I glanced over at my sister. Her face was white and tears streaked down her cheeks. Derek looked stone-faced, as well. I opened my mouth to suggest we give them some space. But before I could, I felt hands at my back.
And at last, my goggles were pulled from my head.
Dizziness gripped me with icy fingers, spinning me around until I dropped to my knees. Vomit rose to my throat and I couldn’t keep it in. I spewed all over the ground—a nastiness that looked a lot like half-digested protein bars.
“Ew,” Derek said. “You got puke on my Jordans.”
I blinked, trying to clear my vision. When my eyes finally focused, I looked up, my jaw dropping as I saw Uncle Jack, dressed in a pair of slouchy jeans and a black T-shirt that read I WILL NOT FIX YOUR COMPUTER. Beside him stood Lilli and Derek, no longer their game characters but their real selves, dressed in their SensSuits.
I let out a cry of surprise, scrambling to my feet. I threw myself at Uncle Jack, hugging him like crazy. “You’re here! Are you really here?” I babbled in his ear. I’d never been so happy to see someone in my entire life.
“Hey!” he protested, laughing. “It’s good to see you, too. You’ve all given us quite the scare!”
I pulled away from the hug, my eyes going to the world itself, now naked under my real vision. It looked so much smaller than it had when we were in the game. Not much bigger than a regular theme park. I thought back to the hours it had taken to cross each land or climb each mountain. But the true distance was barely the length of a couple football fields or the height of a small hill. Crazy.
It also looked so normal. Gone were the colorful trees, the twin suns, the crazy animals. Now it was a boring old island, save for a few wooden structures that served as the villages and a lot of shiny metal sensors. At the very far shore I glimpsed the island’s power source: what appeared to be thousands of solar panels lined up in rows.
I turned back to our mountaintop. Clearly a fake volcano carved out of plaster. Small metal parts of various sizes littered the ground, as if a car had exploded.
No, not a car, my mind corrected. A dragon. Atreus in his real-life form.
“I bet they regret giving this guy a destruct button,” Uncle Jack remarked, shaking his head. “It’s going to take them weeks to put him back together.”
“You cannot put Atreus back together!” I cried, my mind flashing back to the dragon’s dark, glittering eyes. The fire sparking on his tongue. “He’s evil!”
“He’s a robot, Ian,” Uncle Jack corrected, giving me a fond smile. “Robots can’t be evil. They just follow their programming.”
“But he locked us in the game! He made it real-life hurt when we got wounded!”
“Actually, that was Eugene.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Lilli sputtered.
Uncle Jack sighed. “It seems Eugene was unhappy in his position here at Dragon Ops and became a corporate spy for the Camelot’s Honor company. They’re hoping to introduce a similar mixed-reality theme park on an island off of Costa Rica, and the two companies have been racing to see who could open first. Eugene was meant to sabotage us and keep us from opening. He figured if he could make the AI seem to go crazy and hurt some kids, we’d never get the insurance clearance to open the park.”
“See?” I pointed out to Lilli, remembering our trivia quest. “I told you Camelot’s Honor was no good.”
Uncle Jack gave me a rueful smile. “I’m just sorry you guys had to be the ones to get caught in the cross fire. Literally.”
Lilli wrinkled her brow, trying to understand. “So… none of this was Atreus?”
“Nope. It was all Eugene. He tampered with the barbeque the night before so all the regular employees were sick with food poisoning, giving him the opportunity to leave you alone in the game. At the same time, he attacked our servers with a nasty virus so we couldn’t contact you, or jack in virtually to find you and let you know what was going on.”
“Why didn’t you come try to get us out?”
“He changed all the gate codes and electrified them. We called in for a helicopter from the mainland so we could fly over and get you. But…” He glanced at his watch. “It’s probably arriving right about now, actually.”
“Wait. How long were we in here for?” I asked.
“About eight hours? Give or take.”
I shook my head in disbelief. Wow. Eight hours? So much had happened. My life—changed forever. All in such a short period of real time.
“How did you find out it was Eugene?” Lilli asked.
“One of our crew—a vegetarian who didn’t eat the barbeque—caught him trying to stow away on the ferry and escape the island. It didn’t take long after that to discover his trail. He was good—but messy. His fingerprints were all over Atreus’s new code.”
“What a jerk. We could have died!” Lilli declared.
“Believe me, I know,” Uncle Jack said, his face sobering. “And I’m so sorry, guys. I never, ever, would have sent you in here if I had any idea what could happen.” He choked out a laugh. “Your mom is going to kill me.”
“Only if we tell her,” I said with a shrug.
“Yeah,” Lilli agreed. “After all, how else are we going to get her to let us come back?”
“You want to come back?” Uncle Jack raised an eyebrow. “After all that happened?”
Lilli and I exchanged a glance. “Maybe?” I said. “After the bugs are worked out?”
“Yeah, well, that may take a while,” Uncle Jack replied, staring out over the vacant landscape. I thought back to what it had looked like under my goggles. It had been so beautiful. Terrifying at times—but amazing.
And real, I thought, suddenly remembering the glowworm cave. On some level, it had been real.
I glanced over at the spot where Mirai had been lying. Of course she wasn’t there anymore; she’d never been there in “real life.” But I was surprised to see Hiro wasn’t there, either.
“Where’s Hiro?” I asked Uncle Jack.
“He’s back at the base,” he explained. “Once Atreus was destroyed, control of the game kicked back to us, and he was able to log in virtually so he could reach you faster. Meanwhile, I had to hike over the old-fashioned way.” He shook his head. “You guys trekked halfway across the island, you know.”
“Trust us, we know!” Lilli groaned, shaking out her sore feet.
But I didn’t join her. Instead, I found myself stepping over to the spot where I’d last seen Mirai. My stomach twisted as I stared down at the empty space. Just seconds ago, she’d been lying there, crumpled and broken. As broken as the rest of the game. I shook my head, wanting to erase those memories. To instead think of her brilliant smile. Her kind, searching eyes. The way she reached for my hand when she knew I was afraid. How warm that hand felt, brushing my own.
She had been real, too. More real than some people would ever be in so-called real life.
And she had been my friend.
“Are you okay, Ian?” Lilli asked, coming up behind me. I looked up at her, my eyes misting with tears.
“I miss her already,” I said.
Lilli pulled me into a hug. “Me too,” she agreed. “But… maybe this is for the best? She didn’t want to be trapped in the game. And now she’s probably free. That’s what she wanted all along, right?”
I nodded, feeling the tears slip from my eyes. “I hope she finally finds some peace.”
“Hey, guys?”
We broke from the hug, turning to find Derek standing behind us.
“Yeah?” I asked curiously.
For a moment, he didn’t answer. His gaze dropped to the ground and he shuffled from foot to foot before speaking. “Um, I just wanted to… thank you, I guess. For rescuing me,” he mumbled in a low voice. “I know you didn’t have to. You could have left me there. And you probably should have… I mean, I’ve been kind of a jerk.”
Lilli raised an eyebrow. “Kind of?”
Derek’s fa
ce turned beet red. “Okay, fine. I’m a total jerk, okay? It’s just… I don’t know. How do you think I feel? Knowing that my dad would rather hang out with you than me.” He dropped his voice on the last part, scowling over at his father, who had gone over to check on the Atreus wreckage.
“That’s not true!” I protested.
He rolled his eyes. “Come on, dude. You know it is. You get all this stuff. You love it. And he was so excited to show you. I knew that was why he really dragged me here instead of leaving me home with Grandma. Because that way he had an excuse to bring you.”
I stared at him. Was that really why Derek had been so mean to me this whole time? Not because he thought I was a geek or super uncool? But because he was jealous of me getting his dad’s attention?
“Dude, I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know.”
Derek waved me off. “Whatever,” he said. “It ended up being kind of cool. Not the being captured by the dragon part. That blew. But kicking the dragon’s butt?” He shrugged sheepishly. “Better than any roller coaster ever.”
I grinned slowly, slapping him on the back. “Derek, my friend,” I said, “we might make a gamer out of you yet.”
Atreus stirred, rousing from his slumber. His eyes slid open, twin golden crescents shimmering out from the darkness. Clutching my shield, I drew my sword.…
“Get him!” Lilli cried. “Now!”
I dove in for the kill, ready to hack and slash and decimate him where he stood. But the dragon was ready for me, exhaling a blast of pure fire in my direction. I screamed as the white-hot flames hit me, melting my armor in an instant, and a moment later I found myself on the ground, utterly annihilated.
“Aw, man!” I slammed my fist against the keyboard. “I totally thought we had him this time.”
Lilli threw herself back on the couch. “Ugh. He’s the worst,” she groaned. “We are never going to get him down.”
“Want to try again?” I asked.
She set her laptop onto the coffee table. “Sure. Let me grab a snack first,” she said. “You want anything? Protein bar? Giant gummy bear, maybe?” Her eyes twinkled.
I laughed. “I’m good. Thanks.”
Once Lilli was gone, I turned back to my own computer. I selected REVIVE on the screen, and a moment later Lord Wildhammer appeared, resurrected, in a graveyard. Which was nowhere near Mount Fearless, unfortunately. We had a long run back if we wanted another chance to beat the boss.
At least we didn’t have to run back on our real-life feet.
Yes, we were playing video games the old-fashioned way again, with a mouse and keyboard. Lilli and I had been hard at work trying to beat the latest Fields of Fantasy expansion-pack missions from the comfort of home. It was a piece of cake, really, now that we’d survived the real-life version. And we’d even finally gotten good enough to attempt to take on the dragon Atreus.
Defeating him, however, that was another story.
It’d been over a month since our adventure in Dragon Ops, and half the time it felt as if the whole thing had been one giant dream. They’d had to postpone the park’s opening. Eugene had been arrested and was awaiting trial. The company had worked overtime on damage control, however, and nothing ever trended on Twitter or showed up on the front page of the news. Sure, there were some conspiracy theories on various Reddit boards about why the park opening was delayed, but none came close to the truth. Which was fine by me. Especially since they’d had to pay us obscene amounts of money to keep us from sharing our story. (Which our parents promptly stashed away for college—though I did manage to sweet-talk my way into a new laptop.)
Now everything was basically back to normal, with going to school during the day and playing video games at night. And sometimes even doing real-life stuff with Lilli, too! But there was one thing that was still bugging me. One thing I couldn’t let go.
What had happened to Ikumi?
Or Mirai, I guess—I was still trying to get used to thinking of her by that name. I’d asked Uncle Jack so many times, but he had no idea. And Hiro never returned my emails. She wasn’t mentioned in any of the court documents I’d read through, either. It was as if she had been totally forgotten.
But I hadn’t forgotten her. I would never forget her.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite nooblet!”
The sound of the familiar voice in my headphones jerked me back to the present. I did a double take as none other than Yano himself flew across my computer screen and landed on a tree branch near Lord Wildhammer. He peered at my avatar, then gave an impressed whistle.
“You look fancy!” he declared, taking in my character’s shiny new wrath armor.
I grinned. “Not such a noob anymore, huh?”
“You’ll always be a noob in my eyes,” Yano assured me. “But that’s only because I’m so excellent. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’d be dead if it weren’t for me. And yet, I’m still waiting for my medal of valor. Do you think it got lost in the post?”
Good old Yano. “What are you doing here, anyway?” I asked. “How did you get out of Dragon Ops?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? I got a new gig! And by the way, my name isn’t Yano anymore. She decided to change it. Which is totally her right. Though I do wish she had come up with something a little more fitting. I mean, Sir Sparkles? Really? Doesn’t exactly instill fear in the heart of one’s enemies.”
“I think it’s cute,” I told him. The draconite rolled his eyes.
“In any case, while I’d love to stay and chat, I’m actually here on official business. If you would follow me?” He gestured with his wing.
Frowning, I reached for my mouse and placed my other hand back on the keyboard, allowing Lord Wildhammer to follow Yano—er, Sir Sparkles—down the path and away from Mount Fearless.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Not far. There’s someone who wants to see you.”
We stopped at the shore of a small lake. My eyes widened as I realized it was the same lake we’d stumbled on outside the Cave of Terrors. Where Mirai had betrayed us. My heart started thudding in my chest. Someone wanted to see me. Could it really be… her?
“Lord Wildhammer. We meet again.”
I almost fell out of my chair as a familiar figure stepped onto the screen. She’d changed her hair again; this time it was long and silver and woven into a combination of braids with purple flowers. Her eyes were a deep black, dusted with starlight.
But it was her. It could be no one but her.
“Mirai,” I breathed, my heart stuttering in my chest. She was alive! She hadn’t died in the fight! My fingers hovered on the keyboard, wondering if I should type the HUG command or if that would be weird.
The girl behind the monitor gave me a bashful smile. “Funny. I almost forgot I told you my real name.”
“I thought you were dead,” I blurted out, feeling stupid the second I said it. “I mean, dead again?” I groaned. “I’m still really bad at this, aren’t I?”
She laughed. “You’re the worst,” she agreed. “But no, I’m not dead—well, not like that at least. And even better, I’m not trapped in Dragon Ops anymore. I don’t know what you said to my father, but after he was able to repair my character profile, he told me he was sorry for what he’d done. And he gave me a choice. He could delete my file entirely and let me die once and for all, or he could release me to the cloud and set me free.” Her smile widened. “I guess you can tell which I chose.”
I smiled back at her, even though I knew she couldn’t see it. “I’m so glad!” I cried. “I was so worried about you. Are you okay now? Do you like being free?”
She did a little twirl on the screen. “Oh, Ian. It’s everything I ever hoped for and more. The entire world is at my fingertips now. I can be in Tokyo one moment, then in your game the next. And the knowledge! So much knowledge out there, and I have access to all of it. And an eternity to spend learning.” Then she sobered. “Though it can be a bit lonely at times. I
am the only one of my kind—at least as far as I can tell.”
“Well, you can always come visit me,” I declared. “I’ll keep you company. And maybe you can help us beat Atreus again?” I grinned. “Team Dragon Slayerz reunion tour?”
She laughed. “Anytime. But for now, I must depart. I’ve got a date with a sunset in Saint Tropez. They livestream from a little sailboat in the harbor and it’s simply breathtaking. I never miss it.”
“Sounds awesome,” I said. “Take some screenshots and send them to me.”
“Absolutely.” She leaned over, giving Lord Wildhammer a small kiss on the cheek. “Good-bye for now, Ian. And thank you. Thank you for everything.”
And with that, she logged out, her avatar disappearing into thin air. But I didn’t feel sad this time, because a moment later a box popped up on my screen, informing me she’d added me to her friends list. Which meant she wasn’t gone forever. She was out there, happy for maybe the first time in her life. That was all that mattered.
I closed out of the game, staring at my computer, thinking back to everything that had happened. I’d wanted an adventure. And I’d gotten one. But I had to admit, it was good to be back home to the boring—
“Ian!”
I turned around as Derek barged into the game room. I hadn’t seen him too much since we’d gotten back. But when I did, he’d been nicer than he had been before. No more geek jokes. No more put-downs. And though I wasn’t sure, I suspected he was even secretly playing video games. Not that he’d ever admit that to me.
“What is it?” I asked, curious. He looked out of breath, even sweaty. Had he run all the way here from his house down the street?
“My dad just called from the island,” he said. “I’ve got good news… and not so good news.”
“Okay…”
Derek swiped his forehead with his hand. “The good news is—well, Mirai. Evidently her dad let her out of the game! He opened some back door on the server or whatever and set her free on the cloud.”
I smiled to myself, glancing over at my computer screen. “That’s so great,” I said, trying my best to sound surprised. I didn’t want to burst his bubble by telling him I’d already heard this particular piece of good news—from Mirai herself. “She must be so… happy.”
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