Dragon Ops

by Dragon Ops (retail) (epub)

  I watched as they followed my instructions. And soon their kites stabilized, too. My sister grinned at me, lifting her hand from the bar for a moment to give me a thumbs-up. I smiled back at her, thrilled, though I kept both hands on the bar, just in case.

  It was then that I dared myself to look down, my eyes taking in the world of Dragon Ops stretching out before me in a bird’s-eye view. The Sleeping Rain Forest, the Waterfall of Wonder, the Desert of Doom—that had been a pretty cool area to explore in the online game, with its crazy worm dragons popping in and out of the sand. I drew in a breath, mesmerized. All these lands, which I had only ever seen on a screen, now actually existed, just waiting to be explored.

  “How are you making out?” Yano asked, coming up to glide beside me.

  “Awesome!” I cried, yelling to be heard over the wind. “I feel like I’m flying!”

  “Technically you’re falling,” the draconite clarified. “A nice, slow, guided fall. Flying takes wings!” He flapped his own wings in demonstration, performing a complicated little flip. Show-off.

  “Whatever,” I said, laughing. This was way too cool. I wasn’t about to let him ruin it for me.

  All too soon, however, the end loomed into view. I hit the ground hard, stumbling over rocks and roots, my feet shooting out from under me as they tried to gain traction in the slippery mud. Finally, I splashed into the river and managed to come to a complete, soggy stop.

  “Dude, I want to do that again!” I cried, looking up at the mountain. I could barely even see the top—had we really flown so far? Of course it could be a trick of the game. With the time compression, what felt like dropping from a mountain could be nothing more than a small hill. But still! I had done it! I had conquered my fear and jumped off a mountain and lived to tell the tale.

  Not Lord Wildhammer. Me.

  My sister landed beside me, performing a much more graceful landing, and Ikumi came a moment later, joining me in the water. When she surfaced, she was sputtering, but giggling.

  “Congrats, Ian!” Lilli said, freeing herself from her glider and giving me a high five. “I seriously didn’t think you had it in you.”

  “Me neither,” I admitted with a laugh. I turned to Ikumi, excitement bubbling inside me like I’d chugged too much Dr Pepper. “You were so right. It was just like Mario 3.”

  “Told you,” she said. Then she lowered her voice. “I’m proud of you.” And I felt myself beaming from ear to ear. Ikumi was proud of me.

  I was pretty proud of myself, too.

  “Well, this isn’t good.”

  I stared down into the murky water in dismay. We’d been traveling through the Cave of Terrors for what felt like an hour, kicking trash mob butt and generally being awesome. Until the passageway suddenly dead-ended at a deep pool of dark water. As if the cavern had flooded out after a storm. Or someone had clogged a drain.

  “Maybe we’re supposed to swim down into it?” Lilli suggested. “There could be an underwater passageway or something. Most games do have a water level, right?”

  “Awesome,” I said, biting my lip. “A swimming quest.” First heights, now water—could this game please give me a break? I mean, Lilli was afraid of spiders. Why not a giant spider quest? I could totally rock that.

  I peered around the cavern, hoping to spot some alternate exit. But the low-ceilinged cave was completely empty, except for a totally random stone statue of an old Asian man in one corner. He had a long beard, wrinkly skin, and a sly smile on his face. As if he were in on some secret joke. He also looked weirdly familiar.…

  “Whoa,” Ikumi cried, coming up behind me. “Is that my grandfather?”

  I turned, surprised. “Wait, what? Your grandfather?” What was she talking about?

  She pointed to the statue. “I’m pretty sure that’s Atsuo Takanama. My grandfather.”

  I stared at her, utterly confused. “Atsuo is your grandfather? The Atsuo? But that would make you…” My jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh,” I whispered. “Is Hiro your father?”

  A guilty smile slipped across Ikumi’s face. “I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that out.”

  Holy giant zombie toenails! I stood frozen in place, mind completely blown. Hiro’s daughter? We’d been playing the game with Hiro’s daughter? I didn’t even know he had a daughter!

  Suddenly everything started falling into place. Ikumi had said she’d played the game since the very beginning. And, of course, Hiro’s daughter would have been there from the start. Also, she’d mentioned she’d been on the island for two years, which was around the time Hiro came back to the game. “Why didn’t you tell us?” I asked, feeling a little betrayed. I racked my brain, trying to remember if I’d said anything stupid in front of her. Hiro’s daughter—wow!

  “You didn’t ask. Besides, what does it matter? I don’t know who your parents are. Doesn’t make a difference in the game.”

  “Okay, fine. You’re Hiro’s daughter,” Lilli interjected. “But are you actually here?”

  Ikumi frowned. “What do you mean? I’m standing right in front of you.”

  “Your character is,” Lilli pressed. “But what about you? Your body? Are you walking around the island like we are? Or are you playing from somewhere else? Like, playing virtually?”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Um, you’ve been disappearing and reappearing out of thin air? Real people can’t do that. Even in a game. Also, the big explosion at Ghost Hollow. How else would you have survived that? I’m guessing you zapped out a moment before the explosion hit.”

  Ikumi shrugged. “Okay, fine. You’re right. I’m not here in body like you. But I’m still here,” she added, surprisingly sounding a little defensive. “I’m still playing the game just like you.”

  Lilli poked me in the side. “Told you!” she said smugly.

  “You told me she was an NPC,” I protested. “That’s totally different.”

  I squinted at Ikumi now, trying to spot something that would make her look unreal. Proof that she was made of pixels instead of flesh and bone. But I couldn’t find anything; she was rendered perfectly. As detailed as we were. Which was pretty cool, actually. If people could play virtually, people with physical handicaps would be able to play using VR headsets. And those who couldn’t afford the airfare could play from home.

  “So wait,” Lilli said suddenly. “If you’re actually playing from home, can’t you just quit the game? Take off your goggles and go call your dad for help?”

  “Can you take your goggles off?” Ikumi asked pointedly.

  My sister sighed. “I had a feeling you were going to say that.”

  “Trust me—I’m just as trapped as you are, but in a different way. Which is why I want to help you with your quest,” Ikumi added. “If we win, maybe Atreus will let me out of the game, too.” She sounded wistful. As if it were something she’d wanted for a long time. Which didn’t make sense, really. We’d only been trapped for about a day and a half in game time—which probably wasn’t more than a couple hours in real life. Although I couldn’t really be sure.

  Lilli took a step toward the water, a determined look on her face.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.…” She shrugged. “Maybe I should swim down there and check it out. There could be, like, a valve or something to drain the water.”

  “Or, you know, nasty, high-level sea zombies with a thirst for mage blood.…”

  She snorted. “I promise if I see anything dangerous, I’ll swim back up.”

  I frowned, staring down into the murky water. I tried to remind myself what a good swimmer my sister was. She’d been on the swim team three years running and even won a few races. And she could hold her breath so long it was scary.

  But still—this was a lot different from Grandma’s pool.

  “Just don’t swim too far,” Ikumi said. “Make sure you save some air to come back up.”

  “And grab me a fish
if you see one!” Yano piped in, landing on the statue’s head. He rubbed his belly with his paw. “I’m so hungry I could eat a human!”

  My sister ignored him, testing the water with her toe. “Wow, it’s cold,” she said. But she slipped down into it anyway, shivering for a moment as her body adjusted to the temperature. Her robe floated around her, which would up the difficulty level of the swim, I realized with dismay; too bad she hadn’t grabbed a bathing suit at the armory.

  I had the sudden urge to tell her, No. Don’t go. But before I could, she took a deep breath and dove under, disappearing into the pool’s inky depths. I swallowed hard.

  “Don’t worry, she’ll be okay.”

  I looked up and found Ikumi watching me closely. “I know,” I lied.

  I expected her to look away or do something else, but she just kept watching me, as if she was thinking something she didn’t want to say out loud.

  “What?” I asked.

  She blushed. “Nothing,” she said, turning away. “I’m just… I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you who I was to begin with. My dad doesn’t want me playing with other people—beta testers or whatever. And I thought you might tell him if you knew it was me. I didn’t want to get in trouble. But now I feel like I’ve been lying to you. And it’s weird.”

  “No!” I protested, walking over to her. “It’s not weird! I promise. And I’m glad you told me. Lilli kept saying you were an NPC. That would have been weird. Me becoming friends with a computer character? Derek would never stop trolling me.” I gave a nervous laugh.

  Ikumi’s eyes widened. “Are we friends?” she asked, sounding surprised.

  “Um… yes? If you want to be,” I sputtered, suddenly unsure. What if she didn’t want to be my friend? What if she thought I was a loser—Eight-Bit Ian, not exactly Mr. Popularity. “Or, you know, acquaintances? Fellow party members?” Oh man, this was so embarrassing.

  “I like ‘friends,’” Ikumi declared, walking to the edge of the water. She reached down and grabbed a stone and threw it in. It skipped three times before sinking. “I’ve never had a real friend before.”

  “You… haven’t?” Now it was my turn to be surprised.

  She grabbed another stone. “Let’s just say it’s not exactly easy to make friends when going outside will basically kill you.”

  “Huh?”

  She turned back to me, running her fingers over the stone. “I was born with a rare immunodeficiency syndrome. Which means my body can’t fight off diseases like yours can. Going outside or breathing regular air could literally kill me. I’ve spent my entire life in a sterilized room. I can’t go to school, or even play outside.”

  “That’s awful!” I cried before I could stop myself. But still! As much as I liked being indoors, playing video games, the idea that she could never leave her room…

  “Only my parents and a few doctors and nurses were allowed to visit, after they had sterilized themselves. The nurses were… kind. They would play games with me sometimes. But it wasn’t like having kids my own age. When I would watch TV, I was always so jealous of all the kids who had friends and siblings. No one felt sorry for them.”

  I watched as she threw the stone—hard this time. It hit the rock wall with a loud bang that echoed through the cave before plonking into the water. Then she reached up and threw another, and another, not once looking in my direction. It seemed like she was scared that if she looked at me, she would break down and cry.

  I kind of wanted to cry, too. I mean, I couldn’t even imagine what that must have been like growing up like that. Being stuck in one boring room all the time. With no hope of ever getting out. It was almost worse than being trapped in a video game.

  “I’m sorry,” I said at last. “Or, I’m not sorry?” I amended quickly, remembering what she’d just said about people feeling sorry for her. Real Smooth, Ian.

  I tried again. “It’s just… I think you’re supercool. And nice. I’m glad you joined our party. And I’m glad you’re… my friend. I don’t have all that many friends myself, to tell you the truth. I mean, besides my sister. Though, she doesn’t really count.”

  Oh my gosh, Ian. STOP TALKING.

  I waited for her to laugh at me. Or maybe tell me she was joking about the whole friendship thing. Instead, her smile seemed to light up the cave. “I am honored to count you as my friend, Lord Wildhammer,” she said softly, bowing in my direction.

  A thrill shot through me. “The honor is all mine, Lady Ikumi,” I replied, trying to gallantly return her bow. Of course, I almost tripped over a rock and fell flat on my face in the process. Ugh.

  Yano let out a loud sob and we both flinched. I’d pretty much forgotten he was even there, but now he conjured up a big yellow hankie and loudly blew his nose. “That was so… beautiful,” he gushed. “Even better than the ending of Ralph Breaks the Internet.”

  I exchanged an exasperated look with Ikumi. She giggled, which made me laugh, too.

  Yano huffed, settling back on the statue. “It really was quite sad,” he grumbled. “Ralph forced to say good-bye to Princess Vanellope… losing his only friend…”

  I opened my mouth to debate this, but at that moment Lilli popped her head back to the surface. I ran to her and helped her back onto the shore.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. She’d been down there a long time. And yet she didn’t even look out of breath.

  She laughed. “I’m awesome,” she assured me. “And it was so strange—I felt like I could hold my breath forever down there.”

  “Really?” I wondered if that had something to do with the whole time-compression thing. What felt like minutes was probably only seconds in real life. Meaning a person could probably hold their breath a really, really long time.

  “What was down there?” Ikumi asked. “Did you find a lever?”

  My sister wrung out her soaking robe. “No,” she said. “There’s no lever. There is some kind of pipeline, though. But there’s a grate over it that I couldn’t budge.”

  Great. I slumped down onto the cave floor. We were back at square one.

  Ikumi started walking the cavern’s perimeter. “Maybe there’s something up here that we missed,” she mused. “Like a control panel to open the grate?”

  We scrambled to our feet and joined the search, peering around each rock, hoping for something control-panel-like. I even tried the infrared settings on my goggles, but found nothing.

  Sighing, I leaned against the statue of Ikumi’s grandfather. “Any idea what we should do?” I asked him jokingly.

  CREAK!

  I practically leapt out of my skin as the statue started to shift under my weight. When I turned to look, my jaw dropped.

  A white star now spun above its head.

  With shaky fingers, I reached out, touched the star, and accepted the quest. The second I did, the statue’s eyes lit up and shot sharp beams of light across the cavern. The beams landed on an algae-covered wall at the far side of the pool. A moment later, golden letters started scrolling across the surface.

  If you wish to pass this level,

  You must show your gamer mettle.

  Five questions you must answer right.

  Or you’ll fail to live the night.

  Get one right, it will recede.

  And reveal the path you need.

  Get one wrong and it will rise.

  And you will meet your demise.

  “Whoa,” Ikumi whispered, running her fingertips over the statue. “This has got to be my father’s work. Ever since he watched Ready Player One, he’s been obsessed with hiding things in the game. Easter eggs, they’re called. This has to be one of them.”

  “Sweet!” I said. There was nothing more fun than finding secret messages in a game, even when they were just for show and didn’t help you in any way. But this one—could it hold the secret of this level?

  “But what does it mean? What questions?” Lilli asked. “And what is supposed to rise and fall?”

  �
��I bet it’s the water,” I said. “Maybe if we answer all the questions right the water will drain.”

  “Okay, but where are the questions?”

  “Look!” Ikumi said, pointing at the wall. The original poem had disappeared, and in its place was question number one.

  IN THE FIRST SUPER MARIO BROS. GAME, WHAT

  DOES MARIO JUMP ON TO COMPLETE THE LEVEL?

  “Whoa. Gamer questions!” I exclaimed excitedly. “My specialty!” I walked up to the statue, poking it twice. “Mario jumps up a flagpole to complete a level.”

  The statue seemed to nod, though it could have been a trick of the light—I wasn’t sure. What I was sure of, however, was the creaking noise that followed…

  And the water at our feet receding.

  “It’s working!” Lilli exclaimed. She reached out to give me a high five. I grinned proudly. Finally! Something in this game I was actually good at.

  “And look!” Ikumi pointed. “There’s the next question.”

  IN PAC-MAN, WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF THE FOUR GHOSTS?

  “The Pac-Man ghosts have names?” Lilli asked, scrunching up her face.

  “Obviously,” I replied. “Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde.”

  “And in the Japanese game they were Fickle, Chaser, Ambusher, and Stupid,” Ikumi added. The water receded even more.

  “Really?” I asked, turning to her. “I never knew that!”

  “Better turn in your geek card, Ian,” Lilli teased. “Ikumi’s showing you up!”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving her off. “Next question!”

  IN THE LEGEND OF ZELDA, WHO GIVES YOU YOUR

  FIRST SWORD AND WHAT DOES HE SAY?

  I tapped my finger to my chin, concentrating. My mom had introduced me to the original Zelda when I was eight because it had been her favorite game when she was a kid. I ended up playing all the way through, infiltrating Death Mountain and destroying Ganon and rescuing Princess Zelda. But how had it begun?

  I scanned the walls of the cave as if they would hold the answer, and then it came rushing back to me. “You get your first sword from an old man in a cave!” I declared triumphantly, raising my hand over my head, as Link did in the game.