I hunt madly for a sight of my teammates on my map. Finally, I glimpse Asher and Hammie hovering near the center to the archway, flying in tight circles as they are trapped in by two other beasts. Some Demons are heading their way, too.
I yank out my dynamite and zoom toward the top of the archway. As I reach it, I slap a stick of dynamite to the top of the ice structure. Then I pivot down and dart away right as it goes off. Another earth-shattering explosion—the impact shakes my board violently, and snow flies all around me, making me squint. I’m down to my last dynamite.
Behind me, through the dust, Ren materializes with Asher and Hammie on his tail. Our Artifact still hovers over Hammie’s head. I call to her, then toss her my hammer from my utility belt. Her hand shoots out and she catches it without even turning around, then winks at me in thanks over her shoulder. As she hurtles away from the nearest beast, she throws the hammer at its eye as hard as she can. It hits true, making the beast flinch away with a roar.
The Demons are above us, looking down. They have the advantage now, and they know it—even from here, I can tell that Jena has a grin on her face. She still has their Artifact, and it hovers over her head, silver and shining. Her lips move as she gives instructions to her team.
“Hams,” Asher says through our comms as we all continue to hurtle through the darkening landscape. “Give me the Artifact. Turn off your hoverboard’s lights.” His eyes are locked on Jena. “And get hers.”
Hammie winks at Asher as she transfers our Artifact to him. In the twilight, both our Artifact and our opponent’s glow with a noticeable blue halo. “Yes, sir.”
“Roshan, back her up. Ren, cut them off. And Emi—”
But I never get to hear what Asher wants me to do. An explosion goes off right above a monument near us, rocketing us all apart. Tremaine had thrown a stick of dynamite near us. A blur of light streaks past us and rams right into Ren, sending both of them tumbling. It’s Max. Ren lets out an angry snarl and flings the other Fighter off him. At the same time, Hammie hurtles out of sight, her hoverboard nothing more than her engine’s bright red sparks of fire propelling her forward. I don’t have time to think about where she’s going—because in the next instant, Jena comes rocketing down toward us with Darren and Ziggy at her sides. She’s headed straight for Asher. Asher bares his teeth and laughs, then rushes up to greet her.
My eyes flicker to the glacier’s ice below us. Along the cliffs, a white dragon is stirring to life, its movements cracking the ice that encases it. I narrow my eyes. If I can just gain control of that dragon . . . My hands go to the length of rope dangling at my waist, and as Asher and Ren attack the Demons, I dart toward the surface and slow my board down near the dragon.
As I dive, I notice lights following closely behind me—somebody’s hoverboard is skimming the ground in the darkness. It’s Tremaine. And he’s closing on me fast. I only have time to look up once before he barrels into me. We both tumble straight into the glacier’s surface. The impact knocks us clear off our boards.
The world around me tumbles, and all I can see is flying snow and evening sky. Then everything blinks out—the next instant, both Tremaine and I have struck out and regenerated a full pace behind the others.
Tremaine turns a murderous look on me. My Speed Burst power-up from Hammie is still in my inventory—and now I use it. It disappears from my hand in a flash of light. The world rushes forward, and I can almost feel the blast of wind against my skin. Right as I yank out my own length of rope, the dragon finally breaks free from the ice. Its gaping mouth roars to the surface.
I fling my rope, aiming to lasso the tip of its nose. One try. Then another. On my third, I manage to swing the loop across the creature’s snout. The dragon pivots its head in my direction, then lets out a furious shriek. A column of fire bursts from its open jaws. I use the momentum from the rope to swing onto its head. My rope becomes a makeshift harness. Below me, Asher and Max are locked in battle.
“Move back!” I say into my comms. Asher’s eyes flicker briefly at me. It’s all the warning he needs.
I yank the dragon’s head down as Asher suddenly breaks free and darts away. The creature shrieks in rage, then lunges at Jena, the nearest player—all she can do is throw her hands up before the creature swallows her in one bite.
Jena MacNeil | Team Demon Brigade
Life: -100% | STRIKE OUT!
The audience bursts into excited chaos. I can barely even hear the announcer’s voice over it all.
A pace behind us, Jena blinks back into existence. Asher is already waiting for her. In a flash, he pounces right as Jena materializes. Before she can get a handle on what’s happening, Asher’s hand closes on the Artifact hovering over her head.
Game over.
The world is engulfed in scarlet and gold as an enormous phoenix bursts into flames across the entire sky.
The audience explodes in wild cheers. “I don’t believe it!” the analysts are yelling over the chaos, their voices cracking from excitement. “It’s all over! Jena MacNeil and the unstoppable Demon Brigade—taken down by the Phoenix Riders in the most stunning upset we’ve ever seen! Oh my God! The Phoenix Riders win!”
Asher throws his head back, lets out a piercing whoop, and raise his fist in the air.
And that’s when I see the black figure again. He’s standing on top of the ice monument, clad in the same fitted black armor I’d seen on him in the Dark World. Zero.
A chill rushes through me. Why can I see him? Why is he here?
The world around us pauses. The dragon I’m struggling to control suddenly stops in midair, frozen, and then fades from view. The landscape darkens into blackness. I blink as the Tokyo Dome itself comes back into view, as well as fifty thousand spectators screaming wildly at the top of their lungs. To either side of me, my teammates come out of their booths.
“That was the most badass move I’ve ever seen!” Roshan exclaims, reaching me first and clapping me hard on my back. I open my mouth to thank him for protecting me, but Hammie hurls herself at me, smothering me and Roshan in a hug. I’m drowned out by the rest of our team piling on top of us. They crush me in, tangled and laughing. Blood roars in my ears. On the other side of the arena, the Demons are shouting at one another, and Tremaine is stalking away from Jena without so much as looking up at the audience.
My first official win in a championship game. But all I can think about is that Zero was there. I saw him. I search for Ren. He is smiling and laughing, too, but his expressions are off, forced. The smile doesn’t touch his eyes. He glances over his shoulder, as if he’d seen something the others didn’t. Then the tension breaks, and he goes back to grinning and hugging the others. He’d also seen the figure.
As I continue to cheer, I bring up the file that I’d managed to grab through Ren’s broken shields. There’s little there, as if I had pulled away before I could properly seize the data from him. But it did manage to grab something, possibly something Zero was communicating to Ren. The name of a program.