Four Friends; A Forsaken World [REWRITE IN PROGRESS]

Chapter One: First a Literature Project, Now a New Story Quest?!

"A long time ago; in a land far-away,
In a land; a world gone astray,
Were four friends, with powers like no other,
In this world, were the final factor.

A young robot in blue,
A sweet inventor with a kazoo,
A blonde-haired girl without a voice
And an angel with a choice.

With their powers, they saved this world,
As the crowd cheers, they disappear to Exile.
They shall rise once more, in a decade,
Ready once more to take up their blade."

"What kind of old Centurian poem is this?!" a young girl asked, furiously. She had short, black hair and wore a black sweater and a purple skirt with black and purple boots. The girl furiously slapped the paper onto the coffee table and sigh. "This project isn't going anywhere!"

"Lizzy, we've got to take this seriously." A blue-haired girl said, her voice robotic and human at the same time. Her medium-length hair was in twin-buns with the ends hanging and wore a Discord zip-up hoodie with track pants and running shoes. A blue wind-up key was attached to her back.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Puro! It's just..." Lizzy, the girl in black, sighed. "This is WAY too complicated to understand."

"Heyo!" a red-haired girl in a white shirt and yellow overalls greeted. She was holding a cup of coffee and her red hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. "Honestly, this Starbucks doesn't look bad at all."

"I know, right?" Puro, the robot girl, said, looking around. "This place honestly looks like a luxury restaurant. Like the restaurants we would go to every Lantern Rite."

"Yeah! But it's also known as the Lunar New Year." The red-haired girl sat down next to Puro.

"Hello, everyone." A voice said behind them. It was Irene, a blonde-haired girl in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. She had a pair of sandals on and a robotic glove on her left hand.

"Heyo, Irene!" the redhead cheered.

"Hello, Faith." Irene typed. After she pressed enter, a robotic voice said the sentence for her.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Lizzy pressed, as Irene sat down.

"Uhm..." Faith muttered.

"We were supposed to discuss this poem and find the meaning of it." Irene's text-to-speech said. Irene took a sip of her coffee.

"Well...although I'm a robot..." Puro read the poem a couple of times, trying to examine it closely. She squinted and tilted the paper. She read it aloud five or six times. And then, she put the poem down, dejected. "It's just that—There's a part two to this. But I can't find it."

"You WHAT?!" everyone shouted, even Irene's text-to-speech.

"Yeah! Only Ejen Ali would be able to find the missing part!" Puro said, leaning forward. "Our literature teacher had given us an impossible mission."

Faith moaned. "Who does our teacher think we are?! Secret agents working for MATA or a FREAKING criminal group trying to kill Ali for the IRIS?!"

"Our teacher really IS a sadist..." Lizzy sighed.

The four were lost in thought.

"Oh, yeah! Since it's our winter break, I've got some intel of a hidden treasure." Faith perked. "People say that there's a hidden treasure in the forest outskirts. Let's check it out tonight, shall we?"

"Oh, YES PLEASE!" Lizzy gasped. "My brain is DEAD after trying to sort this poem out!"

"Where is it?" Irene asked.

"Just follow us." Puro smiled. "And bring your bikes and some torchlights."

"I'll bring Go-Pros!" Lizzy said, packing up her laptop.

"Yeah, we'll see you tonight!" Faith said, standing up.

The girls left for their homes as soon as that.

"So, is it just me, or is this place relatively creepy?" Irene asked. The four friends were with their bikes and with bags full of supplies. They stood in front of a dark and gloomy forest that looked like it came out of a horror movie.

"Well, I can agree on that." Puro replied. "This place IS creepy."

Faith pulled out a flashlight. We can't ride our bikes after this. "We've got to trek."

Everyone nodded and pulled out flashlights. They hiked past the trees and crossed a small river before arriving at a small cave. Upon entering, they encountered a dead end.

"Faith, you idiot!" Lizzy yelled. "This is a dead end!"

"But 'X' marks the spot." Puro said, pointing to a map on her tablet. There was a big, red 'X' on the screen, where the girls were.

"If so, then the person who gave the map was lying!" Lizzy raged. She kicked a wall of the cave angrily.

Suddenly, the cave started to rumble.

"An earthquake?!" Lizzy gasped.

Faith looked at Lizzy. "This is all your fault!"

"Guys, look!" Irene pointed. There was a hole where Lizzy kicked.

"Well, wonder where this takes us." Puro said, crouching near the hole. "No choice but to go there to find out."

The next path was a slide. When they reached the bottom, they were stunned. It was an underground cave with blue waterfalls and glowing crystals. There was a narrow path surrounded by water that led to an altar with a glowing prism on it.

The girls were amazed by the cave's beauty. Puro slowly approached the altar and gazed at the prism. As she reached her hands to touch it, a rumbling sound shook the cavern.

"What the?!" Puro gasped. In her haste, she swept the prism off the altar and into her arms. In an instant, the prism emitted a bright teal beam, hitting the ceiling of the cave and showering the girls in a bright light. As they opened their eyes, a lady in white stood in the middle of the circle they formed, a cold glow emitting from her body.

"Who...who are you?" Lizzy asked, fearfully.

"Fear not, young girls." The lady said. "You have a new duty to fulfil."

"What duty? On whose authority?!" Faith pressed.

"The Mother Prism has been tainted once more." The lady said. The girls gasped in shock. "But you who has found the first Prism, the Prism of Wind, you are one step closer to saving this world..."

At that, the prism's light fizzed out. The girls were trapped in the cave, with no way out.

"Um...what now?" Lizzy asked.

"It's like the door has been opened for us." Puro noticed, glancing at the glittering exit at where the altar once stood. The altar must've sunk beneath the ground and revealed the tunnel that would double as the exit. She carefully slipped the Prism of Wind in her cyan park backpack. "Let's get outta here."  

***

Author's Note: 

Hello! Here's another new story! 

This was supposed to be in my school magazine but I liked the story so much that I decided to post it here. 

So, just a clarification: Irene is mute. She uses text-to-speech to help her speak. 

so yea. :D