Underscript!: Book One: Yafrelus

Chapter one: The Game

Caitlin, Zoie, Tate, and Celina walked down a sidewalk of which they all knew very well. They were all friends... that was easy to tell... but they all were special in their own way. Caitlin was chattering away and admiring, as always, her fingerless brown gloves, Celina was playing on her 2-ds XL and was talking about her hopes and dreams, Tate was listening to music and was wearing his blue sweatshirt, and Zoie was talking about school and tacos. Somewhere else, another boy was wearing a fluffy blue jacket with yellow stripes. Another child, was reading in a tree, when he decided to go on a walk. Eventually the four on the sidewalk came upon a strange box on the side of the road... and that is where their story begins...

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The box had the words "UnderScript" engraved in it. The letters looked like they were glowing and giving off a cyan light. They opened the box in the middle of the alleyway, the people on the sidewalk not noticing the group, and were surprised by what was inside. There was nothing inside but four golden heart lockets, and when they opened them there was no picture or words inside the lockets. They looked at one another and slipped the lockets over their heads and suddenly felt very strange. They heard a voice from behind them and both of their heads spun to see what it came from.

"Hello humans! I see you found the "game". The plan is going along perfectly! No one has found it for years... so many I lost count, hehe," chuckled the voice. Caitlin turned around and gasped while Zoie took a step back. They saw a white figure who wore brown clothing, a huge brown scarf, brown fingerless gloves and a sash with vials of different colored paint. From his back hung a large paintbrush."You guys look awfully alarmed. Sorry if I startled you..." said the figure in a cheery, upbeat voice.

"Oh, how silly of me. I never introduced myself! My name is Ink!" said Ink as his eyes changed colors and shapes. They eventually came to rest upon one being a yellow star and the other a light blue circle. Caitlin looked at Ink and began to calm down. Tate on the other hand tensed up and started looking between Ink and Caitlin. Caitlin smiled and held her hand out to Ink and the two shook hands, both beaming. Behind them Celina grabbed a stick and held it tightly in her left hand and then placed that hand behind her back to not have anyone see what she was holding. "I have to get going you guys!" Ink said. "Don't worry I'll be back I just have to uh...check on some people to prevent them from getting into trouble. See you guys later! Stay DETERMINED!" Then Ink vanished in a splash of bright colorful light. The four looked puzzled and in shock and were not able to comment on what they had just witnessed. But the two were in for their second surprise visit today, as they heard another noise coming from behind them. They both turned their heads around and Celina held onto her stick tightly. It was another figure, and looked the exact opposite of Ink. He was a black figure, similar to Ink in general shape, with bits of yellow and red on his character. He wore red, blue, and black clothing. He also had blue lines on his face.

"Fin4lLy tHaT miStak3 oF a pRot3ct0r iS g0n3", he said in a gravelly voice. "0h sO thIs waS whAt h3 wAs doInG... hUmanS haV3 finAllY found tH3 "game"... I'm 3rr0r by thE wAy", Error said with an ominous grin on his face. Blue strings lashed out and grabbed Zoie.

"NO, ZOIE!" Caitlin shouted, terrified. She ran to Error and punched him in the gut.

"Path3Tic hUman. YoU cAn't d3fEat m3!" Error shouted and dropped Zoie, went after Caitlin instead. Caitlin, in horror, started to run over to Zoie, when all of a sudden a colorful flash of light surrounded the group.

"Stop right there... Error", Ink said as he teleported in between Error and the group. His eyes were red X's and he looked very angry... something the group never saw in him before. "You are not hurting the humans... I promise you that. Plus..." Ink said as he turned his gaze towards Caitlin and the others, "I have something to show you all, you are special I promise you that, humans." Sparks flew around the group as three other figures appeared. In the distance, Caitlin thought she saw a boy wearing white looking at them. The boy smiled at her. Then she blinked, and he was gone.