Dragons vs. Robots Read online

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by Marianne Mancusi Beach

  Cover art copyright © 2021 by Owen Richardson. Dragon icon © V_Craftmen/Shutterstock.com. Cover design by Jenny Kimura.

  Cover copyright © 2021 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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  First Edition: June 2021

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Mancusi, Mari, author.

  Title: Dragon Ops : dragons vs. robots / Mari Mancusi.

  Other titles: Dragons vs. robots

  Description: First edition. | New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2021. | Series: Dragon Ops ; 2 | Audience: Ages 8-12 | Summary: “When their friend Ikumi goes missing, Ian and Lilli must enter another dangerous digital world to save her and defeat Atreus”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2020048432 | ISBN 9780759555181 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780759555174 (ebook) | ISBN 9780759555198 (ebook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Virtual reality—Fiction. | Video games—Fiction. | Dragons—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.M312178 Drg 2021 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020048432

  ISBNs: 978-0-7595-5518-1 (hardcover), 978-0-7595-5517-4 (ebook)

  E3-20210512-JV-NF-ORI

  Contents

  COVER

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  DEDICATION

  THE BLACK CARNIVAL: CHAT ROOM 143254

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  EPILOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  To Peral and Rubystar and the rest of the BPA guild. For the transmog!!!

  THE BLACK CARNIVAL CHAT ROOM 143254

  DragonOpzRumors:

  Hey gamers! Check it out! I’ve got a NEW SCOOP straight from the vault. Something HUGE that the mainstream media is COMPLETELY IGNORING!

  WhateverSauce:

  This oughta be good.

  DragonOpzRumors:

  You know how the world’s very first video game theme park, Dragon Ops, was supposed to open a month ago and never did?

  DragonOpzRumors:

  Well… I found out the REAL REASON it’s kept its doors locked.

  FieldsOfFantasyForever:

  Uh, everyone knows that. They had technical difficulties. Couldn’t get things to smell right.

  WhateverSauce:

  !!!

  DragonOpzRumors:

  YEAH. That’s what THEY want you to think. But do you really believe they’d delay the opening of the biggest, most advanced, most EXPENSIVE mixed-reality theme park EVER built for SIX MONTHS because of some silly smell?

  DragonOpzRumors:

  It’s WAY bigger than that. Like super conspiracy level big!

  WhateverSauce:

  FieldsOfFantasyForever:

  So what then?

  DragonOpzRumors:

  Turns out, they got sabotaged! By the Camelot’s Honor game company.

  WhateverSauce:

  DragonOpzRumors:

  You know Camelot’s Honor is making a similar gaming park, right? But they’re way behind. So they got one of their guys to pretend to be a Dragon Ops employee. He hacked the game and trapped three kids inside—all alone!

  GamingIsLife:

  Trapped in a video game? What a dream come true!

  DragonOpzRumors:

  More like a nightmare! The only way out was for these kids to play through the entire game and beat the final boss—this crazy, artificially intelligent, super powered-up dragon. And if they didn’t? They’d die. Like real life die.

  FieldsOfFantasyForever:

  Wait, DRAGON? Was it Atreus? The big bad guy in the original Fields of Fantasy game? PLEASE tell me it was Atreus!

  DragonOpzRumors:

  Yup. And he almost killed them, too! THAT’S why they had to delay the park opening. LITERAL ALMOST MURDER of their very first players!

  WhateverSauce:

  I’m not sure literal almost murder is a thing…

  FieldsOfFantasyForever:

  Why don’t I literally almost murder you to find out?

  WhateverSauce:

  I’d LITERALLY almost like to see you try.

  GamingIsLife:

  So wait! Who are these kids? Did they kill the dragon? Did they make it out alive? Where are they now?

  GamingIsLife:

  SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

  DragonOpzRumors:

  Who knows? They totally disappeared off the face of the earth. Clearly they were paid off to keep their story quiet. Otherwise no one would EVER go to Dragon Ops when it finally DOES open.

  FieldsOfFantasyForever:

  I would go. Anything to see Atreus in real life. Well, virtual real life anyway.

  DragonOpzRumors:

  Yeah, but you wouldn’t. That’s the craziest part!

  FieldsOfFantasyForever:

  DragonOpzRumors:

  Atreus escaped, too.

  GamingIsLife:

  WHAT?

  DragonOpzRumors:

  Yup. And they have NO IDEA where he went.

  FieldsOfFantasyForever:

 
ATREUS IS OUT THERE? WHERE WE COULD MEET HIM? FOR FREE?

  WhateverSauce:

  DragonOpzRumors:

  It’s not funny, dude. That thing is powerful. One of the most advanced AIs ever built. And now he’s wandering the cloud. Who knows what he could do????

  FieldsOfFantasyForever:

  OMG! What if he tries to go after those kids who killed him! Like, REVENGE OF THE AI!

  WhateverSauce:

  GamingIsLife:

  Please. That’s not going to happen. He’s not a real bad guy. He’s just a computer program. Computer programs don’t have emotions. They don’t seek revenge.

  DragonOpzRumors:

  But they DO follow their programming…

  GamingIsLife:

  What’s that supposed to mean?

  DragonOpzRumors:

  What if Atreus still thinks he’s playing—but now out here in real life? What if he’s wandering the cloud, still looking for those kids?

  DragonOpzRumors:

  What if he won’t stop… until he defeats them? This time in real life?

  WhateverSauce:

  The goalie was bigger than I remembered.

  That was my first thought as I approached the net, dribbling the soccer ball between my feet. He stood there blocking my shot, looking fierce and mean and taller than any twelve-year-old kid had any right to be. His face was twisted into an ugly scowl, and his beady eyes locked on me. As if to say, Just try to get past me, dork!

  But I had to. I had no choice. The clock was ticking away. We were down three to four. No one was close enough to pass to. And the other team’s defenders were bearing down.

  One wrong move, and it would be game over. And it would be all my fault.

  “Go, Ian! You can do it!”

  My eyes shot to my left—just for the briefest second. Lilli was in the stands, whooping and cheering in the loudest voice ever. Geez. Could she be any more embarrassing? Of course, my athletic sister was the one who dragged me into this whole soccer thing in the first place. The one who said it’d be “good for me” to try something new.

  Easy for her to say.

  I turned my attention back to the goal, now definitely within kicking reach. This was it. There was no turning back now. Should I shoot it straight or try to cross it? My heart thudded in my chest. I drew back my foot as the defenders barreled toward me. Only seconds to make the decision…

  Do you want to play again?

  Suddenly, my vision blurred. My whole body went numb, ice trickling down my spine. When I looked up, the goalie was gone. And in his place stood a huge red dragon with massive jaws and diamond-sharp teeth. He leered at me, sparks dancing on his tongue. Fire warming in his belly. Smoke rose around him, obscuring the goal completely.

  Do you want to play again? his deep, growling voice whispered in my ear. Do you want to play again?

  “No,” I begged. “Not now. Please not now!”

  “Ian! Shoot!” Lilli’s voice sounded a million miles away. “What are you waiting for?”

  I shook my head, trying to force myself back to reality. Soccer. Game. Real life. Come on, Ian. Snap out of it!

  But it was too late. The defenders reached me, trampling me, easily stealing the ball away. I hit the ground hard, breath knocked from my lungs. For a moment, I saw stars.

  Then the buzzer rang. The clock ticked to zero. Cheerleaders screamed and cartwheeled across the field. The other team’s parents cheered from the bleachers.

  Game over.

  I looked up blearily. The dragon, of course, had disappeared. Replaced by the not-actually-all-that-giant goalie who was dancing with glee. “Nice try, nerd!” he jeered. “Maybe next time you won’t choke.”

  I dropped my head back into the grass. Maybe I would sink right through.

  No such luck. “Rivera! What were you thinking?” a voice demanded from above. “You totally had that!”

  I lifted my head. Josh, the team’s captain, was standing over me, his blond mop of curly hair falling into his eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his lips set into a scowl. Which was pretty much his default expression when looking at me.

  I considered sticking my head back into the grass, pretending I’d died or something. Maybe he’d give up and go away.

  “If you weren’t going to shoot, you could have passed it to me,” he added, his voice thick with exasperation. “I was totally open.”

  Uh yeah. I was pretty sure he hadn’t been. No team ever let Josh the Jock run around the field without at least two defenders trailing close behind. It was too dangerous. He was too good.

  But I didn’t have the energy to argue. And hey, I probably should have passed it to him, even if half the team had been up in his grill at the time. People like Josh didn’t choke under pressure.

  Unlike, say, people like me.

  I forced myself to my feet. I could feel the cold stares of the other players, not to mention their parents, as I trudged off the field trying desperately not to cry. They wouldn’t say anything to me—they weren’t those kind of parents. But I knew what they were thinking. Eight-Bit Ian, hopeless nerd. Go back to your video games.

  Yeah. Believe me, I would if I could…

  Ugh. I should have never listened to Lilli.

  Just think of it as a real-life video game, she’d said. You’ll have so much fun. Meet new people.

  She hadn’t mentioned they’d be people like Josh. Who were about as fun as mandatory standardized testing a week before Christmas. Josh lived, breathed, and probably ate soccer ball cereal for breakfast. He cared for nothing but the game. Well, besides winning the game, that was. And let’s just say he didn’t appreciate noobs like me messing up his chances.

  “Ian!” Lilli cried now, rushing in my direction. She threw her arms around me, hugging me as if I was the hero of the game instead of the guy who caused everyone to lose. I shrugged her off, annoyed. I didn’t need her brand of rah-rah-believe-in-yourself in my life right now. Not when I’d just made a fool of myself in front of everyone.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, peering at me worriedly. “You just kind of froze out there. Like… you’d seen a ghost or something.”

  I winced, untangling myself from her hug. If only she knew how close she was. And yet totally off base at the same time. In fact, I only wished it were a ghost taunting me from the goal. Because ghosts weren’t real.

  Unlike AI dragons escaped from a certain video game…

  Do you want to play again? Do you want to play AGAIN?

  “I’m fine,” I muttered. “Just… a brain fart or whatever.”

  She gave me a pitying look. “It was a tough shot,” she assured me. “I bet I couldn’t have gotten it in, either.”

  “Of course you could have,” I groaned. Lilli was as soccer crazy as Josh these days. She practiced in the backyard every chance she got. “You probably could have done it with your eyes closed.”

  “Maybe one eye,” she teased. Then she caught my look and sighed. “Come on, Ian. You just started playing. You’re going to get better. You just need practice. I’ll practice with you if you want. Just the two of us. It’ll be fun.”

  “Yeah. As much fun as the stomach flu at a spelling bee.”

  Her face sank, and I immediately felt bad. She had been nothing but supportive of me through this whole thing. Teaching me the rules, helping me practice. Coming along to every game. None of this was her fault.

  “Look, Lilli, it just isn’t my thing,” I tried to plead. “I tried it. I’m no good.”

  “Only because you haven’t played enough. I mean, it’s like a video game. How awful were we in Dragon Ops when we first started playing?”

  I froze, my stomach suddenly swimming with nausea. Lilli caught my look and snapped her mouth shut, her face pinkening as she realized she’d just said the D-O words—something we were never ever supposed to do. Especially not in public. In fact, the game company’s legal team had made us and our parents sign a bazillion forms that threatened all
sorts of bad legal stuff if we ever went public with our story. Even mentioning the game’s name was strictly off-limits. Never mind talking about all the crazy stuff that had happened to us there.

  Stuff that had almost cost us our lives.

  They’d tried to make up for it, of course. Threw a ton of money at us for our “pain and suffering” until our college funds were stuffed to the brim. I’d gotten a brand-new laptop out of the deal, too. Which at the time had seemed really awesome. But since then, well, the gag order was getting to me.

  And the pain and suffering? That seemed to be just getting started.

  At least for me. Lilli seemed fine. Totally back to normal. She played soccer daily, won tons of meets with her gymnastics team. Had made a bunch of new friends. Life was good for Lilli. It was like she’d moved on. No big deal.

  So why was I still stuck in this nightmare? Why couldn’t I move on, too? It seemed almost every night I’d wake in a cold sweat, shaking like a leaf. Visions of killer dragons haunting my dreams. Even during the day I’d sometimes find myself completely paralyzed with fear—like today on the soccer field. My mind replaying the scenes from Dragon Ops over and over and over again. Until I wanted to scream or run or hide or puke.

  I tried to tell myself I was being ridiculous. That it was all just in my head, my brain trying to work through all we’d gone through in the game.

  But deep down, I knew it was more than that. Derek had told us Atreus had escaped the game shortly after we’d gotten back home. Which would have been creepy enough. But then I’d gotten this weird message on my computer, scrolling down the screen. A message that, no matter what anyone said, I knew could only have come from him.

  Do you want to play again?

  Do you want to play again?

  Yes. Atreus was out there. Somewhere. Watching, waiting. And I had no clue what he was planning next.

  After the soccer game we headed to Uncle Jack’s house down the street, where we were staying for the night. Our parents had gone away to Vegas, Dad tagging along with Mom to her programmer’s conference. Mom hadn’t wanted to leave us; she was still being super overprotective after what had happened at Dragon Ops. Also, I was pretty sure she still didn’t completely trust her brother, Uncle Jack, since he was the one who had brought us there to begin with. But in the end, Dad had talked her into it, saying we all needed some time to chill. And so they went, leaving us six different phone numbers to call if anything went even remotely wrong while they were away.