Ant felt sorry for Griff. If there was any way he could help get the boy’s mother back to him, he was determined to do it.
13
Back in the Parkworld
Ant decided not to talk to the Crunch Hut investigators. If he told them his idea, he was afraid they might want to try it for themselves and one thing was for sure: he would never let anyone, anyone, mess about with Pradahl. He knew he’d be putting himself at risk, though, which is why he needed Griff as back-up. He had no one else to ask and he guessed Griff would do pretty much anything for his mum. If what he’d heard was true, the rareio wouldn’t be interested in a low-level player like Griff, but it was just possible that it would be interested in a Kismet Cosmos player who’d reached the ninety-ninth world.
The idea might not work at all. Even if they were built with the same game engine, Ray-Chay and Kismet Cosmos were very different games.
Griff was late. Ant had nearly given up on him when he came hurtling down the overgrown track from the Parade with his bulging backpack slung over one shoulder. ‘I’ve got to get home by quarter to five or my dad’s going to lose it,’ he panted. ‘We’re going to visit Mum at the hospital.’
‘How is she?’ asked Ant.
‘The same.’
Griff glared at Ant suspiciously. Ant said nothing. He just pulled his grey Ray-Chay suit out of his backpack and changed into it quickly. Griff put his on too. ‘What now?’ he said.
‘Okay, I think we’re close enough to the park to try getting into the game.’ Ant took a deep breath. ‘But with one difference. I’m going to wear this…’ He pulled his Kismet Cosmos headset from his backpack.
‘You’re kidding,’ groaned Griff. ‘That’s your idea? Seriously? I mean … seriously?’
‘I know you weren’t impressed with Kismet Cosmos when you tried it, but that’s because I’d set it in flat-map mode,’ Ant said, keeping his cool. ‘That’s not how it is normally. Kismet is an amazing game, even if I am the only one who still plays. I’ve been training my ace dragon up for months. Years. Her name’s Pradahl. She’s really powerful.’
‘But there are no suckers in your Kismet headset. It looks completely different. It won’t work,’ said Griff.
‘If we were playing the game normally, true.’ Ant pressed on. ‘But this is Ray-Chay in the Park. It doesn’t use the memory technology with those sucker things. We’re all playing in the same world for once.’
‘You’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?’ Griff looked more interested. ‘Do you really think your dragon could beat the rareio?’
‘If I can get her into the Ray-Chay world, yes, I think she could. You wore your mum’s headset with a different suit, didn’t you? I’m guessing my suit might work with the Kismet headset. It’ll even plug into the suit with the same cable, I’ve tried it. It’s a bit of a long shot, but they’re both Crunch Hut games. Most of the tech that runs Ray-Chay is in the front panel of the suit. Ray-Chay would be the dominant game, but Pradahl’s so strong, she might be able to get in.’
‘But what if there’s glitching?’ said Griff. ‘I told you what happened when I wore my mum’s headset. That’s what made everyone ill.’
‘If there is glitching and it gets too bad, we’ll stop,’ said Ant. ‘I can’t promise this is going to work, Griff, but it’s got to be worth a try?’
Griff sighed but nodded. ‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Back me up,’ said Ant. ‘The rareio won’t be interested in you – you’re not a high-enough level – but in Kismet Cosmos I’m, like, on the ninety-ninth planet. That’s massively high.’
Griff whistled. ‘It hates me though,’ he muttered to himself. ‘It really hates me.’
‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ Griff looked away.
‘If something goes wrong,’ Ant continued. ‘If the rareio – you know – gets me, freezes me, you’ll have to go for help.’
‘In real life?’
‘In real life.’
Griff swallowed. ‘Okay.’
Ant paused before putting on the Kismet headset. ‘Oh, one last thing. The investigators are in the Parkworld playing right now. We can’t let them see us in the game, okay?’
‘They’d be mad we got back in, right?’
‘Yeah,’ said Ant. ‘But also, I really want to see what they’re up to.’
Ant flicked the switch on his headset and for a few moments he didn’t think his plan was going to work. There were distant sounds and misty patches of light but that was all. Little by little, his vision began to clear and his heart leaped as he realised he’d made it: after the usual calibration sequence, there he was, back in the Ray-Chay Parkworld with its dazzling colours and fantastic bird-shaped bushes.
He looked down at himself. Something about the way his outfit shone convinced him he was playing as his original Tarn avatar. He felt something nudge his shoulder and, turning, came face to face with Pradahl. She was in!
She was the real, legit Pradahl. He could tell by her curious expression as she looked around at the strange new world and the way she butted her head against his shoulder. She was as pleased to see him as he was to see her. Ant pressed the shining scale in the middle of her chest to call up her inventory and make sure he could get at her items. He could.
So far, Ant’s plan was working.
Griff, aka YoBullit, was standing a little way off, at the edge of the lake. Ant was surprised to see his babygro but didn’t say anything. There hadn’t been any glitching yet, which was encouraging. Perhaps his Ray-Chay suit recognised his genuine high-level Kismet status, so the two bits of equipment felt at ease with each other? He didn’t have
