‘Oh I know,’ said Griff. ‘Your mum owns the jewellery shop in the high street, I’ve seen you in there. My mum spends hours in your shop while I’m sat outside in the car. Not that I’ll ever complain again about anything my mum does.’ He smiled at Ant, who smiled back and gave him a thumbs up.
‘We’d better explain,’ said Ant. ‘We destroyed the rareio. My dragon got killed straight after.’ He swallowed and looked at the floor, so Griff took over.
‘My mum was one of the frozen gamers who’s been in hospital. I just spoke to my dad on his phone and she’s woken up. All the frozen gamers have.’
Rubie’s mouth dropped open. ‘I didn’t realise your mum was one of them, that’s awful … but now she’s woken up, that’s so wonderful! I’m so pleased for you.’
Someone called Rubie’s name from the top of the path. Rubie yelled back in Chinese.
‘It’s my big brother,’ she explained. ‘I asked him to wait for me up there. He’s not into any kind of gaming. He doesn’t really know what I’m up to.’
‘Back-up?’ said Ant.
‘Best I could do,’ Rubie nodded. ‘Listen, in the Parkworld, you asked if I’d heard what the investigators said, but I didn’t stop to listen. I’m sorry. I guessed you were there for the same reason I was: to try and defeat the rareio. I wanted to beat you to it, so I jumped out first. Wish I hadn’t now. So, what did the investigators say?’
‘Bad stuff,’ said Griff. ‘You wouldn’t want to know.’
‘Yes, I would!’ said Rubie. She looked annoyed. ‘Look, I am a level 25 Ray-Chay player and I have just been banned permanently from a game I love. Please, tell me what those investigators said?’
Ant recognised something in Rubie. He knew what it was like to love a game and she’d been so brave in the Parkworld. He thought she probably did deserve an answer.
‘First of all, the boss? That’s Kody Crunch himself,’ Ant began.
‘No way!’ said Rubie.
‘Yeah, but don’t get too impressed,’ Griff chipped in. ‘He’s not the lovely guy we all thought. He’s pure evil.’
Rubie shook her head in disbelief.
‘It’s not what we thought at all,’ said Ant. ‘Kody Crunch and his investigators were never there to kill the rareio. They didn’t care whether the frozen gamers would wake up or not.’
‘Especially Kody,’ muttered Griff.
‘But why?’ said Rubie.
‘We’re not sure. There’s something called Operation Wipeout. The guard was in shock and started telling us about it before Kody stepped in and stopped him. It looks like he’s found some way of controlling people and it’s got something to do with the rareio jumping into you.’
‘But it went wrong this time,’ said Griff. ‘I guess it’s because I corrupted the rareio. It became a rogue, didn’t do what it was supposed to, and when it messed up the game, it messed up his precious Operation Wipeout too. You know, that kind of makes me feel better about the whole thing.’
‘Hang on, hang on,’ said Rubie incredulously. ‘Kody’s controlling people? Meaning he can make them do whatever he wants? You do mean … in the game?’
‘Who knows?’ said Ant. ‘The frozen players were frozen in real life. There’s so much we don’t know about Operation Wipeout. You saw how much Kody wanted to buy our silence back there, offering us free games and stuff.’
The three of them stared at one another. The full force of what they’d discovered was only just dawning on them. Then they heard voices over in the park, angry voices coming closer.
‘Hey, we’d better go,’ said Rubie. ‘I bet that’s Kody and his crew. They won’t like having two people out in the real world knowing all this.’
Ant, Rubie and Griff grabbed their belongings and ran up the path to the Parade.
17
The Celestial Seamstress
When Ant got home, he looked so fed up, Lia asked him if he’d had a row with someone at school or something. Then Lance came home from work, saying the investigators had announced they’d finally destroyed the rareio after an epic battle. The frozen gamers had woken up and everyone was congratulating Kody Crunch. No one was sure yet if Ray-Chay was still going to be playable. Apparently, he would be making some big announcement in the next few days.
Ant rolled his eyes when he heard Lance say Kody Crunch was a hero, but he didn’t reveal what had really happened. Obviously, he was glad the frozen gamers were all right. He and Griff were the real ones responsible for waking them, and that made him feel proud. Yet the whole Operation Wipeout plan sounded so massive and evil, and he had absolutely no idea what to do about it. Ant had agreed to meet up with Griff and Rubie at lunchtime in school on Monday to talk more.
Although he knew it was a much smaller problem, Ant was still churned up about Pradahl. For Kody Crunch to kill his dragon seemed like a very personal attack. It made Ant so angry to remember Pradahl’s lifeless body on the ground. He’d always loved Kismet Cosmos, but he didn’t feel like playing it any more. He couldn’t bear playing without Pradahl. The thought of appearing on planet Zoberne without her was horrible and he couldn’t face starting the whole game again with a new dragon. He wanted Pradahl, only Pradahl.
That evening Ant went to the table-tennis club, played a few games with some mates and felt better. When he got back home, he and Snoz shared a pizza and watched a funny movie. On Saturday, he and his dad went shopping in town for some new sports kit and had a brilliant day.
At last, on Sunday afternoon, Ant decided he was ready to face Kismet Cosmos again and make a final decision whether to save it or
