ran after Jay as an internal compass guided them back to the edge of the portal system. A glowing portal appeared, and the Boys stepped into it.
They found themselves on the roof once again, and they looked around in wonder as the portal closed above them.
"Huh?" When Jay looked at the portable television on the table, he noticed that it was the exact time then it was when they left.
"I...I think that time stopped when we left."
"Yeah. Do you think we were hallucinating?"
"Well, people don't hallucinate in pairs, do they?"
---
"Time and space go ever on, its safety insured once again."
- Vestron Builder
Here my narrative ends-but the story has just begun.