The tunnel was long and tight. It reminded me a little of that tunnel we’d crawled through in the water cave back in Dragon Ops that almost crushed us when it started collapsing. But I pushed the thought from my brain, concentrating on the light at the end.
Eventually we came out on the other side. And there, in the center of the room, shining brightly, was the biggest golden chest I’d ever seen.
Score!
“Whoa! What is that?” Josh asked, staring at it in fascination.
“Oh, just our secret weapons,” Starr said, yanking off the lid and revealing its contents. “Literally.”
I stared into the chest, my eyes bulging from my head. Starr hadn’t been kidding. This was a huge treasure trove of weapons, many looking far from beginner level. From swords to crossbows to metal staves that crackled with electricity. It was a total score.
Maybe we had a chance to win this after all…
“No way!” Josh cried, reaching into the chest and rummaging around. His eyes were about as big as mine probably were. “How did you know this was in here? I’ve never heard anything about this before.”
Starr smiled smugly. “A dork’s gotta dork.”
Josh grabbed what looked like a laser crossbow and arrow, yanking it free from the pile. “Sweet!” he cried, switching it on. It glowed with a purple light that matched his armor.
Starr reached down and grabbed what looked like a throwing star, flashing with inner fire. And Lilli grabbed a staff that was crackling with pink electricity. Of course. Once a mage, always a mage.
As for me? I was still a warrior. I grabbed the last weapon—a laser sword that looked a lot like a lightsaber. I swung it around, testing it a few times. It made the coolest whooshing sound as it sliced through the air. I loved it already.
“T minus five seconds.”
“Let’s do this!” I cried, diving back through the tunnel and into the main room, my teammates scrambling behind me. By the time I reached the hatch, I was out of breath, my lungs feeling as if they were burning in my chest. Which was odd, considering I was literally sitting on my butt back at Mech Ops HQ in real life. This game was super realistic, to say the least.
“Gates opening,” Rocky announced cheerfully. “Gear up, Mech Heads. And welcome to tomorrow!”
I turned to Lilli and Starr, flashing them a grin. They smiled back at me, brandishing their weapons, looking eager to start. Even Josh seemed kind of excited—he kept checking out his crossbow when he thought we weren’t looking.
The gates creaked open, revealing a massive ruined cityscape beyond.
Game on.
“All right,” Starr said. “They’re gonna go straight to the middle of the map. That’s where the weapons cache is. Let’s cut them off at the pass. Get a go at them before they’re armed. We’ll take them out and storm their base while they’re waiting to revive in the graveyard.”
I nodded, accessing my game menu and opening my map. It was a simple layout—a bombed-out city street with buildings flanking each side. There were a bunch of cars, many still on fire, that we could use as cover. At the very other end of the street was the Team Blue base. Where we’d find their orb.
“Someone should stay behind,” I suggested. “To guard our orb.”
“Yeah, have fun with that,” Josh replied. “I’m a center, not a goalie.” He raised his crossbow and started running down the street.
“Wait for us!” I cried, annoyed. But he was already halfway to the weapons cache. So much for being a team player. But I should have guessed that from his soccer style.
“I’ll stay and guard,” Starr said. “Yell if you run into trouble.” She fluttered her wings, taking flight, then laughed. “This is so cool.”
Lilli’s eyes sparkled as she turned to me. “Let’s do this!”
She dashed down the street in the direction Josh had gone, her steps literally leaving trails of fire in their wake. She must have chosen speed boots at the store, I realized in dismay as I tried to keep up with her, only to be left in her dust. (Or fiery inferno, as the case might be.) I tried to remember what awesome abilities my new outfit had but came up blank. To be honest: I’d picked it ’cause it looked cool—and I had no idea what it did.
Rookie move, Ian.
I kept running anyway—too late now. When I finally did reach the center of the map, I found Josh perched on a huge pile of crushed cars, picking off the other team with his crossbow as they attempted to retrieve the weapons from the cache. One by one, they fell to the ground wounded and screaming and completely confused as to how the other team had managed to roll up fully armed.
Okay, I felt a little like a cheater. But, hey—all’s fair in game and war, right? Especially when Ikumi’s life was at stake.
“Yeah, baby!” Josh cried, stopping to reload his crossbow. “Cry to your mama!”
The other team tried to stand up. But we were ready for them. Lilli and I attacked, staff and sword slashing down at them where they stood. Unarmed, they had no prayer of getting near us, and we were blocking their access to the pile of weapons. In a few seconds, all three had blinked off the game board, presumably teleported back to the graveyard behind their base. There, they’d have to wait a full minute to revive before they could play again.
In the meantime, their orb lay unprotected.
“Let’s go!” Lilli cried, dashing forward with her boots of lightning speed. Josh slid down the hood of one of the cars, launching after her. I was last again. Seriously—would it have killed me to check the stats of my gear before selecting it?
Just then I caught a flash of movement
