Malfunction

Prologue

Riley slammed the front door, kicking his shoes off in the entrance way. He stumbled over his own feet in his haste to show his room-mate what had just arrived; the package clutched securely to his chest. "Yo, Derrek! It finally came!" Riley shoved his way into Derrek's room, slipping past the stacks of books to find the guy poised on his bed, nose-deep in school work. Disregarding that, Riley pushed it aside and plopped onto the mattress, shoving his parcel under Derrek's nose.

Derrek pulled back, his lip wrinkling in distaste at the damage his room-mate had done to his papers. Riley had always been like that, acting first and thinking later, if ever. They had very different opinions on how a gentleman should conduct himself, though Riley often retorted that he was no gentleman. "And what might that be?" Derrek asked, feigning interest. Despite their various differences, these two were friends, and Derrek could see how excited Riley was about whatever this new thing was, and it would be rather rude of him to not take notice of it, even if he wished he could ask his friend to leave him in peace. Derrek knew through experience that addressing the problem would make it go away quicker.

"It's the new game that everyone's been talking about. I've been waiting for it to come out for six months and it's finally here!" Riley hugged the parcel to his chest once more, teeming with excitement. He couldn't wait to get back to his room so that he could start playing, but he wanted Derrek to understand how major this was, maybe even see a flicker of jealousy in the eye of his otherwise stoic friend. Derrek however, seemed only politely uninterested.

"Oh yes, I vaguely remember you pre-ordering that game way back when. What was it called again, Castle ---?" Derrek pointedly began collecting the scattered sheets of his schoolwork while he talked, forcing Riley to reluctantly shift off of a particularly crumpled piece. Derrek began trying to smooth it out, with little success.

"Castle Capture!" Riley beamed, his voice holding the unabashed glee that was particular to someone half his age. You usually didn't show so much excitement after you turned ten. But then, Riley wasn't your usual sophisticated sort of fellow. He bounced back up to a standing position, finally realising his friend wasn't really interested in this new development, no matter how exciting it was to him.

"Well that's nice, I'm glad it finally arrived then." Derrek said. "Now why don't you go set it up and have a go at it? I know how much you want to. You can tell me all about it later." Not that Derrek thought he'd find it interesting, but he would show his support. This game was after all, just the latest in a long line of short-lived obsessions for Riley. He was sure once his friend had beaten the game once, the entertainment factor of it would wear thin, and Riley would move on to the next craze to sweep Skyport. At least, that had always been the pattern in the past.

Riley nodded his agreement, knowing that any further time spent trying to convince Derrek of the importance of this delivery was useless. The gaming world was something that these two would never see eye to eye on, and while it was a shame, Riley wasn't going to waste time moping over that fact when he had much better things to do. "Well, I'll see you later then!" and rushed from the room in much the same flurry in which he had entered.

"Bye." Derrek called after him, frowning slightly at the open door of his room. At least Riley could have shut it behind him, which would have been the courteous thing to do. Derrek shrugged resignedly and moved to close it himself. There was no point for wishing for a person to change their ways. All that would get him was endless frustration. The door closed with a gentle click, but Riley was far too immersed in his own room to take any notice.

The brown paper layer was torn from the package almost as soon as Riley crossed the threshold of his room, the cardboard box within looking none the worse for the rough treatment. Of course, the gaming company would expect such fumbling fingers, and made sure to protect the merchandising suitably. Riley made the wise decision to slump onto his own bed before continuing the reveal, reasoning that even if he managed to drop the package, the soft bed covers would protect it.

The cardboard box was opened with reverence, each flap pulled carefully back as if it protected the most precious of objects in the world. Riley's breath hitched as his prize was finally revealed, nestled inside a wad of shredded newspaper, much like an egg in a bird's nest. The metallic green orb glinted at him invitingly, and Riley reached in to touch it, stroking the metal and admiring the cool feel of iron against his skin. He picked it up gently and cradled it in his palms. It was a perfect fit. There were no instructions with the gadget, but Riley needed none. Orb games were an old concept in Skyport, though he'd never seen one quite so brilliantly designed as this one. He placed his finger in the slight indention, and a river of white light exploded over the surface, illuminating deep-set coding patterns within.

The orb lifted from his hands on its own accordand began spinning slowly. With a series of soft clicks it expanded to threetimes its size and moved to settle in a clear space on his floor. There was afinal, louder click and a holographic screen projected from the top of the orb,in an upside-down triangular shape that touched the roof of his room. With ananticipatory smile, Riley took a breath and stepped through thedimension-portal and into the Netherworld.